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"Triggered?"
He tossed the phone aside. Demonic power flared. In a blink he flash-stepped right in front of Patty, scooped Alessa—who was one second from exploding—straight into his arms.
"Easy, Alessa."
Soren's palm settled gently on her back, soothing the restless dark energy. His voice stayed calm and steady. "Nobody's sending you anywhere. She just wanted to take you out for some fun. You don't wanna go? Then you don't go. No one here can make you."
"This time, nobody's abandoning you."
The second the promise left his mouth, the flickering lights settled. The suffocating darkness that had been about to drag the whole office into the Otherworld slowly bled away.
Alessa clutched his trench coat like it was a lifeline, face buried in his shoulder, body still trembling.
But those eyes stayed locked on Patty—cold, watchful, and sharp.
"Whew—"
Soren let out a long breath once everything calmed, then turned to Patty, who was holding it together better than expected. A touch of apology colored his tone.
"Sorry, Patty. You know her history's rough. What you said probably dragged up some bad memories."
"I…"
Patty opened her mouth. She'd already heard the full story from Soren, so she got it. She stared at Alessa's icy, gloomy little face and nervously twisted the hem of her skirt, voice shrinking.
"I just… thought the scenery out there was really nice. Wanted to take her for a little getaway, that's all…"
"Sorry, Alessa."
Soren looked at Patty—who suddenly looked like a kid who'd broken her favorite toy—and grinned.
"Patty, drop the sad-puppy face. That's not you."
"This kid's crazy sensitive to emotions. She can feel you mean well. It's just… her past means she needs time to get used to people actually caring."
He shot Patty a wink and teased, "Guess this spring-break trip's a solo mission for you."
"I…"
Seeing Alessa was okay and catching Soren's mocking grin, Patty flipped right back into full tsundere mode.
"Solo it is! This young lady was planning to go alone anyway!"
Still feeling a little guilty, she added, "Fridge is empty. Since you two aren't coming, I'll grab groceries and daily stuff tomorrow. Can't have Alessa living on pizza with you every day."
"You skipping class tomorrow?" Soren asked.
"Classes exist to be skipped, duh."
"…"
…
Next day, bright sunshine poured through the windows.
"Uncle Morrison, what are you doing here? You know where Dante disappeared to?"
"You here to see Soren?"
Soren woke up groggy on the lobby sofa, vaguely catching Patty's voice chatting with someone. A fluffy light-yellow blanket covered him, carrying a faint, nice scent.
The office looked huge, but it only had three bedrooms—two Dante kept for his lady friends, and the last one obviously belonged to Patty.
Soren? He was the office's only actual worker and official mascot. So he crashed on the downstairs couch every night.
Night security? All him.
Family pecking order? Don't ask.
"Soren, wake up! Uncle Morrison's here!"
He tried to roll over and fake sleep, but Patty pinched his nose shut.
"Cough cough… Uncle Morrison, long time no see."
Soren swatted her hand away, sat up, and yawned.
Morrison sat on the opposite sofa, hat in hand, wearing that classic "I'm here for the show" smirk.
He was one of Dante's most trusted human partners—a gold-tier info broker. Besides feeding Dante jobs and intel, he doubled as driver, fixer, and occasional babysitter.
The only guy who could clean up Dante's disasters and still turn a profit.
"Early? Kid, it's almost noon. Young people and their sleep schedules… I'm jealous."
Morrison chuckled, looking at the two of them like a proud uncle who'd watched them grow up.
He seemed to remember something funny and barely held back a laugh. "But I'm not here for chit-chat today."
"Mainly wanted to talk about the office's debt situation."
"Stop right there!"
Soren raised a hand, cutting him off. "Uncle Morrison, if it's about the bills, go find Dante. What's it got to do with me? I'm just the help."
"Oh? Dante didn't tell you?"
Morrison feigned surprise. "Before he left, he transferred most of the office's debts to your name."
"In exchange, he said you can use whatever's left in the office however you want."
"?"
Soren's vision went black. Blood pressure spiked.
Use whatever's left?
He glanced around. Nothing but air and these beat-up sofas. Even the custom gun he'd left hanging on the wall was gone.
Right then, a crisp notification pinged in his head.
[Ding!]
[Long-term Side Quest triggered: The Debt-Ridden Sparda]
[Quest Description: You've inherited legendary demon hunter Dante's office—and every single one of his debts (city hall fines, pizza tabs, Lady's ammo expenses, Trish's shopping overdrafts… the works).]
[Quest Objective: Pay off all debts through legitimate channels.]
[Current Progress: $0 / $100,000,000]
[Stage Rewards: Every $1 million cleared = temporary use rights to one random Devil Arm.]
[Final Reward: Full ownership of the "Devil May Cry" office + hidden reward—Sparda's Legacy.]
"This has a quest too? System's feeling generous today? Wait…"
"One… ten… hundred… billion? One hundred million?!"
Soren felt like he'd just been dropped in the middle of panda city.
Did that white-haired idiot blow up the Vatican or something?!
"Where the hell did he go?"
Soren ground his teeth.
"Could be vacationing on some demon-infested island. Could be back in Hell. Who knows?"
Morrison shrugged. "You know how he is—when he wants to vanish, nobody finds him."
"Anyway, the office is yours to run for now."
Morrison's smile turned serious.
"As your agent, I'll keep feeding you jobs that actually fit your level. But most of the pay will go straight to Dante's debt pile and those pizza tabs first."
Soren's vision blacked out again.
Not only was he working—he was working for free.
Was it too late to run away and become a wandering demon hunter?
"Hahahaha!"
Patty's gleeful laughter rang out from the side.
"Inherited a whole office and you're already the biggest debtor in town… broke boy~"