"???" Mayor Boundless Paul of the Shire went pale in an instant. How had this somehow turned into rebellion? Rebelling in his own home? Wasn't that something?
"Looks like you really have lost your minds! Have you forgotten the history of the Shire?" Roland frowned, realizing the man did not seem to be acting. These Hobbits really had damn well forgotten they still belonged to the Kingdom of Arnor...
"In the year 1601 of the Third Age, Hobbits first came to the Shire. The brothers Marco and Blanco received the permission of King Argeleb II and settled between the Brandywine River and the Far Downs. They led a large band of Hobbits west from Bree, crossed the Brandywine River, and called the land beneath their feet the Shire. Hobbits had the duty to maintain roads and bridges, to be loyal to the King, and to ensure the King's messengers could pass unimpeded. I'm not remembering that wrong, am I? That should be the history of the Shire, shouldn't it?" Roland said.
"After the North Kingdom ended in the year 1975 of the Third Age, in the year 1979 of the Third Age, the Hobbits elected a Thain to assume rule while the throne was vacant. Bucca of Buckland was the first Thain of the Shire. The lord was also the chairman of the Shire Council and commander-in-chief of the Shire Militia and the Hobbit Armed Forces. I'm not wrong, am I? After that, the Shire remained peaceful. It had almost no army, and later the lord became a figurehead, slowly turning into the elected Mayor of the Shire!" Roland recounted this epic history, making everyone glance at him in surprise. Damn, impressive! He was in the East, yet he still knew the old affairs of the West! The Lagrange Kingdom