Raised in Dungeon

Rachel told Allen to come back whenever he wanted. However, an inkling of Felicia's impending awakening made her apprehensive, as she grew concerned and worried about not having Allen around when Felicia woke up.

To Rachel, Allen was the child who had to be matched with Felicia in order to forget about Waldo. She couldn't think of any other child besides Allen who could take Waldo's place, especially for Felicia's nature, who had closed herself off to other people from the start.

Finally, Rachel asked Bedell to find Allen in the Barkaley area and bring him back to the Boldenville residence.

"Fyuuh, I finally arrived. Thankfully, there were no bandits on the way," said Bedell once he reached the front gate of the Barkaley territory.

"Are you a merchant?" asked the guard soldier.

"Ah no, I'm one of Lord Reynold's messengers; I was asked to find someone," Bedell said as he showed a letter from Reynold.

'Uh, even using a fake letter, I've really fallen. Lord Reynold will definitely kill me once he finds out about this,' Bedell thought.

The letter was a genuine letter made without Reynold's knowledge. Rachel had Lady Ayde's signature on the letter, so it wasn't truly fake. However, since Lord Reynold knew nothing about this, it could be considered a betrayal to the head of the family.

'Lady Ayde said it would be fine, but I'm still scared.'

The guard gave back the letter to Bedell, saying, "I see; if you're looking for someone, perhaps we soldiers can come and look for them. I've been working as a guard for five years. So maybe I can help a little."

"Really?! Then It'll be a great help!"

The soldier smiled slyly, then said, "It's just that I'm forgetful, so I can't be sure where the person you're looking for is either."

'Aaah hm hm... I understand this very well. Whether here or in Boldenville, all soldiers are the same,' Bedell thought as he gave the soldier a small gold coin. Rachel had already given him five small gold coins as payment for finding Allen.

"WAH! That's a lot of money; I'll find the person myself at this rate!"

"Really?! Again, I will be very grateful!"

'Eh? Maybe they are different? In Boldenville, they'd just keep quiet and take the money. Here, they act as the workers, offering themselves to help those who give them the money.'

Bedell then explained:

"I want to find a child. He probably came here about three years ago."

"A child, huh? Then he couldn't have come alone. Could he be a slave?"

"Hmmm... I'm not sure about that. But if you see him, I'm sure you'll notice right away. He has quite a striking appearance.

This kid is probably up to my shoulders in height. His name is Allen; he has black hair, and re..d  e y e s...

Umm sir? What's wrong?"

The soldier's reaction was strange. The soldier immediately narrowed his face, looking at Bedell with a suspicious look.

"Sir?"

-FLICK

The soldier threw back the money Bedell had given him and said

"I don't know him. There's never been a kid like that here. You can get out."

"E-eh?! Why? You just said-"

"There is no such kid here, I can assure you."

'Why? Why did he suddenly change his behavior? Why is he throwing coins at me again? Doesn't he want money?

"I don't need your money, if you have no more business, just return to your town!"

'This guy looks like he's hiding something!

"Fine if you don't want to help. I still have business with Lord Barkaley, so I'll leave as soon as I'm done," Bedell said as he walked away.

When he peered behind him, he saw that the soldier had been staring at him for a long time.

"What's going on?"

After that, Bedell continued to ask the people he met on the street, and all of their reactions were very strange,

"Who exactly are you? What's wrong with that kid?"

"Allen?! I don't know that kid, no, people like that don't exist in this town."

"Just want to talk to that kid? Is that right?"

"The black-haired kid? There's no such kid in town; get lost."

"Did you check in Herrwade town? I heard he was there. So hurry up, go there, and don't dare you return to this town."

"I don't know him. None of the people in this town know."

"What you're doing is useless, just go back home. I know everyone in this town; there is no kid with black hair and named Allen."

Bedell had initially believed Barkaley to be a friendly town, judging by the contentedness and prosperity visible in the faces of its residents. However, an unexplainable dread gripped him all of a sudden, shrouding his once optimistic outlook. Conversations with the locals only served to amplify his unease as they persistently forced him to leave the town. Puzzled yet resolute, he was steered to an unforeseen conclusion.

'ALLEN MUST BE HERE!' he reasoned.

And for some reason, everyone was trying to hide Allen and drive him out of town before he could see him.

"What a town of liars! You're obviously trying to hide Allen! So what if I meet him! HAH?! Why does everyone keep silent about him?" He shouted in one of the small alleys.

"Allen?" Someone heard him venting. As Bedell looked back, a boy wearing a foster priest outfit was sweeping the backyard.

Bedell raised his head, looking at where he was standing; it turned out that he was behind the fire church.

'Oh no, this boy heard it! He'll definitely kick me out too!'

"Uncle, what's the matter with Allen?"

"No no, I'm just a passerby who happened to hear his name, hahahaha."

Suddenly, many children were coming out of the door at the boy's side.

"Allen?"

"Is Allen coming?"

"Food is coming?"

"Where's Allen?!"

"Where is he! Where is he!"

'Eh? What's wrong with these kids? Do they all know Allen? And why do they look so excited?' Bedell thought.

The boy wearing the foster priest outfit in front of him immediately held his sore head. It was as if the kids behind him immediately exposed what he was trying to hide.

The boy then held Bedell's hand, and with an angry face, he said

"Hey uncle, my name is Vash. I'm the foster priest of this church. Let's go into our house first, we'll talk about A LOT of things," His eyes were creepy, like he wanted to kill people, making Bedell scared.

'Hiii! I'm going to die!'

Bedell couldn't resist Vash's invitation to go into the church; no, they went into the orphanage. Bedell entered one of the spacious rooms that had a small pulpit. The room had chairs and tables, like a classroom. From outside the window, there were tons of children watching them.

"This place is where the orphanage children study. Every day we take turns giving speeches here, and due to your arrival, we now have to postpone it," Vash said. He brought some warm water and placed it on the table.

"Your water, please; I'm sorry for giving you this warm water in this fire month because we don't have luxuries like ice," Vash said coldly.

'He really wants to kill me!

Sitting before Vash, Vash began his questioning in an attempt to shed some light on his identity and connection to Allen.

"So, who are you? And what do you have to do with Allen?"

As Bedell pondered his consistent failures and growing suspicion among the townspeople, he decided to alter his approach when conversing with Vash. Taking precautions, Bedell carefully removed his sword from his waist and placed it far beyond his reach. With a sense of urgency, he then presented Vash with the letter from Lord Boldenville, revealing crucial evidence.

"I am Bedell, one of the soldiers of the Boldenville family. I came here because Lord Boldenville asked me to find Allen, the personal knight of the eldest child of the Boldenville family, Lady Felicia Ayde Boldenville."

"A-Allen is a knight of the nobility?"

The child stood out from the rest, displaying a distinct reaction unlike those before them. Unlike other people, the child neither resorted to jesting nor erupted in immediate anger. Instead, he attentively listened to Bedell's words, contemplating them thoughtfully.

Unlike the individuals who had come before, Vash found themselves bereft of options because Bedell had already been told about Allen's existence in this town by the children from the orphanage. Consequently, Vash could no longer conceal the truth.

Bedell, already curious about why everyone was hiding Allen, summoned his resolve and ventured forth with a question.

"H-hey... why are you and the people in this town trying to hide Allen from me? Is it possible that Allen is involved in something so dangerous that no one wants to get involved? Maybe he has killed people, so you hate him and don't want to think of him?!"

"Huh? How could we hate Allen, you shrimp head."

"Shrimp head-"

"We're all trying to protect Allen from people like you."