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Chapter 9 - The Hero's Welcome (Capture)

The mana relapse hit me like a truck. One moment I was standing tall in my High Elf form, basking in the afterglow of absolutely deleting an entire bandit camp with concentrated starlight. The next, I was back in Elflet proportions and swaying on my feet like my character had just been hit with a debuff that tanked all my stats.

"Whoa there, Your Majesty," Thorek said, steadying me with one massive hand. "That was some serious mana expenditure. You need rest."

"I'm fine," I protested, but honestly I felt like I'd just streamed for eighteen hours straight while simultaneously running a marathon. "Just give me a minute to—"

That's when I made the mistake of trying to take a step and nearly face-planted into the dirt. My legs had basically turned to jelly, and my vision was doing that thing where everything gets a little too bright around the edges.

"Nope," Mira declared with the kind of authority that brooked no argument. "You're getting the full royal treatment whether you like it or not."

Before I could object further, Finn had somehow produced what looked like a portable throne—basically a fancy chair strapped to two long poles that could be carried by multiple people. Where the hell had he been hiding that thing?

"Absolutely not," I said, but my voice came out weaker than intended. "I am not getting carried around like some kind of—"

"Like royalty?" Thorek interrupted, already positioning himself at one end of the makeshift throne. "Because that's exactly what you are, Your Majesty. And after what you just pulled off, every person in Stonehaven is going to want to see the Sovereign who called down literal starlight."

They weren't taking no for an answer. Within minutes, I found myself reluctantly seated on the portable throne, being carried through the forest by my former contractors like I was some kind of precious cargo. The indignity was absolutely crushing, but I was too exhausted to properly resist.

"This is so cringe," I muttered, but secretly I had to admit the chair was surprisingly comfortable.

"What was that, Your Majesty?" Mira asked.

"Nothing. Just... wondering how much longer until we reach town."

By the time we approached Stonehaven's gates, word had apparently spread like wildfire. The same guards who'd dismissed me as a lost child were now standing at attention, and there was a crowd gathering that looked like it was rapidly approaching "festival" proportions.

"The whole kingdom saw it, Your Majesty," one of the guards explained, his voice filled with awe. "That pillar of starlight lit up the sky from here to the capital. Every mage, every noble, every farmer working the fields—they all witnessed the Sovereign's return."

"Oh no," I groaned, recognizing the signs. "They're going to make this into a whole thing, aren't they?"

"You obliterated the Iron Hand with divine magic visible across the entire kingdom," Thorek pointed out. "Of course they're going to make it into a whole thing."

The crowd that greeted us was absolutely unhinged. People were throwing flower petals, someone had apparently composed a song about the "Starlight Sovereign" in the thirty minutes since we'd left the forest, and there were actual children holding up crude drawings of what I assumed was supposed to be me calling down cosmic justice.

"HAIL THE SOVEREIGN OF ELDORAN!" someone shouted, and the crowd took up the chant with an enthusiasm that was honestly kind of terrifying.

This was exactly the kind of parasocial worship that I'd spent my entire streaming career trying to avoid. The difference was that now I couldn't just ban the weirdos from chat—they were real people with real expectations, and I was stuck being their fantasy come to life.

Lord Garrett himself came out to greet us, a portly man in expensive robes who looked like he'd stepped out of a "generic fantasy noble" character generator. His face was flushed with what I could only describe as political excitement.

"Your Majesty!" he practically gushed, bowing so deep I thought he might tip over. "Stonehaven is honored beyond measure by your presence. Please, allow me to offer you the finest accommodations our humble town can provide."

"That's very kind, but I don't want to impose—"

"Nonsense! It would be the greatest honor of my life to host the daughter of the Fairy Queen of Starlight herself."

And that's how I ended up in the lord's manor, sitting in what was probably the fanciest dining room this side of an actual royal palace, staring at a spread of food that looked like it had been prepared by the world's most skilled NPCs.

"Holy shit," I breathed, taking in the display.

There were roasted meats that actually looked like they'd been prepared by someone who understood seasoning, bread that was still warm and probably hadn't been made from whatever passed for flour in peasant households, and desserts that looked like they belonged in some kind of fantasy food anime.

"The honey cakes are a local specialty," Lord Garrett explained, practically vibrating with pride. "Made with crystallized moonflower nectar and topped with whipped cream from our finest dairy cows."

I took a bite and nearly had a religious experience. After three years of whatever preserved rations Akselondt had been living on, this was like discovering flavor for the first time.

"This is absolutely poggers," I said, then caught myself. "I mean, this is exceptionally well-prepared."

"You honor us with your approval, Your Majesty."

As the meal progressed, I found myself genuinely wondering what other culinary experiences this world had to offer. If this was what passed for "local specialty" in a mid-tier town, what kind of food did actual royal courts serve? What did they eat in the elven territories? Were there fantasy spices that didn't exist in my original world?

"The glazed fruit tarts are prepared with essence of starberry," Lord Garrett continued, clearly enjoying playing tour guide to my taste buds. "And the wine is from grapes grown in soil blessed by lunar magic."

Every bite was a revelation. The starberry had this complex flavor profile that was like if someone had combined the best aspects of strawberry and some kind of exotic citrus. The wine was smooth and had this subtle shimmer that suggested it was probably magical in more ways than just marketing.

But as amazing as the food was, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was in a gilded cage. Through the dining room windows, I could see crowds of people still gathered outside, hoping for another glimpse of their new celebrity Sovereign. Some of them had been there for hours.

"This is getting out of hand," I murmured to myself.

"Your Majesty?" Lord Garrett inquired.

"Nothing, just... thinking about tomorrow's plans."

After dinner, I was shown to what was clearly the manor's finest guest room. The bed looked like it could fit four people comfortably, there were actual silk sheets, and someone had prepared a bath that was basically a small swimming pool filled with hot water that smelled like flowers.

"If there's anything else you require, Your Majesty, please don't hesitate to ask," Lord Garrett said, bowing his way out of the room.

The moment the door closed, I let out a long sigh and started shedding my gear. The Starfall Robes, as incredible as they were, had been worn for hours of stealth missions and magical combat. I was ready to feel like a normal person again, even if it was just for a few minutes.

The bath was absolutely divine. I sank into the hot water and felt three years of accumulated stress and grime washing away. This was the first time since arriving in this world that I'd experienced actual luxury—not just survival, not just magical power, but genuine comfort.

"Enjoying yourself?" Nyx's voice echoed from where I'd left the robes.

"Trying to," I replied, but I was already planning my escape route. "How long do you think it'll take for the crowd outside to get bored and go home?"

"Considering you just announced your intention to reclaim the World Tree of Eldoran? They're probably going to be out there for days."

That was exactly what I'd been afraid of. I'd gone from anonymous streamer to displaced person to magical hermit to... whatever this was. Celebrity royalty with a fan club that had very real expectations about my future world-conquest plans.

"The window faces the back garden," I mused, studying the architecture. "If I waited until around three in the morning, I could probably Shadow Step out of here without anyone noticing."

"And go where?" Astrid chimed in from the circlet. "You've publicly declared yourself Sovereign of Eldoran. There's no going back to anonymity now."

She was right, of course. I'd committed to the bit so completely that there was no log-off option. But the thought of spending days or weeks dealing with crowds of people who wanted to touch my robes or ask for blessings or whatever other parasocial nonsense they had planned was honestly terrifying.

"I never signed up for this part of the character arc," I muttered, sinking deeper into the bath. "I just wanted to get revenge on some bandits and maybe figure out how to get home."

"You consumed a Celestial Manastone and called down the wrath of the stars," Selene pointed out. "That's not exactly a subtle approach to problem-solving."

"I got carried away," I admitted, running a hand through my wet hair. "But Akselondt spent three years drilling into me that I needed to completely embody Ellolia. 'Become her so completely that even other High Elves would accept you without question,' he said. And when I was standing there in front of Gorvok, everything just... flowed. The arrogance, the proclamations, the dramatic magical displays. It felt natural."

"Perhaps too natural," Astrid observed from the circlet. "You channeled the essence of a High Elf Sovereign so perfectly that you essentially announced yourself to the world."

Fair point. I'd gone from stealth mission to divine intervention in about thirty seconds, and now I was dealing with the consequences of making myself the most famous person in the kingdom overnight.

The question was: did I try to escape and maintain some kind of low profile, or did I lean into the role I'd created and see where this absolute chaos of a character arc was going to take me?

Outside, I could hear someone starting up another chant about the "Starlight Sovereign." The crowd was definitely not going away anytime soon.

"Chat," I whispered to the empty bathroom, "your girl might have gotten in a little over her head this time."

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