I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom

The young boy gripped a dazzling top-rank magic staff and cast advanced light purification magic. Though he wore an ordinary cloak, an aura of holiness naturally emanated from him.

The vast room was enveloped in pure light. Its radiance felt warm and gentle against their bodies, instantly dispelling the negative emotions buried deep within their hearts and leaving everyone completely at peace.

As a mage retained by the royal family, Alec possessed supreme status and enjoyed wealth and privilege beyond measure. How could he possibly allow anyone else to claim a share of it?

He had grown up in the Central Court and knew every Saint Mage there. Which one of them was not over a thousand years old?

Of all the identities this young man could have assumed, he had chosen to impersonate a Saint Mage.

Alec waited to expose the two frauds and their malicious intentions.

Yet when the Mage Apprentice withdrew a high-rank magic staff from his storage ring, Alec’s pupils abruptly contracted. Before he could recover from his surprise, the boy released advanced light purification magic without warning. Alec had not even heard him recite an incantation.

Perhaps he had recited one, and Alec simply had not heard it clearly?

Everyone in the room was cleansed by the purification magic, and Alec was no exception.

The darkness in his heart vanished, and an intense sense of shame welled up inside him. He became painfully aware that he had betrayed the will of the Light God. Corrupted by worldly wealth and power, he had become greedy, vain, and selfish.

He stared with complicated emotions at the Mage Apprentice waving his magic staff beside the bed.

No. Anyone capable of casting advanced purification magic could not possibly be a Mage Apprentice.

He was a Senior Mage.

But how could there be such a young Senior Mage?

Saint Velia Magic Academy had produced countless gifted mages, yet even its youngest Senior Mage had been over twenty-five.

Was this child truly human?

Senro was equally astonished.

When he first met little Amo, he had assumed the boy was merely an ordinary child. By their second meeting, Amo had become a Mage Apprentice. His magic badge was set with seven gemstones, representing Seven-Element Magic.

A genius among geniuses like him was simply unprecedented.

Senro had assumed that Mr. Al intended to focus on nurturing his younger brother. But after witnessing the purification magic little Amo had just released, he completely discarded that assumption.

This sphere of light was even more powerful than the high-rank purification stone he had received before.

Some dark power had still remained inside his body, yet the moment the light from little Amo’s purification sphere shone upon him, it was completely cleansed.

Incredible!

Who exactly was little Amo? How could he possess such tremendous power?

Senro pressed a hand to his chest. His body felt lighter than ever before. Even his old wounds were healing rapidly, his exhaustion had vanished, and his strength had returned to its peak.

It was unbelievable!

Bilien excitedly threw his arms around Commander Milton, his beard nearly flying from the force of his elation.

Wonderful! The queen and little princess were saved!

His master had rendered a tremendous service. The king would surely reward him handsomely, further securing the Lier family’s position in the royal capital!

Who could have imagined that a Mage Apprentice’s purification magic would surpass even an Archmage’s?

As expected of a Saint Mage’s younger brother. He was already so outstanding at such a young age.

Milton frowned and forcefully shoved his butler away.

The man was practically strangling him.

His sharp gaze fixed upon the magic staff in the young apprentice’s hands.

Even the Archmage Alec did not possess a top-rank magic staff like that.

Despite wearing the plain clothes of a commoner, the child not only possessed a storage ring but had casually produced an immensely valuable top-rank magic staff.

His background was clearly extraordinary!

Could he be the young master of some great family?

Nasha gazed enviously at little Amo as he held his magic staff aloft.

They were about the same age, yet he was already so powerful. If she became a mage too, could she change the fate awaiting the Kingdom of Pedam?

Shu Li had no idea what anyone else was thinking. Once the light elements had gathered into the largest possible sphere, he swept his magic staff through the air. The sphere of purifying light immediately split in two, and both halves swiftly entered the chests of the queen and little princess.

Suppressing their astonishment, everyone held their breath and watched as the queen and little princess absorbed the spheres of light. Black mist emerged from their bodies, vanishing without a trace the moment it touched the light.

Once all the black mist had been expelled, the queen and little princess slowly opened their tightly closed eyes.

“Helati! Little Lier!”

The king shouted excitedly.

After hearing Alec’s warning, he had hesitated, worried that these people might be frauds. Now that he saw his wife and youngest daughter awaken, he was beside himself with joy.

Shu Li lowered his magic staff, his task successfully completed. He was about to ask Ilio why only his purification magic had worked when he saw Ilio holding an uncorked bottle of potion.

Ilio recited a brief incantation, and a gust of wind carrying the potion’s scent swiftly swept around the room.

The king, Commander Milton, Butler Bilien, the newly awakened little princess, Senro, Nasha, the guards, and even Alec, an Archmage, were all caught completely unprepared. One after another, they collapsed into a deep sleep.

Shu Li: (=°Д°

What just happened?

Why had Ilio used some mysterious potion to knock out every human in the room?

Oh, one was still awake—the queen lying on the bed.

Shu Li was not the only one shocked. The queen, who had awakened before she could even kiss or embrace the king, stared at them with wide, frightened eyes.

Although she had been unconscious, her mind had remained awake the entire time. She knew that the adult and child before her were the mages who had saved her. She had been deeply grateful and had intended to ask the king to reward them handsomely, but this sudden turn of events caught her completely off guard.

Why had her saviors suddenly become... villains?

“Who... who are you? What... what do you want?” The queen struggled upright and pointed at the unfamiliar mage in horror.

Shu Li closed his mouth and innocently hugged his magic staff as he gazed at the queen, whose beautiful face had gone pale with fear.

He had no idea what Ilio intended to do either, but since Ilio had done it, he must have his reasons.

And so Shu Li remained silent, waiting to see what Ilio would do next.

“Greetings, beautiful queen from the Kingdom of Snow. I am Al, and this is my younger brother, Amo. We are mages traveling across the continent.”

Ilio gracefully bowed in greeting.

Shu Li followed his example and bowed to the queen with perfect form.

Sensing no malice from either of them, the queen’s fear and unease gradually subsided. After steadying herself, she asked in confusion, “What... do you want?”

As expected of a queen, she had regained her composure remarkably quickly. Ilio studied her slightly haggard face and smiled. “There is indeed an important matter for which we require Your Majesty’s assistance.”

Hearing that they needed something from her, the queen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She tucked the blanket around the little princess, then sat upright on the bed and looked directly at the two mages with her pale blue eyes.

“You saved my life, so I should reward you handsomely regardless. Forget one favor—I would gladly grant you two or three. But I do not understand why you rendered everyone else unconscious.”

She spoke calmly and confidently, displaying all the poise of an empire’s queen.

“Because we do not want anyone else to know about this matter,” Ilio replied.

The queen frowned slightly. “Then... please tell me what this matter is and how I can help you.”

Ilio looked down at Shu Li. “Give her the letter.”

“Yes!” Shu Li immediately replied.

Ilio was incredible. He handled matters without the slightest hesitation. Just like that, they had smoothly reached the stage where his curse could be lifted.

Shu Li withdrew an exquisitely crafted golden treasure chest from his storage ring. Under the queen’s suspicious gaze, he opened it and took out a metal tube as thick as a finger.

“This is a letter from Claude Bull, a mage of the Kingdom of Pedam.”

The queen froze when she heard that. Staring at the metal tube, she murmured, “The Kingdom of Pedam... Claude Bull... Why did he not deliver the letter himself?”

“Because he died at sea,” Shu Li replied solemnly. “I happened to find this treasure chest, had the misfortune of being cursed by him, and was forced to travel all the way to the royal capital to deliver this letter to you personally.”

He raised his right hand and turned the back toward the queen, showing her the black spider-shaped mark.

The queen covered her cheeks with both hands, disbelief written across her face.

Concealing the fact that he was a Fairy, Shu Li clearly and methodically explained how he had come to be cursed.

The Kingdom of Cecilia had been invading the Kingdom of Pedam for ten years. Its king and queen had struggled desperately to resist, unable to obtain aid or send word beyond their borders, while the surrounding countries watched their suffering with indifference. With no other choice, the queen of Pedam dispatched Claude Bull, an Archmage, to break through the siege and travel to the distant Dalia Empire in search of help.

Unfortunately, Claude Bull’s journey had been fraught with hardship. After being forced to travel through one place after another, he had finally boarded a ship, only to be caught in a maritime disaster.

As he lay dying, he clung to one last sliver of hope. He sealed the plea for aid inside the treasure chest, hoping that someone would find it and deliver the letter for him.

“...Although I sympathize deeply with what happened to Claude Bull, placing a curse that forced whoever found the treasure chest to deliver his letter was extremely unpleasant.”

After finishing his explanation, Shu Li handed the metal tube containing the plea for aid to the queen.

The queen had already dissolved into tears as she listened. With trembling hands, she accepted the metal tube.

“I’m sorry... I... I didn’t know...” She clutched the tube tightly as tears streamed down her face.

Seeing how heartbroken she looked, Shu Li scratched the back of his head and tugged at Ilio’s cloak, silently asking for help.

Ilio gave him a look telling him to wait, then asked, “Did Your Majesty never receive word that the Kingdom of Pedam had been invaded?”

The queen jolted. Raising her tear-streaked face, she choked out, “What... do you mean by that?”

“Ten years is enough time for someone to cross the entire Austin Continent on foot, traveling from the distant east to the Dalia Empire in the west,” Ilio said. “Even if the Kingdom of Pedam was unable to send messages to the outside world, every traveler who passed through the region would know that it was under attack by the Kingdom of Cecilia. As the queen of an empire, you would be especially sensitive to wars between nations. Therefore—”

He paused and fixed the queen with a piercing gaze.

“You should have known long ago that your sister’s kingdom was suffering through a war.”

Shu Li clicked his tongue.

That was incredibly direct!

Even when facing a delicate woman, Ilio showed no tender consideration. He struck straight at the heart of the matter and laid the truth bare.

Still, Shu Li completely agreed with him.

If the queens of the Dalia Empire and the Kingdom of Pedam truly shared a close bond as sisters, she should have received news of the invasion through any number of channels.

Yet for an entire decade, she had done nothing.

It was only after Shu Li told her about the mage Claude Bull that she had shed those heartbroken tears.

Shu Li turned to look at Senro and Nasha, both unconscious on the floor.

One was a Great Swordsman of the Kingdom of Pedam, and the other was its princess. They had overcome countless obstacles, risked being hunted down, and traveled an immense distance to reach the royal capital of the Dalia Empire and beg the queen for help.

Judging by the queen’s reaction, Shu Li suspected they were destined for disappointment.

“You are correct... I learned long ago that the Kingdom of Cecilia was attacking the Kingdom of Pedam.” The queen wiped the tears from her face, her delicate brows drawn tightly together. “But there was nothing I could do.”

“Why?” Shu Li asked, confused. “Aren’t you the queen?”

“It is precisely because I am the queen that I cannot act as I please.” The queen glanced at the king slumped beside the bed and sighed. “I must consider the interests of my own country. The Dalia Empire may nominally be one of the four great empires and appear powerful, but authority is divided among many factions. Those factions form alliances while also restraining one another. The king’s actual power is limited, and as queen, I have even less influence. The proposal to send troops to assist the Kingdom of Pedam was completely rejected by parliament.”

Looking at the young boy’s innocent face, the queen smiled helplessly. “Queen is merely an impressive-sounding title.”

After listening to her explanation, Shu Li could not help sighing.

Once national interests became involved, matters truly grew complicated.

If a king lacked absolute authority, everything he attempted would be constrained and obstructed at every turn.

The Kingdom of Pedam’s final hope would probably come to nothing.

He looked sympathetically at Senro and Nasha, saddened that all their efforts might prove futile.

Ilio stroked the dejected Little Fairy’s head and said calmly to the queen, “We have no authority to interfere in disputes between nations. Our only purpose today was to deliver the letter and lift the curse.”

Shu Li raised his head.

That was right. Their sole purpose in making this journey was to lift his curse. Whether the queen was willing to help the Kingdom of Pedam was beyond their responsibility.

They were an Elf and a Fairy. They had no right to interfere in wars among humans.

From ancient times to the present, nations had risen and fallen, dynasties had replaced one another, and the cycle had repeated itself throughout history.

Whether the Kingdom of Pedam could escape its predicament would depend on its own fortune.

“Thank you,” the queen said gently. “On Claude’s behalf, I apologize to you.”

She unscrewed the cap of the metal tube and felt inside, only to discover that it contained no paper at all.

“This...”

The queen looked at Shu Li in confusion. He hurriedly waved his hands and explained, “I never opened that metal tube!”

How was he supposed to know it was empty?

He had been wrongly accused!

Suddenly, the back of his right hand lit up. The black spider-shaped mark detached itself and floated into the air, where it transformed into a wisp of smoke.

The smoke gathered into a translucent figure—the image of Claude Bull himself.

“Your noble Majesty, Queen Helati. I am Claude Bull. Please forgive me for appearing before you in the form of a soul.”