I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom - Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – The Elven King’s Gift

The seed left the sparrow’s beak, but instead of falling to the ground, it hovered in mid-air.

With a subtle flick of his fingers, the golden-haired man summoned four water droplets from the lake. They floated upward, swiftly “cleansing” the seed before returning to the water.

“Chirp chirp chirp~!” the sparrow protested shrilly.

When it had pecked the seed into its mouth, it had specifically wrapped it in isolation magic to prevent contact with saliva, ensuring it remained clean and hygienic. Yet the King still found it objectionable!

How unreasonable!

The golden-haired man extended his palm, and the sesame-seed-sized seed landed in his hand, resembling four tiny red moles.

The sparrow stared at the four red dots in his palm, its eyes burning with longing.

These were the rare seeds of the Red Crystal Flower, capable of neutralizing all poisons and enhancing magic power.

As an Eighth-Tier Magical Beast, it had been stuck at its current bottleneck for a century. Consuming these four seeds would undoubtedly propel it to the Ninth-Tier, a breakthrough within reach.

Red Crystal Flowers only bloomed within the Nurseries of the Faerie Forest, flowering once every ten years. Their seeds matured precisely when Little Fairies were born.

Attempts to cultivate Red Crystal Flowers outside the Nurseries had always failed. The seeds either rotted or were stolen by low-level creatures in the soil.

Why couldn’t Red Crystal Flowers grow beyond the Faerie Forest?

It is said that the Red Crystal Flower lacks the blessing of the Light God.

When Little Fairies are nurtured in the Flower Bed, the guardian elves must expend vast amounts of Magic Power daily, chanting ancient hymns praising the Light God.

Hearing these hymns, the Light God bestows blessings upon the Little Fairies. Sunlight streams through the skylight, illuminating all life within the Nursery. Only by absorbing the Little Fairies’ light can the Red Crystal Flowers bloom and bear fruit.

Transplanted outside the Nursery, without the Light God’s blessing, the Red Crystal Flowers inevitably wither.

In short, the plant seeds from the Faerie Forest’s Nursery are treasures beyond measure, rare and highly sought after.

Today, after delivering a letter from the Elven King to the Fairy Cub, the Sparrow was fortunate enough to receive four Red Crystal Flower seeds.

When the Fairy Cub placed the crimson seeds on the windowsill, the Sparrow nearly devoured them whole.

Fortunately, its remaining rationality suppressed the urge, and it carried the seeds to the Elven King first.

For it knew that the King, standing by the lake, would be watching through the Water Mirror as it delivered the letter to the cub.

Thus, immediately after completing its mission, the King demanded his “reward.”

Perched on the Elven King’s fingertip, the Sparrow’s heart itched with impatience. Its beady eyes darted about, hoping the King would bestow the seeds upon it as a reward.

The Elven King closed his fingers around the seed.

The sparrow chirped in dismay, shrinking into a dejected ball of feathers.

The Elven King placed the feathered ball on a nearby branch, chuckling as he tapped its head. “These seeds are needed for something else. I can’t give them to you.”

“Chirp, chirp!” The sparrow flapped its wings, reluctant to accept the refusal.

Ignoring the bird’s protests, the Elven King carefully stored the seeds in a small, transparent bottle, then tucked it away in his Space Storage Ring.

Utterly disappointed, the sparrow flattened itself against the branch like a bird-shaped pancake.

Just as its despair reached its peak, a fragrant aroma wafted through the air. The tiny tuft of feathers on its head perked up, and the bird swiftly transformed from a pancake back into a ball.

“Chirp?”

A smooth, round blue orb floated in mid-air, its pupils dilating.

It was a Magic Beast Crystal!

Overwhelmed with excitement, the sparrow hopped excitedly on the branch, flapping its wings and chirping loudly at the Elven King.

Is this a reward? Is this a reward?!

The Elf nodded, his long golden hair swaying gently behind him. “A Ninth-Tier Magic Beast Crystal. Do you want it?”

“Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp!”

Yes, yes, yes, yes!

Only a foolish bird would refuse!

Anything the Elven King offers must be of the highest quality.

Sparrow snatched the crystal, terrified the Elven King might change his mind. It spread its wings and soared upward, transforming mid-flight into a massive falcon. With lightning speed, it shot into the sky and vanished without a trace.

The Elven King glanced in the direction the falcon had flown, a faint smile playing on his lips, before turning away from the lake.

Clop, clop, clop—

The crisp sound of hooves grew louder as a pure white unicorn emerged from the forest. Its spiraled horn gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight, its mane and tail flowed gracefully, and its long, powerful legs carried it elegantly to the Elven King, where it bowed its head submissively.

The Elf stroked the unicorn’s flank, then swung himself onto its back. His silk-smooth golden hair and exquisite cloak billowed in a graceful arc behind him.

The unicorn lifted its front hooves, taking delicate steps as it carried the handsome Elven King deeper into the dense forest.

At regular intervals, the Elves took turns patrolling the Faerie Forest, driving away poachers and outsiders who had strayed into their territory.

There were no rigid hierarchies among the Elves. Even Freyrus, the Elven King himself, participated in these patrols.

In the bright, clean classroom, twenty-five Fairy Cubs sat in neat rows, listening attentively to Aisha.

“Starting today, we’ll begin formal lessons. Besides Siet and me, other teachers will be helping us.”

“We’ll have five days of classes followed by two days of rest.”

“Every morning, Siph will wake you up in my place.”

Aisha pointed to the window. Outside perched a golden sparrow much larger than the Fairy Cubs.

This was Siph, a Yellow Sparrow found only in the Faerie Forest. With a clear, resonant voice, she was a Seventh-Tier Magical Beast who had gained sentience.

The cubs had already noticed the bird outside the window, glancing at it occasionally.

Upon learning that Siph would be waking them up, a cub in the front row whispered, “Will she eat Fairies?”

“No,” Aisha replied, gently stroking the cub’s soft hair. “Siph is our friend. She only eats grains and pests, not Fairies.”

“Oh,” the cub nodded, reassured.

Shu Li, sitting in the back row, sketched a cartoon bird in his notebook with a quill pen, adding the note: “Siph – Alarm Clock.”

The Faerie Forest didn’t have electronic alarm clocks, but it had biological ones.

Perfect.

That solved the Yellow Sparrow’s employment problem.

But—

Why would a bird need a job?

Shu Li set down his quill, propped his chin in his hand, and gazed at the dozing Yellow Sparrow outside the window, lost in thought.

Aisha continued explaining the details of their upcoming schooling, emphasizing the importance of punctuality, completing assignments on time, and adhering to each teacher’s instructions.

Fairy Cubs differed from human children. They matured quickly, mastering Elven language—speaking, reading, and writing—by age three. They could also play the harp, sing hymns, and identify over a hundred medicinal herbs.

Consequently, the older Fairies had grown increasingly strict in their education, imposing punishments for incomplete assignments.

The cubs listened, wide-eyed and bewildered.

The chubby Budno raised his hand. “Pu-punishment… what kind of punishment? No food?”

Please, not that!

Otherwise, he’d… he’d… go hungry!

Budno: o(┳ _ ┳)o

He couldn’t imagine how miserable he would be without sweet nectar and fresh fruit to eat.

Seeing tears welling up in the chubby boy’s eyes, Aisha quickly reassured him, “You won’t be deprived of food.”

“Oh—” Budno’s tears vanished instantly.

No food punishment? Then everything’s fine!

Aisha couldn’t help but smile.

What a gluttonous little fellow.

“Aisha, you still haven’t told us what the punishments are,” Red-Haired Decio asked.

“Each teacher has their own methods. For example, Siet usually assigns copying or memorizing poems,” Aisha said, blinking. “As for me, I’ll make you scrub the floors.”

White-Haired Angele raised his hand. “I-I don’t know how to scrub floors.”

Aisha smiled. “Then you’ll learn.”

In the days to come, she would teach the cubs various practical skills.

Fairies don’t tolerate idlers; every cub must learn to be self-reliant.

Shu Li noted Aisha’s words, reminding himself to study diligently, strive for improvement daily, and avoid making mistakes.

Here, there were no doting relatives to coddle him. Adult fairies treated all cubs equally, showing no favoritism.

If a cub makes a mistake, they must bear the consequences themselves.

Having finished recording, Shu Li drew three dots in the margin of the paper with his quill.

In anime, Heroes who transmigrate to otherworlds always have overwhelming combat power, incredible luck, endless romantic prospects, and overpowered cheat abilities. So why, when it was his turn, did he end up with nothing? He couldn’t even understand the language and had to start learning from scratch.

This was truly too much!

After the first lesson, Shu Li had filled five pages with notes.

Finally, it was break time. He spread his wings and flew to the podium, took a letter from the small pouch at his waist, and looked imploringly at Aisha. “Help… help me read this.”

He was currently illiterate and couldn’t understand Elven script.

Aisha took the letter with a suspicious glance. When she saw the golden wax seal, she gasped softly, “This is… a letter from the Elven King!”

“What?” Shu Li’s eyes widened in confusion.

Had Aisha just mentioned the “Elven King”? Was he hearing things?

“You heard correctly. This is indeed a letter from the Elven King.” Aisha, noticing his confusion, pointed to the wax seal. “This is the Elven King’s unique seal.”

Having received confirmation, Shu Li was utterly perplexed. “Why?”

Why would the Elven King send him a message via Fatty Bird so early in the morning?

Aisha was equally curious.

No Fairy Cub who had just left the Nursery had ever received a letter from the Elven King before.

Sperien truly was unique.

“Shall I open it for you?” she asked gently.

“Mm-hmm!” Shu Li nodded eagerly.

When the other cubs learned that Sperien had received a letter from the Elven King, they all crowded around, their curiosity piqued.

Aisha carefully opened the envelope without breaking the wax seal, extracting a card and an exquisite ring.

Upon seeing the elegant Elven script on the card, even Aisha, who had served as Fairy Godmother for many years, couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh, Light God above! You truly are a fortunate Little Fairy!”

“Huh?” Shu Li scratched his ear anxiously. What was written on the card that had so excited Aisha?

Aisha pointed to the Elven script and slowly read aloud: “Sperien, my beloved little disciple, Happy Hundredth Day! May the Light God be with you! — Freyus Estel.”

Afraid the little one might not understand, Aisha repeated the message three times.

Shu Li stared blankly at the card, his head buzzing with countless question marks as he deciphered the Elven King’s scrawled handwriting, which resembled a doctor’s illegible notes.

Pointing to his nose, he asked Aisha, “Me? A disciple?”

He had only met the Elven King once. How could he suddenly become his disciple?

Could there be some kind of mistake?

And why, among the twenty-five Fairy Cubs celebrating their hundredth day of life simultaneously, had the Elven King singled him out with a gift?

Isn’t this favoritism?

It could lead to isolation.

Shu Li quickly observed the other Fairy Cubs. Their eyes were clear and innocent, showing only curiosity and envy, not a hint of jealousy. Even Budno, who constantly antagonized him, showed no signs of resentment; his chubby, squinting eyes sparkled brightly.

Aisha gazed fondly at the bewildered cub and gently touched the floral crown on his head. She explained slowly, “In ten thousand years, only three individuals across the continent have received the Blessing of the Elven King: the current Saint Mage Danlov; the Elven warrior Ilio, known as the God of War; and the young Dragon King Hammon. All were once the King’s exceptional disciples, who successfully completed rigorous trials, mastered their skills, and achieved great renown. You are the fourth to receive the King’s blessing.”

Shu Li listened intently to her long explanation, struggling to understand.

In other words, those blessed by the Elven King were essentially his disciples. Once they mastered their skills, they could graduate.

The Elven King had called him “my little disciple.” Did this mean he could one day become a great figure like his three “Senior Brothers”?

A Hero!

He really had been chosen as the Hero!

Shu Li clenched his fist in excitement.

The Transmigration God hadn’t abandoned him after all! On his very first day, he’d received an incredibly powerful cheat!

After being the Unlucky One so many times, he’d finally become the Lucky One!

Not only had he received the Blessing of the Elven King, but he’d also received a gift from him.

Speaking of the gift, Shu Li held the exquisite ring, his mind filled with suspicion.

Rings carried profound significance. Could they really be given away so casually in this Otherworld?

Seeing the cub staring blankly at the ring, Aisha smiled and said, “This is a Space Storage Ring.”

“A Space… Storage Ring?”

Shu Li’s eyes widened in shock.