What Do You Mean I'm The King Now??

"From heart of gold the king reborn anew,

Aroused his slumber mortal plane beyond,

A world in chaos tainted red in hue,

With blessed weapon more companion bond,

And unite the elves of fickle heart he must,

For only he named 'One Elf' they place their trust.

But heed this warning those foretell do hear,

Alone the warrior king awakens not,

As ancient foes their ugly heads do rear,

So victory must he, lest all realms do rot."

As Argeias finishes, I see Candy turning to the centaur, a surprised look on her face. "That's from the Prose Callon! You know of ancient elvish writing?"

I see Argeias shake her head in reply. "Just this one. The tribe I'm from were old allies to the One True King, from millennia ago, during the Warring Era. Because of our close ties, it has been oral tradition to pass down the Prose Callon, literally the "Words of the Hero", which details the king's history and accomplishments, from generation to generation. My grandfather was the one who taught it to me." I see Argeias pause, her expression somber. Finally, she turns to me and continues, "The part I just recited is a stanza from what is known traditionally as 'the prophecy', which supposedly details the return of the 'One Elf' to our present world. 'One Elf', of course, being the term in common language. In elvish, it becomes, 'Kiserenna'. That's you, isn't it, Ash? You're the reincarnation of the hero king, aren't you?"

Hero king, eh? From what Candy's described to me in the past year, I'm supposed to be some great savior of the elvish race, uniting them in battle against some impending doom, end of the world shit. I can't remember the details, since I wasn't really paying attention, but it all did sound very grandiose and stuff. I don't know about being a hero or whatever though. Saving a country or an entire race of people that I don't even know. Why should I bother? What's in it for me? Hell, I'm not even fully convinced I'm not still just dreaming. Maybe that's why I haven't taken any of this very seriously. I mean, who knows, maybe I'll just suddenly wake up, back in my bed on Earth. But whatever, it's fine for now, I guess. It's just like a game really. As long as I'm still having fun, I'll play along. I can be this hero king. I mean, how hard can it be to be king, right?

I nod my head. "That's me, King Ash Kiserenna the great, ahahah!"

"The great-?" I hear Candy ask, but before she can continue, Argeias lets out a torrent of words, blasting through my eardrums.

"I This can't is believe incredible you're to the see king in of person legend!

Can The you one show bestowed me upon your you sacred by weapon the? moon goddess herself? What Do are you you have planning a to secret do mission now?"

I feel my eyes glaze over, unable to comprehend anything the centaur just said. When she finally finishes, I clear my mind with a shake of the head. "Argeias, can you, I don't know, ask one question at a time so I can actually understand what you're saying?"

She looks at me with an embarrassed expression. "I'm sorry, u-um, Ash, I mean, King Ash, I mean-"

"Just Ash is fine, no need to get all formal now."

Argeias nods, then continues with her question. "How long ago were you reincarnated, Ash?"

I look to Candy before replying. "About a year ago."

My answer draws a look of surprise from the centaur. "W-wait, how is that possible? Your body already looks physically m.a.t.u.r.ed-" Suddenly, Argeias stops, her eyes dropping lower. Following her gaze, I see that she is staring at my groin area.

I smirk, then let out a loud cough. "Ahem, you're going to need to ask Candy about that."

"It's because of this," Candy replies. I look over at my elf companion and see that she is busy pulling something out of her inventory. When she holds out her hand, I note that it's a dull, yellow orb, the size of a melon. "It's called the Urn of Cuil. It used to house King Ash's ashes. One year ago, it activated, and King Ash appeared."

"Appeared? What do you mean? Was it the orb? How does it work?" Argeias asks.

Candy just shakes her head in reply, "I'm afraid that's all I know."

Seems about right. That's basically what Candy told me a year ago as well, when I asked her.

From the corner of my eye, I spot Argeias staring intently at me, another question already on her tongue. "What?"

"Well, I was just wondering, Ash, if you were reincarnated nearly a year ago, why are you still living in a cave? I mean, I get that you said you were poor. But why though? Shouldn't you have plenty of gold being the king of all the elves? Shouldn't you be living in a castle somewhere in one of the ten elven kingdoms?"

"Well, about that," I reply with a sheepish laugh, "they didn't believe us."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean no one believed us when we told them I was the reincarnation of the legendary elven king."

"You spoke to the rulers of the ten current elven kingdoms already?"

"Just the three nearby ones- Ariâr, Milui and Caladbýr. In every case though, we never actually managed an audience with the king. The guards just laughed us out of the royal court, saying that the king of legend would never be such a classless weakingly."

"Well, I can see where they're coming from." I hear Argeias whisper. When she sees me glare her way, she shakes her head, continuing, "I mean, did you show them your birthmark, the one described in the lore, the crescent moon on your...you know?"

"Ass? That's one reason why they laughed at us," I sigh.

At this point, Candy interjects. "Actually, Argeias, I'm surprised you accepted King Ash's heritage so quickly."

"W-well, that's because-" I see Argeias trail off, her face growing flush. She quickly looks away, averting my gaze, and only once her face is back to its normal pale complexion does she turn back. "Wait, what about Bâlcelu? You could show them that to prove your identity!"

Bâlcelu?

"Unfortunately, the sacred weapon wasn't there when King Ash reincarnated," Candy replies with a shake of her head, "In fact, I'm not quite sure what it even looks like, as the Prose Callon doesn't give a detailed description, only that it's supremely powerful."

"I see," Argeias says, her expression growing thoughtful once more. Then suddenly, she jumps to her feet. "It's decided then!"

Startled by her abrupt outburst, I stutter, "W-what's decided?"

"As a member of the Cyron Tribe, old allies of the One True King, I, Argeias, shall accompany you on your quest to reclaim the title as king of all the elves and to have everyone acknowledge you as the warrior king of legend. So it is written, so it shall be done, for we must act quickly and unite, for only fickle fools ignore the great dangers foretold ahead. The king has risen once more, and with him the enemy. Argeias shall be your shield and spear, and trample your enemies underfoot, but rapidly train and grow stronger you must and so a dungeon we seek-"

Why did she suddenly change her entire vernacular?!

"Uh, that's great and all, Argeias, but-"

"Now decide, Ash Kiserenna," the centaur announces, pointing a daunting finger in my direction, "Which dungeon shall you choose, for destiny is but in your hands. Will you choose the Supple Verde, a dungeon filled with humanoid slimes, most of which are female, in hopes of obtaining a new ally? Will you choose Blazing Hell, a dungeon filled with high-leveled, fire-type mobs, in hopes of obtaining vast experience? Or will you choose Perplex Maze, a puzzle-styled dungeon, in hopes of obtaining the rare loot at the end?"

"Isn't this exciting, King Ash? Our party just grew by one," Candy giggles in delight.

I look to Candy, then to Argeias, the ambivalent, melodramatic centaur with a wild imagination and a penchant for ranting, and I just sigh, a faint smile crossing my lips as I ponder the strange turn of events. "Okay, okay. I get it. Hm. Then let's do ___________ dungeon. But first, we need to gather supplies. Agreed?" I wait for a round of nods before I continue, "Okay, it's settled then. Let's head to the human city of Riverbend!"