Chapter 22 – Things That Are Normal in This World

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It happened in an instant.
It was when Ati and I were buying cotton candy from a stall.
After a long carriage ride, perhaps we had let our guard down a bit.
When I received the cotton candy, I ended up placing my money-filled bag at my feet.
That was the moment.

—Bam.

And with that, a child bumped into me.

“Hehe, sorry, Onii-san.”

“It’s fine. More importantly, are you hurt––?”

“––Idiot! How stupid can you be?! Heehee!”

Flashing a gap-toothed smile, the child took off at a dead run, clutching my money-filled bag.

Oh no! A snatch-and-grab!

That was my entire fortune. It held over 10 million rob. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to board a ship—or I’d be completely penniless. I wouldn’t even be able to find a place to stay tonight.

“W-wait!”

I hurriedly chased after him. But the child was surprisingly fast, deftly weaving through the crowd.

If this keeps up, I’ll lose him. “Damn it,” I thought, clicking my tongue—and at that moment, the child, who was about to dart into an alley, suddenly stumbled as if startled by something.

I don’t know what it was, but it saved me…

I immediately caught up to the child and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up.

“You’re going to give me back my bag.”

“Ah, ah, ah…!”

Perhaps he was so shocked to have been caught that he kept opening and closing his mouth in astonishment. Or so I thought. Then I suddenly noticed his gaze wasn’t on me but fixed on the ground. There was a small hole in the pavement—as if it had been riddled with bullets…

…Bullets? No way.

I had a suspicion, so I slowly turned around. And sure enough, I saw Ati, having just finished firing, slung her sniper rifle over her shoulder.

It wasn’t my catching him that had startled the child—it was because Ati had fired a bullet into the ground at his feet.

I didn’t hear the gunshot because the sniper rifle was equipped with a suppressor, and the noise was drowned out by the crowd’s din.

“…Rest assured. I had no intention of hitting him. It was merely a warning shot to get him to stop.”

That statement was probably true—I know it, having seen Ati’s skill. If she set her mind to it, even in this crowded area, it would be easy for her to pop someone’s head off.

(But isn’t that a bit too much of a scare…?)

I looked perplexed, wondering if she had gone too far. Then Ati’s expression grew a little stern.

“This is the money of the esteemed Harold-sama. If it’s stolen, it’ll be a disaster. Moreover, even for a child, there are things that are acceptable and things that are not.”

“Y-yes, absolutely.”

With a snort as Ati huffed, I inexplicably felt cowed. Somehow, I didn’t think I could win if this turned into an argument. So, still holding the child by the scruff, I decided to move to another location without saying another word.

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The child who snatched my bag was wearing clothes that, on closer inspection, looked like tattered scraps. He also smelled strongly of something and definitely didn’t look clean at all.

“Did you want money?”

I asked. Judging by his appearance, he might be suffering from poverty. However,

“……”

The child didn’t explain his situation. Occasionally, a word would slip out, but almost everything was along the lines of “Shut up” or “There’s no need to explain,” and so on. Not cute at all.

“You can’t just take someone else’s money, you know?”

This time, Ati addressed the child.
But her reaction was pretty much the same as when I confronted her.

“Shut up, ugly.”

At that, Ati’s eyes twitched at the corners.
After all, she’s a girl—being called ugly, even if it isn’t true, is bound to irritate her.

It’s okay.
I know full well that Ati is both cute and beautiful.

But at this rate, we’re getting nowhere…
If I knew her reasons, I could figure out how to set her straight—and maybe even get her to say she’s sorry.
Once it got that far, I’d just let her go.

(I mean, I could just leave her alone, but…)

Still, if I left her be, I had a feeling she’d eventually do something irreversible.
That thought gave me a bad feeling.

I groaned.
What should I do, I wondered.

After a while, I saw a young woman running over toward us.

“—Ah, Madi, you were here of all places!”
“M-ma, Mom…”

It appears she is her mother.
Her child—Madi—is dressed in the same shabby clothes.
The mother ran up to her and hugged her tightly.

“What were you doing? And who are these people…?”

“N-no, it’s nothing.”

“That can’t be all… Um, was something done to our child?”

The mother looked our way with an apologetic expression as she asked.
I hesitated for a moment but decided to tell her everything.
I figured a good scolding from her would serve as a proper lesson for the child.

“Actually…” I began.

After listening to everything, the mother shed a single tear and repeatedly bowed her head.

“Later, I’ll give you a good talking-to. I’m so sorry—about what our child did…”

“No, the money came back in the end, so I’m not that angry. But you really need to teach her not to do stuff like this—someday, it could lead to something irreversible.”

“I do teach her—I do, but—”

“—Mom, shut up! Money fixes everything! With money, Dad can be saved! Debts can be paid off!”

Interrupting her mother’s words with a glare, Madi ran off somewhere.

“Ah, Madi, wait up!”

The mother started chasing after her child, her footsteps pattering away.

…It seems there’s a lot more going on here.

I let out a sigh.
Then, Ati’s expression turned inscrutable.

“…It’s a story you see everywhere.”

What she said was spot on.
It’s just one of those everyday tales—kids from underprivileged homes, burdened with various circumstances, end up turning to crime.
In this world, it’s nothing out of the ordinary.