Michael found out that a gold coin was equal to 1000 silver coins. And a silver coin was worth 1000 bronze coins.

For some context, it turned out that maids like Castelle and Beretta earned about 1 gold coin per month, which was considered to be a very generous salary in this world. Normal people lived only on silver and bronze coins, so even having a single gold coin could be considered very rich.

The best part about this was that the ingredients needed to create the soap were only about a few hundred bronze coins. Profit was tremendous!

"I see, thank you for telling me. If I were to sell this to the market, would you be the one to deliver the goods?"

Castelle immediately perked up at Michael's request. "Of course, young master! It would be my honor. As long as we sell the soap to those madames, then I'm sure its reputation would spread like wildfire."

Michael nodded. Castelle described those women as the type of people who liked to brag about their luxury. Once other people notice that they're using his soap, many people would immediately envy them.

In this world, those madames were like the early version of influencers back in his original world.

"Take with you other maids and buy some more ingredients for the soap. Oh, and buy some more exotic flowers and oils."

If he was going to sell them, Michael decided to create different versions of the soap and shampoo. Not everyone liked the floral scent.

Castelle nodded and walked out of Michael's room with passion burning in her eyes.

…

…

…

Now that he was all alone in his room, Michael turned to a single piece of gear in his hands.

Using his 2-star spell [Metal Bend] the smallest gear he could create was about the size of an adult hand. It was far too big to create the wristwatch and pocket watch that he envisioned.

I guess I'll just have to settle with a big clock for now…ChatJK1, can you explain to me in detail how the early version of a mechanical clock worked?

[Certainly. Mechanical clocks use the combination of gears and weights to create a consistent movement that is useful in timekeeping…]

Michael laid in his bed as the information washed over his brain. The mechanical knowledge needed for the creation of a clock was far too complicated for him to learn in a single second.

He spent the entire night digesting the information, until finally, he understood the concept with the same mastery as an engineer.

He was so excited about this project that he almost couldn't sleep.

To make himself exhausted, Michael meditated and increased his mana gathering even faster than normal, straining his body till he was tired.

All this time, he didn't slack off on growing the mana stones in his body.

Right now, the four main elemental rocks near his abdomen were the size of a small acorn. He found that the amount of mana those small rocks contained was enough for him to cast 1-star spells continuously for 10 minutes without getting tired.

ChatJK1, can you tell me how my mana compares to other mages?

[I'm sorry, I have insufficient data to have an accurate comparison.]

This was one of the downsides of keeping his magic a secret. He didn't have any tutor to tell him about the basics of magic.

Since he wasn't supposed to know magic, he wasn't supposed to ask questions about them.

This led him to have a very shallow understanding of magic and how it worked.

He wanted to know a lot more. He wanted to learn other spells, he wanted to know if there were elements present other than the four main ones, and he wanted to know the difference between the star ratings of the spells.

I'll have to reveal my magic to my parents at some point. When they return, I'll tell the truth and say that I created the plumbing system using my magic.

His goal for doing this was to have an excuse to learn more about magic. Knowing his father, he would immediately order a tutor to teach him everything he needed to know.

…

…

…

The next day, Michael started to create the first parts of his clock project.

Since the gears needed a lot of precision, he couldn't rush it or else the clock wouldn't work.

In the meantime, he tasked some of the maids to help him create the soap and shampoo he was going to sell to the market.

Of course, he immediately followed the modern way and created the primitive version of a factory.

Some of the maids were in charge of mixing the main ingredients, turning them into a fine powder, while the next set of maids were in charge of mixing those with water. Then, he also created more molds for the soap, where another set of maids slowly poured the mixture to create the perfect rectangle shape.

The maids were incredibly enthusiastic about this project since Michael promised them that they could take their own supply of soap and shampoo at the end of the day.

And even though Michael said that he would give them some coins as compensation for their work, the maids immediately refused.

"There's no need, young master! In the first place, we are hired to help you with everything in your life. And, we are still incredibly thankful for the plumbing system you gave us. It's changed our lives. It is an honor for us to do this work!"

"Let them do it, young master," Beretta said to Michael. "You don't know how thankful the maids are for your inventions. You'd be giving them no chance to show their thanks if you pay them."

Michael was incredibly moved by their sacrifice, but he didn't like it.

He lived in a world where proper work was compensated. So, if they weren't going to accept coins, Michael would simply shower them with more modern inventions in the future.