Estyshana’s POV
   It was nothing complicated, really. All she did was make sure the timing of her finish casting Detonation on Igmis was right before he completed casting Chronokinesis. And that worked out perfectly. She immediately rushes forward to catch Igmis before he falls over. His three minions charged forward too, but made sure not to get too close.

   Igmis vomited out some blood. His legs are starting to turn to dust. He looks at his disintegrating body with interest.

   “Huh, so this is what happens once I lose.” he mumbles.

   “Well, I guess this is it with your endless prattling.” Esty says to him while trying her best not to tear up.

   “Yup.”
  
   He yanks off the three rings on his tongue and hands them over to Esty. Blood start to drip from his tongue, but he paid no attention to it.

   “Here, take these,” he tells her.

   “But-”

   “No buts.” he interrupts. “Please. I don’t want them to disappear along with me.”

   She looks at the said demons. All of them are staring at her as well. She sighs.

   “Fine, I’ll take them in. I just hope they’re not going to cause problems.” she mumbles while taking the rings.

   “Both you and I know that’s pretty much impossible.” Igmis laughs.
  
   “True. They were such troublemakers that Father felt like turning them to dust several times.”

   The disintegration has almost reached his waist. Since he can no longer stand, Esty has to support him by putting her hands below his armpits.

   “Look, I know the Hero killed me, the rest of the gang, your father and lots of other demon comrades. Still, you shouldn’t hold yourself back from being happy. Then again, you probably wouldn’t listen since you’re too stubborn. Ah, why do I even bother saying all this?”

   “Maybe it's that you love to hear yourself talk?” Esty suggests while her lips are trembling.

   He laughs at that. “Right, it’s definitely that! Hey Hero, treat Esty well, yeah?”

   “You don’t even have to tell me that.”

   “Good. Now, well-”

   He looks downwards. Only his head remains now.

   “I guess I’m leaving first. Say hi to everyone else for me.” he requests with a wink.

   And then, he’s gone. Esty takes a few deep breaths so that she could suppress the strong urge to bawl her eyes out. It took her quite a while to get her emotion under control.

   She notices that Relgal, Drokemoth and Zorgathos are all bowing their heads, as if mourning at the loss of their master.
  
   “Well, there are a formality or two left in order for me to become your new master. For now, I hope you’ll take a good rest.” she tells them.

   They nod solemnly. At the next moment, all of them are gone. Esty isn’t really sure how the rings exactly since she never bothered to find out. She would have to figure it out later.

   “So, what now?” the Hero asks her.

   “We go back to that hospital your sister was admitted to. That Sanno or whatever place.” she decides.

   He raises his eyebrow.

   “Why there, of all places?”

   “After experiencing something traumatic, I want to see some heart-warming banters between the two Minase siblings.” she says while smiling mischievously.

   He rolls his eyes.

   “You have such fine taste. You’re a demon, alright…” he mumbles.

   “Oh, you! Giving me such a top quality compliment won’t get you anything, you know?”

   He lets out a sigh. “Just open up a portal that leads to the hospital already.”

   “Right away.”
 
   In case there’s someone else together with the Hero’s sister Shino, Esty didn’t open up a full portal right off the bat. Instead, she opens a tiny one that could only allow voices to go through.

   “-Being in an ojou-sama school isn’t as great as some might think, you know?”

   Wait, was that Aldenia’s voice Esty hears?

   “That is quite the truth. For one thing, the pressure from your teachers and peers can be suffocating at times.”

   This time, it’s Audrey’s voice.

   The Hero appears right next to Esty in an instant. She was so surprised she took a step back. She also feels her face burning.

   “What are those two doing in there?” he asks no one in particular.

   “Maybe Chifuyu called them over.” Esty suggests. “You can just ask them.”

   He shrugs. “I guess it doesn’t really matter. Can you make the portal bigger?”

   “Sure. Hold on.”

   Once the deed is done, the two of them step over and find themselves inside the hospital room they left a few hours ago. Naturally, Shino is still here, and so is Chifuyu. As overheard just now, the Graylock sisters are here as well.

   The last three looked relieved the moment they saw Esty and the Hero. Even Shino had the same expression, even though hers only lasted for a single second.

   “Are you okay, Esty?” Chifuyu asks Esty while looking really concerned.

   Esty shows her a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

   She could tell that the smile is rather forced, but it’s the best one she can show right now.

   “So, have you dealt with that talkative demon?” Shino asks.

   “We sure did.” the Hero confirms. “He’s in a better place now.”

   Just hearing about Igmis makes Esty want to tear up. She held on, though. She’s not allowed to cry. Not ever.

   “Come here.” Chifuyu says to Esty while opening up her arms.

   Esty walks towards Chifuyu so that she could get a hug from her. Audrey and Aldenia hug Esty as well. Wordlessly, Esty hugs them back.

   “What are you waiting for, Minase? Join in.” she hears Aldenia hisses after a few seconds.

   “No thanks.” he declines. “She’ll just try to sent me flying. ”

   Esty couldn’t help but turn her neck so that she could glare at him.
  
   ““Try to”?” she repeats.

   “Hey, it’s not like you can do it for real.”

   Esty grits her teeth in anger. And there he goes again.

   “There, there. I’m pretty sure that this is his way of trying to make you feel better, even though the method is twisted.” Chifuyu comforts.

   “Nope. I’m just being annoying here.” The Hero disagrees.

   “Can’t you learn to read the atmosphere for once?” Chifuyu demands.

   “More importantly, what are the two of you doing here?” The Hero asks the Graylock sisters.

   “Chifuyu-san called us over.” Audrey replies as the group hug was undone.

   “Why?” he asks Chifuyu.

   “Because a certain someone refused to heal his little sister. Whom he beat up in the first place!”

   Now that she mentions it, Shino doesn’t look like she’s suffering from her injury. At least, not that much.

   “I merely healed her wounds partially. The doctors have already taken a look at them, after all. A ruckus would surely occur if they disappeared overnight.” Audrey explains.

   “Even if it’s only partially, I still feel much better already. Thank you very much, Aldenia-san.” Shino says to the elder Graylock gratefully.

   “You are very much welcome.”

   “You know Minase, your sister is much more cheerful than you, not to mention a lot more easygoing! And she’s friendlier too!” Aldenia laughs.

   The Hero shrugs. “She’s just putting up a facade.”

   “Pray tell, dear brother. What on earth are you talking about?” Shino asks innocently.

   The Hero gives her a look. “You know and I know that you’re just putting up a fake front.”

   “You wound me, nii-sama! I would never do such a thing!”

   The Hero rolls his eyes. “Why do I even bother?”

   Esty chuckles at this scene. Already, she’s starting to feel better.

   “By the way, I’m going to enroll myself at Yokosuka once I get discharged from here.” Shino announces it all of a sudden.

   The Hero took a few seconds to process what she just said.

   “...What?” he asks dumbly.

   Wow, this skit just got even better.

   “I mean, there’s no way I can go back to Matsubara after I skipped class for so long. I’m probably expelled already.”

   “And out of all the schools in Japan to choose from, you chose Yokosuka because…?”

   She shrugs. “If I have a choice, I prefer to go to a school that someone I know also goes to.”

   Wordlessly, the Hero gestures towards the Graylock sisters.

   “Kitajoshi is an ojou-sama school, and I’m no ojou-sama.” She reminds him.

   “I’ll brainwash the principal and make sure that she accepts you.” the Hero offers.
   
   “You can’t do that, Minase-san. You have to follow the proper rules set down by the school.” Audrey chides.

   The Hero stares at her.

   “...THAT, coming from YOU, who did the exact same thing?”

   “I am reflecting on my actions even today. Hence, I do not wish others to make the same mistake.”

   The Hero rolls his eyes. Based on his expression, Esty could tell that he’s given up on trying to convince his younger sister to go to another school.

   “Isn’t that great, Minase-kun? Your sister will be in the same school as you!” Chifuyu says cheerfully.

   “That gave me another reason not to go to school, thank you very much…”

   “Yeah, right! I bet the thought of seeing Esty at school gives you all the motivation you need!” Aldenia giggles.

   The Hero glances at Esty.

   “That much is true,” he confesses.

   Esty blushes. And immediately shakes her head vigorously. No, no, no. Don’t you get flustered by him, Estyshana Von Mantus.

   “Come on Minase-kun. Stop being stubborn and let her go to Yokosuka.” Chifuyu says to the Hero.

   “Fine, fine.” he grumbles. “Just so you know, I’m only borrowing you the money you need to pay for the tuition fee and living expenses. Don’t expect to live like a princess like you did before.”

   The last part was directed towards Shino. The person in question got teary-eyed in an instant.

   “How could you, nii-sama? Do you not care for the welfare of your own younger sibling?” she sobs.

   “I don’t.” comes a blunt reply. “I meant every word I say, you hear me? You’d better get a job and pay me back every single yen, or you’ll hear it from me.”

   “I get it, I get it. I’m not that shameless.” Shino decides to drop the facade. “The difficult part is actually finding a job, though…”

   “I can introduce you to some places that are hiring part-time workers. All of them require next to no working experience.” Chifuyu offers.

   Shino beams at her. “Thank you, Chifuyu-san.”

   “Not that I really care, but do you know where mother is, or what she’s doing right now?” the Hero asks.

   Shino became gloomy at once.

   “A shifty-looking man in a suit took interest in her while we were homeless. She went with him without a moment’s thought.” she informs.

   “And you didn’t go with her?”

   “That man didn’t like kids.”

   “Ah.”

   “So, yeah. Our father’s going to find himself wifeless when he got discharged from the hospital he’s been admitted to.”

   “What a shame.”

   “You don’t care at all, do you?”

   He shrugs. “You think I would have gotten him hospitalized if I did?”

   “Fair point. Anyway, for the part-time jobs, Chifuyu-san…”

   And the dark topic was over in an instant. The Minase family is really something.

   “I’m sleepy, so I’m leaving first.” Esty says to Chifuyu while stifling a yawn.

   “Sure, be careful on your way back. There are two pieces of apple pies waiting for you back at home.”

   Suddenly, Esty isn’t that sleepy anymore. Or she will be once her stomach is filled with her favorite dessert.

   “What about you, Minase?” Aldenia asks the Hero.

   “I’m going home too, of course. It’s not like I wanted to be here.” came the instant reply.

   “I’m so glad that you dropped by, dear brother…” Shino mumbles drily.

   “Can you walk with me for a while, Jin?” Esty requests to the Hero.

   For obvious reasons, the Graylock sisters and Chifuyu are surprised by Esty’s request. Shino is indifferent since she probably wasn’t told of the history between her brother and Esty. As for the Hero, he merely shrugged.

   “Sure.”

   Once simple farewells are done, Esty opens up a portal that leads to the park where she was almost attacked by the group of demons.

   “So, are we going anywhere in particular?” the Hero asks once the portal is closed.

   Wordlessly, Esty points towards the vending machine. She walks towards it , with him following her from behind.

   Once they’re at the machine, Esty feeds it some coins and presses a button so that a drink would come out. Her chosen drink appeared at the bottom, and she took it out. She didn’t drink it, though. After all, it’s not the one she wants.

   It’s the Hero’s turn next. He also fed the machine some coins so that he could get a drink. He, too, isn’t touching the one he’s holding.

   One second, two seconds, three.

   The two of them toss the drink they’re holding to the other without even looking. They managed to catch the thrown can easily enough. Esty looks at the one she’s holding. Yup, lemon soda, her favorite drink if she’s ever feeling depressed. As for him, he got a can of green tea, the drink he could never get enough of.

   The two of them open their respective drinks and take a sip.

   “It’s really scary how we can read each other’s mind without using any Spells.” she giggles.

   “So true.” he agrees. “I wish you would stop doing that. It’s getting really creepy, you know?”

   “Me? Why don’t YOU stop it first?”

   They share a few harmless banter and a few laughs and giggles. Before long, Esty lets out a sorrowful sigh.

   “I’m sorry, Jin.” she begins for real. “For being a pain, for not making up my mind about us, for pretty much everything. I just don’t know what to do anymore.”

   He shakes his head. “Don’t be. It’s perfectly understandable.”

   “...You know, I’m being more and more of a pain precisely because you’re spoiling me like this.”

   “I can’t help it, okay? How can I not spoil the one I fell in love with?”

   A few seconds of silence.

   “You’re supposed to get mad here.” he chides.

   “I think I’ve already told you that I don’t know what to do anymore.”

   “Hmm, let’s just put this on hold then. The rest of the Four Demon Marquis and your father to rest takes priority.” he suggests.

   “That much is true.” she agrees grudgingly. “What’s the status of our relationship going to be until then?”

   “Less than lovers, more than friends?”

   She raises her eyebrow. “Were we ever friends to begin with?”

   “You know what I mean.”

   “Yeah, that could work.” she agrees. “More like that’s the only way so that I can be less of a pain.”

   Esty gasps as she notices what this implies.

   “Just so you know, we’re literally less than lovers! That means no dating, and certainly no kissing and no, um, nothing illicit!” she quickly says.

   “Sure, sure. Dating aside, I doubt your childish mind can handle it if we did the last two things you mentioned anyway.”

   She flares up.

   “I am NOT childish!”

   He leans his face close to hers all of a sudden. Her face burns up in an instant.

   “Then do you mind elaborating on what you meant by “illicit”?” he requests.

   Her face got even redder.

   “I, um, that is, um…”

   “Well?”

   She pushes him away.

   “You’re being too close!” she yells in order to hide her embarrassment.

   “That's because you didn’t ban me from doing that.” he says innocently.

   “Don’t make me come up with a list of what you can and can’t do!”

   The two of them head back to their own homes not long after this. On a side note, the apple pie Esty had was delicious as always.