“I don’t know why, probably it’s just the motherly instincts in me, but that time when I heard that my kid hurt himself, I had just dropped everything else, no matter how urgent, just to be at his side a moment sooner. Needless to say, quite a few people didn’t take it kindly, but the party leader was fortunately on my side and excused that incident.

After all, he was a father himself, and likely knew what went through my mind.” - Eris de Blanche, former adventurer, when asked why she once dropped an important, high-paying assignment and ran back to her home.

While equal parts of curiosity and anxiety warred in his heart, Reinhardt knew better than to bother the duke by asking about the details of the matter he had just mentioned, and just nodded politely in thanks before he left after a little more small talk. His steps as he walked out of the Ducal Mansion was notably faster, however, as if he was in a hurry to go elsewhere. Elfriede and the others beside him also noticed and understood how he must have felt, so they similarly kept up with his fast pace.

Fortunately, by then the crowd that had gathered to welcome them in the city had mostly dispersed - many to welcome back or mourn their loved ones - so their path back towards the gate was unimpeded. Reinhardt also calmed down somewhat as he remembered that the encampment was orderly and showed no signs of panic when they passed by on their return.

Had there been any emergency that was worth calling his attention to, someone from the camp would have accosted them before they even entered the city in the first place. The lack of such a messenger meant that whatever the situation might be, it was likely nothing that would be considered too serious by the elders that remained at the camp.

As such, when a constable under the Guard Captain met his group on their way out of the City and invited him for a short visit, he took the offer with Elfriede, while he told the rest of his lieutenants to head back to the encampment ahead of him. The City Guard’s main office and barracks was a bit further westwards from the Ducal Mansion, but still near the center of the city, and there he was met by the old Guard Captain himself.

“Ah, greetings, Captain Edelstein. Thank you for taking time to visit this old man,” said the Guard Captain, who most just referred to as the “Old Man” due to his advanced age. A former mercenary himself, the Old Man still maintained a robust physique despite his age, and could often be seen on patrols along with many much younger members of the guards. “We of the City Guards are indebted to you and yours, so please accept this token of our gratitude.”

After the Guard Captain gave a short bow to Reinhardt and Elfriede, one of the younger guards passed them a basket of delicacies and sweets, which made him raise his eyebrow a bit, along with a small storage ring that was loaded with a reasonable sum of coins. The odd gift had made Reinhardt wonder why the Old Man had given them sweets of all things, but his next words soon clarified it.

“The kidnappers your children had caught were infamous, and had bounties all over the Kingdom before this mess broke out. The bounty was still valid, and we had placed its entirety in the ring,” explained the Guard Captain. “As for the basket, it is a token of our gratitude for their bravery and effort, and a small gesture of thanks since catching these criminals had allowed us to uncover the rot within our own establishment.”

“Well, glad that we could be of help, sir Grange,” replied Reinhardt with a nod. He made some more small talk with the Guard Captain before he left the office, and as he left, Elfriede met him, as she had asked around to find out what exactly happened during their absence. Part of it Reinhardt had guessed from the congratulations he had received, while others only came to light after Elfriede asked around a bit more.

It turned out that a wanted band of kidnappers had attempted to snatch the children they had left behind, only to find the tables turned on them by said children instead. Reinhardt was not too surprised when he heard that, as he knew all too well just how hard the children had actually trained despite their young age, much less with Mischka’s grandkids in the mix, each of which would already give many human adults a run for their money on their own.

Apparently one of the kidnappers that had been turned in to the guards - Reinhardt was told that out of the seven captured, two were detained by his people for reasons unknown, while the other five were turned in to the guards - had confessed to bribing the vice-captain of the guards to lighten their patrols when they made their move. That combined with the distance of the hill where the children played from the city proper meant that the guards had no idea what happened until the kidnappers were turned in.

Naturally, the old Guard Captain had not taken the news lightly, and in the three days since, had started an investigation into the alleged bribery which impacted several of his subordinates. All the regular guards who were found to have accepted a bribe to turn a blind eye were cashiered from the corps, while the officers were not only stripped of their rank, but also thrown to jail, their fates pending a proper trial in the near future.

Given how nobody had mentioned anything about the children, Reinhardt breathed in relief since it likely meant that nothing serious happened to them. His guess was proven right when he returned to the encampment, which had already welcomed the rest of the Company’s return, and he was greeted with the sight of his two daughters running over as they leapt to his embrace.

For a moment, Reinhardt and Elfriede just stood still as they embraced the two girls and enjoyed that moment of togetherness between them, before he finally roused himself from the pleasant hug and walked deeper into the camp to inquire the details of the incident, with Alycea riding on his shoulders and Erycea walking between him and Elfriede.