Chapter 1671: Chapter 1669: So What? (I Just Want to Be an Orange Cat, Not Update)

Faced with the information provided by Radis, Fang Zheng was stunned for only a second before resuming his usual expression.

"So what? What’s the big deal?"

"Uh, this..."

Looking at Fang Zheng’s utterly calm demeanor, Radis didn’t know what to say.

"What do you mean... That’s the Chief Magitech Mentor of the Kingdom of Lugnica, and moreover, a Border Count! This isn’t a simple matter! If this blows up..."

"But that doesn’t prove he’s not a Witch Cultist, does it?"

Fang Zheng gave a light snort.

"And if I remember correctly, that forest is still the territory of this kingdom, right? What’s a Chief Magitech Mentor of Lugnica doing in another country? Did he file a report with you? In any case, my attitude is clear: whoever he is, he appeared at the scene of a Witch Cultist attack on a village and even launched an attack on me. This suggests that Joker is significantly implicated in and suspected of this incident, so in conclusion... he deserved to die."

"Uh..."

Seeing Fang Zheng’s completely indifferent look, Radis was speechless, having nothing to say. Initially, Princess Lana hoped to use this as a favor, letting Radis express that the kingdom could help Fang Zheng with this trouble, thereby drawing Fang Zheng and his forces closer. But seeing Fang Zheng like this, it was quite different from their expectations. How could they continue negotiations now?

"In any case, there’s no need for you to worry."

Fang Zheng waved his hand dismissively.

"If those people from the Kingdom of Lugnica come knocking, just tell them I did it and let them come to me directly."

"So what do you plan to do?"

For some reason, Radis felt a very bad premonition in her heart at this moment.

"Talk to them. If negotiations break down, then use fists. Lugnica? I don’t even take it seriously."

If it were someone else, Radis might think it was all bravado, but after witnessing that world-destroying surge of energy, she firmly believed that Fang Zheng would do what he said. For him, Lugnica probably wasn’t even a hassle.

"Well, please be careful then."

Since Fang Zheng had shown his attitude, Radis had nothing more to say.

"Fortunately, the impact of this event might not be as severe as you think... because Lugnica currently has no king."

"Hmm? What’s the situation?"

"It’s like this, a few years ago, that country’s late king died for unknown reasons, and the royal family almost disappeared..."

"It’s a wonder that country hasn’t fallen apart by now."

"Lugnica is somewhat different."

Hearing Fang Zheng’s remark, Radis explained with a bitter smile.

"Indeed, in other countries, losing a ruler might cause many problems. But Lugnica’s situation is unique, as they once signed a contract with the Divine Dragon Bolkeny and are under his protection. Therefore, they can avoid war, pestilence, and famine. As a result, even without a king, the country hasn’t collapsed, and it’s currently led by a high-ranking group called the Sage Association."

"Oh, a Divine Dragon..."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng nodded, yet his heart remained unmoved. What a joke! In this world, he didn’t even heed the Crimson Dragon God; the only one he needed to regard was the Golden Nightmare King. Why would he care about some Divine Dragon from who knows where?

If it dared to cause trouble, then let it witness the power of the Wings of Death!

With no choice, Radis took her leave, and Fang Zheng returned to the castle with the two girls. Perhaps because of the sudden disaster, the two girls remained silent, despite Fang Zheng’s attempts to comfort them, to little avail. This was understandable, given that their entire village and everyone they grew up with had been utterly destroyed overnight. For these two young girls, it wasn’t easy to accept.

In the end, Fang Zheng took the two girls on a flight with Verona, and while soaring through the skies, the gloom on their faces finally diminished a bit, replaced by smiles befitting their age. Fang Zheng continued to accompany the two little girls on the aerial journey, eventually returning to the castle.

Upon their return, Fang Zheng saw Meiyin with the maids outside, hanging laundry, and he maneuvered Verona for a circle before finding a spot to land and greeting Meiyin.

"Yo, busy day."

"Mr. Fang Zheng?!"

Hearing Fang Zheng’s voice, Meiyin, who was busy directing the maids, turned her head and was stunned by the sight before quickly running over.

"What is this? You can actually fly? Is this some kind of magic artifact?"

"Something like that. I’ll take you up for a ride sometime when you’re free."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng jumped down from Verona and reached out to help the two girls down.

"Let’s arrange something for them first."

"Eh? Who are they...?"

"The children I encountered this time. Hmm, let’s settle them in a room on the female attendants’ side; that should be fine."

"Okay."

Upon hearing this, Meiyin was somewhat puzzled but obediently nodded and turned to call for someone. Fang Zheng also reached out and gently patted the two girls’ heads.

"Alright, from today onwards, this will be your home. You can live here."

"..."

The two girls said nothing but simultaneously reached out to grab Fang Zheng’s sleeve, unwilling to leave his side.

"Don’t worry."

Seeing them, Fang Zheng gently stroked their heads again.

"I live here too."

"..."

Hearing this, the two girls finally seemed a bit reassured. They gave Fang Zheng one last reluctant glance before following the maid Meiyin had called to leave.

"What’s their story?"

Curiously watching the girls’ departing figures, Meiyin asked, to which Fang Zheng sighed.

"It’s a case of bad luck. Their village was attacked by cultists, and everyone except the two of them was killed."

"Everyone was killed?!"

Hearing this, Meiyin widened her eyes in surprise. She had been in this world for some time, but this kind of massacre was something she heard about for the first time.

"Is it really that terrifying?"

"Of course, do you think this is modern society where you can call the police if something happens? These two children lived in a rather remote village in the border forest. If I wasn’t patrolling there at that time and noticed something amiss, perhaps it would have taken weeks before anyone discovered the village had been attacked."

"Truly pitiful..."

Meiyin also clenched her hands tightly, uneasily looking at the backs of the two. Although the castle had taken in quite a few orphans, most of them had been abandoned by their parents. Unlike these two girls, whose entire village was massacred and only they survived... Meiyin had never considered such a grim scenario.

"Speaking of which, Mr. Fang Zheng, is our security here okay?"

Fang Zheng did not need to mention it, but once he did, Meiyin began to worry about the castle’s security. Although the castle currently housed not only Fang Zheng but also the Priestess of the Goddess, Megumin, and Ais, and Mel and the others hadn’t left, the Priestess and others were adventurers who went out on missions every few days. Fang Zheng spent most of his time here, but occasionally he would leave.

Aside from them, most others had no combat capabilities. Even though Meiyin’s father was once a soldier and a squad leader, Meiyin was sure that with her father’s skills, he probably would not be able to defeat Ais... he might even have a hard time against the Priestess.

The rest were defenseless maids and children...

If anything were to happen...

"Don’t worry, I’ve already made arrangements."

Of course, Fang Zheng wasn’t foolish enough to overlook the security of his home base. In fact, Meiyin did not know that above them, in the space overhead, three Raider Ships were monitoring and protecting the area 24/7. You could say that nothing within thousands of meters of the castle escaped their surveillance.

If anything like the Witch Cult tried to repeat what they had done here, Fang Zheng could guarantee they wouldn’t even come close to the castle before they were incinerated.

Not even their ashes would remain.

Moreover, Fang Zheng’s specialized spells included the Protection Class, which had various barriers, shields, anti-invisibility, and space sealing. Although from the outside it looked like nothing more than a castle styled like a Five-Star Hotel, the interior was more secure than a military fortress.

For Fang Zheng, this outing was nothing special.

But soon, Fang Zheng realized life had changed.

"Master, good morning."

Wearing maid uniforms, the red-haired girl and the blue-haired girl stood respectfully in front of Fang Zheng’s bed. Seeing the girls, Fang Zheng shook his head and sat up.

"You don’t need to wake up so early, and there’s no need to do all this..."

"Because we are Lord Fang Zheng’s maids."

Faced with Fang Zheng’s words, the two spoke in unison, leaving Fang Zheng speechless.

Indeed, since arriving at the castle, the two girls named Rem and Ram had volunteered to become Fang Zheng’s maids, and were even approved by Kiare. Perhaps it was because all three had been saved by Fang Zheng, they felt a warmth towards each other.

For Fang Zheng, it was somewhat perplexing.

Although in the Heavenly Dao Palace, Natsuse and the others occasionally did maid-like work, they mostly just helped with cleaning, preparing meals, and doing laundry—things a family would do.

But here, it seemed like Kiare taught them to do almost everything, from dressing Fang Zheng in the morning, assisting him with brushing his teeth, washing his face, to preparing breakfast—just short of spoon-feeding him... which was bewildering.

Fang Zheng had mentioned that these services were unnecessary, yet the girls wouldn’t listen. Each time they would reply in unison, "Because we are Lord Fang Zheng’s maids..."

"Sigh, never mind, nothing major today, is there?"

Fang Zheng sat up to change, and at his inquiry, Ram quickly replied.

"Reporting to Master, Miss Meiyin plans to discuss the paper industry with the Merchant Guild today, and the establishment of the Meiyin Workshop... she said she’ll report back to you later. Miss Megumin wishes for you to accompany her to release Burst Magic, while Miss Ais hopes to train with you at noon. Miss Mel expressed wanting to discuss something important with you if you have time... cough, cough..."

At this point, Ram suddenly coughed a few times.

"What’s wrong? You don’t look well."

Noticing Ram’s complexion, Fang Zheng furrowed his brow, but Ram shook her head.

"It’s nothing, Lord Fang Zheng, just feeling a bit unwell..."

However, at that moment, Fang Zheng saw Ram sway and abruptly close her eyes, collapsing to the ground.

"Sister!"

"Hey? What’s wrong?"

Fang Zheng hurried forward, catching Ram in his arms. To his shock, Ram seemed to be in a dire state, appearing as if her vitality was continuously draining away—but after a careful examination, Fang Zheng found no signs of illness or curses.

What was happening? Could there be more to this?

"Rem, do you know what’s going on?"

"Eh? Lord Fang Zheng, you don’t know?"

At Fang Zheng’s query, Rem appeared surprised.

"My sister and I are members of the Ghost Clan..."

"Ghost Clan? I’m not quite sure how that’s related to Ram’s condition?"

"Well, it’s like this..."

Rem lowered her head.

"We Ghost Clan members are born with horns, and we need to absorb magic energy through them to survive. But my sister’s horn was cut off that day... during the Witch Cultist’s attack on the village..."

"Ah........!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng recalled seeing a wound on Ram’s head, similar to something cut off. At that time, he wondered what that was or if it had been some minor injury. Now it seemed there really was something after all!

"So, without her horn, Ram can’t absorb magic energy to sustain herself?"

"Yes... Lord Fang Zheng, if this continues, my sister may not hold out much longer..."

"So she needs a magic energy replenishment... Wait? Magic replenishment?"

At this point, Fang Zheng was taken aback.

Magic replenishment?

Come to think of it, he only knew of one way for this!