The Frugal Mage

"Who?" Nara suddenly asked from the corner.

She actually hadn't left yet and was just polishing her sword as she listened in.

"Rivals…" Rayven replied matter-of-factly.

"Old merchants who can't beat us in trade, so they've chosen such a cowardly tactic instead. If we don't act, these staged incidents will spread."

Gene frowned. "What do you want to do?"

Rayven went silent for a moment as he considered what to do with the current situation.

"We don't fight them in the shadows or wait for their next action. We'll be active and we show the truth in the open. If they try to smear us with lies, we'll drown them in proof. And if they send more… actors into our shop, then I'll make sure they regret it."

This time, his smile had become even more dangerous.

***

That night, while the city slept, the old merchants gathered once more in their tavern corner.

Colben smirked as he listened to the report.

The act they've done in Rayven's shop was actually not an isolated event. They have done similar acts of spreading lies or rumors about the Fountain Pen in various locations…

Indeed, the commotion didn't just happen in the Eterna Script Trading. It happened in various shops as they hired actors to curse the pen as if they were talking to themselves, but they were actually just spreading rumors about its instability.

"Good. The seed is planted. Tomorrow, it will grow."

However, none of them knew that the boy they underestimated was already planning how to rip that seed from the soil, roots, and all.

***

The next day, the morning was ordinary at first.

Hannah opened the shutters of the store, Gene swept the floor, and Miki arranged the pens inside their glass cases.

Yes, Miki and Nara had decided to show up in the store since the two guards that Albert had sent may not be enough if someone decided to cause trouble.

For some time, it looked like any other day of business. But they all felt it, the shift in the customers' stares, the hesitation in their footsteps could also be seen.

It seemed that more rumors had reached them.

Apparently, they had been made by Rennard about the circulating rumors last night and warned them about it.

The first two students who entered were not the same cheerful buyers they had grown used to. Instead, they whispered to each other and kept glancing toward the counter.

Hannah greeted them with her usual warm smile.

"Good morning, gentlemen. Looking for something in particular?"

The older of the two hesitated before blurting out. "We… heard these pens leak. Is that true? We just bought a couple of things two days ago. I'm just worried about their integrity since I plan to buy another for a present for my friend here."

It was a reasonable worry.

Still, Hannah glanced at Rayven, who wanted to deal with this situation.

He stood from the workbench where he had been sorting nibs and placed one fountain pen gently on the counter.

"Not true," He replied.

Then he pushed the pen forward with a blank sheet of parchment. "You can always see for yourself. They're also quite sturdy. As long as you don't use it to stab something, the nib will just be fine."

The boys smiled after hearing his last comment.

Even a quill would be broken if it were used to stab something… Nonetheless, one of them picked it up and began to write. At first slow, then faster. The ink flowed smoothly. No smudges, no leaks…

"Go on." Rayven encouraged. "Try harder. Shake it if you like."

The boy actually did, shaking it with all his might, earning a few chuckles from other customers who had come in to watch. Not a drop fell. The pen still wrote perfectly.

When they were done, Rayven smiled. "If one of these pens ruins your sleeve or your paper, I'll give you three more for free. That's how much I trust my work."

The two boys exchanged looks, and they no longer doubted his words. "Sorry for the trouble. We just heard some nasty remarks, I guess… We'll take one each!"

And just like that, the first wall of doubt crumbled.

To be honest, Rayven had another two other plans, one of which was to hire people who would spread another rumor that the negative remarks on their product were only made by the quill-and-ink traders.

Thankfully, his Uncle Albert already had a group of people who could handle that. Rayven just had to pay his uncle 5 gold coins for that to happen.

However, that operation would only be done later this afternoon.

For now, they just had to ensure that those doubters who would come to the store would be dealt with.

As for the second plan… It was to invite some trusted officials to test their product within the store!

***

Later that morning, three clerks from the city courts came in together, and they were swiftly noticed by many customers.

'They're finally hear… Perfect timing.' Rayven thought as he looked at the door.

They were older, dressed in gray robes, with serious faces.

One of them carried a folded contract, and as he unfolded it, Hannah recognized it, the very one that had been waved around yesterday by the hired actor who accused them of ruining his trade agreement.

The clerk spoke coldly. "There are complaints that your pens blotch and ruin important documents. We're here to see for ourselves."

Gene's hand twitched, but Rayven stepped forward. "Of course. Here. Test them."

He offered three pens and three sheets.

The clerks wrote carefully at first, their faces tight with suspicion. Then they wrote faster, testing the flow of the ink. When one of them even tilted the pen downward to test leakage, nothing came out but smooth lines.

After several minutes, the lead clerk put his pen down and gave Rayven an approving look. "These are better than any quill we've used."