The Reborn company had extremely advanced technology. They had demi-humans comparable to the Draconian race. They had the help of a Montgomery. And most of all, they had the privilege of trading with the Dwarven Kingdom, something no one had ever done before.
All of this made Beth wonder:
Who was the mastermind behind this company? Who was able to create a business this successful in just a matter of a few years?
"We are grateful for the Reborn company to grace us with your presence," Beth said as respectfully as she could. She was in the presence of an esteemed company in the likes of the Osborne Consortium, the Goldstone Group, and even the Vanderbilt Business.
"To what do we owe the pleasure?" she asked them.
"First of all, we are here to see our boss. He should be here," Sheina said, scanning the surroundings with her eyes.
Beth was alarmed upon hearing that. It made her nervous to think that a large dragon was somewhere above the skies, observing their every move.
In her mind, the only creature that could create such a successful company was a dragon.
"We haven't met your boss," Beth said, bowing to the Dragonborns.
"Oh, he's here! Lord Michael!" Sheina waved behind Beth as she caught sight of the familiar golden-haired boy in the background.
It seemed that Michael was still too occupied with observing the ruins of the Golden Road. Only when Sheina waved to him did he finally react and waved back at them.
Meanwhile, Beth looked at Sheina awkwardly. It took her a couple of seconds to realize that she wasn't waving towards her, but behind her.
She turned around and saw no one there but some of the kids and their newest recruit, Michael.
"Wait…Michael?"
The Dragonborns approached Michael and happily welcomed him back, as if he was gone for a long time.
"We're here, boss!"
"Hello…."
"Bro Mike! Can I also have that shadow ability? Please? Pwease?! I want to teleport too!"
Michael chuckled and consoled the bratty Zion. "Sorry bro. You need a Physical Art Skill for that. Once I get more spells, I'll modify it to fit your skillset."
Yuna approached him too and pouted. "Is there no plus one for that shadow jutsu?"
Meanwhile, Beth and the rest of the locals watched this scene with their jaws dropped.
They would have never thought that the boss that they were talking about was the same Michael who had joined them just recently. Heck, no one would have ever thought that an eleven-year-old boy was in charge of one of the fastest-growing businesses in the entire continent!
"Michael…is this real?" Beth asked, disbelief written all over her face.
"You own all of these automobiles?!"
"You have your own nation with food and water?!"
"That must mean you earn thousands of gold coins!"
The kids crowded over him the same way they crowded over him when they were giving him a piece of their bread. Except now, they were giving him stares of amazement.
"Hehe, yup. I am the owner of Reborn company," he confessed, albeit a little guiltily. "I should have told you sooner."
"But how is that possible? You're just a kid!" Beth exclaimed. The helpless little kid she pitied turned out to be a billionaire.
"I hear that a lot," he said to her. "Though, the only way I can answer that is that I'm older than I look hehe."
"But why…"
Michael faced her. "I wanted to visit this place for myself. You know, see it with my own eyes. And what I saw blew me away.
You didn't have to share your food with me, but you did, even though you all had so little to eat. Despite the harsh conditions this environment has brought, you didn't hesitate to help me.
Now, I want to repay the bread you have all given me with a little gift from me."
He then turned to Sheina and asked her, "Did our packages arrive in good condition?"
The white-scaled, eager Dragonborn nodded her head and presented Michael with the trucks they brought with them.
With a single snap of her fingers, the truck's back door slowly lifted for everyone to see.
And the first thing Beth noticed was the smell. It felt familiar. It wasn't just one distinct scent, but a mixture of many that triggered her memories.
She was immediately brought back to the time when she was a kid and she strolled through the Golden Road, seeing piles of fruits, vegetables, and all sorts of food on the stalls beside the streets.
Beth slowly opened her eyes and saw the myriad of food stacked up to the very ceiling of the automobile truck. The rest of the children and even some of the seniors walked closer to the truck, trying to see if what they were seeing was true.
"Is that…."
"I smell it. That smells good!"
"Food! Finally, food!"
One truck was full of leafy vegetables, still fresh and moist despite the long travel. The next truck was filled with cases of fruits, both exotic and common with different colors and tastes.
And lastly, one of the trucks seemed to be full of meat, which was frozen rock solid in the frosting container of the truck.
"Meat?!" Beth cried out. Even she was left flustered upon seeing the presence of food in such large quantities. She could literally swim in the cases of leafy cabbages, spinach, and much more.
"What is this?" she asked Michael.
He smiled and shrugged, a signature move.
"What else? This is my gift to all of you. Eat to your heart's content. There's no hunger and thirst while I'm here," he proclaimed.
But none of them moved. It was too good to be true.
They were afraid that if they moved, they would somehow wake up from this dream.
Michael had enough and got up on the truck and began to throw apples, grapes, oranges, and every kind of fruit toward the starving locals of Orcus Town.
They caught as much as they could, not wanting any of it to be wasted.
For the kids, this would be the first time they would fill their stomachs full.