Without a trace of falsehood (he is no braggart), he says, "You won't find finer warriors where I come from than my kinsmen. It's just as is the world." He frowns briefly at one of the shoes, filing the nail back, and adds, "Can't half imagine if the lowlanders had to go fighting their own wars."

He's envisioning the nobility half-heartedly waving swords at each other, by the way.