Regardless of her thoughts, I had no desire to play along.
To begin with, she had no power over me as a telepath. Sure, her diamond form was tough, but the massive physical strength of Dead Bone Pulse, enhanced by the Hanma template, would allow me to hold my own.
"You reached out to me."
It wasn't much of an accusation, just a flat statement.
"I'm sorry, but I genuinely don't know what you mean." She lifted her champagne glass with the composure of someone who genuinely seemed confused.
I raised my eyebrows and stared at her with a blank, unimpressed expression.
She looked at me for a moment before beginning.
"It's a reflex. It's something I've done my entire life, so excuse me when I feel a little curiosity about someone who can, well, resist it."
Though I couldn't be sure with her, the answer seemed honest enough.
"You could just not do it." I shrugged my shoulders.
"It's second nature to me, it's like telling someone not to blink or breathe."
"Well, you'll have to learn, because the next time I catch you doing it, I'll hit back hard." I let out a small bit of my Haki as I retorted.
At this close range, even with a restrained burst, the result was quite effective. Emma immediately flinched, spilling some of the champagne in her hand.
[+500 FP]
I couldn't help but wonder what exactly she felt when I used Haki for it to scare her that much.
It took two seconds for Emma to compose herself, something I took note of.
She looked down at the stain on her dress with a careful expression before responding to my threat.
"You've made your point."
I didn't respond; instead, I gave a robotic smile that faded as quickly as it came.
She remained silent for a moment before starting anew with a measured tone.
"You should know, what you just did was felt by every telepath in this building; I'm not the only one."
That was something that actually interested me; it was undeniably useful information.
To begin with, even though my Haki had worked well at quelling Emma, I had no idea of just how effective it would be when used upon other telepaths.
And more importantly, it confirmed that there were other telepaths in the building.
Before I could ask, Emma elaborated herself, something that surprised me considering I had blatantly threatened her to her face.
"Wyngarde. He'll be curious about what just passed between us. He... makes a habit of collecting information about people, so I'd advise not giving him any more than you already have."
The advice seemed genuinely useful, but my thoughts were in a completely different place. If telepaths had a weakness to Conqueror's Haki, couldn't I just throw them all in a prison or something and blast them with Haki as a fear farm?
'Well, there'd probably be diminishing returns."
Anyway, now wasn't the time to think about such ideas. I decided to ask why Emma was trying to help me.
"Why are you telling me this?"
She looked at me with a calculating expression.
"Because. We don't have to be enemies. And anyway, Wyngarde is an inconvenience to me, and you, whatever you actually are, are currently the only person who can shut him out."
I tilted my head slightly as she looked me over from head to toe, probably noting my slight growth.
Well, even though she thought that we could be friends, that wouldn't work out, considering that she was basically a piggy bank that I could rattle every now and again for free points.
Regardless of that, receiving partial confirmation that my Haki supposedly worked on other telepaths was valuable.
Emma had also clearly revealed her intentions to me. She hadn't offered an alliance outright, instead just trying to plant the seeds of goodwill.
"I'll keep it in mind." My response maintained perfect neutrality.
She straightened her dress slightly and walked away without another word.
That left me alone for the first time since I had entered the building.
Looking around, I realised how out of place I felt.
Shaw had told me to settle in or whatever, but I honestly had minimal interest in speaking to ninety-nine per cent of the people in the room.
The option of going around and scaring people with my title remained, but I didn't think that would exactly strengthen my position for the time being.
"Well, whatever."
There was probably enough alcohol stored in the building to drown a herd of elephants, so naturally, when in Rome...
---
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how one viewed it, the Hanma template pretty much prevented me from getting drunk in any meaningful way.
I entered my new apartment penthouse, one of the countless 'bonuses' that came with my Black Knight position.
Unfortunately, I immediately clocked another disturbance as soon as I entered.
"Come on man, weren't you supposed to stop tailing me?"
Yet again, a bald black man stood at my balcony as his trench coat swayed in the wind.