"Being able to decide my own path is scary."
Haru said with a trembling voice.
"Freedom is scary?" Noa asked curiously.
"Because if I'm wrong, it's all my fault."
Simon said quietly. "I'm reminded of Sartre's words. 'Man is condemned to be free.'"
"Condemned?" Haru looked up.
"It means freedom is not a gift but a burden."
Noa thought. "But without freedom, you can't choose."
"If you can't choose, there's no responsibility," Haru said.
"Is that easier?" Simon asked.
"...It might be easier. But empty."
"There it is," Simon nodded. "Freedom and responsibility are a set."
Haru was confused. "Why?"
"You can bear responsibility because you had choices. Without options, no responsibility arises."
Noa supplemented. "When a stone falls, the stone has no responsibility. Because it has no will."
"So someone without free will has no responsibility?"
"Yes. That's why law considers people in a state of insanity to lack criminal capacity."
Haru took a deep breath. "Because there's freedom, responsibility is born."
"The reverse is also true," Simon said. "Because you can bear responsibility, you have freedom."
"What do you mean?"
"Imagine a society where no one bears responsibility."
Haru thought. "...It would be chaos."
"Yes. Because we have the capacity to bear responsibility, we're granted freedom."
Noa asked from another angle. "So if you abandon freedom, can you escape responsibility?"
"Can you abandon it?" Simon asked back.
"If you follow someone..."
"That's also a choice. You're choosing to follow."
Haru was surprised. "Not choosing is also a choice?"
"Yes. Sartre called that 'bad faith.'"
"Bad faith?"
"Pretending you don't have freedom of choice. But you're actually choosing."
Noa said quietly. "So we can't completely escape freedom."
"We can't. As long as we're human."
Haru looked outside. "Too heavy."
"It is heavy," Simon acknowledged. "But it's also human dignity."
"Dignity?"
"Unlike animals or objects, we can create our own lives. That power generates dignity."
Noa added. "Without freedom, there's no agency."
"Agency?" Haru asked.
"The sense of being the protagonist of your own life."
Haru understood a bit. "If freedom is taken away, you're a puppet?"
"Yes. That's why freedom is a value worth protecting."
Simon pondered. "But infinite freedom doesn't exist."
"Why not?"
"Because it conflicts with others' freedom. Freedom can only be exercised within limits that don't violate others' freedom."
Noa organized. "Freedom has limits, and within those limits we bear responsibility."
"Exactly."
Haru said slowly. "So freedom isn't another name for responsibility, but two sides of the same coin?"
"Good expression," Simon smiled.
"You can't have just freedom."
"You can't. You have to accept both."
Noa quietly asked. "But what about people who can't bear that weight?"
"Many," Simon acknowledged. "That's why they follow authority or bury themselves in groups."
"Is that wrong?"
"I wouldn't say wrong. It's a survival strategy."
Haru thought. "But you lose something."
"You do. Individuality, agency, dignity."
"A high price."
"Yes. That's why freedom and responsibility are inescapable questions."
Haru stood up. "Choosing my path is still scary."
"It's okay to be scared," Noa said. "Acknowledging fear is also part of freedom."
"Choose while being scared?"
"Yes. There's no perfect choice. But the act of choosing itself has meaning."
Simon said quietly. "You might regret it. But that too is part of your life."
Haru exhaled deeply. "Freedom is another name for responsibility. And another name for living."
"Philosophical," Simon laughed.
"I won't run from freedom," Haru resolved.
"Good choice," Noa smiled. "That's also an exercise of freedom."
The three sat quietly. Gradually accepting the weight of freedom.