Akeno and I both walked together down the aisles. She filled her basket, while I filled my pushcart with various items.
"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself," she smiled politely. "My name is Akeno Himejima, I'm a 3rd Year at Kuoh Academy. May I ask for your name?"
"Lynx Tiberius," I told her. "I'm 17, but I don't go to school."
"Really?" She tilted her head. "Why ever not?"
"I have my reasons," I told her simply. "But it's not all bad. I recently managed to buy a shop and I'm almost done setting it up, just have to think of a name for it and I'll be golden."
She tilted her head. "A shop?" She asked, curious. "What kind of things do you sell?"
"I'll probably be a general shop," I told her. "Open to bartering and the like- sort of like you'd see in an RPG. It's more fun that way, you know? Even if I may not make as much of a profit," I smiled, lying through my teeth at the end... I was gonna scam some mother fuckers so god damn hard. "I'll probably sell a bit of everything."
"Oh, that sounds nice," she smiled politely, obviously hiding how she didn't think such a shop would last. Things like that had fallen out of practise for a reason, after all. "If you don't mind me asking, how did... Well..."
"I lose my arm?" I asked her. "Car accident. Didn't only lose my arm, I lost my eye too. I was lucky to get out of it without any sort of physical scars, though I wasn't lucky enough to keep my arm and my eye."
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," she sounded genuine when she said it, and it made my heart flutter slightly. "If you'd like, I don't mind helping you take your things back to your shop?"
"You're too kind, Himejima-san" I smiled at her. "I humbly accept your help."
She gave me a kind smile as we arrived at the checkout together and loaded everything into bags... I could have carried these out, slipped into an alley and then put them in my inventory, but I saw no reason to turn down Akeno's kindness.
With that done, the two of us began to head back to my shop. I carried two bags of shopping in one hand, while she carried four.
"You sure you should carry that much?" I asked her.
"Oh, it's nothing at all, I train," she smiled politely...
That was a lie, she was just naturally stronger due to her devil and fallen angel biology.
I just nodded at her words, and we made chitchat as we headed to my shop. Luckily, it wasn't too far from the market, and we arrived safely.
Akeno tilted her head in confusion. "There's a shop here? I pass by here fairly often, but I didn't notice it..."
"It is new," I reminded her. "And it's not quite 'finished' yet, as it were."
I made my way inside the shop, before I realised it would be bad if Akeno came in since Unum was supposed to be behind the counter-!
I relaxed instantly when I saw Unum was gone... They had taken their books back into the living room, it seemed, to read... Or maybe they were practising some of the cutting techniques they'd read about?
Regardless, I was grateful.
Akeno hummed as she looked around. "Hm... It's small, but it's cozy," she smiled. "Made of wood too, I see... It does give that vibe that it's some sort of shop in a fantasy anime... But isn't this a safety hazard?"
"The wood has all been treated in materials that make it fire resistant," I lied to her. "Fires still aren't ideal, but they'll be easy to contain. Besides that, I don't plan on housing anything flammable, just to be safe."
She smiled and nodded. "Where should I put the bags?"
"Just on the counter, for now," I told her. "I'll take them back one by one later."
She nodded and lifted the bags up, placing them down on the counter with a smile while keeping one of them- her own bag. "Well, I should get going."
"Thank you for much for taking the time to help me today, Himejima-san," I gave her my sincere thanks.
She just waved it off and smiled. "Maybe you can give me a discount when I come to shop?"
I chuckled. "Sure. First time you come around my shop once I'm open, you'll get 50% off your first three items. Sound good?"
"Not my first order?" She asked teasingly.
"And what stops you from buying my entire shop's inventory at half price in that instance?" I shot right back.
She laughed lightly. "You have a point~ Thank you for your offer~" She curtsied. "I'll be going now, farewell~"
"See you."
She turned around, and I got my first look at that round bubble butt that was barely hidden in her dress... The sway of her hips was almost hypnotic.
I was starting to wonder if Akeno wasn't secretly half succubus instead of half devil.
I waited until the door closed before I walked over to the door and placed a hand on it- locking it and preventing anyone from entering, regardless of the world.
I made my way into the back, and found Unum had already gone through half of the cookbooks already in the time I'd been gone, seeming to be diligent in reading them.
Out of curiosity, I used Analyse on them again.
Name: Unum (Temp)
Race: Servant
Job: Chef Level 1
Class: -Null-
Value: 1,000 Gold
Hm...?
In the time I'd been gone, she'd read enough that she was already considered a Level 1 Chef?
Plus, her value had increased by ten times her previous amount...
That gave me a very good idea of just how much value obtaining a Job and a Class added to someone's value...
I rubbed my chin in thought... If I wasn't wrong, then it was very likely that most humans in this world only had Jobs, not Classes. But supernatural people also had classes alongside Jobs, which greatly increased their value.
Damn it, I should have used Analyse on Akeno. But I was so caught up in her beauty that it slipped my mind. I wouldn't make that boneheaded mistake next time.
I shook my head and focused up. "Unum," I called out. "I've got the groceries, come and help me unpack."
Unum obeyed quickly, closing their current book and getting up before they walked past me and grabbed all the bags. They headed to the kitchen and began to immediate set about unpacking everything. I decided to leave them to it, setting the other two bags on the counter.
Since they had the Chef Job, I had no reason to interfere or move anything. Let them put things in the most optimal places in order to cook good meals efficiently. Instead, I decided to focus on unpacking the toiletries- putting them in easy to access places where they could be reached as needed.
Finally, I took a seat on the couch and ran my hand through my hair...
Honestly, I'd already had a completely wild day, and I'd barely done anything.
I hadn't even tested out my skills or my magic like I wanted to... Though, those would likely need to be held off on until I was able to purchase the Dungeon or the Training Room.
Except for Dream Magic... I should be able to test that out relatively safely.
I looked up as Unum made their way over to me, now finished with packing everything.
"All finished?" I asked them.
They gave a nod.
"Good," I nodded. "I want you to keep reading the cookbooks and then make me something to eat. I don't like my food too spicy, so keep that in mind."
Unum nodded and took a seat, gratefully taking the books and starting to flick through them, seeming excited at the prospect of being able to make me something to eat.
I hummed as I eyed them up for a moment...
Despite the fact Servants were supposed to be Blank Slates, I had noticed something. Their undying loyalty to me made them easily excitable when I gave them orders or told them to do something. Whenever I gave an order, they wanted to obey. Their loyalty gave them feelings of happiness when I gave them orders.
There was a chance that if I had no use for them, then they might even fall into depression.
I'd need to remember that and be careful.
I decided to head out to the foyer of the shop. It was time to stock the shelves.
With what, you might ask?
Potions.
Health Potions, Stamina Potions, Mana Potions.
I would buy a bulk of potions and then sell them at a jacked up price.
Specifically, I grabbed potions from RPG games that restore a percentage of health. I bought potions that ranged from 5% up to 30% of the maximum stats… Any higher, and I would certainly not only go broke but also attract the ire of the Phenex Family in my primary world.
No matter what world you went too, unless it was a no-danger slice of life world, potions- even minor potions- were vital.
Especially in the world of DxD, where the only 'Potion' was the Phenex Tear- but those were incredibly expensive and also tended to circulate on the Black Market.
And so, even though it pained me a lot, I bought enough potions to fill the shelves. I also purchased some special ointment with mystical properties designed for skin care- since many people cared about their skin and looking young. Though this one was magical and would actually work.
I let out a sigh after I finished stocking the shelves, looking as now over half of my gold was gone doing so.
"It's an investment," I murmured. "You gotta spend money to make money- just don't go overboard."
I took a seat behind the counter and leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling.
Now, the final thing. I had to decide on the name of my Shop.
Obviously, I could put something like 'Interdimensional Shop,' but that was a bit on the nose and people might brush it off.
I couldn't just have an overly dramatic and cringy name either. Not only would having such a name embarrass me, but it would also make other people embarrassed to shop there unless they had incredibly thick skin.
Though, at the same time, an underwhelming name wouldn't attract enough interest, and people would maybe give the shop a glance before moving on.
Or perhaps a simple name would be better. Simple, but clear. If you wanted to build a brand, then you needed a good name. If I wanted my shop to get attention, I had to name it like I was building a brand instead of just a simple shop.
Hm... I decided to, momentarily, shelve the name and focus on my short term goals.
One: Increase my Merchant Job to Level 5.
Two: Obtain 5000 Gold to buy the Dungeon.
Three: Use the dungeon to start farming gold and materials so that I could buy the training room.
I hummed as I thought about the conversion rate of my Gold to real money.
1 Gold was equal to about 1000 Yen.
1000 Yen was roughly $10.
I'd used over half of my money to buy all these potions along with purchasing cookbooks and also all the basic things I'd need for my daily life... So, I'd have to charge quite a lot if I wanted to recoup any potential loses.
Luckily, I had already somewhat secured a client in Akeno, so at least I knew I would at least be getting a little income soon. And when Akeno told Rias about the potions, I'd be golden.
The scent of food tickled my nose, and I realised that Unum had begun to make dinner which caused my stomach to growl.
For the moment, I shelved any thoughts of naming the shop or future plans or worries about money.
And, instead, I made my way into the back to have my first meal since coming to this world.
********************
For the sake of simplicity.
1 Gold = 1000 Yen
1000 Yen = $10 (at least within this fanfic/world)
Just to make it easy for everyone.