Jin’s POV
   It took Estyshana quite a while to pick up her phone. She was probably still in class when Jin called.

   “What’s up, Jin?” she asked when she finally answered.

   “Before I tell you, I need to make sure of something first. You’re an expert when it comes to hypnotism, right?”

   “I guess I’m pretty much second to none when it’s that we’re talking about.” the demon replies modestly. “Why do you ask?”

   Well, here goes.

   “The thing is, I found Princess Beatrice-”

   Upon hearing the name of the human princess, her demonic counterpart exhaled her breath sharply.

   “-but she was hypnotized. The worst part is, she’s not hypnotized using magic. I’m not really confident about removing it, so I need your help. Can you come over right now?”

   “...Send me the location. I have to ask Chifuyu and Anri to help me skip class, so give me a few minutes.” Estyshana replies coldly.

   “Sure, I’ll be waiting.”

   “So, how did it go?” Aldenia asks Jin after he puts away his phone.

   Jin shrugs at the question. “She’s coming over here in a bit. Let’s wait here until she does.”

   “Shall we interrogate them in the meantime?” Audrey asks Jin while staring at the other human-sized popsicles.

   “Nah. I’m not really good at interrogations, so I’ll leave that to the professionals. Speaking of which, I’d better call Shannon-san to report her on this.”

   Jin told Shannon that he and the Graylock sisters have successfully captured some of the Hammerheads. He also requested her to send a huge pick-up truck along with some crews to the location he’s sending to her after the call was done. The CIA agent promised that she’ll do so.

   A few minutes later, a portal opened up a few steps away from Jin. Naturally, Estyshana stepped through it. She’s wearing a mask, and instead of her school uniforms, she’s wearing her casual clothes. Her originally red hair has been turned gray. Or at least, Jin’s brains were tricked into thinking that they’re gray by the Illusion Spell Estyshana cast on her hair.

   The first thing she noticed is that the Graylock sisters are here too. Wordlessly, she walks towards Jin and stands in front of him.

   “So, Audrey and Aldenia are helping you out.” she begins.

   “Yup. Their father might be nearby, so I figured that they want a part in this.”

   “I see.”

   Jin puts away his right gauntlet into the vault without saying anything. Estyshana immediately starts pinching his right arm.

   “Not that I care, but I suppose the three of you hung out for quite a bit?” she asks.

   “Just a little bit.”

   “I see. Well, not that I care. Nope, not one bit…”

   The longer they talk, the harder she’s pinching Jin. Jin could hear the Graylock sisters giggling.

   Estyshana spent a good few minutes pinching Jin’s arm.

   “So, do you think you can undo Her Highness’s hypnotism?” he asks her when she’s finally satisfied.

   She looks at the popsicle that has Beatrice sealed inside it.

   “That kind of depends. Can you at least unfreeze her head?”

   “Give me a moment.”

   Jin puts his left hand on the popsicle and wills it to melt until Beatrice’s head is exposed. Once the human princess realizes she can move again, she blinks twice before staring steadily at both Jin and Estyshana.

   “Hmm…”

   Estyshana leans forward and looks into Beatrice’s eyes. While she’s doing that, the Graylock sisters come closer.

   “How is it, Esty? Do you think you can do it?” Aldenia asks Estyshana.

   Estyshana leans back and shrugs.

   “I can do it easily enough.” she replies.

   She reaches out her right hand and touches Beatrices’s forehead. A single second later, color returned to the human princess’s eyes. She begins to tear up without a single warning.

   “Finally, after all these times, I’m free from mind-control…” Beatrice sobs.

   That took Jin aback.

   “Are you saying that you have been conscious this entire time, Your Highness?” he asks Beatrice.

   “Yes. Before I elaborate, though, can you let me out?”

   “Of course. Right away.”

   Once Beatrice is out of her icy prison, she spends the first minute stretching her body.

   “Are you hurt in any way, Your Highness?” Jin asks her.

   “Well, some parts of my body are in pain after our fight, but they’re nothing serious.”

   “I see. Please don’t hesitate to seek help if your injury becomes more serious.”

   “I most definitely will. Thank you for your concern.”

   “Your Highness, may I introduce you to Audrey and Aldenia Graylock, and this here is Estyshana Von Mantus.” Jin introduces next.

   Upon hearing the infamous family names, Beatrice puts on a conflicted expression. Even so, she curtsied elegantly at them.

   “Pleased to make your acquaintance.” she tells the trio rather stiffly.

   “No need to worry, Your Highness. Despite their blood relation with the Demon Lord and the infamous nutjob, they’re perfectly dependable.” Jin assures her.

   Beatrice nods her head. “I believe in you. And them, as well.”

   “For now, let’s head back to a military facility where our allies are waiting. Their cafeteria is probably still open. We can get you your favorite baked potatoes.”

   Beatrice’s eyes sparkle at the mere mention of her favorite food.

   “It’s true that I haven’t been eating baked stuffed potatoes with chives and cheese for a very long time.” she confesses. “Or normal food, for that matter.”

   “Well, worry no more. You’re free from those mercenaries now, so you can eat all the delicious food you want. I can bring you all over this country to try out food that you’ll never find at Ifezan.”

   “That sounds absolutely wonderful.”

   “Esty will get jealous again if you act too nicely towards Her Highness, Silver Wolf.” Aldenia warns.

   Estyshana snorts loudly.

   “Me? Jealous? As if I’ll get jealous over something petty like this!”

   “Your pinching just now isn’t convincing anyone.” Jin points out.

   “Shut it, you. Do you want to be pinched again?”

   “And that’s exactly what I’m talking about-ow, ow, ow, ow.”

   “Say, do you mind removing your helmet? I have a sudden urge to pinch your cheek.”

   “As if I’ll comply just like that, ow.”

   Beatrice starts chuckling all of a sudden.

   “The two of you sure are close.” she says.

   Jin and Estyshana look at each other, then at Beatrice.

   “We don’t get along at all.” they say at the same time.

   “Now now, no need to be shy. The two of you are a couple, so you can flirt with each other all you want.”

   Jin and Estyshana look at each other again.

   “Um, Your Highness? Von Mantus and I aren’t going out with each other.”

   “You, you’re not?”

   “Nope.”

   Beatrice got all frozen up. She then turns her neck to look at the Graylock sisters, as if trying to verify the truth to Jin’s statement. The sisters nod their heads several times. Beatrice lets out an awkward laugh.

   “...Well now, this is certainly embarrassing. My apologies. A lot of the servants back at the castle often talked about the two of you, hence my misunderstanding.”

   “Wait, they were doing that? Is that why I always felt their stares?”

   “Pretty much, yes.”

   Jin looks at Estyshana for a third time.

   “At this point, I think we were the only ones who took eternity to realize that we’re in love with each other.”

   Estyshana groans. “Don’t remind me. I can’t believe that I, of all demons, was so dense.”

   Beatrice looks at Audrey and Aldenia again.

   “So, these two aren’t going out? Really?” she asks softly.

   “You’ll get used to that fact.” Aldenia whispers back.

   Audrey nods in agreement.

   “I can hear you guys, you-oh, there’s the truck now.”

   And so it is. It’s a ten-wheeled truck that has four doors and a closed cargo. The truck stopped beside the human-sized popsicles. Five soldiers dressed in camouflage gears came out of the truck. One of them went behind the cargo and opened up the door and climbed into it, while his four colleagues worked together to carry the popsicles one by one.

   It didn’t take the soldiers long to move all the popsicles into the cargo. Once they’re done doing that, one of them comes over and salutes the gang.

   “Greetings. I am First Lieutenant Kenneth Harrison.” he introduces himself. “On behalf of the Army and the US citizens, thank you for capturing these so-called mercenaries.”

   “Good day to you, Lieutenant Harrison. There’s no need to thank us. Please tell Agent Shannon that we’ll be heading back soon.” Jin tells Harrison.

   “Will do. Do you have any directions about what to do with the captured Hammerheads?”

   “You can just put them inside a room. I’ll go and melt the ice once we’re ready to question them.”

   “Understood. There’s one more thing.”

   “Yes?”

   Wordlessly, Harrison glances at Beatrice, who’s still wearing the same clothes as the mercenary group.

   “No need to worry about her. She was just hypnotized by them. Now that the hypnosis is gone, she won’t be on their side anymore.” Jin assures the soldier.

   Harrison doesn’t look convinced. Even so, he didn’t press on. Instead, he salutes at them once more and goes to the truck. Adter they’re gone, Jin looks at Beatrice’s outfit.

   “Do any of you have any spare clothes for Her Highness?” he asks all the girls. “It’s a hassle to explain the situation every single time, so it’s better for her to change her outfit.”

   Audrey produces a modest looking casual clothes and hands it over to Beatrice.

   “Please take these, Your Highness.”

   “Thank you.”

   While Beatrice is getting changed, Jin turns his back politely.

   “I have finished changing.”

   Jin turns around and sees Beatrice got changed into a new set of clothing, her Hammerhead outfit already discarded at the floor.

   “Now then, ready to go?” Jin asks.

   “Yes. Let’s depart.” Beatrice agrees.

   “Can we have nee-sama open up a portal?” Aldenia asks. “After that fight just now, I don’t really feel like flying.”

   “No, we can’t. We wouldn’t want to surprise the heck out of whoever that is nearby when we step through.” Jin forbids.

   “Aww…”

   And so, all of them head for their destination from the sky.

   “So, where are we going?” Estyshana asks as they’re flying.

   “To Area 51.” Aldenia replies.

   “You mean that place with aliens and UFOs and things?” the demon asks excitedly.

   “Sadly, they had none of those.”

   The demon got disappointed at once.

   “My whole life is a lie…” she moans.

   “Something tells me you and Aldenia would end up believing in Santa if the two of you were born in this world…” Jin mumbles.

   “Who or what is this Santa?” Beatrice asks curiously.

   “It’s a name short for a fictional old man called Santa Claus. Children were led to believe that he was the one who goes around and hands out presents during a holiday called Christmas each year.” Jin explains.

   “From what I heard, some kids believed in him so much the moment the truth was exposed, their personality got twisted since they developed trust issues.” Aldenia adds.

   Beatrice glanced at Jin for a single second.

   “I see.”

   “Your Highness? Why did you look at me just now?” Jin asks the princess.

   “You’re overthinking it. I, um, I thought I saw something over yonder.” Beatrice assures.

   Estyshana, Aldenia and Audrey, on the other hand, are giggling loudly. Jin turns his neck to look at them.

   “What are you girls laughing about?” he demands.

   “It is nothing, Silver Wolf-san.” Audrey assures.

   “We, we definitely don’t think you have a twisted personality.” Aldenia says between wheezes and giggles. “It must have been tough to hang out with him, Your Highness.”

   “Please, call me Beatrice. As for your statement earlier, well…”

   “Aren’t you going to deny it, Your Highness?”

   “I have a hard time doing so since, you know, it’s the truth. And I’ve told you for the millionth times to address me by my name!”

   “It’s not that I don’t want to, Your Highness. Your princess aura is so intimidating I can never put myself on the same level as you.”

   “Now you’re just making things up!”

   “Hey, what about me?” Estyshana demands. “I’m a princess too, and yet you’ve always been rude to me!”

   “You? Just being born as the daughter of a Demon Lord doesn’t automatically make you a princess, you know? You lack grace, you’re rougher than a piece of jagged rock, and you’re stupid.”

   Estyshana grits her teeth angrily.

   “Gah! You rude human peasant really pisses me off!”

   “I knew it. The two of you are close.”

   ““We’re definitely not.””

   As they’re bantering, they’ve almost reached the military base. Along the way, Jin notices a truck heading towards the checkpoint, the same one Harrison and his men were in just a few minutes ago.

   “Wait, is that the same truck we saw earlier?” Aldenia asks while pointing at the truck.

   “Sure is.” Jin confirms. “I guess we’ll be arriving faster than them.”

   The five of them fly over the checkpoint and head straight to the entrance. The two guards on duty were on high alert the moment they saw Estyshana and Beatrice.

   “They’re with us.” Jin assures.

   “Well, if you say so…”

   Once all of them were let in and the sliding door is closed behind them, they find Shannon waiting for them.

   “Lieutenant Harrison and his men are on their way to bring those Hammerheads back.” Jin reports.

   As he speaks, he stores his armor inside his Vault. Estyshana and the Graylock sisters are also doing the same with their mask.

   “Thank you for your hard work. By the way, who are those two ladies?” Shannon asks while looking at Beatrice and Estyshana.

   Jin gestures towards Beatrice.

   “This is Beatrice Verina Atwood, the former princess of the human kingdom in Ifezan.” Jin introduces. “Your Highness, this is agent Diana Shannon.”

   Beatrice curtsies at Shannon.

   “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

   “...Likewise.”

   Shannon seemed bothered by Beatrice’s family name, but chose to keep silent for now.

   “This is Estyshana Von Mantus.” Jin continues to introduce. “She’s no one important.”

   “Hey!”

   “Before we give you the full report, can we head to the cafeteria again?” Jin requests while ignoring Estyshana’s outburst. “Her Highness here needs some snacks.”

   “Of course. That said, it might already be closed for the night, so we’ll have to see.”

   As luck would have it, the cooks were just starting the preparation to clean the kitchen before closing for the night when the gang entered.

   “Are you still open?” Jin asks just in case.

   “We sure are.” Buckley replies. “Still, you’re hungry already? It’s barely an hour since you ate!”

   “Not me, but her.” Jin says while gesturing towards Beatrice.

   “It would seem that you were beginning your final preparation in order to clean up this establishment and take a good night’s rest. For that, I shall offer my deepest apology.” Beatrice says while inclining her head apologetically.

   “No no, there’s no need to apologize! We’re always happy to feed a hungry person!” Gustav Buckley says hurriedly.

   Lynda Randall shakes her head in disgust.

   “Someone’s being soft on young girls as usual…” she mumbles.

   “Am not! Are you really going to turn her away even though she’s hungry?”

   “And who was the one who just chased out some soldiers who wanted some midnight snacks not five minutes ago?”

   Buckley averts his eyes and starts whistling.

   “Ah, whatever. What will you have, miss?” Randall asks Beatrice.

   “Some baked potatoes with chives and cheese, please.”

   “I’ll do you one better. How about switching chives with chilli?” Randal suggests.

   Beatrice tilts her head.

   “What’s chili?”

   “...Are you serious? You don’t know what chili is?”

   “You can’t find chili where she’s from since they don’t have the plant.” Jin explains.

   “That explains it. And that’s just sad. Well, just sit down and give us a few minutes.”

   “Thank you.”

   Once Buckley and Randall served Beatrice her food and got paid by Shannon, the two of them leave the gang to their own accord and continue to clean the kitchen.

   “Are these really edible?” Beatrice asks while looking a little alarmed at how the potatoes look after being drenched in chillies.

   “Absolutely, Your Highness. And they taste good too.” Jin assures her.

   “I believe in you. Well, here goes.”

   She picks up her fork and spears one of the potatoes. She then takes a bite out of it. Her eyes widened immediately, perhaps surprised by the spicy sensation.

   “What is this, well, tingly sensation?” she asks as she slowly chews.

   “That’s the spicy taste you get when you eat food like chili.” Jin explains. “I hope the spiciness didn’t put you off.”

   “Not at all. The taste is rather refreshing. Then again, I suppose that almost every single food tastes refreshing after all the boring food I’ve been eating during the times I was forced to be part of the Detroit Hammerheads.”

   Shannon’s eyes widened in surprise. Jin stopped her before she could say or ask anything to Beatrice.

   “Speaking of them, how on earth did you ever got yourself being mind-controlled by them?” Jin asks.

   “Well, it all started while I was being hunted down by my father's soldiers. They had me cornered in an abandoned house. I was so desperate to get away I opened up a portal without confirming the coordinates of the location I wanted to go. As a result, I ended up here. In America. Things were very hectic for me during the first couple of months. I had no place to settle down, and I was afraid to do so as I had to constantly watch my back.”

   “It must have been very tough for you.” Estyshana says.

   Jin looks at the demon. For once, she actually looked and sounded sympathetic. If she didn’t end up living with the kind Wakaba family, she might have suffered the same fate as Beatrice, or one that’s even worse.

   “Thank you. It wasn’t as bad as some of you might think, though. Until I met the Hammerheads, that is.”