Anyone who arrived in Izumi's world—
would at least have enough to survive for a few days.
Even those from completely ordinary, "slice-of-life" worlds were no exception.
After all, everything stored within their minds—
their knowledge, their skills—
could be exchanged for points.
Enough to live for a short while.
That was why the girls at the counter jokingly referred to it as a:
"Beginner Starter Pack."
Because for people from ordinary worlds—
there was truly nothing special about them.
No supernatural abilities.
No combat power.
No rare treasures.
Which meant—
if they wanted to earn points here,
their options were extremely limited.
They could:
Work Open a shop Or gamble in other worlds through competitive matches
But even that required capital.
That was also why Izumi collected all those seemingly "worthless" knowledge fragments.
Because in the future—
once combined and refined—
they could be resold for profit.
Even Senzaemon Nakiri's lifetime of culinary knowledge…
was only worth slightly more than Erina's.
Total: 90 points.
Seeing that number—
Senzaemon fell silent.
"…I am poor."
Very poor.
The others quickly followed suit.
One by one, they sold their culinary knowledge.
Each of them received only a few dozen points.
And then—
right before their eyes—
the girls at the counter listed those same knowledge packages for several hundred points.
Everyone froze.
"…They resell it at ten times the price?"
"…What kind of business model is that?!"
It felt absurd—
yet undeniably effective.
Meanwhile, Erina had already finalized her decision.
She chose a shop.
And the moment the transaction completed—
her balance dropped straight into the negatives.
Looking at her card—
Erina nearly collapsed.
"…I'm in debt…"
A massive one at that.
From now on—
she would have no choice but to work tirelessly to repay it.
After completing the procedures, Kayo spoke:
"Your shop is ready."
"You can head there directly."
"All basic equipment is already installed."
"If you want to change the interior design, just use the control panel inside."
She paused before continuing:
"However, ingredients and seasonings are not included."
"You'll need to source those yourself."
"There's a market district in the city."
"You should check it out."
"There are many ingredients from other worlds. If you can handle them properly, you'll earn quite a lot."
As she spoke, Kayo brought up a 3D map of the entire city.
Erina stared at it in awe.
"…This is…"
The scale was overwhelming.
What she had seen before—
was only a tiny fraction of the whole.
"Thank you," Erina said sincerely.
"I'll repay everything as soon as possible."
Kayo nodded casually and sat back down.
With that—
Erina led her group toward their newly rented shop.
It was over 100 square meters in size.
Fully equipped.
Kitchen, tools, storage—
everything was prepared.
This level of detail…
was something Izumi had designed personally during his free time.
And it showed.
The entire space carried a futuristic aesthetic.
Advanced equipment lined the walls.
For Erina and the others—
it felt like stepping into another era.
"…We really are like country bumpkins…"
someone muttered.
But instead of rushing to open—
they gathered and discussed their next steps.
Under the guidance of Senzaemon and Gin Dojima,
they quickly reached a conclusion:
First—
understand the ingredients of this world.
Then—
decide what dishes to sell.
When they arrived—
they were stunned.
A frog larger than a cow.
Floating cabbages drifting through the air.
Strange, exotic ingredients everywhere.
"…What is this place…?"
Even more shocking—
the prices were cheap.
A massive frog—
cost only 50 points.
The same value as Erina's entire culinary knowledge.
And it even came pre-processed.
Everyone stood there, speechless.
After browsing for a while,
they purchased a variety of ingredients and returned to the shop.
Then—
they began studying.
Testing.
Understanding.
Erina even went as far as spending a huge amount of points—
to purchase another person's culinary knowledge.
Several times her own value.
"…I'm going bankrupt…"
She looked like she might cry.
The debt only kept growing.
At this rate—
how was she ever going to repay it?
"…Do I have to sell myself or something…?"
She muttered half-seriously.
...
Izumi, of course—
knew nothing about Erina's internal crisis.
Right now—
his attention was focused elsewhere.
A new arrival.
A girl wearing a gray cloak stood in the plaza.
Her rapier was drawn.
Her posture tense.
Her eyes sharp with vigilance.
Izumi blinked.
"…Well, that's unexpected."
Asuna Yuuki.
Also known—by certain circles—as something else entirely.
A beloved heroine.
A "waifu" to countless people.
Looking at her current outfit—
Izumi immediately understood.
"This must be early-game Asuna…"
Right after entering the game.
He hadn't expected the invitation to reach her.
But thinking about her world—
an idea quickly formed.
Without hesitation, Izumi reached out—
and pulled someone beside him.
"Hey—what the hell?!"
Asagi Aiba immediately exploded in anger.
"Do you have any idea what I was doing?!"
She glared at him furiously.
Izumi paused.
"…Yeah, that's on me."
He glanced at her.
"…Also, maybe put some clothes on."
Asagi rolled her eyes.
With a few taps on her phone—
a full outfit materialized on her body.
She sat down beside him, crossing her legs.
"Alright."
"What is it?"
"If this isn't important…"
She grabbed his side and pinched hard.
"…you're banned from my bed."
Izumi winced.
"Okay, okay—listen."
He gestured toward Asuna.
"That girl's world has something called Full Dive technology."
"We can bring it here."
"And integrate its rules into our world."
"Turn everything into something like a game."
Asagi froze.
Then—
her eyes lit up.
"…That actually sounds amazing."
She leaned forward.
"Where is she?"
"I'll go talk to her."
Izumi nodded.
Without another word—
he teleported Asagi directly to Asuna's location.
"And hey—" he added casually,
"You can help her out a bit."
"Maybe plant a little 'backdoor' while you're at it."
"Take control of that world's network."
Asagi sighed.
"…That's pretty brutal."
But then she smirked.
"…Efficient, though."
Even if she could recreate Full Dive tech herself—
If that world already had a functioning system…
Why not just take it?
And so—
a new connection between worlds—
quietly began to form.