It wasn't until Rin tapped their heads that the two Little Ones snapped out of their captivated daze. The moment they looked at Rin, their big eyes sparkled with tiny stars, and their admiration and longing for Rin immediately soared to a new height!
Mom is indeed the strongest and most handsome person in the world! This is something that never needs to be questioned!
Rin watched her two little fan girls with amusement, both hugging their small fists to their chests, blinking their bright, sparkling eyes, looking at Rin with a silly cuteness, not even afraid of the frozen head Rin held.
Rin tossed the head, which she had just acquired to report to the Empire, aside, freezing it to the ground with ice. There was still some time before the Seventh Expeditionary Force arrived, and it was a rare opportunity during wartime to take a break from all affairs and spend time with her two daughters.
Well, she'd treat it as a vacation in a snowy mountain scenic area, even if the process was a bit bloody.
Thinking this, Rin crouched down and picked up her two well-behaved adopted daughters, one in each arm, and smiled affectionately, kissing their smiling faces, saying, "You two little fools, instead of admiring and worshipping me like this, why don't you hurry up and grow stronger, so you won't have to hide behind me anymore."
"Mm-hmm! Najenda will definitely become strong and protect Mom!"
"Mm-hmm, Little Esdeath will definitely become strong and surpass Mom!"
Then, the two Little Ones, realizing their statements didn't align, started a staring contest again, their big eyes glaring at each other, the sparks of electricity between them making Rin feel dazzled.
Even Rin had to reluctantly admit that these two Little Ones were naturally incompatible, born to be rivals.
After a while, Little Najenda, with a proud little twist of her face and a tilt of her chin, said, "Mom kissed me first just now, which means Mom loves Najenda the most."
This childish voice made Rin's right eyelid twitch. Najenda was clearly trying to start a fight!
Sure enough, Little Esdeath shouted back at Little Najenda, not to be outdone:
"No! When Mama kissed Najenda, she just lightly pecked her, but when she kissed Esdeath, it was very~ forceful, so Esdeath is Mama's most beloved daughter!"
"What did you say?! You, the younger sister, shouldn't be so arrogant!"
"Who's your younger sister?! Esdeath is Mama's blood-related daughter, an outsider who's not even remotely related shouldn't try to get so close!"
"Who are you calling not even remotely related?!"
"You, that's who!"
"!"
"!"
Tohsaka Rin was speechless and helpless, both annoyed and amused, watching the two Little Ones who had completely forgotten themselves and started bickering right in her arms. They quickly escalated from verbal jabs to physical ones, their small paws locked together in a test of strength. Esdeath was still too young; her strength couldn't match Najenda, who was older and had trained. But Esdeath refused to give up, her small face flushed red.
Tohsaka Rin felt it was necessary to assert her presence as a mother, so she—
"Clang!"
The two small heads collided, and the Little Ones immediately cried out in pain, releasing their small paws to cover their reddened foreheads.
"Why are you fighting over such things? Do you really believe that Mama's love for either of you is less than for the other, and you're so eager to deny it to prove the weight of the love you receive? You are my daughters, and when we are together, we are family. We are people who can completely and unconditionally trust each other in this world."
Looking at the two quiet but bewildered Little Girls, Tohsaka Rin knew that saying anything more would be futile. There was no need to force them to understand these words now. When they experienced the vicissitudes of life and the warmth and coldness of human hearts, they would understand how precious someone who can be completely and unconditionally trusted is, and they would understand the value of family.
"Forget it, no more talk. We have time now, so Mama will personally take you hunting for lunch."
"Huh? Mama can cook?"
"Ha! Don't underestimate your Mama, me! Mama can not only march and fight battles, and possess formidable martial arts, but my culinary skills are also divine."
"Eww~ Mama is bragging!"
"Oh, you're being rebellious, Little Girl! Today, I'll let you witness the amazing French cuisine Mama learned from a famous master. Don't get addicted and pester me for it every day then."
"Hmph, Mama is still bragging. But… what country is France? Is it as big as the Empire?"
"Uh… well, it's an incredibly remote country, so far away that the Empire's maps have never even discovered this small country."
"Then how does Mama know how to cook its cuisine?"
"That's because… Oh, where do all these questions come from?! You stinky girl, just wait and eat!"
"Ugh…"
In the time that followed, Tohsaka Rin put aside all military affairs and official duties to spend a vacation with her two daughters in the snowy plains and ice mountains of the Northern Region. She took them hunting, skiing, and tried her hand at making akame ga kill French cuisine using the meat and ingredients of Danger Beasts. Fortunately, the results were good and didn't turn into dark cuisine.
While spending rare family time with her daughters, she waited for the Seventh Expeditionary Force to rendezvous in front of Ice Mountain City. At this point, Tohsaka Rin no longer needed to scout or investigate anything. The last stronghold in the Northern Region had already been personally removed by Tohsaka Rin. If they still suffered a defeat in battle after this, then this army would have no reason to exist.
Until three days passed, the mighty Seventh Expeditionary Force, consisting of ten cavalry units, all rendezvoused in front of Ice Mountain City, the capital of the Northern Region, on the tenth day after their separation, without exception. They had swept through and destroyed all nomadic tribes across the Northern Region's snowy plains, and each unit had suffered a small number of casualties, but the vast majority remained in good condition. However, the morale and temperament of the Seventh Expeditionary Force after their rendezvous had undergone a complete and earth-shattering change!
By this moment, the Seventh Expeditionary Force, which had swept across the entire Northern Region's snowy plains, had collectively slaughtered over thirty million Northern Nomads. Even if calculated with the Seventh Expeditionary Force at its full strength of one hundred thousand, each person had, on average, slain three hundred Northern Region people. Their armor, weapons, and hands were thoroughly saturated with the stench of blood, which could never be washed away!
If the Seventh Expeditionary Force that had just arrived at the Empire's northern border was a group of bloodthirsty, warlike savage Danger Beasts, then at this moment, the Seventh Expeditionary Force, reassembled and reorganized in front of Ice Mountain City, was an army of demons that had emerged from a blood-filled hell! They were now a true army forged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. When facing life, they had abandoned the last shred of human compassion. If they were to kill, they would act without hesitation, without a moment of delay, doubt, or reluctance. Because those who couldn't do it had died!
Tohsaka Rin's will had been thoroughly ingrained into the very bones of every warrior in the Seventh Expeditionary Force during this overwhelming war. Unbeknownst to them, Tohsaka Rin's image was faintly reflected in their shadows, exactly mirroring what Tohsaka Rin had once said to the King of Conquerors:
"Every person who follows the King should be an embodiment of the King, a shadow of the King, practicing the King's words and deeds, fulfilling the King's will. All who follow the King, as long as they gaze upon the King's back and follow the footsteps the King has left, will not be lost on their path forward!"
At this moment, everyone in the Seventh Expeditionary Force was upholding Tohsaka Rin's values, scrutinizing everything in this world through Tohsaka Rin's eyes. Each of them had become an embodiment of Tohsaka Rin, a shadow of Tohsaka Rin, following Tohsaka Rin's footsteps. Such a clear path meant they were no longer lost regarding their future; wherever Tohsaka Rin was, that was the focus of their lives.
When they had made all preparations for the final fierce battle and arrived at the Ice Mountain City gates, they saw their Legion Commander, Tohsaka Rin, standing on the broken wall of Ice Mountain City, holding the head of the King of the Northern Region.
"I said before that when we rendezvous in front of Ice Mountain City, that would be the day the Seventh Expeditionary Force returns triumphantly. Now, Ice Mountain City has been breached by me, and the King of the Northern Region has been executed. His head is here. He lost, and I won. I won, which means you won! This expedition has been a complete victory! Seventh Expeditionary Force—"
"Victory! Victory!! Victory!!!"
"Long live the Legion Commander! Long live!! Long live!!!…"
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