The dawn light filtered through the window, signaling it was time to wake up.After several days following the same routine, Otto began to get used to the basic aspects of being a parrot, but still…
Otto: Please! I'm only asking this once, the seeds taste awful! Just one bite…
Baba: What a greedy bird! Be grateful I'm feeding you.
This exchange with Ellisse's grandmother, Baba, had become routine.
Otto: …Ellisse, hurry up and come back!
We shouldn't misinterpret the situation. Normally, Grandma Baba was very kind to Otto, but her terrible memory made her forget that the bird she kept in a cage was her granddaughter's best friend.
Otto: —! Ergier! Please, explain to your grandmother, she forgot me again!
Ergier passed by the cage where Otto was. However, he only glanced at him sideways and walked on.Even though Otto thought he was getting closer to Ergier, he never showed any reaction. In fact, the only thing that had changed was that Otto no longer froze when meeting his eyes.
Thus, his mornings were torture until the afternoon arrived.
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In the afternoon, Ellisse would leave work and meet with Otto. They often played in the wheat fields or sometimes practiced Ellisse's magic. Otto also wanted to use it, but Ellisse refused to teach him.
Ellisse: Otto! I'm going to introduce you to a friend!
Ellisse placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest as if she were about to announce something amazing. However, Otto looked at her skeptically while savoring a mango.
Ellisse: One! Two!…
Mango: Yiahh!
Interrupting Ellisse's "exciting" countdown, a girl jumped down from her back.
Mango: Damn mortals! Kneel before the magnificent presence of the one and only… Mango!
She was a girl of about eight, with short mushroom-shaped green hair, emerald eyes, and smooth skin. She extended her palm toward Otto, striking a ninja pose.
Otto: Mango? Your name is Mango!? Ha, ha, ha!
Hearing the girl's name, Otto's gaze flicked between his snack and the little girl before him. The similarity between their names made uncontrollable laughter escape from his beak.
Mango: Tsk! How dare you, stupid bird! Laugh at my name… no, compare me to a mere fruit! Do you even know the magnitude of your sin!?
With agile footwork, she lunged at Otto. Her speed surprised him, leaving no time to escape.
Mango: Come on! I dare you to say it again, rascal!
Otto: …Hug… ha… R-rascal?… ha… ha…
Little Mango grabbed him by the neck and began shaking him like a toy. Otto, on the other hand, just let out sounds resembling laughter, fascinated by the girl's strange vocabulary.
Ellisse separated them, just as Otto's color changed from bright green to pale purple.
Mango: That's right! I'm a warrior, a proud dragon hunter.
Otto lay on the ground, trying to catch his breath. Mango, proud, stood tall in front of him, boasting of her dragon-hunter title.
Otto: No wonder you get along so well with Ellisse…
Ellisse: Huh!? Don't compare me to Mango, she's crazy! I'm not.
Mango: Yes, just as Elli says. I'm brave, and she's a coward.
Otto: You only hear what you want… Dealing with you is going to be a problem.
In his mind, Otto thought he had already had enough madness with Ellisse. But now, with someone even more unhinged appearing, he felt his balance was breaking.
Ellisse: Mango is like a little sister to me. We met many years ago, and yes, she's always been like this.
Hearing that only made Otto's "balance" theory even more precarious.
Mango: You must be the damned bird Elli always talks about.
Otto: Kids shouldn't talk like that, and even worse, you don't even curse properly! You sound like a middle schooler.
Mango: Middle school…?
Otto prided himself on his maturity, but in truth, he hadn't even entered middle school yet.
Mango sighed and clapped to get Ellisse and Otto's attention.
Mango: Alright, alright, enough introductions. So I'll ask: what exactly are you?
Mango frowned and pointed at Otto with a finger.It wasn't the first time Otto had been asked this question. It had happened before with Ellisse, but even he wasn't entirely sure what he truly was. At first, he had asked the entity that brought him into this world to be an Amazon parrot. However, traits like his endurance and his stomach were far from what a real Amazon parrot would have.
Otto: …
Ellisse: Otto is a cute, chubby bird!
Seeing that Otto didn't answer, Ellisse jumped in to respond. Then she picked him up roughly and pressed him against her chest in a crushing hug.
Mango: Heeey! A chubby, vain bird, what a disaster!
Mango again heard what she wanted to hear and ran toward Otto, intending to snatch him from Ellisse's arms.
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The dawn light hid behind the mountains. Ellisse, Otto, and the newly arrived Mango walked along the long sandy path.
This trail often brought bad memories for Otto, as just a few days earlier a vagabond had played a nasty prank on him.However, he couldn't deny the landscape was magnificent. On one side stretched a huge wheat field, and due to the autumn season, the leaves of the trees surrounding the path were painted a warm orange that perfectly matched the field.
Villager 1: What are we going to do?
Villager 2: Idiot! As if there's anything we can do.
Villager 3: Tsk… as if we didn't already have enough problems with the damn mountain king.
Entering the village, the group began to hear comments like these wherever they went. Worry and fear crept into Ellisse.
Villager 4: Really! The ancient priestess will go chase away the dragon? Aaah, what a relief…
Otto: —!?
The moment he heard that, Ellisse dropped Otto from her arms and ran off without saying goodbye.
Mango: Oh… Elli…
To make matters worse, Otto heard Mango's worried lament, as if all her usual spirit and enthusiasm had vanished.