Raised in Dungeon



It's been three days since Allen locked himself in his room.

Susan brought soup to Allen's room and placed it in front of the room.

But the soup she had put in yesterday was still there, untouched.

'Allen did not eat his soup again,' Susan thought.

"Allen, I'll put the soup in front of the door. Don't forget to take it if you're hungry," Susan said.

Allen didn't answer anything.

Susan even began to doubt if Allen was in there or not. But Rodion said he still listened to Allen's screams and cried last night.

"Allen... are you not going to come out today either?

Will you also not come out tomorrow, either?

The next day... the next day... and the next day?"

Susan gripped his hand tightly; she didn't like the current Allen. Rodion said that Allen needed some time alone, but Susan couldn't take it anymore.

"Allen! I've actually tried to cook myself! I've tried to make a soup similar to yours! Wait for me! I'll make it especially for you!" Susan shouted. Then Susan went downstairs.

She made her way downstairs, disregarding Rodion, and decided to try her hand at making soup. She told Allen that she had been practicing cooking on her own, but the truth was, it was all a fabrication. She had never cooked before because the idea of wasting food for the sake of training was something she couldn't bear. However, on that day, she didn't care about any of that; all she could think about was Allen and wanting to do something for him. It felt like the right thing she needs to do for him.

Two hours later, Susan went upstairs, carrying her self-made soup with an injured hand.

"Allen, here's my soup; I'll leave it at the door; make sure you ate everything! I've tried so hard to make one! Mr Rodion even scolded me because I wasted so many ingredients! So don't leave any!" Susan spoke with a trembling voice as she went downstairs to continue her work as a waitress.

Susan peeked several times to see if Allen had eaten his soup, and every time she looked, the soup bowl was always there.

The time when the tavern was closed.

Susan went upstairs and suddenly felt disappointed to see that the bowl was still there.

But when she approached the bowl,

It was empty.

And that made her very happy.

Allen must have eaten her soup sometime ago.

"How is it, Allen? Does it taste good? I'm sure you'll say no; I don't think my self-made soup is good. It's not going to be as good as yours."

Susan then picked up the bowl and leaned against the door.

"The soup you make tastes so good. Do you know how many customers come to order your soup? Even a mercenary came from afar just to ask about your soup.

They miss your soup...

I miss it too...

So hurry, come back; everyone is waiting for you."

Susan then stood up and was about to leave.

"I..." she suddenly heard Allen's voice.

Susan immediately returned to the door and listened to him.

"Yes?!" Susan said.

A few seconds passed until Allen continued,

"When I made that soup and remembered the faces of the customers, it made me very happy. But...

I'm not the one who deserves to feel that pleasure.

As Master said,

I kept falling into the pit of guilt that haunted me.

Master Rodion once told me that you must wash your hands thoroughly when cooking. When you cook, the first thing you should do is have clean hands and a clean heart.

But I...

I am dirty...

My hands are already too much stained with blood."

-TWANG

Susan dropped her bowl and ran downstairs to Rodion.

"Master! What the hell is that supposed to mean?! I don't understand what Allen is talking about! What does it mean that his hands are stained with blood?!"

"You may be a child, but your mind is mature. You should know what does that means yourself, right?" Rodion said as he continued wiping down the tables.

"No! I don't understand. Explain to me what does that mean?! Why is Allen talking as if he's a-"

"Murderer," Rodion cut in.

Rodion then continued, "I've never told you this, but Allen is the one responsible for the deaths of many people. He did something irrevocable.

He has taken the lives of many others."

"I-that's..."

"That's the truth."

Susan bowed her head, still unable to properly comprehend the matter. Rodion then continued, knowing it was probably time for Susan to know about this.

"The dungeon raid that your brother participated in. Do you know how the raid ended?"

Susan replied, "Of the many soldiers who participated, only dozens remained; they were all attacked by-"

Susan covered her mouth with her hand. Starting to realize everything, from beginning to end.

"No way! But that boy has a white hair and blac-"

"I hid it; I changed Allen's hair color to completely black. If you see him right now, you could see his white hair return to its original color," Rodion explained.

Rodion continued his work, then he said,

"Allen was the one who killed almost all the soldiers back then,

He also killed Peter's eldest son, Fenton.

And... He was also responsible for your brother's disappearance."

"Brother Arthur has nothing to do with it."

"There are many connections. I've heard the story from the priestess.

The prince captured your brother for trying to kill his quarry. The prince's quarry was Allen, the boy found in the dungeon."

"No way... There's no way brother would do that-"

"WHAT IF.

What if Allen was killed the eldest son of the Barkaley family? You and Arthur were pretty close to him, right? Waldo Barkaley, I've heard rumors of the closeness of your family. To the point that it makes many peasants here jealous and spiteful."

Susan froze, speechless.

"Look at your face now. Are you starting to hate Allen because of this story? After all that Allen has done for you?

As you know, Allen still doesn't know anything about this world.

He doesn't know anything about anything.

And now that he's learned how heavy human life is,

He realizes that everything she does is irrevocable."