There's a faintly raised eyebrow when it comes to employment. It's a routine question, more or less, but there's also the sense that maybe he shouldn't reveal exactly who or what he's been doing without knowing where that information is going. Though none of it is under the table in ways that would get anyone in trouble, it's information he's considering obfuscating. Shepard solves part of that for him by pointing out that he's clearly not destitute, and at that Claude has to laugh.

"True, Mag is rather generous, and as soon as I was on my feet I went out looking for ways to pay rent here instead to help her out with all she does for us. For the most part, I pick up jobs from different merchants here and there who need some assistance. Balancing books, organizing inventories, that sort of thing."

If he's not going to be pressed for more detail, Claude will leave it at that cagey answer. And because fair's fair, in his mind, if he's going to be questioned, and since he feels relatively certain on what assumptions he's made based on their interaction so far: "Are you military yourself then? And not just now that we're here, that is."