NOVEL NEXT Chapter 29: Kingsbridge
After the early morning tutor sessions with his mother, Michael spent the afternoons constructing the clock he was going to give his father.
Since this wasn't his first time making the machine, he was able to build the clock a little bit smaller, making it look like the old grandfather clocks he had seen back in his previous life. It was still big, but not as large as a cabinet.
His father, upon hearing the rhythmic ticking of the clock, couldn't help but scream out in excitement.
"Hooo! Woowwww!" the man said, letting go of all pretenses he had about being dignified.
Seeing the pendulum swing back and forth seemed to have hypnotized the man. He couldn't help but swing his head back and forth as well.
Michael watched his father become obsessed with the clock, to the point that he looked a little bit silly.
"Do you like it that much, Dad?" Michael said, chuckling to himself. He had never seen his father act like this.
He always saw his dad as a serious character, treating everything with a no-nonsense attitude. But now, he was seeing him in a completely different light.
"I still can't understand how it works and how you created it, but this is amazing, son! Thank you. I can't wait to install it in my office," Bart said as he ruffled Michael's hair.
"Now that you have that, you have no excuse for coming home late, right dear?" Lylia sounded like she was joking, but both father and son knew that it was a real threat.
"Oh, would you look at the time. We better get going now so we'll arrive at Kingsbridge before lunch, hahaha!"
It seemed Michael inherited his ability to fend off Lylia's scary questions from his father.
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Today was the day they were going to Kingsbridge to visit the Magic Tower. The only reason why it took them about a week to go to Kingsbridge was because Michael's mother wanted to improve his Earth magic a little bit more before he got assessed.
It didn't matter though, because Michael finally got the chance to see mages up close and personal.
Hey ChatJK1, you're ready to analyze more magic spells, right?
[I am fully capable of scanning magic spells that are performed in your vicinity.]
That was what he liked to hear.
A few hours later, Sebastian stopped the horses dragging the carriage and peeked through the window.
"Sir, Madam, Young Master, we have arrived at Kingsbridge."
Michael had heard a lot about Kingsbridge after hearing Castelle's daily report about the Reborn company.
According to her, Kingsbridge was a large city whose citizens were a little bit wealthier than the average citizen. The normal inhabitants of this place consisted of rich merchants, famous swordsmen families, and even royals.
This was the reason why they could sell Reborn soap and shampoo at one gold coin a pair. Most people wouldn't be able to afford that, but the people at Kingsbridge were more than wealthy enough to splurge on keeping themselves happy.
Michael looked out the window and saw the tall stone walls surrounding the city, with archers and soldiers stationed at each watchtower.
[The walls are made out of stone and mortar to provide strength and stability to the structure. They have an estimated height of 20 meters or equivalent to a six-story building. Would you like to know more?]
No. I'm good, thanks.
As expected of a wealthy city, they didn't skimp out on arming their soldiers to the teeth. The enforcers guarding the gate were clad in full steel armor, with gold plating wrapped around to emanate a 'royal' aura to the soldiers.
"I pay respects to the Vanderbilts," said the soldier as he bowed to the carriage.
They weren't questioned or had their carriages inspected like all the other people entering the city. They were let in purely because of the Vanderbilt emblem on their carriage.
By the way, their emblem was the symbol of two hands cupping an overflowing collection of gold coins, with the image of the planet below it.
Michael thought it was too much, considering they put real gold on their emblem just to show off their wealth.
After they were let in, Sebastian continued to lead their carriage towards the large black spire in the distance.
Meanwhile, Michael put his head out the window.
This was the first time he would be witnessing a real medieval city with his own two eyes. He had an abstract idea of what they looked like since he frequently watched anime and TV shows depicting this era, but seeing it in real life felt more surreal.
The men were wearing fine tunics, while the women were wearing puffy gowns as if it were normal.
It looked like they were cosplaying, but they weren't. This was their true attire for the day.
As the carriage continued to rock through the cobblestone roads of Kingsbridge, Michael's leisurely observation of the City was interrupted by a horrible scent that filled his senses.
"Urgh!"
He had to pinch his nose. He couldn't take it anymore.
"Whab id dadd?" (What is that?)
However, his parents didn't seem to notice anything wrong.
"What's wrong, dear?"
Michael looked at them as if they were crazy.
"Don't you smell that?"
Lylia and Bart both looked at each other. They didn't know what was smelling so bad.
Then, Bart finally remembered that this was the first time Michael visited Kingsbridge.
"Oh, you must be smelling the river Dames," Bart explained.
Soon enough, the carriage reached a wide bridge leading to the next part of town. Michael looked out the window and finally realized what was smelling so bad.
The river Dames was full of pollution! Not just any pollution, it was human pollution, meaning human waste!
This world was still stuck in the medieval times when human waste was simply thrown into the river with no regard for cleanliness! Michael had been living with modern toiletry in the mansion for so long that he forgot this fact. Only now did this face hit him in his face.