Back at the guild, the atmosphere was lively, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood. I think they enjoyed scaring Ricky and his men. Tim was sitting with the three kids, and the girls from the guild were feeding them. Little Clare was awake now, too, and she had eaten more than Jonathan and Alfie combined.

"What are you going to do with them?" Sebastian, the guild master, asked as we stood at the desk of the guild, which was directly across from the front doors.

"I don't know. It's not like I can leave them alone now; they'll end up in the same situation," I replied honestly.

"I have an idea," he said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"You have room at your home, but I don't think they will accept... From the looks of it, they've taken to Timothy, so they might not want to be apart from him. You have barns, don't you? Offer the kids the barns; they won't be in your way, and it's a safe place to live."

"Do you think they will accept that? I can feed them if they are in the barns."

"I think so. I will also offer them part-time work, and Lois here offered to school them; she used to be a teacher." I looked over the desk and saw Silver Lois. She was always kind and warm-hearted. I could see why she had been a teacher at one point. Her blue eyes and silver hair shone in the dark, and her white dress made her seem like she was floating around the guild. She was a favourite among the guild members due to her warmth and good looks.

"Thank you," I said to Lois. Her face flushed a bit. "I'll go talk to the kids."

When I made my offer, Jonathan stared at me seriously. "A barn!?" he said, putting his piece of bread down. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, is that okay?" I felt like I might have offended him, but then, for the first time, Jonathan smiled. Clare grabbed my leg, and little Alfie began to cry.

"That's good, thank you," Jonathan said, fighting back tears. I then told them about the guild's offer of part-time jobs and schooling, and suddenly, Jonathan began crying uncontrollably.

I left Tim to talk to the kids; he seemed to calm them down, and they relaxed as they listened to his words.

Later that day, I walked back home with Tim and the kids. They became more excited as the streets got nicer, wondering where my house was. When we arrived, their jaws dropped. I took them around to the barns. I offered them rooms in the house, but they insisted that the barns were enough and that they couldn't accept a room at my house because they hadn't earned it.

"You are children; you don't need to earn anything," I said, standing in my barn garden between the barns and house. "You three should focus on being kids, enjoying yourselves, learning new things, and making friends. An adult's job is to look after the young ones so they never have to worry about earning a room."

Even after that, they were still determined to stay in the barns, and I couldn't argue anymore. Tim came out with more food for the kids and helped them fix their beds in the barns. He was quite experienced when it came to staying in barns.

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of breakfast. Timothy had made a feast.

"I'm going to invite the kids... Is that okay?" Tim asked, looking joyful in his massive white sleeping gown.

"Tim, why are you looking after them so much?" The words slipped out before I could stop them. Tim paused in the doorway.

"When I was 11 years old, my family was fleeing a war. My dad was killed, and then my mum; it was just me and my four younger siblings. I couldn't save them. I ended up here by myself, and I've regretted everything. If only I had been stronger, I could have saved them all."

"I'm sorry for asking, Tim," I said. "That must have been tough." Tim didn’t respond. He left and returned with the kids, wearing a smile on his face as if he hadn't just shared the saddest moments of his life. The kids came in looking both uncomfortable and impressed.

"Please come in, take a seat, and eat whatever you want," I said, noticing that they were still dirty and their clothes were torn in various places.

We ate our food in peace. No one spoke; the food was enjoyed, and the kids were happy.

"Tim, I'm going to the dungeon. Do me a favour." I pulled out a sack of gold coins. I had been able to make decent money from grinding in the guild, collecting items in the dungeons, selling them, and completing guild quests. "Before the kids go to the guild, make sure they have a nice bath and take them to the clothes shop to get a few things. They live with us now; we can't let anyone think we aren't taking care of them." I tossed a money sack over to Tim, and it landed on the table with a thud. The kids looked at me, shocked. I smiled and turned to leave. Clare, sitting next to me, looked up and I patted her head.

"Have a good day, sweetie. Bye, boys."