Youngest on Top - Chapter 119

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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 119

* * *

Molloresta seemed too preoccupied to properly conclude the gathering.
The distinguished guests brushed past the Molloresta Priests and approached us repeatedly, striking up conversation.

“The children must be exhausted. We should head back now.”

At this rate, they wouldn’t let us leave, so Sirius stepped forward and politely extracted us from the guests.

“Saelika.”

As I was boarding the carriage to return to Artemia Temple, I heard someone calling my name.
I turned around to see Hephastos.

“Who is that guy?”
“Why is he calling Honeybun by name so casually?”
“The fellow has no manners whatsoever.”

Ilay, Dmitri, and Edmund stepped forward protectively, blocking my path.

“Don’t be like that. He performed brilliantly today.”
“Ahem! Was I really that impressive?”

Hephastos wiped beneath his nose with a satisfied smirk.

“…! I was the one who performed brilliantly! Honeybun, wasn’t I the most impressive?!”
“Does Sae have eyes in his head? Would he think you impressive?”
“While you lot were away, I was the one who helped the youngest and performed admirably. I was the most impressive.”

I looked at the four boys with exasperation.
I never said anyone was impressive.

“Thank you, Hephastos. Thanks to you, we were able to finish the competition safely today.”

When I heard the details of the conference competition, I concluded that I needed a crystal viewing stone.
Those liars—the Molloresta Priests.
If spectators watched through a broadcast rather than witnessing it directly, they would definitely employ deception.

‘That’s why I went to Madame Caitlin and commissioned a special crystal viewing stone.’

Not one that simply displayed images like conventional portable viewing stones, but one capable of selecting and displaying only the desired scenes.

‘It would appear to be a live broadcast, but in reality, it would be heavily edited footage.’

The device also needed to be equipped with a tool for hacking into the mana network.
I had to intercept Molloresta’s mana network.

Creating something like this in a size that could be carried naturally was certainly a difficult task.

“…Hmm, I understand, but only I could create such an object this quickly.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“And if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have managed to broadcast only the parts where those Molloresta bastards were cheating so perfectly, right?”
“That’s true. It’s thanks to you editing the footage so well.”

It was Hephastos’s handiwork to turn on the broadcast at precisely the moment Martina was lying.

‘He also skillfully cut out the content that shouldn’t have been broadcast from the recorded footage.’

I already knew that Hephastos designed magical artifacts brilliantly through groundbreaking and creative methods.
But to possess such a talent for this as well?

‘Truly the kind of person who got caught red-handed stealing and then brazenly claimed he was borrowing it.’

In truth, distortion—no, editing—he possessed an extraordinary talent for it.
I gave him a thumbs up.

“That was truly angelic editing!”

Enrik: What angel does editing like that!

“…Ahem. Well, at least you know how much my help mattered.”
“Yeah, I’m really grateful.”
“…You’ll need to replace the mana-crafted stone installed there after today’s work. Bring it by sometime.”
“Right. It probably held up this long because it’s Madame Caitlin’s crafted stone. If it were anything else, it would’ve stopped midway.”
“Since you overworked it, I need to inspect it too. Remember what I said about it breaking easily?”
“Yeah.”
“Come by regularly.”

I nodded in acknowledgment.
Hephastos looked down at me, his lips twitching slightly for a moment before he abruptly turned and walked away without a word.

I watched his receding back for a moment before turning my head.
The three rabid hounds in my grip all turned to look at me at once.
They looked ready to bolt straight at Hephastos the moment I released their leashes.

‘I understand he’s upset about being disrespectful to the Sacred Maiden.’

“He’s always like that. He even talked back to Madame Caitlin in casual speech.”

I tried to reassure them, but the three boys’ expressions showed no signs of softening.

“That’s obviously just an excuse. Don’t you dare go meet that guy.”
“Making such a flimsy excuse. How frivolous.”
“If you go, I’m coming with you.”

At Ilay, Edmund, and Dmitri’s words, I felt a bit bewildered.

“…? Why would I go there?”
“Didn’t you just say you would?”
“I can just send the image stone. That’s what Hephastos wanted anyway.”
“….”
“I’m busy too, and I can’t take up Madame Caitlin’s time.”

Madame Caitlin’s reputation had now spread throughout the empire.
In a situation where she barely had a moment to breathe, Caitlin was working while cutting back on her sleep.
To attend the main ceremony presided over by the High Priest.

“Beauty cannot be neglected even for a single week!”

—was the reason.

Not visiting Kaitlin was the way I could help her.
She was someone who would make time for me even when she had none.

“Still, to care so much about something already sold. Hephastos is young, but his craftsmanship is truly admirable.”
“….”
“….”
“….”

The children looked at me with peculiar expressions.

“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Let’s go.”

Ilay helped me climb onto the carriage properly.
I heard Edmund muttering behind me.

“Sigh, poor fellow.”

Who was he calling poor?
It wasn’t easy to earn the pity of arrogant Edmund.

* * *

The Artemisia Trainee Priests returned triumphantly and received a grand welcome.
After enjoying an elaborate banquet, the children returned early to the Trainee Priests’ quarters to rest.

I was summoned separately to the High Priest’s office.
Inside the office were not only the High Priest, but also the Elders and other High Priests.

“Let me see, my little one!”
“Look how thin you’ve become from all that hard work! Would you like a biscuit? I bought some with plenty of chocolate on them….”
“The temple was like darkness without our youngest.”

The adults wouldn’t let go of me, each clinging to me in turn.
Thinking I might be squeezed to death like this, I let out a groan: “Uuuugh….”

Then, the High Priest spoke to the other priests with a rigid, stern expression.

“Everyone, back to your positions.”

The Elders looked at the High Priest with slightly disgruntled eyes, but soon released their grip on me and straightened up.
The High Priest called out to me.

“Saelika.”
“Yes.”
“What on earth were you thinking, doing something like that?”

The High Priest wore an expression similar to Randel’s.
I felt my spirit deflate slightly as I fidgeted with my hands.

“Isn’t this too harsh? You can’t even comfort a child who’s been through so much! Sae had her reasons for—.”
“I didn’t ask you, Devon.”

As that weighty statement settled, the office grew cold.
The High Priest’s silver eyes gazed at me with a chilling intensity.

“…It was the fastest and most certain method. I thought it was worth attempting, and I believed it had a high probability of success.”
“….”
“Artemia’s Temple has grown to an incomparable degree compared to before. But to ascend further, we need something more certain—.”
“And you’d stake your own life on it?”

The High Priest’s voice was impossibly low.
I was startled by the emotion woven through that subdued tone and closed my mouth.

The other adults weren’t angry either, but their expressions aligned with the High Priest’s sentiment.

‘Ah, I see.’

I finally understood the reason.
I wasn’t merely a Trainee Priest—I was Artemia’s Sacred Maiden.
A unique Sacred Maiden who had appeared after skipping two generations.

“I was reckless.”
“….”
“If Artemia’s Sacred Maiden were to be gravely injured or lose her life, it would create an even greater problem—”
“That’s not it!”
“…?”

Not that?
Then why is everyone so angry with me?

Throwing myself into the fray to resolve matters was simply the natural order of things.
I lived that way in the Celestial Realm, and before my regression, at Parmanasus Temple…
Back then…

‘…other people found my usefulness by sacrificing themselves, not me.’

The High Priest’s face contorted as he looked at me.

“Even after all these years, you still…”

He exhaled a deep sigh.

“…It is my failing.”

That weary tone suddenly frightened me.
Perhaps I would not be abandoned.
As the Sacred Maiden, I was useful, so everyone would cherish me.

Yet somehow, I felt anxious. As if ice filled my heart.
Before, I only worried about being cast out from the temple, but now it was different.

If the High Priest, Randel, the Elders came to hate me.
If they looked at me with such weary eyes—.

“Sae.”

My bewildered gaze, like that of a lost child, turned toward Randel.
Randel knelt down and met my eyes.

“My daughter, you are so precious to me.”

Thank goodness.
He hasn’t grown tired of me.

“That’s why if anything happens to Sae, my heart will ache terribly. No, I won’t be able to forgive myself for being the one who caused it.”
“It’s not your fault, Father. That was my decision, and you had no way to intervene in where I was.”
“Still, I blame myself.”

Randel wiped my cheek with a pained smile.
He spoke slowly, like a teacher carefully instructing a young child.

“You acted believing everything would be fine. But what if the other children hadn’t grown? Or if they’d been even slightly delayed?”
“….”
“The mere possibility of that alone feels like it would shatter my heart.”
“….”
“Not because Sae is the Sacred Maiden, but because she’s a precious child to us.”
“…Yes.”

As I nodded, Randel pulled me into a tight embrace.
His arms were so very warm, yet tinged with sorrow.
Because Randel’s eyes, smiling as he looked at me, were so very sad.

Enrik: Do you understand now?

I thought I understood intellectually, but I couldn’t fully comprehend it.

What mattered more than me was offering glory to Artemia and restoring the temple to its rightful place.
That must be why Artemia chose me as the Sacred Maiden.

‘To reach the peak of the Octagon, I need to become far stronger than this. If I can’t overcome even this much here, there’s no hope.’

Enrik: Your very life depends on it!
Enrik: Is that what Artemia would want?

‘She’s too kind to want that.’

Enrik: Exactly!
Enrik: Then why!

‘But couldn’t you also do something Artemia wouldn’t want if it were for her sake, Enrik?’

When I was in the Celestial Realm, I was hardly any help to Artemia.
I was nothing but a troublemaker who caused problems.

Thanks to awakening as the Sacred Maiden, I could finally become useful to Artemia.
So I would do my very best.

‘Useless beings are always discarded, after all.’

Enrik: You, before the regression….
Enrik: Never mind.
Enrik: Don’t think about it now. Get some proper rest.

With those words, my consciousness grew hazy.
Through our connected minds, Enrik had pushed sleep into me.

I didn’t resist and closed my eyes.
I simply wanted to fall asleep here in Randel’s warm embrace.

* * *

Artemia Temple had firmly established itself as the premier temple of the Eastern Region.
Worshippers poured in daily, creating a constant throng at its gates.

Artemia Temple, already suffering from a shortage of priests, was frantically busy without a moment’s rest.
Even as the Trainee Priests grew and took on apprentice duties, it remained so.
No matter how many new employees were hired, there were mountains of work that only priests could handle.

Yet despite the hectic pace, the Trainee Priests’ faces were bright.

“Hehe, did you hear? Did you hear?”
“We’re the best in the East!”
“People are even saying we’ll become the best in the entire Empire!”
“Excellent! This way we’ll surpass all the other temples!”

Watching the children raise their fists, Edmund muttered with a complicated expression.

“…Shouldn’t it be about harmony rather than surpassing them?”

The temples were not in opposition to one another.
Rather, they pledged to unite their strength and protect peace.
The Council Meeting was part of that commitment.
…At least, that was the official stance.

And yet they’re steeling their resolve by declaring they’ll crush all the other temples.
Is this a temple or a gangster’s den fighting over territory?

“You’re the one who unleashed a mob and orchestrated dirty schemes behind the scenes.”
“Because you did it first.”
“So Edmund won’t fight unless the opponent throws the first punch?”
“…I have to fight.”

In the end, Edmund was also a proud member of Artemia’s gang—no, the temple.

‘How did the children end up like this?’

I shook my head in dismay.

Enrik: How dare you say that!

“Sae.”

Ilay approached me and held out an ornate letter envelope.

“An invitation came for you.”

Ilay’s expression was unusually grave.
Where on earth could it be from?

I opened the invitation and was startled.

“The imperial palace?!”

The invitation, written in elegant script, was from the imperial palace.

“It seems they’re inviting you because of your victory at this assembly.”
“Well, since we’ve become the finest temple in the eastern region, it makes sense the imperial palace would take notice.”

I nodded in agreement.

‘…Will Shuri be there too?’

When the imperial palace was mentioned, my thoughts naturally turned to Shuri, the Crown Prince.
Those beautiful eyes shimmered with brilliant red, blue, and golden light.

‘…I must be careful never to reveal my true identity if we meet.’

Except for that brief glimpse during the Sacred Maiden’s coronation ceremony, I had never met Shuri in my true form.
Even if I encountered him this time, I should greet him and then excuse myself.
If he saw me for too long, he might recognize me.

“The imperial palace wouldn’t have summoned us without reason. We should prepare as thoroughly as possible. Edmund has been to the palace before, so he’ll be helpful.”

I nodded at Ilay’s words.
Though Ilay was nervous, this was undoubtedly a glorious honor to celebrate.
After all, we were being invited to the imperial palace itself.

‘Other Octagons receive invitations frequently, but Artemia hasn’t received a single one in decades.’

I felt the weight of how dramatically our standing had changed compared to before my regression.

‘Artemia…!’

I clasped my hands together.

“You seem to be in a good mood?”
“Yeah! It’s exciting no matter what, right?”

At my words, Ilay let out a soft laugh.

“That’s true. I think I was overthinking it. I was only dwelling on the corruption of power….”

‘…Where exactly did Ilay live in his past life?’

That was when it happened.

—————
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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