The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 1095 Time in Bag End
"Who is it?" Bilbo Baggins' languid voice came as he slowly pulled open the green round door, staring sleepily at the doorway.

"At your service, Lord Baggins!" Roland and Thorin removed their helmets, bowed, and smiled, their eyes revealing friendliness and excitement.

“Uh…” Bilbo Baggins froze on the spot, rubbed his eyes quickly, and then said incredulously.

"Roland! Thorin?"

“Me too!” Bard walked over.

“Hello, esteemed Mr. Baggins!” Thranduil greeted him with a hand on his chest.

“We’ve come to keep our appointment, Bilbo! Aren’t you going to invite us in?” Roland curled the corners of his lips into a smile.

"Aww! Yes, come in! Welcome to Bag End!" Bilbo rubbed his face excitedly and stepped aside.

“At your service! Hope afternoon tea hasn’t started yet!” Dwarin blinked at Bilbo Baggins.

“Of course, my friends, you’ve come at just the right time. Afternoon tea doesn’t start until four o’clock!” Bilbo Baggins said with a warm smile.

"That's great, we can get free lunch!" Roland casually picked up a nut and took a bite.

“I will certainly entertain you when you come!” Bilbo Baggins said sincerely.

"That honey-baked fish was delicious last time!" Dvalin recalled the taste, and thinking about the rough food he had eaten in the Dwarf Kingdom over the years, he suddenly missed Mr. Bilbo Baggins's exquisite meals.

“This is…” Bilbo Baggins looked at the people following behind him and turned to look at Roland.

“Marquis Al-Tegran Franz! My men! That’s Legolas, the eldest son of King Thranduil, you should have seen him during the Battle of the Six Armies. This is the Whitewing King, King of Akvia! And the Lord of the Dúnedan—Aragorn!” Roland introduced.

"Welcome to Bag End, everyone... Uh... Wait here while I go prepare!" Bilbo Baggins welcomed everyone in, walked around the house twice, and then clapped his hands, remembering that he needed to make lunch for the guests!
"Do you need any help?" Roland asked, tilting his head from the sofa.

“No need, Bag End has no rule about letting guests do the work!” Bilbo Baggins said with a smile and a serious tone.

“Then I’ll enjoy the hospitality from Lord Bilbo Baggins!” Roland said with a clear conscience, picking up Bilbo Baggins’ hat and making a funny hat-tipping gesture.

“It is my honor to serve you, Your Majesty!” Bilbo Baggins joked, then performed a funny courtly gesture that made everyone burst into laughter.

"Hey! Why did you take my honey fruit (fruit preserved in honey)!" Thorin's eyes widened. "You were arguing with Roland, how did you manage to steal my honey fruit?"

“This is punishment for ignoring me and just eating tea and snacks all the time!” Bilbo Baggins laughed as he stuffed the honey fruit back into his mouth.

"Ouch!" The towering Aragorn crashed headfirst into the roof of Bag End, right in the same spot Gandalf had bumped into years before. "Heh! Now we have a legacy, don't we?" Thorin and Roland exchanged a sly smile.

“Bilbo! Your house will fetch a good price in the future!” Thorin shouted.

"Huh? Why? Why would I sell my house?" Bilbo Baggins' heart skipped a beat, after all, Bag End had almost been auctioned off back then!
“All you need to do is put up an ad that Gandalf, the future great sage of Middle-earth, and Arnor, the future king, both bumped their heads here! Trust me, the property prices will skyrocket!” Roland said.

“Forget it! This is my home, this is where I’ll spend my life!” Bilbo Baggins shook his head, a look of nostalgia and the past flashing in his eyes.

“Hey buddy! Why don’t you consider coming to the North with us? Bring your wife and kids!” Thorin raised his mead glass.

"Hey!" Roland gently patted Thorin's arm and nodded.

"Oh, Turin! You're still all alone after all these years?" Thorin said with heartache, looking at Bilbo Baggins, whose head was now streaked with white hair.

"Are you used to living alone?" Roland asked, and the previously noisy crowd instantly fell silent, turning their gazes or glances towards him.

"Ha, I'm used to it! All these years... I haven't always been alone! Why be so sad? I'm not dead! I'm happy you're all here! Let's get lively!" Bilbo Baggins rubbed his hands together to calm himself down and put on a smile again. He then clapped his hands, signaling everyone to continue enjoying their tea and snacks.

Roland looked at Bilbo Baggins and was suddenly deeply moved. He knew that Aman no longer existed in this world; he wouldn't cross the sea from the Grey Harbor. He was destined to live out his days in Middle-earth, and if he didn't marry and have children, he was destined to be alone! In the end, he would only be able to rely on his nephew Frodo to care for him in his old age…

“Bilbo! Find a wife!” Roland stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and said calmly.

"Well, I'm quite used to living alone, there's nothing wrong with it, and I'm over 60 now!" Bilbo Baggins shrugged, implying that this powerless old man had no one to turn to.
"Didn't you take two small chests of gold and silver with you when you left? Isn't that enough, my friend?" Thorin hurriedly stood up. He was joking. You can say dwarves are bad and they won't argue with you, but if you say dwarves are poor, they'll really bury you in gold! As one of the heroes who helped restore the dwarves' kingdom, if he couldn't afford a wife because of poverty, then the dwarves would be laughed at for an entire epoch!
“Of course it’s enough, but I…” Bilbo Baggins shrugged and didn’t speak.

“Oh!” Roland said meaningfully, then winked at Thorin, signaling him to come over.

……

"What are you plotting? Count me in!" A head squeezed in between the two. Thorin and Roland turned around and saw that it was Bard. The three of them huddled together and whispered among themselves.

"Roland, you're full of clever ideas, you need to think of a way! How will history record this? That Bilbo Baggins, the thief who helped the dwarves regain their kingdom, died alone because he was too poor to marry and have children? Hey! Don't look at me like that! It's not true, but that's what the bards will sing!" Thorin explained to the shocked Bard. Of course, Bilbo Baggins couldn't have died of poverty, but Thorin knew the bards all too well from his time in the tavern! These guys could pinpoint the most popular chants!

"I've figured it out! Bilbo Baggins is probably a very introverted person. It's not that he doesn't want to get married and have children, but rather that he can't bring himself to confess his feelings to a girl!" Roland analyzed with an air of seriousness. After all, Mr. Baggins had always been a very introverted person; even the Lonely Mountain Expedition was only achieved through Gandalf's half-coaxing and deception...

"How about we snatch a woman back for him?" Marquis Al-Tegran Franz's voice suddenly came from under the three men's heads. The three men looked down and found that Al-Tegran Franz had crouched down and squeezed in.

"This..." Roland said, his teeth aching. What kind of crazy idea is this? Marquis Franz, you're the one who gets the most comments on this strategy!
"Great idea! I think it's a good idea!" Thorin's eyes lit up. What skills could you expect from dwarven barbarians? They'd be lucky if they didn't knock them out and take them away!
"But if we snatch it back like this, will he like it?" Bard frowned. What if he didn't like it? Wouldn't that be doing more harm than good?
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