A lone girl was looking around the small but clean room. It looked like a mix between a shrine and a shop, decorated in a way that gave her a cozy and homely feeling even though it was rather dark in color. Most of the crystal glass displays were empty and even those which had a description looked odd to her.

In the center of the hexagon like structure was a counter running all the way to the back wall and encasing a stairway at the back that seemed to be leading down below as well as up to the next floor. All the wood seemed to be of a black color. A dark red carpet was leading all the way from the front of the corner to the entrance door, which seemed quite big, looking more like a gate of a castle rather than a regular door. The other sides had large supporting pillars on each corner as well as large windows made of wood and crystal in between.

The girl, Tai Yui, arrived just recently in a way that she still could not believe herself. One moment she was standing at the top of the highest skyscraper in the city, and in the next she found herself in this small shop.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

Instead of an answer, the girl suddenly felt a blazing heat all around her before something tugged at her for a moment. It was not a physical pull, more like something totally different that she never experienced before. A link, a sort of bond that was hard to describe.

"Hi dear, good to see you have decided to come here!"

She turned around only to see a girl. Not just any girl though. With long black hair, pale skin and a slender figure she was quite pretty. It was not her looks that caused Yui to stare with an open mouth though. The important part was, that this girl in front of her, looked like a twin of herself.

Not only did they share the same body proportions, height and facial features, even their hair color matched completely. The only thing that was slightly different was her eye color, pose and the glint in the girl's eyes that spoke of confidence and a fiery temper.

Yui was rather introverted and shy, most would see her as a gentle, peace loving girl. Easily scared and easy to make friends with, but sadly also easy to take advantage of. The girl in front of her obviously had a very different personality and temperament.

"Ah, hello! The message said you are looking for someone like me? It also offered a way to start over new, get a new outlook on life."

She was still a little bit confused by the message, but for some reason she could not deny that she was interested. Now after having just travelled to this shop in a magical way, she was even more curious.

"Well dear, it's rather simple. This place needs someone to watch over it. You have the chance to start living here, but there is no chance to go back anymore. This is a different place than the one you know, a different world, unlike your own."

"If you agree then you leave everything you know behind and jump into the rabbit hole. If you agree this little shop is all yours, though there will be quite some limits and restrictions of what you can do with it."

Yui was surprised and wanted to know more, but she had a feeling that she would not get a lot more information. Feeling like her life in the world she had known for so long was pretty much over for her anyways, she did not even consider for a long time before she agreed.

"Sure, there is nothing back home that I would miss anyways, no one that would miss me either." she replied with a little bit of a sad look.

"I guess I will need clothes and all those things, I didn't bring any of that with me."

Chuckling at her answer the copy of her started to laugh.

"Don't worry, we find you some clothes and a toothbrush or something for you to use here. Welcome to the Earthly Treasures Pavilion! Let me give you a quick rundown of the things here."

Following the girl around the shop, Yui did her best to remember everything she was told.

"Most of the Pavilion's formations are still sealed. We will need to increase our power reserves first before they will be open to you. When we have enough items sold, we will be able to release more options and variations."

Yui nodded and inspected the two cases that were available for now. Both did not look like items, but more like a little replica of a mine entrance and a forest respectively.

~

[Spirit Copper Mine Ticket] – 5 First Tier Cores or 500 Spirit Shards

Enables the user to enter the Spirit Copper Mine for two hours

[Old Vine Forest Ticket] – 5 First Tier Cores or 500 Spirit Shards

Enables the user to enter the Old Vine Forest for two hours.

~

"Am I going to sell these … things?" she asked, not sure what to do about it.

"Yes, these ticket talismans can be used to enter the respective places. Diligent people might find a fortune there that is well worth the price. You can obviously sell things you find or make yourself, but for now I'd recommend you stick to the basics or talk to me if you plan on something unconventional."

Nodding, Yui looked around once more. There did not seem to be any other things for sale currently, it seemed easy enough.

"You can sleep in the rooms downstairs. How long you open the shop is up to you, same as how much you earn. Your share of the profit depends on how much and what you sell, everything else is used to keep things running here. Once you unlock more formations, your cut might become higher as well as we might produce and restore things in a more efficient way, but we're a bit low on power, as such the good stuff is all inactive currently."

Not having an idea of the money system in this world, Yui just nodded again.

"Here let me give you a little welcome gift. If anyone is making trouble just call me. I'm bound to your soul after all."

"Thanks." Taking the gift box Yui wondered what being bound to her soul would mean. "Is this why you look like me? Do you have a name?"

"You can call me Tora. See you sweety."

Yui barely had time to say goodbye, now just remembering that she never even introduced herself at all, before Tora had already disappeared in a cloud of mist, as if she didn't exist before.

Staring at the place in disbelief for a while, she then opened the gift box and found the inside quite a bit larger than the outside, which by itself was extremely impressive for Yui. Various items could be found inside, among others multiple sets of clothes, a charm with a note telling her it was a translation artifact, various toiletries, some books about the local area, about minerals and herbs and various tools that she had no idea what they would be used for as well as a small purse with 100 small golden coins.

The clothes themselves looked like a more elaborate version of a kimono, or perhaps Miko clothes, completely in black with red accents. They all sported a symbol of a bonsai tree growing on a mountain, enclosed by a simple circle. Overall the design of the clothes was extremely intricate, but not gaudy looking. With long sleeves and an elegant flowing look.

There was an area below the shop, similar to a basement, where her own rooms were located at, among others. There were two bedrooms, one of them had a sign above it reading 'Yui' while the other had a similar sign with 'Tora' and there was also a kitchen as well as a large bathroom.

All of them had windows that could be closed and locked and Yui quickly figured out that it was not a cellar, but still above ground level. Instead the shop area was quite a bit above the ground, reachable with some stairs from the main entrance and the windows were actually openings at the side of a small artificial hill the Pavilion was built on.

"It seems like Tora is living here as well. I wonder where she disappeared to."

Once she settled down, put her items away and got a bath to get clean again, she decided to take a look outside. She dressed in the black and red shop outfit before leaving, taking a stroll around the small streets.

Yui felt slightly odd with her priestess like outfit, but as it was provided by Tora, she did not think it would be out of place to wear it.

She quickly noticed, that while the city and environment around her, reminded one very much of a fantasy like setting, with mystical things and unexplainable happenings and strange items all over the place, it did not exactly seem like a town that she was used to in her homeland.

The culture, clothes and buildings had some eastern flair, but also had various other influences that could only be found in Europe or America in her own world. It was an odd mix, that completely clashed with her knowledge, yet seemed to make sense for this place in its own way.

Looking at the various food stalls, her stomach started to grumble, and she quickly decided to buy some of the sweet-smelling food, that reminded her a lot of crepes.

Made out of some type of sweet dough, with added honey and fruits, it looked quite good. There was a little sign that said a portion would be 3 copper coins.

"Oh, this looks delicious, give me a portion please."

The shopkeeper had a big grin on his face and respectfully handed her some of the food.

"Here you go miss, these are the best waffles you will find in the city if I might say so myself."

Yui handed him one of the golden coins wondering about the exchange rates. For a moment, the shopkeeper stared at the coin before he looked at her in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry milady, but I would not be able to exchange that. I could at most return you a little bit more than 4o silver. Why don't you treat the food as my gift?"

"Ahh, thank you, but it's alright, just keep the change. I will make sure to bring some smaller coins next time I'm here."

Not used to being treated in such a respectful way, not to mention that someone just wanted to give her the delicious snack for free she was slightly embarrassed. After wishing everyone a good day, Yui quickly walked back to the pavilion, one could say that the girl has fled the scene, even though no one really meant her any harm.

The shopkeeper and the people who heard their conversation were just staring at the girl who was quickly leaving the market, not sure what to make of it.

"Did she really just pay you a gold coin for a portion of waffles?" one of the customers asked.

The shopkeeper once again looked at the golden coin in his hands and inspected it some more. One gold coin would be exchanged into a hundred silver coins, while a silver coin would be exchanged with a hundred copper coins. This was no longer a small or even a large tip, this was just utter madness!

"It really is a gold coin." he laughed, happy about his fortune. "Seems like this miss comes from a rich family. We better not offend her in the future. It never hurts to know someone of noble birth."