(Month 1 Day 2)

Once Bell exited the Hostess of Fertility, he immediately began to walk toward the library he visited yesterday at a quick pace. Just like yesterday, he buried his face in various books in the library and picked up where he left off yesterday. He was able to memorize the various physical attributes of the races but he wasn't able to research the various cultures each race had so he decided to focus his attention on that.

After spending a couple of hours in the library, he was able to store the information about the cultures of a majority of the beastfolk and the pallums into his hippocampus. However, he decided to cut his study session short because he had various tasks he needed to do. He needed to buy a pocket watch, a map of Orario, and some clothes. However, that did not stop him from renting out a couple of books that covered the remaining cultures. After buying a pocket watch and a map from a vendor that sold miscellaneous items, he traveled North to the clothing shop district. Like the rest of Orario, the shoppers in the shopping district were diverse in race. The shopping district had various shops and vendors that catered to the multiple races. The stores that sold clothes that covered the majority of the body attracted the elves and the stores that sold revealing clothing attracted the Amazons.

Bell decided the elven shop would be the best place, although it felt nice having the sunlight land on his skin, he still preferred clothes that covered the majority of his body. The incident in the bathroom was also still fresh in his mind. Although Bell was certain that it wouldn't happen as long as he wore gloves, he didn't want to take any risks. As he made his way toward the shop that catered to elves, his excellent hearing which was sharpened because of the hunt picked up various conversations ranging from goddesses talking about how they were going to spend the money their familia members made for them (which disgusted Bell immensely), a pair of women talking about what dresses they should buy to even an amazon complaining about her small breasts which caused Bell to raise an eyebrow.

He walked into the elven shop, the sounds of his steps catching the attention of the elven shoppers who gave him a weird look but he ignored them. After browsing some of the various sections, he found the clothes he wanted which were various long sleeve shirts, a brown jacket, pants, gloves, socks, and another pair of boots. Although he was able to buy the clothes, Bell could tell there was a subtle look of disdain on the elven shop owner's face. However, Bell didn't think much of it, he has dealt with much worse in Yharnam. An old elf's look of disdain didn't bother Bell in the slightest.

By the time the hunter was done with all of his errands, the sun had set and the moon had started to rise. When he walked through the entrance of the now packed pub, he was greeted by the gray-haired waitress.

"Welcome back Bell!"

Bell gave her a smile and a little wave of his hand before walking up to the counter, catching the eyes of Mamma Mia.

"Welcome back kid! You're not going to skip out on dinner this time, are you?" Mia said with narrowed eyes.

"May's cooking is too good to miss out on," Bell said with an honest tone. A satisfied look formed on Mia's face after the young rabbit said that.

"Now that's what I like to hear!"

"Yeah, I bet you do…I have some items I need to drop off in my room then I'll be down."

As Bell weaved his way through the various drunk patrons in the pub, he spotted Ryuu who was setting down a plate of food in front of a plastered customer. She turns around to see Bell, who nods his head towards her. She nods back and just as they were about to pass each other, the leg of an intoxicated adventurer stretches out in front of Ryuu, causing her to slip and tumble forward. Bell spotted this and reflexively moved to catch her and what resulted was an awkward position. Bell's left hand was grasping Ryuu's right hand that was holding the tray, his right hand was grabbing her shoulder, and her left hand was resting on Bell's chest.

"Are you alright, Miss Lion?" Bell asked the green-haired waitress. The waitress looked up and the hunter noticed that her face and pointy ears were starting to become a little red. She continued to look at Bell wide-eyed with her mouth opening and closing repeatedly as if she was trying and failing to form a coherent sentence.

'Is something wrong? Is Miss Lion intoxicated too?' Bell thought as he stared at her with a slightly confused expression. Bell knew the various symptoms one would experience while intoxicated and one of the physical symptoms was a flushed face. No, Bell quickly dismissed that line of thinking. Although he had just met Ryuu, he could tell she was a diligent worker that wouldn't do something incredibly irresponsible such as becoming inebriated while working. Perhaps she is sick. Bell decides if worse comes to worst, he can run a medical diagnostic on her and determine if she is suffering from some kind of illness. The green-haired elf looked at the hand that was grasping her right hand and upon seeing the gloved hand, she somewhat regained her composure.

"Y-Yes I'm fine, thank you," Ryuu stammered out, still a little flustered at what just transpired.

"You don't need to thank me," Bell said as he subtly pushed her until she was back on her two feet. The albino then left with a "excuse me," and walked up the stairs.

Once Bell made it back to his room, he dropped off everything he bought except a new change of clothes and he walked to the washroom. After he took off his hunter's garb with ease he stripped down to his boxers and the bath gloves he bought at the elven clothing shop. When he looked in the mirror, he was surprised. Back in the hunt, Bell suffered countless injuries such as having his arms severed, fourth-degree burns from being burned alive, every bone in his body broken, to even having half of his face shattered during a fight. All of the severe injuries Bell experienced during the hunt should have covered his entire body with scars and damaged tissue but that wasn't the case. He was quite surprised to see that his pale skin was practically spotless with no blemishes, spots, or any scars. Bell deduced that it was most likely because of the blood vials. The blood vial's healing properties were incredible, being capable of healing torn muscle and repairing broken bones in a matter of seconds. He also noticed that his physique was well built for his age. Not to the point of a bodybuilder but a good lean build that was the result of hard physical labor and adequate exercise.

Bell stripped all the way down and stood underneath a shower. He let out a pleased sigh as he felt hot water land on his pale skin. He felt like he could stand under the showerhead for hours but he didn't want to waste too much water. Miss Grand gave off the impression that she wasn't a wasteful person and would not appreciate him raking up her water bill. After washing his hair with shampoo and conditioner and scrubbing his entire body with soap, Bell never felt so refreshed in his entire life. Even though he was wearing gloves in the shower, washing his hair still felt nice and refreshing.

Once he was done with his shower, he put on the clothes that he wanted to wear for the evening which were a black long sleeve shirt and tan pants with black socks, black boots, and leather gloves. Although the clothes felt foreign to him since the main outfits he wore during the hunt were the hunter's set and Cainhurst armor, they were quite comfortable.

He laid out his hunter's outfit on his bed but before he left he strapped his Rakuyo to his waist and grabbed a second pair of gloves. Although the peacefulness was refreshing, it still felt foreign to Bell and set him on edge. The only thing that quelled Bell's slight anxiety was having the weapon that was gifted to him by Lady Maria strapped to his waist. For all he knew the beastfolk that roamed Orario could suddenly go feral and attack people. Although he knew some martial arts, he wasn't an expert and favored weapons over hand-to-hand combat.

When he walked down the stairs, Mamma Mia did a double-take.

"Damn kid you look so different without that trenchcoat and hat of yours, I almost didn't recognize you."

"I decided to change things up and wear something else."

"Good thing you did too, I don't want ya scaring my customers."

"Hmm?" Bell tilted his head to the side and gave Mamma Mia a confused look.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I personally don't have a problem with your outfit but to some people, it can give off an… ominous vibe, especially with that bandana of yours." Mamma Mia noticed this the previous afternoon. Patrons that weren't adventurers would occasionally glance at Bell with an uneasy look and when the white rabbit occasionally glanced over the entire room, they would quickly avert their gaze.

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

"No problem kid. Anyway, where are you going to sit?"

"I'll sit over there." Momma Mia followed Bell's gaze to a table that was sitting on the left corner of the room. The albino wanted to sit there because while sitting at the counter and talking to Miss Grand was… surprisingly nice, he wanted to sit in an area that gave him a view of the entire room with no blindspots. He also needed a break from social interactions. He understood now that because he was surrounded by people that haven't lost their minds, he would occasionally need to engage with them in conversations and social interactions. He mentally thanked Queen Annalise for the social skills she essentially drilled into his brain. Without them, his social skills would be abhorrent.

"Alright, make yourself comfortable and I'll send over a waitress to you soon."

Bell nodded his head and walked over to the table and took a seat. As he waited for the waitress, he looked around the room, observing all of the various patrons and adventurers that were either eating food, talking, or getting intoxicated. Although the number of people in the room was intimidating, it was actually nice seeing people have a great time and not worry about losing their minds or getting ravaged by a beast. After a minute of waiting, he heard footsteps approaching him and he turned his head to see a pretty woman with green eyes and black hair with a tail and cat ears of the same color. She had a cheeky grin on her face which put Bell on alert.

"So you're the cutie that's renting out the guest room upstairs ~nya."

Now Bell has been called many things during his hunt. He has been called good hunter, fiend, plebeian rat, outsider, murderer, monster, psychopath, vileblood. But he hasn't been called cute before, especially by a pretty lady. Bell found himself momentarily speechless before regaining his composure.

"...I'm flattered by your compliment and yes you are correct, Miss..."

"Chloe Rollo," Chloe said with a giggle and flirtatious smile.

"Bell Cranel, it's nice to meet you, Ms. Rollo."

"Meow, call me Chloe! We're basically roommates ~nya. No need for formalities."

"Alright, Chloe." The catgirl before him held the notepad to her chest with both hands as she continued to stare at Bell with that unnerving grin of hers. Bell was starting to feel uncomfortable so he spoke up.

"May I order my food now?"

"Nya? Oh, right! What's ya order?"

"Spaghetti and meatballs please."

"One order of spaghetti and meatballs coming right up!"

The catgirl thankfully walked toward the counter to tell May his order. He expected to wait a couple of minutes but was surprised to see Chloe already walking back to him with his order. He turned his head to look at the counter to see Miss Grand looking at him with a smirk on her face.

"Here meow go! One order of spaghetti and meatballs!"

"You have my thanks, Chloe."

"Hehe, I can think of a way for you to repay me." The cheeky grin on the girl's face resurfaced and she started to lean towards Bell, who started to lean back with a tense countenance. Bell's left hand unconsciously hovered over the handle of his knife but before anything bad could happen, a powerful voice boomed throughout the entire pub.

"CHLOE get back to work right now!"

"N-Nyah!? Y-Yes Mama!"

Once Chloe was out of his face and frantically scurrying back to work, Bell closed his eyes and let out a relieved sigh. He looked at Miss Grand and gave her a grateful nod. The young hunter then looked at the plate of spaghetti before him and felt his mouth begin to water.

Before grabbing the utensils and devouring the delicious ambrosia, Bell pulled out a spare set of gloves and set them out in front of the table. He let out a sigh in an attempt to alleviate his anxiety and closed his eyes. As calmly and proficiently as possible, Bell swiftly pulled the leather glove off of his left hand, put on another glove, and did the same for his right hand. After completing that anxiety-provoking task, Bell smiled as he grabbed a fork to feast on the delicious meal before him.

By the time Bell was done consuming his meal, the last of the patrons were leaving the bar, signaling that the pub was minutes away from closing. He noticed that the waitresses were beginning to scrub the tables clean of leftover food and spilled drink from the more inebriated patrons and stack the chairs. He surveyed the room and noticed that Ryuu was near a large table that was filthy and had more than six chairs that had to be stacked. The hunter walked over to Ryuu, who did a double when she noticed Bell's presence.

"Oh you don't have to do that," Ryuu said as she watched Bell stack up the chairs.

"It's fine, watching a sick person work doesn't sit right with me."

"What do you mean?" The elf said with a confused tone.

Bell raised an eyebrow at her. "When that intoxicated patron tripped you and I caught you, you started to blush in the face. Are you sick? Dizzy? Or even suffering from the flu?" Bell asked with concern.

Ryuu recalled the moment he was talking about and once again started to redden in the face, causing Bell to narrow his eyes.

"Miss Lion you should sit down and I can do the-"

"No, it's alright. I can't let a guest of the pub do my portion of the work and I am not sick." The seriousness in the elf's voice caused Bell to be taken aback.

"Oh, forgive me then. May I ask why you were blushing then?"

"Well… it's because-"

Bell didn't listen to the rest of Ryuu's statement because his left hand suddenly shot backward and grabbed the wrist of an outstretched hand that was reaching for his behind. He turned his head to look over his shoulder and spotted Chloe, who looked like a deer caught in a set of headlights.

"Nya?"

"What are you doing?" Bell's clearly forced calm tone caused Chloe to laugh nervously before a human walked up to her side with a disappointed look. She had clear skin, medium-length brown hair, and brown eyes.

"She was being a naughty cat."

"Can you blame me Lunoire? I mean look at it, it's so GYAH!"

Chloe let out a yelp of pain when she felt a hand slap the back of her head. She rubbed the back of her head and looked at the brown-haired girl with a superficial sad look, which the lady clearly was not buying.

"Get back to work before Mamma Mia yells at you again."

The mention of Mama Mia caused Chloe to twitch before she wiggled her hand out of Bell's grasp and walked to another table. The brown-haired lady then looked at Bell with a regretful expression.

"Sorry about my friend she's kind of a-"

"Pervert?" Bell finished with an exasperated look.

"Yeah, shotacon to be more specific."

Bell didn't know what that term meant but decided it would be best to keep it that way and he spoke to reassure her and dissipate the slightly tense atmosphere.

"It's fine, I've dealt with worse."

The brown-haired girl smiled at this and introduced herself.

"My name is Lunoire Faust and this," Lunoire dragged a woman with brown hair and eyes with cat ears and a tail of the same color into view. "Is Anya Fromel."

"Nice to meet nyah."

Bell raised a metaphorical eyebrow at Anya's "nyah." He thought it was a certain quirk that Chloe had, but Anya, who was also a cat person, also included "nyah" in her vocabulary. Come to think about it, didn't May the chef say "nyah" also? Does this mean all cat people say "nyah?"

"Nice to meet you two. My name is Bell Cranel, though I'm certain you already knew that." Bell decided it would be best to leave out his "pleasure to make your acquaintance," considering how many times people have disliked his formal talk. He realized his decision was an adequate one when they smiled at his statement.

"You still gotta meet our main chef! May! Get out here and meet our guest!"

After a couple of moments, the door leading to the kitchen opened to reveal another pretty cat woman with blonde short bobbed hair with blue eyes. She gazed at Bell with a satisfied countenance.

"So you are the boy that thinks my food is delicious ~nya."

A genuine smile appeared on Bell's face and he nodded in confirmation.

"Correct. Eating your delicious food is one of the highlights of my day."

"Meow glad to hear it!"

After talking to the rest of the workers for a while, everyone finished their work and retired to their quarters. As Bell sat down at the desk chair, he recalled that Ryuu never answered his question but decided he would question her later. Not wanting to go to bed and possibly experience another bad dream, Bell pulled out the book he rented from the library that covered a variety of cultures. When he got to the elves section…

"Oh… that's why she got flustered."

(Month 1 Day 5)

It's been five days since the hunter arrived in Orario and quite a lot has changed for him in several ways.

To begin with, although he still had much to research in terms of relearning everything there was to Genkai, he more or less memorized all of the aspects of the major cultures, which resulted in him apologizing to Ryuu who, in response, started apologizing to Bell for tripping in the first place and putting Bell in that position. After five minutes of back and forth apologizing, the workers, who no longer found the situation amusing, told them to stop and find some sort of middle ground. Learning the cultures of the various major races also influenced his view on some of them, more specifically the beastfolk. By learning their culture and interacting with Chloe, Anya, and May on a daily basis, he was able to reduce his prejudiced view of some of them and tolerate the races' existences.

He also noticed he didn't need to eat as much as the average person. One meal was enough to sustain him for 2 days but despite that, he indulged in May's excellent cooking. Although it was not good for his finances and the smart move would have been to just eat when he needed to, trying various foods that Genkai offered quickly became one of Bell's favorite activities. However, one thing that he still, unfortunately, needed like every other living creature was sleep. Back in the dream, Bell never needed to sleep and began to find the task of sleeping unproductive and a waste of his time. Bell quickly did the math and realized that the average human spends roughly one-third of their lifespan sleeping! Think about how many things they could accomplish in their life if they didn't need to sleep! Thankfully, Bell realized he didn't require as much sleep as the average living being. If he really needed to, he could go about two maybe three days without sleep, something that Bell was relieved about.

The worker's opinion of Bell has also changed throughout the five days.

Although Bell was quiet and kept to himself, he was by no means a reclusive person. He was friendly and always engaged in polite conversation with anyone that initiated it with him. However, his manner of speech and the way he talked did not match his background. Although reluctant to reveal his past, he revealed to the workers of the pub that he was from the countryside which was something that surprised them considering his manner of speaking was similar to that of a noble. Though thankfully he didn't have that pompous condescending attitude that was common among snobbish nobles. Quite the opposite, in fact, Bell was a kind individual.

He also had these various quirks that were strange but unique in the sense that they made Bell stand out amongst other human beings. He had this ritual he conducted whenever he was about to eat. Once he ordered his food, he would always pull out two gloves and lay them out on the table. Then he would close his eyes and take off his left leather glove then put on what was assumed to be his left "food eating" gloves as fast as possible and do the same for his right hand.

The workers also noticed he exhibited behaviors and manners that, although similar to an elf, set him apart from the species that was known to look down on others. Like elves, he dressed in clothes that covered a majority of his skin such as long sleeve shirts or pants. He also wasn't comfortable with people touching him but he never demeaned or physically pushed people away when someone did.

Overall, Bell was a welcomed guest of the Hostess of Fertility.

However, they noticed that his behavior started to… change on the fourth day.

It was subtle but noticeable. Although Bell was a calm individual, he seemed to be more fidgety and on edge. Even though there was nothing dangerous in the pub, he would occasionally glance over his shoulder, as if expecting someone to be stalking him. He left early in the morning to go to the library and right when he got back in the evening, he immediately locked himself away in his room and didn't interact with anyone, even Ryuu and Mamma Mia, who were the two people that Bell interacted with the most. His behavior once again completely changed. Gone was the shy Bell who was now replaced with an extroverted Bell that was desperate for any social interaction. The girls of the pub didn't really know what to think of his abrupt changes in behavior, but they hoped it wasn't for a bad reason.

Bell didn't really know what was causing the escalating anxiety that he was experiencing over the past couple of days, but he genuinely didn't know how to get rid of it. He thought it was possibly social interaction overstimulation so he secluded himself in his room but that wasn't the case. He even tried the exact opposite to alleviate the anxiety but it didn't help at all.

It wasn't until Bell was rolling in his bed covered in sweat did he realize why he was feeling this way.

It was the quiet sense of peace. It was too peaceful.

Bell was granted moments of peace during his hunt, such as his moments in the hunter's dream or when he wasn't hunting invaders as Queen Annalise's knight, but those moments were incredibly rare and infrequent. This prolonged sense of peace, although refreshing, was completely foreign to Bell and it was missing something that Bell wasn't proud to admit. It was missing the thrill of the hunt, the intoxicating rush he experienced when his life was in danger while in battle with a beast worthy of hunting or an invader worthy of dueling.

He didn't know how long he spent rolling around in his bed drenched in sweat, trying and failing to fall asleep, but he immediately froze up when he heard a familiar voice.

'My good hunter.'

"Eve?"

Bell immediately turned his head at the sound of his surrogate mother but to his disappointment, he was greeted with just the right side of his room. However, he noticed something very peculiar. His eyes hyper-focused on his Rakuyo which for some reason appeared to have a glow to it as if demanding his full attention.

The hunter found himself transfixed on his beloved weapon. It wasn't until it was in his hands did Bell realize he actually got out of his bed to admire the weapon he had used to claim so many lives.

What's wrong, my hunter? Don't you hear the hunt calling? Hm, look at you, that glint in your eyes. You boy, are insufferable.

"Huh?" Bell looked around the room and once again, he was greeted with an empty room. But that didn't stop the voices. A cascade of voices flooded his eardrums with an intensity that caused Bell to kneel down in a crouching position with his hands over his ears. All the voices were blended into one incoherent mess until one voice spoke above all the others.

What are you still doing here? Enough trembling in your boots. A hunter must hunt.

As if in a trance, Bell's arms fell limp to his side as he lifelessly rose to his feet. He then bent over and picked up his Rakuyo, which was illuminated by the moonlight.

A hunter must hunt.

She's right.

Bell opened the window and gracefully leaped out of the window and landed on the adjacent building. He let his feet guide him until he found himself in front of a massive tower that pierced the starlit sky. He peered into the entrance and spotted the black abyss that led deep underground.

The hunter felt a massive smile stretch across his face as he descended down the steps to the one place in Orario that held beasts.

That night, the dungeon trembled.