The Collection of The End

——Third Age, 3001, September 22——

Late night at Bag End.

"My uncle has a dragon?"

Although he had experienced the biggest shock since his birth, after returning home, Frodo still started to get busy like a competent host, moving all kinds of food from the storeroom to entertain guests - perhaps guests.

Cheese, pickles, raspberry jam, apple pie, fruit and vegetable platter... While the cooked food was being cooked, he kept putting food that could be eaten directly on the table.

Although "Smaug" looks like a cute little hobbit girl, and there is no legendary dragon power that makes people unable to move, Frodo doesn't want to know if he didn't give her something when she shouted that she was hungry. What are the consequences of eating it?

At least a normal little hobbit girl wouldn't pick up the plate and pour the food into her mouth.

"Want tea? Or a bottle of wine?" The hobbit's hospitable nature also made it impossible for him to leave the gray robe wizard who came with him aside.

“Just tea—oh!”

Gandalf hunched forward in the low room, first bumping into the chandelier, holding it up, and then bumping into the beam. Finally, he covered his head and sat down opposite the little girl.

"Ah ah ah ah..." The girl glanced at Gandalf, pushed a plate of cheese towards him, and continued to eat, but her eating speed slowed down obviously.

"I still can't believe it." Frodo brought a plate of baked cakes and spoke to Gandalf: "It seems that Uncle Bilbo claimed that he bought food from the Shire and sold it to the 'big humans' in exchange for wealth. It’s a lie.”

"I suppose he said in a joking tone that all that wealth came from the dragon," Gandalf lit his pipe, "but you must have thought he was bragging."

"Because he brags too much," Frodo looked at the little girl and sighed: "If I tell others now that she is a dragon, I will definitely be called 'Baggering Baggins'." superior."

"No need for ifs," Gandalf chuckled: "Bilbo is going to leave the Shire today and leave everything he has to you to inherit. He was originally worried that you would not be able to accept the deal with the dragon, but obviously you can do it. Better than him—even after nearly a hundred years, he was still terrified when he saw Smaug.”

"Really? Maybe it's because I can't treat such a cute girl like a dragon." Frodo scratched his head: "But I'm quite surprised that she accepted me so quickly."

"Baggins" girl raised her plate towards him: "Two more plates of this"

"Oh, okay." Frodo recalled what was on the plate for a moment, then turned and walked into the kitchen and brought out two identical plates.

"Huh..." Gandalf puffed out a puff of smoke: "Don't worry, she won't care which Baggins provides the food."

"But..." Frodo asked with some confusion: "If she obtains food through trading with her uncle, why are there always rumors of evil dragons causing trouble in the wilderness?"

"Well... do you know how the Battle of the Five Armies ended?" Gandalf's eyes wandered for a moment.

"How did it end?"

"The evil dragon Smaug ate up all the war horses, war sheep, elk, wild boars, wargs and wyverns on the battlefield," Gandalf looked at the little hobbit girl who was holding the plate and pouring food into her mouth: "And Bilbo can't buy these strategic supplies."

"..."

——

"Hulu...Hulu..." Gu

The little hobbit girl who had eaten and drank enough put her face on the table, squinting her eyes and snoring. A pair of short horns appeared on her head at some point, and a tail like a ball of wool appeared behind her. Toss and toss.

"Hmm... I think Bilbo will go crazy when he comes back," Frodo wiped his hands and walked out of the storeroom: "I heard him say that was half a year's reserve."

"No, I guess he will be overjoyed." Gandalf looked thoughtfully at the little hobbit girl who seemed to be sleeping.

Squeak, bang, whoosh!

The door to Bag End opened and closed by itself. When Frodo looked over in confusion, Bilbo appeared in front of him out of thin air.

"Oh? Why are you so overjoyed?" The old hobbit hid his hands in his sleeves, looked at Gandalf and then at Frodo, and finally looked at the hobbit girl tremblingly, and said in a low voice: "It is actually full?"

"She, uncle," corrected Frodo.

"That's the dragon Smaug...you..." Bilbo was suddenly stunned in the middle of his retort: ​​"Is that really what happened?"

"That's it, Bilbo," Gandalf put down his pipe: "To pay tribute to 'it' as a terrifying monster, and to feed 'her' as a cub of the same race, the amount of food consumed is completely different. I also just Only then did I realize this, maybe she was eating something other than the food itself."

"...It seems that the heir I found is quite suitable." Bilbo was stunned for a moment and shook his head: "Maybe it's because Frodo has never felt the coercion that Smaug showed when he treated me as food. There’s no way it could be her.”

"I didn't have a chance to ask before," Frodo poured tea for Bilbo: "Where are you going, uncle?"

"Maybe it's Lothlorien, maybe it's Rivendell," Bilbo took a sip of tea and walked to the corner of the room, where he had already packed his luggage: "I have a good relationship with the elves, but I'm not bragging at all."

"So, I will inherit your 'career' in the future?" Frodo looked at the little hobbit girl with her face spread out on the table: "Does she only eat one meal a year?"

"What? Of course not, where do you think I have been buying crops from the Shire and going out to trade once a month?" Bilbo shook his head repeatedly: "I have written down the route and transaction details on paper for you. , If she wants to change it, don’t refute it, accept it completely, and besides, today’s situation only happens once a year, and she will become like this to have a feast.”

"Tsk, tsk...Bilbo, the hint of form change is so obvious, but you still regard her as a monster," Gandalf snorted: "But I just thought of it, and she probably did it unconsciously."

"Anyway, that has nothing to do with me," Bilbo, who was packing his luggage, waved his hand and put a ring on the table: "Also, this is my precious 'invisibility ring', you can use it to play pranks. "

It was a completely golden ring that seemed to be extremely ordinary.

But Frodo felt his eyes being drawn to it uncontrollably, wanting to take another look, and another look.

"That title is not what you should call." Gandalf's eyes became serious.

"Yes, yes, this kind of evil treasure can affect people's minds, but that is not a problem for me at all." Bilbo pointed behind him without looking back: "In addition to eating up my inventory every year, she also Got some business to do.”

"Yoltoorshul" The little hobbit girl spread her face on the table and opened her mouth, spraying a thin stream of flames towards the ring as if she was hiccupping.

Lines of cursive text in an unknown language appeared on the inner and outer sides of the gold ring:

"ashnazgrbatul?k, ashnazggimbatul]"

"ashnazgthrakatul?k, aghburzumishikrimpatul]"

The next moment, these words were erased by the cluster of flames that could hardly be called dragon's breath.