"I must say, I'm quite surprised that you came shopping with me... What brought this on?"
"I'm just babysitting a certain clueless idiot. Believe me, there's a load of shit I'd rather be doing."
Like I said, I didn't have much to do back then. Machina joining completed the Obsidian Table, and I felt there'd be some big feast soon, but things like that needed preparations.
I was basically waiting for them to end. Unless I'd decided to cause some trouble or Lord Heydrich gave me an order, I was left with nothing to do.
Sure, this gave me a whole lot of free time, but going out on a fuckin' shopping trip wasn't my idea of a good time-waster.
"Hey, Spinne. Listen, I'm pretty damn serious here. Can you handle the shopping runs instead? I'll make it worth your while."
"Well, I understand what you are trying to say, Lieutenant, and I would gladly agree, but..."
Walking at my side, Spinne grinned wryly and looked at Claudia.
"Sadly, I cannot ignore the request of a beautiful lady. I hope you understand."
"Oh my. You are quite the smooth talker. Eheheh."
"Hah hah hah. I must say, I am rather envious of Lieutenant Bey."
"You got brain problems? Fucking die, both of you."
The whole situation made me wanna kill someone.
I knew that shopping was important, especially when going to get daily necessities like food.
Claudia had to eat, and hell, so did I. Sure, hunger didn't weaken me all that much, but it increased the amount of souls I used.
I didn't wanna waste what I didn't have to, so unless I was in some ultra specific situation, I'd eat like a normal person. Sure, I needed some space to take in Claudia, but emptying my reserves on fucking physical hunger was just plain stupid.
Speaking of stupid, this situation basically defined it.
"What I wanna know is how the fuck I ended up shopping with the shitty sun beaming all over me! The fuck is this shit!?"
"Does it hurt? Should I hold the umbrella for you?"
"You're the one with a problem here, damn it!"
All the shouting made my head spin. I didn't even want to look up at the sky, but I could tell it was so damn clear and bright that it made me want to trash someone. Shit fucking burned me all over.
Well, yeah, my recovery and endurance made it easy for me to bear, but it had to be hell for Claudia. She was smiling, sure, but all the sweat pouring off of her made it obvious she was feeling so hot.
"This shit can fucking kill you. I'm not having that. It's why I'm here wasting my souls just looking after your dumb ass!"
"Most excellent. You truly are her worthy knight, Lieutenant Bey. Oh my. I feel quite moved."
"All right, now listen here..."
"I'm sorry. I understand why you're angry, but this is something I can't give up on. I'm happiest when I'm shopping, you see. I'm also used to this, so I'm not forcing myself. I would tell you if it became too hard for me, so please..."
Her face was so red it seemed like she was boiling, but of course, that was sunburn, not a blush. She looked at me with dampened eyes and begged me like a mutt would to its master.
She probably intended it to be touching and fervent, but to me, it seemed like a joke. One so shitty I couldn't laugh.
"Anyway, Spinne, make sure you don't cause any trouble at the shops. And get it all done fast. It's why you're here."
"Understood. I shall do my best."
I ignored Claudia and talked to Spinne. The guy was useful at times like this.
You probably know this, but war can fuck up the market pretty badly. It was like a black market all over the place, and of course, you needed to have something to get a good deal.
It could be connection, status, cunning, skill, etcetera. Everyone tries to fuck you over, so you had to respond in kind and shop while threatening, tricking... Doing whatever you had to get ahead.
Just having money or something to trade wasn't enough. Fuck, the ignorant dumbasses who only had money were the best targets for all the rats running around.
"I can just take shit like it's mine, but that could end up causing more trouble than it's worth. Do all the dirty work for me, all right?"
"Huh? Umm, what do you mean? I can do the shopping by myself."
"Claudia, you are indeed a charming woman. However, if you want to be Lieutenant Bey's partner, you will need to become a tad more resilient. Just like a rose isn't a rose without its thorns, so are women incomplete unless they have a twinge of venom to their teeth. Be conscious of your allure and polish it well."
"My allure? I know the word, but..."
"My lady, if you wish to learn what I mean, you should try learning from the likes of Malleus and Babylon."
"Fucking hell, quit spouting shit and just keep walking. Also, Claudia. You get ripped off while shopping all the fucking time. Don't act like you forgot."
"That's true, but I feel we have to accept it. It's normal for prices to rise during times like these, and the shopkeepers probably have mouths to feed, too."
"Indeed, we have to accept it. That is a cornerstone of capitalism, after all. Which is exactly why they do what they can to earn as much as possible. Just as there are fair prices, so too are there fair price increases. Going beyond them is a very unfair thing to do. It's both selfish and wretched."
"You're not wrong, but..."
"Oh? You aren't aware? You've fallen for this many times now."
"What...?"
"Hah hah hah. And that is where I come in. Please, leave it all to me. I was once in charge of a concentration camp, after all. Though that is all in the past, I haven't lost my touch. Exerting my will upon grubby, sly little people and keeping them in check is a specialty of mine, you see. Hehehehe..."
"And that's how it is. Just let him do his thing."
By the way, the one handling our finances at this point in time was Spinne. It wasn't something I could ask of Lord Heydrich, and I really didn't wanna go to Mercurius about it, either.
That left only Spinne. Even here, he went on to turn all the purchases into fucking steals, effectively making up for a bit of what Claudia'd lost.
Out of all of us, he was the most knowledgeable when it came to social affairs, so we always relied on him when it came to that. Hell, we still do.
"I will be going now, then. Leave it all to me. You two can go on and enjoy a nice stroll."
"Huh?"
"Can we really?"
"Yes. With my role fulfilled, I am nothing but a hindrance. I will buy everything necessary, so please feel free to relax. The weather is quite pleasant, after all."
With that shitty joke as his parting shot, he walked away through the annoyingly sunny street.
As I watched him go, all I could do was sigh.
"'Stroll,' my ass. Fuck that, I'm going home. Let's go, Claudia."
I turned around.
"Umm... Please wait!"
But then, she grabbed my sleeve with more power than I thought possible, leaving me somewhat surprised.
"Umm, well... If we don't have to shop, there's a place I really wish to go."
"Look, I'm the one who gives the orders around here, not y—"
"I know, I know. I understand you very well, but please... I beg of you! Oh Lord, be merciful!"
"Stop worshipping, praying, and clinging to me, damn it. And who the fuck are you calling 'lord,' here?"
Despite being stupidly pious, she could get pretty damn forceful.
Though I really didn't want to walk around a damn second longer, her very nature was why she was useful to me.
Still, can't say I knew shit all about how to handle the situation. The sun was fucking me up real good.
Right when that thought ran through my mind.
"Is it that unbearable? If it's impossible for you, I'm willing to give up. Your health comes first, after all."
"The fuck?"
That sounded like she was saying I was weaker than her.
"The fuck'd you just say? I'm a fucking picture of health, dammit."
Hearing that from this suicidal idiot set me off.
"Of course I'm doing okay, you dumbass! Fine! Let's fucking go!"
"Oh, how nice of you. Here, allow me to lead, then. It's right here!"
"Huh!? Hey stop fucking pulling!"
And that's how it went down.
Honestly, I couldn't help but feel she'd set me up somehow.
"Eheheh. Well? Have you calmed down? There's no sunlight in here."
Claudia had led me to a church. It was a very nun-like choice, but I found it anticlimactic, considering I was prepared for the worst kind of hell.
"Then again, I'm a vampire, so this is pretty damn close."
"Hm? Did you say something?"
"Nope. So, is this where you wanted to go?"
"Yes. This town's Cathedral is famous and has a very long history. Haven't I told you this before?"
"No clue."
I probably ignore it 'cause I just didn't give a shit. This made Claudia somewhat sulky.
"It's not just the cathedral, though. The entire town is known as a Holy city. It's the reason why I was happy you took me here and why I thanked you for that. Additionally, this town is said to be the land where Charlemagne first established the Holy Roman Empire and..."
"All right, just shut your trap. I don't give a shit about history, and I definitely don't wanna listen to you babble on about it."
Though I bluntly cut her off, her words made me understand one thing.
Because this was a so-called "Holy city," Claudia had assumed the people here would be better than elsewhere, and that led her to being cheated out of all that money.
Then again, it could've just been her own stupidity. She overvalued other people so much you could call her a walking manifestation of that sentiment.
"How rude. You shouldn't belittle history. There's much to be learned from the past."
"Really, now? Look around you, then. If this place is so great, why's it so fucking empty? There's no one here."
"Hmm... You're right about that. Odd. This place was always full whenever I tried to come by myself..."
Claudia curiously looked around the cathedral. Again, besides us, there was no one here.
"Did the priest just fuck off or something?"
"I don't believe so, but this isn't the parish I belong to, so I can't be certain. Circumstances aside, however, if there's no one here, I will have to be the one to do it. I will pray in everyone's stead."
"Yeah, whatever. Who gives a shit."
My sarcasm wasn't working on her, so I ended up feeling defeated and just gave up.
I figured it was best to just let her do her thing, so I sat on a random pew and waited for it to end.
Claudia kneeled before the cross and gave a silent prayer.
"...May I ask something?"
Not even ten seconds into it, however, she broke her silence.
"Do you believe in God?"
"Say what?"
What a worthless question. It was like she didn't even know who she was talking to.
"Well, that came outta left field. Of course I don't fucking believe in him."
"Oh? And what would be your reasoning?"
"It's simple. If there was someone like that, you wouldn't have any wars and people like me wouldn't exist. The God you worship is full of love, isn't he? The Omnipotent Lord Creator that guides all, right? If he's really so kind, then what the fuck's up with all the shit going on in the world? It doesn't add up. Even a brat can see the contradiction."
"I see. That's quite a common argument."
The fact that she took a gentle, soothing tone really pissed me off. I always hated it when people looked down on me.
"What are you getting at?"
"Nothing much. It's just that... That's how God is. Even in the Bible, he'd caused many deaths. This means that all those things are happening in the world because it was made by Him."
"Hah! In that case, the guy's just a huge shithead."
A sadistic trashbag and a demented psycho. I knew full well I couldn't really point fingers about that, but it was clear there was some serious detachment between what he did and how his believers saw him.
Basically, they were all insane.
"To make people die is the act of 'shithead,' you say? Then what about this Reinhard Heydrich person you serve? I haven't met him yet, I cannot be certain. However, from what I'm hearing, he is exactly like that, is he not? He loves all, and thus his love leads him to destroy all. According to you, that makes him a real 'shithead,' no?"
"You fucking bitch...!"
I was about to snap and jump out of the pew, but then I realized I was mostly mad at myself for not being able to fight back with words.
Claudia tried to cool me down by apologizing. Then, she slowly shook her head.
"Though that sounded mean-spirited, I wasn't actually criticizing your group. I do not even know the details of your goal, after all. However, I can vaguely understand it. It's the same as what most wish for, after all. You want to go to a better place — a sanctuary. Correct?"
A sanctuary — Valhalla, Heaven, Bliss, Happiness...
It was where our souls desired to go.
Even if the differences in value made the shapes of our goals vastly different, according to her, the concept was always the same.
"In that place, our God the Father awaits His children. That is what I believe. And that is why we must choose the paths which will lead us there, walking proudly all the while. Just like you revere Reinhard Heydrich, I too, walk my path while revering the Light of the World. Thus..."
She then momentarily fell silent, and even though I couldn't see her face, I could tell she was smiling.
"...You should become a bit more religious."
"Tch..."
In the end, she was basically just preaching. I didn't need anyone to tell me to believe in Lord Heydrich, and I was damn sure no one else could even begin to match me on that front.
"Didn't you say you were gonna pray for everyone? Sure didn't take long for you to make it personal. Not a good look. Also, you ended up blabbering on and on before your God. I don't know much about this, but ain't that disrespectful or what?"
"Well, you aren't wrong about that, but I wasn't preaching to you alone. I find it hard to explain, but I felt that even the heavens could hear me if I gave voice to my thoughts in this place."
"Huh? What the hell? The fuck's that supposed to mean? You okay in the head?"
At that moment...
"Come now, there is no need to make light of her words. Even yours truly found them exceptionally intriguing. I assume you are the one they refer to as 'Claudia?' the maiden Bey had spoken to us about?
"...Oh for fuck's sake!"