Reborn as the Genius Son of the Richest Family

Duke Stelmane explained to Michael about the five conglomerates controlling the current global market.

At the very top spot of the Golden 500 was the Vanderbilt business, headed by none other than the Great Lion Yze Vanderbilt.

Coming in under him was the Oscorpe Consortium. They were just like the Vanderbilt business, which was mostly controlled by a single family and a patriarch at the top.

Those two conglomerates had their hands in every business imaginable. As long as they could make money on it, those two conglomerates were part of it.

The third spot was the Hepheasteus Group, known for their monopoly on the world's greatest weapons and armors. They owned the biggest mine in the world located in another continent, allowing them to become the world's best supplier for anything metallurgical.

"The HammerStone company is part of the Hepheasteus Group, right?" Michael asked.

"Yes," Duke Stelmane nodded. "HammerStone is just one of the families that are part of the Hepheasteus conglomerate, but still considered to be an indirect descendant of it.

If you noticed, the ones that the Stone-Cold 6 used are one of the top armor sets available in the current market."

Michael did remark that the icy blue equipment they used was better than normal, but he still considered it as far below the level of what the Dwarves could make.

He now found it quite a waste that the Dwarven Kingdom hid themselves for so long in the Royal Continent. If they had allowed businesses to be conducted in their territory, then they might have been the one in the top 3 spot instead of the Hepheasteus Group.

"The conglomerate on the fourth spot is the Goldstone Trust. They make their money through managing lands and territories all over the globe. And if you look at all the unclaimed territories in the Queens region, more often than not, they are property of the Goldstone Trust. "

In other words, their business was in real estate.

Michael was quite lucky that he obtained the massive landmass of the Parched Lands as a gift. That was probably because the perceived value of a desolate desert was very low, which was why it hadn't been conquered yet.

"And at the fifth spot is Sinclair's Elixirs. Their whole business is derived from their unique blends of salves, healing potions, and even cultivation pills.

They have hospitals and apothecaries located almost everywhere around the world because of their usefulness to society. I don't know if you noticed, but they have a branch located somewhere in the heart of our city.

Also, the biggest reason as to why Sinclair's Elixirs stood tall as a conglomerate is due to none other than Sinclair. That old witch is still the best healer in the entire world, with some even saying that she could cure death itself.

This has led the other conglomerates to seek her services whenever they got a disease. I heard that your grandfather once had to pay an entire country to her as compensation for when she cured his cold."

Michael did notice an apothecary in the city, but didn't take notice of it much.

By the looks of it, they still used the old health practices such as blood letting, acupuncture, and herbal medicine. It made him wonder whether the modern knowledge of medicine still worked in this magical world.

"So those five conglomerates are at the top of the Golden 500. But they are not the ones competing in this Golden Road competition?" Michael asked.

"They are not. It's their sub companies, the companies managed by heirs and successors, that are competing. The one in particular that I want to talk about is the Flarecorpe company that took control of Batchrock Town."

"They are a sub company of the Oscrope Consortium," Michael remembered.

"This Flarecorpe company is an up and coming business owned by a direct child of the Oscorpe patriarch. He is quite young and hungry to prove himself, which was probably why he took this opportunity to expand his territory in the Queens region."

Michael looked at the Duke's expression and saw a hint of worry in his eyebrows.

"You think he's going to expand to Angora City."

Duke Stelmane went silent for a second before nodding his head. "In all likelihood, I think yes. It's the only logical way for him to compete against his older brothers and sisters who have much more established companies."

Michael looked at the Duke and posed him a question.

"Who do you think would win between us?" he asked.

"I'm sure you can expect their greatest warriors to be at least as strong as One," he estimated. "Are you worried?"

The Duke took a peek at Michael's expression and saw a peculiar expression. It was as if he was saying the words, not bad or decent, in his mind!

He thought Michael would be apprehensive of Flarecorp, but that look on his face was nothing less than indifference.

And as it turned out, the Duke's guesses weren't that far off from the truth.

Okay, that's not bad, Michael thought. I just can't say those words out loud to the Dragonborns. They'll get lazy and stop training.

In his eyes, the Dragonborns were far superior to the very best of what the Stone-Cold 6 could offer! If he took into account that the Dragonborns weren't yet using their full power when defeating the Stone-Cold 6, then Michael was even more sure of that estimation.

But it's good to be a little bit more careful, he said to himself. I'll have to give more Mithril Artifacts to the Shadow Orcs.

If the Duke was hearing his thoughts right now, he would have his jaw on the floor.

After knowing what he was up against, Michael finished his discussion with the Duke and the two of them signed a contract of sponsorship.

With Yuna as the witness and the power vested in the name Montgomery, she was able to make the contract into an official legal binding document.

"Thank you again for your help, Michael. Sorry you had to fight your way through it."

Michael shrugged. "It's fine. I expected a little bit of action anyway. Those HammerStone guys had been making shady moves ever since we arrived in the city."

Duke Stelmane felt sorry and bowed his head to Michael.

"Expect good news tomorrow. The transfer of ownership will have been processed." he said.

"What do you mean?"

"The HammerStone company branch. It's yours for the taking. All their assets, treasury, inventory, and even real estate will now be transferred to the Reborn company."

Michael raised his eyebrows. "Why do I have it?"

"With Christian stripped of all of his inheritance, the HammerStone branch here in Angora City will be completely abandoned."

This was a very welcome surprise. "Isn't the HammerStone company part of the Hepheasteus group? Are you sure they would want that?"

"Oh I'm sure," Duke Stelmane chuckled. "The Hephaestus conglomerate cannot take what is not rightfully theirs, and neither can Chrisitan's father. If they do, then they would have to accept the Christian's crime of attempted murder. They don't want that. And since the HammerStone company is small compared to what they have, it is much more logical for them to cut off their losses.

And besides, Christian's father is a righteous man. He will want to give you this as compensation for all the trouble his son caused you."