He snorts in disbelief. But... there is a small piece of him that hopes Nida really means that. That he was better, and not just a waste. A mistake.

Sometimes he still wishes he'd been executed when Galbadia had claimed they did. Or maybe just never made it to the orphanage at all. That he'd not lived past childhood. It would have made things a lot simpler for him. Maybe for everyone else as well. Not allowing his expression to betray anything he moved over to collect the chopped vegetables to start cooking them up.

"I'm not pushing. I'm just trying to convince you it's not worth your energy. You got plenty of better people you could be helping."