After a moment of collecting her thoughts, Ms. Wendy said, "You know, this is the first reported bandit attack on children in decades. This might be a good chance to award the 'Guardian of Children' title upon those Adventurers."

  After cleaning up the younger children, Ms. Wendy began to examine Liam's injuries.

  "If the guild decides to confer the title, I can arrange for the eight of you to present the badges to them on stage," Ms. Wendy proposed. "I'll keep you updated, Liam."

  Liam's face lit up with excitement as he asked, "Wow, that sounds amazing! Is everyone okay with this?" He scanned the group, receiving a unanimous nod of agreement.

  Liam suddenly yelled in pain, "Ow!"

  "Don't move, I need to clean this thoroughly," Ms. Wendy said, her brow furrowed in concentration as she applied antiseptic to Liam's forearm. "This shouldn't leave a scar," she then added.

  After a moment of silence, during which everyone focused on Ms. Wendy and Liam, Roth broke the stillness with, "We'd still love to give them a personal, handmade gift. Something special that comes from us."

  "Alright, how about a hand-drawn picture book, telling the story of how they saved you all?" Ms. Wendy suggested.

  The children all looked at each other, their eyes sparkling, before nodding in unison. "That sounds perfect!"

  "Alright, get creative! I'll keep you posted about the award ceremony. Feel free to use the activity room on the second floor; just remember to clean up after yourselves, okay?" Ms. Wendy said with a warm smile. "He will join you all soon after," she added, turning her attention back to Liam, whose lips had curled into a subtle, discontented pout.

  "We'll wait for your news, Ms. Wendy. Thank you," Roth said, bowing respectfully to Ms. Wendy, with the rest of the children following suit.

  "No problem. Please, feel free to come to me if you need help with anything," Ms. Wendy replied as the children left.

  "This way!" Roth exclaimed with a hand gesture, leading the group toward the stairs.

  The seven children trudged up the stairs at the end of the hallway to reach the second floor. The morning's ordeal had left them exhausted, causing them to grasp the handrail for support while climbing up. Nathan, who had exerted himself more than anyone, depleting all his Mana to create the traps and carrying Ashley on his back during their frantic escape, was lagging behind the group.

  "I cramped up," Nathan said, wincing in pain. "I'll catch up later; go ahead first."

  Arielle then crouched down beside Nathan, gently massaging his tensed muscle as she inquired, "Is the cramp here?"

  "Alright," Raymond said, "it's the first room on your right on the second floor. You can't miss it."

  "Ow!" Kevin groaned in pain, his voice laced with frustration, as he muttered, "I'm cramping too."

  "Me too," Roth said, holding his legs. The red-haired boy, having followed closely behind Liam and helped trim off sharp branches during their run using Divine Spell: Reinforced Blade, had also exerted much of his Mana.

  Raymond rolled his eyes, shook his head, and muttered, "Gosh," before covering his face with his right hand.

  Ashley giggled at Raymond's reaction. Then, all of a sudden, everyone laughed together at the scene.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  Upon climbing up the stairs, they entered the activity room. Roth flipped the light switch, and as the lights flickered on, the room transformed into a vibrant children's haven, captivating Nathan's attention. Board games, toy cars, dolls, and all kinds of toys were neatly arranged on the cabinets surrounding the room. Beneath them, carpets printed with colorful roads and houses welcomed their entry. Child-sized desks and chairs were orderly arranged on one side of the room, allowing spaces for different kinds of games. Roth's gaze swept across the space before coming to rest on Nathan, Arielle, and Ashley, their faces alight with curiosity as they took in their unfamiliar surroundings. "I know some of you aren't orphans," he said with a gentle smile, "but please, make yourselves at home. I'll get the paper and crayons."

  As Gordon and Kevin settled in beside the siblings, Raymond trailed after Roth, saying, "I'll get the new crayons; they're usually stored in here." Then, he headed towards the storage cabinet.

  "Thanks," Roth said, his face widening into a big smile, glad that the initially reluctant Raymond was finally showing some enthusiasm.

  "I'm very grateful for them saving us, too." Raymond said as he opened a cabinet's door and took out several boxes of brand new crayons, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have joined."

  After retrieving papers and crayons, Roth took command and said, "Why don't each of us draw a page for the picture book?"

  "That's a good idea!" Several of them exclaimed in unison.

  Then, the children gathered around, brainstorming the sequence for the picture book:

  Page 1: Bandit Chase - Roth

  Page 2: Broken Wheel - Arielle

  Page 3: Adventurers Repelling Bandits - Gordon

  Page 4: Mounted Bandits in Front - Raymond

  Page 5: Liam's Mountain Trail - Liam

  Page 6: Nathan's Traps - Nathan

  Page 7: Louis on a Tree - Ashley

  Page 8: Victory - Kevin

  Liam soon opened the door to the activity room and came in, saying, "How is it going?"

  Seeing that Liam's forearms and legs were now covered by gauze, Kevin ran toward Liam and said to him, "Liam! Thank you for leading the way and for carrying me."

  Seizing the opportunity, the group voiced their gratitude, "Thank you, Liam!" "Thanks!" "We couldn't have escaped without you."

  "You're welcome!" Liam answered with a warm smile.

  As the evening unfolded, the children poured their creativity into the picture book, spending the next two hours bringing their story to life. They decided to make thirteen copies of the book, one for each of the five Adventurers and one for each of themselves to treasure. As the evening drew to a close, the children made plans to paint the books at home, assemble them next Saturday, and proudly present one copy to Louis when they next meet.

  Raymond said as soon as they got back to the guild's reception hall, "See you next week," as he walked away.

  "I gotta go, but I will be there Saturday morning if you need me." Roth said.

  "Same here," Nathan said.

  "See you all next Saturday!" Liam called out, waving enthusiastically as the children dispersed, each one returning a cheerful goodbye.

  Hand in hand, Nathan and Ashley led the way home, with Arielle trailing behind; all three were lost in thought.

  "Arielle, are you okay?" Nathan asked, as the typically energetic Arielle had been very quiet.

  "I'm fine. Just thinking over things," Arielle replied, reassuring Nathan.

  Ashley remained silent, clinging closely to Nathan.

  It was 7:30 pm when they got home. "Welcome back, you three!" Chana exclaimed, her voice laced with worry, as she warmly enveloped Nathan, Arielle, and Ashley in a concerned gaze. "We just heard the news from Grandpa and Dad. Are you all alright? They're worried sick!"

  "Don't worry, we're fine," Nathan reassured, offering a weary yet comforting smile as he gently patted Chana's head.

  "Just relax on the sofa. Thomas, Chana, and I will get everything ready. You've all had a long, trying day," Maya said, her voice soothing and reassuring. "Harold is going to buy something extra to celebrate the three of you coming back safely."

  "Okay thanks," Nathan said, his exhaustion apparent.

  As soon as Nathan sank into the sofa, his eyelids grew heavy, and he drifted off to sleep. Arielle snuggled up beside him, while Ashley rested her head on his shoulder. Shortly after, Arielle drifted off as well, her head nestling comfortably against Nathan's other shoulder, forming a heartwarming, sleepy trio.

  In about half an hour, Patrick and Harold returned home.

  "We bought a bucket of Mr. Ken's Fried Chicken and a cheesecake," Harold said in the foyer. "Eat as much as you can!"

  "Shh! They're sleeping," Chana said, running toward her dad and gesturing for him to quiet down.

  "It's okay," Nathan said, opening his eyes with a smile, "I'm up."

  Tonight, Maya prepared white rice, mac and cheese, pork bone soup, and pan-fried vegetables, which were dishes that Jonathan and Ana would usually cook. Ever since the family had settled down in their new home, Maya had continued to perfect and recreate Ana's recipes.

  The dinner was a quiet, comfortable affair, with the family savoring their food and each other's company in contented silence. Nathan, Arielle, and Ashley were apparently very hungry, stuffing down one mouthful after another.