[For a moment longer he stares at her, then looks back at his list, then back to her.

This would probably be the point where most sensible people would catch on an agree. However, Malleus was not most people, and he was certainly not sensible.]

Yes, if they go by objective maturity rather than number of years then it will be less arbitrary. Finding adults or children is a a far more logical distinction to make than years.

[The point she was trying to make has flown clean over his head.]