"Ananias!" Corrin cried, briskly running up to her little sister's currently unoccupied and temporary retainer before meeting the pace of his stride and smiling kindly toward him. "Thank goodness! I've been looking all over for you!"
Ananias raised an eyebrow incredulously. "You have?"
Corrin nodded. "Uh-huh! I've just got so many questions for you?"
Ananias stopped where he was and gave Corrin a mildly curious look. "Questions? What kind of questions?"
"Well," Corrin said, taking a moment to struggle to find the right words before shaking her head and cutely and nonchalantly shrugging her shoulders, "about everything, I guess!"
Ananias crossed his arms and furrowed his brow slightly as he attempted to figure out what exactly Corrin was asking of him. "Everything?" he deadpanned.
"Yep!" Corrin cheerfully reaffirmed. "Everything!"
Ananias' mouth hung agape for a moment as he tried once again to understand what exactly that meant before narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her and asking, "I'm... not sure that I follow."
"Well, as I'm sure you've probably heard, I've been cooped up in a castle for all of my life," Corrin patiently explained, "and it always used to be that if I ever wanted to experience anything outside of the castle, I had to read a book about it. But reading about it is no substitute for seeing it and feeling it and experiencing it in person, right?"
Ananias sheepishly shrugged. "I mean, I guess, but what does any of that have to do with me?"
Corrin giggled before answering, "What do you mean, 'what does any of that have to do with me'? Ananias, your life is like, the complete opposite of mine! While I was forced to stay cooped up inside a castle, you were outside! Visiting new and exciting places, meeting new and interesting people, seeing and feeling so many things that I can only dream of!"
Finally realizing what all of this was leading towards, Ananias let out an exasperated sigh before sheepishly scratching the back of his head and sternly and nonchalantly saying, "Okay, I'm going stop you right there. With all due respect, your highness, you really should stop while you're ahead."
Corrin blinked in confusion before curiously frowning and tilting her head to the side before asking, "Oh? And why's that?"
"You're... you're romanticizing my life," Ananias simply answered. "Trust me, it's not nearly as wonderful as you make it sound."
Corrin let out an incredulous laugh. "How could I not? How could the life of a traveler be anything but fascinating?"
Ananias sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "Well, for starters, I'm not a traveler, I'm a messenger. And even if I was just going around traveling for the sake of traveling, that wouldn't change the fact that traveling isn't exactly a walk in the park either."
Corrin curiously frowned. "Oh?"
Ananias nodded. "Yeah. The weather, the cultural sensitivities, the laws of the lands, they're always changing on you. You've either got to constantly adapt or face the consequences."
"See, now you're just making it sound even more fascinating!"
"Well, it isn't," Ananias denied flatly. "I've gotten myself into a lot of easily avoidable scrapes because of my ignorance, and I doubt too many would've fared any better, not unless you knew everything there is to know about everything. And even if you do, actually being experienced enough to pull it all off is a completely different story altogether."
Corrin smiled warmly. "I appreciate the concern, but really, all of that just makes my opinion of you grow even higher than it was before."
"Seriously?"
Corrin nodded. "Of course! I mean, if it really is as bad as you say, then it makes it all the more incredible that you somehow managed to make it all work, right?"
"W-Well, I guess, but..."
"And no offense to you, but if you could pull it off, then I can only imagine just how well everyone else here would be able to, Mr. I'm Not That Special!"
"Very messily, I'm sure."
"What isn't messy when one starts off?"
Ananias sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Well, I guess, but... what about the messenger side of things? I mean, it's a pretty thankless job once you really think about it, you know?"
"I think being a messenger is just an excuse for you to go places and provide for yourself at the same time, isn't it?"
Ananias let out a tiny and frustrated gasp of surprise. "W-Well, I mean, you're not wrong, per say..."
Corrin giggled. "Well, well, well, looks like I've figured you all out, haven't I? Underneath all of that dullness lies a spirit for adventure, am I right?"
"No, not really."
Corrin smiled at him knowingly. "Whatever you say." She then walked passed him, and said, "Well, I've got to be heading out right now, but next time we meet, I expect you to answer all of my questions and tell all of your stories for me, okay?"
Ananias frowned. "Um, yeah, sure." When she finally left, Ananias sighed and muttered, "If she decides to become a traveler when all of this is over, then I'm going to be held responsible, aren't I?"
