After his early morning tutoring sessions with his mother, Michael spent the afternoons constructing the clock he was planning to give his father.
Since this wasn't his first time making one, he managed to refine the design and was able to somewhat shrink its size, making it look like the old grandfather clocks he had seen back in his previous life. Though it was still big, it wasn't as large as a cabinet.
The moment his father heard the rhythmic ticking of the clock, he couldn't help but scream out in excitement.
"Hooo! Woowwww!" Bart exclaimed, completely letting go of all pretenses he had about being dignified.
As he watched the pendulum swing back and forth, he seemed to have been mesmerized. He couldn't help but swing his head back and forth as well.
Michael couldn't help but laugh as he saw his father become obsessed with the clock to the point that he looked a little bit silly.
"Do you like it that much, Dad?" Michael asked, chuckling to himself.
He had never seen his father act like this.
He always saw his dad as a serious character, treating everything with a no-nonsense attitude. But now? He seemed like a child marveling at a new toy.
"I still can't understand how it works or how you created it, but this is amazing, son! Thank you. I can't wait to install it in my office," Bart said as he ruffled Michael's hair.
Lylia, ever watchful, smirked. "Now that you have that, you have no excuse for coming home late, right, dear?"
She sounded like she was joking, but both father and son knew that it was a real threat.
Bart coughed. "Oh, would you look at the time? We better get going now if we want to reach Kingsbridge before lunch, hahaha!"
Michael chuckled. It seemed like he had inherited his ability to fend off Lylia's scary questions from his father.
_____
Today was the day they were finally going to Kingsbridge to visit the Magic Tower. The only reason why it had taken them about a week to go to Kingsbridge was because Michael's mother insisted on improving his Earth magic a little bit more before he got assessed.
Not that it mattered now, because Michael was just excited to finally get the chance to see the mages up close and personal.
Hey ChatJK1, you're ready to analyze more magic spells, right?
[I am fully capable of scanning magic spells that are performed in your vicinity.]
That was what he liked to hear.
A few hours later, Sebastian stopped the horses dragging the carriage and peeked through the window.
"Sir, Madam, Young Master, we have arrived at Kingsbridge."
Michael had heard a lot about Kingsbridge, mostly from Castelle's daily report about the Reborn company.
According to her, Kingsbridge was a large city whose citizens were a little bit wealthier than the average citizen. The normal inhabitants of this place consisted of rich merchants, renowned swordsmen families, and even royalty.
It was no surprise that they could sell Reborn soap and shampoo at one gold coin a pair. Most people wouldn't be able to afford that, but the people at Kingsbridge were more than wealthy enough to splurge on keeping themselves happy.
Michael leaned out the window and saw the tall stone walls surrounding the city, with archers and soldiers stationed at each watchtower.
[The walls are made out of stone and mortar to provide strength and stability to the structure. Estimated height: 20 meters, or equivalent to a six-story building. Would you like to know more?]
No. I'm good, thanks.
As expected of a wealthy city, they spared no expense on arming their soldiers to the teeth. The enforcers guarding the gate were clad in full steel armor accented with gold plating around to emanate a 'royal' aura to the soldiers.
"I pay respects to the Vanderbilts," said one of the soldiers as he bowed to the passing carriage.
Unlike the other travelers, they weren't questioned or had their carriages inspected at the gate and were allowed through without any issue, simply because of the Vanderbilt emblem on their carriage.
By the way, their emblem was the symbol of two hands cupping an overflowing pile of gold coins, with the image of the planet beneath it.
Michael always thought it was excessive, considering they even embedded real gold into their emblem just to show off their wealth.
After they were let in, Sebastian steered the carriage toward the massive black spire looming in the distance—the Magic Tower.
Meanwhile, Michael leaned further out of the window, eager to take in the sights around.
This was the first time he would be witnessing a real medieval city with his own two eyes. He had an abstract idea of what they looked like since he frequently watched anime and TV shows depicting this era, but seeing it in real life felt more surreal.
The men were wearing finely tailored tunics, while the women were wearing puffy gowns as if it were normal.
It almost looked like they were cosplaying, but they weren't. This was their true attire for the day.
As the carriage continued to rock through the cobblestone roads of Kingsbridge, Michael's leisurely observation of the City was interrupted by a horrible scent that filled his senses.
"Urgh!"
He had to pinch his nose. He couldn't take it anymore.
"Whab id dadd?" (What is that?)
His parents, however, didn't seem to notice anything wrong.
"What's wrong, dear?" his mother asked.
Michael looked at them as if they were crazy.
"Don't you smell that?"
Lylia and Bart exchanged confused glances. They didn't know what was smelling so bad.
Then, Bart finally remembered that this was the first time Michael visited Kingsbridge.
"Oh, you must be smelling the river Dames," Bart explained.
Soon enough, the carriage reached a wide bridge leading to the next part of town. Michael looked out the window and finally realized what was smelling so bad.
The river Dames was full of pollution! Not just any pollution, it was human pollution, meaning human waste!
It then hit him: this world was still stuck in medieval times when human waste was simply thrown into the river with no regard for cleanliness!
Michael had been living with modern toiletry in the mansion for so long that this fact had slipped off his mind.
Now, that reality was hitting him right in the face.