"Oh how rude of me! I have forgotten to ask if you yourself would like a drink? Would you like to taste our famous Hibiscus Phoenix Tea? I'll even do the tears freshly picked!" Leo said happily and already started making the order.
He walked over to the counter and put his hands on it and moved forward. Loudly projecting his voice to the door behind it.
"Two HPT's, two RCs, with double PTF and all with fresh tears!"
"Yes boss, coming up!" An elderly voice sounded on the other side of the door.
Kenji who was seething at the side due to too much bragging, was now confused. Isn't this shop popular? Where are all the people is it not opening time like he was informed? He suddenly realized that all the information he'd been told was by his 500 year old father that went to the shop pre adulthood…
'I knew that old man was unreliable!'
"So is it opening time or?"
"Huh? Yes, but I don't actually have a lot of customers…" Leo turned to face Kenji with his hand on his head looking a bit embarrassed.
"Hm? Why is that? I heard this place is quite popular."
"Eh? Who told you that?"
"My father he used to come here around 200 years ago."
"Oh really how interesting! It was indeed quite popular back in the day, but now people seem to not want to come anymore! Every time someone looks at the prices they sigh and leave… I truly don't get it! Our tea is great I swear!" Leo sighed in indignation.
Kenji looked up at the sign.
Herbal Tea - 2 Periwinkle Crystals, 5 White Crystal Fragments.
AN: PCs in US currency would be 1,000 dollars, WCFs in USC would be 1 dollar, they take WCFs as their cents and it's the size of a penny. The price would be $2000.05
Kenji was dumbfounded. 2 Periwinkle Crystals for Herbal Tea??? I mean it's nothing he can't afford but it's no wonder the common elementals wouldn't want to buy here, even if they had the money, is it worth it? Herbal Tea? Come on. Not only is he arrogant and a show off, he's also a money grubber. My family was right, you can't hang out with shop owners lightly!
He was going to turn his head after grazing past the menu quickly, but he had just seen something so unbelievably shocking.
Hibiscus Phoenix Tea - 2 Space Crystals, 1 Periwinkle Crystal, 1 Diamond Crystal, 2 Amethyst Crystal Fragments.
AN: 101,500.20. SP = $50k, DC = $500, ACF= 10 dollars but it's cents for them.
"What the hell!" Kenji couldn't hold it in anymore and pointed at the sign.
"Why-Why is it so dammed expensive!?" Kenji was bewildered!
Space Crystals are very rare, you have to get them from space cracks, or go to the Space mountain which is a pricey trip in itself and isn't worth it if you come out empty handed, only space elementals can easily get Space Crystal, and unless they have a space elemental, big families could only dream of having them, even his family only has a few! They used to have more but they disappeared 200 years ago to Cantalenium knows where!
"What? What's expensive?" Leo asked confusedly
"The Phoenix Tea!"
"Hm? It's expensive? Where? How come I don't see it?" Leo was really confused now, how is that expensive?
Phoenix Tears are priceless and I have to make Bo Bo sad and cry every time I need some tears for tea. So how is this expensive? It's the right price! Besides I'm in grave need of Space Crystals!
"Almost everyone I know only has a handful of Space Crystal including me." Kenji said exhaustedly.
Why is this person so tiring? I should have never came.
"Oh, well good thing you're getting it for free eh?" Leo said nonchalantly, making whatever Kenji said go through one ear out the other, not bothering with him any longer. And sat back down at the table happily awaiting for the tea.
Kenji realized Leo didn't feel like talk to him anymore and shut up appropriately.
Few minutes later an old man came out the door with a platter of things.
"Here is Two HPTs and Two RC's with extra PTF all with fresh Tears." The old man said calmly as he sat down two cups of tea and two cakes.
"Enjoy." He said bowing a little.
"Thanks grandpa Po." Leo said as Po turned to leave.
Leo look towards the table, and explained to Kenji what the two cakes were.
"These are Roselle Cakes with extra Phoenix Tear Frosting, nice and whipped! And naturally next to it is the famous Hibiscus Phoenix Tea!" Leo explained happily as he started to take a bite of the small square cake with crunchy Roselle petals on top of the white whipped frosting.
"Ahh, so delicious as always!" Leo sat back in satisfaction as he savors every bite.
Looking at how Leo was asking Kenji couldn't help but take a bite himself.
"Ahh." Kenji let out a soft moan as he put a couple more bites in his mouth.
The sour roselle petals and sweet cake cake mixing in with the sweet Phoenix Frosting made for a bomb of flavors in his mouth, sour then sweet and then more sour, it was hard to explain but it was extremely delicious and it gave him such a calming feeling, he just wanted to sit back and forget who he was, it was like magic, all the struggles he's been through seem to have disappeared and all that was there was him and the cake.
As he was about to take another bite, a slender beautiful hand grabbed his and he looked up to face an annoyed Leo.
"Don't eat it all! You can't eat it all at once, you need to drink some tea in between to get the full effect!" He said almost shouting at Kenji through clenched teeth.
"Uh, oh haha." Kenji rubbed the back of his head as he was quite embarrassed.
"Sorry the cake was too delightful.." He said with a embarrassed look on his face.
Finally Leo's annoyed face turned back to a happy one.
"Mm, yea grandpa Po is quite amazing. Go ahead take a drink of tea!"
"A-alright."
Kenji lifted his head to the tea sign again and looked at the price for the tea, and just couldn't believe he was going to drink something so expensive… He looked to the "Cakes" side of the tea sign and seen that the Roselle Cake wasn't much cheaper, and since he already ate something so expensive might as well drink the tea!
He lifted the tea up to his mouth and a wonderful scent reached his nose, he felt he was about to ascend… Oh wait, no, is he actually ascending?
*Boom*
My cultivation broke through? All from a scent? He gulped and looked up to see Leo sipping tea head back like this was all a normal occurrence and gulped even more, how many time has this person drank this tea in his whole life? He must be extremely strong! Though he's only a plant user he isn't to be provoked.
Thinking up to here he finally took a sip of the tea, and he was in heaven, it tasted too delicious! A sweet tart flavour entered his mouth and his cultivation also broke through a couple times, but he was too far gone to realize that, he felt he had gone to another land somewhere calm a place where only he belonged and he was in full control. He took another bite of the cake then a while later a sip of tea. This went on until there was nothing left to drink and eat.
"Haaaa…" Leaving the realm of peacefulness Kenji finally came too and issued a sigh. The price is the price for a reason, he now feels the price is actually too small.
He lifted his head and seen Leo looking at him with a smile.
"Finished? How was it?" He said with a weird smile.
"It was amazing."
"Is the price too expensive?"
"No! Not expensive at all!"
Thats was when a laugh sounded near by, he looked to the side and seen a burly man in a black cloak with his legs up on the table and his upper body on the leaned back chair.
"First time?" He said with a little chuckle.
"Y-yes." The man felt super strong, Kenji was a bit intimidated.
"No need to be scared, this is one of my loyal customers. He's a shadow elemental." Leo said with a kind smile.
"I'm Lu, nice to meet you, my daughter is a fan, can I get your autograph." Lu asked grabbing a piece of paper, ink and feather from his cloak.
It felt like he didn't have a choice so he took the ink and feather and wrote his name and some words on the paper.
"Hm, thanks." The man went and sat back down just like before he came.
Kenji looked around and realized there were quite a few people in here and he turned towards the window on the other side of the booth and realized it was already first moon.
"Oh Cantalenium, how long was I out?" Kenji asked worriedly.
"Hmm? I'm not to sure I only woke up a little before you." Leo said.
Po can out from the back with cake and read in his hands putting it on the table where old Lu was and spoke out.
"Half the first sun and all the second sun." Then he retreated back behind the door.
"Oh Cantalenium! I have to call my guards." Kenji took out his phone and made a call.
As he spoke for a while Leo was admiring the sight before him, his idol was just so gorgeous.
"Well, thank you for the tea, but I have to go, I have a meet up first sun and some interviews to do for finding my new manager."
Leo's heart sped up… New manager, I'm one of the people to be interviewed.. And his idol is going personally? Well it would be too bad if I waste his time wouldn't it?
"Um. Well about the manager thing. Mind if I take the job?" Leo asked a bit nervously.
"What?" Kenji who was almost out the booth flopped back down in the seat. This big shot wants to be my manager?
He looked at Leo as if he was crazy.
"Ha, little Leo has been a fan of yours for a while, not surprised he asked." Lu said nonchalantly going in and out of consciousness. The tea is truly too strong.
"Lu!" Leo wanted to yell at him some more but he realized Lu was gone to the peaceful Realm. He could only blush up.
Kenji looked at Leo's red face and realized he had been wrong, this kid wasn't arrogant, just a fan, he made it seem like he just seen a few of his movies and passed by it, but unexpected this big shot is his fan? He must take advantage of this well.
"Oh so your a fan? If so how could I be so sure you'd do your job properly." After realizing Leo was his fan Kenji started to be a little more alluring and tempting and put a finger on the table and leaned forward with a tempting look in his eyes.
Leo was confused with his idol's sudden change and why he got so close but he was roped In nonetheless.
"I- I won't, look at what I've done here… I'm good at managing schedules, doing paperwork, I also have a good eye for good opportunities, if I see a good script I can be sure to give it to you! I will work hard!" Leo stammered out with a red face. His idol's eyes were really too tempting and he was a little close, he couldn't help but becoming a bit heated up.
"Ha, ok, I'll tell my company, give me your contacting device serial numbers and send me your information through it."
"Oh, ok! But isn't this a little too fast, don't I need to do an interview with someone in the company first to make sure I'm not a fraud." He said as he was writing down his phone number.
"Oh! So you have a phone? Very convenient! But no, I'm enough and I'm sure you wouldn't be a crook right little shop owner?" Kenji said with a smile as he put his hand through his hair and sat back down in the booth with his arms out looking very carefree and handsome, his eyes had some sort of glint in them.
"N-no, never!" Leo wanted to get out of here he could feel his face burn up like crazy, this shouldn't be happening, if he's to be his manager he shouldn't be burning up like this!
"Ok then… Well I'll see you tomorrow, send me your address as well so we can pick you up. Remember to get some rest and be ready by first sun up." Kenji said as his face turned serious.
He grabbed his mask and glasses that were in the seat and got up putting them on as he walked away, as if he could feel Leo's eyes following his every move he turned around to say farewell and left the shop.
Leo laid his head down on the table.
He felt so worn out, his idol is just amazing and kind, though he was very annoying when he criticized his pricing and didn't know how to drink tea but other then that he'd been very nice and concerned about him, even made his dream come true, Leo felt his face burning up, what did he do to deserve such an amazing idol?
He got up and walked towards the counter in the plant room where Renji was standing looking a bit dazed. He slammed his palm down in the counter.
"Renji! I'll be heading out, remember to feed lil Bo Bo and make him cry a little."
"Huh? Yes yes of course! Bye boss!" Renji yelled getting out his daze.
Leo left for his house and arrived ten minutes later.
Going through the door, Leo yelled out.
"Mom I'm home!"
After realizing he wasn't going to get an answer back he sighed and closed the door behind him, he looked at his empty little house that was originally made for two but only one person remains and couldn't help but cry a little bit. He walked towards his bedroom that was just a few steps away and went in he sat on his bed and sent Kenji all his information with a heavy heart...
'Enough with the sad stuff! Tomorrow is a new day and new day new me! I'll be able to travel the 6 continents freely with my idol! I don't know what's better, being my idols manager or leaving Uncommon continent… Definitely being my idols manager! Hehe.'
And like that Leo fell asleep with happy dreams, he dreamt he traveled all the continent with his idol hand in hand as they conquered the world with his idols perfect acting, but dreams only last so long before someone came knocking on his door.