Tuan was standing next to a window frame that had no windows anymore as Katalina tried on her new pair of shoes. Rankers or mortals, he guessed women would always be fond of fancy footwear.
His thoughts drifted from one topic to another as his hands rested on the window's ledge. With his relaxed posture, he looked outside and stared at the glittering night sky.
Ever since he had experienced his first sign of soul sense awakening, he felt different about the world around him. It was like there were a lot of worlds within the world he was seeing and interacting with.
He could almost tell that the world was trying to speak to him in a language that only they both understood but couldn't speak or write in. At first, that experience scared him. But then he figured he felt scared because of how novel and enlightening that experience was. He got scared subconsciously after realizing how addicting the feeling of losing one's self within the world can be.
'My thoughts and emotions are like some form of energy that keeps my soul active. And Stellar Sativa is like those pair of flying shoes this lass is wearing, enabling my soul to take flight from the ground.'
The butcher couldn't help connecting whatever was happening around him with whatever had happened to him in the afternoon. He let his mind wander some more.
'In that moment of flight, I'm connected to the sky that has no limits. As my altitude increases, I have an endless possibility to expand my vision.
From there, all I need to do is look down. Heh! Looking at the whole world from a height that makes it appear like a minuscule thing. I bet that will be something interesting to see.'
Tuan wanted to smoke badly right now. But he controlled himself. He needed to find another dead zone in which he couldn't be recorded before he could indulge in his sought-after vice.
Unable to smoke, Tuan could only retrieve one of the last bottles of Frostfoam left with him. He uncorked it and smelled the booze by bringing it to his nose. He remembered his past life when he used to do the same thing with the cheap alcohol he was used to having.
Katalina smelled the booze too and looked in Tuan's direction. By now, she too had gotten addicted to Frostfoam after he had offered it to her a few times.
She cancelled her flight and appeared next to Tuan. She also remembered what she needed to do.
"Tuan… I… I am sorry for doubting you."
Katalina pursed her lips and looked at Tuan with a hint of guilt on her face. She clenched her hands when she said that. Her innocent expressions could melt even the toughest of hearts.
Tuan didn't look at Katalina immediately. He was too busy smelling his booze and observing the night sky at the moment. He just jumped out of the window frame and sat on the ledge, keeping his legs outside the window. With his hand, he tapped on the portion of the ledge that was beside him, indicating Katalina to follow his example.
Kat thought for a moment before doing the same. The two were now sitting on the window's ledge on the second floor of the ruined infirmary. Both had their legs slightly swinging in the air as they enjoyed the night sky.
"You better be sorry for what you did out there. I gave you the drop's location, allowed you to have its reward, and even defended your reward at the cost of painting a bull's eye behind my back.
I have now come to believe that no man should ever help a so-called damsel in distress. Because first, help is taken for granted. Second, they won't come to help you when the roles are reversed."
Eren said with a serious look on his face. Once again, he mixed what he really felt with what he was faking, creating a spectacular mix of bullshittery. Therefore, Katalina was unable to distinguish his lies from the truth.
But she wanted to convey her sorry. So that's what she decided to do next.
"Tuan, you can't blame me for not trusting you completely. We are in a competition together. We would soon turn out to be each other's enemies as the last day of the competition approaches us."
Tuan looked at her with a "are you kidding me right now?" look. Kat understood what he was trying to say to her with that look. So she sighed and spoke up.
"Yet, you helped me despite us competing. So that kind of becomes a moot point."
Kat looked at the stars after following Tuan's gaze. She continued speaking up as the latter started drinking from his bottle of booze.
"Me not putting my trust in somebody is not a competition thing though. It just makes my job easier because I have a valid excuse not to trust you.
I don't know which damsel you were talking about who didn't appreciate the kind gesture you had offered to her. I'm sorry to bring up her subject, but were you talking about your wife?"
Kat questioned Tuan before realizing that she shouldn't have. After all, Tuan had a breakdown at the opening event just before being sent here. She decided to shift gears with her next words.
"Err… anyway… I hope it's not me. It can't be me. That's because I have not and will not take your help for granted."
Katalina clenched the window's ledge with her hand as she spoke. A few creaking sounds were made by the ledge's worn out wood as she did so. Listening to that sound, the close combat expert released her grip and continued to verbally march on.
"First of all, I'm no damsel. I can take care of myself, no matter how difficult the road gets in front of me. No matter how much loss I incur as a result. Heh! I was a mortal girl not too long ago, you know. There was nobody to help me. Still, I survived.
That being said, I don't want to ignore the genuine help that's offered to me. I have seen the harsh side of the world. So it gets a bit difficult for me to count on other people, that's all."
Katalina started talking about her childhood. She told Eren about the only friend she had and needed to take care of. Someone that she wanted to send to the Duchy of Lehan, where she could get treated for her illness.
'Hm? I guess my bullshittery had an unwanted effect and sent this lass on a different tangent altogether. I need to restart our conversation.'
The butcher thought to himself and sighed as he had the thought.
