HTLCCBFT Chapter 231

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 231

“Ollie?”

Noticing his little partner’s sudden evasion, the Cat-eared God blinked in confusion, instinctively tilting his head.

“Ollie?”

He tirelessly repeated this unique, intimate address that had delighted him endlessly ever since being inspired by the Rose Goddess.

Even with Oliver stubbornly facing away, nothing could dampen the feline deity’s intense curiosity and concern.

Since his beloved little worshiper had turned his face aside, the god naturally leaned over him—one hand bracing against Oliver’s side, the other pressing into the bedding that still retained faint body warmth beside that elegantly curved spine.

Oliver had no chance to evade this forcibly inquisitive, almost unreasonable maneuver.

The deity seemed to hold his breath as he slowly leaned closer, his clear golden pupils clearly reflecting the beautiful rose-tinted flush spreading across the lord’s snow-white skin.

His tone sounded innocent and naive, appearing genuinely guileless—just like the impression he always gave everyone.

But to Oliver who had just become aware of certain things, it carried a hint of deliberate teasing, as if the god already knew exactly what effect he was having—even if he himself might not realize how completely certain he was of having Oliver.

“Ollie?”

The final utterance came as an extremely soft, barely audible breath delivered from an intimately close position, nearly touching that delicate ear.

It resembled both a lover’s intimate whisper and an elegant big cat firmly pinning down its cherished prey.

Oliver kept his eyes closed, his soft pale pink lips pressed tightly together, forming a breathtaking crimson curve like a rose petal fallen upon pristine snow.

Cornered by the persistent questioning, he finally had no choice but to say helplessly when the cat god moved to tease him further: “…Could you please get off me first?”

“Mhm.”

Though burning with curiosity and feeling inexplicably excited and happy, the obedient Cat-eared God immediately withdrew his restless hands and dutifully moved away from him.

Oliver took several deep breaths before calming his embarrassment.

But when he sat up, he saw that the cat-eared youth who had been sitting composedly moments ago had deliberately transformed into the golden big cat form he usually adored beyond measure.

The reason was obvious: though unaware of the specific cause, the deity had keenly detected his beloved little partner’s emotional fluctuations.

To make Oliver happy again, becoming the big cat was the solution.

He had been lying obediently beside Oliver, but when Oliver sat up, he naturally raised his head, stood up as well, then even more naturally leaped toward—

Before that newly blossoming affection could register, years of conditioned reflex had Oliver acting instinctively.

He opened his arms without thinking, allowing this considerate deity—who had not only lightened his divine body but cunningly retained the fluffy softness and warmth of a cat—to land squarely in his embrace.

When those beautiful pale golden cat ears twitched slightly, he even reached out without hesitation to stroke them.

Oliver: “……”

He was beyond saving.

After meeting the gaze of those pale golden eyes shimmering under the sunlight for a while, he was the first to feel guilty and unusually averted his gaze. Pretending to be nonchalant, he preemptively addressed the deity: “Darling,” though it was usually a smooth prefix, with “a guilty conscience,” his tongue still felt slightly stiff, “Cat God, after I fell unconscious, did you go anywhere else?”

Just like how one might toss out a cat teaser to distract a kitten, when diverting the attention of the big Cat God, one could also throw out the “change of topic” yarn ball.

The unsuspecting golden big cat indeed immediately shifted back to human form, earnestly answering his question: “I returned to the divine realm to look for Helf.”

“But Helf has already fallen into slumber. Rose said that aside from the god-king, no other deity can awaken Him.” He spoke somewhat dejectedly: “I wasn’t able to help Ollie.”

Hearing this account and seeing His unconcealed gloom, Oliver felt his heart being gently patted once again by a kitten’s soft paw pad.

“You’ve already given me so much, or perhaps too much. You don’t need to do those things for me,” he couldn’t help but say.

How strange.

After realizing his own feelings, it seemed he could no longer accept His offerings so unreservedly.

Yet He gave no response.

After hesitantly glancing at him, He unusually took the initiative to speak, somewhat awkwardly recounting matters of other deities: “Rose is the Rose Goddess. She learned from Deyth that Ollie likes roses, and she promised that before falling into slumber, she would pick the second most beautiful rose to give to you.”

Rose had indeed said that.

Oliver couldn’t help but chuckle, not because he truly cared about a gift from an unfamiliar deity, but because he wondered what this usually tongue-tied deity was trying to lead up to.

Smiling slightly, he patiently followed along with His words: “Why would it be the second most beautiful?”

“Rose said the most beautiful rose must always be reserved for her most beloved god-king,” the Cat-eared God recalled carefully. “Only the second most beautiful rose is one she can freely give away.” Even though she was a goddess born from roses, emerging from the softest and most delicate flower hearts.

“I’m grateful to her,” Oliver said, gazing at the slightly evasive deity while easily guessing His true intentions. The smile in his eyes carried unconscious tenderness: “But if possible, please decline on my behalf.”

Almost the moment the words left his mouth, Oliver saw clearly – the Cat God’s golden eyes instantly sparkled.

Just this trivial matter of him refusing a gift from another deity was enough to make this particularly jealous big cat so happy.

Completely unaware that Oliver had seen through His insincerity, the Cat God, noticing His little partner’s low spirits, was still trying hard to say things that might cheer him up, seeking to please him: “Really, Ollie? But the roses Rose cultivates with divine power are much more beautiful than those in the garden.”

Oliver smiled gently: “Mm.”

He gazed at the tall, handsome deity and smiled softly. “I already have roses upon me, and I lack neither a spacious nor beautiful garden. What I need is only a gentle God who is willing to tenderly watch over everything, and a lovely big cat willing to reside in this garden.”

Though he hadn’t yet fully sorted out his feelings, nor could he quickly offer a clear and formal response to this newly sprouted emotion…

For now, looking at the happy expression on the cat god’s face, Oliver knew at least one thing: he wanted to make decisions that would bring Him even more joy.

In fact, he didn’t linger too long on personal emotions before plunging back into busyness.

After breakfast, he took the cat god to the hall. “This time, we don’t need to wait until evening.”

During last night’s inspection, realizing that the nobles—along with the guards maintaining basic order—had completely withdrawn from the outer city, abandoning its middle and lower-class residents to fend for themselves in such a despicable manner, Oliver decided they could go during daylight hours this time.

That would give him more sufficient time to arrange matters and observe to what extent the city’s economic and production systems had stalled without upper-class intervention.

He believed three reasons prevented the outer city from descending into complete chaos: first, the plague’s infectivity and lethality were so severe that fighting the disease alone had exhausted most people’s energy, even their lives; second, the sudden deaths of many had also reduced the consumption of daily necessities, preventing the abruptly broken food supply chain and order from triggering chain reactions; and third, people still held a sliver of illusion about the inner-city nobles—a hope for the weak, a deterrent for those with ill intentions.

But it was only a matter of time before total chaos ensued.

Though from the perspective of the lord of the southern first great territory, it would be most advantageous to weaken the capital—this hostile force—as much as possible, or even accelerate the collapse of order and attack opportunistically… Oliver had never considered taking such an approach.

The God of Wealth nodded solemnly, as if He would never raise objections to Oliver’s decisions. “Shall we set off now?”

Since Oliver had just assigned numerous tasks, and high-ranking castle officials including Fosse were swamped with work—to live up to Lord Oliver’s expectations, Fosse had even temporarily given up what he always regarded as the most important opportunity, “accompanying His Lordship for meals.” He only made a brief appearance at breakfast before being urgently summoned away by servants facing difficulties.

As the most ostensibly “idle” person in the castle—and unapologetically so—Oliver could indeed slip away at any time. “Jin” was, of course, the same—he had long been seen as the lord’s “shadow.”

Just as Oliver was about to nod, he suddenly remembered something and changed his reply. “Wait a moment. My corn seems about to ripen.”

When rescuing the capital, he tried as much as possible not to use resources from the other three territories—though entirely at his disposal and considered his by everyone, deep down, he still regarded them as “public funds.”

Such relief efforts that did not align with the interests of the three territories’ residents and stemmed solely from his personal values and desires should, unless absolutely necessary, first utilize only his private resources.

Having decided to deploy the dozens of crates of corn stockpiled over several years, Oliver naturally thought the more the better, given the uncertainty of how many people in the royal capital required assistance.

It must be said that once he entered work mode, the slight unease he felt around the cat god gradually faded away.

With the cat god’s tacit cooperation, the man and the deity quickly harvested the newly ripened corn. Then, taking advantage of others’ inattention, they teleported once more through the God of Wealth’s divine power.

Their appearances slightly altered, the two instantly reappeared in the devastated royal capital.

Yet Oliver soon realized he had indeed underestimated the potential impact of “recognizing his feelings” on himself—under normal circumstances, his mind would likely have been wholly occupied with disaster relief arrangements.

But this time…

During the brief teleportation that lasted only a few blinks of an eye, he noticed nothing but the cat god’s strong hand firmly wrapped around his waist.

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