The tell-all

Bart and Lylia stared at Castelle, then at Michael, their faces filled with disbelief. But as usual, whenever their son did something incredible, he would explain it with nothing but a casual shrug of the shoulders.

"It's a little something I started when I was five years old," Michael said. "Turns out, the soap and shampoo I made became pretty popular among people."

But even that wasn't enough to satisfy his parents' curiosity.

"Michael… you—you created the Reborn soap and shampoo?" Lylia asked, her expression hidden behind her long, golden hair.

Her seemingly gloomy expression made Michael feel guilty.

"Sorry, Mom. I should have told you earlier. I just—"

But before he could explain any further, Lylia suddenly jumped up and spread her arms in the air while twirling on her toes. This must have been the happiest he might have ever seen her, much more than when she found out Michael had a Supreme Skill.

"My dear son owns Reborn?! HAHAHA! I'm the luckiest mother there ever is!" she cheered. "That means you'll be able to give me all kinds of soap and shampoo, right dear? Maybe you'll even give me samples of products not yet sold to the public, right?" Lylia's eyes literally sparkled.

It was no secret that Lylia was one of the women enchanted with the scent that Reborn's cleaning products left on her body. Even now, her skin smelled of flowers and honey.

Women would always brag to her about owning a crate of Reborn soap and shampoo all to themselves. It wasn't the expensive jewelry or well-knit dresses that were the subject of tea-time gossip these few years, it was Reborn soap and shampoo!

Well, now, Lylia could outshine others in bragging by telling them that it was her son who created all that. Her pride over her son was over the moon!

Michael couldn't help but chuckle. And here he had thought that she'd lecture him. Turns out his mother just wanted some sample products.

"You can have anything you want, mom," he replied with a smile. "Castelle, you still have that lotion I created, right?"

Castelle nodded and turned to Lylia. "If you'd like, Madame, I can lead you there."

Lylia didn't hesitate any longer and followed Castelle toward the production room of the building. On the way, Lylia talked to Castelle about how impressive her son was in creating such a successful company.

Meanwhile, the Vanderbilt father-and-son duo were left all to themselves. 

To be more specific, they were the owner of the Vanderbilt business—the previous leading company in the City—and the creator of Reborn, the up-and-coming company that had stolen away the public approval from the Vanderbilt business.

Bart rubbed his forehead, shaking his head in disbelief.

"All this time… you were the owner of Reborn?"

The company that had outsold the entire Vanderbilt business in Kingsbridge by double for the last five years… was owned by his son.

Everyone assumed that Reborn was the creation of some secretive mogul from overseas, who had the backing of entire Kingdoms or countries under its banner.

After all, how else could someone have created such innovative products? They had to have huge funding from the beginning to create such perfect products.

No one would have thought that it was created by a ten-year-old boy, especially not his father.

Michael lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Dad. I know that Reborn has been causing trouble with the Vanderbilt business. I'll—"

Before he could even say anything, Bart dropped to his knees and embraced his son, tears streaming down his face.

"I'm proud of you, son. Incredibly so…" His voice trembled. "I've seen the Reborn company grow from a fledgling business selling nothing but soap and shampoo into a company that took over the entire City."

"Even though they were my competitors, I was incredibly impressed with the innovative ideas and products that they've been putting out. And the most important part is that they have been improving the lives of everyone in the City, whether they are rich or poor."

"I admired them and longed to meet the owner of Reborn to tell him how much I appreciate how much he has done for this City."

"And it turns out…it's my son! You created Reborn!"

Bart chuckled as he wiped the tears out of his eyes. "Haha… I should have known. Your inventions like the faucet and plumbing system, the hot springs, the bicycle… everything makes sense now. Only you could have been behind Reborn."

Michael smiled, his eyes misty with emotion.

"Thanks, Dad. However, those kind words won't be enough for me to slow down my expansion. I'll still knock the Vanderbilt business out of this City," Michael said with a playful grin.

Bart let out a hearty laugh before ruffling Michael's hair and giving a light tap on his forehead.

_____

In the aftermath of Michael telling the truth to his parents, they all moved inside Castelle's office to talk about more stuff.

Michael spent a good hour talking to his mother and father about how everything in the Reborn company came about, and how he sold his first crate of soap and shampoo.

His parents listened in amazement, not at just how his amazing products were, but also his business acumen. No ordinary five-year-old would think that branding would be so important in a company. 

For example, naming chess as Reborn Chess allowed the company to become famous among the mages and wizards in the entire country! Even if they don't know the company, they would surely know the name.

Bart couldn't ignore the sheer talent his son had for business. It was both awe-inspiring and a little bit frightening.

Whenever Michael explained why he made specific business decisions, Bart would be reminded of how his own father spoke about the Vanderbilt business.

He was sure that if Michael ever met his grandfather, they would find themselves in common company.

The man who built the Vanderbilt business from the ground up to the top of the world would undoubtedly appreciate Michael's brilliance.

The more Michael showed off his genius and talents, the more Bart was sure that he would make a good impression on his grandfather.

He couldn't wait to introduce Michael to him during their visit to the family estate.