Byron’s not wrong in panel 1! Harky’s total party kill really did set that bar about as high as it gets.

The relationship between Byron and Bandit is enjoyably complex here; that panel-1 remark was a little insensitive to the fact that HE KILLED HER, yes, and yet Bandit’s primary motive here is that she doesn’t want Byron to die and can’t understand why he’s risking himself for a culture that so plainly hates him. Her concern is a little ironic in light of later developments.

Hey, how many of you noticed that Byron was rocking his old-school look here? Syr probably instructed him to be a bit more subtle with his ax-wear (without leaving himself completely unprotected in case of a combat situation). I’d say “Not that it helped,” but he and Naror probably wouldn’t have even gotten to the introductions without it.