First Sale

The shop of the merchant who called himself Halt Star was a very luxurious place. A variety of clothes hung on the walls. 

They were sitting across from each other at a table. The table was filled with a variety of food.

Halt cut the meat in front of him with a knife and said, "Mr. Luck, you have something I'm very interested in."

"I have something you're interested in?" Strange and frightening thoughts began to run through Luck's mind.

He carefully straightened himself up and tightened his open tie. He scanned the store with timid eyes, trying to find a way to escape at any moment.

"Yes, Mr. Luck, your clothes...can you take them off, I'm going to ...?" 

"WHAT?" he clutched his clothes with his hands.

"I'm not that kind of person.."

"I'll pay a lot of money.."

"No!, absolutely not."

"I can tell you don't need money, Mr. Luck, but I really admire your clothes."

"You admire my clothes? He looked at his old suit he had bought at a thrift store.

"Yes Mr. Luck, may I know where you bought your clothes?"

Not knowing how to explain, Luck looked at Halt in silence.

"I understand, you don't want to explain, I understand, I would like to keep the source of such a masterful outfit to myself."

Halt waved his hand and a pouch appeared on the table.

"Mr. Luck, I know I sound insistent, but please sell me your clothes. I will give you a free pair of first-class clothes."

"Consider that you are doing me a favor, I believe we can trade more in the future," he said, pushing the pouch on the table to Luck with his hand.

Picking up the pouch and opening it, Luck saw 5 gold coins glittering yellow.

Even the most expensive clothes he saw in the store were at most 2 gold pieces. But most of the clothes ranged from 10 silver to 80 silver.

"Deal." He knew that 5 gold coins was a very good sum.

"It's a pleasure to trade with you, Mr. Luck," Halt grinned with satisfaction.

"The pleasure is all mine."

Halt was delighted as he watched Luck walk out of his store in a new outfit.

His secretary behind Halt said, "Halt, you made a very good deal, the outfit he brought is very interesting."

"Something tells me we'll be seeing a lot more of that guy."

He looked at the suit in his hand "And there is a lot we can learn from this suit, look at the stitching, I have never seen anything like it before."

Handing the suit to his secretary, Halt said, "Send it to our tailors to examine it, but make sure they don't damage it, the Count has been looking for a new outfit for his banquet lately, I can sell it to him."

Halt's secretary's eyes lit up when she heard this. "The Count is a big fan of showing off, we'll make a lot of money, Halt."

"I've learned something from you, my dear," Halt turned and went back to his store.

With his new clothes on, he no longer attracted people's attention like before, so he began to move around more freely.

He pretended to shop with vendors and tried to get information about where he was. As a result of his efforts, he discovered that he was in a place quite different from his previous world.

The world he was in now was called Gliese and it was the town of Victory in the Bright Moon Kingdom.

In this world, people could use an energy called mana to cast spells or strengthen their bodies to become super warriors. 

Thanks to mana, even ordinary people were strong enough to compete with the athletes of their previous world.

The strength of these mana users was measured by the number of stars. 1 star was the weakest, and 10 stars the strongest.

The world he is currently in consists of 4 main continents, and although there were many kingdoms on the continents, there were only 3 empires.

The Star Empire, the Twilight Empire, and the Empire of the Eternal Sun. 

The Star Empire was the empire that developed the classification system for mana users, hence the limitation of the name star. They valued mages more than any other empire.

The Twilight Empire was feared for its unethical use of mana, so much so that its experiments in raising the dead led to a zombie outbreak. 

The Empire of the Eternal Sun was a desert empire. The harsh environment of the desert turned its people into indomitable warriors.

-Belly Rumbling-

Holding his stomach aching with hunger, Luck entered the first restaurant he saw.

Starlight, that was the name of the restaurant.

The candle bars hanging from the ceiling made the gold decorations inside the restaurant sparkle pleasantly.

After sitting down at an empty table, he didn't know any of the dishes on the menu, so he asked for the food of the person eating at the table next to him.

After a while, the waiter brought his food. The steak was fragrant and mouth-watering, topped with a cherry-like sauce and served with mashed potatoes.

Although he enjoyed every bit of the meat, the mashed potatoes, which had cooled down a bit, were very bland.

Calling a nearby waiter, Luck said, "I don't see salt on the table, can you bring salt?"

The waiter looked shocked and said, "Salt? Are you sure, sir?"

"Of course, don't you realize that mashed potatoes are unsalted?"

"As you wish, sir." The waiter went to the kitchen in a daze.

"Chef, there's a customer inside asking for salt."

"Are you sure he wants salt?"

"Yes, chef, I'm sure. Look at that well-dressed man over there." He nodded to Luck, "he says the mashed potatoes are unsalted."

The chef looked at Luck for a second and said, "He looks rich, you can give him salt."

Unaware of these conversations, Luck was still waiting for the salt he wanted.

When the salt finally arrived, Luck unhappily said, "The salt finally came, but my food is cold. What kind of service is this?"

"I'm sorry sir, I'll heat your food right away." With a wave of the waiter's hand, a wave of hot air circulated over the food. 

It took only seconds for the food to look as if it had just come out of the stove.

"Th, thank you."

After adding salt to his remaining meal, he continued to enjoy the food.

"I don't remember eating such delicious meat." Patting his full belly, Luck was pleased with himself.

"Oh, coffee would go so well with this meal." He spoke involuntarily because he loved coffee so much.

The man he had ordered the same dish turned to him. "My friend, you have very unique tastes." 

"I was already surprised when you asked for salt, but now that you're even thinking of drinking coffee, I wouldn't be surprised if you asked for sugar."

Confused, Luck said, "Aren't these very simple things? Why are you surprised?"

"Simple things? Hahahah" the man laughed heartily. 

"I thought I was one of the richest merchants in this city, but it turns out there are many richer than me."

Finishing his meal, the man wiped his mouth with a napkin and held out his hand to Luck

"I'm Horace Bringer, I'm in the staple food trade."

"Luck Evans," Luck said, holding out his hand to Horace.

"I just arrived in this city. I don't have a job." What he said was neither a lie nor the whole truth.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Luck." 

The two of them chatted briefly, then Horace paid his bill and left the restaurant.

"Check, please."

The waiter who brought his food said, "Your bill is 3 gold pieces, sir."

"3 Gold?" Luck stared blankly at the waiter.

"Yes Sir, the mana-rich Earth dragon meat is 2 gold, the additional seasoning of salt is 80 silver and the table charge is 20 silver." 

The waiter looked impressed and said, "I must confess that we seldom meet an elite clientele with a taste for such a precious spice as salt and pepper."

"Black pepper?"

"Yes, sir, the gentleman you just spoke to asked for black pepper."

"How much is black pepper worth?"

"The black pepper is even more valuable because it comes from a distant kingdom, it is worth 1 gold piece!"

After paying his bill, he headed for the door to leave the restaurant, questioning his life.

"How can simple spices like salt and pepper be so expensive? On Earth, you wouldn't even look at them if they spilled on the floor!"

"If I could bring spices here from Earth..." he opened the door of the restaurant and stepped out.