Meanwhile, as soon as Serdin entered his office, he was met with Kert looking at him with desperate eyes.
“Your Highness, there is this much piled-up work. Not only that, but there is also a letter sent by His Majesty.”
“Kert.”
“Which would you like to check first, the piled-up work or the letter?”
“Call a fast tailor.”
“Yes. I understand. Then I’ll check starting with calling a fast tailor…… Pardon?”
Kert, who had been nodding his head at Serdin’s words, opened his eyes wide. A fast tailor. Kert’s lips parted slightly as he pondered the reason a tailor would be needed.
“Don’t tell me Your Highness is looking for a fast tailor because of Pipi-nim?”
“How long will it take.”
Regardless of what questions Kert asked, Serdin only said what he had to say.
“Wouldn’t it take about four days……?”
“Bring them within two days.”
“Right now…… are you telling me to find and bring a fast tailor within two days?”
Kert asked back with his mouth agape. Serdin nodded his head in reply and turned his body as if he would leave the office at any moment. Kert, who had been silently watching him, tilted his head as if remembering something and asked.
“But Your Highness. Until when do you plan to share a room with Pipi-nim? Pipi-nim will soon need an independent space.”
Serdin frowned at Kert’s question before answering.
“I believe it hasn’t even been a week yet.”
“The one who first broke that implicit rule was none other than Your Highness yourself! And even if you had kept that rule, wouldn’t an independent space be needed after that?”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
Kert asked back with a puzzled face. There was absolutely no reason why not. If Formo’s independent space was respected, Formo would be happy too.
“It would be terrible if he ran away while I’m not by his side.”
“But…… you made a promise and Pipi-nim’s footprint is stamped on the contract Your Highness manipulated, isn’t it? Moreover, he’s someone who values promises, so wouldn’t it be fine?”
“How can I trust a verbal promise and a scrap of paper that can be burned or torn up at any time?”
At the truly unimaginable answer, Kert’s mouth fell open.
“I’m taking the documents and letters.”
Serdin passed by Kert, who was standing frozen, gathered the documents and letters, and left the office. At the natural movement like flowing water, Kert could neither question him nor press him, and could only quietly watch it all happen.
Returning to the room, Serdin carelessly placed the documents and letters he’d brought on the desk. Because of that, several documents that had been on top fell all the way to the floor below the desk.
Formo, lying face down on the table, greeted Serdin who had returned quickly.
“Pipi, what were you doing while I was gone? Don’t tell me you kissed the pillow again?”
“No!”
Formo jumped up from his seat and replied as if shouting. Formo’s eyes became triangular as he looked at Serdin, who didn’t forget to mention the absurd happening from the other day. He had only pecked the pillow with his beak, yet he remembered it as kissing. No matter how he thought about it, it was unfair.
Formo looked at Serdin, who despite his firm answer deliberately turned his gaze to check the pillow, as if dumbfounded, then shook his head. As he always felt, this was truly an insane jaguar. When the Water God created that wretched jaguar, He must have left out something that should definitely exist in his head.
Otherwise, how could he be so out of his mind?
* * *
Two days passed. During those two days, Formo had become accustomed to using the common language to the point where he could speak long sentences without hesitation. He was still clumsy at moving his fingers in detail or performing delicate activities, but compared to two days ago, he had improved a lot. Unfortunately, freely transforming between human and animal forms was something he had yet to master.
And now. Before Formo’s eyes was ‘Parodean,’ a tailor famous for having the fastest hands in Terba, the capital of Tersium. Parodean introduced herself as an ocelot beastman with warm tan fur.
“Did you say your name was Pipi-nim?”
“……No.”
“Pardon?”
At Formo’s small denial, Parodean widened her eyes and asked back.
“I said it’s not Pipi.”
“But Your Highness……”
“There’s no way such a shabby thing could be my name! My name is Formo. Formo Puer.”
Formo said so with a serious face, and Parodean, who had heard from Serdin that his name was Pipi, became troubled. While Parodean couldn’t easily continue speaking and was reading the situation, Serdin stepped forward.
“Just call him Pipi.”
“I said it’s Formo!”
“Pipi.”
Serdin whispered softly into the ear of Formo, who was asserting himself with a furrowed brow.
“Are you going to let a beastman you’re meeting for the first time call you by your real name? Your name that even I haven’t called yet?”
“What kind of nonsense is that……”
“The beastman who will call Pipi’s real name first will be me. No one can call it before I do. This is something I can’t yield to anyone, Pipi.”
“Y-you!”
At those absurd words, Formo fumed with a flushed red face but couldn’t immediately bring out rebuttal words. Formo, who had been glaring at Serdin while pouting his lips, huffed and turned his head sharply. Parodean quickly took advantage of the gap to step forward, holding out a catalog.
“Since Pipi-nim has very white skin, most colors would suit you well. Among them, I think clothes in these colors would suit you especially well.”
Parodean pointed at the various colored fabrics in the catalog and gave sincere advice. Even with her advice, Formo only felt bewildered. That was because for Formo, who had lived his whole life covered only in feathers, the clothes he wore weren’t important. So picking out the color of clothes was even more incomprehensible.
Formo listened to Parodean’s words while wearing an uncomprehending expression.
“Dark navy would suit you well too. Ah, these light color tones also seem fine, what do you think, Pipi-nim?”
Formo’s gaze naturally moved to Parodean’s fingertips. It was transparent, light purple fabric. What should I answer at times like this…… Formo was moving his lips to answer Parodean’s question about what he thought when he glanced at Serdin sitting beside him as if asking for help. He was still angry at him, but at a moment like this, he had no choice but to obediently receive help.
Serdin, who had been sitting languidly leaning against the long sofa back, received Formo’s gaze and snatched the catalog from Parodean’s hands. Then, while lightly scanning the colors and designs of the fabrics in the catalog with his eyes, he said.
“Let’s order one of everything.”
“One of everything means……”
Parodean quickly calculated in her head the number of designs in the catalog. The designs for men’s clothing amounted to roughly thirteen types. Moreover, with the variety of colors, the clothes she would have to make seemed to be roughly a hundred outfits even by rough estimation. At the number that far exceeded her imagination, Parodean’s pupils trembled.
With a look asking if he was serious, she alternately looked at Serdin and Formo sitting next to him tilting his head.
“Y-Your Highness……?”
Only Kert, who was standing behind the sofa watching the situation, let out a sigh close to lamentation and tried to dissuade Serdin. Kert quickly approached Serdin and whispered in his ear.
“Do you know how many designs are in that catalog? There are more than ten. And how many colors do you think there are? Hm? Are you planning to have at least well over a hundred outfits made? And what about the amount it will cost! You’ll have to pay at least 7 Tesia.”
Tesia was the largest unit of currency in Tersium. The amount that noble beastmen of Tersium spent annually on living and maintaining dignity was about 19 Tesia, which was more than twice the amount Serdin was trying to spend today on purchasing Formo’s clothes. More than half the amount other nobles spent annually, Serdin was going to go through in just one day.
So Kert’s composure had no choice but to burst. What was the rush in trying to purchase over a hundred outfits at once? His head was spinning. Kert tried to persuade Serdin with a reddened face.
“It’s not like Pipi-nim will pass away if he doesn’t have a hundred outfits……”
“Pass away from what?”
At the words brought out to persuade, Serdin’s expression became cold. Kert, who realized his mistake, added as if making amends.
“I-It’s not that urgent, is what I mean! So how about ordering only about twenty outfits today?”
At his words, Serdin flicked his eyebrows and looked down at Formo. Formo was looking at Serdin with a bewildered face. All Formo could guess from their conversation was that Serdin had tried to order excessively many clothes.
Kert sent a gaze to Formo as if asking him to please stop Serdin. Formo, who had glanced at Kert’s earnest gaze, opened his mouth.
“……I don’t like too many.”
“Why do you think that, Pipi?”
When Serdin asked back innocently with a smiling face, Formo was at a loss for words. Why do I think that……? Does even something like that need a reason? Formo pondered to state the reason Serdin was demanding, but no words to particularly persuade him came to mind.
“Pipi, the more clothes the better. If over a hundred outfits are prepared, you could even change once every hour.”
“What?”
Rather, Serdin was trying to persuade Formo.
“It’ll be fun, Pipi.”
“But buttoning them isn’t fun……”
Formo trailed off with a troubled face. Then the smile hanging on Serdin’s lips deepened.
“There’s nothing to worry about, Pipi. I’m here, aren’t I? Pipi, you can just use me.”
The eyes of Serdin looking up at him were gently curved as if pleased just from imagining it. In the end, Formo couldn’t achieve his intended purpose of bringing up that he didn’t like too many and had no choice but to agree with Serdin’s words. Seeing Serdin speak while smiling so brightly, it seemed that having many clothes might not be entirely bad like Kert’s grumbling suggested.
Kert closed his eyes tightly, feeling devastated. The privy purse allocated to Serdin every year was 40 Tesia. Of course, since Serdin had no particular interest in spending money, he had never properly used his privy purse until now. Rather, he found it bothersome.
Kert felt mixed emotions every time the privy purse, which hadn’t leaked anywhere and had been steadily accumulating, was used for Formo. Even as he was moved that Serdin overcame his annoyance and spent money for Formo, he felt bitter that he was using money he hadn’t used until now solely for Formo.
He could understand small amounts, but to pay over 7 Tesia at once.
“Proceed as is.”
“Ah, yes! Then……”
Kert nearly fell backward upon hearing that the clothes Parodean would make totaled 156 outfits and the total amount was not 7 Tesia but 13 Tesia, double that.
