Tearmill City was a drab little city full of colorless buildings made with brick and mortar, none of which were aesthetically pleasing to the eye at all.

The roads weren’t properly made either, so puddles were all around the roadside, made by people watering the road so that it wouldn’t let out dust during the day.

Ning and Tim followed Jasmine as they walked through the city, walking past many small and large buildings.

“Are you guys hungry? I need to get something for the kids from the bakery,” she said.

“Tim, get what you want to eat. We’ll go meet with the kids and leave later tonight. We should have plenty of time to make it to the Waterford City before sunrise tomorrow.”

Tim nodded.

After buying something to eat, they walked through similar-looking roads and alleyways, making their way to a slightly worse part of town with buildings crammed all around.

Jasmine finally pointed to a two-story building up ahead and said, “That’s my house. That’s where I keep them.”

Ning looked around. “This is not a very good part of the town, is it?” he asked.

“No, it’s not,” Jasmine said. “This is so bad that the cops won’t even come to check on us if anything less than a mass brawl broke out.”

“And you chose to keep the kids here?” Ning asked.

“I have no other choice,” she said.

Ning frowned a bit. “What about all the money you steal? Shouldn’t you earn enough from robbing people to have these people live a much better life?’ he asked.

Jasmine frowned a little and glared back at Ning. “You know nothing about my situation, so don’t judge me,” she said.

Ning shrugged. “True. Why don’t you tell me then?” he asked. Jasmine turned around and walked to her home without saying anything. She knocked on the door, and a few moments later it opened wide.

“Sister Jas! You’re back!” a young girl of about 10 years of age, with slightly orange hair tied in twin tails, ran out and hugged Jasmine tightly.

“Ella, why did you open the door?” she asked. “I taught you guys to ask who it is first.”

“I knew it was you. I could you coming from the window,” the young girl grinned. She turned toward Ning and Tim and cocked her head sideways. “Who are they?”

“My friends,” Jasmine said. “Are you hungry? I brought some pastries.”

“Pastries? Yay!” the young girl named Ella rushed back inside, shouting ‘Sister Jas is back!!’ as she made her way through the house.

3 boys and 2 girls showed their heads outside various doors immediately and came out to greet Jasmine. The last two, a girl around 13 and a boy around 14 were in the kitchen, preparing breakfasts for the rest of the kids.

“Terry, Holly, how are you two? Were the others being a trouble while I was gone?” Jasmine asked as she placed the pastries on the table.

“They were fine. I didn’t know you would be coming so soon, sister Jasmine. Didn’t you say you would stay out for 4 days? It’s only been 2.”

“I came for a quick visit. I will have to leave later again,” Jasmine answered.

“You weren’t supposed to get off on this platform today?” Ning asked.

“My ticket was meant for the next town over. But since I got nothing, there isn’t much I can do about it,” she said.

“How did your work go? Did you manage to earn anything?” the young boy asked.

“Well, not really. No one was interested in my magic show this time around,” she said while silently glaring at Ning and Tim to not speak anything.

Ning shrugged softly. It appeared that the kids did not know about what she really did to earn money here.

Jasmine spent some time with the kids while Ning and Tim waited for them to all do their own thing. A bit later, the kids all went to school and the 3 were all alone.

“So, how can you help them? I’m curious,” Jasmine said. “They are good kids, as you saw.”

“I did,” Ning said. “And I’m very curious about what is going on here. You clearly are a very good thief thanks to your treasure, so how come you live so poorly? What happens to all the money?”

Jasmine took a moment to gather her thoughts and took a deep breath. “I’m in debt. I spend everything I get to pay the debt.”

“How much debt? Can we help?” Ning asked.

“52 thousand gold coins,” she said.

Tim’s eyes went wide in shock. “I’m sorry, what? 52 thousand?” he asked. That was like 52 gold bricks. A person with 10 gold bricks would be considered quite rich. And she owed someone 52 of them?

“That’s a lot of money to be in debt for. How come?” Ning asked.

Jasmine shrugged. “Made bad decisions as a child. I was stupid and did what I had to survive back then on the streets after I ran away from the orphanage.”

“There’s a man that gives out loans for anyone who wants it. But in exchange, he asks for 100 times the loaned amount in return,” she said. “Anyone with half a brain would know that is a bad deal. But as a kid with a corner in the alleyway to call home and a stomach that was never full, nothing looked more desirable than that.”

“A small amount isn’t that bad. A few gold coins and then pay them back a few hundred slowly. They never press you for the coins anyway.”

“But because of these kids, I had to get them a house and so I took out around 600 gold coins. It didn’t matter that I would have to work my whole life to pay off that debt if it meant these kids got a good life instead.”

“I see,” Ning said. “And you can’t just run away with that money, I presume. There has to be a reason he’s so accepting of people not paying him back in time.”

“He is,” Jasmine said. “That man has one of the most powerful Zurin treasures in the whole planet.”