Youngest on Top - Chapter 193

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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 193

* * *

“An apology?”

Admiral Ekellan asked in a puzzled voice as Saelika suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Following Saelika’s gaze, I saw Perardin Noishurael Duke.

‘Ah.’

Admiral Ekellan chuckled as he grasped the situation.
Saelika spoke.

[I wanted to express my gratitude, so I contacted you.]
“You reached out right after the broadcast ended. That must mean this Serge—your father—missed you that much, hmm?”
[…Well, yes.]
“Between us, there’s no need to say thank you out loud.”
[Still—.]
“Unless it’s a kiss, of course.”

Admiral Ekellan tapped his cheek playfully and gave a subtle wink.

[Ekellan, you rascal….]
[I can’t overlook this.]

Immediately, ominous voices came from both sides of Saelika.
Seeing the two men wearing similar expressions, Admiral Ekellan burst into laughter.

“Just as we return to land after completing the expedition, my little apple welcomes us like this. Is this the joy of having a daughter?”
[…Admiral.]

Saelika called out to him with an awkward expression.
The way she glanced nervously at Perardin Noishurael Duke made it clear he was definitely misunderstanding something.

‘Well, it’s understandable that he’d misinterpret.’

The last time the three of us met together, how had the Duke behaved?

‘What should I do?’

Tap, tap—Admiral Ekellan drummed his fingertips against the armrest.
Soon he broke into a sly grin.

“Actually, about that matter. I had no choice but to head south, so I entrusted it to someone capable.”
[Is that so?]
“Yeah, I just arrived on land and haven’t watched the broadcast yet. But I heard about it. Seems like that fellow handled it well.”
[You must be quite impressive.]

Admiral Ekellan’s gaze drifted sideways.
He caught sight of Perardin Noishurael Duke sitting beside Saelika, looking elsewhere.
Pretending to be disinterested—.

‘Hmph, but his ears are turned this way.’

At Saelika’s words of praise, his ears perked up slightly.
A mischievous impulse suddenly surged within him.
Admiral Ekellan grinned wickedly.

“Right, right. He doesn’t even answer my questions properly and completely ignores me.”
[What? But that’s alright, isn’t it?]
“It’s not alright. I’m hurt. When I mentioned this matter, he glared at me like he wanted to kill me. Like he absolutely wouldn’t listen. Isn’t he a terrible fellow?”
[He really is terrible!]

Perardin Noishurael Duke glared at Admiral Ekellan.
The more he did, the more delighted Admiral Ekellan became.
When else could he tease ‘that great Perardin Noishurael Duke’ like this?

The Admiral cradled his cheek in his palm and heaved an exaggerated sigh.

“But what can I do? I worry he won’t adapt anywhere else, so I’m graciously keeping him company.”
[Still, this task must have been difficult, yet he handled it so well.]

Perardin Noishurael Duke, who had been glaring at the Admiral as if to crush him, faltered.
His blue eyes turned toward Saelika.

[He must be truly remarkable and wonderful as well.]
[…Ahem.]
[Having such a capable subordinate is surely because you’re such an excellent person, Admiral.]
[…?]

Perardin Noishurael Duke’s eyes glazed over for a moment.

“Pfft!”

Admiral Ekellan finally couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.
Perardin Noishurael Duke’s face froze as cold as a rock on a snowy mountain.
Saelika tilted her head in confusion.

[…?]
“Yes. My… ahem, subordinate… is quite exceptional.”
[Then I just need to trust you, Admiral!]

Saelika’s eyes sparkled brilliantly.
Beside her, Perardin Noishurael Duke glared at him as if he would tear him apart.

‘Ah, this is truly amusing.’

In any case, Saelika always brings me joy.
Before meeting her, I had even forgotten what it felt like to laugh genuinely.

“Then, Saelika.”

Admiral Ekellan called to Saelika affectionately.

‘Actually, I’m curious too.’

“Call me Father Serge.”

Just as you changed me—.

‘Whether I can change that ice block as well.’

[Yes…?]

‘Whether that fellow could ever have something precious to him.’

A subtle wrinkle formed between the brows of Perardin Noishurael Duke.

[Serge Echelan.]
[How dare you lay hands on my daughter…!]

Kaiser immediately pulled Saelika close, shielding her as his eyes narrowed with caution toward the Admiral.
Admiral Ekellan observed his comrade’s unexpected display with fresh interest.

That passionate expression.
He never imagined the fellow who had scraped by on the battlefield could change this much.

[Hey, Admiral.]
“Call me Dad?”

Admiral Ekellan gazed at Saelika’s flustered face with a slight smile playing at his lips.
It seemed Mikhail’s blood truly flowed through her veins.
Seeing how adorable Saelika looked when at a loss, he wanted to tease her even more.

Saelika’s eyes darted between left and right.
On the right stood the Northern Duke.
On the left stood the mightiest Holy Knight.
Both, for different reasons, fixed the Admiral with eyes as cold as a winter storm.

‘If I call him “Dad Serge” here….’

It won’t end with just a winter storm.
Disaster will descend.
Not upon the distant Admiral, but upon myself standing right here!

‘Please save me.’

That was when it happened.
As if answering her prayer, the door opened and Randel entered.

“Sae, the broadcast is over, but you’re still—.”
“Dad Randel!!”

Saelika sprang to her feet.
She scurried over to Randel and hugged him tightly.
Randel tilted his head in confusion but returned the embrace.

‘Ah, such warmth like spring sunshine melting ice….’

“Will you eat pudding with me, Father?”
“Yes!”

Saelika nodded eagerly and followed Randel out.
Leaving even the communication stone behind.

“….”
“….”
[….]

The three men left behind stared blankly at their departing figures.
Before the door closed, Randel glanced back.
His lips moved silently.

‘Fools, all of you.’

A smirk—so arrogant it was unbelievable coming from that gentle face—spread across his lips.

[Wait, wait…!]

Slam! The door shut.

[My apple? My apple…?]
“That bastard Randel….”
[He always steals my apples without hesitation—.]

Crack!
Perardin Noishurael Duke crushed the communication stone outright.
He rose with a cold expression and turned to leave.
His demeanor made clear he had nothing more to discuss.

“Keep your distance from my daughter.”

At Kaiser’s voice, the Duke came to a halt.
He slowly turned his head to regard Kaiser.

“I have no interest in your daughter.”
“….”
“My interest lies solely with Artemia’s Sacred Maiden.”

Leaving only those cold words behind, the Duke departed the lounge.

“Ha….”

Kaiser let out a hollow laugh.
If the Duke’s interest in the Sacred Maiden was merely to find his lost biological daughter, that was acceptable.
But if—.

‘He intends to use my daughter as a replacement.’

Kaiser’s crimson eyes flickered with darkness.
His expression cold, he left the room.

In the lounge, now empty of adults.
The Priests, nearly forgotten, began to grumble.

“Phew, I thought I couldn’t breathe because of Duke Noishurael.”
“But she’s our youngest—why is everyone acting like this?”
“Randel is the worst. Taking her away with pudding, no less.”

The grumbling Priests locked eyes with one another.

“We can’t let our youngest be taken like this!”
“This isn’t the time for us to fight among ourselves.”

The children nodded with solemn determination.
It was the moment the Priest Alliance was formed.

* * *

The headquarters buzzed with its usual vibrant energy.
Young girls gathered in small groups at the Dessert House tables, chattering away merrily.
Though people of all kinds had assembled, each table discussed the same topic.

The Grand Sacred Maiden Selection.

“Did you watch the last broadcast? I think Saelika is pretty good.”
“Me too! I wasn’t interested at first, but the more I watched, the more charming she became.”
“And the chemistry between her and the Sacred Maiden who won the joint championship in this mission is pretty good too, right?”
“You mean the scene where Saelika rescued Shuellina!! I got so excited watching it.”
“Saelika and Shuellina’s names sound great together too. I hope they team up.”

In truth, Saelika hadn’t received positive attention from the start.
But after watching the live coverage of the first mission and the broadcast of the second mission…

‘Somehow I ended up rooting for her.’

I thought she had a bad personality since she didn’t mesh well with the other Sacred Maidens, but it turned out she was keeping her distance for their sake.
I thought she lacked motivation because she seemed too accommodating, but she persevered until the end and demonstrated her abilities to seize victory.
And that wasn’t all.
She even saved someone else while struggling after drawing a losing card.

‘On top of that, she was the only one who figured out the mission was fake!’

Still, because of the negative attention from the early episodes and the preview teasers, bad reactions kept popping up, which bothered me.

‘Anyway, it’s those garbage operations staff who are the problem.’

“By the way, how did Saelika swap the contents of the box?”
“It seemed like sacred magic, didn’t it?”
“But there wasn’t even a magic circle.”

There was an interview that aired during the broadcast.

Q. How did the cargo get switched?
[Artemia said that if one wishes earnestly enough, the universe fulfills what it desires.]

Everyone laughed it off, but the curiosity remained genuine.

“Looks like she’s been hiding some tricks. They’ll come to light once the competition progresses.”
“As expected, a Sacred Maiden must have real skill above all else.”
“Ah! I wish they’d start the voting soon!”
“There will be a vote after the next mission, right?”
“That’s what I heard it would be.”

The young women manipulated Manashell, searching for information.

“What, the ones supporting Amelia are already running promotional events?”
“Well, she was famous even before the Grand Sacred Maiden selection….”

The young women exchanged glances and drained their tea in one gulp.

“We can’t just sit idle like this.”

They needed material.
Material to fill the gaps between broadcasts.
Saelika hadn’t done any external activities for the past few years, so she had far less material compared to the other Sacred Maidens.

‘Then we’ll just create it ourselves!’

Fresh material!!
The young women left the Dessert House with confident strides.

* * *

‘What is all this.’

I gazed out the window with a bewildered expression.
The Artemia Temple’s local branch was swarming with people.

“Saelika! Look over here!”
“Kyaaah! She smiled at me. How cute!”

What is this really.
Of course, this situation wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to me.
Ever since childhood, I had perfected the art of currying favor with my formidable sisters who wielded power.

‘I’ve gotten plenty of cookies out of this too.’

But this was the first time I’d received such enthusiastic support from girls my age.
After all, there was no shortage of Sacred Maidens for girls my age to look up to as role models.
Girls like Amelia, who were classified as S-rank from the start and received constant spotlight.
By the way, Amelia secured first place alone in the 10 Seeds ranking.

“Why are you being so awkward about it?”

At Ilay’s words, I shrugged my shoulders.

“The reaction right after the broadcast wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t like this overwhelming either.”
“Hmm.”
“Besides, this is the Institutional faction. All the temples with branches in the Institutional faction have their own formidable Sacred Maidens.”
“True, you and I started from different positions. I heard Parmanase’s side is packed with people—they say she’s such a popular Sacred Maiden.”
“Meanwhile, I did get good reactions from this broadcast, but to that extent—.”
“You had plenty of antis too.”

It was unavoidable.
The reactions had to differ from those Sacred Maidens who received positive attention in every way from the start.
Moreover, I hadn’t done anything noteworthy for the past few years.
But then the Grand Sacred Maiden selection began, and I started climbing up…

‘Who does she think she is?’

—That was the gaze I had to face.
Even among those who supported the Sacred Maidens who were popular from the beginning, I was bound to be an eyesore.

Yet people gathered to cheer me on like this.

“Did something happen these past few days?”

After watching the broadcast, various websites showed exactly the reactions I’d anticipated.
I hadn’t been monitoring because there were things to handle before the third mission.
When I tried to pull out Manashell, Ilay stopped me.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to check it on the way to the mission.”
“You’re right. We don’t want to be discouraged by it.”
“And right now, just observing the reactions around us is enough, isn’t it?”

Ilay gestured toward the outside.
There were people expressing their feelings to me not through words beyond the mana network, but with vivid voices and expressions.

“You’re right.”

I didn’t know why.
But what did the reason matter right now?
I nodded and opened the main temple doors.

“Saelika, do your best!”
“Fighting on today’s mission!!”
“Come in first place again today!”

Countless young girls waved their hands, cheering me on.
Just as I was about to board the carriage, I waved back at them, and they squealed with delight.

‘Hmm…’

It felt a bit strange.
But it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.
In fact—.

‘I should do well.’

I had already planned to do well on today’s mission anyway.
But now I wanted to do even better.

* * *

“How has everyone been?”

The 7th Seed Host smiled as he looked around at the Sacred Maidens.

“I imagine seeing yourselves on the broadcast will feel fresh. Some of you might be disappointed that your faces didn’t show up as well as expected.”

The distribution of materials wasn’t equal among all the Sacred Maidens.

“That’s why you’ll need to perform well in this mission, won’t you?”

With those words, the third mission was revealed.

“The third mission is hostage rescue!”

The Host showed the contents written on the mission card.

‘This is…’

I bit my lip.
Hostage rescue was an incredibly disadvantageous mission for me.
Absorbed in figuring out how to solve it, I never anticipated what was about to happen.

‘Why are you here?!’

I never expected to encounter Shuri during this mission!

—————
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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