[ There's a callout in there somewhere, he's pretty sure. Granted, there's only enough time to spend a second or two dwelling on it, but it seems clear enough. Despite himself, that gets Claude to raise an eyebrow since - that'd mean some part of this isn't a game, wouldn't it?

Curious. Now's not to time to ponder it too deeply; that's better left for later. Making Sylvain laugh is far more gratifying. ]

Maybe you're looking in the wrong places. Or trying the wrong tactics. [ A shrug of one shoulder like this though couldn't have possibly ever crossed the other's mind before to meet the look sent his direction. ] Whole lotta things to consider there rather than sounding so defeated. Where's the fun in giving up before you find out?

[ Some part of this feels like there's more loose threads waiting for him to pull on and unravel them to see where they lead, but hold that thought - Claude glances up when a shadow falls over the table to see a confused looking server standing there with menus in hand. Time to behave, temporarily. ]