[ He flinches. It isn't Howard's fault. Kei almost wishes he had the bottle to have something to hold onto instead of balling his hands into fists. It's a second but he remembers that young woman dying. His eyes drop as he unclenches his fists, looking at his palms and relieved to not see blood. And yet... I just wanted to kill her. That is the only sorrow that I felt. ]

I would consider it meaningful... I wouldn't consider it valuable. [ He swallows, realizing that Howard doesn't know what he said. ]

I'm sorry for not inviting you. But we decided to elope saves on having cultists try to kill me, at least. [ He ignores how sweat runs down his neck, anxiously, as he recalls that woman. Instead, he indulges in the joke. Kei lifts his hands up, like he is being held at gunpoint. ] And I told you, I'm the one who caught him.