Excuse you, this is very clearly his bench here. He swallows his irritation in favor of being a smart ass: "I can't say I've ever heard that said myself. Maybe it's a cultural difference. I take it you're now from around here, eh?"

Nevermind that he isn't either.

"In which case I sympathize, but as someone who's probably been here longer than you have" --lie; probably. Who knows!-- "I'm sorry to inform you that we do things a little differently here in Thedas. You see, there's always a social hierarchy at play here and it's expected that we all follow it or face the consequences. Which I've heard are rather dire indeed. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but if I was caught going easy on you, we'd both find ourselves in hot water. You understand."