"That would be fifty credits and ten cents. Card or cash?"
Ashen kept his professional tone as he attended to the latest customer.
Mr Eric's shop received more visitors than anyone would expect.
From morning until around three or four in the afternoon, Ashen had plenty of time to rest or just sit quietly behind the counter.
Once the clock passed four, everything changed. One customer after another started walking in, and they didn't seem to stop.
It was as if they had all secretly agreed to come at the same time just to overwhelm him.
Ashen barely had time to breathe. Being the only one at the counter meant all the work fell on him alone.
Some of the customers even spoke strange languages, ones Ashen had never heard before in his entire life. Yet somehow, he had no trouble understanding them.
Even more surprising, he could reply fluently in their language without hesitation.
The same thing happened with this world's money system.
At first, he didn't understand how their currency worked or what the values meant. But, oddly enough, he could handle it perfectly now.
It's like when he attempts, his mind just seems to figure out the rest on its own, as long as he has attempted.
After thinking about it for a while, Ashen realised the reason behind this strange ability.
It was because of the Crusader's Privilege, the gift that gave him advantages and knowledge that normal people didn't have.
He couldn't help but sigh. "Would be nice if the Crusader's Privilege could also tell me what my elemental affinity is."
The book he received from Fobias, the Lord of Order, had mentioned the existence of the four basic elements, Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth.
To become an elemental magic user, one first had to discover which element they were attuned to. Some people had an affinity for only one element. Others could connect with two, and the rarest few could handle three.
Having all four elemental affinities, however, was said to be impossible, something that had never been recorded.
Though, considering Fobias had seen countless worlds and dimensions, Ashen doubted such a thing would surprise him.
He flipped through the book again, rereading the page that talked about discovering one's affinity.
"There are only two ways to do it…" Ashen muttered, shaking his head as he confirmed the text again.
The first method was to have a skilled magician guide the process. The second was to gather magical items related to each of the four elements, objects filled with the essence of fire, water, wind, or earth.
Unfortunately for Ashen, neither option was possible right now.
Where was he supposed to find a magician in this world that looked exactly like Earth? And as for magical items, how could he find something like that here? There were no dungeons like you would find in fantasy novels, no mana stones, no signs of magic at all.
He let out another tired sigh. "Sigh… guess I'll have to figure out another way."
Ashen refused to believe that the process was limited to just two options.
There had to be a third way, something the book didn't mention. And if there was, he was determined to find it.
As the sun disappeared and night slowly crept in, Mr Eric walked into the store. He had come to check on Ashen's progress during his first day working alone.
"Welcome, Mr Eric," Ashen greeted warmly, stepping out from behind the counter to meet him.
He barely had time to say more before another customer entered. Without delay, Ashen hurried back to his post to handle the sale.
Mr Eric didn't mind. He simply stood by the corner, watching quietly. Once the last customer left, they finally had time to talk.
"How's the job going? Not too stressful, I hope?"
Mr Eric knew exactly how tiring the work could get. He had done it himself for over twenty years and understood the exhaustion that came from dealing with endless customers.
Eventually, though, it became fun, and relaxing as well.
"Not at all, sir. It's even better than I imagined," Ashen said honestly.
It was true. The job suited him perfectly. He just needed to stay in one place, attend to whoever came in, and manage the register.
No running around. No heavy lifting. Just standing or sitting behind the counter.
The fact that he could even choose between sitting and standing made the job even better. Out of all the jobs he'd taken before, this one was by far the easiest and most comfortable.
Mr Eric gave him a doubtful look. "Hmm… you're not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?"
Ashen smiled and shook his head quickly. "No, sir. I really mean it."
Mr Eric studied him for a moment. To him, Ashen was quite an unusual young man. Most people his age wouldn't take such a boring job seriously. Even fewer would do it with a genuine smile like Ashen did.
"You know what, forget it," Mr Eric said at last, letting out a soft chuckle. "Tell me, how did today's sales go?"
This was an important question. It would determine whether Mr Eric could trust Ashen completely or not.
After spending over twenty years behind the counter, Mr Eric could predict sales for any given day with near-perfect accuracy.
Since today was Monday, the busiest day of the week, he knew exactly what the numbers should look like.
Every Monday, office workers and company employees stopped by the store after work to restock on groceries and supplies that had been exhausted over the weekend.
The shop was always packed during these hours, so sales were usually high.
He was eager to see how well Ashen had handled it.
Ashen took out the sales book and handed it to Mr Eric.
Mr Eric sat by the counter and began flipping through the pages, reviewing every transaction. Meanwhile, Ashen continued to attend to new customers that kept arriving one after another.
A soft hum escaped Mr Eric's lips as he reviewed the numbers. Ashen heard it but didn't turn around. He stayed focused on his task, scanning and bagging items for the next person in line.
Once the last customer left, Mr Eric finally looked up.
"You made this much in one day?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yes, sir. Is there a problem with the accounting?" Ashen replied, slightly confused.
Mr Eric checked his watch. The time read 8:45 PM. The day wasn't even over yet, and there was still time left for more customers to arrive.
He smiled proudly and closed the ledger. "You did good, Ashen. Extraordinarily good, in fact."
The records showed that Ashen hadn't taken a single penny for himself. Every bit of income was accounted for.
Mr Eric couldn't have been more pleased.
"Thank you, sir," Ashen said, bowing his head lightly.
Mr Eric stood up and stretched. "Tell you what, how about I take over from here? You've worked hard enough for one day. Go out, relax, do whatever you like."
Mr Eric knew perfectly well how suffocating it could be to stay couped up in one place for too long.
Be it old or young, the body eventually starts to get stiff and difficult to move.
Consider this Mr. Eric's way of letting Ashen not become a victim of that.