Raised in Dungeon

Unlike myself, who possesses a natural talent in mana, Brother Waldo has had to rely solely on his training and spiritual development since childhood. Many nobles often compare the two of us because of my talent. However, little did they know that Brother Waldo was amazing.

Brother Waldo was a kind person, his kindness towards everyone being deeply beloved by others except the noble. In contrast to my tendency to immerse myself in study within the solitude of my room, he actively engaged with soldiers and demonstrated exemplary leadership skills.

His ability to easily connect with others and inspire them made him stand out as a truly exceptional person. Despite not possessing the same magical talents as me, Brother Waldo's genuine qualities far exceeded anything I have.

Most importantly, he was the one who still loved me even though people always compared him to me and kept insulting him as an untalented noble.

I loved him with all my heart. He always encouraged me; in his busy schedule, he always made time for me and listened to whatever I asked of him.

And then Brother Waldo, died in the dungeon.

But what killed him wasn't a monster! It is a child who was raised by a monster—no, I am sure he was definitely a monster!

AND KILLING A MONSTER IS OKAY FOR A HUMAN

So that day...

When he was about to be sent away from home, I took the opportunity to kill him.

"You murderer! Give me back my brother! Brother Waldo! Give him back!" I shouted.

But at that time, I realized that my knife couldn't pierce his monster body…

"I will kill you! I will search for you and kill you! I will definitely kill you! The one who killed my brother should die! HE SHOULD DIE!"

Today… At this moment...

Finally...

After over three years of bearing this hatred and grudge, I finally met him again in an unusual place, Academy Town.

And this time,

I could feel it clearly—the sensation of my hand piercing his back deeply.

...

Rachel, tightly clutching Allen's hand, suddenly jerked backward in a state of utter disbelief. Overwhelmed with shock, she lost her balance and tumbled to the ground. In that chaotic silence, everything they bought from the market fell to the ground, scattering across the pavement. With dusk settling over the city, the street they were traversing appeared eerily deserted, devoid of any prying eyes or onlookers.

'What is this knife?! My body can't move properly. And also, it's really hot!' Allen thought in confusion since it was impossible for a normal knife to pierce his flesh.

'And where did this person come from?! I can't feel her presence!' thought a panicked Allen.

Allen who could feel the hot knife piercing his back, slowly looked back, and he could see the person who pierced him. A girl who looked a lot like Theda, and he had seen that face many times in the painting that was framed on the living room wall of the Barkaley house.

The second child of the Barkaley family, Jane Theda Barkaley. She had short hair and was about the same age as Allen. Her green eyes resembled Theda's, with a mole on her left, and her blue hair was similar to her father's.

With a menacing glint in her eyes, Jane uttered the chilling word "Die," as she forcefully twisted the knife, penetrating deeper into Allen's back. Reacting swiftly, Allen retaliated by forcefully pushing Jane away from him, causing her to stumble and fall backward.

"Allen!" shouted Rachel. The adrenaline pumping through her veins allowed Rachel to regain control of her body, rushing to Allen's side and cradling his fallen body.

"P-please get this off," said Allen in pain. He quickly starts to draw the healing amnis.

"It's useless," said Jane, trying to stand up. "You think this will end the same as before? I'll make sure you really die!"

Filled with a mix of fear and panic, Rachel bravely pulled the knife from Allen's wounded body. By the time Allen finished chanting his amnis, the wound was closed but not closed very well since it was deeper, and Allen's amnis was not good enough to heal everything.

"A-Allen..." Rachel said with a trembling voice when she saw something unordinary on the knife "This knife is poisonous."

"!!!"

Allen held tightly to his body, which was pierced by the blade. Reig automatically moved to the wound and closed it from the inside. But it was useless; the poison had already spread throughout his body.

'Damn! Sh*t! Sh*t! I'm going to die! At this rate, I'm really going to die!' Allen thought.

He then looked at Jane, who was looking at him with a smile, satisfied with his death. From that smile, Allen could tell how long the girl had been holding a grudge against him. And he realized that if he managed to kill Leofric, he would probably put that face on too.

'Why am I afraid of death all of a sudden?' thought Allen. He could see Jane was still babbling and shouting expletives at him, while Rachel didn't stop shouting something at him, but he couldn't hear her anymore.

'This is probably my punishment,' thought Allen, who had resigned himself to his situation.

'Three years ago, I had thought that something like this would happen someday. And in fact, some of them in Barkaley actually tried to kill me. I should have known that it would come to this, so after I made my atonement, I intended to give my body to those who held a grudge against me.

That should have been it...

But they were all too kind.

The people in the town were too kind to make me think that I still deserved to live.

But in the end, I'm still a murderer.

I've only been misunderstood.

There's no way a murderer like me should be allowed to live happily.'

Allen then relaxed his body, accepted that it was all worth it, and he... gave up on surviving.

Slowly, Allen closed his eyes.

"FIRE BALL!"

A handheld sized fireball shot very quickly toward Jane. Jane, who noticed the fire ball, shifted her body to the left, but the speed of the fire ball did not give her time to do so.

"Akh!" Jane's shoulder was hit by the fireball, and the clothes around it burned along with some of her hair.

'This doesn't hurt?' The effect of the fireball was only to give her a burn. And when she looked in the direction of the shot, there was Felicia with the crow, running towards Allen and Rachel.

"Allen!" Felicia shouted.

As Felicia ran closer, Jane knew that it was the Felicia she knew—her brother's fiancée.

'Lady Felicia? What is she doing?!' she thought.

"Lady! Thank goodness you arrived."

"Thanks to this crow, she brings your ribbon to me."

Quickly, Felicia took out a knife, cut her hand, and activated her god's blessing to heal Allen.

"Allen, how could you get hurt by someone like her?! Aren't you my powerful knight?!"

As soon as the vegetation around Allen's body grew and began to glow, that's when Jane knew that Felicia was healing Allen.

"Hey, what are you doing?" muttered Jane.

"Why are you doing that?! Why are you healing him?!" screamed Jane.

After Felicia had finished healing him, she turned her gaze towards Jane, filled with anger and hatred. However, amidst the intensity of her emotions, her tears revealed a different side to her feelings: a genuine sorrow for the person she had just mended. It was a complex situation where mixed emotions converged and conflicted within Felicia's heart. Despite her outward display of anger, her tears betrayed the depth of care she held for Allen who really would die.

And to Jane, she can't help but find it confusing and funny to see Felicia doing that for Allen.

"What are you doing to my friend, Miss Jane. Mr Waldo would be disappointed if he saw you like this!"

When she heard that, Jane was immediately confused.

"Huh? Your friend? Are you kidding me?"

"Do you think I'll forgive what you've done? What did Allen do that made you have to kill him?!" Felicia shouted.

'Huh? What the hell?" Jane thought angrily, "What the heck did you just say? Is there something wrong with your brain?! Don't you know he has-"

"Lady Jane!" shouted Rachel, cutting off Jane's words. Rachel's shout sounded desperate like she was trying to raise her voice as loud as possible until it sounded hoarse. And that shout made Jane stop talking.

It wasn't just her screaming, her face was also desperate. Her mouth was trembling, and her eyes were glazed over as if she were holding back her tears. Then those eyes, as if they wanted to convey something to Jane.

While clasping her own hands tightly. Rachel knelt down and continued to bow to Jane.

"Lady Jane... Please calm your anger. We should talk about this properly later, when Mr Waldo returns from his dungeon raid. I know you must still miss Mr Waldo as much as Lady Felicia's. Especially after he still hasn't come back after three years."

Rachel said something that completely confused Jane.

"Returns from the dungeon raid?" Jane asked confusedly.

"What the...

Rachel, why are you talking like that...

What exactly-"

-CHOP

Before Jane could finish her sentence, someone hit her neck from behind. Making Jane fall unconscious instantly.

It was the elven woman that Allen and Felicia had met on the first day in town, Oxwade Academy's Student's Executive Board, Kethryllia Othorion Eruvrantish."

"Before one of you explains the situation, has that stabbed student been properly healed?" asked Kethryllia.