I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom

Naturally, distinguished guests visiting the castle had to be treated well.

The Elves prepared a lavish lunch and invited their guests to sample whatever they pleased.

Elves and Fairies were vegetarians, so lunch consisted mainly of fruit, vegetables, and bread. Dragons and merfolk, however, were carnivorous, so meat had been specially added for their benefit.

There were ordinary sea fish, shellfish, unfertilized bird eggs, and dairy products from certain animals.

Harmon was accustomed to this. He had eaten his fill on Dragon Island before coming and was still full, so the food before him was little more than a collection of snacks.

The young dragon Amanda and the two little mermaids had already spent a day and a half in Crystal Castle and were beginning to tire of the food.

They had been pampered from birth. Every meal had been carefully selected, with something different served each day. They had only experienced any hardship during the half month they had spent in the pirates’ captivity. Now that they had been rescued and knew they were safe, their picky eating habits unconsciously resurfaced.

The two little mermaids floated inside bubbles of water, staring at the food on their plates. It had been prepared so thoroughly that they could no longer tell what it had originally been, and their little mouths protruded in enormous pouts.

Curious, the Little Fairies landed on the mermaids’ table. Holding up a red fruit with both hands, they spoke to them in the merfolk tongue they had only just learned.

“Eat fruit.”

The blue-tailed little mermaid fluttered his beautiful ear fins and stared down at the red fruit, unable to decide.

“This is a Kukku fruit. It’s really delicious!” the chubby Budno strongly recommended.

The blue-tailed little mermaid turned toward his red-tailed companion. The red-tailed little mermaid reached out and took the fruit. Under the Little Fairies’ expectant gazes, she cautiously placed it in her mouth.

“Mm?” The red-tailed little mermaid’s tail rose.

“Is it good?” Budno asked.

The red-tailed little mermaid’s eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously.

It was delicious!

Merfolk occasionally ate seaweed to supplement their nutrition. The little mermaids disliked it, but their elders forced them to eat it, causing them to instinctively resist anything that looked like a plant.

After tasting the red fruit the Little Fairies had given her, the red-tailed little mermaid discovered an entirely new experience. One was nowhere near enough.

She aimed herself at a plate of Kukku fruits on the table, opened her mouth wide, and ate them one after another with great relish.

Seeing how much his companion enjoyed them, the blue-tailed little mermaid could no longer resist. He picked one up and stuffed it into his mouth.

“Eep!”

His tail fin perked up happily, and he joined her in eating Kukku fruits.

Delighted that they had successfully shared their food, the Little Fairies competed to feed the little mermaids.

Shu Li sat cross-legged on the table in front of the Elven King, his cheeks puffed out as he enviously watched the other Little Fairies communicate effortlessly with the young dragon and the little mermaids.

By comparison, he might as well have been mute.

He was simply too embarrassed to speak the dragon tongue or the merfolk tongue!

Their strange sounds and pronunciations made him ashamed to open his mouth.

Why did this other world have so many languages?

After five years of hard work, he had finally learned Elven, only to discover that he still had to learn the languages of all the other peoples.

When Shu Li learned this terrible truth, tears of sorrow had streamed down his face.

Making someone as hopeless at languages as him learn a dozen—or even dozens—of them was downright inhumane.

He picked up a fruit, sniffled, and silently took a bite.

Harmon paused in his conversation with the Elven King and looked toward the blond Little Fairy diligently stuffing himself with food. Stroking his smooth chin, he asked in confusion, “Does Sperien have something on his mind?”

He addressed the Elven King in the dragon tongue.

All the other Little Fairies had gathered around the young dragon’s and little mermaids’ tables. Sperien alone sat here forlornly, gnawing on a fruit.

Did he have trouble fitting in?

Surely not!

From what Harmon had observed, Sperien held tremendous influence among the Little Fairies.

The Elven King picked up a small boiled bird egg and placed it on the little plate before Shu Li. With a light tap, the shell instantly fell away and arranged itself in a neat pile beside the plate.

Shu Li looked up at the Elven King in confusion. Meeting those brilliant jade-green eyes, he said softly, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The Elven King smiled tenderly. “Go on and eat.”

“Mm-hmm.” Shu Li finished his fruit, took out a small handkerchief, and wiped the juice from the corners of his mouth and his hands. Then he picked up the peeled bird egg and took an enormous bite, making both cheeks bulge at once.

Harmon looked from the Little Fairy to the Elven King, and the corners of his mouth rose involuntarily.

Harmon had also received the Elven King’s blessing, but he certainly had not received treatment like Sperien’s as a child!

Back then, he had only just hatched when the Elven King, who was visiting Dragon Island, blessed him. Once he grew a little older, his parents packed him off to the Elven Kingdom to learn all kinds of magic from the great Elven King.

Everything about the Elven Kingdom had been wonderful except the food, which he could never get used to. Whenever he craved meat, he had no choice but to fly to the coast and catch fish himself.

The Elven King might appear gentle, but he was actually very strict with his students.

Even though Harmon was now the king of the dragons, he still felt the instinctive reverence of a student facing his teacher whenever he stood before the Elven King.

His gaze shifted toward Ilio, who sat in the center of the hall elegantly playing the harp.

Ilio was currently the youngest of all the Elves.

Since his birth, the mother tree had never flowered or borne fruit again.

It was only natural that he had received the Elven King’s blessing.

The Elven King had personally guided him as well, but he had certainly never peeled bird eggs for Ilio when he was a cub.

While playing, Ilio keenly sensed Harmon’s scrutinizing gaze. He smiled at him, his nimble fingers lightly plucking the strings as the soothing melody turned cheerful.

Caught sneaking a glance, Harmon remained perfectly composed. He raised his wineglass and offered Ilio a toast.

After Shu Li finished the bird egg, the Elven King handed him a little bowl of nectar.

Shu Li drank the nectar, gave a satisfied burp, and rubbed his round little belly. After saying something to the Elven King, he spread his wings and flew toward the young dragon and the little mermaids.

A language barrier did not mean they could not become friends!

Only after the blond Little Fairy had flown away did the Elven King leisurely answer Harmon’s earlier question.

“He is troubled by his studies.”

“Hmm?”

The answer only confused Harmon further.

Wasn’t five a little young for a child to be worrying about his studies?

Besides, weren’t Fairies exceptionally talented?

They learned everything quickly, whether it was language, music, dance, or magic. They had no reason to worry about being unable to master something.

As favored children of the Light God, they possessed an innate capacity for learning that inspired envy and jealousy among other peoples.

The Elven King did not conceal the truth. “Compared with the other Little Fairies, Sperien’s gift for languages is somewhat lacking. It makes him feel inferior.”

Harmon was astonished.

Was that so? This was the first time he had learned that some Little Fairies were not naturally skilled at everything.

No wonder the little fellow had spoken so briefly when Harmon first met him three years ago.

He had assumed Sperien was a quiet Little Fairy like Kumandi. Who could have guessed that he simply struggled to express himself?

And yet, three years later, Sperien now spoke Elven with complete fluency.

His linguistic talent might be slightly inferior among the Fairies, but to any other people, it was still extraordinary.

His own foolish younger brother was already eight years old, yet his command of the dragon tongue remained at the level of a toddler.

The two little mermaids were even worse at the merfolk tongue. They understood what they heard but could not speak, only occasionally blurting out a single word to express their feelings.

The Little Fairies, by contrast, had studied for only one night and could already exchange greetings in flawless dragon and merfolk speech.

Harmon thought it perfectly normal for one Little Fairy to possess merely average linguistic talent.

“He’s still young. He’ll learn faster when he grows older. There’s no need for him to feel inferior at all.”

If his foolish younger brother possessed even half of Sperien’s talent, poachers would never have managed to take him from Dragon Island.

An eight-year-old young dragon who did not even know how to cry for help—admitting it aloud would be far too humiliating.

The Elven King nodded. “I will pass your words on to Sperien.”

Harmon paused, then turned his head toward the blond Little Fairy who had flown to his younger brother’s table.

At that moment, Shu Li was watching the Little Fairies coax Amanda to eat.

“Amanda, your belly will be hungry if you don’t eat!” Angel had the best command of the dragon tongue among the Little Fairies.

The young dragon glanced at the meatballs on his plate without interest.

He wanted to eat a whole fish. He wanted shellfish served whole—not this plate of meatballs whose original ingredients were impossible to identify.

Disio picked up a large fruit and held it out. “This is good. Here—”

The young dragon was even less interested in that. He rested his head on the table and swished his tail in boredom.

After watching for a while, Shu Li decided they could not indulge a picky child. “Angel, Disio, take the food off his table.”

“Huh?” Angel looked at Shu Li in confusion.

Shu Li said, “If he doesn’t like any of it, then he can stay hungry!”

Angel’s eyes turned thoughtfully before he broke into a grin. “Sperien is right!”

He immediately called the other Little Fairies over, and together they began carrying away the food from the young dragon’s table.

“Heave-ho! Heave-ho!”

Working together, the Little Fairies soon cleared the entire table.

The young dragon raised his head and stared at them with incredulous, wide eyes.

He did not understand why the other Little Fairies had immediately sprung into action and “stolen” his food after the blond Little Fairy said a few words.

“Awoo—” The young dragon cried at Shu Li in protest.

Shu Li flashed him a toothy smile, then told Angel, “Tell him that wasting food is shameful.”

Angel nodded and began translating. “Amanda, Sperien says that wasting food is...”

Hmm. How did one say “shameful” in the dragon tongue?

He gestured to the young dragon. “Wait for me.”

With a flap of his little wings, he flew over to Siet. Under Siet’s surprised gaze, Angel asked how to say it in the dragon tongue. Siet laughed and taught him.

Once Angel had learned it, he flew back and solemnly told the young dragon, “Wasting food is shameful!”

Shu Li wanted to give Angel a thumbs-up.

He had memorized it after hearing it only once and immediately put it to use. How enviable.

The young dragon whimpered and said in the dragon tongue, “I... I want to eat a whole fish.”

Angel translated his words for Shu Li.

Shu Li frowned slightly.

The Elves were accustomed to preparing ingredients with great care. To entertain their guests, they had specially removed the fish’s scales, entrails, heads, and tails, then shaped the meat into balls so the young dragon could eat it more easily.

Who could have known the little savage would have no appreciation for refined food?

The young dragon insisted on swallowing fish whole.

To the Elves, such a way of eating was far too crude and barbaric.

It seemed that cultural customs differed enormously from one people to another.

Harmon was an adult dragon and respected the customs of the Elven Kingdom while visiting. Amanda was still young and did not understand the need to adapt to local customs, so naturally he threw a willful tantrum.

Shu Li pointed toward the little mermaids at the neighboring table. “Look how happily they’re eating.”

After discovering the sweetness of Kukku fruits, the little mermaids had entered a whole new world. They were now willing to try a little of everything, while the delighted Little Fairies brought them every food they personally thought delicious.

Nothing made someone suffer quite like a comparison.

Shu Li instructed the other Little Fairies to praise the mermaids more.

Angel beamed and took the lead. “Poen and Nia are wonderful!”

Poen was the blue-tailed little mermaid, and Nia was the red-tailed little mermaid.

The other Little Fairies joined in.

“Poen and Nia are wonderful!”

“Poen eats everything!”

“Nia isn’t picky either!”

“They’re such good little ones!”

“Good little ones! Good little ones!”

Seeing his new friends heap praise on the mermaids made sour bubbles of jealousy rise inside the young dragon. His golden eyes rolled from side to side.

After a long while, he gave a quiet cry. “I’m hungry. I want to eat.”

Shu Li clapped his hands. Before he even had to say anything, the Little Fairies cheerfully carried the food back to the young dragon’s table.

When the young dragon saw the meatballs, he swept out his long tongue and pulled the entire plateful into his mouth.

He wanted to be good too!

I’ll eat, I’ll eat, I’ll eat—

Shu Li planted his hands on his hips and beamed at the young dragon devouring his food.

See? You couldn’t spoil a badly behaved child.

Harmon had been watching the entire time. When he saw his foolish younger brother so thoroughly brought to heel by Sperien, he said ruefully to the Elven King, “You were right. Sperien is very special.”

The Elven King lowered his eyes, lifted his wineglass, and took a delicate sip.

Just as lunch was drawing to a close, the Elven gate guard suddenly entered the hall with a message.

“Your Majesty, Merfolk King Shurotis has personally come to the Elven Kingdom. She and her people are currently in the waters near the Amitai Mountains.”