Shortly after Ben defeated Joran, a lot of people came to their location. It was the mayor and her men. They had been informed of the situation by Reymond. Ben was glad they didn't show up while Joran was still conscious or he would've needed to protect them as well.
"As I thought, I can always rely on you Ben." The mayor said as her men took care of the hostages and defeated dark mages.
"Sorry, but I don't want you to rely on me too much. It's annoying." Ben replied.
"Ha ha ha, alright, I won't rely on you that often. I'll just prioritize you if I need a mage's help." The mayor laughed.
"That's the same thing." Ben sweat dropped.
"Hey, you." Elefsia suddenly called out.
Ben and the mayor look at the noble's daughter who had a white cloth covering her body now.
"What's wrong, Elefsia?" The mayor asked the little girl.
"Not you auntie, but him." Elefsia pointed to Ben.
"Me?" Ben repeated, confused.
"Yes, you. Ca-can you be my bodyguard? My parents will pay you a lot of money." Elefsia begged.
Ben was stunned by the sudden request, and this also surprised the mayor.
"Sorry, but I can't do that. I don't like being tied down in one job like that." Ben apologized.
"W-why? We can pay you a lot. Yo-you'll also be freer then the other bodyguards." Elefsia said with trembling hands.
Ben noticed this and knew why she suddenly asked him to be her bodyguard. He crouched down to make eye contact and patted her on the head.
"Don't worry, you are safe now, you don't need to be scared anymore. Your parents will make sure that you are a lot safer from now on, so this won't happen again." Ben said.
"B-but." Elefsia said before Ben hugged the little girl and patted her on the head.
"It's okay, don't be afraid anymore. I'm here now, everyone is here. There's no bad guy anymore, you're safe." Ben said kindly.
Elefsia started to cry in Ben's arms and he stood still. The mayor realized what just happened and smiled softly. She never thought Ben could be this understanding at his age.
The little girl continued to cry until she got tired and fell asleep. She had been under a lot of stress after being held hostage for 2 days. Even adults would be traumatized by this, not just a little girl.
Ben picked her up and carried her like a princess. A maid who came to the scene with the mayor wanted to take over, but Elefsia held on Ben's clothes tightly and unconsciously. They just laugh and let her stay like that.
"She must feel safe with you." The maid said.
"Yeah, and it seems the other kids feel the same way." The mayor said as she looked back.
Ben raised an eyebrow and looked back too. He saw the other 7 kids gather together and look at him. No, they looked at Elefsia with envious expressions then look at Ben with hope in their eyes. His mouth twitched but he could only sigh after seeing this.
"Sorry, but I can't carry all of you. I only have 2 hands here." Ben said apologetically.
The kids were disappointed and Ben felt bad.
"He can't carry you, but is it okay if you stay with him until we reach the town?" The mayor asked after crouching down in front of the kids.
The kids look at each other while nodding at the same time. The mayor smiled and patted their heads before calling for her men. Ben raised his eyebrow because he had no idea what the mayor had in mind.
Soon, some open carts that were pulled by 2 horses approach them. The mayor had prepared their carts to transport the hostages back to the town. These carts were slow, so it took them a while to arrive.
Ben now understood what she meant and smiled. The kids then climb into the cart and Ben accompanied them along with Elefsia and Bella. After he sat down, the kids rush to get closer to him and it made the adults laugh.
'Why did I become a babysitter all of a sudden?' Ben thought in his mind.
They all return to the town and the kids fell asleep along the way. They sleep with their heads on Ben's legs and they all are holding onto his pants so he can't move.
"You are really popular, huh?" The cart driver jokingly asked.
"I hope I'm more popular with girls than kids." Ben jokingly said.
"Ha ha, don't worry, you are handsome, so girls will like you. Maybe you just don't realize it. Besides, girls like a man that is kind to children, at least good girls are. Look! Even those girls keep looking at you." The driver said as he pointed to the girls in the cart in front of them.
The girls around his age that were kidnapped are looking at him now. They all look away when the driver pointed at them and Ben looked at them.
"No! Ben with Mira." Bella suddenly said, shocking him.
"Oho, so you already have a girlfriend?" The driver asked with a smirk.
"No, she's just a friend, not my girlfriend. Well, not yet, at least." Ben admitted.
He didn't know that Bella paired him up with Mira already, so it surprised him. The driver laughs teasingly and started to give Ben some tips to get close to a girl. Ben just sighed and listened to it because he can only talk with the driver to kill time.
The group arrived at the town after an hour because they drove slowly. It was difficult for the carts to move in the forest. But at least there wasn't a issue on the way back.
A lot of people gathered in front of the town gate. They were the families of the hostages and curious bystanders. Ben woke the kids up and told them that they had arrived.
The kids wake up and look around. They see a lot of people and then spot their families. So they start to cry and almost jumped off the cart, but Ben and some of the mayor's men stopped them in the nick of time.
Some of the mayor's men slowly help them off the cart. They then immediately run to their parents while crying loudly. Their families also run at them and hug each other while crying.
Elefsia also woke up due to the commotion and looked around curiously. She saw a lot of people there and then saw a pair of well dressed young adults. They have haggard face even though their clothes are pretty and they frantically run to her location.
"Papa! Mama!" Elefsia shouted before trying to jump out of the cart
Ben caught her because it was very dangerous. He carried her again before leaping off the cart. Then he walked over to her parents and put her down in front of them so they can hug each other.
"Thank you, thank you so much for saving our daughter. I don't know to repay you." Elefsia's father said.
"Don't worry about it, it's my job." Ben shrugged his shoulders.
"No, we still need to repay you. Just say what you want, we will give it to you if we can." Elefsia's father was persistent.
"We can talk later. Just focus on your daughter now." Ben sighed.
Elefsia's father nodded and checked on his daughter again. Ben turned around to meet the mayor, but someone held onto his pants, so he stopped. He looked back and saw that Elefsia held onto his pants.
"Don't leave." Elefsia begged with tears in her eyes.
"Ugh!" Ben felt his heart being stabbed after seeing her cute face.
"I just want to meet the mayor to take care of the bad guys." He told Elefsia.
"B-But." Elefsia protested before her father cut her off.
"Elefsia, you can see him after you rest. He won't leave the town anytime soon, so don't worry." Elefsia's father said.
The little girl looked down and nodded before releasing his grip. Ben rubbed her hair before leaving to meet the mayor.
"I'm always weak when it comes to children." Ben said as he walked away.