Chapter 108 - Bell?

My heart skipped a beat as the woman slowly turned to look at me. Her eyes gradually locked onto mine—vibrant red eyes.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

White hair, red eyes, and pale skin. A cute appearance that could be compared to a rabbit. This woman looked identical to Bell, except that she... is a woman.

Unlike Bell, she is tall. And I couldn’t help but notice she has large breasts.

She smiled at me, and I felt my heart race. It even seemed like I was falling in love... But no, this isn't love... I can't explain what this is. Damn, what do I do? I can't move.

Am I scared of this? Am I afraid because this woman looks so much like Bell?

Bell supposedly doesn’t exist in this world... But what if he doesn’t exist as a man but has transformed into a stunningly beautiful woman? This is so bizarre I can't believe it. It’s impossible.

“Luan? Is everything alright?” the waitress asked.

“Luan, it's a pleasure to meet you.” Then, I heard the artist’s voice for the first time. It was soft and pleasant—the kind of voice you’d expect from a famous Japanese Vtuber.

“Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. May I ask your name?” We shook hands.

“My name is Bella. Just Bella.”

When I heard her name, I squeezed Bella’s hand a little tighter, and she grimaced.

“Oh, I'm sorry,” I said. “Shall we sit?”

“Of course.” Bella smiled at me bitterly, and we sat across from each other. I didn’t know what to say to her. Should I compliment her art or ask about her life? Should I ask who her grandfather is?

Does she have ties to the Gods like Bell? It doesn’t seem like it. The story has completely changed.

This is terrifying. Bell is a woman... and her name is Bella. How uncreative of the God who created this world.

“Excuse me, is there something on my face?”

“No, it's just that... you remind me of someone.”

“Huh? Are you sure? It’s the first time anyone’s told me that. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who looks like me.”

“Yes, I’ve seen someone who looks like you before... but he was a man.”

“A man? That’s unbelievable. Hahaha.” Bella laughed. Even her laugh was cute and pleasant.

“And you're wonderful. I was surprised when I saw that the artist who drew the cover for my book is such a beautiful woman.”

Bella's cheeks turned red. I wasn’t sure how to feel about this.

“Thank you... I'm not very good with compliments, but I appreciate it.”

“I just said what came to mind.”

“...”

An awkward silence took over the table.

But fortunately, the waitress returned to take our order. You saved us!

####

I talked to Bella for a long time, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Bell. No matter how hard I tried to treat them as different people, I couldn't. Despite their voices and behavior being so distinct, I just couldn’t.

It is strange.

But even so, I tried to talk to her as respectfully as possible. I discussed the writing process of my book and how I wrote many pages while inside the dungeon, and Bella was impressed.

She knows a lot about my book; she really is a fan.

Bella also shared her process of creating the cover art. But it was surprising. Apparently, Bella came from a lineage of artists.

Her family is very famous for producing paintings—beautiful and quite abstract. But she is different. She specialized mainly in drawing portraits of people, which is why she is so good at drawing faces and bodies.

In addition, she focused a lot on her painting style, using many bold and vibrant colors, unlike her family, who primarily used neutral tones.

In other words, she is the complete opposite of her family. However, her mother and father were very supportive of her work. In fact, they had also read my book and encouraged her to take on the project of designing the cover.

I listened to this whole story in disbelief. It was as if Bell had created a fictional story that was impossible to be real...

Man, it doesn’t make any sense.

“That’s incredible. So your whole family is made up of artists?”

“My mother was a very renowned artist in the past, but now she’s retired. My father runs a painting shop that he founded many years ago. But I have many uncles and cousins who are painters.”

“That’s amazing, a family of artists.”

“And you, Luan... Has anyone in your family ever worked as a writer? You must have inherited this talent from someone, right?”

“Well... I'm the only one in my family who's ever tried to write anything. Ever since I was a child, I’ve been obsessed with reading. I read many works published in my city. Very small works that you’ve probably never heard of.”

“And while reading, you developed a talent for writing. People say those who love reading often end up trying to write something at some point. Not everyone has talent, but many discover it that way.”

“Did you start drawing and painting because of your family's influence?”

“I admit that at first, I only drew because of my mother. She encouraged me a lot, saying I had a bright future... But to be honest, this is the first time I've made any money from it. Hahaha.”

“Don’t worry. It’s also the first book I’ve published. I’ve never made money like this before. It seems like fate brought us together, doesn’t it?”

“I think so...” Bella let out a soft laugh and returned to eating.

After nearly two more hours of conversation, we finally decided to say our goodbyes.

When I said goodbye to Bella, I couldn't stop thinking about her.