I will avoid calling you such then, if it is not as you prefer.

[Simple enough. It is not his place to decide what another group calls themselves.]

Still, if you do not consider yourself guardians, why do you protect the other tribes and travelers? Would it not be easier to focus more on your own defense?

[His own people, the Staza were very insular in that regard. They cared little for outsiders who had not already proven themselves to the village.]