[ This is safe water so long as they're talking about squid overlords, but John isn't unaware of what he's being steered to. He's not in the mood; of all the people he could open up to about the pressures of the throne, Asriel does not seem the sympathetic type. It'd just be embarrassing, honestly. ]

Productive might be generous. I've gone up against a few directly: the Reckoning, Mariana. Didn't leave a scratch.

[ That's half-true, and so he corrects it: ]

The scratch I left was a hell of a lot smaller than I expected it to be.

[ If there's anything he can keep Asriel occupied with, here, it's business. ]