Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!-Chapter 1479 - 1478: Filo (The Subway Made Me Dizzy...)
For Fang Zheng, burning the zombie dragon was just a part of his journey, an easily handled trouble.
But now, in front of him, there’s another problem that’s not so easy to solve.
"This thing is really big..."
Looking at the oversized bird taller than himself, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but marvel.
Indeed, the fat bird in front of him wasn’t any other but the one that was on top of Fang Zheng’s head earlier. What Fang Zheng didn’t expect was that it grew so large in just one evening!
Did you blow up like a balloon, or did you get some growth hormones?
"Goo-eee!"
Seeing Fang Zheng, the fat bird happily snuggled up to him, and Fang Zheng reached out to pat its head.
"I mean... did we feed it too much?"
"What do you mean, Master?"
While stroking the Filo Bird’s feathers, Raphtalia curiously asked.
"Because, look, it’s much fatter than an ordinary Filo Bird."
Fang Zheng sighed helplessly. He had seen regular Filo Birds in the street; they looked like Chocobos, with long and sturdy legs, perfect for running. But this Filo Bird’s legs... you couldn’t see them at all! It’s like a big fuzzball with two feet sticking out, completely missing legs!
"Come to think of it, regular Filo Birds generally don’t grow this big either..."
Liphana also came over curiously and took a closer look.
"But since it’s the Hero’s Filo Bird, it’s normal for it to turn out like this, isn’t it?"
"Haha, you’re raised by me too, grow like this if you can?"
"...!!!"
Hearing this, Raphtalia and Liphana shook their heads vigorously; they wouldn’t want to become this fat!
"But this is surely a problem... How are we supposed to travel with such a big fuzzball..."
Patting Filo, Fang Zheng was speechless. Yesterday, the bird was fat, but at least not big; it could sit on his head while travelling. Now it suddenly ballooned to over two meters tall, even taller than himself, so it couldn’t possibly sit on his head anymore.
"Why not use it to pull a carriage, then?"
At this moment, Akemi Homura expressed her opinion from the side.
"We lack transportation tools anyway; doesn’t this world use Filo Birds for carriages? I think we can give it a try."
"Makes sense."
Listening to Akemi Homura’s suggestion, Fang Zheng nodded. Not having transportation in this world is indeed annoying; walking isn’t tiring, but taking too long can get boring. Fang Zheng didn’t want to summon the Azure Fleet over, and using the Filo Bird to pull a carriage seemed like a good option.
Just not sure if it’ll work...
To Fang Zheng’s surprise, the fat bird itself wasn’t resistant to pulling the carriage; it was eager to try, making it more cooperative than a horse. Even horses would resist pulling a carriage at first, but this fat bird was eagerly ready to dive in, looking like it was saying "Hurry up, let me pull the carriage!"
.........
Well, as long as the fat bird is happy.
But speaking of which...
"Master, what is its name?"
Stroking the fat bird’s feathers, Raphtalia curiously asked. Fang Zheng raised his eyebrow.
"Filo."
"Because it’s a Filo Bird, so you call it Filo? That’s too..."
"Why? Got a problem? It’s better than calling it Fatty Luo."
"???"
"Forget it, never mind."
Seeing the puzzled looks of everyone, Fang Zheng waved his hand. It’s normal they wouldn’t get the joke, but speaking of which, is this bird male or female?
Never mind, it doesn’t really matter.
If it’s female, it’s Filo.
If it’s male, it’s Fatty Luo.
Pretty much the same.
Originally, Fang Zheng thought having the Filo Bird pull the carriage would allow everyone to relax a bit. For example, by telling Filo the destination, then they could lie down and sleep in the carriage and wake up at the destination, but...
"Uuh..."
"I never thought you’d get motion sick..."
Seeing Raphtalia with a pale face, holding onto a tree and swaying as if near death, Fang Zheng helplessly sighed.
"S-sorry, Master... Uuh..."
Saying that, Raphtalia covered her mouth and squatted down again. Liphana stood by her side, gently patting her back.
"Forget it, let’s call it a day; the sky is about to darken."
Glancing at the sky already turning dark, Fang Zheng gestured and summoned the Mage’s Mansion.
"Raphtalia, rest well today, but we’ll still have to ride tomorrow."
"We have to ride again?!"
"Of course, otherwise, how long would it take if we just walk?"
Saying this, Fang Zheng shrugged helplessly. His Holy Light and Medical Gel can cure diseases, but the problem is, motion sickness isn’t a disease. Holy Light can’t help, and Medical Gel... Haha, the Mass Effect world’s inertial damping technology solved recoil issues, and for them, "motion sickness" is already an ancient myth.
"But I do have a solution... Forget it, rest first. We’ll talk about the rest tomorrow."
"Okay..."
What else could Raphtalia say? All she did was nod in agreement.
"Hah..."
Lying on the soft comfortable bed and looking at the ceiling, Raphtalia let out a weary sigh.
"What’s up, Raphtalia?"
Seeing her friend sigh, Liphana curiously looked at her from the side.
"I feel so useless; I can’t help Master and just keep holding back..."
Facing her friend, Raphtalia spoke. She and Liphana are childhood friends, so she doesn’t need to hide her true feelings in front of her.
As Raphtalia said, she feels like just an observer next to Fang Zheng.
Though she fights, powerful enemies are easily dispatched by Fang Zheng, leaving only scraps for them. During battles, they handle less dangerous fights. Simply put, Raphtalia worries she’s not useful enough for Fang Zheng.
Especially since Akemi Homura appeared.
Despite also being a hero, Raphtalia and Liphana could see that Fang Zheng and Akemi Homura’s relationship is closer to master-servant. Akemi Homura is like a maid, organizing everything Fang Zheng needs meticulously. Fang Zheng once joked that Akemi Homura should practice knife throwing to become head maid, while Raphtalia and Liphana are junior maids...
"What? Raphtalia, are you planning to give up?"
"Huh?"
Hearing her friend’s inquiry, Raphtalia was taken aback. She turned her head to her friend, who was smiling at her.
"Do you remember the wish I once told you?"
"Do you mean..."
"I want to marry the Hero of the Shield!"
"Of course, I remember that......"
Seeing Liphana’s eyes shining bright, with her little fists clenched, Raphtalia couldn’t help but sigh and hold her forehead. Since she was a child, Liphana has always had this phrase on her lips. Of course, kids often have similar thoughts, like "I want to be a hero when I grow up" or "I want to be a bride" and such. It’s not surprising that Liphana has this kind of idea.
After all, the Subhumans grew up listening to tales of the Hero of the Shield.
"You still haven’t given up?"
Because Liphana hadn’t mentioned it, Raphtalia thought she had already let go of that idea. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"Of course not!"
Liphana shook her head vigorously.
"You know, when I was close to dying, it was Master who saved me! And he’s the Hero of the Shield. Don’t you think it’s fate, Raphtalia? Why was it the Hero of the Shield who saved us, and not someone else? We’ve met several masters before, have they treated us like this?"
"Of course not, but......"
Raphtalia sighed again and said.
"We can’t really help Master with anything......"
"Just because we can’t help now, doesn’t mean we won’t in the future!"
Liphana was not discouraged unlike Raphtalia, instead, she excitedly clenched her little fists.
"On the surface, Master is indeed very powerful, and there’s hardly anything he can’t deal with. But he needs others’ help too, otherwise, he wouldn’t have summoned Sister Homura over! Even though we’re still weak now, as long as we keep striving, we’ll definitely be able to help Master!"
Fang Zheng didn’t hide the story of Akemi Homura from others. So, they also learned Fang Zheng’s identity and his past deeds from Akemi Homura, and they know there are many powerful individuals around him.
But Liphana seemed undeterred by this.
"Master will leave this world someday and return to his own world. When that time comes, won’t you want to follow him?"
"Well........"
Faced with Liphana’s question, Raphtalia momentarily didn’t know what to say.
Indeed, Fang Zheng would eventually leave, and he wasn’t planning to turn this world into the Free World. Because, in Fang Zheng’s view, there wasn’t anything particularly worth desiring in this world. Even the Subhumans have their own country. As for the conflict between Subhumans and humans, it’s their own issue, as long as it doesn’t involve Fang Zheng, he doesn’t intend to meddle.
After all, such racial disputes wouldn’t be resolved in a mere year or two, and he is an outsider, after all.
The previous Hero of the Shield already helped Subhumans establish their own nation, Fang Zheng indeed doesn’t have much left to do.
As for the squabble between Subhumans and humans in this world, Fang Zheng doesn’t want to meddle.
"Anyway, as long as we work hard, we’ll surely be able to help Master!"
"Hmm, I’ll... I’ll work hard too!"
Perhaps infected by Liphana’s positive attitude, Raphtalia also nodded. Hearing Raphtalia’s reply, Liphana smiled.
"That’s the Raphtalia I know. By the way, are you alright? How about we take a bath?"
"Sounds good......"
After lying in bed for a while, Raphtalia felt much better, then she nodded, got up, and walked out with Liphana.
However, at that moment, they saw Akemi Homura emerge from her room and approach Fang Zheng’s door. She knocked on the door, it quickly opened, and Akemi Homura walked in, closing it behind her.
"..........."
Seeing this, Raphtalia and Liphana exchanged glances.
It was already late at night, and logically everyone should be resting in bed. Yet, at this hour, Akemi Homura went into Fang Zheng’s room......
Though they were still children, their years of slave life had made them quite clear on what this meant.
"Liphana......?"
"Anyway......! We must be careful, just don’t let other women get close to Master anymore!!"
Holding the tightly shut door, Liphana clenched her little fists and nodded vigorously.
"One day, I’ll fulfill my dream! Little Raphtalia, you have to work hard with me too!"
"Huh?!"
Just like that, the night passed.
"Yawn......."
Yawning, Fang Zheng walked out of the Mage’s Mansion, stretched his body left and right, and couldn’t help but smirk.
"Good morning, Master!"
At this moment, Raphtalia and Liphana appeared, politely greeting Fang Zheng.
"Yo, good morning."
"Where’s Sister Homura?"
Raphtalia glanced around and was surprised to find Akemi Homura absent, and upon hearing her inquiry, Fang Zheng coughed.
"Homura, she’s still sleeping, probably won’t be up for a while."
"Hmm???"
"Forget it, let’s not talk about that. By the way, did any of you see Filo?"
"Filo?"
Hearing Fang Zheng’s inquiry, the two suddenly realized that the fat bird that should have been near the carriage was nowhere to be seen.
"It should be nearby...... maybe it went looking for food."
"But hasn’t Master been feeding it all along?"
"You must be kidding, that was when it was young, how could I feed it as it grows?...... Should I be worried it got eaten by some beast, since it looks plump and tasty."
Speaking as he went, Fang Zheng walked to the carriage to look around carefully. However, he found nothing. At that moment......
"Bang!"
Suddenly, the carriage shook. Hearing the noise, Fang Zheng walked to the back and lifted the curtain.
The fat bird must have gone inside.
"Master------!!"
As soon as Fang Zheng lifted the curtain, a small figure leaped forward, hugging him tightly.
"???"
Witnessing this, Raphtalia and Liphana were stunned, and Fang Zheng was taken aback too.
"Wait, who are you?"
Grabbing the girl and placing her back on the ground, Fang Zheng asked. He then saw that she seemed to be around thirteen or fourteen years old, similar in age to Little Sakura and the others. She had long golden hair, wore no clothes, and had tiny wings on her back...... almost like an angel.
"Master!"
However, faced with Fang Zheng’s question, the girl did not answer but spread her arms happily.
"Filo is hungry!"
"......Huh?"
Hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded.
This was that fat bird?!
