Ortho and Friendship

Ortho seems positive on the concept of friendship, saying that the reason he is grateful for the existence of magic (something he does not have) because it means that he can attend NRC, where he has been able to make friends.

Original-Ortho refers to the phantoms trapped within Tartarus his friends, convincing robot-Ortho to free him by saying that he wants everyone in the world to be their friend.

Idia and himself being able to have friends over to their house “just like regular people” becomes a particular point of interest for Ortho during Book 6, who says that all the friends that he made in the Underworld helped him become so large.

Robot-Ortho later refers to the kidnapped group of Jamil, Leona, Vil, Azul and Riddle as his and Idia’s friends and calls Ramshackle “a friend’s house,” though he then self-corrects to say, “the residence of an acquaintance.”

He refers to Epel, Deuce, Grim and the prefect as “friends from school” (before Silver joins the group), and in a Fairy Gala IF voice line he comments on “engaging in diverse conversations with friends,” but exactly who this is in reference to is unclear.

Much like how Kalim will take one person saying “school friend” and change it to the word “friend,” instead, Ortho also does so at least once: when Lilia says he never would have expected to make a humanoid “school friend” Ortho responds that Lilia is his first fae “friend.”

Ortho is big on Idia making friends at the school, encouraging him to make a friend during the NBC social and excited by the misunderstanding that Idia has befriended Malleus.

Ortho tries to convince Idia that kidnapping Jamil, Leona, Riddle, Vil and Azul to STYX is “a perfectly common form of socializing for regular people” and qualifies as “having friends over,” but Idia disagrees. The conversation continues at Ramshackle Dorm after the events of Book 6, and Idia again disagrees.

When the NRC students refuse to go to Idia’s aid during Phantom Bride even to save his life, Ortho still insists that they are Idia’s friends, and also refers to the group of Epel, Sebek, the prefect, Jade and Grim as Idia’s “school friends.”

Ortho says that he could easily find Idia’s only actual friend—Muscle Red—if he wanted to but Idia has forbidden it, and concedes that Idia doesn’t have any close friends, saying, “and I don’t know if you ever will.”