Sunlight slanted across the wide lawn, golden rays dancing on the tips of the emerald green grass, like countless sparkling tiny diamonds embedded within.
A gentle breeze rustled, and the grass tips swayed softly, making a rustling sound, just like the bustling atmosphere within Hobbiton.
A winding path, paved with ancient bluestones, led Rogier and D through this tranquil green space to the edge of a cultivated vegetable garden.
In the vegetable garden, the vegetables vied for beauty—red tomatoes, yellow pumpkins, and purple eggplants—all appearing exceptionally vibrant and full of life under the sunlight.
Bees flitted among the flowers, diligently collecting pollen, and occasionally, the sight of butterflies dancing gracefully could be seen.
In one corner of the vegetable garden, a group of very small children were playing, their laughter clear and melodious, their shadows stretching long on the grass, changing shape as they ran.
These Hobbiton children were the first to spot Rogier and D; they first hid, then peeked out, constantly scrutinizing Rogier and D with curious and fearful eyes.
"I think they might be scared of your armor, Darian," Rogier observed, smiling as he spoke.
D, uncharacteristically, offered no retort; instead, he looked down at his twin armor and then touched his full-coverage metal faceplate before saying, "Perhaps you are right?"
Now it was Rogier's turn to be surprised; he looked at D and said, astonished, "You're not angry this time?"
"Angry? Angry about what? This is the hometown of Arthur's friend; if I scare those children, it might displease him," D retorted, puzzled.
Rogier, however, showed an "I knew it" expression. D said nothing more but directly removed his helmet with both hands, revealing his handsome face, which was somewhat pale from rarely seeing the sun.
He tried to force a smile onto his lips and nodded towards the little hobbits hiding behind the fence or vegetable trellises.
As a result, the cute little hobbits shrank back even further, causing D's expression to stiffen.
Rogier chuckled, "I think you still need to practice how to smile without scaring children. Do you know what your expression just now looked like?"
D stiffly asked, "Like what?"
Rogier said, "Like a Deathborn that just crawled out of a coffin, pale-faced, stiff-expressed, trying to learn how to smile like a living person."
D was about to sternly refute Rogier, asserting that he could never be like a Deathborn, but seeing the group of little hobbits peeking out again, his tone subconsciously softened a bit: "Don't compare me to those disgusting Deathborn, Rogier."
Rogier raised his hand and comforted him with a smile, "My bad, my bad, I'll definitely be careful next time."
Then he looked at the group of little hobbits, took off his mage's hood, and looked at them gently with his golden eyes. He squatted down and shook some dried fruit and other small snacks: "Hello there, we're looking for Sir Bilbo Baggins. Can you tell us where he lives? Of course, you'll get these snacks whether you answer or not."
These few little hobbits exchanged glances, then suddenly ran off, leaving Rogier frozen in place.
"Heh," D couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, "Is this your so-called approachable demeanor? You seem even scarier than me, after all, I didn't scare those children away."
Rogier shook his head helplessly, stood up, and put his pointed hat back on: "Perhaps they're just a bit shy around strangers, it's quite normal."
D merely tugged on the packhorse's reins, giving Rogier a faint glance without speaking.
Rogier shrugged and continued walking forward.
Passing the vegetable garden, a pond came into Rogier's and D's view.
The sun's golden light danced on the rippling surface of the pond, as if countless little sprites were dancing on the water.
By the pond, a few ducks swam leisurely, occasionally letting out a few joyful quacks, disturbing the calm of the water, causing the hobbits fishing nearby to wave their hands in annoyance, shooing away the ducks.
Across the pond was a bustling market, teeming with people.
Some were selling freshly dug fruits and vegetables from their homes, others were promoting their newly dyed fabrics, and some were simply joining in the fun and chatting with people, or gathered in groups of three or five around their own tables and chairs, enjoying pre-lunch delicacies.
Every one of them had a smile on their face.
hobbits are all very short, even a few centimeters shorter than the Dwarves Rogier and D had seen. The difference was that these people did not have the Dwarves' distinctive beards and unkempt, slovenly clothes.
They were all dressed very exquisitely and magnificently, showing that they paid great attention to their appearance and demeanor.
However, every one of their feet was shoeless; their feet were several times larger than normal human feet, appearing very rough, and their soles were covered with thick hair.
Therefore, humans of normal height like Rogier and D instantly became "little giants" among these hobbits, attracting their attention.
When the hobbits of Hobbiton discovered Rogier and D, they began to discuss animatedly, especially since D was leading a packhorse laden with various goods behind him, causing some business-minded hobbits to mentally calculate what price they would pay to buy all the goods not available in Hobbiton, and then slightly raise the price to sell them to others.
D at this point felt somewhat uncomfortable being stared at by these Hobbits; he put his helmet back on, presenting himself with the golden false face.
Rogier, meanwhile, recalled what Arthur had said: "Bilbo Baggins's home is in a hobbit-hole beside a small hill, with a row of long benches at the entrance, an old mailbox, green grass covering the entire roof, flowers of different colors covering both sides of the door, and the door is a standard round, brown wooden door."
Rogier's memory was excellent; he precisely recalled every word Arthur had said, not forgetting a single one.
But when he looked out from under his pointed hat at the whole of Hobbiton, his eyes became bewildered.
Because there were simply too many houses that fit this description; every house seemed to be just as Arthur had described, which made it impossible for Rogier to identify which one was Bilbo Baggins's home.
D glanced at Rogier and said, "So you still don't know which one is Arthur's friend's house? More and more people are looking at us; I feel like I'm being treated as some kind of rare animal."
Rogier could only helplessly say, "I really don't know. Perhaps Arthur didn't realize that the Hobbits' houses all look pretty much the same."
D stopped and said, "Then why not ask these people standing behind the fence? Perhaps they should tell us where the person we're looking for lives, instead of pointing and discussing us."
Rogier agreed with D's suggestion, but just as he was about to open his mouth to ask, a confused human voice and several children's clamoring voices came over.
"I don't mind playing some childish games with you after I've had my fill, but you should tell me where you're taking me! Otherwise, I'll complain to your parents and make them give me more delicious blueberry cheese and strawberry biscuits!"
However, the children just chattered, pushing the man forward.
Undoubtedly, this man was Bilbo Baggins; he wore a yellow plaid shirt, baggy white breeches, and a red waistcoat, holding an unlit pipe in his hand, looking helpless as he was pushed by several hobbit children.
Soon, he noticed Rogier and D on the same path as him, and his expression instantly changed from the helplessness of being pushed by children to surprise and doubt.
"Wait, wait, you're not going to take me in front of those two tall fellows, are you, you naughty rascals? I don't know either of them." Bilbo Baggins waved his pipe, making a shooing gesture.
The children scattered at once, running happily in front of Rogier, their eyes full of longing, reaching out their hands and looking at him expectantly.
Rogier immediately reacted, smiling and handing over the dried fruit he had promised the hobbit children.
Then the children ran off, leaving only Rogier and D, and Bilbo Baggins, who subconsciously wanted to run away but stayed to observe them due to his damned curiosity.
Rogier again took off his pointed hat and performed a chest-touching salute to Bilbo: "May I ask if you are Sir Bilbo Baggins?"
Upon seeing Rogier salute, Bilbo also tidied his clothes, which had been disheveled by the children's pushing, cleared his throat, and said, "If you are looking for a hobbit, that would be me. What do you two want with me? Let me state beforehand, I don't need to buy anything behind you."
He quickly raised a finger to point at the packhorse behind D, then put it down as if nothing had happened.
Rogier was about to answer that these things behind him were for them when he suddenly heard a "thud" beside him.
Then he saw Bilbo's eyes widen, looking around somewhat at a loss.
"To thank you for your help to my King, Arthur, Your Majesty, specifically ordered me to visit Sir Bilbo Baggins in Hobbiton of the Shire! All these things behind me are gifts of gratitude from Arthur, Your Majesty, to his friend, Bilbo Baggins!" D said loudly.
He was now kneeling on one knee towards Bilbo Baggins, causing the surrounding hobbits, who were already watching, to stir in an uproar.
"What did he say? When did that fellow Bilbo save a King?"
"Oh, look at your memory, about half a year ago, didn't someone fall onto Bilbo's roof?"
"I remember, but that was a King?"
Bilbo's shock at this moment was no less than that of the surrounding Hobbits; he whispered in surprise, "Arthur is a King? Isn't he a wizard?"
Rogier, at D's sudden action, first rubbed his forehead, then shook his head helplessly and said to Bilbo, "I can explain about that, but I'm afraid we'll have to go to your house first. Otherwise, if we wait any longer, none of us will be able to leave."
Bilbo glanced at his increasing number of fellow townsfolk who had come to watch the commotion, and quickly nodded: "You're right, Sir Pointy Hat. Let your, uh, Sir Armor, get up first. My house is not far from here."
When Bilbo returned home with Rogier and D, the news that he had saved a King and had a noble human knight lord kneel before him had already spread throughout Hobbiton.
It even became more and more exaggerated, almost evolving into Bilbo marrying a human princess, with the two men being the witnesses, and the items carried by the packhorse being the princess's dowry.
Bilbo carefully bolted and closed the door, then looked at Rogier and D, who were bent over, carrying large and small packages, and after a moment's thought, pointed to the room on the right side upon entering: "You can put the things there, thank you."
A few minutes later, Bilbo enthusiastically brought out a pot of boiled milk tea, then carried over a plate of cookies and a few slices of cheese, came to the dining table, tied his napkin, and smiled at Rogier and D, saying, "Now we can have a good chat, about Arthur and about yourselves."
Then he quickly looked at D and said, "Oh, you don't have to use honorifics with me. Oh, not entirely unnecessary, just, normal polite address, just call me Bilbo."
D had already taken off his helmet again at this point, and he nodded vigorously at Bilbo: "Alright, Sir Bilbo."
"Actually, you don't even need to add 'Sir'… Well, whatever makes you happy." Bilbo didn't insist anymore.
Then he took a milk-scented cookie, put it in his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed it: "You two eat too, Arthur wasn't as reserved as you two when he was here."
"After all, it's him," Rogier thought to himself, smiling as he picked up a cookie.
A cookie of normal size for a hobbit was somewhat miniature for Rogier.
D, on the other hand, treated Bilbo's words as a command, very earnestly tasting the food Bilbo had brought out.
Bilbo even felt that if he asked, this strange man in armor would seriously provide him with a food tasting report.
"Let me introduce myself first, my name is Rogier, and his name is Darian, but you can call him D," Rogier said first.
Bilbo smiled kindly: "Hmm, I understand. By the way, how is Arthur recently? I remember he told me he was going to rebuild his homeland before he left, and by your appearance, he must have succeeded, right?"
Rogier smiled and nodded: "We've had quite a bit of success, at least now we no longer worry about having no shelter from the wind and rain."
Bilbo shrugged: "That's good. To be honest, I'm quite looking forward to him visiting me again, because the stories he told were very interesting, and I've written some of them down in my notes. But there are still some parts that are a bit blurry in my memory, and I plan to ask him when he comes over again."
D replied: "Arthur, Your Majesty, has been quite busy recently, but he wrote a letter and entrusted me to bring it to you."
As he spoke, he took out a well-preserved envelope from the lining of his armor.
As Bilbo took the letter, Rogier also said: "May I see the stories you wrote about Arthur? I once traveled with him, although it was for a very short time, but perhaps I can help add something."
Bilbo's eyes lit up, and he grinned: "Aha, that would be perfect."