Chapter 270: Shushu’s Sexual Orientation.

Shu Li returned to his dormitory at the magic academy through the Mother Tree's root network. His tiny body leaped onto the soft bed, burrowed deep beneath the covers, and rolled back and forth without stopping.

Waaaaah!

He had actually asked the Elven King such a personal question! By the end of it, the Elven King must have been on the verge of getting angry, right?

Ugh. If someone were lucky enough to be loved by the Elven King, they'd be overjoyed! How could anyone possibly be so heartless as to reject him?

Shu Li stopped rolling and lay on his stomach, propping his cheeks in his hands while gently fluttering the wings on his back.

"I think I went a little too far with that question."

Although the King hadn't looked angry, he definitely couldn't have been happy about it.

"I wouldn't be happy if someone asked me that, either!"

Shu Li rubbed his cheeks, rolled onto his back, and stared at the exquisite ceiling overhead.

When Ace had asked him that question, he genuinely hadn't known how to answer. That was why he'd used his status as a minor as an excuse to change the subject.

Then, out of curiosity, he'd asked the Elven King the same question, never expecting such a pure and straightforward answer.

Whether someone loved a person of the same sex or the opposite sex depended entirely on whom they fell for. Even if the object of their affection were a leaf, once they fell in love, they would pursue that love without hesitation.

Both Elves and Fairies were creatures who remained faithful to their partners. Until they fell in love, they had little desire for romance. Once they did, their devotion was unwavering.

Growing up, Shu Li had attended quite a few weddings. Elves marrying Elves, Fairies marrying Fairies, Elves marrying Fairies—whether the couples were of the same sex or opposite sexes, nobody thought anything of it.

Even now, those Elven and Fairy couples remained deeply in love, as inseparable as ever.

Shu Li shifted from his back onto his side, propped his head up with one hand, and adopted a solemn expression.

Setting aside the fact that he was still a minor, this was something he ought to think about seriously.

Before transmigrating, Shu Li had been nothing more than a hardworking high school student. Romance had never crossed his mind, so he had no idea whether he was attracted to men or women.

After transmigrating, he'd become a Little Fairy who had grown up from a cub. His head had been filled with thoughts of becoming stronger and finding a way home. Looking for a partner in another world had never even occurred to him.

However, Fairies had extraordinarily long lifespans. He would meet countless people in the future, and who knew? Perhaps one day he would encounter his destined partner.

That was why he ought to understand his own sexual orientation in advance. Otherwise, he might cause unnecessary trouble down the road and waste someone else's time.

Shu Li pushed himself upright and sat cross-legged on the blanket, one arm folded across his chest and the other hand pinching his chin as he sank into deep thought.

Throughout his life, he'd been surrounded by female Fairies and Elves. Every one of them was flawlessly beautiful, the kind of goddess men could only dream of. Yet not one had ever stirred his heart.

He respected, appreciated, admired, and looked up to them, but he'd never entertained any romantic fantasies about them.

As for humans, he'd never considered them potential partners because he was keenly aware of the differences between their races. Even Sidi and Nasha, who were around his age, were simply teammates who had shared hardships and triumphs with him.

Shu Li realized that he seemed to pay more attention to men than women.

Even so, the only two who had ever stirred unfamiliar feelings in his heart were the Elven King and Ace.

Toward the Elven King, he felt reverence and admiration, along with a touch of a fledgling's attachment to the one who had raised him.

Having crossed paths with the Elven King at different stages of his life through multiple encounters across time and space, Shu Li couldn't shake an inexplicable sense of destiny.

And most embarrassing of all, he'd actually had two dreams involving intimate contact with the Elven King.

It was simply unbelievable. Even now, he didn't dare think back on them.

As for Ace, Shu Li had initially been drawn to his golden hair and green eyes, which resembled the Elven King's. After that came his gentle personality, meticulous mind, and peculiar taste in reading material.

It was precisely because Ace was so different from everyone else that Shu Li couldn't help paying attention to him. Gradually, he'd begun noticing certain traits Ace shared with the Elven King.

He felt a little guilty toward Ace for putting it this way, but when he traced everything back to its source, the person who had truly brought about this change in his feelings was the Elven King.

Shu Li clutched his head, stuck his little bottom into the air, and buried his face in the soft blanket, rubbing against it over and over.

After all that analysis, he'd reached a conclusion: his preferences leaned toward the same sex.

And his standards were ridiculously high. Anyone who couldn't measure up to the Elven King wasn't even worth considering.

As for Ace...

There were far too many mysteries surrounding him. Until Shu Li figured them out, he absolutely couldn't afford to be careless.

After quite some time, Shu Li finally sat up, his face burning red, and fluttered off toward the bathroom.

Analyzing my own feelings is way too embarrassing. I'm never doing that again.

He used magic to prepare a basin of warm water, jumped in, and enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing bath. After washing, he felt refreshed from head to toe. He dried his hair and, since it was still early, took out his miniature desk and chair, along with paper and a quill, and began writing his diary in earnest.

[...Dear Mom, Dad, and my brothers, after conducting a serious analysis of myself, I've reached an important conclusion. And that is—I like men.]

Shu Li paused and looked at the neat, square characters on the page.

Confessing it didn't seem as difficult as he'd imagined.

[Although I haven't officially reached adulthood as a Fairy, understanding my sexual orientation is extremely important. Dad used to tell us all the time that a person must first understand what they want before they can move toward a goal. Otherwise, they'll just stumble around like a headless fly, wasting their efforts and getting nowhere.]

After finishing the section about his sexual orientation, Shu Li continued writing about everything that had happened recently.

Two hours later, he put down his quill and shook out his numb fingers.

He'd written ten whole pages in one sitting. That was way over his usual limit!

Still, he'd finally managed to record everything.

After putting away his desk, chair, and notebook, Shu Li yawned.

I'm sleepy. Better get to bed early! Tomorrow, I'll talk to Seriu about how we can help him reclaim the throne.

Shu Li turned off the light, crawled beneath his soft blanket, and obediently closed his eyes.

In another room, the Elven King, disguised as Ace, sat at the head of his bed reading a book.

An hour earlier, after completing the blessing ceremony for the Elven cubs, he had teleported back to the dormitory. Extending his perception into the Little Fairy's bedroom, he had "seen" Shu Li concentrating intently on his diary.

Indeed, the Elven King had known about Shu Li's habit of keeping a diary for a long time.

When Shu Li had been studying in the Crystal Castle, he'd fallen asleep at his desk several times while writing.

Whenever the Elven King noticed, he would thoughtfully carry him back to bed. Naturally, he'd also seen the tiny diary filled with writing in another language.

However, the Elven King was a gentleman. He had never pried into the diary's contents, even though he recognized the square characters known as Chinese.

The Little Fairy slept soundly, but the Elven King found himself unable to sleep.

He had long since set his book aside on the bedside table. Now he stood before the window, silver moonlight spilling over him, motionless for a very long time.

At five in the morning, Shu Li woke automatically to the sound of the Mother Tree's branches tapping against the glass.

He'd gone to bed early the previous night, so for once, he didn't even linger beneath the covers. He got up without hesitation.

After washing up, Shu Li slipped into the Mother Tree's trunk, full of energy, and headed to Wanaku to carry out his purification work.

Efit hadn't arrived to count the fruits yet, so Shu Li took his magic staff and efficiently purified both the Mother Tree and its fruits.

By the time he finished, Efit finally arrived.

There were no Dark Elf cubs accompanying him this time, so Shu Li could speak to him through the wind chime without worrying about being overheard.

"Efit, I found out what that plant is called... It's Blood Hell Grass, and it comes from the Demon Realm!"

Crouching beneath a leaf with the wind chime in his hand, he quietly relayed the information the Elven King had given him.

Holding his record book and quill, Efit gazed up into the treetops. He maintained the posture of someone counting fruits while listening attentively to the Little Fairy.

So that was what happened.

A demonic plant from hell had been stolen by Nolan and Luja just as it was about to mature and be harvested. That was why the Demon Lord had pursued them so relentlessly.

Meanwhile, the king of the Kingdom of Cecilia needed the plant, which was why the necromancer and nightmare demon had rushed to the Woba Grand Canyon overnight.

At this point, neither of them knew that Ilio had already dealt the necromancer and nightmare demon devastating blows, leaving one dead and the other wounded.

After finishing his explanation, Shu Li said gravely, "Efit, I need to speed up the transfer of the fruits."

The Dark God had been laying his plans for a long time. There was no telling when he might suddenly descend upon the Human World, plunging the entire continent into darkness.

Shu Li had to do everything in his power to purify the Mother Tree completely and relocate every last fruit. He couldn't allow innocent Dark Elf cubs to become killing tools for the dark forces.

"Mm," Efit replied. "I'll help cover for you."

Shu Li asked worriedly, "Aren't you afraid of being discovered?"

What Efit was doing now amounted to treason against the Dark Elves. If the truth came out, he would be the first to suffer the consequences.

"Sometimes, you have to tear down the old to build something new." A determined light shone in Efit's blood-red eyes. "If I were afraid, I never would have agreed to work with you."

From the very first day of their cooperation, he'd embarked on a path from which there was no turning back.

Shu Li poked his head out from beneath the leaf. Seeing Efit's calm composure, he couldn't help feeling a profound sense of respect.

If the other Dark Elves ever discovered what Efit was doing, Shu Li would definitely find a way to rescue him and bring him back to the Elven Kingdom.

And if the Dark Elf cubs Efit had adopted were willing to leave with them, so much the better.

After their conversation ended, Shu Li said goodbye to Efit and returned to the magic academy.

A new day began, and the Mage Apprentices of First-Year Class One were working as hard as ever. Their all-round magic instructor, Ilio, came up with new ways to torment them every single day.

During their free time, the Light Squad made a special trip to Ilio's office to express their desire for additional training.

"You want to become stronger?" Ilio sat elegantly in his chair, smiling as he surveyed the ten youths lined up before him.

"Yes, we want to become stronger!" Shu Li replied solemnly. "Is there any way you can get those four from Mage Apprentice to Mage within two years?"

Ilio looked toward Hector, Sidi, Nasha, and Ace.

Under his piercing gaze, Hector unconsciously straightened his back and puffed out his chest.

Ilio raised a hand and pointed.

"He might manage it. The rest of you... impossible."

The person he was pointing at was Ace.

The Elven King, disguised as a human, could adjust his apparent rank however he pleased. But for actual humans, becoming a Mage within two years was practically a pipe dream, given their natural aptitude.

Hector, Sidi, and Nasha immediately drooped in disappointment.

So talent really does determine what a person is capable of?

Unwilling to give up, Shu Li asked, "Isn't there anything we can do?"

In two years, they would be traveling to the Land of Snow on an adventure. If the three of them were still only Mage Apprentices by then, they would undoubtedly face tremendous danger.

Ilio raised an eyebrow.

"To become a high-ranking mage, one must possess exceptional magical comprehension, control, and creativity, as well as mastery of various incantations and magical symbols. One's affinity with the magical elements must also reach at least level eight. I can design a rigorous training program specifically for them, but whether they succeed will depend on their own abilities."

"I'll definitely succeed!" Nasha declared stubbornly.

For her brother's sake, there was no turning back. No matter how exhausting or grueling the training became, she was willing to fight her way through it.

After finding her brother, she still had to avenge her mother and father, and all the innocent citizens who had died in the flames of war.

Without overwhelming strength, all of that would remain nothing more than empty words.

"Me too!" Sidi clenched her fist.

Hadn't she traveled thousands of miles to the finest magic academy on the entire continent precisely because she wanted to become stronger?

Following the rules and taking the conventional route had never been her style. Only a fool would refuse a shortcut when one was available.

Now that such a perfect opportunity was right in front of her, of course she had to seize it with both hands!

"Teacher, please torment us as much as you like!" Hector pleaded, pressing his palms together.

Seeing him practically begging to be tortured, Dixio secretly gave him a thumbs-up.

Now that's courage.

Ilio stroked his smooth chin, his face wreathed in smiles.

"Well, since you've all put it that way, I suppose... I have no reason to refuse. What about the rest of you? Isn't it about time you advanced your ranks too?"

The five Little Fairies singled out by his question all felt chills run down their spines.

Amanda timidly raised a hand.

"Um... I'm a dragon. Could I train with Zephyr instead?"

Zephyr was an elder of the dragon race. Surely he would be more lenient than Ilio.

Ilio considered the request for a moment.

"Certainly."

Amanda breathed a sigh of relief and broke into a delighted smile.

Unfortunately, a second later, that smile vanished.

"I'll discuss it with Zephyr and work out a training program suited to dragons. His magical expertise isn't as good as mine, so you'll still attend magic lessons with the Little Fairies. As for your innate draconic abilities, Zephyr will handle those."

Ilio delivered this explanation to Amanda with the kindest of smiles.

Amanda wanted to cry but had no tears left to shed.

How could he do this to me? Waaaaah!