Chapter 229: Does Ace like him?

Inside the magic research room, Shu Li was on his hands and knees, his backside sticking up in the air as he frantically tugged at his hair, making little noises of despair.

Waaaaah!

I actually told Ace he could kiss me back! How embarrassing!

Even worse, after Ace flicked his forehead, Shu Li had wandered into the magic research room in a daze. It wasn't until he closed the door that he belatedly realized he'd been walking with his arms and legs moving on the same side.

Could I possibly have been any more embarrassing?!

A red glow emerged from the back of Shu Li's right hand. When it reached the floor, it transformed into a little red magical beast.

During the afternoon's magical training, Falm had returned to the Fire God's Mark. Now that it had emerged again, it found the Little Fairy sprawled on the floor, clutching his hair, and its round eyes began darting about.

Although Falm had been inside the Fire God's Mark, it could still sense what was happening outside whenever it was awake.

It had seen the entire interaction between the Elven King and the Little Fairy perfectly clearly.

Well, well, well.

Who would have thought that the Elven King had disguised himself as a human Mage Apprentice and deliberately approached the Little Fairy with such ulterior motives?

Falm might be a magical beast, but it had lived for tens of thousands of years and spent much of that time at the Fire God's side. What hadn't it seen?

Had the Elven King really remained single all this time just to wait for one Little Fairy?

But the Little Fairy wasn't even an adult yet. Wasn't making a move this early a little shameless?

Of course, Falm had no intention of exposing him.

Nor would it dare.

If its interference backfired, it might find itself hunted down by the Elven King. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Falm hopped forward and poked the Little Fairy's head with one of its short, chubby paws.

Still drowning in embarrassment, Shu Li felt something touch his head. He looked up blankly and saw the round little magical beast.

"Uh, I don't have time to play with you right now."

He reached out and pushed Falm aside.

"Aren't you supposed to meditate?" Falm rolled across the floor, spread its wings, and flew into the air.

"Meditate?"

Shu Li scratched his head and shifted from lying facedown to sitting back on his heels. With his hair sticking out in every direction like a bird's nest, he heaved a long sigh.

"Right. I need to meditate."

As for what had just happened in the living room, he would simply pretend it had never happened!

Summoning his best powers of self-delusion, Shu Li patted his cheeks, struggled to calm himself, and sat cross-legged with his hands resting on his knees.

Then he began to meditate.

Fairies lived for an extraordinarily long time. Naturally, there were bound to be a few mortifying incidents in their lives.

He would just have to get used to it.

Yes, get used to it!

Besides, kissing Ace's cheek had been a complete accident. He hadn't meant to do it at all.

When two people spent enough time together, little incidents were inevitable.

Whether those incidents were good or bad wasn't the point. Anyway... it was perfectly normal for good friends to know about each other's embarrassing moments!

Having successfully adjusted his mindset, Shu Li closed his eyes and entered meditation.

Once he reached a meditative state, every distracting thought vanished.

The natural elements in the surrounding air began to stir, gathering around him before gradually flowing into his body. Within an illusory space, they transformed into seven beads of different colors.

Each color represented a different magical attribute.

After more than a decade of meditation, Shu Li's capacity for storing magical power had increased dozens of times over. Even without drawing on natural elements from his surroundings, he could sustain an entire day's fighting using only the magical power stored within himself.

That was the advantage of possessing all seven magical attributes.

Once he had finished organizing the magical power within his body, Shu Li refused the "slimes" that were still eager to squeeze inside him and began sorting through his thoughts.

If he wanted to submit a training reflection that would satisfy Ilio, he needed to use meditation to carefully recall every detail of the session.

As his meditation deepened, his memories transformed into a high-definition movie, playing from multiple camera angles and showing the actions of everyone present, one person at a time.

Shu Li began by examining the members of the Light Squad, analyzing and recording how each of them had reacted when the tornadoes attacked.

Before he knew it, however, his attention had shifted to Ace.

There was something peculiar about Ace's positioning.

He had actually remained beside Shu Li the entire time. Whenever Shu Li moved, Ace moved with him.

And because Shu Li instinctively took a few extra steps to make room for Ace, he always ended up avoiding the tornadoes perfectly.

Nothing had seemed strange about it at the time, but now that he was looking back, the more he watched, the more astonished he became.

Was Ace... protecting me?

Surprised, Shu Li continued reviewing his memories.

Even when the tornadoes surrounded them, Ace had remained perfectly composed. He always managed to avoid them with remarkable precision.

Compared with the other human students, who had been running around in a panic, Ace had handled everything effortlessly.

Is he really a Mage Apprentice?

Staring at the high-definition images, Shu Li sank into thought.

The reel of memories continued rolling.

The tornadoes grew stronger, and the Light Squad's defenses shattered. When two tornadoes converged on Shu Li from opposite directions, Ace, who had been standing beside him all along, reached out and pulled him into his arms.

The powerful winds knocked them to the ground, and they rolled several times.

Shu Li's heart suddenly leaped into his throat.

He could "see" that the tornadoes hadn't pursued them. Instead, they had stopped a short distance away and simply spun in place.

In fact, every tornado attacking the students had shown the same restraint. None of them had been allowed to cause any actual harm.

Which meant—

Even if Ace hadn't embraced him and rolled across the ground, the tornadoes wouldn't have injured him.

Shu Li froze.

His little heart began pounding wildly.

I... I think I've discovered Ace's secret?

He abruptly ended his meditation.

His cheeks were flushed, and his breathing had quickened. One moment he frowned, the next he bit his lip, and then his expression twisted with distress.

Falm, who had been dozing, noticed something was wrong and gave him a puzzled look.

What was going on?

Had something gone wrong during his meditation?

Shu Li started pulling at his hair again.

Falm's drowsiness vanished. It flew over and circled him.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Shu Li opened his mouth.

But how could he possibly tell the little magical beast that, during meditation, he'd discovered his human classmate... seemed... perhaps... possibly... to have feelings for him?

It wasn't that Shu Li was being conceited.

Ace's behavior at the time had simply been far too suspicious.

Especially the way he'd suddenly embraced him during that accident.

Shu Li, who was still an underage Fairy, knitted his brows into a hopeless tangle.

He didn't dislike Ace. In fact, he rather liked him.

Of course, it was the kind of affection one felt for a friend.

And the fact that Ace had blond hair and green eyes resembling the Elven King's only made Shu Li even more favorably disposed toward him.

When Shu Li had returned to the Elven Kingdom previously, he had indirectly asked the Elven King whether he ever left the kingdom to visit the Human World.

The Elven King's answer had been intriguing.

At the time, Shu Li had entertained a rather bold suspicion. But without any evidence, he had quickly dismissed it.

Now, after examining Ace's every movement during meditation, Shu Li felt certain that his earlier suspicion had been completely wrong.

The noble, sacred Elven King would never behave in such an obvious manner!

With a long sigh, Shu Li felt as though his brain simply didn't have enough processing power.

Although being liked by someone was a wonderful thing, there could be no happy future between a human and a Fairy.

Shu Li flopped backward onto the floor, stretched out his limbs, and stared at the ceiling.

He didn't want to lose Ace as a friend.

So... he would observe him for a little longer.

If his suspicions proved correct, he would do his best to discourage Ace's feelings!

Having sorted out his thoughts, Shu Li snatched the little magical beast out of the air and vigorously rubbed its round belly.

"Falm, come on. We're going back to the Elven Kingdom."

Thoroughly bewildered, Falm waved its short, pudgy limbs.

"What exactly was wrong with you just now?"

Shu Li pinched one of its horns.

"Nothing. I just figured something out."

"Oh, really?" Falm sounded skeptical.

Shu Li gave its round backside a pat.

"Stop asking questions. Hurry back into the Fire God's Mark."

Falm snorted and transformed into a streak of red light, disappearing into the back of his right hand.

Shu Li stood up and quietly opened the door.

He poked his head out first. Seeing that the living room was empty, he breathed a secret sigh of relief.

Then he hurried out of the magic research room, slipped into his bedroom, and locked the door.

It was only around three or four in the afternoon, and the sun had yet to set.

But Shu Li couldn't wait any longer.

He withdrew his original power, shrinking to his tiny Fairy size, and flew toward the window.

Using a branch that the Mother Tree had placed on the windowsill, he entered the space within its root system and headed for the Elven Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the Elven King was sitting in his bedroom reading.

Sensing the Little Fairy's presence disappear, he put his book away and calmly took out a high-grade magic stone.

A moment later, the teleportation array activated, giving off a faint glow.

By the time Shu Li returned to the Elven Kingdom, dawn was just beginning to break.

The Crystal City lay in peaceful silence, disturbed only by the faint chirping of insects.

He flew among the Mother Tree's branches, rubbing affectionately against each of its fruits and greeting them one by one.

Then, with a touch of hesitation, he set off toward the Elven King's courtyard.

I wonder if the King is awake at this hour?

He flew a little, stopped a little, and continued that way until the first rays of morning sunlight spilled into the Crystal City.

By then, he had reached the Elven King's courtyard.

He had expected to find it empty.

To his surprise, however, a solitary figure stood quietly beneath the elegant corridor.

It was the Elven King!

Golden morning sunlight poured into the courtyard, lending every blade of grass and every leaf a fresh, delicate beauty.

The light reached into the corridor, glimmering against the crystals embedded in its pillars before falling upon the blond Elf, bathing him in an extraordinary radiance.

The scene was like a painting brought to life.

Peaceful, warm, and beautiful.

Shu Li found himself utterly captivated.

With a few gentle beats of his wings, he landed on a green leaf covered in sparkling dew.

He didn't dare approach and disturb the Elven King as he admired the sunrise.

After an unknown length of time, the Elven King finally withdrew his gaze from the morning sky and turned toward the Little Fairy crouching on the leaf.

"Why aren't you coming over?"

The gentle, deep voice startled Shu Li out of his reverie.

He rubbed his face, spread his gauzy wings, and flew toward the Elven King.

"Good morning, Your Majesty."

He hovered in the air and bowed respectfully.

"Good morning, little Sperien."

The Elven King extended a hand, allowing the Little Fairy to land in his palm.

Shu Li blinked his bright eyes and carefully studied the Elven King's flawless face.

Perhaps his scrutiny was too obvious, because the Elven King reached out with a finger and gently touched his little head.

"Is something troubling you?" he asked with a smile.

Shu Li covered the spot where he'd been touched.

After struggling with himself for a moment, he finally gathered his courage.

"Your Majesty, may I ask you a question?"

The Elven King inclined his head.

"Of course."

Shu Li adopted a serious expression.

"Suppose... someone likes you. What should you do?"

"Hmm?" The Elven King replied, "There are many people who like me. Which one do you mean?"

Shu Li's mouth fell open in astonishment.

For a moment, he couldn't think of anything to say.

He realized he'd asked a rather stupid question.

Apart from the Dark God and his followers, there probably wasn't anyone in the world who didn't like the Son of Light.

"Uh, let me ask something else."

Shu Li fidgeted before finally deciding to tell the truth.

"It's just... I've discovered that my human roommate... likes me. Not the way a friend likes someone, but... in another way."

Having said that, his entire face turned crimson.

He lowered his head, too embarrassed to look at the Elven King's expression.

Ugh! Asking the King for advice about something like this is so embarrassing!

The Elven King gazed gently at the Little Fairy in his palm, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"And what about you? If he really does like you, how do you feel about it?"

Shu Li was taken aback.

He shook his head.

"I don't know. I'm still a Little Fairy!"

As an underage Fairy, he had never seriously considered matters of romance.

"The choice is yours," the Elven King said softly, his brows lowering slightly. "Whether the other person likes you or not, you mustn't let their feelings dictate your own. You don't have to respond until you yourself wish to."