Youngest on Top - Chapter 118

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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 118

“Why, are you surprised we’re alive? Were we supposed to die?”
“No, that’s not it! I—.”

Martina rushed to defend herself, but Molloresta’s Trainee Priests would not listen.

“You used us as bait! We trusted only your words!”
“Saelika saved us!”
“Weren’t you also rescued by Saelika and brought back?!”
“Yet the moment you returned, you slandered Saelika…!”

Martina’s face drained of all color.
Below the platform, countless members of the crowd glared at her and whispered among themselves.

A villain unworthy of being a Sacred Maiden!
A traitor who deceived people with cunning words and drove her brothers to their doom!

‘Why must I stand here receiving these looks, being pointed at and cursed?’

It should have been Saelika standing in this place.
Martina cried out fiercely.

“You’re all being deceived by Saelika!”
“What?”
“You all said it yourselves. That Saelika only puts on airs while making things difficult for me!”
“That’s because you—.”
“It was I who defended Saelika to you! And now you’re changing your tune?”

Martina clasped her hands tightly together with a pitiful expression.

“Yes, it’s not your fault. You were simply deceived.”
“Deceived?”
“I was planning to rescue you as arranged. But Saelika cursed me, preventing me from going.”
“….”
“While I couldn’t move, Saelika rescued you and then sowed discord like this…!”

Martina’s eyes glistened with tears as her face took on a pitiful appearance.

“Even when I couldn’t move, I only worried about you all. My brothers, my priests.”
“….”
“Though it was meant to sow discord, I’m relieved you’re all safe….”
“….”
“For that much, you have Saelika to thank.”

Martina turned to look at Saelika, her face brimming with sincerity.
Saelika gazed back at Martina without any particular reaction.
There was no anger in her expression, nor any sense of grievance.

‘Rather… she’s looking at me like I’m some sort of spectacle.’

Martina’s complexion darkened considerably.
Treating a person as a curiosity?
In this situation, no less?

‘Does she think the truth will reveal itself just by standing there so aloofly? How foolish!’

The broadcast magical artifacts were already all shut down.
Would they be restored by now?
There was no evidence anywhere to reveal the truth.

Meanwhile, Martina had things that could support her words.

“But that was too much of a foul play, Saelika.”
“Foul play?”

At the question that flowed from the crowd, Martina wore a triumphant smile.

“That map Priest Ilay is holding. The location of the Corruption’s core is marked on it!”
“….”
“Foul play and sowing discord too. I thought of Saelika as a friend, but I can’t overlook this any longer—.”

That was when it happened.
As if on cue, light flickered back into the crystal viewing stone.

“That map was created by the Elder. Since purifying the Corruption’s core guarantees victory anyway.”

Martina lifted her head in shock.
The voice flowing out was her own.

“But we could be faster, couldn’t we? If we encounter many undead on the way, we’ll be slow no matter how good the map is.”
“….”
“I thought we promised to be honest with each other.”
“…We buried sacred relics along our path. To keep the undead from approaching.”

Martina’s eyes wavered.
The crystal recording stones had definitely all malfunctioned.
But how was this possible?

No, that wasn’t the problem right now.
Martina knew exactly what would come next.
Because she had said it herself!

“But where did all your Trainee Priests go?”
“They all fell to the Death Knights….”

The Martina inside the crystal recording stone closed her eyes tightly, unable to say more.

“In a life-threatening situation, they all stepped forward for me.”
“For you?”
“Yes, they tried to save me even at the cost of their lives…. I tried to stop them, but I couldn’t break my brothers’ resolve.”
“….”
“For the sake of honoring those children’s sacrifice and their final wishes, I must survive and escape this place.”

The recording stopped there.
The hall fell silent as if cold water had been poured over it.

“Th-This is a fabricated recording! Because of Saelika’s threats, I had no choice but to do as instructed….”
“Stop it. It’s pathetic.”
“…?!”

Martina turned in shock to look beside her.
The person who had spoken was none other than Heidrun.

‘H-How could Heidrun say something like that to me….’

Martina’s pupils trembled with shock.
Being insulted by thousands of spectators was less devastating than this.

In that moment, I recalled how Heidrun had behaved toward Saelika.
Those actions seemed far too genuine to be mere performance.
I had assumed it was simply skilled acting, but what if those feelings were genuine?

Heidrun stepped forward.

“I confess. We used the Trainee Priests as bait to escape, and worse, we slandered Sacred Maiden Saelika—.”
“That’s a lie!”

Martina shrieked and pointed at the crystal viewing stone.

“Look! I’m collapsed right there! Because I was hit by the curse Saelika cast!”

This wasn’t fabricated—it was real.

“If you examine my body right now, the truth will be revealed! The curse marks are still there!”

Martina glared at Saelika with eyes full of hatred.
That shameless woman had stolen even Heidrun from her—she could never forgive this.

Now was the moment for Saelika’s downfall.
It would be revealed that one Sacred Maiden had cursed another!

“Well? What excuse do you have, Saelika?”

But Saelika didn’t need to answer herself.
Molloresta’s Trainee Priests stepped forward protectively in front of her.

“You collapsed because you were hit by the undead!”
“When you’re struck by undead, your movements slow down and your limbs go stiff, don’t they?”
“And you’re blaming Saelika for that? She saved you!”
“If Saelika had cursed you, why would she have brought you along to escape? That makes no sense!”
“Come to think of it, you’ve always been like this. Other Sacred Maidens barely do anything and you claim they’re jealous of you, they act straightforward and you misinterpret it—!”
“Because she’s our Sacred Maiden, our family, we’ve always sided with you no matter what you said, but…!”

Martina was going mad with indignation.
Why wouldn’t anyone believe her?
Saelika really did curse me!

‘These are my priests, my brothers. Why are they protecting Saelika and attacking me?’

“I considered you all family. How could you do this to me now—”
“Stop. You never thought of us as family, did you?”
“What?”
“You said we’re nothing but beings who must sacrifice our lives to protect you.”
“…!”
“You said we should be grateful for such a glorious opportunity, didn’t you?”

How could they bring that up?!

“You treated us like replaceable parts!”
“You said if we died, you’d just bring in Artemisia’s Trainee Priests!”

‘No… surely not…!’

Everything she had said to Saelika had been recorded as video.
Which meant everything that happened before could have been recorded as well.

If Molloresta’s Trainee Priests who arrived before her had seen that video?
Then not just them, but the spectators, the distinguished guests, and the priests—everyone would have seen it.

Martina lifted her trembling head and looked at the people around her.
Every gaze fixed upon her was as cold as ice.

“Ah….”

They already knew.
All of it!

“Trash!”
“A so-called Sacred Maiden who spews nothing but lies and slander!”
“Molloresta Temple never intended to compete fairly from the start!”
“Not content with weakening Artemisia’s forces, they rigged the competition with maps, buried sacred relics, and manipulated everything!”
“That Sacred Maiden, that Temple!”

Martina glanced around as if seeking help.
Whenever she found herself in difficulty, the Trainee Priests had always sheltered her.

But now, more than anyone else, they were glaring at her with cold expressions.
Heidrun didn’t even look at Martina.
His gaze remained fixed on Saelika.

Crunch.
Martina clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.

“In contrast, what of Artemisia Temple, which even rescued Trainee Priests from another temple!”
“Their accomplishment of vanquishing the Death Knight in an instant was truly remarkable!”
“And what of Sacred Maiden Saelika’s character, rescuing even one who slandered her so!”

Voices praising Saelika and Artemisia Temple thundered across the Molloresta Temple plaza like a roaring storm.
Martina and the Molloresta Priests could only bow their heads as they listened.

Everyone here understood.
From this day forward, the number of people visiting Molloresta Temple would decline dramatically.
No one would respect Martina and the Molloresta Priests as servants of the divine.

It was nothing short of certain ruin.

* * *

“Um, excuse me, Saelika. No, Sacred Maiden Saelika.”

At the sound of the voice, I turned around.
The Molloresta children hesitated with awkward expressions before bowing their heads.

“We apologize for our actions.”
“We spoke thoughtlessly, only thinking we were supporting our Sacred Maiden, but we realized that Sacred Maiden Saelika must have been hurt…”

It wasn’t incomprehensible.
Young priests tended to be blindly devoted to their Sacred Maiden.

“Um, if you would be so kind… would you give us the opportunity to serve you as our Sacred Maiden—.”
“What? Are you joking!”

Roana stepped forward.

“I will never forget what you said! Never!”

Roana must have been especially bothered by it.
Though it was when I was very young, there was a time when she dismissed me as a commoner.
So yesterday and today, she kept watching my expression carefully.

“Sae is our Sacred Maiden! Not yours!”
“That’s right! She’s our youngest!”
“Our youngest will only play with us!”

I stared at the excited children with an incredulous gaze.
Was this really something worth arguing about?

As I shook my head in disbelief, my eyes met Heidrun’s.
He looked at me with an expression full of things to say.

“I understand that my actions could be misunderstood. But that wasn’t an act—it was sincere.”
“…?”
“I genuinely felt for the Sacred Maiden—.”

It was the moment Heidrun spoke with a determined expression.

“What was that?”
“We can’t hear the words of a weakling very well.”

Dmitri and Edmund muttered loudly and draped their arms over my shoulders.
Ilay chuckled and looked at Heidrun.

“You couldn’t even handle a Death Knight—do you really think you’d be helpful to Sae?”

Heidrun flinched and bowed his head to me.

“I will return stronger. When that time comes, please—.”

Heidrun extended his hand with a respectful demeanor.
I reflexively grasped it, and he pressed his lips against the back of my hand.

“That… that bastard…! Does he have a death wish!!”
“How dare he touch those filthy lips to me!”
“I need to cast a purification spell. Sae, give me your hand.”

While Dmitri, Edmund, and Ilay made a tremendous fuss, Heidrun quickly vanished from sight.

‘Of all the ridiculous things.’

A kiss on the back of my hand was hardly noteworthy—I’d received them so often since becoming the Sacred Maiden that they barely registered.
I shrugged my shoulders—.

Enrik: Is that bastard trying to get himself killed!!!!!!!
Enrik: Hey, hey!
Enrik: Hurry and let me descend!
Enrik: I’ll kill that bastard and then exile myself to the human realm too!

‘…Has he lost his mind?’

Enrik: Are you worried about me?
Enrik: There’s no need.
Enrik: You’re adapting well enough as a human, so honestly, I’d adapt even better.

‘That’s not the issue—if Enrik reincarnates as a human, who will share their power with me?’

Enrik: …

* * *

“You children…!”
“Let me see—are you hurt anywhere!”

The adults were in absolute uproar.

“Excellent work, excellent! Defeating a Death Knight!”
“When did you all grow so strong!”

The Trainee Priests received the adults’ praise with bashful expressions.
I too gazed at the adults with a satisfied smile.

‘Honestly, even I think I did pretty well!’

But then.

“Sae.”

Randel’s voice calling out to me was dark.
Sirius standing beside me and the other adults felt the same way.

“Do you understand what you did wrong?”
“…A mistake?”
“Gambling recklessly with your own life.”
“…?”

I didn’t understand why that was a problem.

“But because of that, the children were able to grow, weren’t they? It was exactly what Artemisia Temple needed.”
“More than growth!”

Randel suddenly shouted, startling me.

“…There’s something more important than Artemisia Temple doing well.”
“….”
“If anything had happened to you, I….”

Randel looked so anguished that my heart ached.
I quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry.”
“….”

Randel stared at me intently.

“You still don’t understand why you should be sorry.”
“….”
“…Never mind. Let’s talk about this when we get back.”

Randel turned away.
I reached out to stop him, but ultimately couldn’t grasp his hand.

Before my regression, there were a few people who had shown me kindness.
In the end, they too cursed me, condemned me, and spat upon me.

‘What if Randel were to reject me….’

Even as I thought it impossible—that Randel, of all people, would never do such a thing—the anxiety kept gnawing at me.
This was the first time I had ever seen him so angry.

‘Let me think carefully about why he’s upset. And then I’ll apologize properly.’

Randel was a kind person, so if I did that, he would forgive me.
He would treat me as he always had.

I gripped my cold hands tightly.

And not long after returning to the temple, I came to understand just how angry Randel truly was.

“…Kaiser said what?”

By the news that had reached Artemisia Temple.

—————
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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