"Well, hey. One thing you can be grateful for, for ending up here, right?" It's possible that he's making a joke, but given the deadpan nature of it, it's hard to tell. His jokes are seldom obvious, mostly because he's not so great at the signifier of an easy smile to defang the edges a hair. "No one cares if you're lower-class or royalty, 'cause the only economy we have is stories. Pretty handy, right?"

Frankly, he figures it's an improvement.