Bandr was from a rough background and had been entrenched in the underworld of the South District of the capital for twenty years.

In addition to running his Carriage dealership, Bandr had many connections in the underground black market of the district.

By trafficking in various dubious goods, he had made a fortune.

Recently, he learned that the Apothecary Academies around the capital were about to hold their triannual graduation exams.

The demand for medicinal herbs was sure to skyrocket at that time.

So, Bandr invested all his savings to stockpile a large quantity of low-grade herbs, planning to make a killing when the prices went up.

However, for some reason, in the past two months, the price of herbs in the capital not only failed to rise but kept falling, to the point where Bandr began questioning his life choices.

In the end, all the herbs he had hoarded were stuck with him, and he was nearly bankrupt.

One day, Bandr discovered that Aqi, a former employee at his dealership, was now working as a clerk at the so-called “Mechanic's Haven.”

So, Bandr thought of threatening Aqi into stealing ten magical air conditioners for him. He would then sell them in the black market and make enough money to recover some of his losses.

But instead of succeeding, he ended up being lectured by a priest from the so-called “Mechanical God Sect.”

This left Bandr with a deep grudge.

Later, he found out that a recorder named Aregi had been fired from the Galon Institute.

He also remembered how Owen from the Galon Institute had praised the magical air conditioners in the public bulletin, mentioning that their core technology was the "Frostmist" magic.

With this in mind, Bandr came up with a plan. He tricked Aregi into replicating the magical chip used in the air conditioners.

To his surprise, it worked, and the copies were quite well-made.

So, Bandr immediately started selling counterfeit magical air conditioners in the black market.

And it turned out to be a huge success.

As he sat in his carriage on his way to the black market to secure more funds to expand the production of his counterfeit air conditioners, he chuckled to himself.

"Heh, this so-called Mechanical God Sect is nothing special!"

South District of the Capital, Mechanic’s Haven.

Karien entered through the back door of the shop. As soon as he stepped into the inner area, he heard a commotion ahead.

At that moment, Aqi, hunched and hurried, retreated into the inner room. Seeing Karien, he immediately panicked.

"Mr. Sixteen, it's bad!"

Karien raised a hand to signal him to calm down and asked, "What's going on?"

Aqi swallowed nervously before replying, "A lot of people today are saying they want to return their purchases. No matter how much we try to talk them out of it, they won’t listen."

Return the goods...

Karien scratched his chin and said, "Let them return it if they want…"

Aqi froze for a moment before asking, "Really? You’re going to let them return it? That’s at least ten or twenty units!"

With a snap of his fingers, Karien produced a pouch and handed it to Aqi.

"Inside, there are elemental coins and gold coins. Anyone who wants to return their items, refund them at the original price. They registered when they purchased, so the clerks can refund them according to the recorded price."

After a brief pause, Karien added, "But when you process the returns, make sure to emphasize a few points…"

Outside the shop.

A group of people surrounded the four clerks, arguing loudly about returning their purchases.

"Sir, if there’s an issue with the air conditioners you bought, we can help you check and repair them," the clerks were trying to persuade them.

"I don’t need any checks, I just don’t want it anymore. I want to return it!"

"Yeah, after thinking about it, I realized it’s too expensive, so I want to return it!"

"Return it!"

One after another, they pressed for the returns, leaving the clerks unsure of what to do.

At that moment, Aqi emerged from the inner room, holding the pouch and addressing the crowd, "If you all want to return your purchases, we’ll refund you at the original purchase price."

Upon hearing Aqi’s words, everyone turned to look at him.

The four clerks were shocked and anxious. "But, Aqi, if they return the products…"

Aqi smiled and said, "The priest said as long as the products aren’t damaged, we can accept returns. Bring out the original registration book."

He then turned to the customers, "Gentlemen, returning the items is no problem, but I’d like to emphasize a few points.

"The magical air conditioners sold at Mechanic's Haven don’t just serve one function. In the future, we’ll be expanding their features.

"Although some imitations are out there now, I advise you all to carefully check the quality before purchasing from elsewhere. Poorly made knock-offs can easily break down."

"The products from other places won’t be covered by our maintenance service, and we won’t be able to expand their functions!"

Despite his efforts, the crowd didn’t change their minds. One person shouted,

"My friend bought his magical air conditioner from the black market for just 35 gold coins, which is a third of your price. I tried it at his place, and aside from looking a little ugly, it works just fine!"

Aqi looked at him and replied, "But, sir, we at Mechanic's Haven don’t just sell products—we sell services. As we explained when you purchased the air conditioners, just like other magical devices, they need maintenance after extended use.

"If you bought from the black market, we can’t provide maintenance."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The same person yelled again,

"Who needs that expensive maintenance? It’s just a magical appliance, you can fix it by finding a technician.

"If it really breaks, I’ll just buy another one. I could buy three of them from the black market for the price of one here!"

It was clear they were determined to return their purchases.

Aqi no longer insisted and began issuing refunds according to the order.

After the group left, the store returned to a brief silence.

And throughout the entire day, no customers made any new purchases.

This made Aqi and the clerks anxious, but Karien told them not to worry and brought out a box.

When Aqi opened it, he found dozens of palm-sized flat iron boxes inside.

"What are these?"

Karien smiled and said, "These are our new products."

The counterfeit magical air conditioners spread rapidly in the black market.

Many people who had been tempted by the features of the air conditioners but couldn’t afford them had started buying from the black market.

By July, the weather grew hotter and the sun scorched the earth, making the ground so hot it seemed to be steaming.

Those who had bought magical air conditioners eagerly turned them on to cool their rooms.

The people who had purchased from the black market were just as pleased with their new purchases.

But after prolonged use, they noticed that the cooling effect of the counterfeit air conditioners had started to deteriorate.

They were puzzled and rushed to the black market to get answers.

Bandr, who was boasting about his air conditioners to other customers in the underground market, thought they were coming back to make a second purchase.

But when the group surrounded him, they immediately began demanding answers.

"My air conditioner doesn’t cool anymore after a while—what’s wrong?"

"Is it broken? I just bought it a few days ago!"

"I invited friends and family over, and after two hours, the air conditioner stopped cooling. It was so embarrassing!"

"What are you going to do about it?"

Bandr froze.

He stammered, unable to come up with a satisfactory explanation.

After all, he was just a profiteer with no knowledge of recording or appliances.

"Everyone! Everyone!"

Bandr tried to maintain his composure and shouted,

"Don’t worry, it’s not the air conditioners—it's just the weather interfering…"

Before he could finish his sentence, someone shouted,"Then how come Mechanic’s Haven’s air conditioners aren’t affected by the weather?"

Just as he spoke, another batch of customers entered the black market, heading toward Bandr.

Bandr realized how serious the situation was and quickly yelled,

"Don’t worry! For anyone who bought from us, we’ll take responsibility and solve the problem!

"Follow me, I’ll take you to the air conditioner’s workshop, and our recorder will help you fix it!"

He led the way, and the crowd hurriedly followed, afraid he might run off.

After crossing two streets, Bandr led them to Aregi’s stone house and called him out.

When Aregi saw the crowd gathered outside, he was completely bewildered.

"This is our air conditioner’s recorder, and he can solve all your problems. If you have any issues, just ask him!"

With everyone’s attention on Aregi, Bandr took the opportunity to sneak into the stone house.

He slipped out through a window on the other side, took a hidden street, and made his

Aregi, a thin man with reddish-brown skin, froze as he saw the large crowd surrounding him, shouting.

Fear surged within him as the mocking laughter of his former colleagues from the Institute and the insults from noblemen in the dining hall flashed in his mind, overlapping with the angry faces before him.

Aregi couldn't stop trembling. He instinctively tried to retreat back into the stone house.

But just as he moved, a man grabbed his clothes and shouted,

"Where do you think you're going? What are you going to do about the problems with the air conditioners?"

"I... I..."

As a second-tier Magic Sorcerer, Aregi couldn’t even muster the courage to resist a mere commoner.

It wasn't that he was afraid of the man grabbing him; rather, he feared that any hint of hostility would immediately label him as a danger to the entire capital.

Just like when he first arrived in the capital, he had punched a thug who had insulted him, and within moments, hundreds of people surrounded him, glaring at him as if he were a wild animal.

He had been dragged to the police station and detained for three days.

All of that, just because he was from Abon, and his skin and facial features were different from the others.

If it hadn’t been for his mentor bailing him out, Aregi might have ended up in prison.

Since then, a deep scar had formed in his heart.

He no longer dared to strike anyone, even if they were far weaker than him.

"Are you trying to run away?"

The man who had grabbed Aregi was growing impatient.

He cursed,"Your air conditioners have problems, and you need to explain yourself today!"

"I..." Aregi replied in a panic, "The air conditioners aren’t mine to sell…"

Before he could finish, the crowd rushed into the stone house.

They had originally come to call Bandr out, but they found that the despicable merchant had already fled.

Unable to do anything else, they turned their anger on Aregi.

One person grabbed a few elemental stones and threw them at Aregi, shouting,

"You’re saying the air conditioners aren’t yours? Then what are these?"

"Th-These are the magical chips..." Aregi’s panic intensified.

"What kind of magical chips are these?" The man’s voice grew shrill.

Aregi lowered his head slowly and said, "The magical chips for the air conditioners…"

"So, you mean the air conditioners are all made by you?"

Taking a deep breath, Aregi raised his head, summoning all his courage to explain,"I’m only responsible for making the magical chips. Bandr was in charge of the rest of the air conditioner’s design.

I can guarantee that the chips I made..."

Before he could finish, the crowd’s angry shouts drowned him out:

"Since you made them, then it’s your problem!"

"I bought the air conditioner for the summer, and now that I’ve paid for it, it’s not cooling in this heat! What are you going to do about that?"

"I knew something was wrong with this air conditioner, but I didn’t expect it to be such a cheap knockoff!"

"I want my money back!"

"Give me my money back!"

"Refund!"

The shouts grew louder, and Aregi’s already fragile courage began to crumble.

He stood helpless in the crowd, his eyes wide as the faces around him twisted in fury.

"This guy is from Abon! No wonder the air conditioners he made are faulty!"

"Dammit! Why would I buy something made by an Abon? This is bad luck!"

"Ugh, these Abon people should just stay in their own country and stop coming here!"

"Why didn’t King Plei VI just kill off all the Abon people back then and save us this trouble?"

The nightmare from three years ago replayed in Aregi’s mind.

His body trembled uncontrollably as he stepped backward, trying to escape.

But the increasingly angry crowd had no intention of letting him go. They grabbed his arms and dragged him forward, their curses growing louder.

"That black market merchant ran away, don’t let this guy escape too!"

"Take him to the church and let the Dark God judge him!"

"Yeah! Abon people are all scum!"

As they spoke, they pulled Aregi’s arms forcefully, dragging him toward the Dark Church.

Aregi’s fear deepened.

He would rather go to the police station than to the Dark Church.

Twenty years ago, when Abon invaded the Durand Kingdom, it was King Plei VI who led the army to repulse them and even counterattacked, conquering all of Abon.

At that time, King Plei VI ordered the slaughter of all rebellious Abon people, and it was the Holy Army of the Dark Church that carried out the execution.

Because of this, Abon people had a deep and instinctive fear of the Dark Church.

"No! No!"

Aregi struggled desperately but dared not use magic.

The crowd dragged him along, and because of the commotion, many people gathered to watch. After hearing what had happened, they joined in the condemnation.

The uproar naturally attracted the attention of the police.

Two patrolling Magic Sorcerer officers quickly arrived and cleared the crowd after learning the situation.

While the police weren’t exactly friendly to Abon people, this wasn’t within the jurisdiction of the Dark Church, so they intervened to stop the crowd and took

Aregi into custody.

After questioning, the police discovered that the counterfeit air conditioners were the work of a merchant named Bandr.

Normally, with the police system in Durand being rather crude, such commercial disputes weren’t their responsibility.

And with so many people selling fake or subpar products on the market, the police had rarely intervened.

However, when they realized that Bandr and Aregi had sold over three hundred air conditioners, involving amounts upwards of thousands of gold coins, they immediately decided to open a case.

They confiscated the over 1,000 gold coins Aregi had on him and began organizing a manhunt for the fleeing Bandr.

However, the confiscated gold wasn’t returned to the people who had bought the counterfeit air conditioners. Instead, it was kept under the guise of processing the case.

The buyers of the fake air conditioners, upon hearing the news, realized that their chances of getting a refund were slim.

The money had been seized by the police, and it would likely remain with them for years.

As for later on, who would dare ask the police for their money back?

After a few failed attempts, the disgruntled buyers made a plan and returned to Mechanic's Haven, hoping that the Mechanical God Sect might help them repair their air conditioners.

"Sorry, we can’t do that!"

Aqi looked at the group of people, his face calm as he spoke,

"We do not provide maintenance for products not purchased from Mechanic’s Haven."