HTLCCBFT Chapter 25

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 25

“The God of Wealth—the Cat God?”

Piggs couldn’t help but prick up his ears and listen to this prayer song from beginning to end, completely and thoroughly.

As a merchant who relentlessly pursued wealth every moment and was more than qualified in his trade, he was naturally filled with intense curiosity about this “God of Wealth” who bore a mysterious name he had never heard before.

Even someone with the least common sense knew that corn’s ripening period had to wait until late summer and early autumn at the very least.

How could it already appear plump and ready for harvest just after summer began?

This was solid, undeniable divine miracles, clearly displayed right before his eyes.

Piggs wasn’t particularly devout when it came to faith—compared to the Harvest Goddess Havest worshipped in Gregor City, who took plenty of his money every year without making his business more prosperous (in fact, it kept getting harder), this mysterious “Cat God” seemed far more substantial.

He wondered if this deity who had manifested divine power would be willing to accept believers from other towns?

The more Piggs thought about it, the more restless he became.

As soon as this idea emerged, his heart itched as if scratched by a cat’s paw.

“Damn it,” he muttered, filled with questions but finding no one to ask, feeling both angry and anxious. “Where have those pesky brats who are usually everywhere disappeared to?”

In previous years when he came to Laina City, the coachman had to “battle” those dirty, annoying brats every time just to clear a path.

Though they were children of the town’s free citizens, their lack of upbringing made them like wild monkeys from the mountains—their faces so dirty you couldn’t tell their skin color, always running around screaming loudly, and having the shameless audacity to grab his carriage reins just for some ‘guide’ money.

But I have to admit, these usually annoying brats knew quite a lot about the city’s affairs… Why hadn’t he encountered a single one this time?

Of course, Piggs didn’t know.

The reason behind this was that the kind and generous Lord had given everyone five days off and provided timber for house repairs—with such tight time constraints, it naturally required mobilizing the entire family’s labor.

Even snot-nosed little kids could be put to some use.

And for children who had no entertainment to speak of, being able to experience novel things they’d never had the chance to see before was excitement enough.

Five days passed in a flash—the new houses were almost completely built, and the adults had to return to work.

But the children’s excitement about their new homes hadn’t faded yet; they were busy exploring inside and out all day long. Who had time to wander the streets?

Piggs waited eagerly for a while but couldn’t find any brat who could answer his questions, so he had no choice but to go ask the innkeeper instead.

“Are you asking about the cornfield, guest?” The innkeeper didn’t try to extort him but answered with reverence and utmost seriousness: “That is the divine miracles performed by the great Cat God through our beautiful Lord!”

Observing the innkeeper’s demeanor, Piggs felt even more confident about this God of Wealth.

Just as he made some agreeing remarks and tactfully inquired about what it would cost to become a follower of this great Cat God, the servant he’d left at the market came jogging over. “Master Piggs,” the manservant asked somewhat helplessly, “they won’t let us slaughter on site, and there’s a knight who’s demanding we move the pigs to the grazing land they’ve prepared…”

“Oh?”

Since this concerned his important merchandise, Piggs felt some displeasure at the interruption but nonetheless paid serious attention. After a moment’s thought, he quickly made a decision: “Let’s go take a look first.”

He was immensely curious about the cornfields along the way—this was his first time witnessing divine miracles manifesting as vast fields of corn!

Filled with mixed feelings of awe, wonder, and puzzlement, Piggs decided not to ride his horse. Instead, he let his clean boots tread upon the gravel path as he walked unhurriedly toward the market direction.

There was simply too much, far too much.

As Piggs walked and observed, he soon felt somewhat dazzled, his vision filled with golden afterimages.

When he reached the marketplace, the spacious, clean square was already crowded with numerous customers carrying money pouches—clearly local freemen—gathered around temporarily erected stalls, carefully examining the goods.

Piggs’ stall was particularly conspicuous—besides the large, plump pigs temporarily enclosed by wooden railings that made everyone’s mouth water, there stood a tall, straight-backed young knight with two guards, their expressions stern as they stood nearby.

Piggs’ heart skipped a beat, and he quickly hurried over.

Fortunately, the knight named Kane—whose sword hilt bore a baronial shield emblem—though cold in demeanor, proved surprisingly reasonable.

After hearing Kane’s brief explanation, Piggs understood that to maintain the square’s appearance and hygiene, they were no longer permitted to slaughter livestock on site and must instead use the fallow land.

Any waste skins and bone fragments from the slaughtering process had to be buried with soil and dry leaves according to their requirements.

Refusal to comply would mean either paying a hefty fine or immediately leaving Laina City.

Piggs naturally had no objections—though slightly more troublesome, the fallow land wasn’t far, and there were no additional charges. It wouldn’t delay his business much.

Seeing Piggs agree so readily, Kane’s initially icy expression softened slightly at the corners of his lips.

Just as Kane turned to leave, Piggs hesitated for a moment before mustering the courage to make a request: “Sir Kane, I’d like to offer five pigs as gifts and request an audience with the Lord—that great Duke. I wonder if it might be possible…”

Kane stopped in his tracks.

The stern-faced knight gave an immediate, clear response: “His Highness has important matters to attend to during the daytime these days and cannot receive anyone.”

Had he missed the opportunity for an audience?

After a brief moment of surprise, Piggs couldn’t help but show disappointment on his face.

Especially upon learning that even a small merchant like Nisse had been granted an audience with the Duke while he had unfortunately missed his chance, he couldn’t help feeling even more vexed.

After saying this, Kane suddenly remembered that the man before him was a pig merchant.

…His Highness seemed quite concerned about the livestock shortage in the territory. He had this thought in his mind and then added lightly, “However, considering the sincerity you’ve shown, I will convey your request to the steward. Please wait patiently.”

Before Piggs could even feel surprised by this sudden turn of events and express his gratitude, Kane had already steadily walked away.

At this moment, Oliver, of course, had no idea that the mere miracle of vast fields of mature corn had already gained the great Cat God another utilitarian follower.

He was indeed occupied with important matters and temporarily had no time to concern himself with the hustle and bustle of the marketplace.

The corn that had been planted in two batches, after fourteen days of waiting, had finally officially entered its maturity period!

In the eyes of Laina citizens, this was a divine miracle worthy of worship, a gracious blessing bestowed by the great Cat God through the benevolent Divine Messenger and the wonderful Lord.

But in Oliver’s eyes… that vast, golden-shimmering cornfield was nothing but precious experience points waiting for him to harvest with his own hands.

Since harvesting crops was currently the only way for the farming profession to gain experience, Oliver had already made his stance clear to the loyal old steward the night before.

All the corn was his, and no one was allowed to pick it under the guise of helping!

Especially those honest slaves who often ended up “helping” by stealing his experience—they needed to be closely monitored.

To be safe, Oliver simply assigned them a temporary task of building public toilets near the marketplace—a headache-inducing chore for slaves not used to thinking much.

In short, he absolutely could not allow them to set foot in the fields.

After eliminating all potential disruptions one by one, Oliver could finally step peacefully into the empty field, filled only with tall corn plants.

Before officially starting, he couldn’t help but glance around.

The sky was clear and boundless, and the crisscrossing paths in the field offered an unobstructed view of the beautiful harvest scene.

Looking at this cornfield that he had personally cleared, sown, and watched grow day by day, the corners of Oliver’s lips curled up slightly. An indescribable sense of happiness welled up continuously within him, as if it were about to overflow at any moment.

To Fosse, who was observing from a distance and ready to rush in to stop his young master at the first sign of trouble, the Duke at this moment resembled a king laden with honors.

Calm yet carrying a hint of pride, he leisurely inspected his territory, examining the tall and majestic guards.

With a mix of concern and relief, Fosse watched as his young master lingered for a while before elegantly… rolling up his sleeves.

After admiring the fruits of his labor, Oliver allowed himself to sink into a state of single-minded focus, happily beginning his frenzied harvesting.

With every ear of corn he picked, a faint yet clear “swish” sound echoed in his ears.

The faster he picked, the shorter the intervals between the “swish-swish” sounds became, soon merging into a continuous stream, like the pleasant white noise of waves gently brushing over sand.

It was truly addictive.

Oliver was wearing lightweight riding attire for ease of movement. His dazzlingly beautiful golden hair, which he found rather troublesome, had been tied up in advance and was securely tucked under an exceedingly plain straw hat. Even so, those slender arms—so pale they seemed to dazzle under the summer sun—stood starkly out of place amidst the surrounding cornfield.

Yet it was precisely these hands, so accustomed to a life of luxury that even playing the zither seemed too rough for their delicate, luminous skin, that moved with startling efficiency as their owner wove through the dense cornstalks. With swift, precise motions, they parted the leaves, grasped the ripened ears, snapped them off cleanly, and tucked them into the game backpack without a second glance before moving seamlessly to the next plant.

Even seasoned farmers who had repeated such actions thousands of times could not match his astonishing, almost humiliating efficiency.

His movements were so rapid that even Fosse could not follow them clearly, only seeing his young master pacing unhurriedly along the furrows, accompanied by a continuous rustling sound.

It was like a gentle breeze sweeping across a field of hope—except where it passed, only the emerald-green stalks remained.

As for the plump, golden kernels that had once adorned them, they had already been calmly harvested.

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