HTLCCBFT Chapter 31

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 31

After reaching a conclusion that could, for the time being, convince himself, Oliver no longer lingered by the Laina River.

With an almost obsessive-compulsive need to use up his last 2 points of energy, he, along with Fosse and the others, began the journey home under the setting sun, carrying three bamboo baskets filled with lively fish of all sizes.

When this eye-catching group appeared in the sight of the slaves working near the castle, they inevitably drew everyone’s attention.

“The Lord is back!”

“So many fish again this time! The Lord is truly worthy of being the Cat God’s only chosen one. He returns with a full load every time he goes.”

“Yeah, he’s the Lord, after all. I remember the previous lords also sent people to catch fish in the river, but aside from the few fish caught occasionally by the mill that were so skinny they were nothing but bones, there was no sign of any big fish in the river section in the woods.”

“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed a noble like our Lord could exist.”

“I can’t even imagine someone as vicious as Annie existing in this world, to dare to harm such a good Lord!”

“That’s right, that female slave is too despicable. How dare she let the Lord drink soup tainted with her filthy saliva! She’s not even worthy of kissing the Duke’s toes!”

“I got so angry just thinking about it last night that I secretly went and beat her up.”

“By the way, that day was the first time I’d ever seen the Lord get angry…”

“The Lord is amazing at everything. Not only does he do more farm work faster than any of us, but he does it better than all of us too. He planted an entire field of divine miracles!”

“That must be because the Lord has received the Cat God’s wisdom and blessings.”

“The fish soup is so delicious… But we lazybones just water the plants and pull weeds every day, and we even took the lumber the Lord bestowed upon us to build new houses. Are we really worthy of drinking soup made from the fish the Lord caught with his own hands?”

Although Wynn wasn’t deliberately trying to eavesdrop, he still overheard a great deal of the slaves’ discussions about their unbelievably beautiful Lord.

When he saw the three ridiculously large and completely full fish baskets from a distance, he couldn’t help but marvel inwardly that while the people of Laina City looked sallow and emaciated, the fish were remarkably plump.

In Wynn’s impression, the nobles who idled their days away did little else besides holding banquets, inspecting their territories, and hunting in the woods, otherwise just staying in their castles to drink and make merry.

This was the first time he had ever seen a noble who would take his butler and knights to go fishing in a river in the woods, and even share the fish soup with his subjects, including the slaves.

Just as Wynn was marveling at the generosity of the Lord, whose heart was as beautiful as his face, he heard the slaves’ outrageous praise.

He does farm work quickly and well?

Wynn didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Even knowing that these slaves spoke crudely, he still shook his head in amusement.

How could such a pure-hearted, delicate, and elegant beauty possibly be associated with filthy farm work?

Just as Wynn was thinking this, a strand of brilliant gold in the corner of his eye made him subconsciously freeze.

The owner of that golden strand…

Was none other than the Lord of Laina City, the Angel Duke from the royal capital. As the sun had already slanted westward to a height where it was mostly blocked by the trees, Oliver was glad to be spared the trouble of wearing a straw hat.

He hadn’t forgotten that there were still 121 stalks of corn in the field waiting for him to harvest.

Bathed in the slaves’ burning gazes filled with worship and admiration, Oliver walked with a composed air into the tall, lush cornfield and skillfully began to pick the corn.

His snow-white robes flickered in and out of sight among the emerald-green, sturdy corn stalks, carrying a glimmer of brilliant gold.

Wynn watched, dumbfounded.

It was this very slender and delicate, peerless beauty, whose every step seemed like a graceful dance at a court banquet…

Right before his eyes, after calmly and composedly clearing out all the corn in the field, he then, without a second thought, extended a ruthless hand toward the sunflowers planted outside the Summer Market grounds.

The sunflowers near the Summer Market square needed to be left for ornamental purposes until at least the last day of the market.

Apart from those, the other sunflowers had also fully ripened today.

—Without batting an eye, Oliver picked the hundred or so blooming sunflowers and planted new sunflower seeds in their place.

Although he didn’t yet have the means to build an oil press, he was optimistic, firmly believing that as long as he stockpiled the materials, they would one day be of use.

After completely finishing the harvest of the crops in the field, Oliver casually glanced at the potato sprouts that had just broken through the soil in another plot of land and decided to take a stroll through the market before the sky turned completely dark.

For the other small merchants who had arrived in Laina City one after another only to be refused an audience with the Lord, this sudden decision by Oliver was undoubtedly a source of great excitement.

After all, in their eyes, the paupers of Laina City basically had no spare money to buy their goods. The only major buyer who had attracted them to try their luck was this noble Duke.

And this was indeed the case: the Summer Market had been open for three days, and so far, the only ones who had managed to sell any goods in this destitute city were the merchants selling grain.

—Even though the vast cornfield had yielded a first great harvest beyond anyone’s imagination, in the eyes of the Laina citizens, this was entirely a divine miracle performed by the Lord alone.

From the bottom of their hearts, they believed that they, having been unable to help at all, were of course not qualified to share in such a result.

In fact, just being able to frequently drink hot, delicious fish soup was enough to make them feel happy and grateful.

Since the area of land available for them to cultivate had been reduced, a winter food shortage became a terrifying consequence that everyone could foresee. Any commoner, or even slave, with a little extra money at home couldn’t help but grit their teeth and endure the heart-wrenchingly high grain prices to purchase as much grain as possible.

Of course, Oliver had no idea that such a grave misunderstanding existed among the people under his rule.

Followed by Fosse the butler, he was walking unhurriedly among the various stalls, examining the goods displayed by the merchants with a solemn expression, calculating which affordable and practical items he could buy with Laina City’s long-since-depleted accounts. So, to the merchants’ disappointment, this dizzyingly beautiful Lord had absolutely no interest in the magnificent clothes and sparkling jewels they had brought. Those beautiful blue eyes, which shone like stars, did not linger for even a moment on the necklace’s enormous pearl, nor did he care how many fine jewels were embedded in the soft, delicate velvet, and he was even more indifferent to the dazzling array of exotic spices.

What they found incredible was that such an elegant and beautiful person was more interested in… the poultry and livestock stalls.

Although Piggs had been disgracefully injured and could only stay in the inn to recover, his servants were still faithfully manning the stall.

Those few fat pigs, which did nothing but bury their heads and eat all day, had long become the most coveted sight for the Laina citizens.

But for all their looking, they never dared to approach and ask the price. Even without asking, they knew full well that any piece of meat on those fat pigs was worth far more than their own bodies.

Therefore, although Piggs’s servants were used to being stared at by commoners whose eyes glowed green with a craving for meat—slaves, having never eaten meat since birth, were not qualified to enjoy such fine things and thus had no idea how good it tasted—they had never once been asked for the price.

As they gaped foolishly, their faces flushed and their fervent gazes involuntarily following that angelically beautiful person, they never dared to imagine that he would approach them, reeking of pigsty as they were, and gently inquire about the price in such a clear and pleasant voice.

They nervously licked their lower lips, their hearts pounding, and stammered in reply, “Your esteemed Highness, the pigs are… are… are… are five gold coins each. They’re all sows that have just given birth, with lots and lots of f-fat.”

So expensive!

Though he had been mentally prepared, Oliver’s eyelids still twitched at the astonishingly high price.

He asked with a sliver of hope, “…Are there any piglets? Piglets less than a month old would be fine too.”

Piglets would surely be cheaper.

“There are none, Your Highness,” the servant minding the stall replied, dazed and blushing. “The piglets are still too small and fragile. They wouldn’t survive the bumpy journey here by cart, so we only brought the adult sows this time.”

Oliver’s hopes were completely dashed.

He had originally thought that if they were two gold coins each, he would sell off most of the first corn harvest to quickly raise the cash and buy all eighteen of these fat pigs.

But it was just wishful thinking on his part.

Gazing dejectedly at the fat pigs, which were leisurely munching on the wheat bran feed the servants had brought along, Oliver sighed wistfully.

Such a steep price… Unless he sold his family’s possessions, these were pigs that a poor lord like him was destined never to afford.

His pale gold eyelids drooped slightly, and a melancholy look that would break the heart of anyone who saw it instantly appeared on his beautiful, moving face.

Just as the servant, utterly bewitched, was about to say the fatal words, “If it’s you, you can have them for free,” Oliver had already pulled himself together and turned his gaze to the chicken vendor on the side—Hahn. To be precise, his gaze was fixed on the fluffy little chicks, confined in small bamboo cages and chirping “cheep cheep cheep” nonstop.

The Duke watched.

…So cute.

Oliver couldn’t help but stare at the energetic little chicks, while Hahn couldn’t stop himself from staring at the Duke, who was more beautiful than an angel in an oil painting.

“Merchant,” Fosse asked icily, “what is the price of your goods?”

Hahn, lost in a daze, was startled by the cold, sharp voice and quickly came to his senses.

He swallowed nervously and answered honestly, “God bless you, Your Highness, and you, Mister Butler. The roosters are one silver coin each. The hens can still lay eggs for another three years, so they are three silver coins each. The little chicks are the cheapest. But, to be honest with you, my lords, they hatched unexpectedly on the road and are only ten days old. I don’t know how many will survive to the end of the month, so I’ll sell them for five silver coins a cage.”

A cage of chicks held a full fifty birds. With proper care, usually half of them would survive. This was absolutely a fair price—it could even be considered a loss.

It was also a price that made Oliver’s heart pound.

He took one more look at the five cages of tender yellow chicks and made his decision. “I’ll take all of your goods.”

Why would a novice raise pigs? Raising chickens was so much better

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TL Note: Fun fact: Hahn in German means rooster. Did you think the author was done with their name puns? well think again cause there’s so much more to come.