Panicked offer

"In the end, are you trying to threaten us?" Jacob asked while squinting his eyes. But what made Markus add a massive score of bonus points to the man's name in the former saint's inner evaluation system was the fact that the man didn't back out under his pressure. 

"Call it a threat; call it to advise. I don't really care," Markus shook his arms as he replied. "But right now, I still have yet to hear a single proper reason for you to stop this entire crowd at the gate. Since when people are forbidden from adventuring en masse?" Markus asked, pressing his points. 

'He wants to change the topic,' the former saint thought, trying to analyze the situation as calmly as possible. 'And that means he is just buying time,' Markus concluded before casting a short glance to the back. Even though the talks have yet to turn into a long stalemate, some of the people were already getting restless.