Youngest on Top - Chapter 182

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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 182

Ilay handled divine power with remarkable precision and delicacy.
Because of this, he surpassed Saelika in his ability to sense energy with sensitivity.

Saelika, on the other hand, possessed such vast divine power that her sensitivity suffered in comparison.
Could one detect a single drop of milk in the ocean?
When he had tracked the Count of the Ballotel Temple in the past, it was for this very reason that Ilay had been the one to sense the presence.

‘…So he’s marking his territory in front of someone who knows nothing.’

Ilay’s smile deepened.
He gently tidied her disheveled hair and withdrew his hand.
It was an extraordinarily tender touch.
Which only made Saelika more uneasy.

‘Why is he smiling like that? It’s frightening.’

When their eyes met, Ilay’s gaze softened once more.
It was genuinely unsettling.

‘…He didn’t notice anything, did he?’

As she glanced nervously, a peach cream cake suddenly appeared before her eyes.

“Here. You worked hard dealing with those demons.”

Saelika, caught off guard, opened her mouth and accepted the cake.
Ilay smiled.

“No matter what you do out there, when you return, something this sweet is waiting for you.”
“What am I, a dog? Are you training me like one?”

Saelika looked at Ilay with an incredulous expression.

“But well, you’re not wrong. I finally have a place to return to now.”
“….”
“A place that’s warm and soft— like a nest.”

Saelika broke into a radiant smile.
Her flushed cheeks puffed out adorably, and her eyes sparkled with clarity within their curved contours.
Ilay gazed at her quietly.
Gradually, a smile blossomed across his own face.
A smile entirely different from the one that had always been so sweetly calculated.

“…Yes.”
“I’m not sure if it’s sweet.”

Saelika shot him a pointed look and spoke with a sharp glint in her eyes.

“It has to be sweet, doesn’t it?”

Ilay chuckled softly and fed her a piece of cake.

“Hey, Ilay’s being greedy!”
“Little one, try this tart too—it’s delicious.”
“Protagonist loves chocolate, right?”

Roana, Edmund, and Dmitri crowded in, thrusting all manner of desserts toward me.

“Wait—.”
“Here! Isn’t it delicious?”
“Stop—.”
“This one’s amazing too, right?”

Every time I opened my mouth, sweet confections came pouring in.

“There’s too much! I can’t eat it all!”
“When that happens, drink some tea. It washes everything down so you can eat more!”
“Stop it, please!”

I couldn’t let this happen to me alone!
Saelika’s eyes blazed with determination as she stretched out her stubby little arms toward the children.
Delighted laughter filled the air.
Before long, everyone was shrieking, their cheeks, chins, and foreheads smeared with whipped cream everywhere.

Ilay chuckled softly at the sight.
Who would ever think that Saelika, running around and playing like that, had lived for thousands of years?
Or perhaps—.

‘That she had endured such suffering before the regression.’

The way she played and joked like an ordinary child.
I wanted to protect this version of her.
No matter what happened.

‘…But this is really irritating.’

From the brightly smiling Saelika, another man’s presence emanated subtly.
So cunningly that no one else could detect it.
Yet persistent and thick enough that it seemed to assert ownership—.

His golden eyes deepened and grew murky.
That was when it happened.

“Hey, Ilay! Why are you just standing there watching from a distance!”

Saelika smeared whipped cream on Ilay’s cheek.

“No standing aloof by yourself!”

Watching Saelika laugh mischievously, Ilay stifled a hollow laugh.

“I’m not as childish as you are.”
“What?! Take this!”

A soft hand touched him, and the sweet scent of milk brushed past.

“You want to play that game?”
“No way! I need to protect Honeybread from that demon!”
“Wasn’t it you who got the most whipped cream on you from Sae earlier?”
“Honeybread! Trust only me!”

Saelika fled while laughing brightly.
Today had truly been eventful.
No matter that I was a possessed body, I had even met Misa—Behemoth the Demon King himself.

‘Back then, I couldn’t have laughed even if I tried.’

I had merely forced the corners of my mouth upward to reassure the children, but my expression must have betrayed everything.
The children hadn’t asked anything because they were simply choosing to trust me and pretend not to notice.
Not because they failed to sense something was wrong.

‘Yet here I am, laughing so freely already.’

Running about carelessly, playing without a care in the world.

From the very beginning, everything in Artemia’s temple had been precious to me.
Because I was Artemia’s priestess, a temple priest, part of the temple.
But now—.

‘I’ve made my decision.’

“Got you!”
“You can’t escape now!”

Caught by the children, my face smeared with whipped cream, I gazed up at the sky beyond the window.

‘What should I do from here on.’

* * *

Once the Demon Realm’s flower and the possessed body vanished, the pollution of Lake Anberck resolved itself naturally.
There had been no particular core to the contamination, after all.
After sleeping soundly in the city for one night, we returned to the temple.

“Sae? Our rabbit came back sooner than expected. They said it would take a week.”

Mogen spotted us and greeted us warmly.

“It just happened that way.”
“You should have sent word ahead.”

‘…I’m actually glad he doesn’t know.’

Watching Mogen embrace me and nuzzle his face against mine, that thought came naturally.
If I imagined all the adults rushing out in a frenzy….

“What about the High Priest?”
“Oh, we have a guest at the temple right now. Should I report that our little rabbit has returned?”
“No!”

I was horrified.

‘I can’t let them see all that affection in front of a guest.’

Mogen nuzzled my cheeks for a while longer before giving me several kisses and finally letting me go.

‘I’ll have to report my return later.’

I returned to my room and unpacked my belongings.
Not long after, Ilay entered my room.

“Sae.”
“Welcome.”

I had been waiting for him to arrive.
Ilay didn’t waste time and got straight to the point.

“What happened? The level of contamination you described was completely different from what I actually saw.”
“I thought something was wrong at first too. Anakin was making a fuss about it.”
“So you’re saying your assessment wasn’t wrong?”
“Right.”

I took a deep breath before speaking.

“I encountered Behemoth the Demon King near the lake.”
“What?!”
“It wasn’t the Demon King’s true descent, but rather a possession within a possessed vessel—.”
“That’s better than a true descent at least. But it’s still a serious problem.”
“It seemed like he had been preparing for quite a long time.”

Ilay fell into deep thought.

“…Were all the strange occurrences that happened recently caused by the Demon King’s movements?”

The strengthened demonic beasts.
Their state was no different from those of the Demon Realm.
And….

“During the last battle at Pearen, when Kaiser was wounded, they said multiple demons cooperated to execute a strategy.”
“Demons are naturally individualistic and don’t cooperate with each other. Not unless ordered by a more powerful existence.”

According to Quentin’s account, at that time Kaiser had endured to allow the other knights to retreat, and he was clearly looking for an opportunity to escape himself.
But then everything suddenly changed.
As if he would slaughter every demon before him, even if it meant dying in this place.

‘More precisely, it was after the demon said something to father.’

“…Could it be that in the Demon Realm they….”
“…?”
“Never mind.”

The words father had swallowed.

“Now that I think about it, I’m curious about something too. While I was catching demonic beasts, I encountered a demon.”
“….”
“That demon knew your name.”
“…!”
“How did that happen?”

What Mikhail had said.

“…It might not be something that happened recently.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember the mirror demon who pretended to be a fake Sacred Maiden?”
“Diana? How could I forget.”
“Ilay said it. There was a name she called out as she was dying.”
“Behemoth.”

Ilay, who had answered, flinched.

“Could it be that the Demon King I met this time—.”
“Behemoth the Demon King.”
“…!”

I clenched my fists tightly.
Everything had started from that point.
Or perhaps even before that.

‘Is he really a deranged psychopath, a perverted stalker?’

I never expected him to stalk me even in the human realm.
Ilay spoke.

“It’s possible that the Demon King isn’t the only one involved.”
“…?”
“During the Pearen battle, when Kaiser took the vanguard, the main force never followed.”
“That’s why Father was injured.”

A battle where we only repeated defeats.
When Father joined us, he broke through the crumbling front lines and created an opportunity for a counterattack.
But the main force never arrived, so we squandered that golden opportunity and the vanguard became isolated.
And as if on cue, the demons gathered and targeted Father.

“They said the main force was suddenly ambushed and couldn’t provide support, but of course that was a lie.”
“Right, many temples could benefit from Father’s death.”
“What if that trap wasn’t just improvisation upon seeing an opportunity, but was meticulously planned from the beginning?”
“…!”
“What if demons and another temple conspired together to create that trap?”
“….”
“That’s too far-fetched, isn’t it? Even if anything, they’re temples, not some other organization.”

Ilay let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.

The Celestial Realm and the Demon Realm are sworn enemies.
Naturally, the temples that serve the gods view demons as enemies that must be eliminated.
But.

“No. It’s entirely possible.”
“….”
“Gods are so petty, so vicious, so treacherous. They’ll do anything to amplify their own power.”

When the Temple’s influence strengthens in the human realm, the actual power of the gods grows stronger as well.
In other words, they’re capable of committing all manner of filthy deeds to expand their influence in the human realm.

“The Temple Priests who follow such gods are no different.”
“True enough. They say it’s similar to the Greek and Roman gods.”
“You mentioned that before. What kind of god are we even talking about?”
“There are gods who curse people for displeasing them, and seduce married women if they catch their fancy— it’s nothing new.”
“…?”

Ilay changed the subject.

“Regardless, the continental corruption you witnessed is real.”
“Yeah.”

I rose from my seat.
My fact-checking about the continental corruption was complete.

“This is far bigger than I thought.”

Corruption spanning the entire continent.
This wasn’t something I could handle alone in secret, like I did with Anberck Lake.

Ilay nodded.

“By now, the guests should have left.”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”

We headed toward the Temple’s main building.

* * *

“Lucky charm!”

In the main building’s corridor.
I ran into Debon Elder right on the path to the High Priest’s office.

“Oh my, when did my precious treasure return! I came back early because I missed you so much!”

The Debon Elder lifted me up and swayed me gently.

“Do you know how much came in from the Jedo branch this time? It’s an unimaginable sum!”
“Ugh….”
“It’s all thanks to my precious treasure. My treasure, my money bag, my golden nugget!!”

That’s when it happened.

“The money bag returned?!”
“Our golden nugget?!”

The conference room door burst open and the adults came pouring out.

“Don’t call the child a money bag or golden nugget!”
“S-sorry about that.”
“Diamond nugget, then!”
“….”

I really should run away from home.
Anyway, it seemed all the High Priests were in the conference room.

“Step away from my daughter.”

Kaiser lifted me up from among the adults.

“Now that you’re back, come to Dad—.”

Kaiser paused mid-sentence.

“…What is this?”

His crimson eyes grew cold and sharp.
It was the first time Kaiser looked at me with such eyes.
No, actually, it had happened before.

‘When we first met.’

Anxiety froze my stomach cold.

“F-Father?”
“It’s alright, Sae. Kaiser, why are you scaring Sae like that right now….”

Randel’s face, which had been approaching with a warm smile, hardened rigidly.
Had Randel ever looked at me with such a frozen expression before?
Without thinking, I gripped my father’s collar tightly.

“…What on earth is the source of this vile aura?”

Even the High Priest.

“A-An aura?”

I asked in confusion.
It seemed not just the three of them had sensed it.
Several of the other High Priests also examined me, murmuring, “Now that you mention it….”

‘Could Misa’s aura have rubbed off on me? No, that can’t be. If it were demonic energy, I would definitely know….’

If they found out I’d met the Demon King, they’d all worry tremendously.

‘Then leaving the temple would become incredibly difficult.’

The Artemia Temple already held trauma regarding the Sacred Maiden.
I knew better than anyone what a temple without the Sacred Maiden was like.

‘But now, more than ever, I need to get outside.’

I forced a smile and spoke.

“W-What aura? I’m not sure what you mean.”
“It’s so persistent it’s unpleasant.”
“Disagreeable, irritating, and cloying—.”
“A filthy aura.”

My fathers and the High Priest declared it as if grinding it between their teeth.
I was startled.

‘It really is that bastard Misa’s aura!’

If it weren’t Misa, there’s no way such a persistently unpleasant, irritating, and filthy aura could exist—so relentlessly vexing and repugnant!
Who else in this world possessed such an aura besides that bastard Misa?
This is definitely him!

That was when it happened.

“You shouldn’t speak of the Empire’s Crown Prince that way.”

A voice reached my ears.
Low and cold, like the chill clinging to a stone wall.
A voice I had never heard once in the temple.

I turned my head—

‘Perardin Noishurael Duke?!’

The Northern Duke.
He was here.

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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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