HTLCCBFT Chapter 196

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 196

That morning, when Oliver appeared alone in the dining room, all the servants including the butler Fosse couldn’t help but freeze momentarily.

They instinctively tilted their heads, their gazes drifting toward the side of this perpetually golden-glowing prince – that spot where someone always sat.

—Now it stood empty.

Oliver wasn’t surprised by their reaction.

The cat god’s almost stubborn shadow-like presence had not only accustomed him to its company, but had also silently convinced everyone around him of this arrangement.

“No need to wait for Jin.”

Oliver smiled slightly: “He’ll be staying in his room for the next few days. Just leave his meals by the door and don’t let anyone disturb him.”

“Good morning, Your Highness.”

After a brief hesitation, Fosse bowed slightly and calmly inquired: “Might I ask if Lord Jin’s absence is due to illness? Should we summon a physician?”

“I thank you for your concern on Jin’s behalf, dear butler.” Oliver smiled gracefully, lying without batting an eye: “Under the great cat god’s blessing, he’s perfectly healthy. According to him, he was fortunate enough to receive an oracle in his dream and wishes to contemplate alone for some time.”

Ah, so that was it.

Hearing it was an oracle from that great deity, everyone naturally relaxed and continued with their work in an orderly manner.

Having convinced everyone, Oliver casually enjoyed his milk porridge with elk meat, his gaze fixed on the decorative saffron flower while his thoughts wandered far away.

After fulfilling the promise of “seeing each other upon waking,” exhaustion from the temporary depletion of divine power stored in his divine body swept over the God of Wealth.

Struggling to open his eyes, he murmured “I’ll recover in three or four days” before quietly closing them and falling into deep sleep.

What Oliver didn’t know was that if he had returned to the Source Temple in the divine realm for recuperation, he could have slept more peacefully and recovered slightly faster.

Yet the cat-eared god, fully aware of this, stubbornly chose to return to his most beloved little companion’s side before willing to restore his nearly depleted divine power.

Before Oliver could ask about the previous night’s details, he watched helplessly as the god fell into slumber with unprecedented weakness, his heart suddenly sinking.

Calm down.

He closed his eyes, forcing himself to regain composure before carefully examining the sleeping cat god.

Though covered everywhere with “black ash” from the God of Death Deyth, and with some wounds emitting black energy on his arms, they were all superficial.

This slightly reassured Oliver, though he couldn’t completely set his mind at ease.

Was it really just exhaustion that made him fall asleep so urgently, rather than more serious injuries?

Without answers, Oliver could only choose to believe the cat god’s words.

He brushed off all the residual divine power of the God of Death from the cat god’s body. After hesitating, even though he knew deities couldn’t feel cold like humans, he couldn’t resist covering him with the thin quilt.

“Good night.”

Before leaving the sleeping God, his eyelids lowered slightly, his azure eyes brimming with overwhelming tenderness.

After whispering good night, he slowly leaned down and gently pressed a kiss to the deity’s cool lips.

“Thank you for your return, and may you awaken soon, dear God…”

At this point, he couldn’t help but chuckle softly, slightly embarrassed as he added, “Looking forward to seeing you again, my sleeping beauty.”

If the cat god’s judgment was accurate enough, Oliver would have to operate alone for the next three or four days.

Fosse remained by his side as usual, though his gaze involuntarily darted briefly to the side.

Noticing the emptiness there, he nonchalantly returned his attention to Oliver.

Although the absence of the cat god plunged Oliver into an unusual emotional low, he quickly distracted himself by scheduling numerous tasks and pouring all his energy into them.

Accompanied by Fosse and others, he first conducted a week-long inspection tour of the city, which had just entered the second phase of its massive reconstruction project.

Compared to Laina and Albury, Gregor City was simply enormous—especially since Oliver had refused to ride horses or take carriages, opting instead to walk everywhere to better observe the ongoing construction sites in detail.

By the time they had inspected all construction sites and asked a few brief questions, the group returning to the castle was already bathed in the gentle glow of the setting sun.

After dinner, Oliver didn’t rest but summoned relevant officials to a meeting in the new council chamber.

The reason it was called the new council chamber was that shortly after occupying the castle, Oliver had grown dissatisfied with the original meeting room—though lavishly decorated, it could only accommodate twenty people—and directly requisitioned the grand hall Gride had previously used for hosting balls.

After all, he had no intention of holding those balls that, in his eyes, served no purpose beyond burning money and indulging in pleasure.

Well, perhaps they did stimulate consumption among the upper class and directly motivated more merchants from other regions to come here…

But for Gregor, which would focus on infrastructure development and require massive supplies of basic materials for the next few years, that was something to consider later.

He’d rather see merchants selling ore than those selling pearls.

The council chamber was brightly lit, as luminous as daylight.

The rarely extravagant Lord Gregor maintained a calm expression as he worked by the lamplight, following the pages of documents recorded by his cat-eared secretary. He made decisions with remarkable urgency, pushing everything forward vigorously.

“Rayleigh[mfn]瑞利(Ruì lì)[/mfn].”

The white-robed priest called upon—not one serving in the Havest Temple, but among the first batch of priests who had recently passed Laina’s selection and were now summoned to Gregor for “missionary work”—stood up excitedly: “Yes, Your Highness!”

“Your task is extremely challenging.” In his eyes, the golden-haired lord’s beauty shone even brighter than the flickering candlelight, dazzlingly radiant as he offered a gentle, encouraging smile: “But I believe that with your exceptional abilities—sufficient to pass the selection—you will certainly meet my expectations. As reward for your hard work, I assure you that neither the commendation from the great cat god nor tangible monetary compensation will disappoint you.”

Oliver indeed held great expectations for them, which was why he specifically transferred them to Gregor to better align with his plans.

After all, these were top talents who had mastered the “Elementary Textbook” and “Intermediate Textbook” in just over a year and could apply their learning to some extent.

They were among the mere 1% of total exam applicants who passed the first assessment—a true selection of the best from a hundred. Oliver himself had designed the test, and due to the lack of historical data for reference, the screening criteria were set particularly high.

From a modern perspective, these individuals were like the first batch to succeed in civil service exams or graduate school entrance tests—undisputed elites among the commoners.

Dealing with them saved Oliver much trouble. He directly had his manservant Johan hand over the document in his possession: “This is the plan. If you encounter difficulties during the process, you can report directly to Fosse or Noel.”

He had no intention of demolishing the Goddess Havest’s temple.

Even though Goddess Havest had already expressed her gratitude and relinquishment through the God of Death Deyth to the cat god, and had willingly entered a long slumber, Oliver did not plan to let the cat god plunder her power of faith.

Deyth, who acted rather rashly and arbitrarily and often clashed with the cat god, was probably an exception. Based on Oliver’s observations, the relationships between gods weren’t always hostile or focused on stealing faith from one another—they could coexist peacefully.

The situation in Gregor city was fundamentally different from Laina, where the temple had long been abandoned, and Albury, where the temple had been devastatingly destroyed. Here, there were many freemen whose ancestors for generations had worshipped Goddess Havest.

Of course, slaves were never deemed worthy to enter the temple or approach the sacred shrine with their unclean bodies.

Their faith inclinations had never concerned anyone.

Now, those slaves fortunate enough to pass the initial selection and enter the guard reserve training became the first Gregor residents to voluntarily convert to the God of Wealth.

Oliver’s vision was that since the city’s operations were to be fully preserved, that should include the aspect of faith as well.

However, in an environment where he encouraged everyone to participate in labor or contribute wisdom, he certainly couldn’t continue to indulge those who had been muddling along—exploiting believers under the pretext of divine authority while lining their own pockets.

He wouldn’t forcibly make people convert or destroy the Goddess Havest’s temple, but he would gradually erect a temple dedicated to the cat god in the new urban district rising from the ground.

Apart from the innermost shrine housing the cat god statue, most of the temple structures would serve educational purposes—for teaching and instruction.

Only through competition could progress be achieved.

Oliver allowed the Goddess Havest’s temple to retain its prime location in the old city center and didn’t attempt to poach their “congregation.”

In the doctrine of the God of Wealth (as he established), slaves who received bestowed wisdom were also qualified to enter the temple for learning, not limited to freemen alone. The method to determine “whether a slave had received the God of Wealth’s blessing” would be judged by their academic achievements.

This was both a right for slave children and an obligation written into the doctrine.

—It was also the embryonic form of compulsory education instituted by Oliver.

Although Gregor City’s treasury held mountains of wealth, Oliver still remembered the importance of proceeding step by step. He didn’t leverage his financial power to demand the divine temple provide years of free education for all children. Instead, after six months of free instruction, only those students who passed academic assessments were permitted to continue their studies.

Those with sufficient talent, or who worked hard enough to seize these opportunities, qualified for the subsequent eight years of education.

To assist them, Oliver not only waived all fees but also established scholarships for academically outstanding students.

This alone was bound to create disagreements with the proud and reserved priests of Goddess Havest.

Oliver thought that residents of Gregor City’s wealthy districts would likely continue sending their children to study at the Havest Divine Temple as before, to receive the glorious baptism of the great deity, rather than stoop to competing with lowly slave children for opportunities.

He was naturally indifferent to their choices.

His purpose in doing this was to unearth more potential talent, providing slaves and lower-class commoners with a path to advancement, rather than helping the upper class further monopolize access to knowledge.

Those willing to receive instruction from priests alongside slave children were either more open-minded or came from freedmen families too poor to afford the temple’s required tribute.

Rayleigh accepted the divine messenger’s documents with trembling reverence.

“Read through them first,” Oliver generously said. “If there are any obvious issues, speak up now.”

Under Oliver’s gentle gaze, suppressing the excited trembling in his hands, Rayleigh quickly skimmed through the documents under everyone’s subtle watch.

When he reached the fourth and final document, unmistakable surprise flashed in his eyes, making him instinctively look up at Oliver.

“May I ask, Your Grace,” his gaze returned to that particular line as he spoke hesitantly and carefully, “is it true… that all males and females under sixteen must attend?”

The emphasis wasn’t on the age, but on the “males and females.”

People had gradually grown accustomed to Duke Oliver’s unique approach to employing personnel.

Everyone tacitly understood one thing: whether slave or freedman, anyone possessing the wisdom granted by the great cat god was permitted to serve this most noble and beautiful person.

But female slaves?

In Laina, there were indeed a few positions reserved exclusively for women, who were allowed to keep their salaries.

However, women possessing both such capability and courage were rare even among freedmen, let alone among slaves—which was why male slaves, despite some hidden resentment, hadn’t voiced complaints.

First, out of sincere reverence for God; second, from deep affection for the divine messenger; and third, because those small privileges weren’t enough to make the female slaves they considered their property threaten their status.

Lucy was truly remarkable—most men couldn’t compare to her.

But among all the female slaves in Laina City, there was only one such extraordinary Lucy.

But now?

Staring at the fluid, elegant handwriting, Rayleigh felt a strange premonition stirring within him.

If women—who in people’s eyes are only valued for being gentle, beautiful, foolish, and capable of bearing children—were given equal learning opportunities…

Would everything still be the same?

“Yes.”

Oliver smiled faintly.

His exquisitely handsome jaw lifted slightly, revealing the unique lazy elegance of nobility, along with the innate arrogance that brooked no doubt.

And within the temperament of one long accustomed to high status, there was a deeply ingrained sense of entitlement: “All beings fortunate enough to receive the divine gift of wisdom are not permitted to hoard or waste it—they must serve me, whether freemen or slaves, and of course, regardless of gender.”

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