I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom

What was a throne?

It was the center of attention!

If he ate beside the Elven King, wouldn’t he become the focus of everyone’s gaze again?

Clutching a fruit, Shu Li hesitated, his heart filled with reluctance. He was afraid he would get too nervous and publicly humiliate himself again.

"Go on! Look, Ilio is sitting there too." The male Elf pointed to the seat immediately below the throne.

Ilio was the king’s disciple, while Sperien had received the king’s blessing. It was only right that they sit together.

Shu Li looked up and saw a black-haired male Elf.

He looked a little familiar.

He seemed to be the Elf who had stood beside the Elven King at the castle gates earlier.

Was his name Ilio?

Shu Li tilted his head in thought. He could not shake the feeling that he had heard that name somewhere before.

Apparently sensing his gaze, the black-haired Elf looked over, a faint smile appearing on his handsome face.

Caught peeking, Shu Li awkwardly raised the red fruit in his arms to hide his face.

Ilio: ...

This was already the second time the little cub had hidden from him.

Strange. Did he have some sort of terrifying face?

Ilio suspiciously touched his handsome features.

Sayah, who was seated nearby, noticed and asked with concern, "Ilio, do you need a mirror?"

As she spoke, she took a mirror from her storage bracelet and handed it to him.

"Thank you." Ilio calmly lowered the hand touching his face and politely declined. "I have my own mirror."

"All right!" Sayah shrugged and put the mirror away. Glancing around, she asked, "Have you seen Sperien?"

After entering the castle, the cubs had scattered to play. They only began emerging from various corners when it was time to eat. She had looked around but had not seen Sperien anywhere.

"Over there." Without the slightest hesitation, Ilio pointed and betrayed the little cub’s location.

Shu Li lowered the fruit hiding his face and was about to persuade the male Elf to let him stay there for the meal when he suddenly heard someone calling his name loudly.

"Sperien! Sperien, your seat is over here. Hurry!"

Shu Li looked toward the voice and saw a red-haired female Elf enthusiastically waving at him from nearby.

He remembered her.

On his first day after transmigrating to this other world, this was the "giantess" who had peered curiously into his flower bud.

He had only just awakened at the time and was still completely bewildered. By the time he had figured out his situation, Aisha had taken over the task of caring for the cubs, and the female Elf had left the Fairy Nursery.

"Sayah is calling you. Hurry over!" the male Elf urged.

As more and more people turned to look at him, Shu Li began feeling self-conscious again. But he quickly remembered what that top student Jingjing had told him.

Elves are just as tolerant of cubs as Fairies are. You don’t need to feel embarrassed.

That was right. He was a cub now. Cubs were fearless because they did not understand how the world worked. There was absolutely no need for him to worry so much. Acting all bashful and reluctant would only make him seem overly dramatic.

Once he had worked that out, Shu Li stopped resisting.

He put the fruit back on the platter and thanked the male Elf according to the etiquette Aisha had taught him. Under the Elf’s gentle gaze, he flapped his wings and flew toward the throne.

The male Elf watched the cub’s tiny figure recede, sighing wistfully.

A female Elf carrying a platter of fruit passed by. Seeing his reluctant expression, she asked in confusion, "What’s wrong?"

The male Elf picked up the little red fruit Shu Li had been holding and toyed with it in his palm. "Cubs really are adorable."

So tiny, so full of life, so polite and shy. If he had not been afraid of frightening him, he would have loved to rub that little head.

The female Elf glanced at the blond cub flying toward the throne, then shook her head at the male Elf. "Give up!"

Ever since the Elven tree had fallen dormant, no new cubs had been born to the Elves. It left the Elves who had once taught cubs sighing with regret.

Whenever the Midsummer Festival came around and they saw the lively, mischievous Fairy cubs, they could not help wanting to abduct a few and keep them in the Elven Kingdom.

The Fairies saw through their intentions and guarded the cubs closely. Before returning to the Faerie Forest, they would check again and again to make absolutely certain that not a single cub had been left behind.

They guarded the cubs from the Elves as if guarding against thieves.

The Elves could only shake their heads helplessly.

No matter how much they liked them, they would never truly abduct Fairy cubs. They were perfectly content merely to feast their eyes on them.

Ah, when would the Elven tree bloom and bear fruit again, allowing them to enjoy raising cubs too?

Shu Li flew unhurriedly to Sayah’s side. Before he could greet her, she produced a raised platter lined with a soft cushion.

"Sit here."

Without thinking much of it, Shu Li landed on the platter and plopped down on the soft cushion.

Wow, this was so comfortable.

He curiously felt around while Sayah turned and placed the raised platter on the dining table before the throne.

"Do you like these fruits and cookies? The king carefully chose all of them for you," she said with a smile.

Shu Li froze.

He had not expected Sayah to move so quickly. She had practically served him up as another "dish."

Seated below the throne, Ilio caught sight of the little cub’s blank expression and could not help curving his lips into a smile.

It took Shu Li a while to recover. His body stiffened, and he had no idea where to put his hands or feet.

The only thing worth celebrating was that the Elven King was not currently sitting on the throne. Otherwise, whenever those deep green eyes rested on him, his little heart would start pounding uncontrollably.

By now, the dining tables throughout the hall were filled with Fairies and Elves enjoying the feast to their hearts’ content. The Fairy cubs, whose stomachs had long since been growling with hunger, sat on the dining tables of Aisha and the other adult Fairies, happily stuffing themselves.

After eating his fill, Disio let out a satisfied burp. He looked around but saw no sign of their leader and asked in confusion, "Huh? Where’s Sperien?"

Angel put down his half-eaten cheese bread and shook his head.

He had been so hungry that everyone had swarmed the dining tables at once. He had assumed their leader had joined them in feasting.

Budno rubbed his round belly and licked the nectar from the corner of his mouth. "I saw Sperien sitting on top of that statue with Kumandi earlier. They were eating lollipops together."

Disio and Angel immediately looked toward the statue.

There was no one on its head.

"He isn’t there," Angel said, puzzled.

"Kumandi is over there." Disio pointed at the neighboring dining table. The black-haired adolescent Fairy was sitting primly in a cushioned saucer, eating a fruit at a leisurely pace.

Sperien was not beside him.

The hall was so full of noisy conversation and laughter that none of the adult Fairies noticed the three little cubs talking.

"Are you full?" Disio asked Budno.

Budno immediately swallowed the half fruit in his hand. "I’m... I’m full... Burp..."

He had eaten a little too much.

"Let’s go find Sperien!" Disio spread his wings and flew into the air.

"All right!" Angel grabbed Budno along the way.

Quick-eyed and nimble-handed, Budno snatched up another fruit before being dragged into the air.

Adult Fairies never restrained the cubs. As long as they had eaten their fill, they were free to play as they pleased.

"Disio, don’t leave the hall," Aisha reminded him.

"I know," Disio replied.

They only wanted to find Sperien and had no intention of leaving the hall.

The hall was enormous. They searched all around until their wings grew tired, yet still saw no sign of Sperien.

Strange. Where had their leader gone?

"Ah, there he is!" Sharp-eyed Budno spotted a blond Fairy cub sitting on the dining table before the throne, holding a fruit and gnawing on it with relish.

"Sperien!"

The three cubs cheered, flapped their wings, and fluttered toward him.

After Sayah had abruptly placed Shu Li on this dining table, he had been extremely nervous. He sat obediently on the raised platter without daring to move. Yet even after he waited and waited, the Elven King still did not appear. Unable to resist the aroma of the food any longer, he took a fruit from a nearby platter and bit into it fiercely.

Mmm.

So delicious!

He had never eaten this kind of fruit before. It was probably a specialty of the Elven Kingdom. It resembled a strawberry but had no seeds on its surface. When he bit into it, the flesh was delicate and smooth, sweet yet tart, with a rich milky fragrance.

He took one bite, then another, and before he knew it, he had eaten half the fruit.

With his hunger temporarily relieved, he licked the juice from the corner of his lips and studied the empty throne in puzzlement.

Didn’t the Elven King eat lunch?

He had clearly helped arrange the tables earlier, yet when the meal began, he was nowhere to be seen. The other Elves seemed accustomed to this and showed no concern whatsoever about the king’s whereabouts. They simply ate and drank as they pleased.

In that case, Shu Li had no reason to hold back either. He could eat to his heart’s content.

He finished the entire fruit, still wanting more, and picked up another. He had barely taken two bites when he saw three cubs descend from above.

"Huh?" Shu Li blinked in surprise.

"Sperien, why are you sitting here?" Budno stood on tiptoe and clutched the edge of the raised platter. He poked the soft cushion with one finger. "Wow, this looks really comfortable."

Shu Li shifted aside and invited him up.

Budno did not stand on ceremony. Bracing himself with both hands, he jumped onto the platter and sat beside Shu Li.

The raised platter had more than enough room for one cub. Two cubs should theoretically have fit, if barely. However, Budno was a little fatty, and a little fatty took up more space than an ordinary cub. The moment his round body came closer, Shu Li was squeezed right off.

"Ah?"

Holding his half-eaten fruit, Shu Li tipped sideways and fell from the raised platter.

Why hadn’t the little fatty managed to lose weight yet? Hadn’t they been controlling how much he ate?

Shu Li was so shocked that he forgot he had wings on his back.

"Sperien!" Disio and Angel cried in alarm, diving toward him at the same time.

Budno sprawled over the rim of the platter, reaching out dramatically, his face flushed bright red.

Just as Shu Li was about to smash face-first into the tabletop, a pale hand suddenly appeared and caught him by his little cape.

"Huh?" Dangling in midair and struggling to hold on to his half fruit, Shu Li turned to look at the Elf who had saved his life.

It was that black-haired Elf named Ilio!

"Th... thank you." The cape pulled tight around his neck, making it difficult for him to speak.

"You’re welcome." Ilio gently set him down on the table. He glanced at the little fatty climbing down from the raised platter and could not help smiling.

What a chubby little cub.

So soft and squishy. He looked extremely satisfying to pinch.

The thought had barely crossed Ilio’s mind before he acted on it.

Budno had just climbed down from the raised platter when a large hand lifted him into the air.

"Ah!" His eyes widened in surprise. By the time he recovered, he found himself sitting in the palm of a black-haired Elf.

"Hello. My name is Ilio," the black-haired Elf introduced himself warmly.

"H... hello. My name is Budno," the little fatty replied blankly.

The next moment, the black-haired Elf rubbed his cheek twice with the pad of one finger.

"Huh? Huh? Huh?" Budno sat frozen, not daring to move.

Ilio would have liked to roll the little fatty around in his palm and give him a thorough squishing, but he was afraid of damaging the little fellow. After rubbing him a few times, he reluctantly let him go.

Budno returned to the tabletop in a daze, one hand covering his cheek.

Disio and Angel looked thoroughly confused, while Shu Li stared at the black-haired Elf with an indescribable expression.

The little fatty might be round and look extremely squishable, but that did not mean Ilio could actually knead him like a sticky rice ball!

Without the slightest change in expression, Ilio returned to his seat. He picked up his wineglass and calmly asked the little cubs on the table, "Are you full? If not, hurry and eat. You won’t have time later."

What did that mean?

Completely baffled, Shu Li instinctively raised the half fruit in his arms to his mouth. After he had taken a few bites, the Elves dining throughout the hall suddenly began rising from their seats one after another.

Ilio set down his wineglass, took out a pure white handkerchief, wiped the corner of his mouth, and left the table.

"What are they going to do?" Angel asked.

Shu Li shook his head. He did not know either.

Clap, clap, clap—

The Elves who had gathered in the center of the hall clapped their hands in unison. A moment later, the clear, limpid sound of a harp rang out.

Shu Li’s ears twitched, and goose bumps rose all over his body.

It was so, so, so, so beautiful!

This was the most beautiful harp tone he had ever heard. Even his soul trembled in response.

He immediately spread his wings and flew into the air, eager to find the person playing.

It was the Elven King!

Shu Li’s eyes widened slightly as he stared in a daze at the golden-haired Elf surrounded by the others.

He sat elegantly on a chair, holding a graceful golden harp in his arms. His long fingers slowly swept across its slender strings, stirring layer after layer of starlight like ripples. At the same time, heavenly music arose. A melody steeped in classical grace flowed like a quiet stream into the hearts of everyone listening.

All the Elves and Fairies became lost in it. Unable to help themselves, they began singing the "Song of the Earth" along with the melody.

"When the morning star rises,

The stars of night fade beyond the sky.

Darkness retreats,

And the earth welcomes long-awaited light.

The God of Spring brings gentle winds and fine rain,

Nourishing the parched earth.

All things awaken.

O great God of the Earth,

Hedfis Lofgne,

Grant us food in abundance.

Sing, dance, and offer praise to your heart’s content...

"

Elves, like Fairies, were natural singers. The sheer impact of ten thousand voices raised in song defied description.

The newborn cubs had never witnessed such a magnificent sight before. Every one of them stared openmouthed.

Shu Li hovered blankly in midair, his very soul bewitched by the singing and the harp. He slipped into a strange state of consciousness.

The ancient melody was long and lilting. As he listened, an illusion appeared before his eyes.

It was the same magnificent hall, with the same dining tables laden with food and the same Elves singing and dancing. But a much younger Elven King was playing a silver harp.

Shu Li rubbed his eyes hard to make sure he was not seeing things.

"Disi... o..." He turned to speak to his friends, only to discover that the dining table was deserted.

Disio, Angel, and Budno were all gone.

Shu Li looked down at his hands and discovered that the half-eaten fruit had disappeared as well.

So, while listening to the Elven King’s harp and the magically infused Elven song, had he entered another illusion?

Once he realized the truth, Shu Li calmed down.

Siet had once told him that illusions showed a past that had truly existed.

In other words, what he was seeing now was the Midsummer Festival from some unknown number of years ago.

Since the people inside the illusion could not see him anyway, Shu Li flapped his wings and flew freely toward the center of the hall, weaving among the giant-like Elves and Fairies.

Soon, however, he discovered that every handsome man and beautiful woman singing and dancing around the Elven King was an Elf. There was not a single Fairy among them!

He could tell because none of them wore swallowtail capes.

Could it be that... Fairies did not exist in this era?

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