[Honestly, that doesn't fill him with any sort of comfort. The more he spoke at the bar, the more irritated Ahito looked. Perhaps no amount of honesty could recover this.]

This is not a situation where I'm going to lead with what I want you to do. I have done that with absolutely no one else, and I will not make an exception.

[...]

You've told me before that you would keep your focus on the people. Is that still correct?