HTLCCBFT Chapter 98

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 98

Night.

After bathing and changing clothes, Oliver had just returned to the adjacent bedroom when he watched the large golden cat—which had been sitting quietly on the floor waiting for him—leap upward naturally.

Its target was clear: not the bed, but the silver bedside table.

Oliver’s eyelids twitched slightly.

The all-silver cabinet looked quite exquisite, though it was also rather small.

When it had only held the lucky cat statue before, there had been plenty of space.

But now it had to bear the weight of such a large cat—one that even he struggled to carry…

He could clearly see that this unbelievably well-behaved cat not only had no designs on the more spacious and comfortable bed, but was also trying its best to curl up on the narrow surface, attempting to settle in that cramped spot.

But it was simply too big—even after a great deal of effort, either its front paws would slip off, or its fluffy tail would slide down, leaving half of its rear end suspended in midair.

It was a posture that made Oliver, just watching from the side, feel uncomfortable on its behalf.

He sighed softly and turned back toward the bathroom.

The golden cat froze.

…… Oliver……

It uneasily swayed its tail, which had nowhere to rest and was forced to hang in the air.

…… Where are you going?……

His question was soon answered: Oliver quickly returned, personally carrying a small silver basin filled with warm water, with two cloths draped over the side.

“Come here.”

Oliver sat on the bed, placed the basin on a low stool beside him, and smiled as he opened his arms to the cat.

Its ears twitched slightly, and without hesitation, it leaped down onto the bed, obediently settling into the warm embrace that carried a stronger scent of roses than before.

Oliver thought that although it was a relatively warm summer night, the recent rains had left a slight chill in the air.

If he were to actually bathe this large cat… never mind whether it would be willing to get near water, just drying its long fur would be a headache-inducing task.

If he ended up making it catch a cold, he would regret it even more.

“Although you look very clean and quite handsome,” Oliver teased lightly as he gently wiped the cat’s glossy, unbelievably soft fur with a damp cloth, “if you want to get on my bed, you definitely need to take a bath first.”

Of course, he only made this slightly suggestive joke because he assumed the cat wouldn’t understand.

Little did he know that this deity in cat form, lying obediently and motionless like a statue the entire time, allowing him to gently wipe its body…

…vaguely understood and firmly remembered the phrase, “As long as you take a bath, you can get on Oliver’s bed.”

Even though he was only lightly wiping the surface of its fur, and the cat cooperated fully throughout, it still took Oliver a considerable amount of time.

Especially when, after rinsing the cloth he had used, he noticed that both the cloth itself and the water in the silver basin were practically spotless… he couldn’t help but question his efforts.

Had he gone through all that trouble for nothing?

Oliver thought in surprise.

This large cat was just too clean.

Not to mention comparing it to the batch of kittens bought in Gregor City, even most people couldn’t be cleaner than it.

Oliver glanced somewhat conflictedly at the large cat comfortably sprawled across his lap. After casually rubbing those slightly drooping ears that seemed quite content, he gently pushed it aside and got up to fetch some water.

When he returned with the water, he saw that it had already automatically and consciously burrowed under the covers, only revealing an innocent-looking cat head from beneath the blanket. He couldn’t help but laugh: “Quite eager to warm the bed, aren’t you?”

The golden-furred large cat, which had naturally claimed a small half of the bed, simply continued gazing quietly at him upon hearing this.

It seemed completely unbothered about abandoning the typical elegance and restraint expected of cats.

“Fortunately, it’s summer.”

Looking at its dignified, proper, yet pure and naive appearance, Oliver found it hard to imagine it possibly going into heat and running around everywhere during autumn.

While casually placing the nearly forgotten lucky cat statue on the bedside table, he smiled and lifted part of the blanket, preparing to lie down beside the large cat: “Otherwise—”

Thump.

Oliver’s words, along with his movement, abruptly stopped.

He blinked, slowly glanced at the innocent-looking large cat, then turned to look at the lucky cat statue that had been mercilessly swept off the bedside table by that fluffy large tail and now lay rolling on the floor.

If there weren’t only him in this room—no second person, or cat, that could have done this—he might almost have doubted it, just looking at its completely unconcerned expression.

Was this the natural hostility of “Cat God Number Two” toward “Cat God Number One”?

Oliver felt both helpless and amused.

He reached out and rubbed the large cat’s face, considering that punishment enough.

Then he got out of bed and picked up the poor lucky cat statue that had been swept to the floor.

But as soon as he placed it back, the culprit tail mercilessly swept over again, accurately knocking it down once more.

As if sensing Oliver’s gaze, it rolled over somewhat guiltily and conspicuously closed its eyes.

The lord: “……”

If it does this again, I can’t keep indulging it.

He had to pick up the statue once more, and just as it was about to launch a third attack, he gently “grabbed” the troublesome tail and attempted a warning: “If you keep bullying the Cat God, I’ll have to kick you off the bed.”

The feline deity: “……”

It widened its eyes in shock, its fur slowly puffing up all over. Oliver’s serious, handsome face was reflected in its brilliant golden pupils.

…… Oliver……

…… because of my statue…… is angry at me…….

…… why……

While it stared in disbelief, thinking chaotically, Oliver took the opportunity to stroke the fluffy, warm large tail a few more times before swiftly tucking it under the covers.

The large cat didn’t react at all, just blankly letting him do as he pleased.

Seeing the large cat remain completely unresponsive, Oliver grew bolder. Pushing his luck, he quickly rubbed its… bottom.

Warm, fluffy, and soft.

With a bit of bounce to it.

Definitely the best-feeling cat bottom he had ever touched.

The feline-skinned deity blinked slowly, sinking deeper into confusion.

…… it seems……

……. Something’s a little strange……

“Can you understand what I’m saying?”

After lying down contentedly, Oliver wasn’t in a hurry to close his eyes and sleep.

He lifted one eyelid, struggled to resist but ultimately couldn’t help reaching out to stroke the large cat who had been keeping its eyes open with a deeply wronged expression ever since being warned. With a soft laugh, he said, “Even if you’re jealous, don’t be jealous of the Cat God.”

Seemingly quite comforted by the stroking, it slightly narrowed its eyes.

Oliver continued in a low voice, “It can only stand by the bedside, but you’re the first one allowed to lie on my bed…”

With emotions stirring, under this gentle caress, he finally reluctantly accepted the fact that “the statue is also me.”

Then he listened to his most beloved believer speaking words into his ear that made him happy again.

Only after completely soothing the large cat did Oliver peacefully close his eyes and enter sleep.

—Of course, he didn’t know that the moment his eyes closed, the large cat—who had fallen into feigned sleep earlier than him—silently opened its eyes.

…… Oliver……

…… My…… Oliver……

Even though they were already very close, he couldn’t help but lean closer, then closer still…

Until he could gently kiss that pale earlobe, then stopped shyly.

…… I can finally…… touch you……

Before Oliver’s eyes appeared the familiar daily summary panel.

Due to the recent continuous rainy days, the tasks he could accomplish had inevitably become quite limited.

The biggest increase in professional skill experience still came from that surge a few days ago when he took advantage of a break in the rain to hurriedly harvest the corn in the field.

On ordinary days, he could only gain small amounts of experience points by petting chickens.

However, thanks to his unwavering daily chicken petting that kept the experience bar slowly climbing, his long-stagnant level 6 Farming finally managed to advance to level 7 this evening.

The higher the level, the more experience points needed for advancement.

Even though he was mentally prepared, when Oliver glimpsed the enormous numbers required for Farming to reach level 8, he immediately lost all interest in actively leveling up.

Let it happen naturally, he thought.

With this mindset, he focused on examining the newly unlocked [ Loom ] recipe reward.

[ Loom ]: A simply structured loom. Although the finished product only comes in plain white, as long as you can find some animal fur, you can spin the softest fabric.

Its function was as straightforward as the description. As for the crafting materials, aside from readily available basic wood and plant fiber, the only slightly troublesome item was pine sap.

This involved the previously unlocked “sap collector” recipe—the collector required copper ingots for crafting. Before discovering the mine, he had gradually obtained 8 copper ingots through the Cat God statue’s gifts, all of which he used to make “sap collectors” and hung on oak trees in the forest.

The reason he hung them all on oak trees was primarily to collect materials needed for future “keg” production.

Once the new batch of oak sap matured, he could transfer the sap collectors to pine trees.

Oliver fell into thoughtful contemplation.

He had already noticed earlier that although many aspects of this era remained quite primitive, spinning machines did indeed exist.

However, such machines were extremely expensive to produce and required highly skilled operators. Typically, only the very few tailors in the royal capital who crafted robes for nobles could afford such luxuries.

For most commoners, the reason they chose hand-spinning over machine-spinning was simply that human labor was far cheaper than machinery—only then was it an affordable price.

Of course, even in modern times, not even the best spinning machine could produce good fabric using just “any clump of animal hair.”

—And in his warehouse, there happened to be a large stock of low-quality, untreated wool that he had acquired at shockingly low prices when the Summer Market ended.

Naturally, he didn’t need to rely entirely on the spinning machines for production.

After autumn, Laina’s finances would likely become more flexible, allowing for the purchase of seeds for the new planting season and clothing materials…

Oliver did some quick calculations.

Subtracting the cloth he planned to buy through merchants and the low-quality wool he could acquire at the Autumn Market, and factoring in the spinning machines’ production speed, he estimated that making about twenty machines by early autumn should suffice.

There was definitely enough time.

He was well aware that such a miraculous machine would be a huge temptation for the impoverished Laina.

But since it was a product of his game system, and as the only one who knew the truth, he had to restrain himself… he couldn’t let Laina become overly dependent on it.

Of course, he wouldn’t waste the game system by leaving it unused either.

his idea was to use the fabric it produced to help Laina through the toughest year or two, providing essential winter clothing for warmth.

Summer was nearing its end, and autumn was a busy season for harvesting and sowing.

At first glance, time seemed plentiful, but after accounting for preparation needs, it became clear that winter’s footsteps were already approaching.

Commoners might manage, but looking at the tattered, hole-ridden clothes worn by the slaves, Oliver found it hard to believe they could survive the icy harshness of winter.

After surviving this year or two, he planned to select suitable individuals to try and improve the existing machines, aiming to reduce manufacturing costs and operational difficulty… before considering widespread implementation.

Of course, that was a distant plan—given Laina’s widespread illiteracy, finding highly skilled talent capable of technological improvements was nearly impossible.

The more Oliver thought about it, the more his head ached.

It was just fabric—how had it led to so many complications?

As for literacy… he could only hope that Arte, whom he had high hopes for, would quickly regain his spirits so he could start exploiting him.