Youngest on Top - Chapter 189

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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 189

Even doing a forward roll, it looked like she was annoyed.
I gazed at Admiral Ekellan with an exasperated expression.

‘Why did the Grand Duke even come here anyway.’

* * *

The next mission arrived soon enough.
I headed toward the 7th Seed assembly point.

“Saelika!”

Because of the last mission, I was the Sacred Maiden in the 7th Seed who had generated the most buzz.
Unlike before, the Sacred Maidens greeted me warmly.

‘Are they trying to side with me.’

Meanwhile, there were those who kept their distance and remained wary of me, their greatest rival.
And then—.

“Is it okay if I call you Sae?”

There was also one who hid her true nature and only pretended to be friendly in front of the camera.

‘Was her name Rimildar?’

Everyone was maneuvering in their own way, trying to climb even a little higher.
It was no different from a small political game.

‘Well, I don’t need to concern myself with it.’

Before overwhelming force, everything becomes meaningless!

Enrik: ….

‘Why, what, why. That’s what Enrik said.’

Enrik: I said that if you have skill, you don’t need to be swayed by petty tricks.
Enrik: How on earth does my statement get interpreted that way?!
Kailros: My dear younger brother has always been creative.
Kailros: Even when we spent those tender moments together in the Heavenly Realm.
Kailros: I never expected you’d pretend to be a Demon just to surprise us like that.
Enrik: …That was because I was trying to escape from my older brothers.

Just then, the host entered.
He greeted us briefly and gestured toward the spinning wheel.

“Then before we begin the second mission, let’s start with a spin of the wheel.”

The Sacred Maidens spun the wheel with heightened caution due to the previous mission.
The wheel had numbers from 1 to 7, each occupying different sized sections.

‘Six and seven are hard to land on, and one has the highest probability. The rest are about even.’

The probability decreased in numerical order.

“Oh no, I got one. One seems like a dud….”
“Three. Is that decent?”
“Wow!”

I lifted my head at the exclamation, and the wheel had stopped on six.

“It’s six! This is the first time six has come up, right?”
“That’s incredibly lucky!”
“Who was it?”

Rimildar had drawn six.
The spins continued, but the maximum that came up was five.
Six never appeared again.

My turn came last.

“Seven probably won’t come up at all.”
“It’s actually impossible for it to come up. The section is even smaller than six’s. Six only came up once anyway.”

While the Sacred Maidens whispered among themselves, I spun the wheel.
The spinning wheel gradually began to slow down.

“1? It looks like 1.”
“Huh? Wait—.”

The wheel that seemed about to stop spun just a bit further, barely making it.

“7! It’s 7!”
“Wow, 7 actually came up!”
“That must be really good, right?”

At someone’s words, the Sacred Maidens’ expressions dimmed slightly.

I was already leading by myself in this competition.
Thinking about the gap widening further, it must be disheartening for them.

“As expected of you, Saelika. That’s amazing.”

There were those who said it like that right away.
But the other Sacred Maidens soon composed themselves and offered me their congratulations.

The host opened their mouth, saying, “Everyone has made their selections.”

“The Grand Sacred Maiden is one who handles divine artifacts that no one else dares to touch and performs miracles. Safely managing divine artifacts is also a necessary quality for the Grand Sacred Maiden.”

The host pulled the mission card from the mission envelope.

“Therefore, the second mission is ‘Transportation.'”

To summarize the mission content, it was like this.

1. Receive the item to transport based on the number drawn from the spinning wheel.
2. Place the item in a box with your name written on it.
3. Only the owner can open their own box.
4. Receive points based on your finishing order.
1st place: 5 points
2nd place: 4 points
3rd~10th place: 3 points
11th~20th place: 2 points
21st~30th place: 1 point
5. If the item in your named box arrives at the finish line intact, you earn bonus points.
6. The bonus points for each item equal the number on the spinning wheel.

“So… even if I transport it safely, I only get 1 bonus point?”

One of the Sacred Maidens muttered in despair.
She glanced at me enviously.

‘There’s no need to envy me. Usually in cases like this, they balance it out for fairness—.’

“Now then, let me introduce the items for each number.”

They differentiated the items by number.
That’s why the mission description specifically said we’d receive items “according to the number.”
My prediction was correct.

Number 1 was an ordinary wooden block.
Number 2 was a flower.
Number 3 was a small cake.

As the numbers increased, the items required increasingly careful handling.

Number 6 was an egg.
And number 7 was—.

“Oh no… what do I do…”
“Saelika, are you alright?”

The Sacred Maidens who saw the item comforted me with sympathetic expressions.
Rimildar, also conscious of the cameras, exaggerated her consolation toward me.

“The core of Ruaf? Why would they suddenly give me something like this…? Even if my score is the highest, this is ridiculous. It’s basically a blank.”

The core of Ruaf.
Literally, the core of the Monster Ruaf.
Of course, it was harder than an egg, and rolling around in the box wouldn’t crack or damage it.
But—

‘It’s poison to sacred power.’

Especially for someone like me who possessed high-tier sacred power.
I grasped the Ruaf core that had been distributed to me.

Silver particles flowed like the Milky Way inside the core, which resembled a black pearl.
It looked beautiful, but the moment sacred power touched it, those silver particles would turn crimson red.

‘And when the core turns completely crimson red…’

Then, someone suddenly gripped my hand tightly.
It was Rimildar.

“I hope you cross the finish line safely.”

She whispered to me with an earnest expression.
Before I could answer, the announcer spoke right on cue.

“Has everyone received their boxes and cargo?”
“Yes.”
“Various traps await you along the way to the finish line. You may use any means and methods necessary.”
“….”
“I wish the Sacred Maidens good fortune.”

The second mission of the preliminary round had begun.

* * *

The second mission area was constructed like a Dungeon.
The ground would crack as you passed, and if you touched something wrong, throwing stars would shoot out.
And.

‘Aren’t these the phantom monsters the Royal Court Knights use for training?’

Even phantom monsters.
Intricately crafted phantom monsters were naturally expensive.

‘They’re burning through money like crazy on a single mission.’

Admiration escaped my lips unbidden.

“There’s a monster ahead! Be careful!”
“We can’t go back! The ground has split open!”
“I’ll handle it. You take the chest!”

Several Sacred Maidens cooperated with one another, navigating through the traps.
Mostly those who had drawn number one banded together.

‘There’s no one deliberately sabotaging their competitors yet.’

Perhaps mindful of the controversy from the previous mission, everyone was doing their best to avoid conflict.

‘But if they keep this up, it’ll become boring and people will lose interest.’

The 7th Seed was composed mostly of Sacred Maidens who didn’t receive much attention.
The sudden spotlight drawn by the battle royale fiasco could actually be an opportunity.

‘Of course, they’ve been cursed so much that the people involved probably don’t see it as an opportunity.’

They seemed to be waiting for the controversy to die down, but by then it would be too late.

I didn’t advance forward and waited for a moment instead.
Ahead, other Sacred Maidens were fighting the phantom monsters while channeling their divine power.
If I rushed in carelessly here, it would be disastrous.

‘The core of Ruaf.’

Rumble—
Not long after, the path before me began to shift with a low tremor.
Since it’s a dungeon-type, the corridors continue to change.
I moved toward the newly formed corridor.

‘Not being able to use divine power properly is really inconvenient.’

The moment that thought crossed my mind.
Something glimmering caught my eye on the dungeon wall.
Without hesitation, I pulled the Sacred Maiden ahead of me backward.

“Kyaaah?!”

The startled Sacred Maiden let out a scream.
At the same moment, a sharp sound tore through the air.

Whoosh, thud!
A demon bullet pierced straight through where the Sacred Maiden had been standing and embedded itself in the opposite wall.

‘That was close.’

I exhaled in relief.

‘I almost damaged Ruaf’s core.’

That was when.

“Um, um, Saelika…”

A thin voice came from my arms.
Looking down, the Sacred Maiden was gazing up at me with hazy eyes for some reason.
Her cheeks were flushed.
What’s this.

“Can you stand up?”
“Y-yes…”

The young woman nodded and stood up on her own.

“Th-thank you.”
“It’s fine.”
“I don’t know how to repay you for this…”
“Don’t worry about it.”

Hearing her suggest we travel together is becoming tiresome.
I don’t know how my refusal will be edited.
But I can’t travel with her either.
I have to be wary of this young woman’s divine power as well.

“Still—.”
“I wasn’t trying to save you specifically.”

It was the truth.
The trap I’d just triggered was a chain-reaction type that activated additional traps the moment the target was hit.

‘If the chain trap’s shockwave reaches me, that would be a problem.’

If I deployed a barrier with divine power, it might affect Ruaf’s core.

‘Either way, I protected her, so that’s enough.’

With that thought, I walked past the young woman standing motionless.
Avoiding the traps as I went.

* * *

Boom!
With the explosion, the phantom monster collapsed.

‘Excellent.’

Rimildar moved forward quickly with a pleased smile.
Her luck was truly remarkable.

She’d been annoyed when Saelika drew the 7th Seed earlier.
She’d thought she’d monopolize all the attention of this mission by luckily drawing the 6th Seed alone, but then the 7th Seed appeared.

‘Who would have thought the 7th Seed would be a dud.’

The broadcast editors would still give Saelika screen time for drawing a dud for entertainment value.
But it didn’t matter.
After all, all the spotlight goes to first place anyway.

‘The paths diverged so much that I can’t be certain, but if things continue like this, I’ll arrive in first place.’

Rimildar carefully secured the egg once more with her sacred power to prevent any movement.
It was no easy task.
If she applied too much pressure, the egg would crack.
But if she held it too gently, it would shatter against the box.
The key was maintaining the appropriate force consistently and evenly.
She moved swiftly while taking care not to lose her concentration.

As she turned the corner, bright light came into view.

‘Outside…! The finish line!’

The tape at the finish line remained unbroken.
That confirmed it.

‘I’m in first place!’

Rimildar rushed down the long corridor.
That was when it happened.

“Ugh!”

With a groan, something fell from the ceiling.

‘A person…?’

And not just any person.

‘Saelika!’

Saelika got to her feet, rubbing her backside.

‘How is this possible? Did she take a shortcut? No, the dungeon’s interior keeps changing—how would she even know about a shortcut?’

She must have been incredibly lucky.

‘…Actually, this works out better.’

Saelika’s cargo was the “Core of Ruaf”.
It would deteriorate the moment sacred power touched it.

Rimildar glanced at the camera, composed her expression, and approached Saelika.

“Are you alright, Sae?”
“Ugh, my rear end hurts.”
“Oh my. Let me see.”

Rimildar supported Saelika and began drawing up her sacred power.

“…!”

Saelika, startled, shielded the box and pulled her body back.

“Why are you doing that?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know?”
“Huh? What…. Oh!”

Rimildar covered her lips in surprise.

“What do I do! I completely forgot. I just wanted to heal you, Sae….”
“….”
“I’m so sorry. But it should be fine. I hadn’t even properly healed you yet. And I only drew up the tiniest bit of sacred power—”

Saelika remained silent, her face hardening.
Inwardly, Rimildar smiled with satisfaction.
It was unfortunate that she couldn’t destroy the core, but the current situation wasn’t bad either.

‘Yes, go ahead and get angry. That will definitely be entertaining when it airs.’

Saelika was being watched.
That meant she was also being watched in unfavorable ways.
Rimildar waited for Saelika’s reaction.
But.

“It’s fine. You were just trying to help, so don’t worry.”
“…!”
“Thank you, Rimildar.”

Her eyes, clearer than the azure sky itself, curved gently with warmth.
The voice calling out her name so familiarly was as sweet as honey.

‘What… what is this?’

Rimildar was flustered.

‘What on earth…’

And she would soon discover the reason.

The box that Saelika had brought in first place.
What lay inside was—.

‘Why, why is my egg in there?!’

It was Rimildar’s egg.

“Saelika arrived in first place, earning 5 points, and since she brought an egg, that’s 6 points. A total of 11 points.”

At the announcer’s words, Rimildar snapped back to attention.

“Wait, hold on!”
“What’s wrong, Sacred Maiden Rimildar?”
“That egg is the item I picked! It’s mine, so why—.”
“Don’t you remember the mission rules?”

What?
Rules?
Rimildar stared blankly at the announcer before turning her head.

Saelika was gazing at her with that familiar smile.
Clear and sweet.

‘Could it be…!’

—————
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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