[Elan arches an eyebrow, visibly skeptical of that answer.]

Awfully optimistic of you... More to the point, I don't think I buy it.

[He lifts a finger and repeatedly jabs it in Maruki's direction, accusing; ostensibly it's for emphasis, but there's a kind of lazy casualness to the gesture that lacks bite.]

Come on, be honest: you really wouldn't try to sway everyone's choices, if you had the power and authority to do so?