HTLCCBFT Chapter 109

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 109

At this moment, all the doubts Oliver had harbored about him completely vanished.

—Absolutely, genuinely foolish.

To be fair, let alone an omnipotent deity, even as a mere human, he wouldn’t go so far as to play along with a trivial prank to the extent of willingly becoming someone else’s son.

The sacrifice was simply too great.

If this was still an act, then he must have misjudged.

From this point on, facing the cat-shaped deity—whose eyes were full of anticipation, whose attitude was resolute, but whose “silly” nature he had already seen through—the “mischievous” blond lord felt a trace of genuine guilt for the first time.

“I’m sorry,” Oliver explained with a serious expression. “Although I would be more than happy to become your nominal father… it’s just too inappropriate.”

The tall, handsome young man’s eyes instantly dimmed, revealing a melancholy and disappointed expression as he asked softly, “Why?”

Oliver replied calmly, “Unless you, dear Cat God, are willing to take on the form of a child, in the eyes of ordinary humans, it would be impossible for someone my age to have a child who is so much taller than me.”

In reality, even if the Cat God were willing to lower his dignity and transform into a child’s form, it would still be impossible to deceive the sharp-eyed butler Fosse, who had raised Oliver since childhood.

However, the deity, who held a mysterious stubbornness about the concept of being “big,” clearly had no intention of shrinking after finally being able to come to Oliver’s side in his complete and true divine body.

This proposal was simply unworkable.

Realizing this, his ears drooped immediately, not bothering to hide his dejection: “Then, what can I be to Oliver?”

Those soft, folded pointed ears truly made the blond Lord’s heart itch a little.

But considering that this one was a serious-minded little fool, he decided not to test further and spoke plainly: “I’m afraid you’ll have to settle for being my nephew in front of others, dear Cat God—though in my heart, you will always be the only deity I worship.”

“Ngh…”

Though still very reluctant, he felt slightly happier upon hearing the latter part of the sentence.

He reluctantly agreed.

When making the final decision, Oliver changed his mind and didn’t let the Cat God use the name “Nefyué,” instead giving him a new one.

Since the meaning of his divine name was “Golden”……

Then his human name might as well be “Jin.”

One day later.

On the third day of the Autumn Market, merchants from other regions continued to arrive in an endless stream, including many large traders who had only made brief stops in Gregor City and had not originally planned to visit Laina at all.

Nisse and Neil spotted quite a few familiar faces.

While waiting for the city entry inspection, they weren’t in a hurry to greet these fellow merchants, whom they couldn’t exactly call friends, and instead chatted with each other.

As they discussed the unbelievably wonderful Lord and the mysterious noble who had recently inquired about Laina’s situation, they also split a bit of their attention to eavesdrop on the conversations of the merchants in the queue ahead and behind them.

The large merchant ahead, who had brought a whopping 20 carts of goods, making his caravan appear grand and imposing, specialized in trading wool.

He was currently full of complaints, grumbling to his valet: “Hunting, hunting! Is that willful Count really so fond of hunting?!”

It completely disrupted his sales plan!

Wul[mfn] 乌///尔 – Wū’ěr , meant to sound like wool[/mfn] was one of the most renowned wool merchants in the southern part of the kingdom, and the wool he acquired was always of the finest quality.

Particularly, the sheep dealers he was familiar with had an unspoken understanding—they would only sell the leftover, lower-quality materials to others after he had made his selections.

Of course, only the wealthy and discerning nobles could afford such high-end goods.

Even the weavers they employed had exceptionally delicate fingers, meticulously maintained and kept immaculately clean. Only such hands and materials could produce fabrics soft and refined enough to suit the delicate skin of the nobility.

As early as late summer, Wul had purchased large quantities of premium wool from his long-term sheep dealer partners and set off promptly, aiming to reach Wealfay City[mfn]- 韦尔费伊城; Wéi’ěrfèi Yī  – meant to sound like ‘wealthy’[/mfn], Riche City[mfn]瑞切城; Ruìqiē – meant to sound like ‘rich’[/mfn], and Gregor City.

In these three wealthiest main cities of the southern kingdom, he usually had no trouble finding generous customers willing to buy his goods in bulk.

They weren’t necessarily lords; in such large cities, there were always minor nobles waiting for opportunities or living comfortably without financial worries.

Though they couldn’t match the wealth of lords and major nobles, to uphold their aristocratic dignity, they still needed to commission a few new garments each year to maintain appearances.

Otherwise, if they were fortunate enough to receive an invitation to a castle banquet but lacked suitable attire… that would be a great embarrassment.

Perhaps due to the colder winters in recent years, Wul’s business had been exceptionally good last year.

Even though he had prepared a bit late, purchasing 50 cartloads of wool in mid-autumn, he managed to sell a full 40 cartloads after visiting just two main cities.

By the time he reached Gregor City, only 10 cartloads remained—and the city’s lord at the time, McKenna, had expressed great dissatisfaction over this.

Of course, Wul believed it was merely an excuse contrived by that lecherous and stingy noble to drive down the price. But as a merchant eager to sell more goods, he had no choice but to endure it.

This year, not only did he have greater ambitions, but he also wanted to leave Count McKenna with no room for complaint, so he had stockpiled more goods.

Yet, to his surprise, what greeted his request for an audience was an empty castle! Recalling the rejection he faced that day and the neglect that lasted over ten days, Wul was filled with resentment.

“That narrow-minded, pedophilic noble lord is definitely doing it on purpose,” he said indignantly. “He’s mentioned several times that he’s somewhat displeased with me selling goods to Riche City and Wealfay City first…” But why didn’t that count, who always haggled over a few silver coins and even accrued considerable debt, consider how much more straightforward and prompt the lords of the other two cities were?

“Even the servants in the castle wear greedy faces,” the valet chimed in agreement. “They’ve taken plenty of benefits from the master, yet they kept lying and putting us off until they could no longer continue, only then telling the truth.”

“I’ve suspected it for a long time!” Wul grew even angrier as he thought about how he had been toyed with. “The number of rooms lit at night was pitifully few…”

From the outside, the castle appeared cold and deserted, and people on the streets claimed to have personally witnessed the Lord setting out with his falcons and hunting dogs… yet they stubbornly refused to admit it!

This had kept Jin clinging to a sliver of hope, persistently bribing evasive servants just to secure a meeting with the Lord who wasn’t even in the city at all!

After being thoroughly mocked and driven by the thought, ‘I’d rather take a loss than do business with the lord of Gregor again,’ Wul hurriedly traded with a few minor nobles in the city before heading to Laina City with the remaining twenty cartloads of goods.

He had never visited Laina City himself.

In the eyes of this profit-driven merchant, the “cursed land” held no terror, but its reputation for being “so poor that commoners starve to death” was frightening enough.

However, after inquiring and learning that most merchants who had been to Laina City during the Summer Market chose to return with more goods, he decided to give it a try.

After all, even if the destitute Duke couldn’t buy all his stock, he could still detour to Albury City—a three-day journey away—and make it in time.

But just a few days into the journey, Wul began to feel a twinge of regret.

—The road was full of potholes and incredibly difficult to traverse, with not even a village in sight along the way.

This meant their caravan couldn’t find supplies, forcing them to survive on dry rations and sleep in crude tents.

How could it be so far?!

Fortunately, upon actually arriving at Laina City, though he couldn’t see inside yet, he could at least glimpse the castle and what appeared to be a proper city from a distance…

Wul’s spirits, low throughout the journey, lifted slightly.

Now, all he could hope was that this Lord would take a liking to his goods and open his purse generously.

Just then, something caught the corner of Wul’s eye, and his ears belatedly picked up on a suppressed commotion.

He couldn’t help but turn his head.

A tall, slender figure on a magnificent horse leisurely overtook his caravan, heading toward the city gates.

Wul didn’t feel the slightest annoyance at being cut in line; instead, his eyes instantly lit up.

—It must be him, he concluded confidently.

What gave him such assurance was the other’s attire and mount.

The horse was no ordinary steed obtainable merely with wealth—it was a divine warhorse of exceptional caliber, the likes of which he had only seen in the royal capital.

Draped over the rider’s slender frame was a light purple cloak, the kind only nobles could afford, edged with exquisitely delicate gold-thread trim and embroidered with intricate crests that testified to the family’s history.

Though the cloak and hood obscured the face, a few strands of strikingly pure golden hair were visible.

Golden hair.

Nobles with such beautiful golden hair were far from common, even in the royal capital.

The only puzzle was why he hadn’t brought a single servant along…

The rider seemed leisurely, yet he moved swiftly, soon reaching the front and engaging directly with the guards.

Wul squinted, studying the crest intently.

Unfortunately, even after the rider was let through by the guards, cutting in line to enter Laina territory and disappearing from view entirely, Wul still couldn’t identify which specific family it belonged to.

Judging solely by the pattern, it felt quite familiar, somewhat reminiscent of…he froze abruptly.

…It resembled a seal belonging to a member of the royal family that he had glimpsed from afar long ago.

Although Oliver had devised a detailed plan for the deity “Golden” to appear in the guise of a noble, and the deity was obediently willing to carry it out, after witnessing the other’s foolishness—well, innocence and simplicity—his confidence in the deity was rather lacking.

Thus, that morning, Fosse was somewhat baffled to see his young lord seeming restless. After breakfast, breaking routine, he didn’t go to the henhouse to pet the chickens but instead headed toward the city gates with his attendants.

They hadn’t gone far when Oliver spotted the tall figure cloaked in a robe and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed the deity wasn’t too foolish after all.

Just as he put on his usual smile, preparing to pretend it was their first meeting and step forward to inquire—

“Oliver!”

The cat-shaped deity’s eyes lit up instantly.

He urged the “horse” transformed from his own divine power forward like an arrow released from a bow, darting right up to Oliver in a flash.

Then, in full view of everyone, as naturally as when he was still a golden cat, he nestled his tall, slender frame—even taller than Oliver’s—meekly and affectionately into the arms of his beloved believer.

“……”

Oliver stiffened.

The moment he detected a surge of murderous intent from his side, he was forced to react: “Fosse! No!”

He saw with his own eyes that Fosse’s sword was already drawn!

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