"Then that promises to be a new experience. I'm not most people's favourite." Whether he's joking with a straight face or actually being honest is impossible to tell, but either way, he seems fine with it.

People were interesting to watch; it's why he frequents this place so much. Far more interesting, he'd say, than he is himself. For all his various eccentricities, his hobbies are quiet and so is he; he strives to cultivate an air of forgettable unimportance.

"Since you're doing me the honor of buying, I feel it's only right to let you pick," Ekkehardt replies, casting a proprietary eye over the surroundings. "I prefer the bar, myself, but I'll go with what you like."