[The Silmarillion] Romimus

"Even so, you have to admit that the lord is indeed wrong, especially when it comes to elves."

"Yes." Bell hesitated a little, but still nodded, and frowned at the same time, "But what do you think, Herudil? Do you want to blame her for these elves?"

"I don't have the right to accuse the lord of the past." Hrudir took a deep breath and said, "But I don't want the current situation in the Twilight Land to continue. Since we are not actually on the same front as Mordor , Why do you still have to be so obedient, why don't you simply fight against him with the elves?!"

"How easy are you to say." Bell cried, "Once we completely tear ourselves apart from Mordor, do you think that Sauron will show mercy for Luo Mi's sake? Or the peace under Luo Mi's protection for a long time? Let you have the illusion that Mordor is vulnerable? You have never personally experienced the cruelty and viciousness of him and those Orcs. They will turn the land of dusk into ruins and tear everyone into pieces! You want to die yourself That's all, what about the others? Are your mother and your people willing to give up their current life? Moreover, if there is a war with Mordor, you humans will not be the most miserable group. Have you ever thought about what will happen to Luo Mi? So? Sauron won't let her go. You don't think of anyone else, Hrudir."

Hrudir was speechless for a long time, and after a long while, he sighed: "Then, even if I am alone, I will do what I think is right. It is absolutely wrong to be in trouble with Mordor, whether there is a reason or not. of."

"What do you want to do?" Bell stepped back a few meters in panic, "You want to help the elves deal with Luo Mi?!"

"No, I will never do that." Hrudir said quickly, "But at least we shouldn't stop those who can fight against Sauron, right? Those elves, they shouldn't be locked up."

"But this is Luo Mi's order, and I have not let go of their power." Bell twisted her hair in embarrassment.

"You can enter Minasvio, and then we will find a way to rescue them...don't alarm Lord Romimos."

"This is deception!" Bell was shocked.

"Yes." Hrudir admitted helplessly, "but we have to do this. You understand that this is right, Bell, do you really hope that the relationship between Lord Romimos and the elves will intensify until they become completely demons?" How many accomplices?"

Of course not, compared to Sauron, Bell absolutely hoped that Romimos could get closer to the elves, otherwise she would not have brought Glorfindel and Elrond in at first, she originally I thought it was a signal to break the ice between the Twilight Land and the elves.

"And we concealed Lord Romimos so as not to implicate her." Hrudir said again, "If Sauron would blame the Twilight Land because of the elves, Lord Romimos would not be responsible in the slightest. All this is my own decision, but I need your help, Bell, you don’t have to do anything else, just bring me into Minasvio.”

"You promise that you won't do anything against Luo Mi?" Ling Dang's eyes flickered, and he struggled inwardly, "Just rescue those elves and leave?"

"I swear." Hrudir's eyes were extremely sincere.

"Why did you come to me all of a sudden? What's wrong?" Romimoski asked.

Given that Romimos and Bell are the only two non-human beings in the Twilight Land who can live longer than a hundred years, the two are indeed acquainted, but they are not close to the point of best friends, at least in Romimos' place. As such, she was not a sociable person, and even in Valinor, thanks to her unsocial nature, she was mostly a loner.And because Bell couldn't leave Swan Lake for too long, unless there were some important matters, she seldom came to Minasvio to visit Romimos, but the waterfowl passed the message on her behalf.

"It's nothing... just worried about you, is your injury better?" Bell didn't dare to look directly into Romimos' eyes, lowered her head, and spoke in a weak voice.

Romimos raised his eyebrows slightly: "Well, it's okay, I just need some time to recuperate. I'm not a human being, and I'm afraid I won't even leave a scar in the end. You don't know."

"Oh, then I have to come and see you in person to be relieved." Bell leaned in front of Romimos and acted like a spoiled child.

Romemos was a little funny, stroked Bell's long hair casually, and looked at Herudil who had been standing silently all the time: "Okay, just tell me what you have to say. If you are alone, forget it. You deliberately brought someone here, saying that there is nothing to do, just to fool me?"

"Hey, it's really nothing..." Bell sneaked a guilty glance at Herudil, who gave her a secret wink, "Luo Mi, he is Sires' son Herudil."

"I remember." Romimos nodded.

"He's my friend, and I've always been very curious about Minasvio, so I just want to take him in and have a look." Bell looked at Romemos without any reason, "Romimos won't be angry with me, will he? "

"My place is not a tourist attraction for people to visit." Romemos said, sighing softly, "But let's forget it this time. Let me show you around."

"No, no, I'm not familiar with you here yet? I'll just show him around. You're still injured, so take a good rest." Ling Dang quickly waved his hand.

"Alright." Romimos took out a large bunch of keys from the drawer without forcing, "Except for the room on the north side of the fifth floor, you can come in and out of the rest of the rooms as you like, as long as you put everything back in its original place after reading it."

"Why can't you go there?" Bell asked innocently.

"It's not a big deal," Romimos looked down and flipped through the book casually, "It's just that those elves are still locked there, but as long as you don't accidentally open the wrong door, they will never come out, so don't worry. Just do it."

"Oh." Bell agreed with all his heart.

But as a matter of course, as soon as the two left Romimos' sight, they turned up and down twice meaningly, and then went straight to the "forbidden place" that Romimos said.

Hrudir took a few steps over there, still hesitated, and slowed down.

"Hurry up, what's the matter?" Ling Dang was terribly guilty in her heart, only hoping that this matter would end soon, and urged him in a low voice.

"I always feel that something is wrong." Hrudir frowned, "Is it a little too smooth?"

"Could it be that you still hope that something will go wrong?" Ling Dang gave him a blank look.

"How is it possible, but I'm always worried that Lord Romimos saw something...Maybe I'm too nervous." Hrudir took a few deep breaths and continued to walk forward.

But the closer he got to the door, the more uneasy he felt.

With Romimos' shrewdness and prudence, even if he trusted the bell again, didn't he really see a flaw just now?To be honest, Bell's performance was not very good, and he was sweating several times.Of course, maybe the other party has decided that they can't find anything in their own territory, so it's possible to relax their vigilance... It's the best possibility...

They were already standing in front of the door, the bell was picking the one they needed from a large bunch of keys, and the metal clashing made a crisp sound of jingling.

"Hmm...it should be this one." Bell found the key from a pile of keys, and was about to insert it into the lock.

"Wait a minute." Hrudir pressed her hand, "I'll drive, you go watch the wind."

Bell was a little surprised, but obediently stepped aside.

Horudil stabilized his mind and knocked lightly on the door with his knuckles. It was probably all made of fine iron, very thick and strong, and the sound insulation effect was also very good. No wonder Romimos dared to say that unless he had a key, he would Absolutely can not break open.

What if it was a temptation?Are there really elves behind this door?But even if not, what other choice do they have now besides opening the door to find out?

Hrudir tried his best not to shake his hands, or at least not too much, and unconsciously held his breath, inserted the key in, and twisted it gently.With a click, the door opened a crack inward by itself.

As the door opened wider and wider, several elf faces gradually appeared at the back of the room, all of them looked in the direction of Hrudir in surprise.

Hrudir's heart sank with a bang, and he took a few breaths.

Elrond was the first to recognize him.

"You're...the boy that day," he said. "What's the matter?"

Hrudir doesn't really think he should be called a boy anymore, he's going to be 17 in three months, but now is not the time to argue.

"I'll take you out," he said as succinctly as possible. "Come with me."

Elrond did not relax, on the contrary, his face became even more ugly: "Is this what Romimos meant?"

"No, I made the decision on my own, so don't dawdle any longer. I'll talk about it later if you have any questions." Hrudir urged them again and again.

The elves looked at each other and hesitated for a while, which is not surprising, why should Romimos' nominal subordinates help them?

At this moment, Ling Dang hurried over, her little face pale.

"What should I do? Luo Mi is down." There was already a cry in her voice.

Hrudir's stomach, which finally relaxed a little, stirred up again. He should have expected that Romimos would not be unaware.

"I'm going to buy time, you guys go!" He made a decisive decision, "Go in the southwest direction, where there are fewer guards. Glorfindel is waiting for you too."

"How can you delay the time? Let me go." Bell said.

"No." Hrudir knew Bell too well, let her go, and Romemos probably could make her cry all the tricks in less than three sentences, "You are familiar with this place, take them away, hurry up , hurry up! There is no time!"

The doubts of the elves have not been completely dispelled, but... What is the loss of gambling?Anyway, if it fails, it's just being caught and kept locked up, but if it succeeds, it will make a lot of money.

So under the guidance of the bell, the elves quietly walked out of the iron gate one after another, and slipped past the wall in the direction of going downstairs, while Herudil walked a few steps quickly, making a look like he was about to go upstairs. He stopped Romemos at the other end of the stairs.

"Lord Romemus." He bowed respectfully to hide the flustered expression on his face.

"Why are you alone?" Romemos asked, "Where is the bell? Didn't she say she would show you around?"

"The bell is downstairs." Hrudir replied.

"Then what are you doing here?" Romimos asked, glancing at the "prison" not far away, "What? Do you want to sneak a look at those elves?"

"No, no, actually...I want to find you." Herudil rubbed the fabric of the cuff unconsciously with his fingers.

"Oh?" Romimos raised his eyebrows slightly, "Looking for me?"

"Yes." Hrudir swallowed secretly, his nervousness may have been too obvious, but any ordinary human would have this reaction when seeing Romimos, "I...I have a lot of questions, If you will condescend..."

"It's okay, I like children who ask questions when they don't understand." Romimos squinted his eyes and chuckled, lifted his skirt gracefully and sat on the steps, and patted the empty space beside her to signal Hrudir to sit beside her, " So, what do you want to ask me?"

"I, I want to ask..." Hrudir opened his mouth, but he quickly found what he wanted to say. It's not fake that he wanted to ask Romimos a lot of questions, but he didn't expect The other party would really agree to reply him so simply.

"My first question is... is what you said at that time true?" Facing Romimos' puzzled expression, Herudil explained, "It was when I was kidnapped by the elves, they Tried to blackmail you into letting them go, and you said...you said that threat had no effect on you."

"Does that break your heart?" Romemus asked. "How do you expect me to react? Tears? Shouting? Like a phony comedian as if my heart were all because of your misery." Broken due to the circumstances?"

"No, no, I don't mean to complain at all. I completely understand and even agree with your calmness at that time. I, I just want to know, are your words trying to confuse that elf, or is that what you really think in your heart? , not only me, but also everyone in the Twilight Land, to you... don't they matter?"

"Yes, I know Glorfindel, and there is absolutely no doubt about his nobility and sincerity." Romimos looked at Herudil with a smile, "You should have the deepest feeling for this, right?"

"Yes...no, I mean..." Hrudir didn't know if she meant something, and didn't dare to look Romimos in the eyes.

"So, no matter how I reacted at the time, nothing will happen to you in the end. The fact that he had to hold a kind and innocent person hostage because of the situation, in fact, he may have suffered more than me. I didn't It's necessary to hide my concern for you from him—unless I really don't."

Hrudir was speechless.Although he was more or less prepared in his heart that Romimos was really so indifferent, it was another matter to hear the impact of the other party's own words. The Holy Mother who has been unshakable for several years, the contrast in reality is too great now.

"But if we are really worthless to you," Hrudir really felt aggrieved, "then why don't you just let us fend for ourselves? Why do you still help us?"

"I never said that human beings are worthless," said Romemus. "The fact is, you are very, very important to me. If there is no land of dusk, which is nominally my territory, I will have to live with you every day in Mordor. A group of Orcs stared blankly, at least no one here cares what I do. Don’t you understand? To me, what is valuable is the entire human collective. If I agree to the request of the elves for you alone, Let Linton's army go from me to Erejan. If they lose the battle, it may be okay. In case any trouble is caused to Mordor, and Sauron finds out that I let go, you think he will be as merciful as I am Human? By then, not only me, but everyone in the Twilight Land will be unable to eat and walk around."

At first glance, it seems that there is nothing wrong with this. For most people, it seems obvious which side to choose between one person and one clan, but perhaps it is because he is unfortunately the chosen "one person", so Hrudir Still feel a little twisted.

"You mean, because it's for everyone in the Twilight Land, it's reasonable to sacrifice someone?"

"Of course there are some people who are very important. One person's value can surpass hundreds or even tens of thousands of ordinary people. Do you think you are one of those people? Because you are the son of Patriarch Harris?"

"No, I don't think I'm special, but I don't think it has anything to do with my identity." Hrudir lowered his head and whispered, "I'm the same as everyone else, I'm not saying I can't sacrifice myself...but that's not my duty, I should at least decide for myself whether I want to die for someone else."

"You are very kind." Romimos said, "But not everyone is like you, more people think of themselves more than most people, I understand them, but this is a necessary sacrifice, we have no choice .”

"The interests of the majority should not be at the expense of the few!" Hrudir gritted his teeth, otherwise he couldn't help shouting.

"This is not what I want. Why don't I want everyone's needs to be met? But that's impossible. With so many people, how can everyone have the same desires? How can there be no conflict between them? Someone If you get benefits, someone else must pay the price, and someone will always have to make concessions and sacrifices." Romimos narrowed his eyes, half-smiling, "Compared with the harmony of a whole movement, is the free will of a note really important? ?”

"But you are a god!" Horudil shouted, "How can there be things that a god can't do?!"

"That's why you think too highly of me." Romemos said calmly, "I am Maia, and I am indeed a god to human beings, but I am not omnipotent. I am stronger and wiser than me in Arda. There are too many, not to mention the unique existence outside Yiya. Do you know why I don't like to interfere in your human affairs, and always keep a distance from you?"

Hrudir has actually thought about this issue too. Romemos has always been the ruler of Twilight Land in name only, but in fact, as long as she thinks about it, everyone in Twilight Land will cheer and embrace her as king. He thought it was because the other party was kind and enlightened, but now he suspected that it was simply because Romimos was too lazy to care about the trivial things of human beings like them.

"Because I can't," said Romemos. "Frankly, I thought that instead of putting on a show before Mordor, I'd really try to be a lord, though I've never done it before. work..."

However, she has also been lurking beside a genuine real lord for hundreds of years, has she never eaten pork or seen a pig running?

With this in mind, Romimos worked diligently as the Supreme Consul for more than a year, and resolutely chose to step down in the second year.

Romemos is an outstanding scholar, craftsman and artist. However, she has neither talent nor interest in the related fields of politics and military. performance, but it is not a big problem to be a moderate ruler.However, after careful consideration, Romimos gave up this idea.

She can indeed, but there is no need and sentiment to force herself to do something she doesn't like to do, and it is obvious that other people are more professional than her.

In addition, Romemus also felt quite skeptical: Is it really a good thing for God to rule over people?

Naturally, she is more intelligent and far-sighted than humans. She can see many things that cannot be seen by human eyes, and her spirit and will are stronger and purer than most humans.Although the power of Romimos is not top-notch in Maia, a human baby can easily crush the strongest ant. Just because she is Maia, the gap between humans and her is already insurmountable up.

But because of this, if even gods and gods and people cannot fully understand each other, how different is the world in the eyes of gods and people?Is it possible that God and man have exactly the same standards and logic for viewing and handling things?Are the decisions that God makes that he considers to be good for mankind really good for mankind?What if humans don't appreciate it?When the time comes, gods will be wronged, and humans will also be wronged, so why bother?

To take a step back, if it is true, no matter what wise or stupid decision she made, everyone in Twilight respectfully accepted it, and even thanked her, because no matter whether it is good or bad, it is a gift from God , then Romemos couldn't accept it even more.She is a rebel herself, and she has great contempt for docile and obedient pigeons. Just think about it, how terrible a human society is where all people put their spirits on God!

And Romemos doesn't really like being a god who is aloof and worshiped by all people. She hates people's expectations of her, as if they all hope so much that she must do what they think, but most of the time She is not an obedient child.

"So don't think of me as omniscient, dear," said Romemus. "I can't give everyone a happy ending."

"So, if it was you..." Herudil was silent for a moment, and his voice was a little choked when he spoke again, "If you were on the side of the minority, what would you do?"

"When I had to give up my own ideas for the sake of the harmony of the grand movement," said Romemus, "I chose to flee. I left everything and went to a place where no one could interfere with me and continue my creation. But human beings can't do it, you can't live without the collective... How pitiful."

Hrudir was silent for a long time again this time. After a while, he sniffled and said, "No, yes."

"Sorry, what?"

"For the sake of faith, I can also make choices and give up." Hrudir said, "If I want to ask you to allow me to leave, can you allow me?"

"You want to leave the Twilight Lands? Why?"

"Because I don't agree with your idea!" Hrudir said loudly, "I respect you, but you are completely wrong!"

"Are you referring to me sacrificing the interests of a few for the sake of the collective?"

"And your attitude towards elves! Your laissez-faire towards Mordor! Your selfishness and inaction! Your cruelty and arrogance! How can the value of a person be measured by the number of people?! One person is as precious as 1 people!"

The priest behind Romemos was stunned, his mouth opened as wide as the mouth of a bowl, and he couldn't even speak for a moment, and it took him a long time to stop sternly: "Presumptuous! How dare you—"

"It's all right." Romimos waved her hand. At this time, she finally looked at Herudil seriously, with a surprised smile, "Didn't I just say that? No one can talk to each other." I fully understand, why should I blame him for thinking differently from mine? It’s better to let a hundred flowers bloom than to have a unique one.”

"Of course I allow it." Romimos said to Hrudir, "Why do you think I will hinder you? Regardless of whether you and I think the same, pursuing your own ideals is what I am happy to see. In fact, I I always feel that the Twilight Land is a bit rigid now, but I can't force humans to change, it's their right to choose to be ordinary and boring, so it's really nice to have young people like you..."

Hrudir's heart was beating so hard that he actually thought he was going to die.

"Actually, it doesn't matter whether I allow you or not. I am not your master. You can leave at any time if you want to, as long as you really understand what you will face after you leave. Also, you'd better discuss it with your mother before leaving." After a while, she is the one you should really try to convince."

"Yes..." Hrudir lowered his head in contempt, his face began to burn, and at the same time he secretly regretted that what he said just now seemed to be a bit harsh. Lord Romimos is indeed an open-minded and kind person. But in some ways too extreme...

"However, I only allowed you to leave alone, but I didn't say that you can take other people away." Romemos suddenly changed the subject, Huo Di stood up, looked behind Hrudir, and looked behind him impressively.

Hrudir's heart sank, and he turned around stiffly.

Sure enough, it was the bell and the elves, and behind them were dozens of fully armed guards and a few shiny spear points.

"You can go, my dear, it was a pleasure to talk to you today." Romimos said softly to Herudil, "However, before leaving the Twilight Land, can you do one more thing for me?" Something? Because you see, I'm not in a good mood right now, and I don't know what I'm going to do. If you want these elves to be safe, you have to send a message to Glorfindel, and he may come to see him in person I've been there."