At that moment, Armo was so exhausted that she had climbed up a tall tree and was resting against the trunk. She looked down below the tree in an utterly exhausted state. Where Armo currently was happened to be the outskirts of the forest and in front of the entrance leading to Tersium, the empire where feline predators gathered and lived. Even though she had flown quite a long distance from Arancha to Tersium, she couldn’t find any trace of Formo.
She hadn’t even heard Formo’s chirping once. Because she had cried out so much while going back and forth through the forest, Armo’s throat was already parched dry. Still, it was fortunate that her voice hadn’t become completely hoarse. It was thanks to the great help she received from the parrots she encountered along the way.
When Armo had flown about halfway, she met some parrots, and they gladly accepted the desperate request of Armo, whom they were meeting for the first time. The parrots went around the forest diligently imitating Armo’s chirping. The chirping that Formo had mistaken for Armo’s was also the parrots’ handiwork.
Having caught her breath, Armo hid her body among the leaves growing thickly on the branches and looked around. Her eyes were keen as she searched for a place to quench her thirst. A pond came into Armo’s field of vision as she searched the surroundings thoroughly. The small pond was in a secluded spot, so it looked good for secretly using and returning.
Armo headed toward the pond stealthily, wary of predators who might appear anywhere at any time. Even as she brought her beak to the pond, Armo didn’t let down her guard. After drinking water at a rapid pace with gulps, Armo successfully quenched her thirst and returned to the branch again.
Once she had somewhat quenched her parched throat, the suspicion that had been sleeping raised its head. It was because despite Armo having flown for quite a while in the direction of the detached palace, she hadn’t even discovered a building that looked like a detached palace.
It was truly a strange matter. She had confirmed the existence of the detached palace several times while going back and forth through this forest. How strange that the large detached palace that was always clearly visible had suddenly hidden itself. Wasn’t it very suspicious? As if someone had deliberately hidden it, everything else remained the same but only the detached palace had disappeared without a trace.
Armo thought calmly, recalling the barrier that was precariously holding on. Just then, one burly, muscular jaguar appeared leisurely from the grass below the tree. Perhaps having succeeded in hunting, something was held in the jaguar’s mouth. Armo watched the scene with squinted eyes.
After briefly looking around, the jaguar stealthily moved toward the thick grass at the crossing. Armo, who had been staring at the jaguar with gleaming eyes, also quietly began to flap her wings. She had a good feeling that she had somehow discovered a clue.
* * *
Formo, who had fallen asleep earlier than Serdin but woken up later than him, yawned widely and slowly got up from his spot. He must have slept so soundly that Formo’s round eyes were swollen.
“Pipi, did you cry by any chance?”
Serdin asked playfully, having discovered Formo’s severely swollen eyes. Formo quickly grasped his ulterior motive in asking such a thing and jutted out his small beak before trotting toward the bed stairs.
“Where are you going, Pipi?”
Serdin followed Formo’s tail annoyingly. Only after Formo stopped in front of the chair and glared at him with a heavily furrowed brow as if telling him to stop following did Serdin’s legs come to a halt.
Formo looked over Serdin as if he were pathetic, then noticed that he had once again roughly thrown on his nightgown.
“……”
Formo’s pupils wavered at the bare skin revealed between the wide-open nightgown. This human seemed to think of his nightgown not as clothing but as a cloth for wiping his body. When it wouldn’t be enough even to tie it tightly with the strings, to go around with it undone like this. Did he find it amusing to make him uncomfortable?
It wasn’t just once or twice, but every single morning like this, so now he was completely fed up with it.
“Ppik!”
Formo pointed at Serdin with his wing and regulated his free-spirited attire. Serdin, who had grown accustomed to Formo reacting somewhat conservatively to his outfit, obediently tied the strings and fastened his nightgown. Then he wiggled his eyebrows as if asking Formo for permission.
“Ppik!”
Formo also nodded his head, showing his satisfaction.
“Your Highness.”
Just then, Kert carefully knocked on the door and called Serdin.
“What.”
Along with his answer, Serdin curtly replied, opening the door wide without warning.
“Oh, you’re wearing your gown properly today too! This is all thanks to Pipi-nim!”
Kert babbled with tears welling up as if moved, then discovered Serdin’s coldly cooled eyes and cleared his throat with a cough.
“Ahem…… I didn’t come to check this, but I came because I have something to tell Your Highness.”
When Kert spoke while glancing at Formo, Serdin nodded and followed him out. Serdin went all the way to the office still wearing his nightgown. At the naturally flowing behavior, Kert missed the timing to tell him to change clothes.
“Did you find out?”
“Yes. However…… since they’re such a reclusive species, there was a lack of information, so there were limits to what I could find out.”
“Just tell me what you found out.”
Serdin said while sitting on the desk with his arms crossed.
“Hmm! First of all, there is exactly one kingdom where long-tailed tits gather and live. The name is…… Arancha. In their language, it’s said to be interpreted as something like ‘ferocious.'”
“……Ferocious?”
“Yes. Don’t you think it’s a name that quite suits Pipi-nim’s temperament?”
Kert shrugged his shoulders and continued speaking.
“And not all long-tailed tits live in Arancha. Those whose opinions don’t match theirs, or who have independent tendencies, or individuals who fell in love with different species come out separately and live outside the kingdom.”
“So.”
“……That’s all the information about Arancha. Since long-tailed tits themselves are cautious and very wary, there wasn’t much information. Ah, but I did obtain one quite interesting piece of information.”
An subtle smile lingered around the corners of Kert’s mouth as he spoke.
“The long-tailed tits of Arancha apparently hate sparrows that much.”
“……Sparrows?”
“Yes. They apparently detest them very much? They treat them as mortal enemies. Since it’s information told directly by a sparrow beastman, it’s undoubtedly true.”
Serdin’s face, mulling over Kert’s story, gradually became more serious. He recalled the image of Formo chirping at him accusingly after making a mess of the cloth book titled <Baby Sparrow> a few days ago.
He had simply thought Formo was being spiteful because he disliked him, because he found all his actions distasteful, but could it be that he hated sparrows because he was from the long-tailed tit kingdom called Arancha? A faint smile hung on Serdin’s lips.
So it wasn’t that he disliked him, but that he disliked sparrows.
Serdin mulled over the story that the long-tailed tits of Arancha hated sparrows several times and made a satisfied face by himself. He had almost been deeply hurt thinking that Formo disliked him greatly.
It was fortunate that the cautious long-tailed tit disliked many things. Even if he truly became hated later, as long as sparrows existed in this world, he wouldn’t be the only one hated to death.
Serdin came out of the office humming a tune. Kert’s face was full of bewilderment as he followed his superior’s back with his eyes, whose mood had suddenly improved.
Serdin slightly opened the door to the bedroom where the lively Formo would be waiting. He observed Formo’s movements through the narrow gap. It was because he became curious about what this adorable long-tailed tit would be doing while he was away.
“Ppiiii……”
Through the door gap, he could see the pure white and tiny body walking all over the bed before plopping down.
“Ppiit!”
Formo, who had suddenly smacked the bed sheet with his wings, raised his tail feathers sharply for a moment, then flopped over on his side. Then he muttered something in a small voice. He glared fiercely at the spot where Serdin had been lying, then clenched his beak and rushed at it.
Formo didn’t seem to have a moment to be bored even when alone. Serdin swallowed his laughter and opened the door. Then Formo, who had been stomping on the spot where Serdin had been lying, straightened his body and turned his head.
“Pipi?”
When Serdin asked innocently, pretending not to know anything, Formo awkwardly flapped his wings.
“……Ppi, ppii!”
Formo couldn’t hide the signs of being caught doing something bad and broke out in a nervous sweat. He looked around to see if Serdin might have seen his behavior, then trembled when their eyes met. It seemed today wasn’t a day when Formo would act shamelessly.
Sometimes Formo would shamelessly turn his head away sharply even after being caught in the act. Serdin approached Formo, who was acting even cuter today, and extended his hand.
“Pipi, paw.”
“Ppii?”
Does he see me as a pet or something? When Formo quickly narrowed his brow and showed his displeasure, Serdin smiled, revealing his even teeth. Formo’s tail feathers stood up sharply for a moment upon discovering the long, pointed canines positioned between Serdin’s even teeth.
He instinctively felt a strange and alien sensation.
