Chapter 65: The fat bird incubating its eggs traveled to the Elf Kingdom and encountered a giant dragon.

An adult Sekern bird had a wingspan of five meters and an enormous body. Its eggs were about forty centimeters in diameter, and when placed in the plump bird’s nest, they took up half the available space.

The plump birds were called Tagangya birds. Their wingspans were only two meters wide, so asking them to incubate Sekern bird eggs was a bit of a stretch.

However, when Doris saw the eggs that had lost their mother, her maternal instincts overflowed, and she readily agreed to Shu Li’s request.

Her four children, two females and two males, had only just reached adulthood and had no experience incubating eggs. As their mother, Doris patiently demonstrated the process herself and taught them what to do.

At last, the five plump birds moved in unison, tucking the enormous eggs beneath their bellies. Their thick, snow-white feathers successfully covered the eggs completely.

The Little Fairies breathed sighs of relief and clapped happily.

Deeply moved, Shu Li said to Doris, “Thank you, Doris!”

“Coo, coo!” Doris made a delighted sound.

As a mother bird, she found incubating eggs tremendously fulfilling.

She had spent the past several years living happily at the divine tree and devotedly raising her four children. Now that they were grown, she had been worrying about having nothing to do, only for the Little Fairies to bring her a clutch of eggs.

Teaching her children in advance how to become excellent mothers and fathers was also part of her duty.

The four unpaired plump birds crouched carefully in the nest, their bodies somewhat stiff for fear of crushing the eggs beneath them.

The Little Fairies rummaged through their storage rings and brought out their own snacks—little fruits, cheese candies, tiny cookies, and more—to give to the plump birds.

Tagangya birds were herbivorous and loved the snacks the Little Fairies gave them, eating with great relish.

One side fed while the other ate, and everyone was perfectly content.

After asking around in numerous places, Aisha finally found the Little Fairies who had skipped class—and this harmonious scene was what greeted her.

She landed on a nearby branch and watched with interest. Only after the Little Fairies had finished handing out all their snacks did she fly over.

“What are you little cuties so busy with?”

“Aisha!”

The Little Fairies’ eyes lit up when they saw her. They swarmed around her, chattering excitedly about how the plump birds were incubating the eggs, without showing the slightest trace of guilt over skipping class.

Adult Fairies never scolded Little Fairies.

Even when a Little Fairy did something wrong, they patiently explained and taught them instead.

Shu Li had spent more than a decade as a student in his original world, so he still felt somewhat embarrassed when he saw Aisha.

He took the initiative to admit his mistake. “I’m sorry, Aisha. I... I led everyone in skipping class.”

Aisha listened until she had grasped the general story, glanced at the Tagangya birds crouching in the nest to incubate the eggs, then lowered her head with a smile. “You did very well.”

“Huh?” Shu Li looked up in surprise.

He had led everyone in skipping class, yet instead of being reprimanded, he had actually been praised.

The blond Little Fairy was baffled, his round face utterly blank.

Aisha laughed. Carefully avoiding the little flower crown on his head, she stroked his hair. “Your kindness saved five poor Sekern bird eggs.”

Once a mother bird met with an accident, her eggs either died or were devoured by other beasts. They had almost no chance of hatching.

Sperien had cleverly found other birds to help incubate them, giving the Sekern bird eggs a new chance at life.

Tagangya birds had gentle temperaments and were among the very few magical beasts willing to help other birds incubate their eggs.

“But you should have told me first,” Aisha said gently. “That way, I could have helped you more effectively.”

“Huh?” Shu Li blinked.

Aisha looked toward the five “snowballs” crouching in the bird’s nest and explained to the innocent Little Fairies, “Incubating eggs is hard work. The birds can’t leave the nest whenever they please.”

Under normal circumstances, a mother bird hardly left the nest at all in order to keep the eggs warm, leaving the task of finding food to the father bird.

But now that all five birds were crouching in the nest to incubate the eggs, who would find food for them?

The Little Fairies were busy with their studies and probably could not deliver three meals a day to the Tagangya birds. If the adult Fairies became involved, however, the matter would be much simpler.

There were plenty of adult Fairies with time to spare. They would certainly be happy to lend a hand with such a small task.

After hearing Aisha’s explanation, Shu Li’s little face reddened.

Sure enough, he had failed to think things through. He had been so focused on getting the eggs incubated that he had overlooked the plump birds’ need to find food.

Fortunately, Aisha had reminded him. Otherwise, the plump birds would have gone hungry.

Aisha clapped her hands and said to the Little Fairies, “Leave the rest to the adult Fairies. For now, it’s time for you to return to class.”

“Yes, Aisha!”

The Little Fairies waved goodbye to the plump birds and followed Aisha back to school.

When they arrived, however, they discovered that the schoolyard was packed with Fairies.

There were adolescent Fairies who should have been in their classrooms, all their teachers, and a great many adult Fairies who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

At the sight of this gathering, a bad feeling rose in Shu Li’s heart.

When he spotted Sier, Ivy, Anna, and the expressionless Kumandi, his wings stiffened. He nearly lost control of his body in midair.

Disio and Angel reacted quickly, grabbing him by the arms.

“Sperien, what’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.”

It couldn’t be what he thought it was... could it?

Sweat covered Shu Li’s forehead as he remembered the symposium five years ago that had publicly humiliated him beyond recovery.

Surely they weren’t going to hold another one today?

Oh, no!

“Wow, Sperien, Anna’s waving at us. Should we go over?” Budno asked excitedly.

“It’s a symposium, isn’t it?” Angel’s eyes shone. “Are we going to become the heroes of a poem too?”

“Yay!” Disio released Shu Li’s arm and flew a little to one side. Drawing the dagger at his waist, he raised it high, put on a solemn expression, and began singing at the top of his lungs, “Brave Sperien—struck the evil Dark Elf—”

Shu Li reached out dramatically. “Stop!”

If Disio kept singing, Shu Li would be subjected to another public execution.

Disio grinned mischievously.

Aisha urged the Little Fairies to fly faster. Everyone had been waiting for quite some time, and they were the only ones missing.

News of the intruders had spread throughout the entire divine tree early that morning.

Elder Fudero had decided to hold a grand symposium. Besides establishing exactly what had happened, they would also discuss the security of the Faerie Forest.

The elder had decided to organize a Fairy guard unit that would join the forest patrols.

In recent years, outsiders had repeatedly broken into the Faerie Forest. Although the mist played an important role in stopping them, it could not keep out those with high levels of magic.

The necromancer involved in this incident was one such example.

Aisha had originally intended to collect the Little Fairies from their classroom and bring them to the schoolyard, only to find the room empty.

Fortunately, they were not too late. They had returned just in time for the opening remarks.

The Little Fairies landed in the schoolyard one after another and sat in the places specially reserved for them. Shu Li and his companions, meanwhile, stood beside Kumandi beneath the eyes of the entire assembly.

Today’s symposium was unprecedented.

The solemn atmosphere dispelled Shu Li’s embarrassment. As he listened to Sier recount the entire incident in an orderly manner, he gradually calmed down, his expression turning serious.

He had suddenly realized that the necromancer’s invasion of the Faerie Forest with a band of pirates was a major incident that concerned the survival of their entire people.

Evil forces outside the forest had always watched the Fairies and Elves with predatory intent.

If the Elven King had not sealed off the forest and the nearby waters, there was no telling how many tragedies would have occurred.

They had been too young and ignorant before, so the adult Fairies had refrained from telling them too much about the darker side of the world.

But now they were five years old. They were no longer naive little cubs. It was time for them to learn about the evil that existed in the world.

The symposium lasted the entire morning. Those who had personally experienced the incident spoke in turn, recounting events from their own perspectives until the full sequence had been pieced together.

Finally, Elder Fudero delivered a summary and presented each of them with a medal symbolizing courage.

Shu Li was thrilled when he received his medal, and his determination to master magic grew even stronger.

After the symposium ended, Shu Li told Aisha about his plan to travel to the Elven Kingdom and study under the Elven King.

Looking into the child’s resolute eyes, Aisha was moved. “Making the journey there and back every month will be very difficult.”

There was a great distance between Crystal Castle and the divine tree. Even if an adult Fairy escorted him both ways, the journey would take a considerable amount of time.

Yet Sperien had actually decided to fly there on his own wings.

“I’m not afraid of hard work,” Shu Li said. “It’ll also give me a chance to train my magic.”

Although the journey between Crystal Castle and the divine tree was long, the route was very safe. Aside from magical beasts, he would not encounter any outside intruders. He could use the opportunity to train in wind- and light-element acceleration magic.

His father always said that only those who endured the greatest hardships could rise above the rest.

If he needed an adult Fairy to escort him to and from school, he would never grow.

Aisha hesitated and looked at Siet.

She truly could not feel at ease letting a Little Fairy travel to Crystal Castle alone. With wings as small as his, a one-way trip would take at least five days.

Spending five days eating and sleeping in the wilderness would be far too difficult for a child.

Siet gave a thoughtful hum, then approached the question from another angle. “Are you sure you want to fly there yourself? If the round trip takes ten days, you’ll only have twenty days each month to study. Won’t that be too little?”

Shu Li froze. “It... it takes that long?”

Every year during the Midsummer Festival, the adult Fairies took the Little Fairies to the Elven Kingdom, and it only took four hours to reach Crystal Castle. As a result, Shu Li had never formed a clear sense of the actual distance.

He had assumed that a round trip would take two days at most.

Siet gave him an unsurprised look and asked with a smile, “Why don’t you take a look at the map?”

He removed a simple map from his storage pouch, unfolded it, and pointed out the locations of Crystal Castle and the divine tree.

Shu Li stared at the distance between them on the map and silently withdrew his earlier declaration.

Until he had grown stronger, there was nothing wrong with relying on his elders when necessary.

To travel from the divine tree to the Elves’ Crystal Castle, he would have to cross the Faerie Forest, Lake Shengze’an, Daya Forest, the Luoyi Hills, and the plains. When he had flown over them in a bird-drawn carriage, he had never noticed how great the distance was. If he tried to fly there himself, he would undoubtedly get lost.

Shu Li scratched his head in embarrassment.

He had forgotten his hopeless sense of direction.

He sometimes got lost even while flying around the divine tree every day, never mind trying to navigate the wilderness. Forget ten days—he probably would not reach Crystal Castle even after a month.

Determination was a good thing, but he still had to understand his limits.

Shu Li’s ears drooped dejectedly. “Then... I’ll have to trouble you.”

Siet patted the child’s head and smiled reassuringly. “A Little Fairy may ask an adult Fairy for anything. As long as the request is reasonable, we’ll do our best to grant it.”

Shu Li marveled at how thoroughly the adult Fairies spoiled their cubs. Weren’t they worried that all this indulgence might ruin them?

Then again, the Fairies’ encouraging approach to education had been remarkably successful. So far, not a single Little Fairy had gone astray.

When the other Little Fairies heard that Sperien was going to Crystal Castle in the Elven Kingdom, they all became eager to accompany him.

Because—

They wanted to meet the rescued little mermaid and young dragon!

“Aisha, Aisha, let us go too! Please?”

The Little Fairies crowded around Aisha, blinking their bright eyes and puffing out their adorable round cheeks as they pleaded.

Aisha might have found the resolve to refuse one little cutie, but confronted by more than twenty of them at once, she could not withstand the assault. Her heart softened, and she agreed.

“Yay! Thank you, Aisha!”

“This is wonderful!”

“We get to see the little mermaid and the young dragon!”

“I’m going to prepare meeting gifts. Hehehe—”

Looking at the delighted Little Fairies, Aisha sighed helplessly.

Siet smiled at her. “Let’s go together!”

Once the merfolk and dragons received news of their missing young, they would certainly send representatives to visit Crystal Castle. This was the perfect opportunity to broaden their horizons.

He had lived for more than five hundred years and had still never seen the Merfolk King!

The Merfolk King was famously reclusive and almost never appeared anywhere on the continent. The Elven King had invited him on this occasion, but no one knew whether he would attend in person.

The next morning, all the Little Fairies rose early, brimming with energy. Under Aisha and Siet’s guidance, they boarded a flying carriage drawn by Kaja magical birds and set off for Crystal Castle in the Elven Kingdom.

Shu Li sat quietly with a magic book borrowed from the library in his hands.

It was an ancient volume written in obscure, archaic language, making it extremely difficult to read. Still, if he wanted to discover a way to shorten incantations without weakening their power, he would have to force himself through it.

He had spent the entire previous afternoon searching, and this was the only book he had found that studied incantations.

He had read ten pages so far and had not found a single clue.

Budno held a piece of fruit and ate with great relish. He had left in such a hurry that morning that he had not eaten his fill. Fortunately, he had stocked his storage ring with plenty of food—more than enough to last the entire journey.

Angel and Disio leaned against the window, admiring the beautiful scenery outside.

The Kaja magical birds flew incredibly fast. After a little over three hours, they reached the outskirts of Crystal Castle.

“We’re almost there!” Angel announced.

Shu Li rubbed his eyes. Reading throughout the journey had left his head spinning.

“Ah—look!” Disio shouted excitedly. “There’s a dragon—”

The Little Fairies crowded around the windows in unison and stared outside with wide eyes.

A gigantic dragon, silver-white from head to tail, soared gracefully through the sky with batlike wings spanning dozens of meters.

Seemingly noticing the Little Fairies’ procession, the dragon gave a soft cry and descended. Keeping pace with them, it approached the carriage drawn by the Kaja magical birds.

Shu Li recoiled and nearly fell backward when he suddenly found himself staring into the enormous eye of the dragon outside the window.