Homecoming (Part 1)

This was the most beautiful season of the year—autumn.

Romon rode toward the Edge Forest, his long hair streaming in the wind, while his mind was crammed full of thoughts.

Naturally, they were all kinds of speculation about the Edge Forest. Every possibility carried an irritating flavor that left him unsettled.

For some time, he had drifted through the world outside, drifting upon the sea. Only now could he gallop freely across this plant-shrouded continent and savor the incomparably fresh fragrance of nature.

Villages and towns sped backward beneath his whip-driven horse. Looking at those familiar villages and towns, Romon felt a measure of comfort rise within him.

After the harvest and reconstruction, the villages and towns had finally begun to carry the scent of life.

Most of the fields had been reclaimed, and bones no longer lay in sight.

But whenever he looked toward the Edge Forest, that feeling of having just returned from the sea to solid land immediately faded away.

He still had more important matters to attend to. He had no time for old memories or all sorts of sentimental sighs.

When he reached Rika Town, Romon slowed his horse slightly. Looking at the familiar shops on either side and the people walking the streets, he sighed softly. At last, he was back.

When he had previously set foot in Far-Sail Town, he had also felt as if he had come home, but that feeling had not been nearly as strong as it was now. Rika Town was different. Romon had lived in this town for several years, and both his beginnings and his success had been inextricably tied to it.

The moment he entered the town streets, his heart filled with emotion.

Under Baron Rokas's rule, Rika Town had now grown to a considerable scale.