«لَكِنَّنِي مُذْ لَمْ أَزَلْ / مَنْ إِذَا طَعِمَ انْتَشَرْ»
But it has always been my way: once I have eaten, I go off.
Ṭaʿima means to eat; intashara here means to disperse or leave. Abū Zayd does not merely invent an excuse; he describes departure after a meal as his habit.
This is the punchline. A man who has participated in a sophisticated debate on companionship accepts hospitality and disappears, leaving an elegant self-explanation. His language remains dazzling, but his deeds invite a different judgment.