Chapter 244: Identity Exposed and the Princess of Rivendell

After hearing Wayne's request, Elrond the Elf King was quite generous, indicating that he could open a portion of the library for Wayne to borrow from.

However, afterwards, a hint of an undetectable smile appeared in Elrond's tone as he said:

"Mr. Wayne, I must remind you that our books are all written in Sindarin; outsiders generally cannot recognize our language."

"However, if you have the patience, I can arrange for one of my kin to teach you Sindarin during this time."

"As for whether you can master this language before you depart, that will depend on your own aptitude."

Upon hearing this, Wayne patted his head; because he had been able to communicate normally with Sindar Elves, Dwarves, and Hobbits previously, he had forgotten about this.

In Middle-earth, every race has its own language and script. Although there is a Common Tongue that all races can use to communicate, when it comes to writing, compiling books, and various customs and beliefs, everyone has their own scripts and habits.

After all, for most races, communication is generally internal, and there is rarely close contact with other races.

Wayne shook his head, somewhat helplessly, and said:

"Then I shall trouble Your Majesty Elrond to appoint one of your kin to teach me Sindarin. Being able to learn the Elven language during this journey is a decent gain."

"Perhaps in the future, I will often have to work with the Elves to oppose the minions of the dark forces; learning Sindarin will be beneficial for my communication with everyone."

As he said this, Wayne suddenly thought of the beautiful young Elf who had served as his guide today.

Although that girl was not elaborately dressed, her figure, appearance, and every gesture always revealed a particularly peaceful temperament that made one feel quite comfortable.

When the two were conversing, there were not too many barriers between their races, and they were quite in sync, so he casually said: "Why not trouble the lady who served as my guide today to teach me Sindarin?"

To his surprise, upon hearing Wayne's words, Elrond, who had always maintained a gentle and cultivated temperament, had his expression change. He then looked at Wayne with a slightly vigilant gaze and said:

"Mr. Wayne, that is my daughter, Arwen Undomiel. Even as a guest, one should not make such an unreasonable request."

Hearing the Elf King's slightly angry voice, Wayne was stunned for a moment. He truly did not know the other party's identity. It turned out that the beautiful young Elf was actually the daughter of King Elrond, so he said apologetically:

"My apologies, Your Majesty Elrond. Please forgive my rudeness; I was not aware of this."

Hearing Wayne's apology, Elrond's anger subsided slightly. After carefully sizing him up for a few moments, he regained his usual kingly bearing and said:

"It is no matter. Ignorance is no sin. I forgive your rudeness, Mr. Wayne."

And just as the two were conversing, Gandalf suddenly spoke up: "Wayne, actually, I noticed from the moment we first met that there seemed to be some magic cast upon your face, though we weren't familiar enough at the start."

"Now, can you tell us the reason for this?"

Not expecting his disguise magic to be seen through by Gandalf—though it wasn't any profound disguise—

Wayne was silent for a few seconds, then slowly removed the contact lenses from his face, revealing his amber vertical pupils and quite conspicuous pointed Elven ears.

After the three stared at each other for a few moments, he shrugged at the surprised Gandalf and Elrond and said: "Actually, I am also a Half-elf. However, my background is somewhat complicated, so to avoid unnecessary trouble, I simply hid my identity and lived as a human adventurer." After hearing Wayne's statement, Gandalf and Elrond exchanged a glance, not knowing what they were communicating via their internal voice-link again. When they looked at Wayne once more, their gazes had changed.

As the favored creations of the Creator God in Middle-earth, the Elves were clearly much more trustworthy in the eyes of this Wizard and Elf King than Dwarves, Humans, or other races. The mysterious Wayne, who was also a Half-elf, now instantly became a fellow kin who needed to be won over in their eyes.

In Middle-earth, no matter which Elven clan it is, they all suffer from the problems of long lifespans and difficulty in reproduction. Every clansman is very precious, and they must try their best to ensure a reduction in various accidents, conflicts, and unnecessary casualties. This is also one of the reasons why they have always lived in seclusion and rarely communicate with other races.

Now, because of the change in identity, Elrond, who was also born a Half-elf, would certainly make a different judgment and choice regarding Wayne.

By the next day, to Wayne's surprise, Elrond truly did as he wished and had his daughter, the Princess of Rivendell, Arwen, teach him Sindarin.

This beautiful young Elf was just as she had been upon their first meeting—treating others like a spring breeze, speaking pleasantly, and her watery, large eyes always revealed a purity like a little white rabbit, whether intentionally or not.

As an Elven princess who had lived for over two thousand years, this young girl had been protected too well. She was full of curiosity about the life of adventure, and while kind-hearted, she also harbored a small, rebellious spirit and a longing for life outside.

Although Wayne was an old lecher, he couldn't bear to make a move on such a pure young girl, nor did he want to provoke the hostility of King Elrond because of it.

However, being with the beautiful young girl was always happy. While learning Sindarin, he would occasionally recount stories of the missions he had carried out in the Wizard World, or tell of the things he had seen and heard while with friends. These stories from the outside world made the princess listen with great interest.

While teaching Wayne, Arwen would also bring some Sindar Elven delicacies and fine wines she had cooked herself to reward him, while Wayne likewise brought out the most common and effective means he used to deal with girls.

That was the top-tier delicious cakes and pastries secretly made by Wayne, as well as the ice cream he made using ice-element magic.

In any world, any race, no woman could refuse these sweets, nor could they refuse these varied, novel, and delicious desserts.

Sweets had always been luxury goods in the Middle Ages. Wayne's secret-recipe desserts made Arwen smile like a flower, perfectly displaying the purity and beauty of the Elven maiden before Wayne.

Time flew by, and three days passed.

During this period, Thorin and his Dwarven kin rested well in Rivendell, easing the exhaustion and hardship of the journey thus far.

And this time, because Wayne had been guarding them the whole way, the group's mounts had not been lost, and their travel speed was several days faster than in the original story. The upcoming journey would not be tight on time either.

Elrond, just as in the original story, helped Thorin decipher the moon-runes left on the map by the former King Under the Mountain.

However, this time, because there was Wayne, who held considerable prestige, mediating the relationship between the Dwarves and the Elves, the two sides did not have the conflicts seen in the original story and got along quite harmoniously.

As for Wayne's progress in Sindarin, it was quite decent. Perhaps because Elrond had once revealed to the Princess of Rivendell that Wayne was a Half-elf, the young Elven girl showed considerable trust in him, bringing him to the library of Rivendell without any precautions, and even thoughtfully helping him translate some historical knowledge he wanted to know. This also allowed Wayne to take the opportunity to replicate some basic knowledge of the Sindar Elves using his magic book, which he could slowly study during the future journey.

And on a certain night unknown to Wayne and the expedition team, the Grey Wizard Gandalf, the Brown Wizard Radagast, the White Wizard Saruman, the three wizards, along with the Elf King Elrond and the Elf Queen Galadriel—

These five individuals, who were almost the most powerful in the camp of light, held a mysterious meeting to discuss the current situation, the anomalies in Dol Guldur, and the mysterious Half-elf Wayne who had recently appeared before them.

After Gandalf told everyone else everything he had seen and heard of Wayne along the way, these people also had different views on Wayne.

Regarding Wayne's boastful commission to slay the dragon Smaug in the north, they also expressed different opinions.

(End of Chapter)