Opinion on Claude leaving shez without stable work for like 2 years ? I know the alliance is at peace compared to the empire and kingdom so theres not much work for mercs like Leonie Shez and Shamir but give them a job! Was pretty disappointed with our boy ngl lol

Am I a bad person for not caring that much? lmao

Cuz like, a mercenary not having much to do is, like... a good thing. It means no one needs to be fought off, things are peaceful. Like, yeah rip to the mercs, but hearing about a mercenary not having much to do is like, good news lol.

And I like that that causes conflict between them!! I actually really like that; Claude takes him having Shez stay in the Alliance as - what at least appears to be - a way to keep them safe until they're needed for the war. That can be taken one of two ways - Claude wanting to keep his friend safe until war has him make use of Shez's strength for the sake of the Alliance, or, as Arval and Shez take it, just keeping them around until they're useful to Claude's ambitions, their wants be damned. And you can see that makes Shez upset! And makes Claude feel bad! Which is especially hitting because Claude had already unintentionally messed with Shez's life in the prologue, something that also made him feel bad - to the point where he takes Shez to the side and personally apologizes to them. And specifically promise that he'll find a way to make it up to them. If this was that? And it backfired this hard? Mmmm, juice!

This bit of spice between then two of them is something that is such a breath of fresh air after the lack of any real similar conflict between a character and the player character in 3H, and shows off how much Claude can fumble trying to be sincere with others (or, alternatively, how his capability to use people can blow up in his face - depends on how this is played out in the full game). It's something I really hope the full game capitalizes on in some way and has Claude grow from either way.

It also says a good bit about Shez's character too! How being a mercenary is so ingrained in them that even when things are so peaceful that mercs aren't needed despite it being wartime, they aren't only not happy, they're outright annoyed because it gets in their way of becoming stronger - they clearly have their priorities, and they tie directly to their background as a life-long mercenary. But, they still stayed with Claude despite the two year drought of no work - if becoming stronger was all Shez cared about, they'd have dipped way earlier. But as annoyed and put off as they are about Claude not having any work for them, they still stay by his side until they literally can't scrap by anymore. It implies some level of bond between the two of them, and I'm interested in seeing how that bond will play out once the game drops in full!