Armo’s premonition was exactly right. The jaguar she’d been tailing knew of a secret door leading to the villa. It seemed someone had hidden the villa with magic while being conscious of Armo and the search party. Anyway, feline predators were excessively vigilant. Of course, the long-tailed tits of Arancha were no different, but unlike the long-tailed tits, feline predators were predators, weren’t they?
For predators to be so vigilant on top of that. It was a disaster for prey.
Armo carefully tailed him, and when the jaguar, sensing something suspicious, sharply turned his head to examine his surroundings, she timed it to hide herself in nearby grass and trees. Following the jaguar like that while killing her presence as much as possible, a large villa building came into view.
For some reason, she had a premonition that Formo would be here. Armo looked at the rear garden, quiet without a single bird, and clamped her beak shut. If she carelessly made a sound, she would surely be discovered sneaking in. It seemed she needed to be careful even with small wing flaps.
Since she couldn’t commit the reckless act of entering inside without properly knowing the geography or structure of this place, Armo decided to start by observing the interior movements from outside. Armo’s mixed brown, white, and black feathers were convenient for hiding her body, but perfectly deceiving predators with excessively keen senses of smell and hearing was quite tricky.
A second-floor window entered Armo’s field of vision as she quietly explored places where she wouldn’t catch their eyes. The window with curtains tightly drawn was reeking of suspicion. It was so thoroughly hidden that anyone would think something precious was concealed there.
Armo, who had flapped her wings as secretly as possible to avoid making noise, sat on the window frame and listened to the sounds coming from inside.
“No, Pipi.”
…Pipi?
Armo’s tail feathers trembled at hearing a name that was cute yet somehow felt familiar. The only things that could have such an adorable name were cute animals like her younger brother. Armo’s heart began to pound.
“Pit, pii…”
[But what can I do when I’m bored…]
Armo, who had been calming her wildly beating heart, clamped her beak shut at the familiar cry coming from inside. If she kept it open, it felt like she would end up calling Formo’s name loudly, so she disciplined herself before that could happen. What was coming from inside was unmistakably Formo’s cry. Her premonition had hit right on the mark.
Armo had a calm and patient side that watched for opportunities. She decided to wait until the one calling Formo ‘Pipi’ disappeared and climbed up to a nearby roof to hide herself.
“Piit.”
“I understand, Pipi. You’re saying I should hurry and go do my work, right?”
“Pi!”
“What? You think you’ll miss me?”
“Pit? Pi!”
“Yes, Pipi. I’ll miss you too, Pipi. I’ll come back as quickly as possible so you don’t have to wait. Rest well and play until then.”
Finally, the one calling Formo Pipi was about to leave. A golden opportunity had been given. Armo silently waited until that person’s footsteps completely faded before carefully descending to the window frame. Then she tapped on the window with her beak.
[Formo, it’s me.]
Despite it being a call close to a whisper, Formo, who had cleverly understood, caused all sorts of commotion inside.
[A-Armo? How did you find this place? Is it really you, Armo?]
[Shh. Lower your voice, Formo. You’ll get caught.]
[Armo, you’re not hurt, are you? You weren’t discovered, right? How on earth did you get here? Oh, Mother and Father are well, right? They must have been very worried…]
Formo had only lowered his voice, but there was no change in the commotion he was making. Armo wanted to kindly answer each of the rapid-fire questions Formo was pouring out, but there wasn’t much time given.
[Can you open this?]
[…No.]
Formo answered in a gloomy voice and added.
[Um, Armo… Even if we open the window, I can’t go.]
[What do you mean, Formo? Are you saying you don’t want to return to the kingdom?]
[It’s not that…]
Formo, who had been mumbling without continuing his words, let out a sigh.
[…I hurt my wing.]
[What? You hurt your wing again? Wait. Don’t tell me that strange person who calls you Pipi did that to you? Formo, tell me.]
At Armo’s words, Formo vigorously shook his head. The shadow swaying beyond the curtain nodded left and right following Formo.
[It’s not that. It’s just… this happened because I kept trying to fly when my wing hadn’t fully healed.]
[Formo, I’ll help you. Come with me. If I help, we’ll be able to get out.]
[I can’t do that, Armo. You’re the heir. It’s too dangerous. I’ll try to escape after my wing fully heals instead. For now, please tell Mother and Father I’m safe.]
[That won’t do. We need you, Formo. The barrier is collapsing.]
Formo’s body froze. To think the barrier that had been maintained perfectly all this time was collapsing. Arancha was a peaceful kingdom that didn’t catch the eyes of any predators, so there had been almost no external intrusions. That would surely have been the same during the period Formo was staying at the villa.
That’s why Formo couldn’t understand Armo’s words. What on earth had happened while he was gone?
[I’ll help you, so come with me, Formo. Please?]
Armo spoke in a desperate voice. As the heir, Armo had a duty to protect Arancha Kingdom from danger. In a way slightly different from Formo, who was born with the fate of guardian.
[Even so, it’s too much for you alone, Armo. How about bringing other long-tailed tits and coming back tomorrow instead? I’ll chase Serdin away.]
[…Serdin?]
It was a somehow familiar name. Armo, who had paused for a moment, began to reflect on past memories of where she had heard that name. It definitely wasn’t a common name. Wasn’t it a rare name even among beastmen?
Armo wasn’t a beastman, but as Arancha’s heir, she had learned the common language and knew it to some extent.
[Armo? Are you listening? I’m saying it’s too much for you to take me alone?]
Armo, who had been thinking about the origin of the name Serdin, was startled by Formo’s voice and came to her senses.
[Then… I’ll come back at this time tomorrow. So endure it a little longer even if you’re scared, Formo.]
With those words, Armo left the villa building. She flew cunningly, avoiding the predators’ eyes, and flew to the secret door. Then she quietly slipped out following a jaguar who was just opening the door to leave.
Now that she’d found Formo, if she could just bring him back, everything that had gone wrong would return to its place. Armo’s eyes sparkled as she flew through the high sky.
Please let Formo succeed in sending that person called Serdin far away tomorrow too. Armo prayed very earnestly.
And the next day dawned. Formo woke up early in the morning, recalling his promise with Armo. The pure white long-tailed tit devoured his food at a speed several times more aggressive than usual. It must have been quite something for Serdin, who was sipping tea, to ask with surprised eyes if he’d been that hungry.
“Pipi, what should we play today? Want to stamp again?”
Formo was about to glare at Serdin for shamelessly requesting a stamp again when he hesitated. He thought that since today might be the last day, it wouldn’t hurt to give him one footprint stamp.
Fundamentally, stamps shouldn’t be given carelessly, but looking at what this wretched human had done to him all this time, it didn’t seem like he would use it for anything particularly bad. Even if it was used for something bad, it would only be for strange things to satisfy his personal greed. Things like kissing or receiving kisses, taking naps in his hand, and such.
Of course, Serdin would never be able to receive the kiss he so desperately longed for. Since he would now be leaving this place with Armo and returning to Arancha, they would never meet again.
For that reason, Formo decided to make a generous decision. Formo, who arrogantly lifted his chin, waved his wing at Serdin.
“Piii.”
It was an order to bring out paper, ink, and a suitable dish. Serdin, who understood remarkably well only words that were favorable to him, folded his eyes and smiled smoothly before pulling the bell cord to summon Kert.
In an instant, the tools needed for stamping were prepared before Formo. Formo deeply dipped his foot into the dish containing ink. Formo, who lifted his foot soaked in ink and wet with black liquid, shook it off so only an appropriate amount of ink remained.
Finally, his small foot gently descended onto the paper. Where the foot that had been firmly pressing on the paper lifted, an adorable footprint stamp was left. Serdin observed Formo with a sharp gaze for a moment as he willingly stamped his footprint without jutting out his beak or getting angry as usual.
