[ He'll just hum at it being easy to picture, since perhaps he did a bit too good of a job with painting the picture of his background. Even that picture is the entirety of it, but there's much Claude wonders if it'll ever be entirely relevant here. Some of it likely isn't worth bringing up - not for a while yet if there does come a time. That's something he can worry about when the time comes.

Because for now, good luck combined with the pat on his arm gets actual, genuine laughter from him. ]

Hey, thanks. With a vote of confidence like that I'm pretty sure there's nothing I couldn't do.

[ Meant more for the well wishes that he's acquainted enough with Steve's mannerisms to recognize it might've been ever so slightly wry though what preceded it wasn't, and a grin from that faded out laughter remains on his face afterwards. Despite everything, the gala setting's made it simple to feel at ease even with capture, the execution, everything else looming behind them and whatever's yet to come from it.

The thing they have now in large amounts, with any luck, is time. That makes it far easier to joke in the spirit of playfulness. ]

Does that mean if that does somehow happen, I shouldn't look to hire you as my spokesperson? You never know, it might come in handy if we somehow get reverse-Summoned to each others' worlds and suddenly it's your turn to deal with all those pesky lords.