Chapter 1581: A Basket of Promises ( 1581 )

Javier narrowed his eyes, turning to glare down at Buddy, who was still frozen in place.

"Oi. You said you can’t use magic to pluck this fruit, and that it would wither. Then how come Giddie just used magic and the fruit didn’t wither?!"

Buddy blinked, his head tilting upward. He let out a confused squawk.

"Cuquawked? Cuquawked!" (It should wither! It should! But... I don’t know why it doesn’t wither when Father does it!"

Javier rubbed his chin, glancing toward the path where Giddie had disappeared. Then he turned his gaze back to the tree, scanning the remaining branches.

"Hmm... looks like there aren’t many ripe fruits left."

Buddy narrowed his eyes at Javier as he moved toward another trunk and flapped his wing sharply.

"Cuquawked!?" (Please tell me you kept a stock! Please tell me you already stored some in your dimensional storage!)

Javier chuckled softly, glancing down at him with a reassuring smile.

"Relax. I already stashed one whole basket. A big one. Before your father showed up."

"Cuquawked~" (Good~)

Buddy’s eyes went content and dreamy. A thin line of drool formed at the corner of his beak before he let out a low, satisfied squawk.

"Cuquawked~ Cuquawked~" (I can’t wait to ask Liana to make a dessert or a drink with this fruit. Yesterday she made the rainbow fruit taste ten times better than it already was. Just thinking about it makes my beak water~)

Javier paused, one hand resting on a branch, and glanced down at Buddy.

"Huh? Liana made something with the rainbow fruit yesterday?"

Buddy snapped out of his dreamy state. He glanced up at Javier, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"Cuquawked?" (Yeah. Didn’t you taste any of it? )

"No..." Javier narrowed his eyes in suspicion, slowly placing the plucked fruit into the basket while keeping his gaze fixed on Buddy.

"I didn’t taste any of it. I was running from Father, remember? Then Mother dragged me around, and by the time we were all together, everyone was already eating. I didn’t see any rainbow fruit drinks or desserts anywhere."

Buddy’s beak curled into a happy, smug smirk. He let out a delighted squawk.

"Cuquawked~ Cuquawked~" (Oh~ that’s because Liana made everything and everyone ate it all! She turned that one huge rainbow fruit into juice, jelly, fruit cuts, and a few other dishes. Everyone was enjoying it. And of course~ I took one huge portion for myself first~)

Buddy noticed Javier’s narrowed gaze still fixed on him. He tilted his head to the side and let out a questioning squawk.

"Cuquawked?" (What?)

"You ate my portion... right?"

Buddy puffed his chest out, his beak curling into a smug smirk.

"Cuquawked? Cuquawked." (Yes. And why not? If it was left sitting there waiting for you, the dish would have gone lukewarm. It wouldn’t taste good anymore. So I took care of it for you~)

Javier let out a low chuckle and continued plucking the remaining ripe fruit from the branches above. Below him, Buddy paced around the base of the tree, his neck stretching up every few seconds to check Javier’s progress, his talons shifting restlessly in the sand.

"Cuquawked!" (Faster, Master! I can’t wait to show this fruit to Liana!)

Javier glanced down at him.

"What’s the rush? She’s inside the building with the others. She’s not going anywhere."

"Cuquawked! Cuquawked!" (I can’t wait to see if Liana can make an even better dessert or drink with this fruit! She’s a special elf, you know. She has real talent in cooking. If other wild pekkos tasted her cooking, I’m sure they wouldn’t just swear loyalty to her. They’d follow her everywhere. They’d abandon their nests and their flocks just for a bite of her food!)

Javier finished plucking the last ripe fruit and jumped down from the tree, landing perfectly on the sand with the huge basket in one hand. He smirked, glancing at Buddy with a teasing glint in his eyes.

"You sound like you’re about to abandon me for her cooking."

"Cuquawked? Cuquawked!" (What? No!)

Buddy puffed his chest out and glanced down at Javier, his eyes narrowing with wounded pride.

"Cuquawked! Cuquawked!" (I may love her cooking, especially her special sauce, but that doesn’t mean I’d abandon you! I’m your pekko! Your partner! Your best buddy! No amount of food, no matter how delicious, could ever replace that!)

He paused, then wiggled his eyebrows, his beak curling into a sly smirk.

"Cuquawked~" (Besides, Liana is your girl, Master. So I don’t need to switch sides. I can just pester her for food whenever I want~)

Javier pushed Buddy’s beak away, a fond smile tugging at his lips.

"Don’t pester her too much, alright? She already has enough to deal with."

He paused, his voice softening into a quiet mumble as he glanced toward the ocean.

"She’s special to me... She’s sacrificed so much for me already. She gave up everything to stay by my side. She’s been there since I was a baby. She’s my first love... I love her more than I can ever put into words."

He started walking, and Buddy fell into step beside him.

"Cuquawked?" (So you’re saying you only love her and not the others?)

Javier rolled his eyes.

"What? No... ugh!" He let out a frustrated sigh. "I love all my girls. All of them. I try my best to treat them equally. I try to give them all the same love, the same attention, the same care. But I know I don’t always succeed. I know I can’t always spend as much time with them as I want to. There are times when I get too busy, times when I get too focused on other things, and I end up neglecting them without meaning to."

He let out a slow breath and shoved one hand into his pocket.

"But Liana... she covers for me. All the time. She makes sure none of them feel neglected. She gathers them for meals, organizes their training, plans little activities so no one feels left out or forgotten. She makes sure everyone has someone to talk to, something to do, somewhere to belong. She makes them feel like they’re still part of something, even when I’m not there."

He paused, his gaze fixed on the ocean, the waves rolling gently in the distance.

"She never complains. She never asks for anything in return. She just... does it. She’s always been that way."

His voice dropped quieter.

"I hope one day, when everything settles down, when the wars are over and the threats are gone, I’ll be able to change that. I’ll be able to spend more time with each of them. Give them the attention they deserve. Make every one of them happy. Because they’re all precious to me. Every single one. And I don’t want any of them to ever feel like they’re second place in my heart."

( End Of Chapter )