Formo gazed at Armo, who finally recognized him, with moistened eyes and reached out his hand.
“Armo!”
Then Armo landed on Formo’s hand and flapped her wings. Formo rubbed his cheek vigorously against Armo’s soft body.
“Armo, have you been well?”
“Ppiit! Ppii?”
[Of course! How about you, Formo?]
The affectionate siblings unintentionally alienated the jaguars and other long-tailed tits by talking about what had happened in great detail. It was Serdin who interrupted the endlessly continuing conversation.
“Pipi.”
At Serdin’s low call, Formo came to his senses with a start and scratched his cheek with an awkward smile. He was so happy to be reunited with Armo that while sharing news, he forgot the purpose of coming here. Formo, who recalled the important purpose of restoring the barrier, headed toward the tree where his parents were with Armo.
Moti and Potun, who had rushed over in surprise at Formo’s sudden visit, felt unfamiliar with Formo’s unrecognizably changed appearance yet couldn’t hide their proud expressions. In particular, they exclaimed admiringly at his white hair that resembled his feather color exactly, and his eyes that were melancholic yet felt resolute.
Moti and Potun whispered to each other with pleased faces, saying there would be no beastman as beautiful as Formo. Formo looked at his parents who were in the midst of praising him and opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Today I have to make the barrier and go back.”
“Ppiiik? Ppiiiii.”
[That quickly? Stay just a little longer.]
Armo deliberately displayed her disappointment. If she sent Formo off today, she didn’t know when she would see him again, yet she had to send him off this quickly. Armo looked resentfully at the jaguars. Especially at Serdin. If it weren’t for him, Formo would have been living peacefully at Arancha.
Every time she recalled that fact, irritation surged up. This was an emotion that couldn’t be tidied away no matter how much she tried to tidy it.
“I have somewhere I need to go, so there’s no choice, Armo. I want to stay longer too but…… I’m sorry. Next time I’ll stay longer before leaving. Please understand just this once.”
Even at Formo’s words, Armo’s expression didn’t soften. Formo carefully stroked Armo, then moved his steps to a place close to the barrier. Then he stopped and looked up at the barrier that Euclid had created and maintained. It was a grateful barrier that had protected Arancha while he was away.
Even though it was a barrier created by magic rather than being made by someone with the guardian’s ability.
Formo glanced at Serdin standing behind him, then put Armo down on the ground. Soon Formo, who had steadied his breathing, closed his eyes and concentrated on the barrier. Honestly, he was still unsure about what method to use for the power he possessed. He couldn’t even grasp a rough sense of it. But on the way to Arancha, he suddenly thought it might be a similar principle to when humanizing.
So he decided to try using that same method. Since he had to try anything to get an answer. Moreover, he couldn’t even use the method his mother Moti had taught him. That method was only possible when in long-tailed tit form.
Formo, who took a short deep breath, envisioned the barrier firmly enveloping Arancha. He didn’t forget to imagine the appearance of that barrier existing for a long time and that the one creating and protecting that barrier was himself. However, it was the moment when Formo, who had concentrated his mind, thought he hoped the barrier he created would protect Arancha.
A semicircle that originated from Formo gradually expanded in size and slowly began to envelop Arancha. The transparent semicircle was very clearly visible through, just like the barrier that existed before it collapsed. The rippling barrier grew large enough to envelop all of Arancha and transformed into a thin, solid material.
The barrier completely enveloped Arancha while emitting a bright light. The guardian’s barrier had been properly created. Formo, who slowly opened his eyes, discovered that the barrier he had created was newly positioned where Euclid’s barrier had disappeared without a trace, and swallowed his saliva.
It felt strange. Not only that he had created the barrier, but it was also odd that the barrier was created more easily than he had thought. To think he could easily create such a large and solid barrier in just a few minutes. Was this the advantage as a beastman that Serdin had mentioned?
“Ppii!”
“Ppiiit!”
“Ppiik!”
“Ppit, ppiii!”
“Ppiiit, ppit! Ppippit!”
Cheers from the long-tailed tits poured out around him. Even though they had been protected under the barrier Euclid created until now, the long-tailed tits had been spending bitter days deep down about the fact that another species’ power was involved. However, seeing the barrier newly created not by anyone else but by Formo, who was born with the fate of a guardian, their mood became so good it could fly away.
The long-tailed tits were busy hugging each other and praising Formo. Formo watched such long-tailed tits with an affectionate gaze, then cleared his throat softly. When the long-tailed tits’ attention focused on him, Formo carefully opened his mouth.
“Um…… I need to go now. Next time…… I’ll come again next time. I’ll contact you often too. So don’t worry too much.”
At Formo’s words, Moti and Potun’s eyes welled up with tears. They felt so regretful and lamentable to part with their son Formo like this. But a promise was a promise. Since those jaguars also came with Formo to keep their promise, they too had to keep their promise.
“Ppit, ppi.”
“Ppiiiii.”
[Take care, Formo.]
[Anytime is fine, so if things are hard, return to our embrace.]
Having said that, Moti and Potun flew up to Formo and tightly hugged his cheeks. It was a moment when his parents, who always seemed big, felt so small. Formo responded by slowly nodding his head instead of answering, then turned around and slowly left Arancha.
Somehow the tip of his nose felt hot. Since this was the first time feeling like this, Formo tapped his nose for no reason. Then, startled by Serdin’s hand stroking his head, he unknowingly scratched his nose with his fingernail.
“I-I’m startled……!”
However, Formo, who didn’t notice this, only grumbled at Serdin who startled him, and didn’t think at all to check his nose.
* * *
It was quick to reach Tersium Empire. The carriage that passed through the checkpoint and entered the empire moved much more smoothly than when running on dirt roads. Thanks to that, Formo could also relax and look outside with some leisure. The ride was much better than at first.
Perhaps because it was a place where feline predators gathered and lived, several predators sprawled on the roadside taking naps were visible. What was surprising was that no one woke them or pointed it out. Even the guard units patrolling in pairs of two didn’t wake them.
There were even several large, flat rocks embedded on the roadside, as if encouraging such behavior. Formo looked absurdly at the predators lying on their stomachs with satisfied faces on rocks heated by the sunlight. There was even a predator lying in the middle of the road snoring as if telling carriages to avoid them on their own whether they passed or not.
“……Strange.”
This was the pure impression of Formo, who was seeing their culture for the first time. Serdin, who burst into laughter at that murmur, looked outside while resting his chin.
The roadside trees erected largely were also full of predators. Predators who failed to occupy a spot on the tree sat in the shade where sunlight didn’t reach well and just looked up at the tree endlessly.
“Do, do you do that too?”
Formo asked haltingly.
“Well.”
Serdin answered ambiguously while looking at Formo. Just from watching the predators inside the carriage, Formo’s eyelashes were trembling. It was a noisy trembling as if the prey’s instinct had sprouted.
Serdin, who had been quietly watching that, suddenly grabbed Formo’s hand. Compared to his own hand, it was an endlessly small, thin, and fragile hand. This long-tailed tit was unchangingly small and weak both before and after becoming a beastman. Serdin kneaded the white, small hand and said softly.
“Not to the point of lying on the roadside to sleep.”
“What?”
Formo blinked and asked back.
“Pipi asked me.”
“……Ah. Mm.”
Only then understanding, Formo slowly nodded his head. Serdin, who had been quietly examining Formo’s face responding to his answer, discovered a scratch on his nose tip and narrowed his brow.
“Pipi, what’s this wound?”
There were thin scratches on Formo’s nose tip and left nostril. Especially the nostril was injured deeply enough to form a scab and seemed quite stinging. Serdin leaned his head in to examine the wound in detail. Then Formo was startled and pulled his head back.
“……What are you doing, Pipi?”
“Y-you suddenly came close.”
“Come here.”
Serdin, who spoke while squinting his eyes, carefully grabbed Formo’s cheeks with both hands and pulled him when Formo showed no sign of approaching despite his words. Formo was helplessly dragged along, and in the end had no choice but to give his nose to Serdin without any resistance.
“Pipi, doesn’t it hurt?”
“Mm?”
Serdin asked with a rather serious expression. There was no way this whiner, who whimpered saying it hurt even when applying medicine to a fully disinfected wound, would react composedly to such a wound.
It was strange.
“Pipi, you have a wound on your nose. And yet it doesn’t hurt?”
“Hm? I have a wound on my nose? Really?”
Formo asked back innocently with a face that knew nothing. Serdin, who had been thinking that perhaps Formo, fed up with his teasing, was deliberately enduring the pain, touched the small wound with his fingertip. Though he touched it very lightly, if it was Formo who readily made dying sounds even at minute pain, he would surely shed millet-sized tears and demand an explanation.
“What? What are you doing?”
However, Formo only tilted his head and asked back in a puzzled voice, seeming not to feel any pain at all. At the completely different reaction from expected, Serdin instinctively realized something was wrong. An ominous premonition rose up smoothly from the base.
