I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Time to Learn Elven?

The lives of the Fairy Cubs were carefree and idyllic.

They spent their days eating, sleeping, and exploring the Nursery after waking up.

Aisha cared for them meticulously, feeding them Flower Nectar six times a day, dew eight times, and lulling them to sleep three times. She also diligently taught them essential life skills.

For example, they learned not to relieve themselves indiscriminately but to use designated areas. They were taught to maintain personal hygiene through daily washing and grooming. They learned to identify various plants, trees, and insects, distinguishing between poisonous and non-poisonous species.

The Nursery was vast, housing over a thousand species of flora and fauna, making it a natural learning environment where the cubs could study for three months.

Although the newborn Fairy Cubs didn’t understand Elven, this didn’t hinder Aisha from communicating with them through simple means. A shake of her bell sent a clear, magically imbued chime resonating throughout the Nursery. Hearing the sound, the cubs instinctively responded to the summons, obediently flying to Aisha’s side.

As a Transmigrate, Shu Li possessed exceptional self-awareness and a remarkable learning ability. He often grasped Aisha’s lessons after just one explanation.

His outstanding performance frequently earned him rewards from Aisha.

The prize was a small silver leaf. Collect ten of them, and you could exchange them for a delicious little fruit.

These fruits were juicy and tender, melting in your mouth. Even without teeth, a cub could easily eat them, making them a favorite among Fairy Cubs.

Shu Li tried one for the first time and was left wanting more.

Though tiny, the fruit tasted better than any he had ever eaten. He longed to devour an entire plateful.

Unfortunately, the prizes were hard to come by—only one silver leaf per day. To collect enough for a plate of fruit, he’d have to wait until the monkey year and horse month.

Seeing Shu Li with his fruit, the other Fairy Cubs were filled with envy. They began to emulate him, striving to perform well and earn their own prizes.

Unwittingly, Shu Li had become the leader of the Fairy Cubs.

Aisha watched with a mix of surprise and satisfaction.

No wonder he was blessed by the Elven King, she thought. His innate talent is extraordinary, truly remarkable.

Aisha intensified her guidance, teaching him with even greater care.

Shu Li adapted well to this relaxed and comfortable life.

Each morning, after waking up, he would fly about twenty meters to a nearby bush to relieve himself, adding a bit of “nutrition” to nature. Afterward, he’d head to the pond in the Nursery to wash his face and brush his teeth. If he felt dirty, he’d simply jump into the water for a bath.

After finishing their morning routines, a crisp bell rang, and Shu Li and the other Fairy Cubs raced to the vine table. The silver-haired adult Fairy had prepared delicious Flower Nectar and sweet dew for them.

Once they were full and refreshed, it was time to play.

The Fairy Cubs’ favorite pastime was exploring the Nursery. They loved discovering beautiful flowers, searching for pretty seeds, and interacting with various insects.

Shu Li had been constantly bothered by the issue of his bare bottom, racking his brains for a way to make underwear. Yesterday, he had found a row of pristine white insect cocoons on a tree. After pulling a strand of silk from one, he discovered it was as strong as silkworm silk. A sudden inspiration struck him: he could weave underwear for himself using these cocoons!

Being a man of action, Shu Li immediately set to work.

He exerted every ounce of his strength to gather numerous cocoons, panting as he hauled them back to his Flower Bed. The bed was now crammed full, leaving only a small space for sleeping.

This morning, Shu Li woke up nestled among the cocoons.

He threw back his Flower Petal blanket, stretched languidly, and flew out of his Flower Bed to the toilet area.

At this early hour, the morning sun had just begun to stream into the Nursery. The other Fairy Cubs were still asleep, and the surroundings were utterly silent, save for the early-rising insects crawling among the flowers.

Shu Li first plucked a few tender green blades of grass, then found an ordinary-looking small plant. Squatting beside its lowest leaf, he lifted his robe and “watered and fertilized” it. Afterward, he wiped his bottom with the tender grass blades.

Shu Li harbored considerable resentment about this.

He desperately missed his smart toilet and soft, white toilet paper back home!

Although the Otherworld possessed magic, its living conditions were remarkably primitive, lacking even proper toilets.

Fairies were the darlings of nature, but surely they didn’t need to live so primitively?

He wondered if the small houses on the Giant Tree outside had better facilities.

He hoped that after leaving the Nursery, he could have his own house—he would create the conditions for it, even if they didn’t exist.

After wiping himself, Shu Li lowered his robe and eagerly flew to the pond to wash up.

The pond, located east of the Nursery, covered approximately three hundred square meters. Its emerald-green waters were crystal clear, revealing swaying aquatic plants and schools of fish swimming leisurely.

Shu Li flew to the pond’s edge, plucked a large leaf, and tossed it into the water. The leaf floated like a tiny boat, and he gently landed on it.

The Fairy Cub’s weight was so slight that the leaf didn’t even tremble.

Shu Li knelt by the pond, bending over to rinse his mouth before splashing a handful of cool water onto his face. Without any washing tools, he had to scrub vigorously with his chubby hands.

After finishing his personal hygiene, Shu Li slowly left the pond. By the time he flew back to the Flower Bed, the other Fairy Cubs were just waking up, their heads popping up one by one as they greeted each other.

Reddy’s eyes lit up when he saw Shu Li. He flew over to his Flower Bed, babbling excitedly and pointing at the insect cocoons with a curious expression.

“I’m going to weave myself some underwear,” Shu Li said, picking up a cocoon and pulling out a few strands of silk. He twisted them into a thread between his palms. “If it works, I’ll make you some too!”

He only picked empty cocoons—the moths or butterflies had already emerged, so he felt no guilt about handling them.

Reddy, of course, didn’t understand his words. Seeing Shu Li pulling silk from the cocoons, he found it amusing and crawled into his Flower Bed, grabbed a cocoon, and mimicked Shu Li’s movements.

“Go wash up first,” Shu Li said, pointing toward the toilet area.

Reddy pouted, reluctant to leave.

Shu Li flicked Reddy’s forehead gently, coaxing, “Good babies listen!”

Reddy huffed, released the insect cocoon, and flew off with puffed cheeks.

Shu Li shrugged and resumed his silk-spinning work.

He didn’t know the proper technique for extracting silk from insect cocoons, relying entirely on instinct. As long as he could twist the fibers into thread, he considered it a success.

“Heave-ho, heave-ho…”

His palms grew numb from the constant rubbing, yet he had only managed to spin ten centimeters of thread.

Ten centimeters was far from enough. He needed much more to weave a pair of tiny briefs.

Reddy finished his personal hygiene routine at top speed, returning to the Flower Bed with his hair still dripping wet.

“Eee-yah!” he called out to Shu Li, announcing his return.

Shu Li tossed him another insect cocoon and guided his hands, teaching him the process. Free labor was too good to pass up.

Reddy learned quickly, mastering the technique in no time.

The two little cubs worked diligently like busy bees, twisting thread. Seeing this, the other Fairy Cubs mistook it for a fun game and eagerly joined in.

Shu Li welcomed them all. Soon, twenty-five Fairy Cubs each cradled a pristine white insect cocoon, sitting in their Flower Beds, completely absorbed in spinning thread.

Thus, when Aisha entered the Nursery with Flower Nectar, she was greeted by this bustling scene.

“Eee? What are the cubs doing?” the brown-haired male fairy asked, flying beside Aisha with genuine curiosity. “Is this a new game?”

Aisha, the Fairy Godmother, was responsible for the cubs’ daily care. After half a month, the cubs had learned to care for themselves, and it was time for them to move on to the next stage of their development.

The brown-haired fairy was Siet, an exceptional language teacher. Starting today, he would begin teaching the Fairy Cubs Elven.

Aisha didn’t answer, her gaze shifting to Sperien’s Flower Bed. When she saw the insect cocoon and the neatly coiled threads inside, she understood immediately.

Through her observations over the past two weeks, she had come to understand Sperien quite well.

He was an exceptionally intelligent and independent Fairy Cub.

Unlike the other cubs, who were still developing their self-awareness, Sperien knew exactly what he was doing and what he wanted to achieve.

Cubs loved to imitate.

Whenever most of the cubs were doing the same thing, it was almost certain that Sperien was the one leading the charge.

Siet looked at the golden-haired cub in the Flower Bed, stroked his smooth chin, and asked with a smile, “Is that Sperien?”

The Fairy Cub who had received the Elven King’s blessing at birth.

“Yes,” Aisha nodded.

Seeing the golden-haired cub struggling to rub its hands, Siet raised an eyebrow and said, “Perhaps I could help him.”

With a flutter of his butterfly-like wings, he instantly flew to Shu Li’s Flower Bed.

Shu Li’s hands were red from rubbing, and he was blowing on his palms to soothe them. Suddenly, he felt an intense gaze and instinctively turned to meet a handsome face.

“Hi~” Siet greeted him with a warm smile, waving at the cub in the Flower Bed. “I’m Siet. It’s a pleasure to meet you, lovely Sperien.”

Shu Li’s pointed ears twitched, and he blinked his large, tender green eyes.

Though he didn’t understand the words, he could tell from Siet’s expression that he was being greeted. Moreover, one word in his speech sounded familiar.

The silver-haired Fairy often called him by that name. After hearing it repeatedly, Shu Li vaguely understood that it might be his Otherworld name.

However, being terrible at languages, he had been trying to learn it for over ten days, yet his pronunciation remained inaccurate.

“Hello,” Shu Li replied politely in his native language. Whether the other party understood him was beyond his control.

Hearing the soft, cooing “jiji” sounds, Siet’s smile grew even warmer.

“Aisha was right—you’re indeed quite fascinating.”

Though unable to speak, the Fairy Cub tried earnestly to communicate with the adult Fairy.

“Sorry, we don’t speak the same language right now. It’s basically like a chicken talking to a duck,” Shu Li said, picking up an insect cocoon and continuing his work.

Siet grunted, pointed at the cocoon, then at himself, and gently asked, “May I take one?”

Understanding his gestures, Shu Li nodded hesitantly.

Having obtained the cub’s consent, Siet flicked his fingers, causing a cocoon to float up and drift toward him.

Under Shu Li’s astonished gaze, Siet spread his hands, chanted an ancient spell, and conjured a fist-sized sphere of water around the cocoon.

The water sphere seemed to come alive, swallowing the cocoon whole. As the cocoon was enveloped, tiny bubbles began to rise from within.

Shu Li’s mouth fell slightly open.

This was the first time he had witnessed a Fairy casting magic up close and firsthand.

This is even more awesome than the special effects in movies!

Once the cocoon had soaked sufficiently, Siet retrieved a slender metal rod from a pouch at his waist. He chanted another spell, and the pristine white silk threads automatically detached from the cocoon, coiling around the rod.

Moments later, the entire cocoon’s silk was neatly wound around the metal rod.

“Done,” Siet snapped his fingers, dispelling the magic. The water sphere dissolved into countless water molecules, vanishing into the air.

Shu Li gazed at the newly arrived adult Fairy with adoration.

Magic is so cool, isn’t it?!

“Here,” Siet said, handing Shu Li the metal rod wrapped in silk thread. “Insect cocoons yield better silk when soaked in water first.”

Shu Li took the rod, touching the silk thread. He noticed it was more elastic and resilient than before.

So you have to soak them first! Otherwise, trying to extract the silk dry would be time-consuming, exhausting, and wouldn’t even produce good-quality thread.

“Big Brother, could you help me process all these cocoons?” Shu Li asked, holding up a cocoon and tilting his head. He blinked his big, sparkling eyes at Siet, his expression hopeful. “Please, please! My little underwear depends on you!”

Meeting the cub’s beautiful, trusting eyes, Siet’s heart melted, his expression softening even further.

“Oh, adorable Sperien, I’ll help you process these cocoons. But before that, you should have breakfast.”

“Huh?” Shu Li tilted his head, confused.

He couldn’t quite grasp what Siet meant.

Does he want to help or not?

The next moment, the familiar “ding-a-ling” echoed through the Nursery.

Aisha shook the bell in her hand.

Time to eat!

Hearing the bell, the Fairy Cubs quickly set down their insect cocoons and scrambled toward the vine table.

Nothing was more important than mealtime!

Shu Li licked his lips and said to Siet, “Um… I’ll go eat first. We can talk later.”

Seeing the cub’s hungry expression, Siet smiled. “Go ahead and eat!”

He turned gracefully and flew to the vine table ahead of Shu Li.

Shu Li paused, then spread his wings and followed.

A row of small silver bowls lined the vine table. Aisha used Magic to control a long-necked pitcher, pouring sweet Flower Nectar into each bowl.

The cubs eagerly grabbed their usual bowls and began drinking.

As the cubs grew, their appetites increased. One bowl wasn’t enough, so they drank two; two bowls weren’t enough, so they drank three.

Some greedy cubs, their bellies already bulging, still wanted a fourth bowl. They approached Aisha with empty bowls, begging for more Flower Nectar, only to be ruthlessly refused.

After finishing two bowls of Flower Nectar, Shu Li let out a contented burp, set down the empty bowl, and looked up at the brown-haired adult Fairy.

Now that breakfast is over, can we start making the thread?

Siet had been enjoying watching the cubs eat when he suddenly felt an intense gaze. He turned to meet a pair of bright, tender green eyes.

Shu Li waddled over on his short legs, tilted his head back, and gestured with both hands, trying his best to make himself understood.

“I need to weave a small pair of underwear using thread.”

Siet was completely bewildered. He turned to Aisha and asked, “Is he asking for a toy?”

Aisha shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

Sperien had repeatedly gestured a “square” shape to her. At first, she thought he wanted a toy and gave him her discarded Ring of Phanis.

A few days later, the little cub came back and gestured the “square” again. Aisha still didn’t understand, so she brought out several square toys for him to choose from.

But Sperien refused them all.

Aisha, feeling helpless, had no choice but to give the toys to the other cubs.

Since Sperien couldn’t get what he wanted from her, he stopped seeking her out.

To be honest, Aisha felt a pang of disappointment for not being able to help the little cub.

This made her feel unworthy of the title “Fairy Godmother.”

Today, when Siet visited, Sperien actually gestured “square” to him.

Aisha’s expression remained calm, but her heart raced with surprise.

What exactly is this “square” that the little cub is so fixated on?

“Alright!” Siet retrieved a gleaming golden five-stringed harp from the pouch at his waist. With a gentle pluck of the strings, a beautiful melody filled the air.

The cubs’ pointed ears twitched, and they all turned to look at Siet.

Like elves, fairies were naturally sensitive to music. Drawn by the enchanting melody, they instinctively gathered around Siet.

Amidst the other cubs’ excitement, Shu Li wore a frustrated expression.

This language barrier is terrible!

It seemed learning Elven was now urgent.

But how was he supposed to learn?

There was no one to teach him!

And even if there were, could he even learn it?

As a complete language novice, Shu Li felt utterly lacking in confidence.

After using his harp to gather all the Fairy Cubs, Siet nodded at Aisha. Understanding the signal, Aisha snapped her fingers, and the vine-covered table suddenly sprouted numerous small stools, arranged in neat rows of five across and five deep.

Siet stood before the stools and made an elegant gesture of invitation. “Cubs, please take a seat—”

The cubs exchanged confused glances, their faces blank with bewilderment.

Only Shu Li understood immediately. He excitedly rushed to the front row and claimed the middle seat.

Finally, they’re going to teach us Elven!

As soon as he sat down, the other cubs followed suit.

Reddy and Whitey moved swiftly, quickly securing the seats on either side of Shu Li.

Once the cubs were seated in neat rows, Siet set down his harp and pulled out a stack of small wooden plaques from his waist pouch. Each plaque was inscribed with a string of intricate characters.

“My little darlings, it’s time for you to choose your own names.”