Raised in Dungeon

"My name is Felicia Ayde Boldenville, the first child of the noble Earl of the Boldenville family. You could say I'm Allen's lord or master," Felicia proclaimed with pride, whipping her hair confidently in the elevator as she made her way to class that day. "Geirhild. I don't care about human nobility," Geirhild replied.

"Geirhild. I don't care about human nobility," Geirhild retorted, her tone devoid of interest.

"I know. I heard about you from Allen," Felicia replied, attempting to bridge the gap.

"Then you should know I won't be friends with just anyone."

"How rude. I'm not just anyone, am I? I'm Allen's master."

"I didn't even intend to be friends with Allen in the first place."

Felicia's expression turned somber upon hearing Geirhild's blunt statement.

"Why do you still want to be friends with this barbarian dwarf?" Felicia turned to Allen for an explanation.

Sharik, interjecting, offered insights. "For dwarves, the term 'friendship' cannot be given casually. They highly value their connections, forming bonds that last a lifetime once made. When dwarves make a promise of friendship, it is a commitment that endures until death."

Allen continued elucidating, "On the day of the opening ceremony, I forged a friendship vow with Geirhild. So, I'm the only one who is friends with her now. Though, I don't mind either. Dwarves are unique; they exhibit genuine warmth once trust is established."

In the guidebook Allen had read, it seemed that dwarves were notoriously secretive, sharing neither information about themselves nor the intricacies of their technology with anyone outside their circle of friends. Now that he was friends with Geirhild, the girl was willing to answer all of Allen's questions without objection.

In fact, the dwarf could have broken off the friendship, but since Geirhild did not, Allen assumed that Geirhild had no regrets about being friends with him in the first place.

Geirhild clarified, "Yeah, that's the deal. I'm only here because of Allen. People like you, however, are the type I detest. I don't understand why your behavior mirrors that of the prince. Human nobility is irksome."

Felicia shot back, "You're annoying too! It turns out I don't really like dwarves!" A thought of Adelskold lingered in her mind.

They finally reached the door of their classroom.

The room fell into an immediate hush upon swinging it open, and every eye turned toward their group. An uncomfortable tension enveloped the space, fueled by the judgmental gazes fixed upon them. It wasn't hard to discern the cause — Felicia's entrance into the academy was based solely on wealth, unlike her peers who had earned their place through the rigorous secunda test.

Allen couldn't help but recall Felicia's pallor from the previous day

'No wonder she was so pale yesterday. She must not be able to withstand this kind of tension,' Allen thought, and he still thought so even now.

Allen gently nudged Felicia and began, "Hey, let's—"

But.

"Keep looking at me, I like to see people lower than me looking at me," Felicia said, cutting in before Allen could speak.

Shock and anger immediately contorted the faces of onlookers, sparking a barrage of whispered criticisms directed at Felicia. Undeterred, she continued walking, indifferent to the opinions swirling around her, and settled into a random chair.

The study classrooms in Oxwade adhered to a similar design — lecture halls equipped with rows of seats extending from top to bottom, ensuring everyone had a clear view of the teacher.

And this class was the amnis control class, which was 90 percent taken by Praeterea students. And that's the usual number because this class is one of the popular ones. So the class used was also one of the biggest classrooms in Oxwade.

"What's wrong?" asked Felicia as Allen kept looking at her.

"Nothing," Allen replied. "I don't think there's anything to worry about."

"What is it?" asked Sharik, curious. Allen couldn't help but reflect,

'Sharik... I thought a dog had a more sensitive sense than humans; it doesn't seem so for him.'

A woman entered the classroom once Allen and the others settled into their seats.

Initially, the students continued to murmur and take their time finding their places. However, as soon as the woman seated herself at the teacher's desk, a sudden hush fell over the room, and the students scrambled into position. The white strap on her hat hinted at her role – she was the teacher.

'I never expected the day I'd become a teacher would come,' Petronella mused as she eased into the expansive teacher's chair. Unfortunately, the stone chair offered no cushion, leaving her unable to truly relax. Despite this, she remained seated, sighing and attempting to buy herself some time before commencing the lesson.

"Teacher, can we start the lesson? It's already running out of time," protested a student.

Petronella glanced at the speaker, recognizing the distinct hair drill. "Ah, that hair drill," she muttered to herself. 'If I'm not mistaken, the one with that style is from the Earl Johnson family. Geez, I'm really unlucky to have them in my class.'

The girl with the pink drill hair was Hallie Lydia Johnson, she was among the top-ranked students, and had been rumored to be the expected representative. However, Felicia had taken that position instead.

"Aaah, yes. Wait a minute, I'm gathering souls," Petronella replied with a casual wave of her hand.

"Please do it seriously! We've spent a lot of money to study here!" Hallie exclaimed, her frustration evident. "Unlike the Boldenville family, we don't have enough money to bribe the academy to give us a pass."

'Eh? Suddenly mentioning Boldenville? Bribing?' thought Petronella, puzzled by the sudden mention of the Boldenville family and bribery thought, 'Oh, she's referring to the two kids who took the entrance test yesterday. But they were also tested first, and that test should be impossible; no one seems to know about it.'

"I also asked you to continue the lesson, teacher," Felicia chimed in with a smile. "I honestly want you to take a short break so that you can maximize your performance to teach us, but poor people never have enough patience and enough brain capacity to understand that."

'How dare she,' Petronella thought.

Unable to contain her anger, Hallie stood up and pounded on her desk. "I can't accept what you just said! Miss Felicia! Insulting me like that, do you think it's forgivable?!"

"Really? I think you deserve it. What a shameless person," Felicia retorted, her tone unyielding.

"What did you say?!" Hallie's face reddened, her anger reaching its peak.

"STOP," a commanding voice echoed from behind, emanating from a demi-human gray wolf with a hideous face. "I don't care about human affairs; just get the lesson started! Then that drill-haired girl over there," he pointed at Hallie, "Just realize that you're here to delay today's lesson!"

Next to Hallie, a man slightly taller than her, drew his sword. "You dog," he sneered, "I can't let your filthy mouth say such things to Lady Hallie!"

"I don't care, and I don't want to care. You want to ask me to fight? Then I refuse. My time is too precious to spend it on something useless," the gray wolf replied dismissively.

'Damn, at this rate, the class will be even more chaotic, and I'll get the blame!' thought Petronella. "H-hey, everyone—"

Before Petronella could speak, another person burst into the classroom, creating a loud noise that instantly drew everyone's attention.

"SORRY LATE!" It was Prince Francis, looking sweaty and disheveled as if he had sprinted to class after oversleeping.

"W-what's wrong?" he asked in confusion. "I shouldn't be too late, right?"

His arrival diffused the tense atmosphere in the classroom. Petronella seized the opportunity to regain control, clapping her hands together. "Miss Johnson and her bodyguard, please sit down and mind your own business. Let's get started with the lesson."

In the back, Felicia maintained her smile, seemingly satisfied with the chaos she had stirred.

"You can stop smiling now," Allen said.

"HO HO HO, I can't believe I didn't do this yesterday. It turns out that fighting and provoking people is a lot of fun," Felicia exclaimed.

'What a bad hobby,' thought Allen and Sharik, sharing a silent agreement.