[The admission was probably too much as it is, even if it's couched in sarcastic self-deprecation. His life doesn't have time for regrets, so he doesn't bother to rethink saying such a thing in front of the young exorcist. But when Chongyun reaches across the table and puts his hand over Matoba's, he can only stare at it in bafflement.]

[The confusion isn't the boy's meaning- he's not that stunted, despite everything about him which was burnt out from him. That still didn't make it easier to process the application of that empathy towards him.]

[He's still somewhat distracted by the motion when Chongyun decides to move things away from the gloom, glancing up at his question.]

Hm? Ah... The first of November. [He cracks a grin.] Not too far away. Perhaps this will be the first one where I am not besieged by clan attendants and can enjoy it on my own.

[He can imagine that perhaps Chongyun, too, was used to a fuss being made about his birthdays.]