Youngest on Top - Chapter 12

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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 12

* * *

Dmitri’s face darkened with a scowl.

‘Why does that fool keep staring at Ilay?’

Saelika’s gaze never left Ilay.
Whenever Ilay recited the prayers, she would often open her eyes wide in wonder.
As if she were genuinely astonished.

‘Is Ilay’s skill really that impressive?’

The thought only made my mood worse.
Saelika was the first person I had ever acknowledged.
Yet she showed me no interest whatsoever.
She only had eyes for that sanctimonious fake.

‘Is she really just like all the others?’

I thought she could recognize the genuine article.
We understood each other as equals—as the strong.
So surely she would see through Ilay as well….

‘…Let it go.’

Why waste my energy on someone who doesn’t care about me?
I won’t concern myself with her anymore.
Not ever, not ever!

‘Damn it!’

Dmitri shot up from his seat.
He furrowed his brow and approached Saelika.
Despite his firm resolve to stay out of it.

“Hey.”
“Mm.”
“Why do you keep staring at Ilay? Why do you keep looking at him?”
“Because Sae has eyes.”

Dmitri’s eyebrows twitched.

‘This idiot….’

He had no idea how dangerous Ilay truly was.
My instincts warned me.
Those sweet-seeming eyes were like a serpent’s before it swallows its prey.
He simply hadn’t revealed his fangs yet because his belly was still full.

“Why did you come?”

A small morsel like this would be swallowed whole in a single gulp.
Then the morsel would dissolve completely in that venom.

“I told you not to cause trouble. You won’t even leave bones behind.”
“Mm?”
“That’s enough. Follow me.”

Dmitri yanked Saelika’s neck forcefully.
But there was something he had overlooked.
Saelika was a strong one by Dmitri’s standards—.

“Ugh!”

Without using sacred power, she was just an ordinary child.
An even smaller child at that, twice as tiny as him.

“…?”

Dmitri was startled by how much lighter her body was than expected, flying along effortlessly.
But it was already too late.

Thud!
Saelika lost her balance and tumbled to the ground with a heavy crash.
She fell so loudly that even Dmitri jumped in surprise.

“Good heavens, Sae!”

In that moment, alarmed shouts rang out.
They were adults.

“Are you alright?”

Dmitri’s face went pale as he watched the Priesthood tend to Sae.
Among them was Randel, who commanded the respect and admiration of all the trainee priests.
And Derrick, the combat priest whom Dmitri had always looked up to.

Derrick examined Sae’s body with his massive, lid-like hands, carefully turning her over.

“What happened? Hmm?”
“Have you been tormenting her like this whenever we’re away?”

Dmitri flinched.

‘What, what? I didn’t do anything wrong.’

I was just trying to help that clumsy girl….
But it was true that I had tormented her before.
I had joined the other children in mocking her.
I had even sought her out separately to threaten her.
And just now, I did knock her over.

‘If that clumsy girl tells them I bullied her….’

Fear gripped him.
He could vividly picture the disappointed gazes the adults would turn upon him.

But then it happened.

“I’m fine.”

A clear, bright voice pierced through my ears.
Dmitri lifted his head to gaze at Saelika.
But the child was not looking at him.

“What happened?”
“Sae fell down.”
“…It looked like that fellow was bothering you.”

At Derrick’s words, Sae shook her head vigorously.

“No.”
“I clearly saw him reaching out his hand.”
“That was him patting my head.”
“Ah, I see!”

Derrick chuckled and turned to look at Dmitri.

“Looks like you found Sae adorable.”
“No, that’s….”
“Well, she is adorable. Before you know it, you’re squishing those bread-dough cheeks.”
“That’s not—.”
“I understand. The youngest is so cute you could die, right?”
“….”
“Right?”
“Yes…. Well.”

Under Derrick’s relentless questioning—or perhaps pressure—Dmitri eventually nodded ambiguously.
The other adults then gazed at Dmitri with satisfied expressions.
They seemed to think he was embarrassed.

Whether uncomfortable or ashamed, Dmitri turned his head away from their gazes.
At the edge of his vision, he caught sight of a child whose cheeks had been pinched by the adults, pouting in displeasure.

“Ugh…. Sorry—. Stop it.”

Her cheeks stretched in a peculiarly amusing way.
As Dmitri observed her for a moment, he suddenly furrowed his brow.

‘…But why did she take my side?’

He certainly tormented me terribly at first.
There was no sign that he even liked me.
He was always seeking out Ilay.
And he only directed his anger at me.

Dmitri stared at Saelika with a bewildered expression.

* * *

“That’s only because the captain is so cool.”

At his subordinate’s assertion, Dmitri furrowed his brow.

“That doesn’t make any sense…”
“Why doesn’t it?”
“Normally, he would have reported it right then and there, but he didn’t.”
“Instead, he took the captain’s side.”
“Because the captain is cool, because he wants to be close to you!”

The children beside Dmitri nodded as if it were the most obvious truth in the world.
To these boys, Dmitri was the coolest man in the world.

“And did you see how that little one smiled at the captain?”

At those words, Dmitri recalled the child’s appearance.
After the adults left, the child looked at him and smiled brightly.

The corners of his mouth curved upward gently, and his chubby cheeks full of baby fat grew even rounder with the smile.
His blue eyes narrowed like a crescent moon, sparkling with light.

“He smiled because he wanted to make a good impression on the captain.”

At this point, his peers’ words began to sound persuasive.

Even before coming to the Temple, Dmitri had been extremely popular among children his age.
Whenever they divided into factions for war games, everyone hoped that Dmitri would be their captain.
They all yearned to become close with him.

Of course, most of them were boys.
…Though it seemed there wasn’t a single girl among them.
There was a girl who cried, terrified of becoming Dmitri’s spouse during pretend play.

In any case, I couldn’t fault the little one for admiring my impressive self.

‘Judging by how she tumbled over from just a light tug, she’s probably weak despite her strength.’

Then it wouldn’t be unreasonable to be a bit more lenient with that child.

“I can’t help it. So I’m impressive.”

Dmitri puffed out his chest with pride.
Just then, I caught sight of the little one bustling about over there.

‘She’s looking for me!’

Dmitri deliberately composed his expression and approached Saelika.

* * *

‘I need to train the Trainee Priests to my liking, so the adults mustn’t interfere. They mustn’t.’

If they knew I was being bullied, they wouldn’t leave the Trainee Priests unsupervised like they do now.
Though the adults aren’t neglecting them out of desire to neglect them.

I even flashed Dmitri a victor’s smile, conveying that his life was in my hands.
Since he acts respectably in front of the adults, he’d want to avoid being exposed.
He seems sharp enough to understand the meaning behind my smile.

‘Anyway, I need to train the children as quickly as possible before the assembly meeting…’

For that, I needed the cooperation of both Dmitri and Ilay.
Dmitri was the children’s leader, and Ilay was the one who set the overall atmosphere.

‘I need more detailed information about Ilay.’

There was someone who knew Ilay better than the other children.
Dmitri.

After class ended, I wandered aimlessly about, killing time.
I waited a moment, and sure enough, a shock of red hair suddenly appeared from behind a tree.
It was the hair of that nuisance who tormented me whenever he got the chance, but this time I was actually glad to see it.

I pretended not to notice and ambled along with measured steps.
Toward a desolate, sparsely populated area.

“Hey, Honeybread.”

Not long after, a gruff voice called out.

“It’s not Sae Honeybread.”
“Look, honey is yellow, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re yellow too, aren’t you?”
…
“And bread is small and round, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re small and round too, aren’t you?”
…

Then he grinned with an expression that said, “See? I’m right, aren’t I?”

I wanted to hit him.

Perhaps the fist of justice needed to ignite once more before any rational conversation could take place.
Just as I was narrowing my eyes in contemplation.
Dmitri cleared his throat loudly.

“Well, uh, if you need anything, just say so.”
“Need something?”
“Since we’re both strong… I could help you out.”

Well, what do you know.
He was actually offering to help.

Did my intimidating smile actually work on him?

Of course I’d be worried about when I’d get there.
I was planning to gather information from Dmitri anyway, so this works out well.

Dmitri cleared his throat once more with a heavy cough before speaking.

“If the kids bully you, come to me—”
“What kind of kid is Ilay?”
“…What?”
“Ilay!”

Dmitri’s expression crumpled abruptly.

“Why that guy!”
“That’s….”
“Are you going to foolishly chase after that guy again? Are you really that stupid?!”

‘Why is he like this again?’

He was shouting so loudly that people would start gathering.
The Priesthood was already—

“Sae… just in case! Just in case! If you’re truly being bullied, please remember that this place is always open…!”

—saying things like that.
If something happened between me and Dmitri again, they’d really think I was being ostracized.

‘That would make things inconvenient to move around.’

I had no choice.

“Look, Randel said we should get along well.”
“Huh?”

I raised my fist to show him.

“Sae’s fist wants to get along well with Dmitri.”

The sacred fist gleamed brilliantly.
Dmitri flinched, remembering how he’d nearly been incinerated by the flames of justice from that fist once before.

“Sae hears even quiet voices well.”
“Ah, I understand…”

Dmitri clicked his tongue and continued speaking.

“Ilay is… a frightening fellow.”
“Indeed.”
“Right, you won’t believe it. That guy is kind and gentle— what?!”

Dmitri stared at me with his eyes wide open.
For a troublemaker who only caused mischief, his expression was surprisingly innocent.

“You believe me? I’m the one speaking, and the other person is Ilay?”
“Dmitri, are you a liar?”
“No! That’s not it, but I did… bully you.”

So he does realize it.

“Should I not believe you?”
“No!”

He answered reflexively, and Dmitri’s face flushed slightly, as if embarrassed.

“No, it’s just. I mean. It’s just… unexpected.”
“Hmm?”
“Everyone likes that guy. And you especially…”
“Especially?”

Dmitri stubbornly clamped his mouth shut.

‘What exactly am I doing especially?’

Dmitri’s expression showed wounded pride.

“Anyway, that bastard is two-faced and cunning. His appearance is so refined that everyone is deceived. Without him saying anything, somehow everything flows the way he wants it to. Everything turns out favorable for him alone!”
“Hmm.”
“He acts so virtuous in front of adults. It’s truly sickening.”

…That’s not easy for you either.
Dmitri flinched, sensing my gaze upon him.

“I’m, I’m on a completely different level! That guy wears a mask in front of everyone.”
“I see.”

I nodded, and I felt his eyes on me.
Dmitri was staring at me with an odd expression.
He’d even stopped his enthusiastic cursing of Ilay.

“What?”
“Oh, nothing.”

Dmitri scratched his cheek and looked away.

“…I just thought you believe what I say so readily.”
“It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

Though there was some exaggeration mixed in with my personal feelings.

Dmitri’s eyes widened suddenly.
His stiffened lips quivered, and then he broke into a brilliant smile, his teeth fully exposed.
His brow furrowed slightly, making his lively smile appear youthful and innocent.

“Right! It’s the truth!”

For some reason, an even more delighted Dmitri began listing every detail of Ilay’s faults.

‘In other words, he’s the puppet master controlling this small society.’

Already manipulating the children—truly, a promising sapling shows its nature from the very sprout.
Well, up to this point I was just confirming my predictions.
Now I broached the main topic.

“But does Ilay really dislike being at the Temple?”
“Why?”
“Just curious.”

I wanted to check if that bastard would betray our Temple and flee to the Underworld.
It’s difficult to retaliate against a declining place.
It’s common for people to see that as an opportunity, pocket some money, and disappear.

“That son of a bitch is selfish, cunning, hypocritical, and an arrogant fool who thinks he’s something special.”
“…Hmm?”
“But even so, he cares for this place.”
…
“Well, ‘cares’ might not be the right word. Since he’s such a cunning creature, it’s more accurate to say he treasures his own territory.”

Dmitri suddenly let out an anguished cry and began frantically ruffling his own hair.

“Why am I even praising that bastard!”
‘…That didn’t really sound like praise to me.’

As I gazed at him with vacant eyes, Dmitri pinched my nose hard.

“Get this straight. That bastard only treasures himself! He cares for the Temple because it’s his own territory!”
“Hmm.”
“Meanwhile, I…what matters to me, I’m not sure….”

When Dmitri’s eyes met mine, he faltered and then clamped his mouth shut.

“Damn it, damn it!”

Then he spun around and walked away.

‘Did adolescence arrive early.’

—————
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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