The next day, Formo was able to get up from his spot with a body that felt much lighter than before. Whether it was because he’d gotten enough rest or because he’d eaten high-quality food again, he wasn’t sure, but it was clear he’d regained some strength. Rustling as he got off the bed, Formo shook his body with a shiver, then his eyes met with Serdin, who had woken up first and was watching him.
“Pipi, did you sleep well?”
“……Beep.”
“Pipi, you kept talking in your sleep.”
“……”
At the words tinged with laughter, Formo narrowed his eyes and let out a sigh. His refreshed mood plummeted rapidly. That despicable and shameless jaguar was shoving his face forward without even an apology, and even adding teasing remarks on top of that—there was no way he could feel good about it.
A chestnut shell filled with berries was placed in front of Formo, who was twitching his beak with a sulky face.
“Chew thoroughly and eat, Pipi.”
Saying that, Serdin lightly tapped Formo’s cute cheek with his index finger. Having been lost in thought, Formo ended up offering his cheek in an instant and opened his round eyes wide.
“Beeee-eep!”
[You wicked jaguar!]
Along with a sharp cry, Formo’s eyes flashed with a fierce light. At that spirited appearance, Serdin burst into laughter and said,
“You seem to have some energy today, Pipi.”
His complexion and movements definitely gave the feeling that his overall condition had improved compared to yesterday. After glaring at Serdin for a while, Formo soon opened his beak and began eating the berries one by one. Sweet fruit juice swirled throughout his mouth.
“Pipi, water.”
Serdin casually handed him water with nutritional supplement powder dissolved in it. Having finished his meal, Formo once again drank the water without any particular suspicion and wiped his beak.
“Your Highness.”
Just then, Sara approached Serdin’s side. Formo blinked his eyes and quietly watched Sara’s appearance.
“I spoke with the long-tailed tits to confirm why Pipi-nim collapsed. They said he collapsed while trying to repair the barrier, and it seems to be a matter of physical strength.”
“A matter of physical strength?”
Serdin turned his head to look at Sara. Formo also focused on Sara’s story with his eyes wide open.
“Yes. I don’t know what method Pipi-nim uses to repair the barrier, but it seems he collapsed because the power required for repairs is greater than the stamina he has. With one wing not in good condition, it must have been even more taxing for him.”
Sara glanced at Formo, who was examining his own wing with serious eyes, then continued.
“The best solution would be to become a beastman but…… Since that’s difficult right now, I think it would be good to build up your stamina first. However, stamina isn’t something where you can see immediate effects just by working hard starting now……”
Sara paused briefly, then took out a small bottle containing transparent liquid from her bag and handed it to Serdin.
“It’s a medicine that temporarily enhances stamina. For now, how about using this medicine?”
“Side effects.”
“There are no side effects. ……Ah. If an excessively increased activity level counts as a minor side effect, then that would be it.”
That wasn’t too bad. It would be a problem if he moved so excessively that it strained his wing, but. Serdin nodded his head a few times and gave Formo his attention. It seemed like he was asking what Formo wanted to do.
Formo had no other options. The barrier was crumbling, and Formo had to repair it before it was too late. If the reason he collapsed without being able to completely repair the barrier was a matter of physical strength, then protecting Arancha by borrowing the jaguars’ power was the best option.
However, the “becoming a beastman” that Sara mentioned kept lingering in his ears. He wondered if the opportunity to become a beastman, which had only been allowed to predators and wealthy animals, was being given to him as well. Formo hesitated, then opened his beak.
“……Beep?”
[……Become a beastman?]
Serdin, who understood perfectly what Formo was curious about, answered.
“Yeah. Becoming a beastman. If your aptitude is confirmed, it’s the easiest way to repair the barrier.”
“Beep?”
[Why?]
Formo still had a puzzled expression. What on earth was the connection between the barrier and becoming a beastman? He couldn’t understand.
“If you become a beastman, you’ll be able to take human form, Pipi.”
Formo naturally knew that basic fact already. However, since this was the first time he’d met an individual who had become a beastman, he didn’t know the detailed circumstances. Was Serdin trying to tell him those circumstances? Formo nodded and met Serdin’s eyes.
Serdin explained step by step in a gentle voice.
“Once you get used to taking human form, you’ll finish repairing the barrier quickly. When you become human, your stamina increases. It also becomes much easier to handle the power you have. You’ll probably be able to repair the barrier more precisely than now.”
Formo’s eyes sparkled as he listened to the explanation. Not only would his stamina increase, but it would also become easier to handle his power. He could even repair the barrier more precisely. This meant he could attempt to strengthen the barrier, which he hadn’t even tried yet, didn’t it?
If what Serdin said was true, there was no reason to refuse becoming a beastman. Rather, he should accept it gratefully with both hands. However, becoming a beastman was a matter of changing species. It was precisely that part that bothered Formo.
If he thought about his fate as a guardian, it would be right to immediately step forward and say he wanted to become a beastman, but honestly, he was a little scared. It was a matter of whether or not human blood—one of the species he should avoid—would flow through his body. And there might be side effects. Moreover, he was even more anxious because he’d never actually seen an herbivore who had become a beastman.
When Formo, whose eyes had been sparkling, suddenly let out a deep sigh with a troubled expression, Serdin added,
“Your lifespan will also increase, Pipi. Then you can be with me for a long, long time.”
“……Beep?”
[……Is that true?]
Formo’s face, asking back, had already become death-like. That wasn’t something that appealed to Formo as an advantage.
“I’m saying you can be with me for a long, long time, so why is your expression like that, Pipi?”
“……Beee-eee-eep.”
[……What would a wicked jaguar know.]
Muttering as if complaining, Formo plopped down in his spot. He knew well that there was no time to agonize like this, but that fact didn’t serve as a mechanism to stop his worrying. Formo blinked his eyes, then turned his gaze to look out the small window.
In the clear sky, several young long-tailed tits were frolicking and playing together. When Formo got up from his spot and approached the window, lowering his gaze slightly, he saw Lecho from the search party diligently exercising while holding a branch with large pinecones stuck on both sides in his beak.
Next to him was Peno, nagging at Lecho, and above that was Mori, diligently preening his feathers with his small beak. After watching them with round eyes for a while, Formo turned around. Before he knew it, determination had settled in his eyes.
“……Beep.”
[……I’ll do it.]
Formo swallowed his dry saliva and said again.
“Bee-eep.”
[I’ll become a beastman.]
And once again, Serdin, who properly understood the cute long-tailed tit’s words, nodded with a smile spreading across his face.
“Pipi, you thought well.”
He spoke to Sara, who was standing behind him.
“Sara, you heard, right? Our Pipi says he’ll become a beastman.”
“……Yes, Your Highness. It seems he said something like that.”
Sara, who had no way of understanding what Formo had said, replied to her superior with a reluctant tone. Even so, she brought to mind the things that needed to be prepared.
“……Your Highness.”
At Sara’s call, Serdin gave her his attention.
“Isn’t there a necessary procedure to confirm aptitude?”
“Does it absolutely have to be blood? Our Pipi is a crybaby…… Can’t we use tears or snot instead of blood?”
“……How could that work?”
At her superior’s doting parent-like remark, Sara pressed her temple firmly and shook her head. A sudden wave of fatigue washed over her. Watching Serdin’s doting parent side up close, which Kert had said gave him goosebumps, was by no means an easy task.
She had thought Kert was deliberately exaggerating until now.
“……I see.”
It was the moment when Serdin’s always-relaxed face stiffened slightly. Formo clearly witnessed that moment. But soon Serdin’s expression transformed to be indifferent and smooth as usual.
Since Serdin had been racking his brain over this problem since the detached palace, his mind was complicated. He looked at the long-tailed tit who was staring intently at him. Having to see blood from that white and cute body. Wasn’t that too cruel?
“Pipi.”
Serdin opened his mouth with a voice mixed with a sigh. At that voice, Formo also became serious in turn. Serdin hesitated, moving his lips slightly, and only opened his mouth with difficulty after Formo sent him an urging look.
“Should we…… forget about becoming a beastman?”
At the completely unexpected words, Formo’s eyes widened.
“……Beep?”
[……Are you joking?]
Formo let out a hollow laugh as if he was hearing all sorts of absurd things. He was definitely trying to tease him again. However, when he met Serdin’s eyes full of sincerity, that thought disappeared completely.
“Beep, bee-eep?”
[Y-you were serious?]
It was becoming a beastman that he had decided on with such difficulty. Formo felt like food he’d barely grasped in his hand was being snatched away right before his eyes. Of course, Formo was also reluctant about having to see blood, but if it was a necessary procedure for becoming a beastman, he was willing to offer his blood. So he tried sending a desperate look to Sara rather than Serdin, but even she couldn’t help this time. What kind of trouble would she face if she helped?
It was the moment when such a subtle standoff continued.
“Pipi, what are you trying to do right now?”
Serdin, who had been worrying about how to persuade Formo, who had already leaned toward becoming a beastman, discovered his abnormal behavior and looked surprised. What was that tiny long-tailed tit trying to pull right now?
“B-beep, bee-eep. Beep!”
[Wh-what’s the big deal about seeing a little blood. Look!]
With a trembling voice, Formo continued stuttering and measured the distance to a sharp tree branch protruding inside the tree where he was staying. Then, without giving anyone a chance to stop him, he suddenly jumped toward the branch.
“……Pipi!”
Simultaneously with Serdin’s shout, Formo’s forehead was pierced by the branch.
