The Frugal Mage

Bam!

The door of the Eterna Script Trading Store was slammed open, and a red-faced man in merchant robes stormed in.

He was waving a parchment blotched with black streaks.

"This! This is what your so-called 'fountain pen' did to my trade agreement!" He roared.

"Do you call this reliable?"

Hannah froze. Gene's pen halted over the ledger as he heard this.

Rayven wasn't here at the moment, and they must handle this appropriately.

The shop immediately quietened after hearing these allegations.

The red-faced man's yell was definitely a big deal. He was even waving the parchment in his grip like a flag of accusation.

"This contract is ruined!" The man shouted, jabbing a blotched sheet toward Hannah.

"The ink exploded all over it. Your cursed pen did this! My name is stained, my business mocked, and it's your fault!"

That was definitely a harsh accusation for a mistake that should've been made by the writer instead of the pen.

Hannah forced her expression into calm professionalism. She had already been warned that this could happen after all.

She then stepped from behind the counter, bowing her head politely as she thought of how to reply.

She had seen hundreds of pens leave their shelves, and not once had one behaved as this man claimed. She knew that the man was just causing trouble for the sake of it.

As for the reason why, she could think of many reasons.

"Sir… Please, allow me to inspect the pen you used. If there is any defect, we will replace it immediately, free of charge."

The man was obviously not going to let this go so easily.

"The pen? It's useless now. I threw it away!"

Gene, sitting at the counter with the ledger now closed, squinted his eyes.

"Threw it away?" he repeated carefully.

"Yes!" the man replied, a little too fast.

"When it splattered ink all over my contract, I had no reason to keep such trash!"

Several customers browsing the shelves had turned to watch.

The customers started whispering, but Hannah had no time to consider whether they were trying to support their store or not. She had to handle this carefully.

She drew in a breath.

'Stay composed. Stay calm. I can do this.'

After a few moments, she spoke again.

"Sir. With all due respect, without the pen, we cannot investigate what happened. Every one of our fountain pens is tested before leaving this shop. If you truly wish for compensation, we'll need proof."

The man slammed the parchment down on the counter while glaring at Gene this time. "What more proof do you need? Look at it!"

Gene did. The black splotches were dramatic, uneven. It was almost painted rather than spilled. He had seen genuine leaks before during the first testing, and this… wasn't it.

He shook his head at this and met the man's eyes.

"It's strange. Ink leaks usually stain the fibers evenly. These blotches look like they were… pressed. Brushed on."

The merchant's bluster faltered for the briefest moment before he snapped back with a louder voice... "Are you calling me a liar?"

The customers seemed to have caught on to the situation at this point.

Still, Hannah felt that it could tarnish their reputation. She had worked so hard to gain the trust of the customers as well. She didn't want her hard work to be completely shattered just like that.

She then recalled Rayven's instructions.

"Of course not, sir. We value every customer. Allow me to make this right. We'll offer you a replacement pen, and if you bring your old one tomorrow, we will investigate it thoroughly. If it is our fault, not only will we replace your contract parchment, but we will also compensate you for the loss."

The man's mouth opened, closed. That wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting.

He wanted them to completely deny his allegations and that their pen was superior. However, they were being too reasonable.

The customers also nodded at Hannah's request.

"That sounds reasonable."

"Why don't they just use their quills if they think that the fountain pen is unreliable?"

"Maybe he just wanted to get a free replacement or something?"

"Right… He should just get it replaced if it's defective and tell them what he wants. He's just here to complain…"

The merchant's anger seemed almost… misplaced, like an actor unsure of his next line.

He grabbed the parchment back and stuffed it into his satchel. "Tch. Fine. You'll hear from me again."

With that, he stormed out, muttering curses loud enough for the bystanders to hear.

The tension remained after the door slammed shut. Customers exchanged uneasy glances as this wasn't a normal day in the shop.

Hannah turned to them immediately, bowing slightly. "We apologize for that disruption. Please understand, every product here is tested with care. We stand by our work. If anyone has doubts, I can demonstrate a pen right now."

Her confidence steadied the room. A few customers nodded, reassured. Some even stepped forward to test the pens themselves.

Furthermore, many of them are actually repeat customers and knew that the man just wanted to cause trouble.

Gene exhaled slowly once things had calmed. He leaned closer to Hannah. "That wasn't real. He was planted."

"I know…" she whispered back. "But we couldn't call him out. Not without proof."

Gene nodded. "This might just be a start. Rayven needs to hear about this."

***

That evening, in the Golden Coast manor, Gene and Hannah found Rayven bent over his worktable, sleeves rolled up, whisk in hand as he experimented with his strange new sauce.

"Not now…" Rayven muttered absently, focusing on the slow thickening of egg yolk and oil. "I'm close to getting the perfect texture right…"

Well, he thought that it was a kitchen helper who wanted to clean up the place.

"Rayven. It's me…"

Rayven blinked, looking up, and noticed that it was Gene and Hannah…

"What happened?"

Hannah explained everything about the angry merchant, the ruined parchment, the suspiciously absent pen, and the most likely attempt to shake their customer's trust.

By the time she finished, Rayven gently nodded.

"So… they've begun…" He muttered.