"Ah, you caught on faster than most." About Shalem being a serpent, in any case. "Not part, however. I am... not like the others here who call themselves human."

Even if he is, himself, technically human! But only in the context of his world. He's well aware that he and those from the same world are outliers. Tails, scales, fur? They're not what humans carry.

Hence Shalem adjusting the terminology he uses.