"Young Master! You're here!"
Castelle perked up once she saw Michael approach the building. Even the rest of the employees who were familiar with Michael had smiles on their faces as they saw him.
"It's good to see you, Castelle," Michael waved back.
"Boss! I hope we spread baseball here soon. I'm itching to play! How about we play a little game later today?" Kong said, who was right next to Castelle. He was busy designing more buildings for the Reborn company, so he frequently visited the office.
"Improve your game first. I hope you can finally beat me next time," Michael replied to Kong teasingly, to which the HobMankey clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"Beer is good here, but it's still better cold! Boss, when are we going to line this city with electricity?"
Beside Kong was Thrain, who became the supervisor of all dwarves that worked in this city.
Judging from the lack of red tint in his cheeks, it looked like the old dwarf hadn't gotten his daily dose of beer as of yet.
"Boss! Let's play a game of chess next time!"
"When we return to our nation, we're going to take a swim in the river boss! Join us!"
"Boss! I miss the hot springs we have back in our nation!"
Michael greeted all the Rebornians in the office building, and they greeted him with respect and positivity in turn.
The local demi-humans who were lined up watched this whole interaction with surprise and confusion filling their eyes.
When they first saw Kong, they witnessed how he bent straight metal bars into the foundation of a house in just mere seconds.
When they first saw Thrain, they saw him breathe fire out of his mouth to melt steel into something that could be molded into a different shape.
When they first saw the evolved and talented demi-humans, they looked like individuals who answered to no one.
In short, when they saw the demi-humans of Reborn, they saw figures with great strength and great power superior to even the best of humans. However, when they faced this small human child with golden hair, they all seemed to naturally gravitate towards him, treating him with care and respect despite his age and species.
They could see nothing but admiration in their eyes whenever they looked at Michael.
It made them wonder who this mysterious human boy was.
"Hey, how are you guys feeling?" Michael asked the local demi-humans.
After having lived in human settlements for their whole lives, these demi-humans weren't used to a human boy approaching and talking to them with a friendly smile. More often than not, parents would always hide their kids whenever they were in their presence.
"It's okay. He's our boss. He's the one who helped us become who we are now," Kong said to the meek demi-humans.
"He's a harmless cutie!" said a female HobMankey, taking Michael and embracing his head with her…bosom.
Despite their words, they were still a little bit hesitant to shake hands with Michael. They were still afraid that they would get in trouble for touching a human.
Michael understood their feelings, so to break the ice, he decided to treat them to a spending spree.
"Follow me!" he said to the demi-humans.
Kong and the other Rebornians had to push the demi-humans to follow Michael, but they eventually started walking behind him voluntarily.
Since this was in the middle of the city, this whole block of area was filled with a lot of active markets that sold everything from fresh produce to meat skewers to candied treats for everyone to enjoy.
Michael and the huge group of demi-humans only had to walk to the next street over before they reached the lively market crowded with a lot of people.
The demi-humans huddled together in one group, afraid to separate from each other since they were knee-deep into human territory. They didn't frequent this place because it was for wealthy humans only, and the prices here were not something they could afford.
Despite that, they couldn't help but eye the mouthwatering chicken skewers and candied apples displayed all over the booths. Even the children couldn't help but drool once they saw human children joyfully eating the treats their mothers bought for them.
Michael walked to the skewer stall owner and spoke to him for a second, with the attendant showing a look of surprise before nodding his head enthusiastically.
Michael took out a big purse, loaded with gold coins, and gave it to the owner.
Once he received the payment, the owner excitedly took out the skewers in his stall and began giving it to the demi-humans.
But of course, the demi-humans were confused and even pushed away the meat skewers in fear that they would have to pay a lot of money for it.
Michael turned to the demi-humans and said, "What are you waiting for? You can have anything you want from here. I already paid for everything."
The demi-humans looked at Michael with a dumbfounded look.
Finally, one of the Mankey children accepted one of the beef skewers and took a big bite. Immediately, the rich taste of the meat filled the child with joy, making him jump up and down out of happiness.
"Delicious?" Michael asked.
"...yes!..." the child replied, not taking his eyes off the skewers.
"You can have anything you like. Do you want that candied apple too? Take as much as you want!"
Seeing the kid eating his fill, the other demi-humans finally took the rest of the meat skewers on the stall and began eating to their hearts' desire.
Kong and the other Rebornians were a bit emotional as they watched this scene. The things that were normal for them, like an abundance of food and water, was something that was only a dream for most demi-humans living in this world.
Smiles filled the demi-humans' faces as they indulged in this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Of course, they didn't know that if they joined the Nation of Reborn, they could have this paradise every day for as long as they wanted.