[ surely it comes as no surprise to olivine that tseng struggles to accept gestures of kindness given without reason. the fact that olivine has been so warm and thoughtful with him and that tseng has no way to return it except to thank him is... well, it chafes against tseng's understanding of his own role in others' lives.

the offer to be told about the holidays of olivine's world is therefore welcome, in that it gives tseng something else to think about. ]

If you don't mind, [ he says. ] Religion was eradicated from my world some years before my birth, so I have very little context for holidays in general.

[ olivine's priesthood is fascinating for the same reason, actually. ]