HTLCCBFT Chapter 230

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 230

The God of Wealth paid no mind to the Rose Goddess’s previous display of feigned enthusiasm.

Nor did he care about the genuine friendliness she now exhibited, remaining just as indifferent.

“Thank you.”

However, he quite liked what she had said, so he offered a polite response.

After staring at her indifferently for a moment longer, he prepared to turn and leave—but she had no intention of letting him go so soon.

This wasn’t because she had developed any real fondness for this peculiar god; rather, after such a long slumber and having just experienced profound disappointment, she would seize any opportunity to distract herself.

Her eyes flickered, and she nimbly followed him.

Though her divine body, treading upon the snow-white, soft clouds of the divine realm, made no sound, the God of Wealth effortlessly detected her subtle movements.

He stopped before the grand entrance of the golden temple, his thin lips pressed into a straight line, his expression blank as he watched her.

“I thought you would invite your new neighbor in for a visit.”

Gods possessed all manner of temperaments and preferences, and the Rose Goddess was undoubtedly one skilled in social interactions. Even faced with his cold demeanor, she remained composed. “After all, you didn’t suddenly return to the divine realm just to see that fool Deyth, your defeated subordinate, did you?”

She had merely tossed out a guess, but when she noticed his pupils widen slightly, revealing a hint of “how did you know?” in his expression, she realized she had actually hit the mark.

Heh.

Thus, her initial nonsense suddenly gained a great deal of credibility.

“This is a tip from a friendly neighbor,” she said with a cheerful smile. “No matter how powerful your divine power may be, judging by your demeanor, you surely haven’t fully absorbed the memories and laws contained within your divinity, have you? Moreover, as a newborn deity, there are many things not inscribed in your divinity that you still need to understand. If you’re interested in those now, don’t underestimate my divine power—weak as it may be, I can definitely help you.”

Next, she clearly saw this newborn deity fall into an obvious internal struggle, a trace of conflict flickering across his expression.

“It won’t take up too much of your time,” she slowly added to her offer. “I’m just curious about the new neighbor. In exchange, I have a few questions of my own… What do you say?”

This time, the God of Wealth hesitated for only a brief moment before pushing the door open in front of her, silently permitting her entry.

However, that permission extended only to “stepping inside”—the God of Wealth, who had no intention of engaging in friendly exchanges with other deities, almost immediately used his divine power to shut all the inner doors leading to other chambers of the divine temple the moment she crossed the threshold, his resistance plain to see.

Rose didn’t mind this in the least.

To be precise, aside from the divine temple of the god-king—the one that had inexplicably vanished without a trace since before her slumber and was yearned for by all deities—she cared about nothing else.

“Alright,” she said openly. “To show my sincerity, you may ask first.”

True to form, the God of Wealth did not stand on ceremony and asked outright, “Can you find Helf?”

“Helf?” Hearing that long-unheard name caught her off guard, and a fleeting look of nostalgia passed over the Rose Goddess’s face.

Soon, it melted into a bright smile: “Are you looking for Him? Unfortunately, He is the weakest in divine power and fell into slumber even earlier than I did.”

“I know He has already fallen into slumber.” The God of Wealth pressed earnestly: “Can you find the place where He sleeps?”

Hearing the implication in his words, she blinked slightly in surprise: “Oh, don’t tell me you want to awaken Him?”

After receiving the other’s confirming nod, she immediately gave a clear reply: “Don’t you know this yet? When a deity falls into slumber, their divine temple will crumble, their divine body will return to the core of their divinity, and all traces of their presence will vanish. Unless awakened by the Laws, or by His Majesty who symbolizes the primordial force of all existence, even the most powerful deity cannot accomplish this.”

“You are indeed remarkable.” She tilted her head slightly, carefully studying the other who seemed displeased with this answer, and said sincerely: “Though I don’t know the specifics, the god of light Sunn certainly wouldn’t be weaker than you. If even he cannot achieve this, neither can you.”

The Laws possess no consciousness whatsoever—therefore, the only true answer is that only His Majesty can awaken all slumbering Gods.

“If His Majesty were still here,” at this thought, the Rose Goddess’s eyes filled with deep sorrow: “He was so gentle, showing compassion even to the weakest lives, listening to the wishes of the most insignificant deities… He would certainly help you.”

But His Majesty is no longer here.

Moreover, the reason the deities willingly fell into slumber this time was precisely because of the God-King’s mysterious disappearance.

Only what happened to her was a complete exception.

—This was also why, after awakening alone, she was first filled with hope, then plunged into despair, and finally left bewildered.

Hearing the Rose Goddess’s words, the God of Wealth pressed his lips tightly together. He knew that asking about the God of Plague Plage’s situation now would be meaningless too—he would only receive the same answer as with Oliver.

“Is it just for Oliver?” The Rose Goddess forced herself to perk up, smiling faintly as she asked: “Do you have any other questions?”

He was about to shake his head when he suddenly thought of something and changed his response: “Whose divine temple is pure white?”

This question was even simpler than the first one.

Over the past year, Oliver had idly maxed out all three professional skills of fisherman, foraging, and miner.

Sure enough, on the night each professional skill reached maximum level, he would be summoned by a mysterious force into that white divine temple.

Each time, he seemed able to venture deeper, but he could never reach the innermost area of the temple. With every additional step forward, he would suddenly lose consciousness and wake up in his bedroom in Gregor city.

Oliver didn’t really mind: he grew increasingly convinced that the temple, which gave off a serene and peaceful feeling, and its owner truly harbored no ill intentions toward him and had no plans to reveal themselves. For places beyond his control and filled with unknown dangers, he lacked the burning curiosity to explore everywhere, preferring to ‘finish quickly’ by heading straight for the depths until forced into unconsciousness.

He had never given the cat god a detailed account: although the cat god had accompanied him during the later instances of being pulled into that divine realm-like space, it had simply lain obediently beside him, waiting for him to wake up, completely unaware of any anomalies.

This was enough to prove that the master of that white divine temple—if it truly was a deity from an earlier era—likely possessed power far surpassing that of the cat god.

Unwilling to worry the cat god, he deliberately avoided the crucial details, at most asking a few more times about the identity of the white divine temple’s master.

Could it be related to the game system?

Oliver’s last identity skill that hadn’t reached max level was the warrior—the most difficult to gain experience for. Heaven knew how many unfortunate flies he had cleaved with his great sword, only to end up with eighteen full stacks of useless insect meat in his backpack, barely pushing the experience bar to an unmoving 99%.

The Rose Goddess blinked, curious about why he was asking but answering readily nonetheless: “Aside from Snow[mfn]斯诺(Sī nuò)[/mfn], who governs ice and snow, only the most beautiful Majesty’s divine temple is pure white—unfortunately, unless His Majesty returns and the gods awaken, you won’t be able to see either of those temples.”

After receiving the answer to the question his little companion had asked that day, the God of Wealth’s tightly pressed lips relaxed slightly.

At least it wasn’t a complete waste.

He nodded: “I’m done asking.”

“Now it’s my turn!” she feigned lightness and cheer, though inwardly tense with anticipation: “Deyth is too foolish—he can’t answer anything properly. I thought you might know.”

To this day, she still didn’t understand the trigger for her sudden awakening: His Majesty’s temple remained untraceable, the elusive laws still felt icy, and Deyth hadn’t detected the slightest abnormality from start to finish—that simple-minded fool couldn’t possibly hide anything from her.

The only one who might offer clues was this newborn deity before her.

She paused, took a deep breath to steady the tremor in her voice: “I beg you, please tell me the truth… have you ever seen, no, felt His Majesty’s presence at the center of the divine realm?”

After asking, she quickly added: “Of course, you’ve never seen His Majesty, but if He truly appeared briefly, you would definitely recognize Him—He is the gentlest and most beautiful God, possessing power that commands reverence from all deities! There’s no way you could mistake Him!”

The answer she dreaded soon appeared before her.

After a brief recollection, the God of Wealth replied cleanly: “No.”

As the words fell, he watched with slight confusion as the Rose Goddess—who had been radiantly smiling moments before—suddenly revealed a heartbreakingly fragile expression.

The sliver of hope she had secretly clung to shattered completely.

As one most skilled and fond of reading expressions—especially enthusiastic about discerning His Majesty’s intentions and preferences—she could clearly see:

Though his expression was indifferent, he absolutely wasn’t lying.

“I understand.”

She tried to force a smile, but after several attempts, ultimately failed.

In her haste, she only tightly covered her face, uttered a quick and indistinct farewell, and then left in a daze.

The God of Wealth stood in place, watching her retreating figure with confusion for a moment before giving up on trying to understand her feelings.

Having obtained the answer in advance, He directly chose to leave the divine realm and return to the side of His most beloved little companion.

Unaware of all this, Oliver woke up on time under the brilliant morning light.

Warm and bright morning rays spilled into the room, gently falling upon the slightly curly long hair spread across the snow-white bedsheets. The shimmering golden strands glittered brilliantly, creating an even more dazzling display.

Such a beautiful and serene scene was like a natural oil painting that even the most talented artist could not capture.

From the moment His little companion’s eyelashes fluttered gently, His eyes lit up.

The thin eyelids soon lifted, revealing clear blue eyes that shone like sapphires in the sunlight. Those gem-like beautiful eyes first showed confusion due to the abrupt interruption of memory and not fully understanding the current situation, followed by belated realization of why he had been brought back to Gregor, filled with frustration.

Once again, his consciousness had been forcibly interrupted by that annoying game system.

Before he could turn his head to speak to the deity beside him, the other naturally leaned in and, as usual, pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips, murmuring very naturally: “Ollie, good morning.”

It was a very ordinary scene.

Oliver, who should have long been accustomed to this, now belatedly realized something, as if a ripple had formed in his heart.

Was it because He had secretly used a nickname no one had ever called him before?

Taking advantage of Oliver’s daze, the cunning deity kissed him again: “I like Ollie.”

Oliver instinctively closed his eyes slightly, allowing Him to kiss his lips. To conceal the fleeting ripple in his heart, he chuckled lightly: “You always say you like me, but what exactly do you like?”

He didn’t consider himself narcissistic, but having grown up surrounded by numerous praises, he certainly knew his appearance was exceptionally superior.

However, he was quite certain this wasn’t the main reason why the cat god would be so completely devoted to him.

Deyth, the God of Death, who also showed affection for his appearance, behaved more like an aloof deity – never treating him as an equal, naturally looking down upon him, and dealing with him as whimsically as one would handle a beautiful collectible.

But the cat god never acted this way.

In those golden pupils, his figure was always clearly and exclusively reflected.

Initially, he thought such emotion resembled that of a pure-hearted big cat who only knew how to cling to its sole owner. But as the cat god displayed increasingly rich mental activities and emotions, it became sufficient proof that He was definitely not just a cat…

After a series of chaotic thoughts, Oliver finally found an appropriate description.

He resembled a human.

For his sake, He worked hard to learn, earnestly imitated, and became more and more like a real human.

Thinking of this, his heart trembled again.

Unaware of his little companion’s myriad thoughts, the Cat-eared God was momentarily stunned before blurting out: “Ollie is my partner… I love everything about Ollie.”

Because he was the most important partner, He was willing to give everything.

After this straightforward, almost plain confession, His golden eyes sparkled as He eagerly sought praise: “The question Ollie asked, I have an answer now. Do you want to hear it?”

Oliver’s eyelids lowered slightly, but he seemed distracted and didn’t respond immediately.

Yes.

Though clearly a deity supreme in human eyes, He had wholeheartedly accompanied him and, without Oliver noticing, actively immersed Himself in the role of a “human.”

Everyone around them, including the most protective Fosse, had gradually accepted the fact of His constant presence by Oliver’s side over so many years of subtle influence.

All for him alone.

Like raindrops quietly falling into a lake, persistent and relentless, even the lake itself remained unaware of its heart being filled bit by bit. Those seemingly insignificant raindrops actually carried substantial weight.

Only when the lake water overflowed the banks, soaking into the vibrant green grass, did the lake belatedly realize that the soil protecting it had become soft and saturated—to the point where a single light touch from that naive yet cunning cat paw pad would leave a clear imprint.

—That was the accumulated weight of persistent “I love you” over years and months.

And him?

“Ollie?”

He softened His voice, the deep timbre tinged with a nasal quality reminiscent of an elegant cello.

Seemingly to better observe his condition, or perhaps exhibiting the traits of a cunning cat deity taking advantage to draw closer to His little partner, He naturally leaned in.

His slightly curled eyelashes were long and identically golden. When their foreheads briefly touched, the sensitive tips of those lashes seemed to brush against each other.

Like a cat’s paw, casually scratching at Oliver’s subconscious attempts to evade his true feelings.

Oliver clearly felt his heartbeat gradually quickening.

—Deep down, he actually knew the one true answer.

Because the cat god loved him unreservedly, He cared so deeply about his feelings and guarded him with such caution.

And he, too, harbored selfish desires—far from the utilization he had deceived himself into believing, nor mere guilt.

That was why he minded His nights away, minded His sudden friendships with other deities, and over the past year or two, had deliberately avoided the thought that He might one day grow tired and leave him.

“My God.”

Before he realized it, Oliver had unconsciously asked aloud: “You who see me as your partner—what will you do after I die?”

The Cat-eared God was taken aback again.

At an intimate distance that would make even lovers uncomfortable if not close enough, He stared unblinkingly at His little lover’s slightly trembling eyelids, as if carefully studying emotions still too complex for Him.

“I have a way,” He promised earnestly. “There will be a way.”

If Ollie couldn’t live forever, He would slumber eternally with him.

Apart from the vanished god-king, the divine race had no ability to awaken other deities… which meant their long slumber would never be disturbed by any superfluous existence.

“I will be with Ollie forever.”

He emphasized this once more—the matter most important to Him without a doubt.

Time simply couldn’t face the owner of those golden eyes. The lord, who was usually most adept at sweet talk—even glib flattery—had finally been rendered utterly flustered by their mutual… or perhaps his own first awakening of love.

Not only did he reveal a helpless expression before the god, but in his panic, he hastily buried his burning face in the opposite direction.

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TL Note: 17 more chapters til we reach the end! (10 Main Text + 7 Extras).
Reminder to support the original author if you can – it’s $15 and some change to buy multiple series!