As soon as the carriage stopped, Serdin quickly got off and hurried toward his room without even acknowledging the greeting from the cat beastman who drove the carriage. Almost running up the stairs and through the corridor, Serdin threw open the door to his room.
“Cheep!”
[You scared me!]
Formo, who had been rolling around on the bed enjoying his leisure time, jumped up in surprise when the door suddenly opened. The uninvited guest who barged in without warning walked over confidently and started stroking his head.
“Cheep, cheep! Cheep!”
[Wh-what! What are you doing!]
Even as Formo flapped his wings in protest, Serdin didn’t respond. He simply carefully stroked the small head, confirming Formo’s presence. For Formo, it was almost like being assaulted, but since Serdin was stroking him quite carefully, he didn’t voice any complaints.
As the stroking continued, Formo’s drowsy eyes gradually relaxed. Perhaps because he had been rolling around on the bed just moments ago, Serdin’s touch seemed to bring on drowsiness. Thinking it wouldn’t be bad to take a nap like this, he was about to close his eyes when the touch on his head suddenly stopped as if it had been a lie.
“……Cheep?”
[……What?]
Formo, now awake, looked at Serdin with puzzled eyes.
“Pipi, you were about to sleep again, weren’t you. You seem to be sleeping a lot more these days.”
It wasn’t wrong. On the first day he came to the capital, he was so nervous that he couldn’t get enough sleep. The next day too, he only dozed lightly, alert for any potential threat from predators. Then, after he became convinced it was okay to let his guard down here, he was able to sleep soundly.
So, as if compensating for his sleep deprivation, he spent his days sleeping whenever sleepiness came, regardless of whether it was night or day. If Kert had seen it, he would have been horrified at how excessively irregular it was—Formo had been living such arbitrary days. Since coming here, he had barely seen Kert and did as he pleased, but of all people, it was Serdin who was pointing this out.
Feeling somewhat betrayed, Formo pressed his beak shut and stared intently at Serdin.
“I can’t even play with Pipi because I have to work, but Pipi just sleeps no matter what I do.”
As Serdin muttered and sighed, Formo’s eyes wavered from side to side. Have I been sleeping too much? Since Serdin was speaking as if he was that disappointed, such thoughts suddenly arose, making him feel guilty. Formo rolled his jet-black eyes around, then flapped his wings.
“Cheep, cheep.”
[Well, if you want, I can play with you.]
Formo, speaking as if doing a favor, watched for Serdin’s reaction. Usually, Serdin was remarkably good at understanding only things that were advantageous to him, but today his reaction was rather lukewarm. Was it because I chirped too quickly for him to understand? Formo tilted his head, then opened his beak again.
“Cheep?”
[I said I can play with you if you want?]
He said it again, but Serdin didn’t give any particular response. Could it be that even this wasn’t enough for him and he was trying to demand more? Such a greedy jaguar. Formo narrowed his eyes and glared at Serdin.
“Pipi.”
“Cheep.”
[No.]
As soon as Serdin began, Formo shook his head and gave a firm answer. Even knowing what that chirp and gesture meant, Serdin didn’t stop what he was saying.
“I think it would be nice if Pipi could be with me while I work. What do you think, Pipi?”
“Cheep?”
[Why would I?]
Formo squinted and asked back.
“Because I’d be happy to keep seeing Pipi, and Pipi would be happy to keep seeing me too.”
“Cheep?”
[Do you seriously think that?]
Formo gasped at Serdin’s absurd answer.
“And the toy that Pipi liked is in the office too. You won’t be bored, Pipi.”
“……”
“If you want, I can bring in more toys. How about it?”
Serdin kept adding suggestions that Formo might find appealing. Because of that, Formo’s reed-like heart began to waver little by little. Even though he didn’t particularly like toys, the fact that he was wavering was definitely because of that perch. Sitting on the sturdy, smooth perch was a much more pleasant experience than Formo had thought.
Formo unconsciously licked his beak as he recalled the feel of the perch he sat on last time. He had enjoyed the feeling of being like a bird of prey while sitting there and surveying the office…… If he commuted to the office with Serdin, could he feel that way every day?
‘It doesn’t seem bad for me……’
Except for the fact that the time spent with Serdin would become excessively long, it was certainly an appealing proposal. And since he was also thinking of bringing in other toys, perhaps he could bring something as satisfying as the perch again. After contemplating, Formo responded in a tone that suggested he had no choice.
“Cheep, cheep.”
[Well, if you really want it, I’ll do that.]
At his appearance as if bestowing great generosity, Serdin quietly swallowed his laughter. Since his proposal to fulfill his own selfish desires was so nicely accepted, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“We can commute together starting tomorrow then, Pipi.”
“Cheep.”
[Whatever.]
It didn’t matter either way. Whether they went together starting tomorrow or the day after, Formo would just have a good time on the perch.
The next day, Formo headed to the office with Serdin. This time too, he was transported in the pocket of Serdin’s coat, but unlike before when it was uncomfortable because he couldn’t stick his head out, this time it only felt cozy and comfortable. Even though it was a pocket of similar depth, it didn’t feel stuffy. Was it because he was excited about sitting on the perch? Formo lightly closed his eyes as if enjoying the comfort.
Sitting still like that and listening carefully, he heard the sound of Serdin opening the office door.
“We’re here, Pipi.”
Standing in front of his desk, Serdin tapped the pocket containing Formo and said. Unfortunately, the part Serdin tapped with his finger was where Formo’s bottom was, so Formo couldn’t help but be startled, trembling with a flutter. After grumbling in place for a moment with his beak pouting, Formo came out of the pocket with Serdin’s help. He glared at Serdin, then flew to the perch and shook his body.
Not knowing why Formo was upset, Serdin just thought the pocket must have been stuffy, sat down, and picked up his pen. As he sorted through the pile of documents on one side of his desk to pick out the ones that needed urgent processing, he asked quietly.
“Pipi, when are you planning to transform into human form again?”
“Cheep……”
[Well……]
At the sound of Formo giving an ambiguous answer, Serdin chuckled. Then he began processing documents in earnest. Soon the office was filled with the sounds of Serdin turning pages and moving his pen. Formo used that as background music while preening his feathers with his beak.
Perhaps because he had been eating only the finest food packed with all sorts of nutrients, his feathers gleamed with luster. Immediately cheered by his feathers, Formo hummed softly and looked out the window. White clouds floating in the clear sky were slowly drifting by. After staring at the clouds’ movement for a while, Formo’s eyes widened at some suspicious movement he sensed below them.
Formo flew from the perch to the windowsill to check below the window in detail.
“Pipi?”
Serdin, who had been processing documents, turned his head to look at Formo. The small long-tailed tit was sitting on the windowsill with sparkling eyes. What had caught his interest this time? Serdin got up from his seat and went to Formo’s side.
“Cheep!”
[Look at that!]
When Formo pointed at the scene below the window with his wing, Serdin’s gaze naturally moved to follow it. The situation Formo’s wing was pointing to was truly absurd. Today too, servants of noble beastmen were busily carrying gifts and invitation cards in front of the palace. Serdin’s eyes immediately took on a cold light when he noticed that scene.
“Cheep?”
[What are they doing?]
Serdin glanced at Formo, who was asking while tilting his head from side to side.
“Cheep?”
[What are all those things?]
Formo’s round eyes blinked gently as if waiting for an answer. Serdin’s lips, which had been pressed into a line, slowly parted.
“Pipi, you’re asking what those are right now?”
“Cheep.”
[Yeah.]
Formo’s head nodded. Serdin wore a faint smile and answered kindly.
“Those are trash, Pipi.”
“……Cheep?”
[……Trash?]
At the word “trash” that came from Serdin’s mouth, Formo opened his beak.
“Don’t even let such dirty things into your eyes, Pipi.”
After stroking Formo’s head gently and saying that, Serdin drew the curtains that had been neatly arranged on both sides of the window. As the window was instantly covered, Formo’s eyes widened.
“Cheep!”
[What!]
Without even explaining properly, he just covered it up. Bewildered, Formo looked at Serdin to ask why he covered the window. However, Serdin had already returned to his seat and was processing documents again. All that remained in front of the window was Formo with his beak hanging wide open.
