On the night of February 20th, there was finally movement in Kalts Village.
The next morning, the 21st.
"Jin, Warehouse 3 was hit last night."
Reinhard had numbered the four warehouses for simplicity. Number 3 was the northernmost of the group.
"Right, I’m on it."
Jin immediately contacted Laojun and traveled to Hourai Island with Reinhard.
『My Lord, Lord Reinhard. The pursuit is already underway,』 Laojun reported.
『The targets are currently moving through the forest to the north.』
Once they had a fix on the location, it was time for the Peeping Telescope.
"Oh, there they are," Jin said as the image came into focus.
"Those are..."
The "Peeper" showed two golems, both of which appeared quite old-fashioned, lugging a massive haul of grain sacks.
"I see, so they’re using golems."
"That certainly explains how they're moving all that weight so easily."
Unaware of the eyes watching from afar, the thieves continued their trek north through the woods.
"Hmm, I feel like I've seen those golems somewhere before..." Jin mused, though the memory remained out of reach.
They were of such primitive construction that he shouldn't have had many opportunities to encounter them.
"Well, maybe I'll remember once I see the real things."
Jin took another look at the feed. There were five men in total. It appeared their hideout was located somewhere on the northern edge of the forest.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Alright, let's move out."
Back at Rankenhaus, Reinhard prepared to set out with his men to apprehend the thieves.
His "force" consisted of only two mansion guards, the Schwarzritter, and five village volunteers. Reiko and Jin’s Doppel were also there to provide support.
Having narrowed down the location with the Peeping Telescope, they approached the base with extreme caution. It took them about two hours to reach the site—a terrain dotted with small, rocky hills that the thieves had utilized to conceal their camp.
"There’s one sentry," Reinhard whispered. "Once we take him out, we’ll move in and suppress them all at once."
Knowing they were only up against five men made the tactical planning much simpler. Reinhard handed the Schwarzritter a Stun magi-device and gave the signal.
In a flash, the Schwarzritter blurred forward with incredible speed, knocking the sentry unconscious before he could even blink. It was a clean application of the Stun device.
"Now, go!"
Reinhard, acknowledging he wasn't built for direct combat, stayed back. The Schwarzritter led the charge into the hideout, followed closely by the two guards. The five village volunteers waited outside, forming a perimeter to catch anyone who tried to bolt.
Reinhard and Jin deployed a barrier and waited for the dust to settle.
Suddenly, one of the thieves burst out from the camp.
"Damn it! Golem, get 'em!"
At his command, a golem emerged from the shadow of a nearby rocky hill. It hadn't been inside the base; it had been hidden separately as an ambush.
"Everyone, get back!" Reinhard shouted to the volunteers. This wasn't a fight they could win.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Fortunately, the thief's golem was sluggish. The five men managed to retreat to a safe distance without a scratch.
"Flame Lance!"
Ensuring no allies were in the line of fire, Reinhard produced his wand and unleashed his magic.
The Flame Lance—the same spell he had used against the Death Sea Serpents in Port Rock Town—struck the golem dead center. The impact tore through its outer plating and instantly liquefied the magi-resin within. The golem slumped over, destroyed and motionless.
"There should have been one more golem..." Reinhard murmured, looking around.
"Lord Reinhard, the second one is inside the hideout," Reiko informed him. "The Schwarzritter has already dealt with it."
"Oh, is that so? Thank you, Reiko."
This intel had come from Laojun, who was still monitoring the situation through the Peeper.
Moments later, the Schwarzritter emerged dragging two thieves by their bound arms. The two guards followed, having tied up another one.
"Good work."
Including the sentry, that made five. They had captured the entire group.
"Phew..." Reinhard let out a long sigh of relief. "We managed it."
Even with Jin and Reiko there, and even with the security of the Fellowship Bracelet, leading an actual raid was a nerve-wracking experience for him.
"This is also part of a lord's duty, I suppose."
Reinhard mentioned that his father, Wolfgang, had been an active participant in such subjugations in his youth. He had been taught that when the man in charge leads from the front, it does wonders for morale.
"Though, I think I've confirmed that I'm not really cut out for rough work," Reinhard admitted.
Still, he added that as long as he had his barrier, he would be willing to accompany them again if the need arose.
The volunteers and the Schwarzritter set about recovering the stolen grain. Since the thieves hadn't had much time to consume the stores, the losses were minimal.
"Well, that’s that. I’m going to go report to my father."
The captured thieves would be sent to the count who ruled this region—Reinhard's father, Wolfgang Randol von Morgan—to await their sentence.
Escorting the thieves with the two guards and the Schwarzritter, Reinhard headed toward his family estate for his first visit in quite some time.
＊ ＊ ＊
With Reinhard off to see his father, Jin returned to Elsa's childhood home. Konron 3 ascended into the sky.
"It looks like Reinhard’s problem is finally solved," Jin said.
"It would seem so, Father."
Jin and Reiko talked in the cabin as they flew. Jin didn't feel like he’d personally done much, but he suspected that having the full backup of Hourai Island had given Reinhard the peace of mind he needed to succeed.
"Still, I have to wonder where those thieves and those golems came from."
"Father, regarding that, it seems Laojun has formed a hypothesis based on what he saw through the Peeping Telescope."
"I see."
By the time they finished their conversation, they had already arrived at the Randol Mansion.
"Jin-nii, welcome back. How... did it go?" Elsa asked, coming out to meet them.
"Everything's fine. I'll tell you the details inside."
"Mm."
Jin explained the sequence of events over green tea in the living room of the mansion.
"I'm glad the thieves were caught," Elsa said, looking visibly relieved. "It would have been a problem if they had started targeting this territory too."
"Yeah. We'll leave their punishment to Reinhard's father. Also, it sounds like Laojun has an idea about who those thieves really were."
"Yes."
Stepping in for Laojun, Reiko began to explain the details of his analysis. Elsa listened intently, nodding as the pieces fell into place.