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Chapter 244 - Meeting with Bella.
🕑 Added 2025-06-06 22:09:48 +0000 UTCThe next day arrived, and my meeting with Bella is today. It was supposed to be yesterday, but I ended up staying up all night and then slept through the entire day. Hestia should have woken me up, but she didn’t.
When I came downstairs in the morning, breakfast was already prepared, and Bella was waiting for me in the dining room. Elma was with her.
“Good morning,” I said, smiling.
I sat down across from Bella, and she greeted me.
“Good morning, Luan. It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
“The pleasure is mine. I’m really sorry about yesterday…”
“Oh, it’s fine! The Goddess told me you spent the night writing and slept through the whole day.”
“It’s just that the night was a bit rough. I went to a dinner that got out of hand and ended up getting really upset. I came home and started writing, and I couldn’t stop until I realized it was already daylight.”
“I see. But don’t worry, I don’t mind. You’re the most important person here, after all—I have no right to be upset over something like that,” Bella said, lowering her head slightly.
“Come on, don’t say that. You’re just as important as I am. Your drawings bring my stories to life.”
“You’re exaggerating! You’re the one who gives life to the story… Besides, you even help me with the illustrations.”
“Oh, stop this pointless talk,” Elma interrupted.
“She’s right. We want to hear about the artwork for your next books!” said Lili, who was also sitting at the table.
Mikoto nodded in agreement.
But I said, “I want you two out of here. Lili, don’t you have work? And Mikoto, shouldn’t you be training?”
“But—!”
“I’ve stopped training… because of that,” Mikoto said, blushing.
Right… I had forgotten about that.
Mikoto hasn’t been going to the dungeon as often as before. She knows it could be risky.
“Alright. Lili, go to work, and Mikoto, head to your room. I don’t want to spoil anything for you two—it’ll ruin the experience.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Me neither.”
“But won’t you get fired if you skip work?”
“It’s fine. I don’t really need that money anyway,” Lili said with a laugh.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
She was right—she doesn’t need the money since I give her everything. But I thought she liked that job. She doesn’t have to work, so I assumed she did it just to stay active.
But apparently, that’s not the case.
She just wants to get fired and stay home all day like the other two.
Huff~~ I took a deep breath and said, “Fine. But don’t expect too many details.”
I pulled some papers from my inventory. They were the covers for the upcoming volumes of Re:Zero and Overlord, along with the cover for the first volume of Romeo and Juliet. This time, I made them much simpler.
I could draw something better, but I didn’t want to go overboard and end up discouraging Bella.
I handed her the papers, and as soon as she looked at them, she was captivated.
“They’re all so beautiful…”
“Don’t exaggerate. I kept the drawings very simple.”
“Hey, let us see too!”
“I want to see!”
Lili and Mikoto came over to look at the illustrations.
“What do you mean by ‘simple’? They’re beautiful and detailed!” Mikoto said.
“She’s right, Luan! These artworks are amazing!”
I smiled faintly and stayed quiet.
Bella continued to study the illustrations for a while and then said, “Are you sure you want me to keep doing the covers?”
“Of course I do. And besides the covers, you also need to create the internal illustrations for the next volumes of Re:Zero and Overlord. This time, I won’t help you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll read the upcoming volumes and decide what to illustrate. This will be your task alone. I want to see how you do.”
“What?! Elma, you didn’t tell me about this!”
“I didn’t know either. Luan, I was expecting you’d tell her what she needed to draw.”
“I just want to see what Bella can do. I trust her. If she doesn’t do a good job, I’ll say so and help her—even if it delays the release a little.”
“Ughhh… This is going to be hard.”
“No need to get so nervous. You’re amazing—you’ll do a great job.”
“Thanks for the compliment, but I doubt I’ll be able to please you,” Bella said, her pale cheeks slowly turning red.
####
After the meeting ended, Bella and Elma invited me to have lunch with them at a restaurant, and I accepted. The meeting lasted longer than I expected. Even though I said I wouldn’t help Bella, I ended up giving her a lot of tips.
We even read parts of each volume together.
Of course, Mikoto and Lili were thrilled.
We sat down at a nearby restaurant. Elma suggested we go to the Hostess of Fertility, but I refused.
They asked why, but of course, I didn’t say.
“I don’t want to run into Freya right now.”
As soon as the food was served, Bella asked,
“Luan, about this new book…”
“You said you liked it a lot.”
“Yes, I really liked the idea. But where did you find the inspiration to write something like this?”
“Hmmm…” I thought for a moment as I put some food in my mouth. After chewing and swallowing, I answered, “I read a story a long… long time ago. When I was still a child.”
I read Romeo and Juliet when I was in elementary school. Yes, I already loved reading even back then.
“You got the inspiration from that story?”
“Yes, exactly. A story about two enemies who fall in love. Two people who aren’t supposed to be together. But I added a lot to it… and that’s how Romeo and Juliet came to be.”
“Incredible. I don’t think I could ever create a new story like that. Even after reading Re:Zero and Overlord, I don’t think I could ever write something similar.”
“It’s practice. Lots of practice and study. If you start writing, I’m sure you’ll come up with great stories. You’re a talented girl.”
“…” Bella’s face turned red.
After a bit more conversation, we finished our lunch, and I said goodbye to the two of them.
As soon as I got back home, I went to my room to write a bit more.
It won’t take long to finish the second Romeo and Juliet book.
