Youngest on Top - Chapter 178

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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 178

Before returning to the Eastern Temple, I overheard the Emperor and his Attendant conversing in the temple.

“Tsk, that Kaishurit fellow. How busy must he be to miss such an important day at the temple?”
“Indeed, Your Majesty.”
“If that man had simply remained at the temple, he would certainly be here now. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. For such a special person on such a special day, he would naturally have attended.”

For some reason, the Emperor kept glancing at me with a smirk.

“Hmm, he rarely speaks of his whereabouts. Though I recall his Retainers were chattering about hoping to meet a Nymph.”

In any case, overhearing that conversation proved helpful.
Shuri would have gone to a place where the legend of Nymphs was famous.

‘Then the destination must be here.’

Lake Anberck.

* * *

The next day, a midday council meeting.

“What do you mean by that!”
“Explain yourself again.”

The Elders stared at me with rigid, hardened expressions.
I waited quietly for the High Priest’s response.
The High Priest muttered in shock.

“You’ve only just arrived, and already you speak of leaving the temple again?”
“….”

Wait, that was the problem?!
I glanced around in bewilderment, and the Elders seemed to share the same sentiment.
Their eyes looking at me were glistening with tears.

“Leave? It won’t take as long as the Jedo expedition. At most, I’ll be back in about a week.”
“A whole week…!”
“A week without seeing our youngest at the temple!”
“We even wrote down a hundred things to do together when our precious one returns!!”

Why would they even write something like that down?

‘…Should I just say I’m going to subjugate monsters?’

The thought flashed across my mind for a moment, but I immediately shook my head.
I had kept silent about the continental situation I’d witnessed through the eyes of omniscience.

‘If I tell them, they’ll definitely insist on coming along because it’s dangerous.’

That would severely restrict my freedom of movement.
What if I encountered Shuri while accompanied by the adults?

‘It would become incredibly bothersome.’

I was already exhausted just imagining it.
Especially given the reason I needed to meet Shuri, I absolutely had to move alone.

‘…That Shuri really is troublesome.’

Why did the child fall ill so frequently?
Yet he endured that terrifying curse just fine.
I suspected the frequent ailments were likely due to the curse’s influence.

‘You should be grateful, Shuri. I’m going out of my way to visit you.’

Of course, I wasn’t going solely because of Shuri.
I needed an accurate assessment of the contamination level caused by the blood-red light.
Fortunately, Lake Anberc hadn’t been reported as contaminated, so it was easy to get permission from the adults.
So I was simply going for multiple reasons.

“At Jedo, I met many other Sacred Maidens and noble young ladies. They all traveled quite a lot….”
“….”
“I want to see the sparkling lake.”

The Sacred Maidens, of course, traveled freely—and even noble young ladies without special abilities journeyed without issue.
So there was no need to worry.
Yet the adults’ expressions seemed peculiar.

“Oh my….”
“Now that I think about it, we’ve never taken the children on a proper vacation.”
“We’ve taken them out for a day here and there, but we’ve never brought them to a lake, let alone the sea.”
“This is our fault. At an age when they should be seeing and experiencing so much….”

They all gazed at me with expressions of regret and apology.
Kaiser spoke up.

“If my daughter wants to go, of course she should. Let’s go right now, just you and Dad.”
“But Kaiser, you have the knights’ regular training schedule. Quentin said so.”
“Quentin…!”

Crunch.
A sinister sound escaped from Kaiser’s lips.
Randel whispered to me with an affectionate smile.

“Then shall our daughter come with me?”
“But Randel, you still have additional negotiations with the Kingdom of Bennayser to complete.”
“Hehe, since all the guardians are busy, it can’t be helped. My little treasure and I will go together just the two of us—.”
“Debon Elder, do you have free time? You’ve been the busiest establishing two new branches this time, haven’t you?”
“….”

I placed my hands firmly on my hips.

“Everyone should finish their work first, then play.”
“But….”
“The children will play among ourselves. Adults are forbidden.”
“I see….”

The adults nodded dejectedly.
The High Priest clicked his tongue at their pathetic display.

“First they blindly follow the system, and now they want to meddle in the children’s playtime without shame.”

He’s truly the High Priest.
I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that earlier comment about being childish.
At that moment, the High Priest muttered while looking at me.

“Hmm, they say people become like children when they grow old.”
“…?”
“Then doesn’t that make me a child too? Can I join in?”
“….”

Excuse me.

* * *

The children who would accompany me were already decided.
Ilay, Dmitri, and Edmund.

All three held positions overseeing other children, so the more practical experience they gained, the better it would be.
They were children capable of protecting themselves even without my presence.

‘Most importantly, they’re the ones who would actively cooperate in deceiving the adults.’

Just as they had done before in the Papuka black market.
But then Roana joined the group as well.

“I, I also oversee other children! I want to go too!”

It was the result of Roana’s earnest efforts.

“…I’m Sae’s best friend.”

When Sae saw Grizelda, Dolores, and Nelije in the group, she developed a peculiar stubbornness.
It wasn’t stubbornness in a bad direction.
It manifested in the direction of training diligently.

We traveled via portal to a major city near Lake Anberck.
After that, we took up battle stations and headed toward the lake.
But….

“The contamination doesn’t seem that severe, does it?”
“Right. At this level, it’s only in the early stages of corruption.”
“Now I understand why there were no rumors of Lake Anberck being contaminated.”
“At this level, the demonic beasts probably don’t venture outside much.”

The children’s assessment was accurate.

‘That’s strange. At this level, the color should be lighter.’

I drew upon my divine power.
Using Anakin’s authority—the “All-Seeing Eye”—a continental map materialized before me.

‘The color is definitely darker than expected.’

I had said I would directly verify the degree of contamination based on the coloring, but there were expected parameters.
Yet despite the minimal actual contamination, the color painted across the map was far more intense than it should be.

‘…Does Anakin tend to exaggerate things?’

Anakin: Exaggerate? You finished talking?

‘True, Anakin always flew into a rage over trivial matters.’

That business about asking the angels from another house to bring bread—why did he make such a fuss about it?

Anakin: Don’t you remember those angels were bleeding from their noses?
Anakin: And by heavenly currency, you told them to buy bread for 10 silver and keep 1 gold as change.
Anakin: You said how merciful you were, claiming 1 was less than 10!

‘I didn’t order them to do it. They volunteered to bring it first.’

Kailros: Of course. They would’ve fed anything to my sunshine.
Anakin: Why are you like this, seriously?
Enrik: And back then, you were the one who scolded the youngest the most.
Kailros: I was simply spending quality time with my sugar.
Anakin: Have you lost your mind?

I gazed at the endless stream of dialogue unfolding in my mind with clouded eyes.
After a long while, the conversation finally returned to the original topic.

Anakin: Regardless, my omniscient eyes are accurate.
Anakin: I don’t make a fuss over nothing.

He seemed quite aggrieved.
In any case, the contamination being weaker than expected wasn’t a real problem.
It was actually fortunate.
I’d thought it was serious since the entire continent was stained blood-red, but it turned out not to be.

‘The issue is that the children’s training intensity will decrease—.’

“Why, why are you staring like that?”
“You’re not thinking something strange, are you?”
“It seems like you’re thinking something strange….”
“I’m scared.”

‘I can just increase the difficulty myself.’

I smiled brightly and spoke to the children.

“After the desert, underwater combat. Perfect for a challenge.”
“U-underwater combat?”
“Surely you don’t mean what I think you mean?”
“Humans can’t breathe underwater!”
“Why can’t you? If you continuously emit sacred power, you can breathe.”
…!”
“And one more thing. Conceal your sacred power’s presence.”
“Continuously emit sacred power while simultaneously concealing your presence?!”
“In water where movement is already difficult?”
“Well, fighting spirit?”

I clenched my fist slightly to show encouragement.

“Fighting spirit? Fighting spiiirit?!”
“You might as well have us roll around on the desert floor!”
“You demon!”

Geez, they’re really something.

“I’m doing all this for you. My heart is breaking too.”
“…Is that something you should say while grinning like that?”

Ah, I’ve been caught.

* * *

There are limits to concealing one’s sacred aura.
If someone is right beside you, they’ll naturally sense it.

So I distanced myself from the children under the pretext of checking whether I’d hidden my aura well.

‘Even I have to admit I used my head well this time.’

I would meet Shuri in Ricardo’s form.
But there were Artemia’s priests nearby?

‘Shuri might suspect my true identity.’

By hiding my sacred aura, I’d train the children and conceal my identity at the same time.
This was truly killing two birds with one stone.

Enrik: You used to escape like this in the Heavenly Realm.
Anakin: You were a master at hiding your aura. You hid underwater quite a lot too, didn’t you?
Kailros: It was my younger brother’s wish to play this hiding game with me forever.

I ignored the dialogue window that appeared and circled around the lake.
My reflection wavered on the rippling water’s surface.
It was a peaceful scene.
Except for the fact that my children were submerged in this water battling monsters.

That was when it happened.

“P-Please help!”

A scream pierced the air.
I turned my head in alarm.
A human voice echoed from deep within the forest surrounding the lake.

“H-Help! Is anyone there? Someone save me—!”

It was the voice of a young boy, still fresh and inexperienced.
I rushed toward the sound without hesitation.
The contamination was light, so it seemed a civilian had wandered deep into the forest without knowing any better.
If they’d ventured into the forest’s depths or the lake’s center, they could have been devoured by a monster.

Sure enough, deep within the forest.
A young boy lay collapsed before a monster.
His eyes gazing up at the creature were filled with despair and terror.

Roooaarrr!!
The monster raised its front legs high.
Just as it was about to slam them down on the boy’s body.

Thud!
I struck the monster’s crown.

That was all it took.
With such light contamination, it wasn’t even a particularly strong monster.
Its size was barely that of a bear.

The boy stared up at me in a daze.
When our eyes met, he startled and quickly bowed his head low.

“Th-Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“That’s enough.”
“N-No, really. I’m truly grateful. If you hadn’t been here, I would have….”

I said “I said that’s enough” and looked around the area.
There were no adults in sight.

“Who brought a child into a forest like this?”
“Um, sir… you seem even younger than me, though….”
“Tsk!”

How dare he mention age in front of someone over a thousand years old.

Enrik: Are you being stubborn?

“N-No, I didn’t bring him here. He came on his own. I told him not to come because the lake has felt unsettling lately….”

The young boy’s gaze turned toward the basket scattered on the ground.
Medicinal herbs spilled out from within it.

“…My mother isn’t feeling well.”
“….”
“Anyway, thank you so much! Really, thank you!”
“…What are you going to do now?”

The young boy smiled, narrowing his eyes.
It was an odd smile.
Frightened, yet trying not to be a burden… a strange, forced smile.

“I’m fine now! Don’t worry about me.”
“I’m asking what you’re going to do.”
“…If I go back like this, my mother will only get worse. I need to find more herbs….”
“Then come along with me.”

When I spoke curtly, the young boy looked up at me in surprise.
I felt awkward and turned my head away.

“I have something to find in the forest anyway.”
“Y-You don’t have to do this just because of me—.”
“I said I have business in the forest, didn’t I?”
“Y-Yes!”

I nodded and began walking.
The young boy stood frozen in place, clutching the basket, unsure what to do.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”
“…! Yes!”

‘I’ll find an opportunity to bless the herbs he’s gathered.’

If word gets out that I’m here, everything will become complicated.
With that thought, I followed behind the young boy.

The young boy moved through the forest without hesitation, as if he frequented these woods often, despite there being no clear path.
I observed him gathering medicinal herbs while gauging the presence of creatures around us.
As we ventured deeper into the forest, I sensed quite a few monsters, but there was no trace of human presence.

‘I should be able to detect Shuri’s retainers, but I sense nothing. Did we miss each other?’

“Um, benefactor.”
“What is it?”
“Look at this. It’s such a beautiful flower.”
“…?”

I tilted my head curiously and moved closer to the young boy.
Following his gesture, I sat beside him and peered down.
A deep crimson flower gleamed softly, radiating a subtle luminescence.

“I’ve gathered medicinal herbs in these woods many times, but I’ve never seen a flower like this.”

Of course he hadn’t.
This was a flower from the Demon Realm!

“Step back!”
“Why? It doesn’t seem to be a poisonous flower.”

The young boy reached out as if entranced, attempting to pluck the flower.
I quickly grabbed it before he could.
If an ordinary person without any power touched this flower, there was no telling what curse might befall them.

Ssshhhhh—!
A murky energy bloomed from the flower I held, seeping into my body.

“Ugh….”

I furrowed my brow and drew upon my holy power.
It wasn’t fatal, but still—somewhat troublesome.

Enrik: …!
Enrik: Youngest!
Anakin: You fool!!
Kailros: Be careful!

A cascade of dialogue boxes materialized before my eyes.
It seemed this wasn’t merely because I had suffered harm.
I too sensed something profoundly amiss.

I turned my head slowly.
The young boy who had been wearing a timid smile just moments before.
His lips curved upward in an entirely different expression—a sinister grin.

[Still showing kindness to the weak, I see.]
“…!”

A voice I recognized all too well.
Those innocent brown eyes had turned pitch black.

[The weak are born to be trampled, so you should simply ignore them.]
“You…!”
[Well, that kindness of yours is part of your charm, though.]

The young boy murmured and spread his arms toward me.

[It’s been so long. My Saelika.]
“Y-you lunatic!”
[You can embrace me if you’d like. After all, we’ve reunited at last.]
“As if I’d embrace you! You bastard Misa!!”

—————
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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