The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 79 Divination, the first appearance of absolute numbers (revised)

"Kill?"

Thranduil's face showed a rare smile, as if he had heard some funny joke.

"I think... well, you probably haven't seen that dragon, have you?"

Upon hearing this, Ino belatedly realized that he had oversimplified the matter.

"Yes, Your Majesty! I have never seen Smaug."

At this moment, Thranduil used a very peculiar tone:

"The King of the Mountain, the Arkenstone symbolizing power! Superb forging skills, sharp weapons, and various mechanical chariots. The strength of the Lonely Mountain dwarves was unmatched in the entire Middle-earth."

At this point, Thranduil burst out laughing:

"And what happened? In just a few days, that evil dragon shattered the entire powerful race of 100,000 Turin dwarves. And now you're telling me to kill that dragon?"

"The endless treasures of Lonely Mountain are the envy of all the powers in the Central Plains, but why has no one taken any action?"

Upon hearing this, Ino realized once again that he had oversimplified the situation.

He had been comparing them to dragons from the magical world all along, but now it seems the two are not even in the same league.

"Well, I was just being presumptuous! But this is just my speculation, after all, Gandalf didn't tell me much before he left."

Ino told the truth about what happened, since it wasn't a secret worth hiding anyway.

"Mithranduil?" Thranduil looked thoughtful upon hearing the name Gandalf.

"If it were him, perhaps you would succeed, after all, he has had a good ear for thousands of years."

Perhaps thinking of something else, Thranduil slowly rose from his throne.

"Let me give you one last piece of advice, young human wizard: many things in Middle-earth cannot be judged by appearances alone."

"You can stay here tonight. Tomorrow evening, I will relax the guard, and you may be able to lead those dwarves out through the river mouth sewers."

"Thank you for your generosity!" Ino said with a slight bow.

At this moment, he no longer felt any pride. In particular, the sense of accomplishment he had felt from killing the giant spider in the dense forest was completely shattered.

Middle-earth is always more complex than he imagined.

……

Underground palace.

Ino was led into a room that resembled a guest room by another woodland elf.

Although located underground, the entire room was filled with a faint natural fragrance, a mixture of floral, grassy, ​​and woody scents, making one feel as if they were in a forest.

In the center of the room, there was a bed woven from slender vines, covered with soft green leaves and petals.

In one corner of the room, there was even a small fountain. Water flowed slowly down a crystal-like stone and into the pool below, making a pleasant sound.

Sitting on the bed woven from vines, Ino no longer wanted to think about the future; she would just let the story follow its destiny.

Unlike his previous conversation with Gandalf, Thranduil was going to teach him a lesson today.

Escape from the dungeon, hunt for Smaug—everything unfolded according to someone else's script.

Middle-earth will always be a world, not a village or a town.

But now his only question is what role he, as an outsider, is playing.

Thinking of this, Ino took a deep breath and slowly took out the divination die from the lining. He wanted to try another possibility.

Silently reciting what he wanted to find out, he then tossed the dice into the air.

The die traced a graceful arc in the air before landing on the ground with a "thud".

"...1..."

Looking at this unprecedented absolute number, despite possessing ice and snow magic and having even adapted to the cold.

But at this moment, Ino still felt a chill run through his body, a chill that came from the depths of his heart.

Time passed slowly.

The room was quiet, with only the dripping sound of the small fountain in the corner.

It's unclear how much time has passed, but Ino remained motionless in the same position, as if she were lost in some kind of immersive contemplation.

a long time.

He slowly picked up the dice from the ground and then threw them again.

Several tens of seconds later.

"Phew... Time to sleep, time to sleep! I knew I shouldn't cause any trouble!" Ino put away the dice, sighing as if she had just survived a disaster.

Then, as if under a spell, he lay lazily on the rattan bed.

……

Unlike the quiet of the guest rooms.

The dwarves, now inside the dungeon, were engaged in a heated discussion.

Some people are hoping to exchange a portion of Lonely Mountain's treasure for the elves' help.

But these words caused a huge uproar among the dwarves, who quickly split into two factions and began to argue, with those who agreed and those who disagreed each holding their own views.

As the spiritual leader of the dwarves, Thorin stared expressionlessly at the dungeon walls, and no one knew what he was thinking.

As the argument escalated, Balin, the most senior dwarf besides Thorin, had no choice but to step forward.

"We still have time. There's still a full week until the agreed-upon time. I don't know what you're arguing about. What we need to do now is get out of this predicament, not argue about wealth."

Although Balin held considerable prestige, the dwarves trapped in the dungeon seemed unusually irritable, and someone immediately retorted:

"We're trying to get out of this mess with our wealth, and the human wizard isn't here, and the hobbit has disappeared. If we keep hesitating, they'll get there first."

A new round of arguments has begun.

……

On the other side of the underground palace.

After resting on the rattan bed for several hours, Ino slowly sat up.

The Elf King said that the guards would be reduced tomorrow evening. Although I didn't know why we had to wait an extra day, I was too insignificant to ask any further questions.

After all, the first absolute number on the dice had made him realize that in Middle-earth... it was best to behave himself!

So, he planned to take advantage of this time to explore the Woodland Kingdom, a legendary place he might never have the chance to visit again.

Thinking of this, Ino opened the briefcase next to him and took out the accordion he hadn't used in a long time. This time, he didn't even drink the compound decoction in his pocket.

She changed into an elegant, custom-made robe and, in her true form, pushed open the door and stepped out of the room.

And so we've come this far.

Ino nodded and smiled at all the elves he encountered, without any hesitation or restraint.

As he strolled leisurely, an accordion floated behind him, slowly playing beautiful melodies.

Before they knew it, they had left the underground palace and arrived at a wooded open space that resembled a plaza.

At this moment, many forest spirits had gathered in the wide clearing of this forest.

In the forest, they sang vibrant songs with their beautiful voices.

Unlike the elves of the valleys and golden forests, who love to sing praises of heroic epics and legendary tales, the woodland elves prefer to extol the starlight and the forest itself.

There was no need to disturb them rashly.

Ino stood quietly at the edge of the woods, listening intently.

"Why don't you walk over there? I've been following you all this way, and the music you played on your accordion was very beautiful."

Ino turned around, and the speaker was a girl who was about the same height as him.

Of course, he did not look down on the other party because of his height. After all, in terms of age, this "underage" elf in front of him might be able to rival Nico, who possessed the Philosopher's Stone.

Despite his thoughts, he replied immediately:

"It's good to just stand here and appreciate it; there's no need to be there in person. After all, if you clench your fist, you have nothing, but if you open your hand, you have everything."

As she spoke, Ino stretched out her palm and waved her slender fingers in the air.

"Hahaha, you're so funny." The girl laughed happily.

"My name is Doris, welcome to the Woodland Kingdom."

"You may call me Ino! Although I possess two magical abilities, I am a true bard."

Upon hearing the answer, Doris replied with a serious expression:

"Then, Ino, please begin your performance! If it's good, Doris will pay you; I've hidden a lot of fun things."

Looking at the pretty girl in front of him, Ino didn't think much and waved his wand, and the accordion slowly played a new movement again.

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(End of this chapter)