3. Becoming a Beastman
Serdin shrugged at Armo’s reaction. She seemed to have understood properly, so she wouldn’t be troublesome anymore.
That’s when it happened.
“Bee-eep!”
[Armo-nim!]
Three long-tailed tits who had been guarding the barrier area appeared in a fluster.
[Armo-nim, Formo-nim. Something terrible has happened!]
[What is it?]
When Armo asked, one of the long-tailed tits continued speaking with a serious face, flapping its wings.
[The, the barrier…… it’s not functioning at all anymore.]
[What?]
[A woodpecker that was flying near the barrier seemed to have spotted me and g-greeted me……]
At those words, Armo became serious as well.
[The form? Did the form change too? Did it crumble more?]
[……Yes. What had been half-collapsed is now completely…… It seems to no longer function as a barrier. We need to hurry with repairs. At this rate…… we’ll be spotted by predators and get eaten!]
The long-tailed tit glanced at Serdin while uttering the word “predators.” Then it shivered as if getting goosebumps. It seemed greatly frightened just being in the same space as a predator. Armo asked the trembling long-tailed tit.
[Did you inform Mother and Father?]
[Yes. I’m on my way back after delivering the news to Moti-nim and Potun-nim first. They said they would come look for themselves……]
Serdin watched with a puzzled gaze as the long-tailed tits talked among themselves with serious expressions. Was there something serious enough to worry the long-tailed tits living in Arancha, the most peaceful kingdom of all? While thinking this, Serdin confirmed that Formo’s gaze was directed toward the barrier beyond his shoulder and turned his eyes.
The barrier that had been transparent was rippling in an opaque state. Looking at how things were going, it seemed something had happened to the barrier that protected the long-tailed tits. The fact that Formo’s complexion was gradually hardening as he listened to the long-tailed tits’ story also supported Serdin’s speculation.
“Pipi.”
Serdin called Formo in a gentle voice and met his eyes. Round and innocent eyes held Serdin’s reflection.
“Is something wrong?”
At that question, Formo tried to move his beak then bowed his head deeply. Whenever something happened until now, Serdin had either been at the center of it or had helped him. This time too, he would surely try to help. The matter of becoming a beastman too, and he said he would look after the barrier while Formo was gone…… He would surely keep his promise.
Formo, who had strong pride as well as responsibility, didn’t like resolving problems with help from others, especially predators, except in special circumstances. He also thought there was no need to receive help. Therefore, he had laughed heartily at Serdin’s offer to help with the barrier, thinking it was absurd. However, this time the situation was different.
“Is it because of the barrier?”
At the quiet question, surprised Formo shook his shoulders with a shiver. Whether predators had good intuition or whether this jaguar was particularly sharp. Formo looked at Serdin, who was smiling at his reaction, and let out a deep sigh.
The wicked jaguar seemed to be already certain. He shrugged and acted brazenly.
“It’s okay, Pipi. I’ll help you. You don’t need to feel sorry. I can do even more for Pipi. I can even give you my crown, do you want it, Pipi?”
“……Bee-eep.”
[……I don’t need something like a crown.]
Even spitting out words of refusal in a sulky voice was useless. Serdin kept speaking in a soothing manner with a cheeky smile.
“You don’t want the crown? Okay. But don’t refuse the help. I’ll help you just until you repair the barrier. Okay?”
Formo tried to refuse Serdin’s words stubbornly, but…….
“……Beep. Beee-eee-eep?”
[……Formo-nim. How about accepting the jaguar’s help just this once?]
At the words casually offered by one of the long-tailed tits who had been watching the situation, Formo closed his beak that had been moving and gauged Armo’s reaction. She too must have had similar thoughts as she was rolling only her eyes with a hardened expression.
“Pipi?”
When Serdin urged him softly, Armo’s head moved up and down. It seemed she thought there was no choice this time. Formo, who respected Armo’s will as the heir, decided to obediently follow her wishes.
“……Beep.”
[……Fine.]
At that answer, Serdin’s lips rose refreshingly.
Serdin’s words that he would help until the barrier could function properly were truly real. No, Formo thought that perhaps Serdin might have been helping even before that.
“Beep, beep! Bee-eep……!”
[Fo, Formo-nim! Please look at those jaguars……!]
As soon as the words about helping ended, the jaguars began appearing one by one outside the barrier. Predators with thick, large builds were prowling and wandering around the barrier. The long-tailed tits who discovered this were thrown into panic and chaos.
Some long-tailed tits were so shocked that they even fainted and collapsed. Formo was just as surprised, but since he had somewhat anticipated that Serdin’s help would be like this, the shock wasn’t as great as it was for the other long-tailed tits.
Like that, under the protection of predators, Arancha’s precarious safety seemed to be guarded once again.
“Pipi.”
Serdin, who had positioned jaguars in the right places, called Formo.
“I’m going to overlay a temporary barrier on top of the collapsed barrier, is that okay?”
“……Bee-eep?”
[……Temporary barrier?]
Formo looked surprised at Serdin’s words. A temporary barrier. How could those who weren’t even born with the fate of a guardian overlay a barrier? For Formo, who didn’t know that something called magic actually existed in the world, this was too bewildering a story.
“Kert, bring the mage.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Kert answered readily and moved away. Formo watched the scene blankly and mulled it over inwardly.
‘……Mage?’
Could it be that mages who only appeared in fairy tale books really existed? And those mages even knew how to create barriers. Formo still had a blank look until Kert brought a mage in bizarre attire.
Mages were not common existences even in the Tersium Empire. Barely over a hundred beastmen had continued the lineage of mages over a long time.
The aptitude of such mages could be confirmed as soon as one became a beastman. Beastmen with mage aptitude were existences who lived their entire lives in human form but unable to hide things like ears or tails. Therefore, until the fact that they had mage aptitude was known, they had been called by the stigma of “half-beastmen.”
The mage, who wore a hood pressed down so low that his face couldn’t be seen, assessed the atmosphere then let out a deep sigh.
“Please don’t give me the cruel order to remove my hood……”
“Euclid, is it because you want to hide your ears?”
When Kert asked mischievously, the fingers of the mage Euclid gripping the edge of his hood twitched. Soon his shoulders drooped.
“I don’t want to make cruel demands either, but…… it’s clear you won’t be able to see well, so I think it would be better to remove the hood.”
Euclid glanced sharply at Kert, who was adding words, then finally roughly threw off the hood he had been protecting diligently. Then deep golden hair that reached his waist was revealed, along with jaguar ears with rounded tips attached on top.
“……Beep?”
As soon as Formo saw Euclid’s ears, he unknowingly made a sound. To be wearing human skin while revealing a predator’s ears. It was a sight he was seeing for the first time in his life.
“Pipi-nim, are you curious?”
Kert, who had confirmed Formo’s surprised face, asked in a whisper. At those words, Formo nodded his head as if he’d been waiting and demanded an explanation.
“The existence called mages, you see. They take a form that is neither human nor animal. What this means is…… Can you see Euclid over there?”
“Beep.”
“Yes. The ears on Euclid’s head and the tail on his rear are precisely that form. Instead of living their entire lives unable to take complete human or animal form in that state, they received from God the mysterious ability called magic.”
“Bee-eep……?”
[In that form……?]
Formo, who had limited knowledge about beastmen, had only seen perfect beastmen like Serdin and Kert, so he couldn’t adjust to Euclid’s appearance.
“While other mages reveal their ears and tails without hesitation, Euclid is quite shy, so he tries to hide them somehow. Isn’t he a rather cute mage?”
Kert, who had been whispering in a small voice by Formo’s side, cleared his throat seeing Euclid’s ear gradually turn red. Euclid struck the ground once with his ash tree staff decorated with white flowers to ease his embarrassment.
“Mage.”
“……Yes, Your Highness.”
“Begin.”
Serdin gave a brief command while gently stroking Formo’s head wrapped tightly in bandages.
“Since this is the first time I’m seeing this form of barrier, I can’t replicate it perfectly, but I’ll do my best……”
Euclid, who stated his resolution while drawing out his words, gripped his large staff tightly and muttered an incantation inwardly. The long-tailed tits watched Euclid, who was concentrating with his eyes tightly closed, with puzzled gazes. Their faces showed they didn’t know what that bizarre-looking person was trying to do.
Soon Euclid opened his eyes wide, extended his staff toward the air, and shouted an incomprehensible incantation.
Then a whitish membrane began to form centered on the staff. The round membrane gradually grew larger until it became as big as the barrier surrounding all of Arancha.
[A, a barrier……?]
[That bizarre predator created a barrier?]
[But that predator isn’t a guardian……!]
The long-tailed tits conversed with confused expressions. Formo was the same as them. He couldn’t take his eyes off the opaque barrier created by magic.
“How long will it last?”
“If it’s repaired periodically, it will hold for quite a while……”
At Kert’s question, Euclid answered in a small voice. This time too, he drew out his words. It was a speech habit that came out without fail whenever he was nervous.
Kert nodded then looked at Serdin.
“Your Highness, what will you do?”
“The mage will have to work hard until Pipi becomes accustomed to human form.”
“Yes. I think that’s necessary. Euclid, does this barrier perform the same role as the existing barrier?”
“I tried my best, so it should be implemented similarly. However, because I overlaid several layers of formulas, it’s implemented to appear opaque from the inside. To make it appear transparent from the inside too, I’ll need to research the formulas more……”
“As expected of a complex discipline twisted this way and that.”
Muttering so, Kert continued while looking at Formo.
“It seems it would be faster for Pipi-nim to create a new barrier than for Euclid to supplement the formulas.”
Formo snorted with a face that said it was obvious, and Euclid bowed his head deeply while trembling. As befitting Serdin’s direct adjutant, he was truly a master at making people indignant.
