"I have good news, young master. Each and every soap business we approached has accepted our offer," Castelle announced, bowing towards the young master as he lounged under the sun on the rooftop, looking utterly at ease.
"That's good, that's good," he replied lazily.
"Based on my estimates, our production of soap and shampoo has increased by nearly two thousand percent. We can now create thousands of soaps and shampoos every day thanks to the infrastructure of the companies under our banner."
"They have already started to sell it to the market and it's being sold out the minute it shows up in their wares. Peddlers have already started to sell it to other towns and it's starting to catch on as well, their demand is growing rapidly."
There was admiration and excitement in Castelle's voice. She would have never thought that giving away the secret formula for the soap would end up becoming such a massive boon for their company.
She looked at the young master as if he had Midas' hands, turning everything he touched to gold.
Of course, Michael didn't think he was doing anything special. According to him, he was simply following the business practices of conglomerates back in his previous world.
"How much did we earn?" Michael asked.
Castelle smiled and gestured towards the door.
The two watched as a maid hauled a wooden chest up towards them. Judging from how much trouble she was having while pushing the thing, Michael knew that it was heavy.
With great effort, the maid then pried the wooden chest open to reveal the thousands upon thousands of gleaming gold coins inside. Its luster reflected onto Michael's face, briefly turning his face yellow.
"Even after paying for all the expenses, our net profit still stands at about 15,000 gold coins."
Michael tried his hardest to remain calm, but when he converted the gold to US dollars, he couldn't help but take a deep breath.
15,000 gold coins meant 15,000,000 dollars. That was what he earned… in a single day…
"I guess I'm rich."
_____
Because of the increased production of Reborn soap and shampoo, the company's reputation skyrocketed to the moon.
It was noted that people were showering and washing their hands a lot more often because of Reborn soap and shampoo, which in turn, reduced the spread of disease and sickness by a great degree.
In a matter of two months, Reborn company had won over the hearts of everyone, whether they were male, female, old, or young.
For women, their soaps became an essential luxury. And for men, their newly released board game became an obsession.
In Kingsbridge town, the Reborn company became the hottest topic, dominating newspapers and gossip circles alike. Everyone was wondering where they came from and who was responsible for creating such amazing products.
There were numerous speculations, ranging from the owner being a wizard from the future, a sage who lived in the mountains for a thousand years, or even just a simple man whose genius knew no bounds.
And despite almost ruining local soap businesses to the brink of bankruptcy, nobody seemed to resent the Reborn company. Even the ruined soap companies spoke highly of them, praising Reborn for their generosity.
This only deepened the mystery surrounding the upstart company.
They were the talk of the town. Nearly every household in Kingsbridge knew about the Reborn company and was using their products religiously. And soon, the trend spread to other neighboring towns and cities as well. It was only a matter of time before they completely carved a large portion of the market for themselves.
But, of course, none of this went over the heads of the largest company in Kingsbridge.
_____
"Our survey indicates that the popularity of our company went down by at least 30 percent because of this 'Reborn' business."
"Does anyone have any idea where these upstarts came from? Is this a ploy from our other rivals?"
"No. They're feeling the same as us."
A group of old, distinguished men in suits sat at a long table and looked over the reports in their hands.
It was clear that this meeting wasn't planned, with most men looking quite haggard and sleep-deprived. Most of them hadn't even buttoned their vests properly.
It was already midnight, with the room only lit by torches and candles, but they still weren't done discussing what they were going to do with this new Reborn company.
"What's the problem here, gentlemen? Why are we worried about a soap company? It wouldn't affect our important businesses in Kingsbridge," a younger man said, clearly a bit more inexperienced than the rest.
The one to answer his question was the bald old man opposite him.
"The problem isn't what they are making now—it's that they are starting to gain popularity within the people. Right now, they're just producing soap and shampoo. But what if they start to produce other products? Given its reputation so far, most people would immediately try out their products because of their popularity."
He gestured toward the reports.
"Look what happened with their new board game. It immediately got accepted by the majority as their new pastime."
"That level of influence spells trouble for us. We can't let them take away our customers or else our business will fail," the bald man said, his words getting angrier as he went on.
"We cannot allow that to happen."
A heavy silence fell over the room.
Finally, someone spoke.
"What will we do?"
That was the question on everyone's mind. And in this room, there was only one person whose answer mattered, and that person was the owner of the largest company in Kingsbridge and the towns neighboring it.
Seated at the very end of the table, his position alone marked his different status.
The man rose to his feet, his back straight and his posture firm. He was the only one who had his suit completely clean, unlike the others whose clothes bore creases and specks of dirt or dust from the long meeting.
"We can only do nothing," he said plainly.
"But Bart, this will affect the inheritance. Don't you want to fight for your father's entire wealth?" the old man with a beard pressed.
"I have no plans to compete for the succession of the Vanderbilt company," Bart replied without hesitation.
Yes. That was right. The owner of the biggest company in Kingsbridge and the current rival of the Reborn company was none other than Michael's father.
After all, this business was what made the Vanderbilt name famous in the first place. This was what had made them the richest family in the world.
To be more exact, it was Bart's father, or Michael's grandfather, who had built the Vanderbilt empire and turned it into the global powerhouse it was today.
And currently, there was a fight for the inheritance of the entire Vanderbilt company.
To determine who was the most fit to succeed him, Michael's grandfather had given away sub-companies to his children and let them manage their respective portions as they saw fit.
Bart had been given control of all the Vanderbilt businesses in Kingsbridge and the towns closest to it.
His siblings had received the companies abroad or in different countries. They all managed the Vanderbilt name to maintain its supremacy over every business in the world.
But despite managing different companies and scattered across the world, there was one goal that the descendants of the Vanderbilt name shared in common:
Whoever blossomed their company into a powerhouse would be the one to inherit the entire Vanderbilt wealth!