Chapter 259: Shushu Writes a Diary (Revised)

A swamp?

Could it be the infamous Swamp of Death—the Uniba Swamp?

The swamp covered an enormous area, almost as large as the present-day Enkak region.

So ten thousand years ago, it hadn't been a swamp at all, but part of Enkak. During the Earth God's battle against the dark forces, he had unleashed a tremendous earthquake that transformed the land into a swamp.

And just like the Fire God's Temple of Edas, the Earth God's Temple of Esde had sunk underground, hidden from the world for ten thousand years.

No wonder existing books contained so little information about the Temple of Esde. Only this ancient cowhide-bound volume mentioned it at all.

The Earth Spirit, missing for ten thousand years, might very well be inside the Temple of Esde.

Thrilled by the possibility, Shu Li eagerly flipped through several more pages, only to be disappointed.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book contained very little about the Temple of Esde. Most of it chronicled the seemingly endless feud between the dwarves and goblins.

Shu Li closed the ancient book regretfully and returned it to Ace.

"Thanks. I'm finished."

At least he now had a lead on the Temple of Esde's location. That would make things much easier.

The Uniba Swamp bordered Vanaku, so the Mother Tree's roots must extend beneath it. Once he returned to the academy, he would discuss it with the Mother Tree and ask her to purify the roots beneath the swamp first, then use them to pinpoint the Temple of Esde.

Ace accepted the cowhide-bound book and casually returned it to its original place on the shelf.

"You're welcome."

Shu Li asked curiously, "You're... not buying it?"

"I read a few pages. It's mostly a history of the dwarves and goblins competing for the Earth God's favor. I'm not particularly interested."

Shu Li blinked.

Not particularly interested? Then why had he been reading it so intently just now?

Ace pulled another ancient volume from the shelf and asked, "Have you chosen your books?"

Shu Li nodded. "Yep. I've already paid for them, too."

Ace took his chosen book to the counter. Ancient volumes were expensive, and the shopkeeper quoted a price of twenty gold coins. Ace didn't bother bargaining and promptly paid.

As Shu Li watched him make the purchase, he hesitated, wanting to say something but ultimately keeping quiet.

He couldn't help thinking that, compared with The Beliefs of Dwarves and Goblins, this book, The Untold Story of My Elven Teacher and Me, was considerably stranger.

The former was a collection of myths and legends. The latter looked like a third-rate novel!

The shopkeeper beamed as he accepted the money.

Shu Li sighed.

Oh well. Everyone had their own tastes. It wasn't his place to comment.

Still, the purchase left him questioning the suspicion that had been growing in his mind.

He simply couldn't imagine the noble, elegant Elven King holding a trashy novel and reading it with great enthusiasm.

Shu Li tried picturing the scene, then quickly shook his head to banish the ridiculous image.

"What's wrong?"

Ace's beautiful voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Uh, nothing. Nothing at all." Shu Li answered guiltily, then turned toward the others and raised his voice. "Has everyone finished choosing their books?"

"All done!"

His teammates carried their selections to the counter one after another.

Having sold twenty or thirty books in one go, the shopkeeper was delighted. If Seriu hadn't been a regular customer, he would have loved to charge these newcomers outrageous prices and make a handsome profit.

By the time everyone finished buying books, it was almost dinnertime. The group left the shopping district on the top floor and headed for the restaurants on the third floor.

At last, there was delicious food to be had!

With its keen sense of smell, Falm emerged from the Fire God's Mark once again. It perched on Shu Li's shoulder, stretched its neck, and sniffed eagerly in every direction.

"Magical beast meat! And high-ranking beast meat at that!"

Drool trickled from its mouth.

Shu Li lifted it off his shoulder in disgust, unwilling to risk getting saliva all over his magic robe.

High-ranking magical beast meat was already expensive, and once prepared by the restaurant's chefs, the price doubled.

To celebrate the successful completion of their first adventuring assignment, Shu Li generously ordered a table full of delicious dishes. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the feast.

Amanda finally got to taste seafood.

The only disappointment was that the seafood had been frozen and wasn't particularly fresh.

Still, Amanda was satisfied. After all, Igya City was located inland, making seafood difficult to transport. Preserving seventy to eighty percent of its freshness was already quite an achievement.

After eating and drinking their fill, the Light Squad happily departed Delabe Castle and took a carriage back to St. Velia Magic Academy.

In the dormitory's living room, Ace settled comfortably onto the sofa and began reading the ancient book he'd just purchased. Seeing him occupied, Shu Li didn't want to disturb him and returned to his own bedroom.

He needed to visit the Elven Kingdom today.

He hadn't gone back yesterday, and Islar was probably sulking by now.

Besides, there was a certain suspicion he wanted to investigate.

It was still early, so Shu Li decided to write in his diary before returning to the Elven Kingdom, recording yesterday's battle against the Demon Lord in detail.

He changed into his Fairy robes, shrank down to his tiny Fairy form, and took out his diary along with a miniature desk and chair. Then he began writing as he recalled everything that had happened.

[...Mom, Dad, my brothers, you'll never believe this, but I fought a Demon Lord from hell! To tell you the truth, I never expected to run into a mini-boss so soon, either. That Demon Lord was seriously powerful. At my current level, I'm no match for him at all. I can't even imagine how terrifying the Dark God must be! I need to get stronger as quickly as possible, find all the elemental spirits, and reach the level of a Mage Sovereign. Otherwise, forget defeating the Dark God—even one of his Demon Lords could crush me without breaking a sweat.

Shu Li wrote faster and faster, his neat, regular handwriting gradually giving way to flowing cursive. He filled eight pages in one sitting before finally finishing his account of yesterday's events.

Just as he was about to put down his pen, he hesitated and added a few more lines.

[There's something I don't know what to do about. But if I don't get to the bottom of it, this uncertainty is going to keep bothering me.

[Could Ace be the Elven King?

[There are plenty of suspicious details, but without solid evidence, I can't draw any conclusions. Besides, I don't believe the Elven King would disguise himself as a human, fabricate an entire background, and deliberately approach us.

[Why would he? What possible motive could he have?

Shu Li stopped writing and scratched his head.

With his limited brainpower, he simply couldn't figure it out.

If Ace wasn't the Elven King, how could he explain yesterday's nightmare?

What had truly aroused his suspicions was the front of Ace's clothing.

In the nightmare, Shu Li had clung to the Elven King and cried in his arms, soaking his clothes with tears.

In reality, Ace's clothes had been slightly damp in precisely the same place—over the left side of his chest.

How could there be such an extraordinary coincidence?

Besides, Ace frequently gave him a strange sense of familiarity. On several occasions, Shu Li had even mistaken him for the Elven King.

He had previously asked the Elven King whether it was possible to teleport directly from the Central Court back to the Elven Kingdom.

The Elven King had said it wasn't.

But was it truly impossible?

Shu Li shook his head, his brows knitting together as guilt washed over him.

How could he suspect the great Elven King of lying?

He was nothing more than a tiny Fairy. Why would the king deceive him for no reason?

With a long sigh, Shu Li closed his diary.

That was the contradiction that kept forcing him to abandon his suspicions.

To Shu Li, the Elven King was perfect, noble, and powerful, purer even than moonlight. There was absolutely no way someone like him would disguise himself as a human just to deceive a Little Fairy.

Even entertaining the idea felt like sacrilege.

Shu Li patted his cheeks and extended his perception into the living room.

The sofa was empty. Evidently, Ace had returned to his bedroom.

Shu Li pressed his palms together and murmured [N O V E L I G H T] an apology. Then he extended his perception farther, slipping it into Ace's bedroom.

And "saw" him undressing.

Uh...

Ace stood beside his bed, having already removed his magic robe. His upper body was covered only by a thin shirt, while his waist-length golden hair cascaded down his back like silk, swaying gently with his movements and shimmering in the light.

Completely unaware of Shu Li's perception, he gracefully began unfastening his belt.

Shu Li hastily withdrew his perception.

Don't look! Don't look at things you shouldn't!

He covered his burning cheeks and apologized to his roommate again. Ace couldn't hear him, of course, but Shu Li would have felt terrible if he didn't apologize.

This was exactly why he shouldn't use his perception so carelessly. Accidentally invading someone's privacy was awful!

Shu Li quickly put away his diary and miniature furniture, then flew to the window and called out to the Mother Tree.

[Eunomisis, are you there?]

"I'm here."

[Um, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. I found a clue today. The Earth God's Temple of Esde might be buried beneath the Uniba Swamp. Could you purify the roots beneath the swamp first and help me search for it?]

"The Temple of Esde? That was indeed the dwelling of the Earth God, Hedfis Lofverne, in the Human World. I'll investigate and let you know when I have something definite."

[That's great! Thanks for doing this!]

"All the roots need to be purified eventually. It's merely a matter of which ones I attend to first." The Mother Tree chuckled gently before asking, "Will you be returning to the Elven Kingdom tonight?"

[Yep, I'm coming back.]

Shu Li opened the window just enough to squeeze through. He reached out to touch a branch of the Mother Tree and plunged straight into it.

The instant the Little Fairy's presence vanished, Ace, who had finished changing his clothes, sensed his departure.

He resumed his appearance as the Elven King, calmly took several high-grade magic stones from his storage ring, and tossed them into the teleportation array on the floor.

Through the Mother Tree's root network, Shu Li quickly returned to the Elven Kingdom.

But when he emerged from the trunk, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Sperien!"

Clear, excited voices rang out.

The Little Fairies who had been waiting on the Mother Tree's branches all spread their translucent wings and swarmed toward him.

"Sperien! We missed you so much!"

"You're finally back! We've been waiting forever!"

"It's been over a month! Did you miss us?"

"Brave Sperien, is the outside world fun? I want to hear all about your adventures!"

More than twenty Little Fairies chattered excitedly, pouring out how much they'd missed him. One hugged him and rubbed against his cheek, then another did the same. Their enthusiasm was overwhelming.

Shu Li was completely bewildered, unable to make sense of what was happening.

Besides the twenty-one Little Fairies born in the same group as him, there were also five eight-year-old Fairy cubs.

Every single one of them was waiting on the Mother Tree's branches to ambush him!

The Elves knew he could travel to other places through the Mother Tree. The adult Fairies might know as well. But among the Little Fairies, only Dixio and a few others were aware of his ability.

Yet here he was, caught by the entire group the moment he emerged from the trunk.

And judging by what they were saying, they had somehow known he would appear.

Finally recovering his wits, Shu Li cupped his cheeks, which had been rubbed red by all the affectionate greetings.

"Why... why are you all here?"

Lois explained, "The wheat the Elves planted is ripe! We came to help with the harvest."

In truth, the Elves were perfectly capable of harvesting their crops without assistance. But the Little Fairies loved joining in the excitement, and after receiving permission from Siet and Aisha, they'd eagerly come to the Elven Kingdom for a visit.

"We got here yesterday! And then we found Islar sitting beneath the Mother Tree for half the day!"

The other Little Fairies eagerly chimed in.

"Helene told him to go back to his room and rest, but he wouldn't listen."

"Mm-hmm! We thought he might be lonely, so we kept him company."

"But he seemed to have something on his mind. He barely wanted to talk."

"Heehee! So Misina suggested we play that game you taught us before—Truth or Dare!"

"When it was Islar's turn, he told everyone that you come back to the Elven Kingdom through the Mother Tree every day!"

"Wow! Sperien, you're amazing!"

"Exactly! How could you keep something so interesting from us?"

"Can Dixio and the others come back through the Mother Tree too?"

"You didn't come back yesterday, and Islar was really disappointed. That's why he's been so gloomy."

"So we all got up extra early today and came here with Islar to wait for you!"

As the Little Fairies took turns explaining, Shu Li finally pieced together what had happened.

He reached out and pinched Misina's tender cheek.

This little cub had been rather cocky ever since he was small, with all the makings of a leader. Who would have thought he was also so clever? He'd actually used a game to coax information out of an Elven cub.

Shu Li took a pretty little pouch from his storage pouch and handed it to Misina as a reward.

"Here. I bought some candy while I was away."

"Candy!" Misina's eyes sparkled. "Is it candy made by humans?"

"Yep. It's very sweet, but eating too much will give you cavities." Shu Li tapped the cub's little nose. "So you can only have two pieces at a time."

"Okay!"

Misina accepted the pouch and opened it. Seeing that it was filled with brightly colored candies, he happily began sharing them with the other four cubs.

"Sperien~~"

The other Little Fairies crowded closer, blinking their wide, expectant eyes at him.

Shu Li smiled and took out another four or five little pouches.

"These are for you. Remember, don't eat too much!"

"Wow! Thank you, Sperien!"

The Little Fairy closest to him threw his arms around Shu Li and planted several noisy kisses on his cheeks.

Seeing the others preparing to pounce on him too, Shu Li hastily flew away from the branch.

Then he looked down and was surprised to discover the Elven cub Islar quietly crouching on the ground, pulling up weeds.

Oh? Is the little guy still angry?!