No matter how closely she listened to his body, the girl couldn't detect even the slightest trace of disappointnt, irritation, or anger. He had simply offered… no hidden agenda, no ulterior motive, no second aning beneath his words. And her refusal had been accepted as sothing entirely natural. There was even a faint hint of satisfaction in him… or sothing close to it!
So he'd only offered out of politeness?!
Grrr… Fine then. She'd just go ahead and accept!
Only… she'd have to accept in a way that this slippery bastard wouldn't be able to wriggle out of it later. Like sneaking aboard the ship and presenting him with a done deal!
Heh-heh.
She'd show this "Great Scoundrel" that the "Blind Bandit" was way cooler!
***
Chan. Evening of the Sa Day.
I sprawled blissfully in an armchair, lazily sipping White Dragon tea while feeling utterly exhausted. One single visit had drained more than three training sessions with the Master back-to-back. Hmm… all right, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. A little one. But if this actually worked out, the effort would repay itself a hundredfold.
I was slightly bothered by the fact that I'd had to keep Suki in the dark, but… in the end, all she'd needed to do was be herself. I had no doubt I could've convinced her of the necessity of such actions if needed, but too much awareness might've resulted in reactions that didn't feel genuine. And underestimating the perceptiveness of a man who'd spent his entire life in trade — especially in a world where "you can't sell without lying" was also a well-known saying— would've been rather foolish.
His daughter was no joke in that regard either.
During my conversation with Lao, I'd carefully monitored the won's discussion as well (brrr, that had been difficult) and noticed that every ti Suki embellished things slightly for dramatic effect, secrecy, or to hide so less pleasant detail, Toph would frown or wrinkle her nose ever so slightly.
Once was coincidence. Twice was chance. Three tis was a pattern.
Sohow, she could clearly sense falsehood in other people's words.
A human lie detector. Combat support? Her rchant father's connections? All of that was insignificant compared to the benefit — or damage — the girl could bring if her talents were directed properly. An unnoticed figure standing beside a throne, ensuring no one lied to the person sitting upon it. And what exactly that "throne" represented was rely a detail. An actual royal seat or a figurative symbol of influence didn't matter.
There was no way I could allow myself to pass up a treasure like that.
And let's not forget that in another five years she was going to grow into one hell of a beauty, and any sensible man knew it was better to prepare the staging ground in advance.
Besides, I genuinely liked Toph as a person, and I absolutely couldn't allow her to end up tangled up with the Avatar's gang. Sooner or later I'd have to kill all of them anyway, and killing cute little girls you personally liked was crossing a line even for .
Which was why I'd had to twist myself into knots—negotiating with Lao while simultaneously building my approach to the girl around my observations and understanding of her personality. I needed her cooperation willingly given.
So I'd played on contrasts, rebelliousness, and the ambitions of a child her age. Maybe soone would call that hypocrisy, but I truly did want a better fate for her than the one she'd gotten in canon. Fighting the entire world alongside three other kids, destroying her relationship with her parents, and… if I rembered correctly, things hadn't exactly worked out with her own children or personal life later either. Not exactly an inspiring destiny, in my opinion.
Still, I'd had to sweat for it. Steering a human lie detector toward the conclusion you wanted while ensuring they never realized that was the result you were aiming for in the first place? That was a nightmare. And honestly, I still wasn't confident it would work.
She definitely seed fired up by the idea of "proving that bastard wrong," while the hint about "running away from ho," combined with Suki's earlier "advertising campaign" about us having endless adventures, should lead her toward fairly predictable conclusions for a child her age. At least, I hoped so. But the whole thing was shaky as hell.
Then again, what did I really expect? I wasn't a professional recruiter, much less so psychologist-psychiatrist capable of digging out a person's entire inner world after half an hour of conversation. Everything I had amounted to a couple of books I'd read for fun back in my old world and so practical familiarity with PR techniques—again, from my old world, and from the perspective of the victim those techniques were aid at. The sa techniques designed to convince people that politicians were honest and responsible, everything in the country was perfectly fine, and whenever sothing wasn't, literally anyone else was to bla except them.
Still, back to the current problems.
If recruiting Toph failed, then I needed to make absolutely certain she didn't fall into the Avatar's hands either. For example, I could convince her father that the climate of Yu Dao or Kyoshi Island would be far better for his family's health and peace of mind, while Gaoling… well, perhaps Gaoling might soday end up overrun by pirates. Or I could tempt him with additional opportunities elsewhere.
There were plenty of ways to persuade a rchant to relocate.
(End of Chapter)
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