HTLCCBFT Chapter 8

　　In the half second before the float sank, Oliver’s ears were already filled with an urgent “beep beep” from the system.

　　The sudden integration of previous gaming operation modes into reality caused him to hesitate for a moment.

　　Fortunately, thanks to the reflexes he formed from frequent fishing in games, his body reacted appropriately even before his brain could process what was happening.

　　—It turned out to be a pike.

　　Unlike superficial humans, this sleek, scaled pike was obviously not swayed by the Angel Duke’s beauty. The moment it bit the bait, it launched into an intensely fierce resistance.

　　As everyone watched in amazement, Oliver stood up without a thought, firmly held the rod handle in his right hand while he adeptly turned the fishing reel with his left.

　　Compared to the sluggish carp, often mockingly called a ‘stupid fish’ by players, the pike, known as the ‘king of rushes,’ was nothing short of a nightmare for a novice fisherman wielding rudimentary fishing gear.

　　Unwilling to be easily captured, as Oliver reeled in and pulled the rod back, the pike swiftly began to swim from side to side, tightening the line with brutal force.

　　The line slackened a bit, and it seized the opportunity to dash outward; tighten the line slightly, and it resisted with even greater force.

　　Its tail powerfully slapped the water surface, making the fish’s body intermittently visible, stirring up countless splashes.

　　In Oliver’s eyes, the fishing mini-game¹ that appeared on the right side the moment it took the bait was violently bouncing up and down as if it had gone mad.

　　Unfortunately for the pike, Oliver, despite using a basic fishing rod, was not actually a novice fisherman.

　　Even though the pike was fiercely thrashing and struggling, he remained undisturbed by such resistance.

　　He remained calm, steadily holding the fishing rod from start to finish, effortlessly controlling the fishing reel according to the fishing progress bar jumping crazily on the right.

　　Even though the icon representing the pike hovered on the edge of escaping at any moment, Oliver’s expert handling kept it precariously within bounds.

　　To onlookers, the fierce strength of this enormous fish had the fragile rod bent into a dangerously precarious arc, as if it might snap at any moment under such force.

　　Yet, the duke with his delicate, pale arms seemed to possess Herculean strength, firmly in control.

　　Gradually, the pike’s violent struggles seemed to exhaust its energy, its thrashing slowing down.

　　Oliver, however, did not let his guard down.

　　The cunning pike, having no choice but to abandon playing dead, started again to move in a frenzied state, only to finally become thoroughly weakened…

　　Oliver tightened the line in one breath, nonchalantly scooping the despondent fish into the basket, and, thanks to a “perfect” rating from the system, finally allowed himself a pleased, slight smile.

　　The first battle was a success.

　　The crowd, who had unknowingly watched a fierce tug-of-war beyond imagination with bated breath, only then let out exclamations of amazement.

　　—Such a big fish!

　　Fosse, who was closest to Oliver and had the clearest view, observed: this dark gray-scaled fish, with distinctive long stripes along its side, appeared to weigh a full sixty pounds!

　　The duke’s divine fishing skills, now fully showcased, left onlookers initially marveling at the bulky, fiercely fought trophy numb with amazement; only half an afternoon had passed and under the command of his excellency the duke, who with every cast caught a hefty fish, the three baskets that were brought in were quickly filled to the brim with fish.

　　The first to run out, surprisingly, was the bait that Fosse had prepared.

　　While Fosse blushed with shame at his lack of preparation and the fact that he had let his important young master down, Oliver smiled and reeled in his fishing rod.

　　To prevent his overly considerate steward from feeling guilty, he perfectly masked his slight regret, “Alright, let’s head back before it gets too dark.”

　　Today’s fishing haul was far beyond his expectations—not only had he caught over twenty lively big fish, but the experience gained was enough to level up his ‘fisherman’ skill by one and a half levels.

　　He hadn’t forgotten that he still had to go to the field to sow the whole set of corn seeds in his backpack.

　　As the lord’s party, laden with wild fruits and fresh fish, returned, they naturally caught the attention of those still toiling in the fields..

　　Mesmerized by the lord’s angelically beautiful and exquisite appearance, yet not daring to stare as they did yesterday and risk the overseers’ wrath, they busied themselves while stealing glances.

　　Because the Angel Duke’s beauty was so dazzling and eye-catching, they had inadvertently overlooked the ‘trophies’ tied to the servants and knights’ horses.

　　As the figure, seemingly glowing, swiftly vanished through the castle gate surrounded by servants, the farmers, including Jonathan, let out a unanimous sigh of regret.

　　Unbeknownst to them, an unimaginably good fortune, beyond anything they had dared to hope for in their wildest dreams, was soon to follow.

　　—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 out of all the overseers who harbored sympathy for the serfs plight, together with the tall and gallant knight, sir Noel, announced: “Thanks to the lord’s mercy and generosity, from today onwards, every person is allowed to enter the forest to pick up fallen wild fruits and branches!” and that “the mill is open to everyone free of charge, and the use of personal hand mills to grind flour is no longer prohibited.“

　　Initially, only the few freemen who also toiled in the fields showed joy on their faces.

　　The serfs, on the other hand, listened with a wooden expression and continued to work mechanically.

　　Little did they know, sir Ed’s next words would strike their ears like a thunderbolt, leaving the faces of all the serfs blank in astonishment.

　　“Everyone, perk up your ears and listen carefully!” Ed felt nearly infuriated seeing the serfs still displaying a listless demeanor. In the end, he couldn’t help but feel happy for them. So, in the sight of the expressionless Noel, he stiffly raised his voice, almost shouting for emphasis, “It’s — every — person! Including serfs!”

　　At those words, the serfs all froze.

　　They dully stared at the brown-yellow earth before them, then slowly raised their heads, seeing similar bewilderment in each other’s eyes.

　　They had long been accustomed to not being included as ‘people’³This is in reference to where Ed says “everyone/every person” The “人” in 所有人 means person/people.: whether they were serfs for generations or had fallen as freemen to serfs, in legal terms, they had completely become the property of the lord from their lives to their souls.

　　The new lord… regarded them as ‘people’?

　　Jonathan’s eyes stung for some reason.

　　He didn’t really care much about the little bit of wild fruit — no, he hadn’t tasted such luxury in a long time — nor was he often tasked with work that required using the mill.

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

　　It was like a person who had wandered through the cold and snowy night for too long suddenly being bathed in the long-lost warmth of the sun—even if he were to die the next moment, he would greedily bask in this instant of warmth.

　　”Praise the lord! Praise His Highness!”

　　“May God bless the lord!”

　　It wasn’t clear who started it, but unable to contain the joy in their hearts, laughter rang out.

　　Soon, praises for the lord merged with the laughter that hadn’t been heard in the lands of Laina for a long time, forming a vibrant stream of life.

　　Anyway, for the next little while, even if the supervisors other than Ed were filled with disgust and ferocious reprimands, they couldn’t hinder them from expressing the elation of this moment.

　　It was at this moment, a spark quietly ignited in the hearts of the people who had been numbed by the infernal suffering.

　　They dimly realized that this new lord was different from anyone they had ever seen.

　　—Perhaps it was the angel of hope that they had prayed for day and night.

　　Of course, even if the forest was vast, it couldn’t accommodate everyone entering and picking at the same time — to ensure that everyone could be allocated some resources, after consulting with the knight commander Noel, Ed made the decision that ‘each person could pick a bowl of wild fruits.’

　　After hearing this, the serfs hurriedly rushed back to their simple dwellings, trying hard to find the largest bowl in their homes.

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

　　Her mother had died from complications during childbirth, and her only family, her father, had been beaten to death by the overseer last winter for stealing some firewood…

　　The small, dilapidated grass hut she lived in hadn’t caught anyone’s attention yet, but it was impossible to find a decent bowl inside.

　　“Lucy, why are you still daydreaming?”

　　The owner of this voice was Lucy’s kind neighbor, Marianne.

　　Holding five wooden bowls for her husband and three sons, ready to run towards the forest with the crowd, she noticed the dazed and pitiful Lucy.

　　Without hesitation, she handed her own wooden bowl to the poor girl, saying, “Here, take this and keep up!”

　　Otherwise, the sweetest, plumpest fruits would be picked clean by others!

　　Lucy pursed her lips, dumbly squeezed the bowl, hesitated for a moment, but finally mustered the courage to carefully follow.

　　As the people poured into the forest, Oliver changed his clothes.

　　Pretending not to see steward Fosse’s concerned gaze, he, carrying a whole set of corn seeds in his backpack, joyfully dived into the fields freshly tilled and watered by the serfs.

　　When the first group of serfs entered the forest and emerged laughing and chatting with neighbors or friends, bowls filled with sweet-scented fruits held as if they were jewels, they were stunned once again.

　　What they saw was the angelic Duke, whose virtue and heart were as flawless as his appearance, briskly moving through the neatly arranged fields.

　　His golden hair fluttered, and between his art-like slender, pale fingers, he precisely scattered golden seeds…..a magical sight.

TL Here: sorry I haven’t been updating recently; I’ve had some medical issues that were exacerbated over the last few weeks. I don’t think I can update as frequently as before, so if anyone wants to take this series off my hands, please let me know! Until then, I’ll keep updating to the best of my abilities (●´⌓`●)

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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.