Chapter 437: Permit acquired
Michael looked at the red coin in his hands. It had the symbol of the Association stamped on it, which was a weighing scale in the middle with laurels surrounding both sides.
He could tell that this wasn’t made out of anything special. It didn’t even have any special security measures to prevent any kind of forgery.
This was because the permit coin was merely a formality. Michael and the Reborn company was now in the logbooks of history inside the Association walls. That was enough to certify his permit. Anyone that tried to fake the coin would not be able to fake the paperwork created by the Association.
Now, Michael could establish his company inside Metropolis. He didn’t even have to present his coin, as the Association themselves would verify this fact for him.
"Neat, thanks Claudia," he said as he started walking away.
"Wait, wait, wait! That’s it? No celebrations, no nothing?"
Claudia was exasperated at Michael’s nonchalant reaction at getting his permit. It didn’t even look like he just broke the record for the fastest permit in the history of Metropolis! She would have expected more fanfare from him, but instead, he treated it as a nice little achievement that didn’t mean anything.
"It’s nice, but it’s just the start of my journey here. It’s just a step in the right direction. And now that I’ve overcome this step, the next thing I need to do is go over the next one."
She didn’t expect Michael to be so levelheaded despite such an achievement. Most people she knew would brag about this and let it go over their heads, but it seemed Michael was too smart for that.
But still, she would have wanted to see at least a little bit of a celebration from Michael.
"Haa....fine. What are you planning on doing next?" she asked, sighing.
He looked at the coin in his hands. "Now that I have the permit, this means that I can interact with the other companies in Metropolis, right?"
She nodded. "Yes. You can now cooperate with them on a professional-level. You’ll no longer be a customer, but a peer."
This was what Michael needed to finally go over to Bobby’s company and find out how they coated Soo to a Mithril Relic!
To be honest, the reason why Michael wasn’t excited about his achievement like Claudia wanted was because his original goal wasn’t the permit, but the Soo application.
So unless he was able to use the four drops of Soo he had at his disposal, then he couldn’t yet celebrate at all.
"If you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be," he said to Claudia, walking away from his own stall.
He let his own employees take charge of the stall. And thanks to Otto and the others, he didn’t have to worry about them being too overwhelmed by all of the customers wanting to buy something.
Michael quickly left, fading off into the distance.
Claudia was left in the stall, still reeling from the events of today. Eventually, she walked over to one of the Rebornian employees and took out a coin from her pocket.
"Hello, I would like to get one of those donuts please, and also..."
...
...
...
With his permit in hand, Michael sped through the Market Plaza until he finally reached the end of the park.
Using the map that Otto gave him a couple of days ago, he found himself at the northeast side of the Upperwood District.
There, he saw a large metal building, with multiple thin chimneys jutting out from the triangular roof. There was steam constantly billowing out of these vents, evidenced by all the smithing that was being done inside.
At the very front of the building was the name:
{Quench}
For large companies, especially ones that were part of the Legacies, their territories were usually split up into different parts.
There was a headquarters, where the main leader and owner of the company resided. Usually, this building didn’t have any capacity for producing products and was usually only meant as an office building.
These headquarters were usually located in the middle of their territory. And surrounding this headquarters were different branches of the buildings that handled all the production and marketing of their products.
These were owned and managed by their owners’ senior officers.
And in this case, this particular building was owned by one of Bobby’s senior officers named Dicky.
According to what Michael heard from others, Dicky was the 4th-in-command for the entire Quench company, and he handled the branch that dealt with creating everyday metal objects and furniture.
This was currently the best-selling company in the entire district, evidenced by the large number of people coming in and out of their building. Unlike the situation back in the Market Plaza, the crowd here was very organized thanks to the multiple employees directing foot traffic.
They practically owned the entire street!
They had different iterations of stores in this large building. One was a store meant solely for spoons, one meant for bread knives, and many others more. This was how they managed more than 20,000 sales in a single day.
Michael eventually walked inside, with one of the attendants approaching him.
"Hello, sir. Welcome to Quench company. What can I do for you?" she asked him.
"I’d like to talk to your boss, Bobby."
The attendant pursed her lips. "I’m sorry, but that would not be possible, little sir. The Great Bobby Hepheasteus is a busy man and is currently engaged in some other matter."
"How about Dicky?"
The attendant shook her head. "I’m sorry, but sir Dicky cannot be disturbed unless there is official business. However, we can offer you some merchandise with Sir Dicky’s signature printed on it."
"I should have been more clear," he said, clearing his throat. "I’m here to talk business with him."
He presented her with the giant red coin stamped with the Association’s emblem.
The attendant’s posture immediately changed. The appearance of this permit meant that she could no longer treat Michael as a little boy, but as an esteemed owner of a company in Metropolis.
"Forgive my rudeness. I shall relay your request immediately."
The attendant quickly scurried off back into the building, whispering to her other coworkers about what transpired.
A couple of minutes later, she came back with a much more awed look on her face as she bowed at Michael.
"We have verified your permit, Sir Michael. Sir Dicky would like to ask if this business involves the Reborn company?"
Michael shook his head. "It’s more personal."
She nodded. "I understand. If you would please follow me, I shall lead you towards Sir Dicky’s office."
Michael followed her in, entering the Quench store and seeing all the metalware they had in store. She led them towards the employee door out to the interior of their building and up towards five full flights of stairs.
Eventually, they reached the top floor. She knocked twice on the double door, before the guards opened it from the inside.
"Sir Dicky is waiting for you inside," she said, gesturing for him to enter.
Michael gave her a nod of thanks and entered Dicky’s main office room.