HTLCCBFT Chapter 9

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 9

By the time he had planted the stack of 999 corn seeds down to the last 121, he had already run out of empty plots.

Oliver stared at the other fields, which were already planted with different crops, for a short while before looking away. He struggled to dismiss the thought of, “I should just dig these up and plant corn instead.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but his stamina bar—which had only recovered to half-full to begin with—was nearly depleted after an afternoon of fishing.

Disappointed, Oliver returned to the castle. Under Fosse’s relieved yet concerned gaze, he took a seat in the dining room.

As the saying goes, “the best ingredients require only the simplest cooking methods,” and nothing could have been more appropriate for this all-fish feast.

Fosse, of course, would not allow the cook’s subpar skills to ruin the ingredients his young master had personally caught. He personally stood by and supervised, urging her to produce a dazzling array of delicacies, including grilled fish, steamed fish, fish soup, and fish cakes.

Sure enough, with his own hands, he had provided himself with a bountiful meal.

After enjoying what was truly the first satisfying meal since his arrival in this era, Oliver was not only delighted by the sweet, wonderful flavor of the firm fish but was even more pleased to see his nearly empty stamina bar jump back up to the 60% mark.

Of course, he couldn’t possibly finish the entire table of fish by himself. Once he felt full, he bestowed the rest upon the servants.

What Oliver cared about most right now was this—he finally had enough stamina to use the pickaxe and clear out all the stones in the fields!

Just as he was organizing his words, trying to figure out how to appease the worry-prone old butler, a thought suddenly struck him. “By the way, Fosse, how many of the fish we brought back are left?”

Because every fish he caught was incredibly plump, this sumptuous feast had only used up two fish, even with the luxury of using only the most delectable parts with the fewest bones.

Fosse’s heart skipped a beat.

He had a vague premonition of the decision His Highness was about to make and answered respectfully, “Your Highness, the remaining fish have all been placed in the pond.”

As expected, Oliver paused for a moment, then said with a smile, “There’s a food shortage right now, and I have no plans for them to raise fish yet, so there’s no need to keep them. Set a few aside, and have the cook make the rest into soup over the next few days for the people below.”

Fosse held his tongue for as long as he could, but he finally couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Your Highness, please forgive my offense and impertinence… but are you not being too merciful and generous to those slaves? They are merely doing what they are supposed to do. How could they be worthy of enjoying the spoils Your Highness brought back with your own hands?”

“I know your loyalty, and I understand your concerns, Fosse.” Oliver smiled gently. “But why don’t you consider this: if the god had not bestowed such a miraculous fishing tool, how could I possibly have had such a harvest? Don’t forget, the god once issued an instruction to let the slaves also feel his grace and believe in him. I am merely following orders now.”

What a joke. He had no desire to eat the cook’s foul-smelling smoked fish, or some unlucky fish that had been tormented to the brink of death in a tiny pond.

Whether it was to level up his “fisherman” life skill or to eat the freshest fish, he was bound to go fishing for a little while every day anyway!

It was the god’s instruction again. After personally witnessing the power of the magical artifact the lord had obtained, Fosse’s ill feelings toward that ‘god’ lessened considerably, and he quickly accepted this explanation.

“I understand, Your Highness.”

Fosse bowed deeply and passed down the lord’s new command.

The cook, Annie, was the first to be dumbfounded.

“So many fish,” she stammered, confirming again, “Are they r-really all to be made into fish soup? Such good fish, all for those slaves to drink?!”

She had never seen so many plump and lively fish! While making the previous dishes under the strict supervision of Steward Fosse, she had been trembling with fear, afraid that any extra waste would lead to the displeased man kicking her out of the castle.

But she never would have dreamed that she, the castle cook, would one day have to serve those slaves she usually wouldn’t deign to even look at!

“This is the lord’s command.”

Johan stared at her, dumbfounded expression. He didn’t even have to guess to see what was on her mind. “You should be glad that the one who saw your foolish expression was me, and not Mr. Fosse.”

Annie shrank back guiltily, but she was also a little annoyed. Feigning courage, she said, “Hmph, ever since you gained the new lord’s favor, you’ve become more and more impolite.”

Unlike Annie, who was just over thirty and whose mother had also been a cook in the castle, giving her a rather ‘strong’ network and background, Johan had just turned eighteen and had only been in the castle for a short ten months.

It was because of his rather handsome looks that he had been noticed by the second lord, who liked to sleep with young boys, and brought into the castle as a ‘reserve lover’ under the guise of an ‘ordinary servant’.

For Johan, this was both his greatest misfortune and his only way out—at least by working in the castle, he could earn a much higher salary than he would as an apprentice at the blacksmith’s.

Only in this way could he support his pitiful mother, who was on the verge of collapse ever since his father’s disappearance, and his four younger siblings.

Fortunately, before the second lord could lay a hand on him, he had died for the comical reason of “getting drunk on too much light beer and tumbling out of his bedroom window,” smashing his head into a bloody pulp.

Johan knew he absolutely could not bear the consequences of losing his job as a ‘servant in the castle’.

Thus, after a period of numbness, he had made up his mind before the ninth lord’s arrival: he had to stay.

As long as he could support his family until his younger siblings grew up, he was willing to offer the new lord both his life and his loyalty.

—What Johan had never dared to hope for, yet was now laid out plainly before his eyes, was this new lord’s incredible benevolence, generosity, and compassion.

Whether it was his beautiful appearance, elegant bearing, or noble character, His Highness Oliver was the most wonderful being he had ever seen, a true angel that could not be depicted even by prayers piled high with the most ornate words.

If His Highness was willing to accept, he would offer up his everything without hesitation and with all his heart.

Johan sneered.

His back was ramrod straight. The gentleness he showed in front of Oliver was gone from his handsome eyes, which now seemed to be veiled in a layer of frost. He paid Annie’s provocation no mind at all. Of all the old servants in the castle, he was the only one truly qualified to approach His Grace the Duke and the butler, Fosse. Of course, he was also aware that Mr. Fosse had long been unable to tolerate this foolish cook, whose terrible skills had tormented His Grace’s distinguished palate.

Mr. Fosse had already sent someone to Albury, the city nearest to Laina City (a round trip of six days and six nights on horseback), to scout for a new cook. Her position wouldn’t last for many more days.

“Whatever you may be thinking,” Johan said coolly to the woman who would soon be kicked out, “you had best put away any thoughts of questioning His Grace.”

“Oh, and,” a malicious smile touched the corners of his lips, “unless you want to anger Mr. Fosse, you’d better not cut corners when you cook.”

His Grace had even personally caught those fish—and this foolish cook, Annie, actually thought those ‘filthy slaves’ were unworthy of her skills?

Could she possibly be nobler than His Grace? Truly disgusting.

Annie trembled with anger, but Johan had hit a sore spot, so she could only swallow her rage and watch him leave.

Once Johan had closed the door, she could no longer suppress her fury and burst out cursing, “That damn, son-of-a-bitch bastard! Sooner or later, I’ll see him whipped naked and thrown out!”

Oliver, naturally, was unaware of the roiling undercurrents among the castle servants, or of the arrangements made by his loyal, reliable, and shrewdly observant old butler.

Looking at the newly risen moon and his stamina bar, which was only half-depleted, he soon found he couldn’t hold back any longer.

Those weren’t just stones; they were glittering experience points waiting for him to collect!

Under Fosse’s helpless yet indulgent gaze, Oliver once again invoked the will of the ‘gods’ and logically returned to the fields.

Under the cover of night, his sudden appearance this time did not attract the attention of the people who had temporarily left the fields to go home for a makeshift dinner.

Oliver decisively pulled out his pickaxe and began the joyous work of chipping away.

What was different this time was that he didn’t toss the broken stones onto the ridge to the side, but instead collected them in his game backpack.

This was because he had seen that the slaves’ quarters were far too simple and dilapidated.

In this setting, only the nobility could afford to live in stone houses more than two stories high. Those who served the nobility, or wealthy merchants, lived in single-story stone houses. Commoners of average means, who didn’t have to worry about food and warmth, lived in houses with stone foundations filled in with wood. As for the slaves, they were only permitted to build low huts made from the useless wheat straw from the previous year’s harvest, with floors plastered with relatively hard mud that couldn’t even keep out a slightly heavy rain.

Oliver “clanged” and “clanged” his way along, growing more and more addicted to the work as the number of stones in his backpack steadily increased.

After breaking up the stones and clearing away the rubble, there was no way he would let the small patch of cleared ground go to waste—he immediately pulled out his hoe and watering can.

Loosening the soil, sowing seeds, and watering were all done in one smooth motion.

While the noble Duke was engrossed in sweeping up the day’s remaining experience points, the slaves, who had a rare chance to gather cheerfully, munch on sour and sweet fruits, and prepare to return to the fields, received another gift that filled them with trepidation.

“Fish… fish soup?” As the serfs couldn’t help but fix their greedy gazes on the steaming cauldrons, which emitted a rich and mouth-watering aroma, Jonathan swallowed in disbelief and asked incoherently, “Slaves… you mean us slaves?”

“Yes, that includes you—good heavens, for the Lord’s sake, stop saying such foolish things,” Ed said with a chuckle. “You heard right. His noble and kind-hearted Highness caught the fish himself and gave the order personally!”

Hearing Ed’s words, the slaves, who, like Jonathan, couldn’t believe what they were seeing, couldn’t help but shed tears.

“Praise the Lord, praise His Highness,” Jonathan suddenly burst into tears, chanting in a trembling voice, “Praise His Highness the Duke…”

Thank God, for sending a true angel to this desperate land of Laina City.

They might actually be able to survive.

No matter how reluctant she was, after being warned by Johan, the cook still took her task of preparing the large pots of fish soup seriously.

The steaming, snow-white fish soup was as delicate and sweet as milk, and everyone was given a large bowl.

Holding the bowls filled with hot soup, their thickly calloused palms didn’t feel the scalding heat.

Cries of surprise rose one after another—it was their incredulous discovery that there were also many chunks of refreshing and delicious fish meat inside!

The wild fruits and fish soup gave the slaves a taste of unprecedented deliciousness.

They licked the inside of their bowls clean with their tongues. Only when it was time to return to the fields to continue their labor did they reluctantly put down their bowls, unable to resist secretly savoring the wonderful taste that lingered in their mouths.

This continued until someone shouted in shock.

—”Gods, the Lord is doing farm work again!”

This cry was like a drop of cold water falling into boiling oil, instantly stirring the emotions of the people who were filled with gratitude for this kind and generous Lord.

Oliver, who was immersed in the wonderful cycle of breaking rocks, hoeing the ground, watering, and sowing seeds, only vaguely heard a shout in the distance. The next moment, he was stunned by the massive crowd surging toward him.

When Oliver realized that these overly diligent slaves, all for a bowl of fish soup, were about to carry their ‘overly kind’ Lord back to the castle and fight over the work…

“Let go of that rock!” The moment Oliver came to his senses, he saw that the large rock he had only just struck twice was about to be carried away. He immediately shouted anxiously, “Let me do it!”

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TL Note: Hello I’m back! Thank you for your well wishes and patience.
Since I’m feeling better and it didn’t seem like anyone was willing to pick up this project, I decided to continue.
Again I’m using MTL, so if anyone sees any errors or would actually like to pick this up for actual translation, please let me know.

I’ll be retranslating/editing the first 8 chapters for consistency. Feel free to re-read if needed.
You’ll find that the story often swaps between serfs and slaves – it’s not a translation error; the author uses the term interchangeably, so please ignore the difference between the two terms and take it as a generic shorthand for ‘oppressed laborers.’