HTLCCBFT Chapter 99

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 99

That night, Oliver still did not dream of the handsome young man with the fluffy tail and golden cat ears.

Upon waking, he felt a slight sense of regret, but it was only fleeting.

—After all, he now had a real big cat—one who was aloof and cold toward others, yet warm and affectionate only toward him, even taking the initiative to climb onto his bed and warm it for him.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Oliver was unsurprised to meet a pair of calm golden pupils.

Reflected clearly within them was his own face, smiling… with a hint of mischief.

“Good morning, dear Cat God.”

Oliver greeted his fluffy “bedmate” with ease.

Since the unafraid big cat was so close to him, Oliver instinctively leaned forward slightly.

As if to prevent it from escaping, his slender, snow-white fingers gently cupped the left side of its face.

The satin-like, pale golden fur made his fingers appear even more elegant and fair.

In the cat’s eyes, that beautiful, smiling face drew closer and closer…

—Oliver closed his eyes slightly and planted a soft kiss on its furry forehead.

The Cat God: !

Its entire body stiffened for a moment.

Although it had indeed been waiting for a sweet kiss from its believer, in its memory, Oliver would only give a light kiss on its paw pad after collecting the gold ingot.

Even when kissed in the temple, it was only on the sensitive tips of its ears.

This was the first time…

He blinked.

Indeed, striving to manifest its divine body earlier and truly come to Oliver’s side was absolutely worth it.

In the distant divine realm, a dazzling golden halo burst forth with the newborn deity’s joy, illuminating the entire temple brilliantly.

Little did Oliver know that this seemingly calm and motionless big cat was actually already dizzy with happiness.

Seizing the moment before the big cat could react, Oliver wisely pulled back a little to prevent an angry retaliation.

Then, sitting up on the bed, he smiled and said, “Now, it’s time to inspect our territory.”

And so, the deity, still lying dazed on the bed and only lifting its head to watch its beloved believer bustling about, watched as Oliver earnestly prayed to that detestable golden cat statue, collected the metal ingot, and then deliberately went to the flowerbed, placing a flower in “its” hand as usual.

…… How annoying……

It flicked its tail slightly in annoyance.

However, after last night’s incident, it had realized that Oliver did not like it interfering with that annoying statue.

So it restrained itself, quietly observing everything.

When the beautiful believer finally finished his tasks in the room, changed into practical short clothes, and was about to open the door, the deity leaped gracefully off the bed without hesitation and followed him majestically.

Of course, before that, Oliver had already stored the wealth statue back into his game backpack.

Unbeknownst to him, the moment the statue entered the backpack space, the flower that usually vanished during this process was “stolen” by the seemingly innocent golden big cat and effortlessly transferred to the Golden Divine Realm.

The feline deity closed its eyes, ears trembling slightly.

When its eyes were shut, the divine sense connected to the divine realm allowed it to clearly see: behind that magnificent golden temple, there was a place structurally identical to the flower garden outside Laina Castle.

The only difference was that here, only about forty scattered flowers bloomed, permanently fixed at their peak bloom by divine power.

Their petals shimmered brilliantly, as if coated with flecks of gold.

They were the immortal blossoms it had gazed upon in its half-dreaming state.

—Just like the affection returned by its only beloved believer.

Oliver had no idea that this seemingly honest and well-behaved big cat beside him was filled with wild, fanciful thoughts.

He went to the chicken coop as usual, perfunctorily patted the increasingly ugly chickens that had fully entered their mid-youth phase, then heartlessly turned back to the castle.

When he entered the dining hall, he unsurprisingly found the impeccably dressed Fosse waiting there, who bowed respectfully and greeted: “Good morning, Your Grace.”

“Good morning, dear Fosse.”

Oliver responded with a smile, taking his seat at the head of the table. The next moment, he remembered the laborer—no, guest—he had been thinking about since last night, and asked: “How is Arte doing?”

Hearing his kind-hearted young master actually showing concern for that reckless wanderer, Fosse couldn’t help but frown slightly.

But he answered Oliver’s question without hesitation: “Mr. Arte hasn’t gotten up yet, Your Grace. Would you like me to wake him?”

Oliver: “……”

His first reaction was, ‘What a lazy baron.’

Upon second thought, he realized this judgment was unfair: honestly speaking, if his biological clock wasn’t completely controlled by the game system—making him wake up almost every morning without fail—he might also choose to live more like a proper ‘noble’ who could openly avoid productive work, staying in bed a bit longer.

As it was, he had completely adapted to this fulfilling lifestyle of late nights, early mornings, and overwhelming busyness.

Even occasional attempts to be lazy left him feeling uncomfortable, filled with guilt over ‘wasting time.’

“Then let’s not disturb Arte,” Oliver said with a mix of amusement and exasperation, stopping the eager butler. “After he wakes up, have breakfast sent to his room, then have him come see me.”

Arte Studio, who had suffered quite a fright yesterday and was still immersed in nightmares, naturally had no idea what he was missing by sleeping in.

By the time he truly woke up, the sun was already high in the sky, and the second bell had rung quite some time ago.

But this was merely the “normal” waking hour for nobles—unlike commoners or slaves who needed to rise early for fieldwork, their reason for being “too tired” to wake early was mostly due to exerting themselves too much with beautiful actresses or mistresses the night before.

Arte naturally assumed Duke Oliver was the same.

When asked by a servant whether to bring breakfast and lunch together, he naturally replied: “No need. Has His Grace the Duke risen yet? I would like to first apologize for my rudeness yesterday.”

When such a lazy yet elegant beast appears beside a delicate beauty, it always strikes a shocking yet intensely breathtaking chord.

After the failed rescue attempt and being informed it was all a misunderstanding, Arte quickly recovered from his embarrassment.

After all, he was the rebellious sort who would skip royal banquets under the pretext of painting portraits of actresses.

Moreover, he hadn’t come away entirely empty-handed.

Arte struggled to console himself.

At the very least, he had demonstrated his unwavering loyalty to His Highness Oliver in front of that most troublesome butler, Fosse……right?

However, upon hearing his words, the servant looked astonished and somewhat troubled as he said, “Respected Lord Studio, my apologies, but the lord left with his retinue shortly after the first bell tolled.”

Arte widened his eyes. “…What?”

In reality, Oliver had been patiently waiting for a long time, flipping through the draft “textbook” he planned to show Arte later, while the other was still asleep.

But as the second bell was about to ring, there was still no sign of him.

Losing his patience and noticing the rare clear weather outside, Oliver decided to take his entire household—his cat and butler—to the long-unvisited mine for some digging.

On the way to the mine, he made a detour into the forest.

He collected the newly produced sap from the oak trees, then hung the sap collectors on pine trees to prepare for the small-scale production of “looms” in the near future.

Fosse, his thin lips pressed tightly together, watched with barely concealed unease as the young lord, with an unmistakably heavy golden cat draped over him, darted between the trees, busy with some unknown task.

This cat was truly…

If not for the young lord’s overflowing affection for it—willingly “carrying” it around—he would have surely dragged the shameless beast down.

However, once the group arrived at the mine, no matter how much Oliver adored the golden cat, he could no longer serve as its cat tree.

Fortunately, when he tentatively placed a stone on the ground, the large cat seemed to understand his intention instantly. It gracefully lifted its chin, which had been resting on his shoulder, and its soft paw pads landed lightly on the stone.

Though the stone was a bit small for it, the cat unhesitatingly curled up on it, obediently gazing with its golden round eyes at Oliver not far away.

Witnessing this, Fosse scrutinized its dignified posture and finally relaxed his furrowed brows slightly.

No wonder the young lord is so fond of this cat, he thought.

As Oliver looked at the cat’s well-behaved demeanor and its golden, fluffy fur shimmering in the sunlight… he nearly gave in to the urge to reach out and pet it again.

Dear Cat God.

Petting cats really does slow down one’s pickaxe-swinging speed.

He sighed silently, struggling to resist the powerful temptation, and decisively seized the clear weather to bend down and start breaking stones.

Unbeknownst to him, the golden cat, having caught this fleeting thought in his mind, deliberately swayed its large, fluffy, and silky tail with an air of nonchalance.

The real mine was nothing like the game’s constantly respawning mine shafts. It remained exactly as Oliver had left it last time—pitted and scarred from his own digging, with stagnant, murky water pooling in the lower areas.

The sight of mud, water, and rubble everywhere would have been enough to make fastidious nobles shriek in horror, but Oliver paid it no mind. He skillfully avoided the cave entrance that was temporarily unsuitable for excavation and began digging elsewhere.

Thus, when Arte arrived in a frantic rush on his splendidly groomed horse, he was met with this jarringly bizarre scene—

The enormous cat that had once sent him tumbling gracelessly into the mud now lay lazily sprawled across a smooth gray boulder, its tail swaying idly, eyes fixed unblinkingly ahead.

Fosse, who usually guarded the esteemed young lord as preciously as his own eyes, stood sternly to the side with only a few attendants this time.

As for the filthy mining area that made Arte’s brow furrow in disgust…

Arte froze.

He couldn’t help but rub his eyes, then rub them again.

After confirming that the delicate beauty wielding a heavy pickaxe—moving effortlessly through the mining area while expertly smashing apart massive rocks—was not a figment of his imagination…

Arte completely lost control of his composure and let out a heart-wrenching scream: “Your Highness—!!!”

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