HTLCCBFT Chapter 8

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 8

Half a second before the float sank, the rapid ‘doot doot’ of a system notification already rang in Oliver’s ears.

The sudden integration of the old game’s controls into the real-world scene made him hesitate for a fleeting moment.

Fortunately, thanks to the conditioned reflexes he’d developed from fishing no small amount in the game, his body reacted in time before his brain could even process it.

—It was a pike.

Unlike shallow humans, this pike, with its plump and glossy scales, was clearly not bewitched by the Angel Duke’s beauty. The moment it bit the bait, it began to struggle with incomparable ferocity.

Under everyone’s astonished gazes, Oliver stood up without a second thought. His right hand firmly gripped the rod’s handle, while his left hand skillfully turned the fishing reel.

Compared to the slow-reacting carp, which players jokingly called ‘dumb fish,’ the pike, hailed as the ‘King of Charges,’ was a complete and utter nightmare for a novice angler with rudimentary starting gear.

Of course, it was unwilling to be captured without a fight. When Oliver tightened the line and pulled the rod back, it began to dart swiftly from side to side, yanking the line taut with brute force.

If the line slackened even slightly, it seized the opportunity to bolt away; if the line tightened a little, it resisted with even greater strength.

Its tail thrashed wildly against the river’s surface, its body appearing and disappearing as it kicked up countless splashes.

And in Oliver’s eyes, the fishing progress bar¹ that had appeared on his right the moment the fish took the hook was shooting up and down like mad.

Unfortunately for the fish, while Oliver might be holding a starter rod, he was no true novice.

No matter how fiercely the pike charged and struggled, he was not the least bit thrown off by its display.

His expression was calm, and he held the fishing rod steady from beginning to end, expertly manipulating the reel according to the fishing progress bar that was frantically jumping up and down on his right.

Even though the dot representing the pike constantly hovered on the verge of unhooking, Oliver’s masterful control kept it precariously in check.

To the onlookers, the force of this unbelievably ferocious fish had already bent the fragile rod into a precarious arc, looking as if it might shatter at any moment from being unable to withstand such power.

But His Grace the Duke, with his fair and slender arms, seemed to possess monstrous strength, maintaining firm control.

Gradually, the pike, which had been struggling so aggressively, seemed to have exhausted its energy, and the scope of its struggles began to subside.

Oliver, however, did not let down his guard.

The cunning pike had to give up playing dead and began to thrash about madly once more, before finally, completely, going limp…

Only then did Oliver tighten the line in one go and unhurriedly reel the dejected fish into his creel. A faint, satisfied smile finally appeared on his face because of the “Perfect” rating given by the system.

The first battle was a success.

The crowd, who had been holding their breath without realizing it as they watched a tug-of-war more intense than they could have imagined, now let out gasps of amazement once more.

—What a huge fish!

Fosse, who was closest to Oliver, had the clearest view: the fish, with its dark gray scales and unique long stripes on its sides, looked to be a good sixty pounds. His Grace the Duke’s superb and masterful fishing skills were then fully demonstrated, causing the crowd, who had initially marveled at the plump and surprisingly ferocious loot pike, to gradually grow numb from shock. In just a small part of the afternoon, under the Duke’s campaign of catching a plump, large fish with every single cast, the three fish baskets they had brought were quickly filled.

The first thing to run out was, surprisingly, the bait Fosse had someone prepare on short notice.

Just as Fosse’s face showed shame for his lack of preparation, which had disappointingly cut his important young master’s fun short, Oliver smiled and put away his fishing rod.

So as not to let this loyal servant, who was always overly considerate of him, blame himself, he perfectly concealed the lingering feeling of wanting more. “Alright, let’s head back before it gets dark.”

Today’s fishing harvest was already far better than he had predicted—not only had he reaped more than twenty lively, large fish, but the experience he gained was enough to raise his ‘fisherman’ life skill by a level and a half.

He hadn’t forgotten that he still needed to go to the fields and plant the entire stack of corn seeds in his inventory.

The lord’s party, returning laden with wild fruits and fresh fish, naturally caught the attention of the people still toiling in the fields.

They were mesmerized by the lord’s angelically beautiful and delicate features, yet they didn’t dare to stare as they had yesterday, lest their dazed distraction anger the supervisors. Thus, they could only steal a glance while busying themselves with their work.

The Angel Duke’s beauty was so dazzling and eye-catching that they inadvertently overlooked the ‘loot’ tied to the servants’ and knights’ horses.

As the seemingly glowing figure, surrounded by his attendants, quickly vanished through the castle gates, the farmers, including Jonathan, let out a collective, regretful sigh.

What they didn’t expect was that a series of good fortunes, things they wouldn’t dare to dream of in their most wonderful dreams, would follow one after another.

—Sir Ed²大人 (dàrén) – Direct translation is “Lord”, but in this context it’s more referring to the honorifics someone of lower status uses to address someone of higher status, not an actual title; so I used “sir” instead to avoid confusion., the only one among all the supervisors who held any pity for the slaves’ plight, along with the tall and valiant knight Lord Noel, announced the great news: “Due to the lord’s mercy and generosity, starting today, everyone is permitted to enter the woods to gather fallen wild fruits, and the collection of dry branches is also allowed,” and “The mill is now open to everyone, free of charge. Fees will no longer be collected, nor will the personal use of homemade hand-mills for grinding flour be forbidden.”

At first, only the freemen, who were also working in the fields but constituted a minority, showed joy on their faces.

The slaves, however, listened with wooden expressions, continuing to work with their heads down mechanically.

They never imagined that sir Ed’s next words would strike them like a clap of thunder, causing all the slaves’ faces to go blank.

“Listen up, all of you!” Seeing the slaves still looking so lifeless, Ed was almost exasperated enough to laugh. In the end, he couldn’t help but be happy for them. So, under Noel’s expressionless gaze, he braced himself and raised his voice, practically shouting to emphasize the key point: “That means—ev—ery—one! Including the slaves!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the serfs all froze.

They stared blankly at the yellowish-brown earth before them, then dazedly raised their heads, seeing a similar bewilderment in each other’s eyes. They had long grown accustomed to not being considered ‘people’ ³This is in reference to where Ed says “everyone/every person” The “人” in 所有人 means person/people.. Whether they were slaves for generations or freemen who had fallen into slavery, from their lives to their very souls, they had legally become the lord’s absolute property.

The new lord… saw them as ‘people’?

For some reason, Jonathan’s eyes began to burn.

He didn’t really care about the wild fruit—no, that wasn’t right. It had been a long time since he’d eaten fruit that could be considered a luxury. And he was rarely allocated grain that required the use of the mill.

But the feeling of being seen as ‘people,’ as ‘subjects,’ and even being cared for equally by that noble and beautiful lord, gave him the unprecedented urge to burst into tears.

It was like a person who had walked for a long time through a frozen, snowy night, suddenly being touched by the long-missed bright sunlight—even if he were to die the next moment, he would still greedily covet this fleeting warmth.

“Praise the lord! Praise His Highness!”

“God bless the lord!”

Someone was the first to be unable to contain their joy, letting out a cheerful laugh.

Soon, praises for the lord, along with laughter that had not been heard in Laina’s territory for a long time, converged into a vibrant river of sound.

For the next little while, not even the fierce, disgusted scolding from the supervisors—with the exception of Ed—could stop them from expressing their elation.

It was at this moment that a spark was quietly ignited in the hearts of these people, who had been rendered numb by hellish suffering.

They dimly realized that this new lord was unlike anyone they had ever met.

—Perhaps he truly was the angel who bestowed hope, the one they prayed for day and night.

Of course, no matter how large the forest was, it couldn’t possibly accommodate everyone entering and picking at the same time. To ensure that everyone could be allocated some resources, Ed, after consulting with Knight Captain Noel, made the decision that ‘each person could gather one bowl of wild fruit’.

After hearing this, the serfs scrambled back to their humble dwellings, trying their best to find the largest bowl in their homes.

Seven-year-old Lucy stood in the crowd, staring blankly at her empty hands.

Her mother had died in childbirth when she was born. And her father, the only person she had, had been beaten to death by a supervisor last winter for stealing a little firewood…

No one had laid claim to the small, dilapidated thatched hut she lived in yet, but it was impossible to find a decent bowl inside.

“Lucy, what are you still spacing out for?”

The owner of the voice was Lucy’s kind-hearted neighbor, Marianne.

She was holding five wooden bowls for her husband and three sons. Just as she was about to run swiftly with the crowd toward the forest, she saw poor, dazed Lucy.

Without hesitation, she gave her own wooden bowl to the pitiful girl. “Quick, take it and keep up!”

Otherwise, the sweetest, plumpest berries would be snatched up by others first!

Lucy pressed her lips together, numbly clutching the bowl. She hesitated for a moment before mustering her courage and cautiously following the crowd.

As the people surged toward the forest, Oliver had also finished changing his clothes. He pretended not to see Butler Fosse’s conflicted and concerned gaze. Carrying the entire set of corn seeds from his backpack, he happily plunged into the fields that had just been tilled and watered by the slaves.

When the first serfs emerged from the woods, laughing and chatting with their neighbors and friends while holding bowls of fragrant berries as if they were precious gems, they couldn’t help but be stunned once again.

What they saw was the Angel Duke, whose virtue and heart were as flawless as his appearance, striding swiftly through the neat and orderly fields.

His golden hair fluttered, and from between his long, fair fingers, worthy of a work of art, came the magical sight of golden seeds being scattered with perfect precision.

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  大人 (dàrén) – Direct translation is “Lord”, but in this context it’s more referring to the honorifics someone of lower status uses to address someone of higher status, not an actual title; so I used “sir” instead to avoid confusion.
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  This is in reference to where Ed says “everyone/every person” The “人” in 所有人 means person/people.