Can Children Really Be Held Responsible?

The first to reach Azu in front of the warehouse was Yohane.

Alexia and Elza followed close behind.

"So these are the ones who came to rob us."

Two were sprawled on the ground.

One was slumped against the wall, dazed from being thrown into it.

"That's right. I confirmed they were trying to break the warehouse lock, so I subdued them."

"I see. Good work."

"Thank you."

Yohane patted Azu on the shoulder in praise.

The ones lying on the floor clutching their legs were boys.

"Tie them up for now. Kids or not, we caught them in the act."

"Okay!"

Elza pulled the boys' arms behind their backs and bound them tight.

"Ow, what are you doing?!"

"Let go!"

"You don't even understand the position you're in… Honestly."

Yohane let out a sigh.

He crouched down and brought his eyes level with the boys, staring straight at them.

"Wh-what…?"

"First, shut up unless I ask a question. Got it? You broke into my shop without permission. If I say you resisted when I tried to restrain you, I could snap a bone or two and nobody would bat an eye."

That got them to finally quiet down.

Azu glaring from behind Yohane made the threat all the more convincing.

She'd just taken down the boys without breaking a sweat. Even children could imagine she'd have no trouble breaking a bone if she wanted to.

"Now then, the last one."

Yohane stood and approached the final intruder.

They were motionless. Knocked out, perhaps.

He lifted the face that was pressed against the floor and saw someone he recognized.

It was Kanaha Karolink, the employee who'd disappeared.

He released her face.

He'd clicked his tongue without realizing it.

Azu came over with rope in hand.

She noticed something different about Yohane's demeanor and spoke up.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Tie this one up too and bring them all to my room."

"Understood."

They bound all three so they couldn't escape, woke Kanaha, and moved them.

Kanaha noticed Yohane was there but said nothing, maintaining her silence.

It was nearly the middle of the night.

In the pitch-dark room, they lit a lamp and started a fire in the hearth.

"Getting cold these days. Winter's almost here."

"It is."

"Now then."

Yohane sat in his chair, Azu and the others flanking him on either side.

Kanaha and the children sat on the bare floor.

The hearth helped, but the floor was still cold.

The rug that normally covered it had been put away.

"I'm going to ask you questions. Answer honestly. I don't recommend lying. It'll only make me less sympathetic."

He tapped his right index finger on the desk three times.

"First, Kanaha. When you vanished, I had my suspicions, but…"

He looked at Kanaha as he spoke.

She said nothing, keeping her head down.

"Not going to talk, huh. You should've known you could earn plenty for your age working at my shop. Fine. I'll ask you two instead."

"Wh-what?"

"Were you the ones who broke in and stole from us before?"

The two boys exchanged glances.

They seemed to be debating whether to talk, but they didn't realize that their hesitation was answer enough.

"Want me to hand you over to the guard patrol right now? Breaking and entering plus theft means a flogging is guaranteed."

"It was us, it was us who did it!"

One of the boys blurted it out the instant he heard the word flogging.

A flogging was said to be harsh enough to kill from the shock of the pain.

For children, it would be especially brutal.

"Was Kanaha there too?"

"She was. The three of us did it."

So these were, without a doubt, the thieves who'd hit his shop.

"I see. And what did you do with what you stole? Sell it on the black market?"

"… We handed it over."

"To whom?"

"Don't wanna say."

With that, the boys fell silent too.

Yohane put both hands behind his head with a sigh.

If the children had been the masterminds behind the thefts, profiting off their own cleverness, it would've been simple.

But the method was a bit too sophisticated for kids, and they'd handed off the stolen goods to someone else.

Better to assume an adult was pulling the strings.

Kanaha's silence probably had to do with that person.

The children's clothes weren't in great shape, but they weren't in rags either.

The two boys did look a bit thin, though.

Yohane opened a packet of sweets sitting on his desk.

A sweet aroma filled the room.

The boys' stomachs let out a loud rumble.

"Hungry?"

"Can we really?"

"Sure. Of course."

He passed them to Azu, who set them in front of the boys.

"Untie them."

Alexia nodded and loosened the ropes so they could eat.

The two boys dug in frantically.

From the way they ate, it was clear they hadn't been getting enough food.

Kanaha tried not to look at the sweets at first, but hunger won out and she started eating too.

Watching them, Yohane found it hard to stay angry.

These children were going hungry and had stolen from him. Knowing that, was it really an adult's place to direct their anger at kids?

Of course, they had to be punished.

Letting them off scot-free would set a bad precedent.

Especially Kanaha. She'd repaid his kindness with betrayal.

Once the sweets were gone, the loosened ropes seemed to have eased some of the children's tension.

"Let me ask a different question, then. Why steal? There's no shortage of odd jobs if you look. Running errands and such."

Becoming an adventurer and taking on the safest quests available would be enough to get by day to day.

The risk-reward ratio of theft didn't add up in the first place.

Unless you were truly desperate, you wouldn't resort to it.

And if children didn't understand that, it was an adult's job to teach them.

"Because we were told to—"

"Hey!"

"Oh."

"Sigh…"

One boy answered without thinking, and the other hastily tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Seeing this, Kanaha finally opened her mouth.

She pushed her hair back with an irritated gesture.

"I apologize for stealing. Young sir, will you hear me out?"

"That's what we've been doing."

"After you hear me out, please don't just say it's not your problem."

"Fine. Talk."