THE LAST HOBBIT'S

Chapter 9 - Meeting Again

...'Among those who were with him, only An was able to reconcile the heart.'...

...******...

"What do you mean that I lied?" Sofia was shocked, she stood up and then walked closer to Arslan.

"What did I lie to you?" Sofia asked and made Arslan stare at her.

"You're obviously not allowed to go by your father to search for that sword. Your act of running away like this is dangerous to me, do you know that?"

Sofia blinked, this was the first time she had gotten a snatch from someone who was only 130 cm tall. He said, "Didn't I never say that I left because I got permission from my father?"

"What?"

"Which old man would allow his eldest daughter who was even very lame in magic to go look for the Dragon Conquering Sword? Too much danger will threaten."

"But not..."

"I'm leaving, of course, secretly." Sofia said, "My father is very hard when it comes to his daughter's safety. And to be honest, even though I have two younger siblings... But because of my weak magic... My father took more care of me. That's why I told you to be nice to me, hmph."

"............" Arslan watched Sofia and then exhaled. He called An and asked the giant to wake up. They should get out of this place immediately and go to the Elmora Kingdom as soon as possible.

*

*

The Central Continent was a very vast place, divided into four countries. First was Feuer, a more dominant state inhabited by a race of humans, wolves, and dwarves.

Second was Land, the dominant country inhabited by the Elf race. Third is Wind, where more steep cliffs, dead land, and supposedly said to be the location of the birth of a dragon that brought disaster.

The last country is Wasser, a place shaped like small islands and surrounded by the ocean. The races living there are difficult to identify, but some say they are inhabited by many races including humans and elves.

Arslan's location was not far from a place called Devil's Valley. They will arrive in the Kingdom of Elmora after passing the journey for approximately 15 days. Arslan who was currently sitting on An's shoulder thought of the safest way to get to Elmora Kingdom without any hindrance.

The problem is, how can Arslan avoid problems if the source of the problem is with him at this time. The figure was none other than the Elf girl who not only liked to press, but also always debated whatever it was.

"The boy you were with was named Natur, right?" Sofia open the sound. "She was so disrespectful to a boy-sized. He's obviously so annoying,"

"Isn't his age not that different from yours?" Arslan was quiet, but his words made Sofia puff up her cheeks.

"I'm definitely older than him, you know! You can't equate me with that son of a bitch."

"............. You guys have something in common in terms of 'disrespect'."

"What?!" Sofia. If only there was no head An who became a separator between himself and Arslan, then maybe now he has pulled the ears of the short creature.

Sofia took a breath, calming herself down so as not to yell at Arslan. "If it wasn't because I really needed a magic lesson from him, then I'd have hung him up and left him alone."

Sofia cleared her throat and then said, "Let's talk about something else. What if you teach me some magic-tricks"

"Not interested" Arslan interjected and made Sofia flinch.

"At least listen to me first"

"I don't want to,"

"Arslan, you're so stingy." Sofia said, "There is no harm in doing good. At least teach me a simple magic trick. Take at least 30 minutes to teach me, what's the trouble?"

"Wasting time. 30 minutes is like wasting my time,"

"But my future hinges on the 30 minutes you spend," Sofia looked at Arslan and was seen putting on a face that seemed to be in desperate need of pity. The sparkle in his eyes so clearly hinted that he really wanted something and only Arslan could fulfill his request.

"I'll call you 'Teacher', hm? This is not a difficult request. Please, can't you just be nice to me for a little bit?"

An who heard Sofia's words also opened his voice. His tone was calm as he said, "Arslan... Sofia... Assistive... Come on."

"An, walk faster." Arslan looked straight ahead while crossing his arms. She said nothing and made Sofia to put her lips together.

There are several occasions where Arslan and his two friends have to face a pack of wolves. Sofia uses her arrows even though according to Arslan, the girl's movement is not as good as Natur's.

Of the four attacking wolf tails, only one could be subverted by Sofia. It was with the help of Arslan who carried out the last attack. An himself just sat down to rest because all this time he was the one who moved to hold his two friends.

"Great, you let them go." Arslan opened his voice, his tone seemed mocking and this made Sofia look annoyed at him.

"It's all your fault." Sofia said, "You don't want to teach me magic. If only you had a little kindness, then a wolf like that wouldn't have escaped."

Sofia sighed, "Now just pray that they don't come here with more herds or we'll be in danger."

"............" Arslan looked at Sofia. He will only speak when a voice is heard.

"A pleasant quarrel. Wouldn't it be better to roast the wolf right away. I'm really hungry,"

Sofia and Arslan spontaneously looked up. They saw someone begin to jump down from one of the tree branches. The subject's white cloak fluttered and now saw blond hair that glistened like gold when exposed to the sunlight.

"You again?" Sofia said, "Why did you come here?"

"Hm? Because I'm hungry?"

"Nature..." Arslan stared at the subject in front of him which was none other than Nature. The teenager smiled and then greeted him.

"Why did you find us again?" Arslan asked and made Natur blink.

"Arslan, come. The forest is vast and easy for me to get lost. But thanks to my friend's help, I'm still fine and can even find you guys easily."

"Friends?"

Nature looked up and then started whistling. His whistling voice was quite impressive and sounded like the sound of a bird. Arslan and Sofia followed the direction of Natur's view, they then saw a small sparrow that flew and perched on Natur's shoulder.

!!

"You named that little bird... What was?" Sofia scratched her ear and continued, "Lili? Hiya... He's just a bird. Why give him a name?"

"Lili is no ordinary bird. I trained him well and he has become my third eye" Natur said. "And what was that? Why give him a name? Hmph, of course the name is important. Just like the name on your beloved weapon, I also named my little bird that I love."

"Lili, go..." Natur rubbed the sparrow's head slowly on her shoulder before the tiny animal flew away again.

Nature looked at Arslan and asked, "So how? Didn't I get any grilled meat today?"

"............"

*

*

An sat on the edge of the campfire as he continued to flip over the wolf meat that had been cleaned and seasoned by Arslan. Natur is seen holding the thighs of a ripe wolf and seems to eat it very greedily.

Sofia sat on a tree trunk and shook her head several times as she watched how the boy ate without any hesitation. He had held back a long time ago and now no longer.

Sofia opens the voice, "Hmph. It's delicious huh. You eat so voraciously that no matter who suffers from the smell of the roast you eat. Shh,"

Natur turned his head and saw Sofia who was only eating the forest cherries while looking towards him. He said, "If you want to eat meat, there is no shame. I'm not gonna ban you,"

"You..!"

Arslan blinked as Sofia threw a small orange at Natur right on the boy's head. He sighed before going back to eating wolf meat while watching the quarrels of the two subjects.

"An, you're eating too." Arslan said slowly, the giant beside him also began to take pieces of wolf meat and carefully eat it.

Compared to seeing Sofia and Natur, watching An eat was the best. The giant of this type of variety is very calm in its attitude, including when chewing food. An even seemed to smile as if he was enjoying every bite of it.

Arslan was so impressed by how neat An's attitude at meals was. Watching An is the same as calmness. Totally different from Natur and Sofia which almost resembles the eruption of Mount Merapi.

"True, too" Arslan recalled something and then turned his head towards Natur. He asked, "Have you found any herbs for your medicine?"

The new Nature will begin a new round of debate with Sofia when she hears Arslan ask. He looked at the young man and said, "Until now I haven't found him. But I'll find you later,"

"What other plants are lacking?"

"Spider flowers lilies and water ginseng,"

"What are you talking about?" Sofia frowned. He was curious because Arslan and Natur were talking about plants as if they were both very close.

"He wants to make medicine"

"Healing of heavy wounds." Natur interjected, he looked at Arslan and gestured for this young man not to say anything about the original medicine he wanted to make.

"Healing a heavy wound?" sofia's eyebrows shot up, "Isn't there any healing magic? Why do we need herbs to make medicine?"

Natur looked at Sofia and shook her head slowly. He said, "That's why your archery skills suck so badly as an elf. You've always relied on magic spells obtained from demons."

!!

Sofia was shocked to the point of opening her mouth wide. He was very astonished to hear the words of Nature. On the other hand, Arslan just turned his head and looked at the blonde teenager but to be honest he was quite jolted with what he heard earlier.

"What do you mean?" Sofia said, "How can you say that my magic was obtained from the devil?!"

"It's true, right?" Natur explained, "In the past when races worked together to exterminate disasters, humans made a pact with demons and successfully used magic. The elves who were naturally capable of using magic could not even be comparable to a disaster. After the covenant with the devil... The Elves' magic increased greatly."

Nature continued, "So you don't have to be arrogant or anything because your magic is already mixed with demonic power. One day the devil will rise up and take his power back,"

"You-You..!" Sofia stand. He was shocked by Natur's words and pointed at the 14-year-old boy. "Not knowing yourself. How could that happen?! You don't make it up,"

"That's a fact, I don't scare. The calamity that the dragons had in the past had already disappeared. But now a disaster with a different form has come. 'The Devil-Faced Sword', you can't not know. All races are fighting over it and soon... The Middle World will again face disaster."

Arslan lowered his view. He did not say anything but thought of the words of Nature.

Sofia herself loudly said, "I won't let that happen. I will protect the sword from the hands of the wicked. This has become the duty of the elf race because it was my ancestor who swung the sword."

"Hmph," Nature snorted. "With your lousy abilities and you want to become a dangerous sword protector? Hah, you make me want to laugh."

"You..!"

"Listen well," Natur said. "All I know, that Elf race was born a genius. They are smart in many ways, including magic and archery. But as I see it, your presence is already flawed for the definition of 'genius' of the elf race. You're humiliating your race,"

"You're such a bitch..." Sofia said, "What do you think.... You're perfect for your people. Human race of the Nordic type. Your presence has also become a handicap for your race,"

"What part of me do you see 'disfigured'? I saved you from the black magician, my archery ability is greater than yours, I can even venture far and come to this place. I'm handsome, cool, and very awesome. Hiya... I love myself,"

Sofia puffed her cheeks. He doesn't think anyone will be this narcissistic and it can be annoying. The other most annoying thing is where Arslan says absolutely nothing, including defending himself. The young man with a 1.3 meter tall body looked more concerned about food and An than him.

"Basic Arslan sucks..!"

!?

Arslan flinched as Sofia exclaimed and mentioned her name. He blinked as he did not know why the elf girl was so upset with him. He had no idea what kind of mistake he had made.

"What's wrong with you?" Arslan open voice. His tone was calm, almost flat.

"You're a bitch! Short stinks suck! Hmph, though,"

"......... What the fuck is that...?"

******