I Became a Cub in the Elven Kingdom

This recommendation letter from the Mage Sovereign was just as brief. But when it was so brief that everything except the recommended student’s name was identical to the previous letter, it seemed... a little strange.

The format was as follows:

Dear Headmistress Gabri Muse,

This is Danlov. While traveling through the Cecis Mountains recently, I encountered Kumandi, a child from one of the mountain communities. He possesses exceptional magical talent, so I am recommending him for study at St. Velia Magic Academy. Please help arrange his enrollment.

Signed: Danlov Girard

The recommendation letter in her hands was exactly the same, except Kumandi’s name had been replaced with Angel’s.

If she hadn’t once worked at the Magic Tower and been intimately familiar with the Mage Sovereign’s handwriting, she really might have suspected the letter was forged.

However, the envelope bore the Mage Sovereign’s unique wax seal, something no one could counterfeit.

The Mage Sovereign rarely wrote recommendation letters for anyone. The last time had been eighteen years ago, when he recommended a fugitive prince whose uncle had usurped his throne. And now, he had recommended two children from the mountain communities in quick succession.

The Cecis Mountains... They lay west of the Dalia Empire and formed the natural barrier separating the Faerie Forest from the Human World.

Thousands of years ago, when war swept across the continent, vast numbers of civilians fled into the mountains and had lived there ever since.

The mountain communities had coexisted with magical beasts for generations under harsh living conditions. Those who survived were invariably strong. Their descendants lived difficult lives, developing extraordinary willpower, and coupled with their considerable magical talent, their future potential was immeasurable.

Gabri put away the letter and looked at the innocent-looking boy.

”Your name is Angel, correct?” she asked gently.

”Yes, Headmistress.” Angel had been puzzled when Gabri held the letter without speaking for so long, but fortunately, he was good at reading people’s expressions. He could tell that aside from surprise, she showed no negative reaction.

So he waited quietly, not worried in the slightest that he might be rejected.

Sure enough, after confirming his name, Gabri gestured for him to wait off to the side.

Angel bowed to her, then walked over to Shu Li with a beaming smile.

Shu Li lightly high-fived him.

Dixio was the fourth Little Fairy to hand over his recommendation letter. In a strong, resonant voice, he said, ”Please take a look at my recommendation letter, Headmistress.”

Gabri accepted it with a smile. The moment she saw the Mage Sovereign’s wax seal again, however, her smile stiffened.

This...

She quickly opened the envelope and pulled out the letter, staring at the elegant Continental Common Language script.

The same format.

The same sentences.

The same signature.

A different student’s name.

And thus, an entirely new recommendation letter had been born.

The boy standing before her, Dixio, was likewise supposedly a child from the mountain communities.

Unable to contain himself, Dixio asked in confusion, ”Headmistress, is there something wrong with my letter?”

Gabri looked into the boy’s clear eyes, suppressed her astonishment, and said kindly, ”No, there’s nothing wrong with it. Welcome to St. Velia Magic Academy.”

”Thank you, Headmistress!”

After bowing, Dixio bounded over to Shu Li and excitedly pumped his little fist.

Shu Li winked at him.

Their recommendation letters had all been personally written by Danlov. Headmistress Gabri certainly wasn’t going to reject them.

When it was Budno’s turn, he hadn’t even handed over his recommendation letter before Gabri asked, ”Was your recommendation letter also written by the Mage Sovereign?”

”Uh, yes.” Budno tilted his head, somehow feeling that the headmistress’s eyes were filled with resignation.

Gabri took his letter.

Upon seeing the exact same phrasing, she was no longer shocked at all!

The esteemed Mage Sovereign possessed extraordinary discernment. He had recognized the exceptional talents of four boys from the mountain communities and written four recommendation letters for them in one go.

Nothing strange about that!

Nothing strange whatsoever.

—How was any of this not strange?!

Gabri had lived for five hundred years. She stood only one step away from becoming a Saint Mage, having reached the very peak of the Senior Grand Mage rank, and had long since mastered the art of keeping her emotions from showing on her face.

And yet, when confronted with four mass-produced recommendation letters from the Mage Sovereign, even she couldn’t help being profoundly shaken.

Zefir was equally stunned when the four Little Fairies produced recommendation letters from the Mage Sovereign one after another.

If those old-fashioned fossils at the Magic Tower learned that the mighty Mage Sovereign, ruler of the Central Court, had lowered himself to write recommendation letters for four ”boys from the mountain communities,” who knew what expressions they would make?

Three years ago, Danlov had still been a Saint Mage. After leaving the Central Court for a time, he had returned as a Mage Sovereign.

No one had known where he’d gone back then.

But after watching the Little Fairies line up and produce recommendation letters from the Mage Sovereign one after another, Zefir was now certain of his destination.

The Elven Kingdom.

Danlov was the Elven King’s eldest disciple and had grown up in the Elven Kingdom. There was nothing unusual about him returning there.

As a Saint Mage who had lived for more than three thousand years, however, his lifespan had been approaching its limit. If he failed to advance to Mage Sovereign, he would likely return to the Light God’s embrace within only a few years.

Someone as intelligent as Danlov had returned to the Elven Kingdom to seek out the Elven King and, within just a few days, advanced to Mage Sovereign.

That truly had been beyond everyone’s expectations.

Zefir’s gaze involuntarily shifted toward the final ”Mage Apprentice.”

Straight golden hair gleamed like sunlight, while his eyes shone like emeralds. He was tall and slender, with an immaculate presence and looks that compared favorably even with an Elf’s.

The disguise was practically an open secret.

And yet, no mage below the Mage Sovereign rank could see through to his true form.

Had Zefir never met the Elven King before, even he probably would have been fooled.

The finest disguises mixed truth with falsehood until no one could tell which was which.

Once Gabri had regained her composure, she looked at the blond boy.

”Your recommendation letter...”

”Thank you for taking the trouble, Headmistress.” Ace handed Gabri his recommendation letter.

Gabri accepted the envelope and discovered, to her relief, that it finally did not bear the Mage Sovereign’s wax seal.

She took out the letter and skimmed the writing, thinking that at last, this was a normal recommendation letter.

The recommender was Charlie Gert, a Grand Mage of the Izera Empire and headmaster of Augustine Magic Academy. In exceedingly florid prose, he praised the Mage Apprentice’s excellence, proclaiming him a once-in-heaven-and-earth prodigy. If Augustine Magic Academy hadn’t been so limited in resources and utterly unworthy of such a student, he claimed, he would never have been willing to recommend the boy to the Central Court and let St. Velia Magic Academy reap the benefits.

The unmistakable resentment permeating his words made Gabri laugh.

”That old Charlie. Still as witty as ever.”

She shook her head and looked warmly at the blond boy before her.

”Your name is Ace... Estel?”

”Yes, Headmistress Muse,” Ace replied with impeccable courtesy.

”Ace Estel...” Gabri repeated.

Suddenly, she froze.

Estel was the Elven King’s surname!

What an extraordinary name for this child. His parents must have had tremendous hopes for him.

”St. Velia Magic Academy welcomes you.”

And so, all seven Mage Apprentices received Headmistress Gabri Muse’s approval. Their enrollment procedures were successfully completed, and they officially became students of St. Velia Magic Academy.

Shu Li and his companions each received a magical badge bearing their name. They were beside themselves with delight, turning the badges over and over in their hands, grinning so widely they couldn’t close their mouths.

Yes! We got in!

Gabri hadn’t seen children this innocent and adorable in a very long time. Aside from Ace and Kumandi, who were comparatively composed, the other five boys were beside themselves with joy, hugging one another and rubbing against each other affectionately. They were extraordinarily close.

”Zefir, if you have time, why don’t you take them to the dormitory?”

”Yes, Headmistress.”

After bowing, Zefir reached out and plucked Amanda away from where he was hugging and nuzzling the Little Fairies.

”Let’s go.”

”Ah, Uncle, I can walk by myself.”

Being held by the back of his collar made his neck uncomfortable.

Zefir released him. Amanda landed on both feet and rubbed his neck.

Shu Li and his companions politely said goodbye to the headmistress, then followed Zefir out of her office.

Nasha and Hector were waiting in the corridor.

There were only two of them, so their enrollment procedures had been completed quickly, and they had already received their magical badges. Green had originally intended to take them to the dormitory first, but Nasha insisted on waiting for the others.

Hector didn’t mind. The more people, the livelier things would be. Rather than share a dormitory with complete strangers, he’d prefer to live with people he already knew.

The people from the mountain communities were straightforward and easy to get along with. Living together would mean fewer conflicts and less trouble.

After they had waited for a little over ten minutes, the door to the headmistress’s office opened and the group emerged.

Nasha brightened and raised a hand to wave.

”Amo—”

Shu Li spotted her and quickly approached.

”How did it go?”

Nasha pulled out her magical badge.

”I got in! What about you?”

Shu Li broke into a grin and displayed his own badge.

”Hehe, we’ve all got ours!” Dixio declared, holding up his gleaming golden badge with a triumphant expression.

Nasha smiled.

She knew they were talented. Of course they would get in without trouble.

Hector asked her curiously, ”Why do you call him Amo?”

Nasha’s smile vanished, replaced by a haughty expression.

”What I call him is none of your business!”

Ever since they’d left the head of the magic department’s office, this young nobleman from the Puros Empire had kept trying to chat with her after learning that she was a princess of the Dalia Empire.

And most of those conversations revolved around her status as a ”princess.”

But Nasha wasn’t truly a princess of the Dalia Empire.

The queen had adopted her in order to care for her and granted her the same treatment as a princess. But Nasha knew perfectly well that she was the princess of the fallen Pedam Kingdom. She could never regard herself as a princess of the Dalia Empire.

Yet Hector seemed unusually interested in her, showing off his family background like a peacock spreading its tail.

He was no different from those young noblemen in the royal capital who had tried to court her.

He was so annoying!

Nasha suppressed her princess temper and responded halfheartedly now and then, but Hector seemed completely oblivious. Finally unable to endure it any longer, she adopted the aloof, imperious demeanor of a princess.

To her complete disbelief, Hector turned out to be remarkably thick-skinned. The more haughty she became, the broader his smile grew.

There was nothing Nasha could do about him, so she finally went cold and stopped talking altogether.

And now that Amo and the others had come out, the instant she opened her mouth, Hector had ”latched onto” her again.

After being rebuffed by the little princess, Hector rubbed his nose.

As a nobleman of the Puros Empire, the moment he learned that Nasha was a princess of the Dalia Empire, his desire to establish a connection with her had immediately stirred.

If he could become friends with a princess, that relationship might prove useful when he eventually returned to the Puros Empire.

But the princess seemed to have misunderstood something. After only a few exchanges, she’d started treating him coldly.

He had no idea what he’d said wrong and could only keep smiling apologetically.

Girls were really hard to understand!

Fortunately, the other boys had finally come out.

When Green learned that Instructor Red was personally escorting the new students to their dormitory, he was surprised for quite a while. But then he remembered that one of those students was Red’s nephew, and it no longer seemed strange.

”In that case, I’ll be leaving for the day.”

He bowed to Zefir.

”Go ahead.” Zefir nodded.

Green was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something.

”Do you know which class the headmistress assigned them to?”

”Class One,” Zefir replied.

”Class One?” Green stared in surprise.

Class One was an elite class composed of students who had already passed an initial screening. Every student there possessed extraordinary talent, and most were Senior Mage Apprentices.

But of these nine students, only three were Senior Mage Apprentices. The rest were either Intermediate Mage Apprentices or lower-ranking Mage Apprentices.

Wouldn’t putting them in Class One leave them at a disadvantage?

”The headmistress arranged it,” Zefir said. ”She naturally has her reasons.”

Shu Li asked, ”Instructor Green, is Class One not good?”

Green shook his head.

”No. Class One is excellent. Extremely good.”

That was exactly the problem.

He was afraid they wouldn’t be able to keep up.