"Why is the oil candle in the room always going out lately? Is it too windy outside the window? ”

A voice full of doubts came from outside the dark room, followed by a light step, and after a few seconds, the faint candlelight bloomed again.

"Maybe there's something wrong with the grease. The next time I go to Norgrod I'll ask the dwarf who sold me my oil candles. ”

A slightly hoarse voice rang out from the doorway. It sounded normal, but Charles could faintly hear a sense of weakness in his voice.

He pouted.

The titular elven father was in his heart, and Charles actually knew it—presumably the candle flame went out because of the ghostly minions he had raised.

That's right, Ghost Minions.

This elaborate house in the middle of a dark forest, built under an inconspicuous wooded hill, is actually home to several ghosts in addition to the hostess Arettir and the male host, Eor.

Charles, who had been in constant contact with such things, discovered this not long after he was "born", as the ghosts drifted past him every once in a while, their eyes gloomy.

However, this is a "racial characteristic", and he doesn't feel any malice.

However, the hostess of the place, Arityl, seems to have no idea about this.

The main thing is that those ghosts are formless and invisible. And although Charles's ability has become very inexplicable at this moment, he has another ability that is good at discovering these invisible lifeforms, so he can find it.

However, after Charles's secret observation, he felt that this cheap mother named Arettir was really a bit arrogant.

It seemed strange to him.

Because he felt that the elves he was currently reincarnated in had a keen eye, and he shouldn't ignore the details of the environment too much.

Of course, this view is not necessarily correct, because this place seems to be very remote, and since he was born now, he has only seen two elves, that is, his current parents.

……

Time flew by, and another week or so passed.

A crisp knock sounded from outside the door, and it was the elven swordsmith Eor getting to work again.

In addition to preparing various meals every day, getting up every morning to play the flute, and practicing swords before resting at night (the elves are responsible for cooking the male elves), his whole life is basically in the tinkling of iron.

His wife, Arettir, was not clear about her daily life, but now her main task is to teach Charles some basic abilities.

Let's say talking.

……

The sound of soft footsteps approached slowly, and when Charles turned his head slightly, a beautiful white face poked out from the side of the cradle, and the gray eyes were still full of joy when they looked at Charles, as they had been when they first met.

Charles frowned at this, feeling troubled, and then he was picked up without much resistance.

Although he was secretly able to walk, he was now limited by his physical strength, and he did not dare to leave the house or the two elves - who knew what danger was outside?

"What a lovely little fellow, I've never seen a cuter than you in my time in Gondolin, oh, my dear little Romien."

The white-robed female elf with pointed ears touched Charles's forehead affectionately, and then sat on a wooden rattan chair at the window of the house with him, bathing in the faint light from the window, and began to mumble while patting Charles's swaddling clothes.

"Romian, my child, the first thing I want you to say is the name that your mother gave you. Of course, this is just my personal name, and your father still needs to give you the official name, and I don't know what kind of name he will give you...... By the way, if you understand, don't say it in front of your father, who is so stingy that he doesn't allow me to speak Quenya. ”

At this point, the normally-carefree female elf frowned for a moment, then sighed melancholy, "I don't know how Izar is now, she doesn't have a very gregarious personality, and she doesn't have many friends in Gondolin who can talk...... You know, little Romien, when we were in Valinor, your cousin was actually very cheerful. ”

The murmuring voice is full of memories of the past. The white-robed female elf who embraced the Charles seemed to be touched in her heart.

So Charles, who was in the arms of the other party, suddenly had a hazy picture in his mind-

A manic blizzard covered the sky and the earth like a white curtain, and a long procession of elves in thick cloaks walked cautiously on crutches on a cold, windy, and roadless frozen plain.

A slender male elf with long hair and a shawl walked in front, followed by two female elves who were basically covered in snow.

The male elf in front of him heard the sound and hurriedly bent down to rescue, but only one of them was saved, and the other slowly sank into the deep and icy waters under the ice......

The picture slowly dissipated at this point.

Looking up at the female elf who seemed to be restrained at the same time, Charles blinked.

That's another ability he has at the moment.

As long as they are in contact with, or in the vicinity of, a target can be felt and perceived if they are thinking about an impressive image or being emotional.

This ability allows him to learn the language and customs of the elves more quickly. But if you think about it, what does that do?

Not even as useful as his ability to manipulate shadows.

However, the advantages are not impossible, for example, there is no difficulty at all in activating this ability, and even the control of shadows is the same - it is instinctive, just like a normal person raising his leg and stretching his arm.

At the same time, as he grew up day by day after birth, Charles felt that both of his abilities were also growing as his body developed.

However, it is not yet certain what the future will look like.

"It's a pity that I can't feel my spirit presence, otherwise I would have been able to relearn magic......"

This thought made him regretful.

This rebirth made everything he had gone, even the most basic spiritual powers in his body. At this moment, Charles, like the ordinary people in his memory, could not feel that special dark space when he closed his eyes.

He was also unaware of any spiritual presence.

It also includes the seven-pointed sun in the body, the simple heaven and hell, the ring of ice and fire that always exists on the hand, and so on.

Obviously, these things were also "burned".

So did they really dissipate, or did they become nourishment for something else?

As Charles was immersed in his own thoughts, the elf woman holding him was repeating the Elven language to him, hoping that he would become familiar with it and learn it.

This time it was not in line with the language she had just spoken to herself, it was a different language with a similar style, but a fundamentally different grammar of words.

If Charles could have learned more about this, he would have known that the language was the Sindar of the Grey Elves, the lingua franca of Middle-earth, not only elves, but also humans and dwarves when they were outside.

The language spoken by the elf Arettir just now was the Quenya language brought back from the Western world by the Noldor tribe, and the two languages had the same origin, but they were split in two because of the passage of time.

"Hopefully my son will be able to learn to walk before he is half a year old, and then I will be able to start teaching him to sing and dance."

Arityr's murmur was full of anticipation. It sounded like a terrifying thing to humans, but she was confident when she said it now.

Just immediately after, there was a retort at the door.

"What's the use of dancing? Only by practicing the sword can you protect yourself in the face of danger. ”

As far as the eye could see, Charles' current cheap father, Eor, was wiping his slightly rough hands with a rag and striding into the room.

He is a handsome male elf with the same black hair and gray eyes, but his body is slightly rickety, his facial features are slightly gloomy, and his demeanor is full of fierceness.

After looking at the child in his wife's arms, who was looking sideways at him, a green, stiff smile appeared on the corner of his mouth - he didn't usually smile much.

But then that heartfelt smile vanished. Because Arityl, who was sitting at the window, said a word.

"I want to take our son back to Gondolin once, and I want his uncle Turgong to see him."

These words made Eor's face sink rapidly.

"I won't allow you to go back to Gondolin, and I won't let you go back with my heir!"

The words fell, and the atmosphere in the house that should have been warm suddenly froze.