Chapter 477: Barnaby’s surprise
Barnaby then noticed that Max wasn’t alone. They were guests he hadn’t yet seen before.
"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Barnaby Stinson."
He only did a small bow, which was due to the limitations of his physical body (i.e. his huge belly). He then shook hands with Bart, Lylia, and even Michael, treating him with the same respect as the adults, which was quite nice to see.
"My name is Bart Vanderbilt, and this is my wife Lylia, and my son Michael."
Barnaby’s eyes widened as he looked back at Max. "Vaderbilt? I didn’t know you had other relatives."
"We come from the Kings region," Bart explained.
"Ah, I see. That is quite a long way away from here. I hope you didn’t have much trouble with your travel."
They continued to have small talk as they got acquainted with each other. Eventually, Michael interrupted their conversation and asked Barnaby about the upcoming auction. This was the reason he wanted to go here in the first place.
"Excuse me. I heard that there’s an auction going on soon."
Barnaby looked at Michael with a prideful smile. "That’s right! We are about to have a once-in-a-year event that all the best companies want to participate in. I pride myself in showcasing items that even the famous Alaric Goldman will want to purchase.
Rare thousand-year herbs, meteor ores, exotic materials from overseas...we have everything!" he said, slamming the foot of his cane on the ground in exclamation.
"I was thinking about joining the auction too," Michael said casually.
Barnaby was intrigued and heard him out. "Do you want to buy or sell items in the auction?"
"I was thinking both," he replied.
Barnaby started laughing heartily. "Hahaha! Very ambitious! I like it!"
Meanwhile, Max was surprised to learn that even Michael wanted to join the auction. And as a good uncle, he decided to help Michael with his request.
"Barnaby, I will vouch for the kid. I know that my ranking isn’t that good anymore, but I can assure you that anything he sells will be legitimate. I will stake my reputation on it," Max said sincerely.
Authenticity of items was always a problem in any auctions. That was why Barnaby only allowed people with a verified identity to sell items.
"With Max’s support, then I’ll allow you to sell items. But that’s only if I find it good enough for the auction. You’re from the Kings region, right? There are some exotic herbs there that will definitely be good enough to be sold," he said to Michael.
"However, buying items in the auction is another thing. I cannot allow you to participate in it. You need to have a company."
Michael knew that already. "I have one. It’s called the Reborn company."
It was at that moment that Barnaby’s eyes narrowed, seemingly recognizing the name Michael mentioned.
"Wait a minute...Reborn? Where have I heard of that?"
A second later, the realization hit him like a truck.
"Reborn?!" Barnaby gasped. "You’re part of that famous novice company that got their permit just a few days ago?"
This time, Max was surprised at Barnaby’s reaction. He didn’t expect the famous auctioneer to know about his nephew’s company.
"You know about it?" Max asked.
"I do. I keep my ear on the ground for anything exciting that’s been happening in Metropolis. One such story is about a novice company who got their permit just three days into the test! Not only that, but they were even able to win a low-class tournament at the end."
"Oh, you know about it?" Michael asked curiously. He thought that news only spread around in the Upperwoods District. But it seemed that it spread even this far into Metropolis.
"Of course I know it. It’s not everyday that a tournament takes place, you know! And a scandalous one at that.
Ever since I found out that the low-class tournament winner was able to defeat someone from Basilisk Ores, the name Reborn company has been etched into my mind!" Barnaby exclaimed.
Max, on the other hand, couldn’t keep up with Michael and Barnaby’s conversation. "Wait, wait...you’re telling me that Reborn, Michael’s company, got their permit in just three days and also won a tournament against someone from the famous Basilisk Ores?!"
Barnaby began retelling the story he heard about Reborn to Max. And as he continued to reveal more and more, Max couldn’t help but take a step back and re-evaluate how he perceived Michael.
Max knew about Basilisk Ores. He knew that even he, at his best, wouldn’t be able to defeat one of their officers in combat. Yet somehow, his nephew was able to defeat not just an officer, but their greatest fighter at that.
He never thought that his nephew would be so talented in business and in duels!
"This news would have become more popular if not for the boy who had quad-elemental mastery," Barnaby said dissapointedly, not knowing he was talking about Michael too.
"Then will my baby boy be able to join the auction?" Lylia asked proudly.
Barnaby had to quell his excitement after finding out Michael owned Reborn. He had to act professional.
"Ahem...unfortunately, although your company shows great promise, it needs to be ranked higher than the 400th spot in the Golden 500. Though with your talents, I think that it won’t be long until you can reach that. Maybe you can join the auction next year."
Michael couldn’t accept that. He didn’t know if they would offer Soo in next year’s auction. He had to participate in this year’s auction.
"Can you make an exception? If you allow me to join the auction, then I’ll tell you who owns that metal machine that you wanted to know about."
Barnaby raised his eyebrows, intrigued. "Who?"
"Me," Michael revealed.
"Huh? Say what now?"
Barnaby tried to clean his ears, thinking that he must have heard it wrong.
"The metal machine? It’s called an automobile and it’s what we used to get here," Michael said.
The obese man stared at Michael in disbelief.
"You...you own that machine?"
Michael nodded casually. "You want to see it? We have it parked right around the street."
Barnaby went silent for a second, before immediately running out back down the stairs and leaving everyone in the dust. For an obese man, his speed rivaled even that of Jaku right at that moment.
A few seconds later, everyone heard a shrill scream echo from the outside.
"It’s here! This is it!"
They heard Barnaby’s excitement all the way to the second floor. A couple of seconds later, they heard the sound of his heavy footsteps running towards them at full speed.
He eventually reached them, using his cane to skid it into the flooring and stop his velocity.
"Haa...haa..."
Barnaby’s hands were on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. And everytime he was about to say something to Michael, his excitement always ended up making his asthma worse.
After two minutes, Barnaby finally recovered enough to vocalise his shock.
"To think that the great treasure was right under my nose...I was ready to search the entirety of Metropolis for the machine, you know."
Barnaby then faced Michael and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Michael! Can you tell me more about this construct of yours?"