Centshuu groaned.
"What is a Ferallith, huh?" He repeated, stroking his stubbly chin while furrowing his unkempt eyebrows.
"What? Don't you dare look at me like that," Bell retorted when Centshuu remained silent for a moment too long.
"If the topic was about what perfumes arouse a man's lustful side the most or what mixtures of wines and fruits result in a rock-hard erection, then I'm your lady. What species of animals there are in the world? Well, that's more your expertise."
Centshuu smirked, dropping his hand from his chin. "That's not it. I wasn't surprised that you didn't know what a Ferallith was, nor was I judging you for it."
Bell frowned, crossing her arms. "Then what were you doing?"
"I was just wondering how much you know about the topic as a whole, as that'll help me pinpoint where to start," Centshuu explained.
He took a deep breath, sighed and said "Well, just to push things along, why don't I start explaining from the very beginning? How does that sound?"
Formal education was scarce to none in most rural areas, so, a large percentage of the population lacked knowledge about the world beyond their daily survival.
Centshuu too was just as ignorant, until he ventured outside with Ripply and got to see how different the world was from his small village.
Now, that isn't to say he knows much compared to more educated people, however, for his line of work, he knew enough.
"Very beginning? The very beginning of what?" Bell asked.
"Well, the very beginning of what made our world the way it is today," Centshuu said and Bell chuckled.
"What? Are you going to tell me about how a supposed god created one man and woman, they had sex, and then boom, here we are? I didn't take you for someone to accept the teachings of those religious fanatics" Bell said and Centshuu grimaced, tilting his head as he pondered on her words.
"What? Surprised I know about them? Well, those bozos don't just stay in the big towns, they come here once in a while to tell me and my girls that we're forever damned because of what we do. Those self-righteous pricks." Bell scoffed.
"The way I see it, the work we do here— giving these customers a taste of heaven and fulfilling their wildest fantasies— is a lot better than giving them false hope of having a spiritual sanctuary that awaits them once they die. Have they ever died and gone there before to know it exists? No, they haven't, but my Velvet Serpent does exist so who's the fool?" Bell said and Centshuu raised a brow.
"Again with that look. What is it? You've got something to say?" Bell inquired, annoyed.
"I'm just surprised, that's all" Centshuu replied.
Bell maintained her gaze on Centshuu for a few seconds then she flicked those alluring emerald green eyes of hers to Ripply who had the same expression as his leader.
She took her gaze back to Centshuu and asked "Surprised? About what?"
Centshuu shrugged "I'm just surprised that you don't believe in the teachings of those religious fanatics, as you call them, which I should add that I wholeheartedly agree with you when it comes to most of the things they teach. To me, they are just coping with how miserable their lives are— all our lives are really. I mean, "Have hope because no matter how much you suffer here, there's a sanctuary waiting for you once you die but only as long as you die a good person"? What a load of hogwash. On whose authority can they decide that someone is a quote-unquote good person? Life isn't always black and white. A good person to some might very well be a monster to others so it's all about perspective. Desperate situations can make us do things we never once thought we would do, so how fair is it to judge someone based on their desperate moments…" he said then saw the look Bell was giving and he froze, the entire room becoming awkward.
He cleared his throat.
"Before I keep rambling, let's get back to what I was trying to say. I find it surprising that you disregard what they teach but somehow have no problem believing in the Foci" Centshuu said and Bell looked at him like he was crazy.
"Well, that's different" she replied.
"How so?" Centshuu asked.
"For one thing, the Foci ARE real. They are living, breathing people like you and me— if we can even call them people. Too bad there are no other words more advanced than "People" that I can use to classify them or what they do but I move on. They aren't some concept that we're told to believe without evidence."
In all her thirty-five years alive, Bell had only heard of the Foci and never actually seen one. However, she spoke of them with such certainty and assurance that she could convince anyone who listened that she had. On the other hand, Centshuu who had actually seen one because of his travels just watched her talk.
"Secondly, fuck those religious fucks and them harassing my girls just because we're trying to make a living the only way we know how. I'll never be made to feel guilty for providing for any girl that walks through those entrance doors so I'll never believe anything those spiteful bastards have to say about anything. They and those closed-minded idiots from that town can go eat shit" Bell said, huffing after she had finished speaking.