Youngest on Top - Chapter 111

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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 111

* * *

“Do you remember me? We met several years ago….”
“…?”

The nobleman spoke, but I couldn’t recall anyone matching his description.
At my reaction, he smiled as though disappointed.

“Well, it was quite a long time ago. You were so young then, and you hadn’t even awakened as the Sacred Maiden yet.”

Someone I met before I awakened as the Sacred Maiden?
Then it truly was ages ago.

He stepped closer to me.
His expression was deeply tender.

“But my memories with you remain vivid even now…!”

We had memories together?

“With your small frame, you received all of my worries, my anguish, my bitter regrets about life in their entirety. For over two hours at that…!”
“…?”
“Thanks to you, I was able to empty myself of all suffering and be reborn as a clean and pure person…!”

Did something like that ever happen?

“That’s not all! You placed your tiny hand upon a weakness that no one else would ever touch, and blessed me with your own prayer!”
“…??”

A weakness no one else would touch?
Could he have been cursed?

But Shuri was the only one whose curse I had ever sealed.

“That day, so reverently, you placed your hand upon my head and offered a blessing prayer with your own voice.”

Hair?

“Thanks to you, I was reborn! Not as a figure of speech or exaggeration, but literally reborn!!”

Could it be that bald man?!
In an instant, the past came rushing back to me.

“My father wasn’t even bald! So why am I?! I’m only eighteen!”

Not just my father, but my grandfather and mother’s side of the family all had thick, lush hair.
The sole heretic of that family line.

“Just one strand! Only one strand remains! If even this last hair, like the final leaf, falls away…! I cannot go on living.”

Each time he shook his head violently while crying out, that single remaining strand of hair swayed along with him.
Fluttering softly like the very last leaf clinging to a branch.

In the end, I couldn’t resist that temptation….

‘I placed my hand on that shiny crown of his head. And quite firmly at that.’

So I had no choice but to cast a healing spell and pray.
To dispel the disbelief that had appeared in the man’s eyes.

“Let us pray. Artemia, I beseech you. Your servant Saelika humbly asks. I almost ruined everything just now. Grow, hair, grow! Oh, become full and thick. No! Lush and thick! Artemia! Let it be lush and thick!”

…Is this really what they call a cherished memory?

“After that, I left to study abroad. Unable to truly understand the Sacred Maiden’s sincere heart and misunderstanding her intentions….”

It probably wasn’t a misunderstanding….
I listened to the nobleman’s words while hiding my reluctant feelings.
After all, he was the one who had wagered a fortune on me and Artemisia.

“It was only in that distant foreign land that I finally understood the Sacred Maiden’s heart who saved me!”
“…Yes.”
“When I heard the news that you had awakened as the Sacred Maiden, I thought it was only natural. Who else could be the Sacred Maiden if not Saelika, my savior!”

The nobleman spread his arms wide and gazed at me with eyes brimming with emotion.

“I have been waiting for the day I could meet the Sacred Maiden again.”
“…Yes.”
“However! Since the Sacred Maiden is so busy, and I have only recently returned to the Empire, I could not easily meet her.”
“….”
“But! Now that the Assembly has convened, I have been blessed to meet my savior again today…!”

The nobleman gripped my hand tightly.
His hair, gleaming under the brilliant light, flowed with such luster that his scalp was completely hidden beneath the thick strands.

Indeed, the importance of hair was evident—the man had transformed into someone completely different from my memory.
He appeared to have grown twenty years younger.

‘Certainly, if he has changed this much, even faith that didn’t exist before would surely bloom now.’

I was convinced.

“I am grateful that Artemia answered my prayers and saved my brother.”
“Sacred Maiden…!”

I was convinced, but that was the problem.

‘…Why did his hair loss heal?’

If healing magic could regrow hair, baldness would have been conquered long ago.
Why is this really happening?

“Wait…just a moment.”

Then, another nobleman interjected into the conversation.

“Was it the Sacred Maiden Saelika who performed that miracle?!”

The crown of the nobleman who had spoken gleamed brightly.
Before I could answer, another noblewoman joined in.

“Excuse me, could I possibly get some advice? My husband’s hairline has started receding toward the crown—.”
“No, madam! Wasn’t I speaking to the Sacred Maiden first?!”
“But I requested counsel before you did!”
“Show some decorum, madam!”
“Is decorum the issue right now?!”

The noblewoman snorted indignantly.

“My hair isn’t receding—I’m advancing! Do you have any idea how I feel when my husband says things like that?!”
“…!”
“Sacred Maiden! Please stop my husband’s advancement! This is a crucial matter—preventing the tragedy of our family falling apart!”

The noblewoman cried out to me with a solemn expression.
She wasn’t alone.

“I don’t even have a family to fall apart! Because I’m advancing far too quickly!”
“My hair loss has started, and my wife has become noticeably quieter! We don’t even have children yet…!”
“Now, those of you who have already established families, please step aside!”
“My dream is to grow old and die with a wife as gentle as a rabbit and children as clever as foxes! Sacred Maiden, please…!”
“I haven’t even had a single romance yet! I’m not even hoping to start a family. Please, just let me have a chance at love…!”

It was absolute chaos.
I watched the people with eyes wide as fanatics, crying out for divine blessing, and thought to myself.

Hmm, is this country’s future really going to be alright?
Why is every noble attending the assembly in this state?
Last time it was all about meat….

* * *

The evening party had become an absolute frenzy.
Thanks to Randel rescuing me, I managed to escape the cycle of advancement and retreat.

And Sirius….

“Those wishing to receive a blessing from our Sacred Maiden Saelika, please form a line. I’ll be creating a waiting list.”

He hadn’t missed the opportunity, as expected.
He’s truly reliable.

Feeling a bit suffocated in the assigned dormitory, I stepped out into the garden.
Breathing in the night air alone brought a sense of ease.
After walking for a while, I sat on a bench and gazed up at the sky.

‘What do you think about my hair growing out?’

Enrik offered no response to my question.

‘Enrik.’

Still no answer, even when I called.

‘Enrik. Enrik! Enrik! Can’t you hear me? Seriously?’

Silence.
I had no choice.
I called out to Enrik with solemn determination.

‘The most magnificent, extraordinary, and glorious Enrik in all the world…!’

Enrik: Hmph, did you really think I’d respond to that?

Yet he responded anyway.

Enrik: So now you need my opinion, is that it?
Enrik: When have you ever pretended to listen to me before?

He was sulking.

Enrik: I’m not sulking!
Enrik: Do I look like the type to do something so childish?

I tried my best not to think ‘yes.’

Enrik: Ugh, honestly!
Enrik: Sulking? I’m not a child.
Enrik: I was simply staying quiet because it seemed like you didn’t need my opinion at all!
Enrik: For your sake!

‘What else could this be if not sulking?’ I thought.
I tried to fill my conscious mind with something else.

Throughout the evening party, Enrik was absolutely raging.

These priests are exactly like that bastard from Molorestia.
I should grab those bastards and beat them down.
Truly, like god, like Sacred Maiden. What kind of girl is that to be a Sacred Maiden?
Well, looking at Molorestia, it makes sense that a girl like that would be a Sacred Maiden.
And so on.

Twenty such comments flooded in every second.
Reading through them made my vision spin, so I simply ignored them as if I couldn’t see them.

Enrik: So ignoring them was the right call?
Enrik: It wasn’t that you couldn’t respond to me because of Molorestia’s Sacred Maiden?

Oops.
I’d thought too openly about it.

It wasn’t like before where every feeling of mine was readable, but there were times when things came through like this.
I was in the middle of wondering how to appease Enrik.

Softly—.
A soft and warm fabric draped over my shoulders.
I looked up in surprise, and the young boy whose eyes met mine smiled brightly.

“Sacred Maiden Saelika.”
“…Priest Heidrun?”

It was Heidrun, the leader of Molorestia’s Trainee Priests.

Enrik: What’s with that bastard butting into the conversation between you and me?
Enrik: A priest from Molorestia, no less.

‘Right?’

Honestly, I was grateful he butted in.
Appeasing Enrik was a bit of a hassle.

“You remember me.”
“Well, we were just introduced, weren’t we?”

Heidrun smiled at whatever I’d said that was amusing.
Then he sat down beside me.

“Though it’s spring, the nights are quite cold.”

Was he bragging about draping his coat over me?
I answered with a lukewarm feeling.

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
“Especially Molloresta Temple—with mountains and forests nearby, the temperature drops far lower than elsewhere.”
“It does seem that way.”
“You have a match tomorrow, so you must take care of yourself.”

Heidrun leaned his face closer to mine.
His hair slipped smoothly aside as his eyes caught the moonlight and gleamed.

“A delicate person like you, Sacred Maiden, could easily fall ill from the spring night breeze. I’m quite worried.”
“…?”

Enrik: Delicate?
Enrik: Who?

“Of course, you hide a resolute will within that fragile frame.”
“…??”

Me?

“I was amazed at the banquet hall too. Seeing how boldly you spoke your mind.”
“….”
“That’s not easy, you know. Especially not at your age.”

Enrik: That’s not it. You need to be patient with this guy.

“I found myself wondering—what if you were my Sacred Maiden—”

That’s when it happened.

“Heidrun! There you are! About tomorrow’s match, we were thinking… Saelika?”

Martina stopped short as she approached the bench and caught sight of me.
She immediately broke into a bright smile, delighted.

“Oh, so you were here with Saelika! Just the two of you playing around! Let me join in too.”

Martina wedged herself between me and Heidrun on the bench.
Her gaze fixed on the coat draped over my shoulders.

“You wrapped a coat around Saelika because she might be cold? Well done!”
“….”
“Saelika doesn’t seem to have Trainee Priests to look after her. It’s nice that we can take care of her instead!”

Martina carefully adjusted the coat draped over my shoulders.
“We’re friends, after all!” she said.

“Saelika, I’m sorry if the things I said at the Banquet Hall put you in an awkward position.”
“….”
“The atmosphere kept going in a direction I didn’t intend, and I was really troubled by it too.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, everything I said came from the heart.”

Martina’s face brightened as she smiled widely.

“Let’s do our best in tomorrow’s match!”

* * *

The next day, two o’clock in the afternoon.
The crown jewel of the conference—the inter-temple match had begun.

The vast Plaza was packed with people.
A match that could be called the deciding factor for the greatest temple in the Eastern region.
Moreover, this was the first time Artemisia Temple was competing against Octagon.
Even now, people continued to pour in from beyond the Plaza’s edges.

The Trainee Priests of Molorestia Temple grumbled as they gazed out over the Plaza.

“What is this, seriously annoying.”
“We’re ranked first in the East, so why is more money wagered on Artemisia?!”

Their gazes turned toward the massive display board hanging in the Plaza.

Saelika’s face was displayed largest at the very top of the board.
Below it was Martina’s photograph, but it was positioned much lower.
The amount of money wagered differed by that much.

The Trainee Priests were irritable, but Martina was different.

“As expected, that’s amazing! Saelika is wonderful!”
“You’re saying that? This is corruption!”
“That’s right! Most of the distinguished guests at yesterday’s evening party wagered on our victory!”
“The people chose you as the Divine Nova!”
“But then one person threw money around and reversed the situation, right?”

Martina blinked in surprise.

“Everyone, don’t be like that. It’s still amazing to get your face at the top, even if it’s through that kind of means.”
“Well, at least her personality is good.”
“We should help Martina.”
“Let’s show the strength of the East’s greatest temple!”
“You all are something else.”

Martina shook her head and approached Saelika.

“Don’t mind what the others say. Even if one person wanted it, the largest amount of money is still wagered on you, right?”
“Yeah.”
“With so much support like this, I’m even more excited about today’s match! Let’s each do our best and live up to everyone’s expectations!”
“Okay.”

Seeing Saelika’s lack of response, Martina’s lips twitched slightly.

“By the way, it’s really unfortunate.”
“…?”
“About Dmitri and Ilay. Even so, wasn’t that too harsh on you?”
“What was?”

Martina’s eyebrows drooped with sympathy.

“Still, you should prioritize the Sacred Maiden above all else, yet you’re embarrassing her like this.”
“….”
“If we enter now, everyone will start gossiping, won’t they?”
“Gossiping?”
“That the two best among Artemisia’s Trainee Priests are absent from the banquet. What on earth happened, they’ll say.”

Martina looked at Saelika with sympathy.

“They really treat you terribly. No matter how different your origins are, that’s no excuse.”
“….”
“I can’t understand people who discriminate against commoners. We’re all temple family, aren’t we?”

Saelika simply gazed at Martina without responding.
Martina flinched involuntarily, then deliberately shook her head as if nothing was wrong.

“No, wait. You must be the most upset, and here I am saying unnecessary things….”
“Exactly. That was really unnecessary. I’m not upset at all. Did you deliberately provoke me?”
“Ah, other Sacred Maidens misunderstood my meaning the same way. I thought you’d be different.”

Martina let out a deep sigh.

“I said it because I know Dmitri’s personality well. He can be quite rough.”
“You seem to know Dmitri well?”

At Saelika’s question, Martina’s eyes widened.

“Oh? He didn’t tell you? That we’re close?”
“He’s never even mentioned you.”
“Ah, that’s possible!”

Martina heartily patted Saelika on the back.

“I heard the other Sacred Maidens aren’t that close with the Trainee Priests either.”
“….”
“There seems to be some kind of barrier. I don’t have that problem because I get along so openly with our priests.”
“….”
“Don’t feel hurt that Dmitri is closer to me than you. I naturally get along better with boys anyway.”

Martina laughed softly, offering Saelika comfort.

“She’s rough around the edges, but she’s a good person at heart. She won’t leave you and come to me. Probably.”
“Who said anything about leaving someone to come to you?”

Martina jumped at the sudden voice cutting in, lifting her head.

Standing there was Dmitri, the one she had just spoken so fondly of.
His brow was furrowed.

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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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