All-around teacher at the magic academy

Near the seafood market, amidst the bustling crowd, an old horse-drawn carriage stood out somewhat out of place.

Beside the carriage, Asha sat dejectedly on the ground, her eyes occasionally glancing at Aldo, who was equally silent beside her.

"I'm sorry..." Asha finally couldn't help but whisper, her voice filled with self-reproach.

Aldo turned to look at Asha, his eyes showing no blame, and calmly asked, "What have you done to apologize for?"

Asha bit her lip, looked down at her tangled fingers, and replied softly, "If I hadn't rushed you earlier, you probably wouldn't have been in such a hurry, and you wouldn't have lost the money."

Aldo sighed, slowly crouched down, and looked Asha in the eye.

He gently patted Asha's head and said sincerely, "This has nothing to do with you. It was my carelessness; I didn't keep an eye on the money."

Although losing the money left Aldo feeling bad, as it was a large sum of savings, he didn't blame Asha. Ultimately, he felt he had been too careless.

The loss of this money disrupted what was originally a pleasant trip.

Asha lost interest in continuing her stroll, which made Aldo feel somewhat guilty.

He thought to himself that he must bring Asha back next time to make up for this regret.

"Don't think about it. Maybe this money shouldn't have belonged to us in the first place," Aldo gently comforted Asha.

"We didn't have a proper time to play today. We'll explore properly next time we come."

Asha looked up at Aldo; his words offered her a small comfort, but her heart remained heavy.

Aldo hadn't initially realized the money was missing.

Just as he was happily preparing to buy Asha a beautiful dress and reached into his pocket to pay, he was shocked to find that his purse was gone.

He carefully recalled the whole incident, from when they were picking out goods at a market stall to when he almost fell in the crowd and was helped up by a man.

Aldo thanked him gratefully at the time, but now he thinks that the man probably stole his money bag at that moment.

He gave a wry smile, thinking to himself, "Big cities are really full of tricks."

Although Aldo didn't blame Asha, Asha still felt guilty.

This money was a considerable sum for them, a huge amount they had never possessed before. Their happy day was ruined in that instant.

The two sat silently beside the carriage, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the market and the laughter of people, but these sounds seemed to have nothing to do with them.

They waited quietly for Leon's return.

Half an hour later, the sun had begun to set slightly in the west, and the noise of the market gradually faded into the distance.

Seeing the figures approaching from a distance, Aldo and Asha gradually regained their spirits.

Leon saw them from a distance, and he smiled, waved, and greeted Aldo and Asha.

His steps were light, clearly indicating that he had brought good news.

Approaching them, and seeing their downcast expressions, Leon smiled helplessly and asked, "What's wrong? Didn't you have fun?"

“Something happened, the money is lost…” Aldo explained simply, his voice still carrying a hint of disappointment.

Upon hearing Aldo's explanation, Leon thought to himself, "I knew it."

He had some suspicions before, and now it has been confirmed.

To be honest, he was also surprised, not expecting that the person who stole his money would also take Aldo's money.

He felt a sense of familiarity upon seeing the money pouch in the other person's hand. After getting his money back, he saw the money inside and confirmed that it was Aldo's money pouch.

Seeing that the two were a bit sullen, Leon decided to give them a surprise.

He reached into his pocket, then pulled out a money pouch and waved it in front of the two men.

"Look, what is this?" Leon's tone was tinged with pride, and his smile looked especially warm in the sunlight.

Aldo and Asha weren't initially interested, but when they saw the familiar money bag in Leon's hand, they exchanged an incredulous glance.

"How could this be?" Aldo stood up in surprise, his eyes fixed on the money bag, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

“It’s quite a coincidence,” Leon said with a smile, “my money was also stolen by the same person, so I chased after him for a while and finally got my money back. I didn’t expect that the same person would also steal your money, so I got that back too.”

"This...this is such a coincidence!" Asha clapped her hands excitedly, a long-lost smile appearing on her face, completely devoid of her previous frustration and disappointment.

"Here, check if any money is missing," Leon said, handing the money bag to Aldo.

Aldo carefully took the money bag, his fingers trembling slightly, and opened it to examine it closely.

His eyes finally confirmed the amount of money after counting every coin and every banknote.

"Not a bit less, not even a little bit less."

“You’re amazing, Adam,” Aldo said sincerely, his voice filled with admiration.

"Be careful next time, lest someone else steal it again," Leon warned.

"No, no, next time I'll put it in my inner pocket," Aldo replied with a chuckle, a simple, honest smile on his face, seemingly joking but not entirely serious.

"Shall we go back? It's already past 5 o'clock, and it'll probably be dark by the time we get home," Leon suggested, looking up at the sky.

"Yes, let's go back," Aldo and Asha replied in unison, their mood having completely improved.

On his way back, Aldo also stopped by the market to buy some fresh beef.

He cherished the money he had lost and found, and decided to treat Leon to a good meal to express his gratitude to the siblings.

Looking at the simple brother and sister, whose happiness and contentment were so pure, Leon couldn't help but smile. The two were quite easily satisfied.

.....