Arriving at the tavern’s front hall, Angel immediately spotted Dox and Abulei.
Abulei sat in a corner by the wall looking pitiful, while Dox was on the opposite end. The reason they sat so far apart was because Abulei was afraid Dox might slap the Crowned Parrot out of anger.
At this moment, the tavern’s front hall was bustling with activity.
Dox, after taking a few sips of small wine, felt emboldened and decided to start a war of words with the Crowned Parrot.
Dox thought happily that without Angel around to shield it, the Crowned Parrot might lose its nerve and lose its prestige.
But Dox was completely wrong; the Crowned Parrot had a fiery temper and would flare up at the slightest provocation.
Of course, the Crowned Parrot wasn’t reckless; it had carefully assessed the situation and judged that Dox definitely wouldn’t dare to harm it here, and even if he did, considering Angel, it wouldn’t actually be in lethal danger.
Since it wouldn’t die, what was there to fear?
At first, since Dox was prepared, he had some ready insults to throw in the verbal exchange, so there was some back and forth. But in a battle of words, just having prepared insults isn’t enough; it’s like combat—you have to respond to whatever move your opponent makes.
No matter what insult Dox prepared, the Crowned Parrot could catch it, and even continue along that line of thought, spewing beautiful sarcasm.
Dox managed to hold on for a few minutes before he started to falter.
Meanwhile, the Crowned Parrot was speaking non-stop. It rarely used curse words, mostly just calling out stupidity or foolishness, but its words were piercing.
Even an Official Wizard like Dox felt his anger rising upon hearing it.
This was why Abulei sat far away, trembling. She watched as Dox’s face turned red with anger, and several times she secretly wanted to pull the Crowned Parrot away, but the parrot would glare at her with fierce eyes each time, making her sit up straight and not daring to make a move.
It wasn’t until Angel appeared that Abulei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Previously, whenever Dox tried to lay hands on the Crowned Parrot, he was stopped by Angel, though she didn’t know why Angel treated this parrot differently.
The Crowned Parrot wasn’t bothered whether Angel came or not, as long as it wasn’t stopped, it continued its beautiful verbal assault on the world.
Angel didn’t stop the Crowned Parrot’s performance, leisurely leaning against the doorframe by the bar, watching this nearly one-sided verbal battle.
Eventually, Dox couldn’t take it anymore, leaving with a phrase like "I’ll be back" as he hurried over to Angel.
"You’re out? Just in time, I’m in a great mood. Let’s get to business quickly. When we return, I’ll have another go with that parrot over a hundred rounds."
Angel wasn’t sure where Dox got the confidence to say such things and lightly replied, "A hundred rounds, I believe you can last that long."
Dox’s expression froze, his lips trembled a bit, but he ultimately said nothing, somewhat dejectedly following Angel out of the tavern.
After they left, they didn’t head straight for the Princess Castle; instead, they wandered leisurely. Since the castle was at the center of the entire Princess Town and covered a vast area, no matter which way they wandered, they would eventually pass by some side of the Princess Castle.
So, there was no rush.
Upon leaving, Dox sidled up to Angel: "Don’t you think Abulei’s Crowned Parrot is a bit strange?"
Angel dismissed it: "Can’t win the war of words, so now you’re resorting to rumors and slander?"
Dox shook his head: "Who says I can’t win? I just didn’t perform well. Next time, when I’m prepared, I’ll show you what..."
"A vanquished foe." Angel chimed in.
Dox retorted, frustrated: "What defeated foe, I’ll surely win next time. Anyway, what I mean is, I really think that Crowned Parrot is a bit off. I might not be from the Summoning System, but I’ve dealt with and studied summoned creatures, and no other Crowned Parrot I’ve known is like this one."
What Dox mentioned, Angel was also aware of.
A normal Crowned Parrot has abilities like controlling wind, mimicry, and can be summoned to become the eyes and ears of the summoner, much like Eulica’s Owl magic pet.
Because of its mimicry, the Crowned Parrot is one of the few summoned creatures that can speak. If well trained, it can communicate normally with its owner.
But it’s merely normal communication.
After all, a Crowned Parrot is a low-level summoned creature, with intelligence on par with a Heart-devouring Ghost—it has some wits, but not too high.
However, the Crowned Parrot that Abulei summoned was quick-witted, not only having no barriers to language, but its words could serve as weapons, thoroughly overwhelming Dox, a Wandering Wizard well-versed in worldly affairs.
"Moreover, not only does this Crowned Parrot have a sharp tongue, it references many Wizards’ Realm classics during our verbal duel. Some I know, but some secrets I couldn’t even understand. Its understanding of the Wizards’ Realm seems even greater than mine."
Dox summed up these peculiarities one by one: "Strong insight, aloof personality, likes to call the summoner a servant, and knows the intricacies of the Wizards’ Realm..."
Angel internally added: It also has a deep understanding of spell techniques. At least when Angel used the Art of Fear on it before, the Crowned Parrot clearly saw something was off.
Dox: "Putting all these together, I can’t help but feel a sense of familiarity."
Angel followed Dox’s train of thought: "Since it feels familiar, perhaps, its former owner was someone famous."
Undoubtedly, this Crowned Parrot must have had a former owner; otherwise, how would it be so well-versed in matters of the Wizards’ Realm?
Dox nodded: "That must be it, maybe it’s the former summoned creature of some renowned wizard. Who could it be?"
Dox thought about it the whole way, but still couldn’t come up with anything.
"I haven’t had much exposure to official records outside; you must have come across more references. Do you know?" Dox looked at Angel.
Without hesitation, Angel replied: "I have no idea."
He had only been cultivating for a few years and was still accumulating fundamental knowledge. He simply didn’t have the time to keep up with such tales and anecdotes.
Seeing Angel, Dox seemed to have realized something and mumbled something under his breath before shaking his head: "I can’t remember; maybe it’s just my imagination."
After this, Dox didn’t continue on the topic of the Crowned Parrot, preferring to stay silent as they went along.
It wasn’t until they were near the Princess Castle that Dox, after some hesitation, asked Angel: "You... are you really that Pat?"
Angel: "Which Pat?"
"The Pat that Abulei mentioned. Don’t you have any other Pat in the Barbarian Cave?"