The city of Les Rimen that I returned to after such a long time was just as it always had been. It greeted me the same as when I first set foot here, as if it had forgotten I had ever left.

Bustling crowds filled the streets. Even with my black hair and my distinctly different skin tone and appearance, I was far from unusual in the diverse mix of people walking around.

Among them were elves, dwarves, and even beastfolk that I hadn’t seen the last time I was here, making the scenery feel not just exotic but downright …