"Yeah, the usually say something along those lines," Hughes said, as the door closed. He leaned back, shaking his head a little. "And that's why you don't ask for anything in return. People are more likely to offer out of feeling like they have sort of obligation than if you present it like a deal. Present it like a deal, and you get 'wait, if they really wanted to help, they'd just do it for free'. Do a favor...well, mankind generally has a guilty conscious."

It wasn't often that Hughes actually discussed his reasoning or his deeper machinations with Ed, but...well, he had promised to treat Ed more like an adult.

"So, I guess you want to know about what happened last night," he went on, glancing over at the young alchemist.