ARGUMENT

At this time, it was bandit groups leader who spoke out first.

"you have a very kind personality, fox-lady. But the world is not as kind as you think. Do you think that now that we know their true nature, they will let you go alive from here after you are done with dealing with us? Don't you think it's too much of a joke?", sneered the bandit leader.

I was cursing the cunning bandit leader in my head so much. This guy deliberately brought up this question at this moment to rile up everyone here. I was not going to kill the fox-girl and her protector team just because she knows Lena's identity but I had other plans to deal with this problem in my own way.

But now that this guy has brought up the trust issue between us, it has become a problem now. If I don't give them a satisfactory answer now, then they will gang up on me and Lena. The fox-lady will not be able to save us from this predicament even if she wants. I was so anxious that my nerves were on a High alert. I can��t process what answer to give at this moment to the crowd. I was so angry at myself. 'Why can't I be smarter like the fox-lady in front of me. If I was smart like her, I could probably think of an answer instantly.', Arthur thought frustratingly in his mind.

Arthur was thinking of many answers at the same time. But no matter what answer he came up with, they all feel like excuses or lies. He finally narrowed down his options into two. One, he can admit that he's the third son of City Lord and try to reason with them or offer them some kind of bribe to keep Lena's secret. Two, he can just fight every single one of them alone.

But even that second option seems flawed as he remembered the fox-lady's word a few seconds ago. Cause it seemed like there's someone who's targeting this fox-lady's life and they might have sent even stronger reinforcement to kill the fox-lady. So, if he fights all these people head on, he will just make the reinforcements job of cleaning up any loose ends easier. So, he definitely didn't want to fight all of them here and die at the hands of the reinforcements later. This fox lady was definitely a trouble magnet. She, herself was in deep trouble and now, they because of trying to save her got dragged into troubles too.

Arthur is really clueless about what to do now. Everyone was making their own assessment of them. Time was running out quickly. But before he could open his mouth, fox-lady Elena spoke up again.

"I think you are misjudging the current situation here bandit group leader. We are not here to fight devils together with you. You attacked my carriage with the intention of killing us all here. But you failed to kill me because of them and now by some miraculous twist of fate we learned that one of them is devil-race. So, now to divert our attention from you, you want to separate them from us by making them everyone's common enemy. But, did you think that we are so naïve that we can't see through your plan of dividing us? You saw how strong they are and know that if we joined our hands together, it will be the end for you. So, you want to frame them as the enemy of everyone."

"but they are not. They decided to help us first. You forgot that this is a life and death battle and I don't care whom I have to take help from to survive. In order to survive if I have to take help from devil, then I will definitely do that. Also, we have the upper hand if we join them so why won't I join them to take you out? Then we can also avoid the reinforcement that's coming."

Her words were like thunder in everyone's ear who heard them. Her team members also started to think this matter rationally. They didn't come here to fight devils. It was just an unexpected situation they found out later on. Also, Arthur and Lena helped them resist the bandits. They had no bad intentions by doing so. They could have left them to die here as that would have save them from this trouble. On the other hand, the bandits attacked them with the intention to kill. If it weren't for the help of Arthur and Lena, they might have been already dead. But instead of showing their gratitude, they choose to point their swords at them. All because they were devils.

"Hahahah…, I can't believe it. You are really insane. You are going to join devil's just to survive. where's the nobility in that? You will be labelled as a traitor by all if you join them. Also, you haven't still answered my question."

Arthur looked anxious as he listened to the fox-lady and the bandit leader's conversation. He couldn't come up with so many arguments as the fox-lady and the bandit leader was also an old cunning fox. He had a retort for all of the fox-lady's arguments ready.

"there's nothing wrong with saving one's life first and as for nobility, you don't deserve mercy from anyone. You are just a lowly bandit living off of looting others wealth and killing people. As for me, I am a merchant. So, it's a good trade for me to side with the party that benefits me the most. If I side with you now and kill them, then when the reinforcements arrive you will join them to kill us. So, tell me why should I join you when I am going to die by following you. I have better choice here. I can join them and kill you, then leave from here before the reinforcement arrives."

I had a strong urge to whistle at the fox-lady's dialogue. She was like a ruthless queen from the plays. Her words had a strong impact on everyone. With a few words she could cut-off all of the retreating paths the bandit group had. Her word also made clear to everyone what outcome they would have if they took the wrong path. Also, her words made a clear line between her and bandit groups. Now, only her escort team have to show their support and they could start fighting the bandit. Arthur had a feeling that maybe everything will work out in his way in the end.