Otto was brushing his earth dragon's scales. I decided to join him and also cleaned Patrasche, who became very affectionate, and I ended up with my face wet from all the licking I received.
"Pfft." Otto pressed his lips together to contain his laughter.
"What's so funny?" I asked, frowning.
"I was thinking your luck in love is strange. Rem rejects your advances, but Patrasche adores you."
"And I love her." I gave my scaly girl a peck on the chin. "What about you? How was your day yesterday?"
Otto swallowed and adjusted the collar of his suit, looking away with sudden nervousness.
"Y-Yesterday? I don't understand what you mean."
"Don't play dumb. I made a master move so you could have some quality time with Frederica. Did you take advantage of it, or were you a coward and just had a boring geography class with her?"
"Of course I took advantage of it. It was a very entertaining and informative conversation..."
"So you only talked about how to get to the Sanctuary... Damn, Otto! I can't believe you squandered such a good opportunity!" I chided him playfully, knowing I couldn't have done any better than him.
My friend sighed and shook his head at my overly dramatic reaction. For a few seconds, all we heard was the sound of our brushes, until Otto broke the silence.
"Frederica is very pretty." He murmured shyly. "I'd like to get along with her, but... I have no hope of anything more than friendship."
"Why not?" I raised an eyebrow. "You have good looks and a decent personality. I mean, even though you only met her yesterday, something like that could happen in the future."
"I highly doubt it. In fact, my luck in love is even worse than yours."
"Oh? Is that so terrible? Well, I think you should believe in yourself more anyway." I advised. "But if you can't get a girl with looks or a gift of the gab, then get very rich and women will rain down on you."
"If it were that simple, I would have done it a long time ago..."
"I'm not saying it's easy, but there are ways to make a lot of money without trying too hard. Maybe I'll show you someday." I said, thinking of some crazy ideas for making a fortune quickly. They were all based on bringing modern inventions and patenting them.
"You talk as if you're so sure of everything you say... Well, you're the man who defeated the White Whale and two Archbishops of Sin on the same day: it makes sense that you'd have that confidence. I can't do that."
Otto smiled sadly as he compared himself to me, which irritated me a little.
"It's not like you're less than me or anything. Most of the time, people's talent goes unnoticed until they have the opportunity to shine and gain recognition. I mean, you just need a good opportunity: to be in the right place at the right time."
"I... I've failed even at what I do best. Sometimes I think I can't trust myself."
"Hey, we all make mistakes. Unfortunately, some errors lead us to the point of no return, but that's not always the case. The important thing is to learn from what you did wrong so you can improve and try again."
"Yes, you're right. So you should keep courting Rem: she'll definitely accept you next time."
My right eye began to flicker; at the same time, a vein bulged on my forehead, signaling the anger that was boiling in my blood.
"...You ungrateful bastard! I put my whole heart into that pep talk! How dare you make fun of me!?"
"Wait, don't kill me!" Otto squealed in a very unmanly manner as I put my hands on his neck and started shaking him.
YOU ARE READING
A Random in Re:Zero
FanfictionWhat would happen if someone else took Subaru's place in the story? What would his path, his decisions, and his relationship with the characters be like? Would he have more power or intelligence than Subaru? Would he choose the same route, take an a...
