Chapter 496: Conversation with Regina
After dealing with Uncle Jack permanently, the Duchess invited the Vanderbilts to stay in their castle for the night.
Max, Lylia, and Bart experienced the most luxurious dinner that they had ever seen. Expensive fishes straight from Atlantis, Hydra meat that only the Draconian race consumed, the legendary Griffin feathers, and a lot of other things that didn’t even look edible. But they were definitely expensive for sure.
Michael, on the other hand, was occupied because of the four royal grandchildren who pestered him for more Soda.
He spent the night making them each a barrel of Soda, and teaching them that it was better consumed with ice. They won’t have trouble cooling it down because they had multiple mages on their employ.
And as the night wore down, Michael was fetched by the Duchess out in the grassfields.
He walked out of the veranda and saw her strolling in the grass as she observed the automobile up close and personal.
"This is a fine piece of work," she marveled. "When Barnaby told me that there was going to be an upheaval in Metropolis soon because of this machine, I didn’t believe him. He told me to go see it for myself, which was why I requested your presence here in my castle.
In hindsight, I should have delayed so that you wouldn’t have had to go through that duel with Jack. But I guess it’s all for the better now since you took him down."
Michael walked towards her. "That’s all in the past now," he said. "Let’s get down to business. Would you like to inspect the automobile?"
This was very important. Her verification was the only thing he needed in order to make his truck and his automobiles legal in the streets of Metropolis.
"My twins have already told me about the automobile. I know it’s safe. What I want to know is its capacity. I wanna see the limits of what it could do."
Michael nodded, knowing exactly what she was trying to say.
"Would you like to try it for yourself?" he said as he tossed her the keys.
The Duchess smiled as she took the keys and went inside the driving seat. And after he told her everything she needed to know to drive, she immediately stepped on the gas pedal and raced through the grassfields at high speeds.
I guess I know where Elizabeth’s talent for driving comes from, Michael thought. Just like her, Regina was a natural at the wheel.
Meanwhile, her Secret Service guards were inwardly biting their nails as they saw this scene unfold. But they couldn’t do anything. She explicitly told them not to bother her during this time.
Five minutes later, the car skidded in front of Michael and came to a complete stop. The car’s exhaust was almost panting, as if it couldn’t keep up with its driver at all despite being a machine.
"This is beyond my expectations! And to think that it only requires oil to function...it’s a miracle!" the Duchess claimed.
"Once you put a carriage behind it to increase the loading capacity, then I can see the automobile revolutionizing Metropolis."
Michael smiled, knowing that this was his chance to showcase another one of his automobiles.
"There’s no need to do that. The automobile is designed only for human transport. I have another one called a Truck. That one is a lot larger and is designed to carry a lot of items. Would you like to see it?"
The Duchess was surprised. She immediately agreed.
Michael used his shadow skill to transport the large six-wheeler Truck into the Duchess’ grassfields in an instant.
Because of its size and weight, the amount of mana in the air decreased significantly, to the point that even the Duchess was able to sense the difference.
"That...that is amazing!"
She had heard from her children that Michael was extremely talented in the Mystic Arts. But she didn’t know just how much. Seeing it first-hand made her audibly gasp out loud as she would have never thought that something as gigantic as the Truck could be teleported with a spell.
"You...why haven’t the Guild of Arcana taken you in as their next big genius?" she asked genuinely.
If he had chosen the path of the Mystic, then he would have been renowned across the entire world by now.
"I’m not interested in that. I just want to build a world that I’m comfortable in," he answered her truthfully.
"And this is how I’m going to do that. Set your sights onto our Truck. It can carry weights up to 10 tons!"
That number was jaw-dropping. Transporting that kind of weight would have taken at least a hundred carriages going back and forth through large distances. The labor and expenses for such a large task would have certainly halved the profits that a company would have made.
But with this truck, one needed only one trip. And with its speed, the travel time would be reduced to a mere fraction.
The Duchess’ eyes glistened as all sorts of ideas popped into her head. She started to think about the problems of Metropolis and how the automobiles and the trucks would solve every single one of them.
This was truly revolutionary. The Duchess felt like she was in the start of a new era, one where it was heralded by the rise of this automobile.
Because of that, she knew that she had to jump on the bandwagon as soon as possible.
"I want to purchase as many automobiles as you can produce," she declared.
Michael smiled. He expected this. Almost anyone who saw the truck would want one for themselves.
"Here’s the problem, Duchess. I don’t think that your roads are capable of withstanding the weight of this truck. A simple four-wheeler truck is the limit. If you want bigger trucks like this, then you’ll have to expand and fortify your streets."
The Duchess was perceptive. She saw through the hidden message in Michael’s words.
"I take it that you can provide stable enough roads for these trucks?" she asked, amused.
"As a matter of fact, yes. My Golden Road has already been tested to withstand multiple trucks and automobiles riding through them without fail.
You don’t need to look further than Angora City to see how better their streets became after I implemented new roads."
The Duchess couldn’t help but smile as Michael made his pitch. The more she interacted with him, the more he looked like he wasn’t a child at all. His business acumen rivaled and bested that of adults!
"Hahaha...don’t get so ambitious now, Michael. Let’s start with your automobiles first. Once the roads need improvements, then you will be the first one I’ll consider."
"Why not start now?" he asked her.
"You’re not ready for it," she told him. "Your inventions may be good, but your company is not ready to handle such a task. After all, if I allow you to start renovating the entirety of Metropolis, it will look like you have become the sponsor of the territory. Your company isn’t ready for that."
Michael looked at her and saw wisdom behind her eyes. She was giving him advice, and it would be stupid of him not to take it.
"Alright," he acquiesced. "Then the automobiles first."