Youngest on Top - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 1

“Ow!”

With a sharp crack, my nose slammed into the floor, and a cry escaped before I could stop it.
I quickly clamped both hands over my mouth and held my breath.

Even straining my ears, all I heard was the distant sound of children playing.
No footsteps nearby.
The teachers at the Orphanage were all preoccupied with the festival happening next week.

I carefully got to my feet and made my way toward the sacred relic made of crystal.
The sacred relic in the Central Garden of the Orphanage had been donated by the Parmanasus Temple.
As I drew closer, my reflection appeared in the crystal, clear as a mirror.

Disheveled blonde hair.
Chubby cheeks and plump arms.
And stubby legs that looked like radishes because my ankles seemed to vanish into them.

I couldn’t leave the Orphanage on my own, and even if I did, I could never survive alone—the undeniable image of a helpless child.

Looking at my round, fleshy cheeks, you could tell this Orphanage was incredibly comfortable and pleasant.
Perhaps leaving this place was indeed the wrong choice.

‘—But ordinary children wouldn’t think like this!’

I was different.
I had already died once and returned through time.
And because of that, I had even recovered memories of my past life in the Celestial Realm!

‘I have to leave this place.’

I had a sacred, magnificent, and noble mission that I absolutely had to accomplish.
And to achieve that mission, I had to leave this comfortable Orphanage.
And then—

‘I’m going to destroy everything.’

I clenched my teeth and reached toward the sacred artifact.

A baby’s body alone couldn’t escape the orphanage.
But a regressor and reincarnate who knew how to use sacred artifacts? That was different!
Holy power flowed through my body and drenched the artifact.

That was when it happened.

[Error!]
[Access failed. Code incompatible with different holy power.]

The sacred artifact refused to obey me because my holy power didn’t match its specifications.

[No access permissions!]
[Cannot be used!]

‘Cannot be used? What in this world is truly impossible!’

After living countless lives, I’ve learned one thing: everything works if you push hard enough.
Impossible things are only impossible because you haven’t pushed hard enough.

I forced an even stronger surge of holy power into the artifact.

[N-no matter what… ow!]
[It won’t… ow!]
[Owwww!]
[Ugh….]

It almost sounded like the sacred artifact was crying.
As if I cared.

[Superior holy power detected, surpassing the artifact’s creator.]
[Executing superior’s command.]

Good.

‘About time it figured that out.’

Its courtesy made it verbose.

The sacred relic gleamed brilliantly, and a dazzling gate opened before my eyes.
I stepped forward into it.
My first step into this newly granted life.

* * *

Before I regressed, I knew nothing of what was to come.
My childhood dream was to open a bakery or a meat restaurant when I grew up.

Should it be a beef restaurant or a pork restaurant?
One day, while I was pondering such things.
Someone from Parmanasus Temple came and took me away.

Being personally selected by the Temple was an immense honor.
With my heart racing, I followed the Temple Priest.
I even wondered what it would be like to abandon my dreams of owning a bakery or restaurant and become a priest instead.
I was that excited.

But.

“Such sacred power at such a young age. Truly, this is unprecedented.”
“We are fortunate to have discovered this child first.”
“Consider it an honor. When you offer your sacred power to the Sacred Maiden, you too will contribute to saving this world.”

They used me as a battery for their Sacred Maiden.
Yes, like those batteries you put inside mechanical devices.

I was confined and my sacred power was drained from me relentlessly.
The suffering was so unbearable that I would have rather been the meat itself than the owner of a meat restaurant.
While I endured this, Amelia, the Sacred Maiden and treasure of Parmanasus Temple, was beloved throughout the entire world using my sacred power.

Amelia received the respect and admiration of everyone.
Even…

1. The Crown Prince of an empire that conquered half a continent.
2. The new Grand Duke of the North who inherited his title upon reaching adulthood.
3. The Holy Knight bearing the most exalted name.
4. The ruler of the underworld, commanding all manner of crime.
5. The King of the Elves.
6. The mightiest beastman bearing the crimson seal.

And so on and so forth….

‘In truth, half of that power had been mine all along.’

I died without ever truly understanding that fact, wasting away in agony as my life force drained from me.

* * *

A night when a pale halo crowned the moon.
The white pillars of the Artemisia Temple gleamed gracefully even beneath the dim moonlight.

Beneath those pillars, a man in pristine white priestly robes emerged from the shadows.
His face, revealed in the moonlight, was chiseled with austere clarity.
Truly, he embodied the image of a Temple Priest as if painted by an artist’s hand.

‘This is troubling.’

A quiet sigh escaped from the man’s lips.

‘At this rate, I won’t even be able to feed the children.’

There was not even money to feed them.
Yet in truth, the lack of funds was a minor concern compared to his other worries.

The Artemisia Temple was crumbling.

The most vital existence in any temple is the ‘Sacred Maiden.’
Therefore, every temple possesses a Sacred Maiden.

The Artemisia Temple too had possessed a Sacred Maiden—in the past.
Once upon a time.

The Artemisia Temple has now gone two generations without a Sacred Maiden.

‘If this generation also fails to produce a Sacred Maiden….’

Clench.
He closed his eyes at the worst-case scenario he dared not even contemplate.

The reason the Artemisia Sect maintained even the lowest seat among the Octagon—the eight supreme temples—despite lacking a Sacred Maiden for two generations was entirely thanks to the Holy Knight, Kaiser, and the High Priest.

Yet no matter how extraordinary Kaiser and the High Priest were, a temple without a Sacred Maiden had its limits.

‘At this rate….’

Perhaps this generation would see them expelled from the Octagon.
No—if expulsion were all that awaited them, it would be a mercy.

‘The very existence of the temple itself hangs by a thread.’

His brow furrowed deeply as his anguish deepened.
Then it happened.

Crash!

A tremendous explosion jolted him from his reverie.

‘What in the world…?’

A bomb?
Or perhaps a monster attack?
He hurried toward the source of the blast.

But what he found there was….

“Ow!”

A child rubbing their bottom over pumpkin-colored pants, having apparently fallen hard—

‘A child?’

Caught off guard, the Priest stared blankly at the child.

“Hey! You didn’t do that on purpose, did you?!”

Watching the child huff and puff in anger, he finally came to his senses.

‘How in the world did a small child manage to reach this place in the middle of the night?’

In that moment, the child who had spotted him broke into a wide smile.

“Mister!”

Ah, mister?
Uncle?

Thump.
Oblivious to the psychological shock he had just inflicted upon this bright, twenty-year-old youth, the child asked innocently.

“Are you the person who lives here, mister?”

* * *

“Absolutely not!”

A thunderous voice echoing suddenly in the dead of night.
Accompanied by the sudden appearance of a small child.
Naturally, the Artemisia Temple descended into chaos.

“We must cut every unnecessary mouth in this situation! Are you unaware of how dire our financial crisis has become?”
“But this child came here of her own volition, saying she would follow Artemisia.”
“The temple has already completed the selection of trainee priests for this generation. And now you wish to take in another child? This violates our principles and fairness!”
“Surely we cannot turn away a lamb who has sought out our temple.”
“How can you be certain she is truly a lamb? She could be a demon wearing a lamb’s skin!”
“…!”

The conference hall fell silent in an instant.
The words carried that much weight.

A demon infiltrating the temple in the guise of a small child.

“Normally, demons wouldn’t be able to enter a temple, but we are… somewhat different, aren’t we?”

With the Sacred Maiden absent, Artemisia Temple had become vulnerable to demonic intrusion.

“It’s certainly suspicious that she came all this way alone on such a night.”
“She was too young to find the temple properly on her own.”
“So she really is a demon after all….”

And listening to all of this from outside, I felt like I might burst from frustration.

‘Why in the world do they think I’m a demon!’

Once I grow a bit more, I’ll possess such formidable divine power that other temples will covet it!
And in my previous life before the regression, I was nothing less than—

‘Ugh, forget it.’

If I went out there and said something like that, I could already imagine the looks I’d receive.

Besides, what little divine power I had was completely depleted from the journey here.
I was already weak in divine power due to my young age, and using a sacred relic from another temple by force had made the efficiency terrible.

‘I’m completely drained….’

Sensing the divine power within my body, it was so meager it was barely the size of a bean.

‘If it were revealed that I possess Artemisia’s divine power, I wouldn’t be suspected of being a demon. But right now I can’t even show it.’

Though revealing it would be problematic anyway.
I’d have to explain how I came to possess divine power in the first place.

All I could do was sigh.
But I couldn’t just stay here quietly either.

I turned the door handle to the conference chamber.
Peeking through the narrow opening, I could see the High Priest sitting in the seat of honor, his face silent and grave.

A jawline sharp enough to cut, lips pressed firmly shut.
Eyes that rested in quiet stillness.
A gaze so piercing it seemed capable of cleaving through stone.
At first glance, this was clearly not someone of easygoing temperament.

And rightfully so.
He was the architect who kept this temple—one that had produced no Sacred Maiden—within the ranks of Octagon.
Holy Knight Kaiser might be celebrated, but without the High Priest’s political acumen, he would have been stripped of his position long ago.
Such a feat would have been impossible without a High Priest of tremendous ability and charisma.

Amid the lingering chaos of the demonic aura, the High Priest’s lips parted slowly.

‘This cannot happen!’

Given the atmosphere of the council chamber, I could predict exactly what conclusion the High Priest would reach.
At this rate, I would be cast out immediately.

‘I must dispel the misunderstanding that I’m a demon first!’

As someone experiencing their third life—a reincarnator and returner—I would employ logical, sound reasoning with eloquent persuasion!

I burst through the council chamber doors and cried out.

“I not demon! I believe Artemisia! I faithful servant!”
“…?!”

I had spoken magnificently, yet the priests’ expressions seemed strange.
Should I say more?

“Artemisia greatest of all gods!”
“….”
“Other gods cannot stand before her!”
“….”
“I spread Artemisia’s will across the world!”
“….”
“….”

Hmm.
The priests’ expressions had become decidedly peculiar.

‘Of course, my words aren’t coming out quite as I intended right now….’

It was strange.
Was it because I now inhabited a child’s body?
Or perhaps it was the process of my soul and flesh synchronizing in the immediate aftermath of my regression.

In any case.

‘But they understood the gist, didn’t they?’

In moments like this, one must project confidence.
I puffed out my belly with all the swagger I could muster.

* * *

Unfortunately, my magnificent appeal fell on deaf ears.

“Ahem, well. Surely we cannot cast out a child into the night, can we? Look how small and young this one is.”
“But if this child is a demon….”
“We cannot dismiss the possibility that this is truly a child! The child is so small—until verification is complete, it would be better to keep him here—.”
“To bring such a powerful demon into the temple, one capable of assuming human form! Do you not comprehend the danger? Think of the other priests in training within these walls!”

Several priests were swayed by my persuasion and voiced their opinions, but ultimately we remained at an impasse.

‘What a harsh world this is.’

Words alone would never suffice, it seemed.
Then there was no choice.

‘I would have to demonstrate my power.’

I had not arrived at the temple through blind, reckless teleportation without a plan.
I approached the High Priest seated at the head of the chamber.

“I, I….”

A priest, worried I might harm the High Priest, attempted to seize me.
The High Priest quietly raised one hand slightly toward the other priests.

“…!”

With a single gesture, the Priesthood members who had been trying to seize me froze in their tracks.
Thanks to that, I was able to approach the High Priest without difficulty.

Standing directly before him, the High Priest gazed down at me quietly.
His expression was cold and impassive.
I couldn’t read what he was thinking.

‘…His presence is no joke.’

Just meeting his gaze made my child’s body tremble and instinctively shrink back.
The rumors I’d heard before my regression, and the attitude the Priesthood displayed now—
I could feel viscerally what position he held.

A man of power standing at the apex of this vast temple, both in rank and in substance.

‘Then!’

I had to befriend this powerful man by any means necessary!

I opened my mouth without averting my gaze from the High Priest.

“I heard the Artemisia Temple has no divine beasts.”
“….”

Every temple possessed divine beasts.
At minimum one, at most five.

Of course, not all divine beasts were the same.
Some were merely like lucky charms—cherished pets.
Others were divine beasts powerful enough to perform miracles.

But the Artemisia Temple didn’t even have a pet-like divine beast.
Not a single one remained—they were all asleep.

Because there was no Sacred Maiden.

What if I presented a card that could change the situation here?

“Dae, I can call the Divine Beast. (I can summon the Divine Beast.)”
“…!”

The High Priest’s pupils, which had been glazed with ennui, suddenly dilated.
An even more violent reaction erupted from those around us.

“What do you mean?!”
“Is that true?!”
“It’s just a child speaking. Why are you all reacting so seriously? The Divine Beast is not a being that can be summoned and dismissed so easily!”
“But if it were truly possible…!”

Even at the slimmest possibility, the Priesthood’s eyes wavered with hope.
Since the Sacred Maiden had not yet appeared, recovering the Divine Beast would send shockwaves through the Temple, which had been in steady decline.

“We have nothing to lose. Why not entrust this to the child?”

At the Temple Priest’s words—the one I had first encountered—the High Priest turned his gaze toward me.

“Can you really summon the Divine Beast?”
“Yes!”

The High Priest’s eyes narrowed.
He studied me for a moment before asking.

“Very well. What do you need to summon the Divine Beast?”

It was an oddly phrased question.
One that assumed I would demand something in return.

“Um, I don’t need anything special. But instead….”

I grasped the hem of the High Priest’s robe.
The High Priest had unusually long legs, and the chair he sat upon was enormous.

‘As expected, my hand won’t reach his chest.’

I rose on my tiptoes, straining to reach higher with my hand.
But no matter how far I stretched, it was physically impossible.
And with my stubby legs, I couldn’t even climb onto the massive chair where the High Priest sat.

“What are you doing?”

The High Priest asked coldly, observing me bouncing at his feet.
I spread both arms wide and cried out cheerfully.

“Pick me up!”

Flinch.
The High Priest’s shoulders, which had been as immovable as a mountain, trembled for just a moment.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————