"Thanks."

"No problem at all."

Smile.

And on to dinner?

On to dinner.

Val gets them a private room at a coffee house - one in a newer, more bold style, with tall domed ceilings and richly carved columns, the coffee served from painted metal samovars. (It has food, too, not just coffee - but the rich drinks are the main headliner for them.)

It's... surprisingly good coffee.

"Coffee's something Ravka's actually good at."

"Where do you get it from?"

"Greenhouses, I think? We have the best in the world, I've heard."

"I've had some Zemeni blends that are better. But not many, granted."

She laughs. "Meant the greenhouses, but now I wanna find something even better for coffee... I've got national pride, you know."

"How novel."

"I don't seem the type, do I?"

"Not terribly, no."

"Maybe I just reserve all my national pride for food."

"Not a bad thing to do with it, if you have to have any at all."

"Do you have any national prides?"

"The only thing Kerch care about is money, and how to most eficiently acquire more."

"No city pride, even?"

"Only if you're rich enough not to have to live there all the time."

"Why do you like Ketterdam so much, then?"

"For the potential. The opportunity it offers, the promise of what it could be. What I could turn it into."

"A pride in waiting, then."

"It could be."

"It's good to have goals."

"That's what gets me out of bed in the mornings."