Youngest on Top - Chapter 16

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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 16

* * *

Ordinarily, divine power is a force that talented humans can acquire through training and cultivation.
But I was different.
I possessed divine power from the very beginning.
Because—.

I gazed upon the statue before me.
The messengers of Artemia, adorned with blindingly pure white wings.
Among them, the five most renowned messengers.
I knew them very well.

‘Before my reincarnation as a human, I was a messenger who served Artemia.’

Yes, a messenger of the divine.
An angel.
That was my past life.

“So you actually expect me to believe that?”

Ilay, who had been listening quietly to my words, asked.
He was smiling, but his expression clearly conveyed disbelief.

“Yep.”

Ilay’s eyes narrowed.
His gaze suggested he couldn’t tell if I was innocent, foolish, or simply thoughtless.

“Do you realize that’s blasphemy?”
“Sae still young. I still young.”

Meaning it would be dismissed as mere childish imagination and receive leniency.

“Wow, you’re quite the planner.”
“But Ilay will believe my words.”
“Why would he?”
“Because Ilay is…”

I turned away from the angel statue and looked at Ilay.
There was something that caught my eye from the moment we first met.
Regardless of whether he would become the future ruler of the Underworld or not, something about him had captivated my gaze.
I wasn’t mistaken.

“Because you’re a reincarnate.”
“…!”

Ilay’s face, which had been wearing a smile, suddenly stiffened.
His eyes fixed on me grew quite serious.

And well, that made sense.
I knew a secret that no one else did.

Slowly, Ilay’s lips parted.

“A reincarnate…?”
“Hm?”
“What do you mean by a reincarnate?”

Did he really not understand and was just making that expression?!
Why was he building up the tension like that and confusing me?
Frustrated, I burst out shouting.

“You’re a reincarnate!”
“…?”
“A reincarnate! You’re a reincarnate!”
“…Did I strike it big?”

Well, of course he does strike it big in the future, and quite spectacularly at that.

“You’re a reincarnate, I’m telling you?!”
“…?”

Ugh, I’m about to burst!

* * *

The more excited one became, the more their pronunciation would slur—it was inevitable.
After several rounds of back-and-forth, Ilay finally understood what Saelika was saying.

The child was right.
Ilay was a reincarnate.
In my past life, I lived in a completely different world—21st century Earth.

“…How did you know?”
“I saw it.”
“You saw it?”
“Yeah. The soul’s like that.”
“The soul.”

Ilay managed a wry smile.

What exactly was a soul, anyway?
Before my reincarnation, I didn’t believe in souls, gods, or any of that nonsense.
Yet as if mocking those very thoughts, I was born into a world where gods existed and divine power flowed abundantly.

I had thought perhaps I’d been saved.
Since my past life had been such a hellhole, maybe this new life was compensation.
It was a naive and foolish thought.

A family torn apart by poverty.
A gambling-addicted father who was always drunk and violent.
The only mother I’d ever grown close to died giving birth to my younger sibling.

A world where gods existed and exercised their miracles through priests.
I couldn’t deny the very existence of god like I had in my past life.
Then was I an existence abandoned by god?

“But apparently I have a talent for that divine power.”

Ilay wasn’t naive enough to mistake that for salvation.
I’d experienced far too much in this reborn life for such delusions.

Now I understood well what the Priesthood of this world truly were.
Greedy, selfish beings brimming with a sense of chosenness.

That’s why I lied about my status as a noble.
It was necessary to survive among them.

I would no longer be trampled upon.
Now I would be the one trampling others as I climbed.
That’s what I thought.

“Why does God grant divine maidens and sacred power to such people? Shouldn’t He take the power back?”

If God existed, shouldn’t He show mercy to the virtuous and punish the wicked?

“Why?”

Saelika furrowed her brow, unable to understand Ilay’s words.

“Gods have feelings too. They have private lives. Sometimes when they feel like it, they do pointless things. When they don’t feel like it, they don’t do what they’re supposed to do either.”
“…Like the gods of Greece or Rome?”
“Huh?”
“Yeah. If something doesn’t suit their fancy, they curse it, and when they see a pretty woman—”
“See?”

Saelika tilted her head in confusion.
Ilay turned away, uncharacteristically evasive.

“You don’t need to know.”
“Why not? Tell me.”
“Children don’t need to know.”

…Even though I’m still a child myself.
Saelika pouted her lips.

“So my life must have seemed quite entertaining to you. Giving me a talent for divine power and all.”
“Ilay, you’re more foolish than I thought.”
“What…?”
“Where do children with magical talent go?”
“The Magic Tower.”
“And children with talent in swordsmanship?”
“To the Knight Order as squires.”
“Then what about those with talent in divine power?”
“…The Temple.”
“Exactly.”

There was no need to think of it as something grand, like divine selection or anything of the sort.

‘Humans simply prefer to dress it up that way. It makes things seem more impressive.’

In reality, it was no different from having talent in painting or singing.

Well, there was one exception.

‘The Saint.’

Only the Saint was directly chosen by the divine.

“What about you?”
“Hm?”
“Why did you become human? You were once a divine messenger.”
“That is…”

Saelika’s gaze drifted toward something distant and hazy.

* * *

Why did I, who once enjoyed eternal life at Artemia’s side, reincarnate as a human?
Behind that lay a story so sorrowful and lengthy that it could not be told without tears.

“Please, manage that child better, will you? Why does she keep beating up other people’s children!”
“How are you raising your child? She’s turned out to be a thug, not an angel!”
“Excuse me. Could you step outside? My child’s wing is broken right now—the doctor says seventy years of recovery—and I’m pretty sure your child did it?!”

—that’s what the other gods complained about to our Artemia.

I was genuinely wronged.
They made it sound like I was some thug who picked fights with other people’s children whenever I got the chance, but that wasn’t true at all.
They were the ones who started it first.

I simply responded to their provocations with the confidence befitting an angel and fought back fairly.
What was I supposed to do about the fact that they were weaklings?

How cowardly of them to run to their own gods and whine about it!
They resort to this because they can’t win through strength.

Most of all—

‘They spoke ill of our Artemia first!’

But I couldn’t say that.
If Artemia learned of that fact, how heartbroken would she be?

Our Artemia was the most handsome, physically impressive, and kind-hearted among all the gods renowned for their beauty—truly a god worthy of serving in this age.
…Though I rarely had the opportunity to serve her directly.

What hurt even more was that my brothers, born from the same source as me, mistreated me based solely on what the other gods said.

“Hey. I told you to keep quiet.”
“Are you an angel? You’re a thug! Why do you keep beating up other angels!”
“Where’s Sae! Did she go beat up someone else’s kid again?”
“I’m organizing a search party right now. Bind her the moment you find her. We don’t know what she’ll do, so just bind her no matter what!”
“Ugh, I was finally getting some rest. How is it that the youngest, Sae, bosses around all her older brothers? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

Thinking about it again, I was so unfairly treated.
How much trouble could I have possibly caused?

‘I only broke a few wings, legs, and arms. Oh, and I did crack a skull once.’

In any case, angels need to be raised strong, and the problem was that the other gods were too weak and fragile.

Because of how they were, I made sure to administer justice’s punishment in places where it wouldn’t be noticed, out of sight.
But those cunning creatures conspired together and tattled, and the other gods came to our Artemia complaining.

As a result, I was reincarnated as a human most unjustly.
“Now you understand?”
“So you’re saying you beat up all the angels from other houses and got exiled to the human world.”
“….”

Exiled, they said.

“That kind of thing happened where I used to live too. Like some fairy who stole peaches and ended up exiled in the human world.”
“How can you compare stealing fruit and being insolent to receiving just punishment for one’s transgressions?”

Though I said that, it wasn’t entirely wrong either.

Lifting my head, I saw five angel statues.
I recognized at once which figures these marble statues were sculpted to represent.
Perfect messengers, unlike me.
My older brothers, born from the same source as I.

Unlike their exemplary conduct, I was always a troublemaker.
It was only natural that I was abandoned….

“So?”

At the sudden voice, I startled and lifted my head.

“What should I do?”

Ilay asked casually, as if he would help with anything I asked.
When I could only flutter my lips, unsure how to respond.

“Oi there!”

A loud voice rang out from the distance.
It was Dmitri.

“There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere! …What’s this? You’re with him again?”

Dmitri frowned and glared at Ilay.
Then he pulled me toward himself.

“That guy is dangerous, I’m telling you.”
“I don’t know. Sae asked me for help.”
“What?”
“While discussing something secret, no less.”
“…!”

Dmitri stared at me with eyes wide in shock.
Ilay grinned and nudged me forward.

“Right, Sae? So what do you need me to do?”
“You don’t need to do anything. Just disappear as you are.”
“I was asking Sae, though.”
“No need to hear the answer! I’m more helpful to Honey than you are!”

Sigh.
Why do these two always end up like this whenever they meet?
Though I suppose children do grow through quarreling.

I shook my head with exasperation.
My shoulders, which had begun to droop at the thought of being abandoned, suddenly felt light again.

The cooperation between Ilay and Dmitri.
At last, I had the stage to train the trainee priests properly.
I’d push the Assembly hard—no, train them thoroughly to crush those Reyatan bastards’ noses flat.

* * *

“Everyone, pay attention.”

The children, who had been chattering and playing instead of training, lifted their heads.
Dmitri stood on the platform.
The children quietly stopped their games and focused on Dmitri.

“From today onward, we train hard.”
“What?”
“Anyone who wastes time playing and eating like you are now will be trained one-on-one by me personally.”
“….”
“It’s to become stronger. Any complaints?”

The children fell silent.
It wasn’t that they had no complaints.
They harbored discontent, yet didn’t dare question Dmitri about it.

‘As expected of Dmitri. He’s clearly a natural leader.’

Saelika marveled at the sight.
With no adults interfering, Dmitri maintained control through sheer force of presence.
Of course, ruling through pressure meant discontent would simmer beneath the surface, but…

“Come to think of it, Reyatan and the Assembly don’t have much time left.”

Ilay muttered the words in passing.

“We don’t want to lose to those who aren’t even from the Octagon. There’s no reason to object to becoming stronger.”

At his casual remark while gazing out the window, the children nodded as if their resolve had crystallized.

“Y-yeah. Getting stronger is what I wanted anyway.”
“I want to crush those Reyatan bastards’ pride.”
“We’re the Octagon! This time, let’s show them the real difference in our abilities!”

The atmosphere ignited in an instant.
Saelika wore a satisfied smile.

‘Still, seeing them like this isn’t bad. After all, they are Artemia’s priests—.’
“That’s right! We’re the Octagon, there’s no way we’d lose! W-we only lost last time because we were careless.”

Huh?

“Exactly! Those bastards won through dirty tricks and traps. If things had been fair, we would’ve won!”

Uooooh!
A roar brimming with fervor filled the training grounds.
A passion and drive I’d never witnessed before.

But.

“We lost?”

Saelika’s head tilted at an unnatural angle.
The light vanishing from her eyes was unsettling.

“Lost to mere Reyatan? (You lost to Reyatan of all people?)”

The children instinctively shrank back in inexplicable fear, then bristled with indignation.

“You—you weren’t even there!”
“Mere? Reyatan holds a respectable rank!”
“Y-yes! You’ve never experienced it! You couldn’t last even a second against them!”

Though the children protested vehemently, Saelika’s expression remained unchanged.

“So you’re saying you ultimately lost? (So in the end, you lost?)”

A holy light flickered in Saelika’s eyes—no, blazed forth.
Her fist, raised in a morning punch, gleamed with the same radiance.

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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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