3/5
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"Claus, what is the meaning of this?" Aunt Sera asked sharply.
"Cousin, what is the meaning of this?" Andrea smiled stiffly.
"Little man, what is the meaning of this?" Aunt Dayana grinned playfully.
I did not know whether to laugh or to cry when I saw their reactions.
Come on, girls, it was just a kiss.
I have done much more with the three of you.
Plus, do you think you can intimidate me like that?
Chuckling inwardly, I feigned a complicated expression and sighed with an ashamed look.
"You are right. It's wrong to do things like that with my family."
Aunt Sera flinched.
"Lina is my cousin. Kissing between cousins is wrong."
Andrea froze.
"Yes. From today onwards I will not do that kind of stuff with my family anymore."
Aunt Dayana stiffened.
Looking at the three of them, I put on a smug expression.
How is that? Did you like my answer?
"… Mom, big sis, aunt, did anything happen? You froze all of sudden." Lina tilted her head and asked.
"N-No, it's nothing."
"Y-You are imagining things."
"Y-Yes, little Lina. W-We are alright."
Aunt Sera, Andrea, Aunt Dayana, you look awfully suspicious.
Look, Lina is now moving her gaze between the four of us with a clearly suspicious expression.
The three of them, however, were not in the mood to pay attention to Lina.
Because just after the three of them replied, they realized their reactions were awfully similar.
Almost instantly, the three of them looked at each other and opened their eyes wide.
Aunt Sera looked at Andrea with an expression of disbelief, Andrea looked at her mother with a panicking and suspicious look, and Aunt Dayana smiled wryly.
"Goddess, why is my family so messed up?"
Aunt Dayana, did you forget you helped me to seduce your sister just a few hours ago?
"Cousin, could it be you seduced them as well?" Lina asked with a sharp glint in her eyes.
I stroked her hair with a helpless smile.
Girl, you should be more discrete. Can't you see how they flinched when they heard your question?
"I prefer to call it love," I replied like that.
"… Pervert."
I am. And with much pride.
"Anyway, why are you here?" I asked to shift the topic of conversation. Otherwise, Andrea and my two aunts are going to die of embarrassment and awkwardness.
As though grasping at straws, Aunt Sera, Aunt Dayana, and Andrea quickly followed my lead.
"W-We came to report you about the loses we suffered during the attack."
"A-Also, we also wanted to ask what we should do with the injured."
"I-I came to accompany them."
The three of them spoke one after another.
"Okay. Tell me about the situation then." I put on a serious expression and nodded, making the three women sigh in relief and recover their composure.
The losses caused by last night's attack were pretty serious. Fortunately, the imperial troops received most of the damage, so the losses our group suffered were pretty small.
According to Lina, four members of Eternity's Fangs were injured, but nobody died. As for the other members of the caravan, two merchants Aunt Dayana brought with her died due to stray attacks, and seven more were injured.
The economic losses were much worse, though. After Aunt Dayana calculated them, she realized that a fifth of the Reincarnation Auction Hall's merchandise was damaged or destroyed.
Fortunately, the purpose of that merchandise was to hide the true reason behind this caravan and the deal with the Carmell family, so the losses we suffered did not pain us too much.
Plus, that was nothing compared to the losses the soldiers suffered.
According to Aunt Sera, around two thousand soldiers died during the night attack, and another two thousand soldiers were injured.
In other words, of the ten thousand soldiers sent as reinforcements, almost half of them were incapacitated before they could even reach the frontlines.
"The number of casualties is very high,��� I said with a sigh.
I'm sure the general must be mad right now. He must be thinking about how to report this to the emperor.
After all, such a high number of casualties is enough to execute any general.
Well, Ysnay killed a fourteenth-layer practitioner during the attack, so the situation is not too bad for him.
Coincidentally, the general arrived at my tent at that moment.
He entered my tent brusquely, without asking for permission, making me raise an eyebrow.
And when he entered and saw Lina seated happily on my lap, and Aunt Dayana, Aunt Sera, and Andrea talking 'happily' to me, his already ugly expression turned uglier.
"Prince Claus, we just lost thousands of troops during a battle and you are here flirting with women!?"
I looked at the general with a smile. My gaze, however, quickly turned sharp.
"Firstly, I don't remember giving you permission to enter my tent, general. Who do you think you are to enter inside the tent of a prince uninvited? Secondly, these were your men, not mine. Why should I care?"
"You… They were citizens of the empire!"
"Yes, and your negligence ended killing them."
The general shut up abruptly. His face turned completely red of rage and embarrassment.
Finally, he took a deep breath, calming his emotions, and putting on an ice-cold look.
"We will have a meeting one hour later to discuss the situation. You must be there as well, prince."
"Okay, I understand. You can leave now." I nodded and waved my hand condescendingly.
The general was incensed by my obvious mocking gesture. However, he said nothing.
When he left the tent, though, my enhanced senses picked up something he muttered under his breath.
"… You will not be so happy for much longer, prince."