Thoughts about which Familia to join were wiped from his mind the moment he looked around the streets of Orario after stepping through the main gate.
People of different races and genders were walking all over the streets, some with animal ears, some with longer ears than humans, and some with beauty so surreal that just looking at their face made his face feel hot and dizzy.
The charm and charisma of the gods was no joke, just their facial features as he gleamed from a few peeks, were almost uncannily symmetric and perfect, with slight imperfections, making them seem even more beautiful.
As the saying goes 'In imperfection lies perfection'.
He snapped out of it after gaping at the bustling streets of Orario, staring at it like a country bumkin for a moment.
"Boss, how much for this apple?" He walked upto a vendor selling fruits at the corner of the street, and asked while holding an apple casually.
"That would be 20 valis, boy." The vendor flashed him a greasy smile while quoting the price with mock sincerity.
"Boss, that's too much, I've only got 5 valis on me." He spoke with a grimace after hearing the price, even if he did not know the average prices of things in Orario, the greasy smile on the vendors face seemed to hint at him trying to rip him off.
"Boy, This is the dungeon city Orario, everything here is way costlier than the outside, even food. Though, you seem like a new guy around here so I'll give it to you for 10 valis." The vendor looked him up and down, especially focusing on his unrefined build and village clothes and relented.
"You've got it, Boss. By the way, do you know a cheap inn around here? and can you tell me the directions of the Adventurers guild?" He asked after tossing him 5 valis in coins while taking a bite out of the apple in his hand.
"If you want a cheap inn with next to no security, then you can go straight from here and take two lefts onto the old street and go in the Whispering Wanderer Inn there, If you want a decent inn then go straight from this street, take a right then another left and go to the Graceful Swan Inn there, it's run by a Level 2 adventurer. As for Adventurers Guild, just keep going straight from this street and you'd come across it." The vendor spoke while dismissively waving him away after he finished explaining.
After walking straight for some time, he finally came across the infamous adventurers guild among the denizens who had watched Danmachi.
'So, this is the Adventurers Guild?' He spoke in his mind after reaching the adventurers guild and looked at adventurers coming in and out of the building, some were weary, some melancholic, others joyful and euphoric.
People were expressing a large range of emotion while coming and going through adventurers guild, just like when people went through a lottery on earth, some would come out happy and some melancholic.
He observed the atmosphere and the adventurers guild for some time while standing outside and then started to walk away from it after finishing his half eaten apple, towards the direction indicated by the vendor earlier.
Now was not the time to go to the adventurers guild, first of all he had no Familia right now and he had not been blessed by the Falna of a God as of now, so there was no merit in going there.
Night had already fallen when he reached the Graceful Swan Inn after asking around some more from others along the way.
"Hello, I'd like to rent a room for a day." Bell spoke after reaching the Graceful Swan Inn after following the main walkways and pushing the door of the inn, opening it with a creek and walking to the counter.
Behind the counter stood a women who looked to be in her 30s with black hair tied in a side braid and graceful features, with a gentle and harmless smile on her face.
"Sir, that'll be 100 valis, including the breakfast." She spoke with a gentle and patient smile while looking at him with judgement in her eyes.
"Here, ma'am." He spoke with respect as he took out the 100 valis out of the 200 valis left on him.
Bell now understood where her judgmental gaze was coming from, since just for staying one night here, his wallet was already about to be bled dry.
"Follow me sir, I'll show you to your room." She spoke as she took him to a room on the second floor of the Inn.
After walking in the room, Bell took the room in, it was nothing fancy, with a single wooden bed, a wooden study table and wooden chair and a vanity with a full body mirror, along a single closed window at the wall facing the streets below.
Bell put his leather sachet strapped to his back on the wooden table and lay his body down on the bed in exhaustion.
While laying down on the bed, his thoughts once again turned towards the question of which Familia to join. After going through all the things he knew from the anime, there was only one option left in his mind, only one god who met all his requirements.
"Astraea....." Bell spoke the name with a thoughtful sigh.