Youngest on Top - Chapter 206

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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 206

“Y-Your Majesty, we’ve only just begun, yet you’re already exercising your precious vote?”

A flustered Noble spoke to the Emperor.

“Every ship has limited seating, after all. If one boards first, shouldn’t they be able to choose the best spot?”

The Emperor winked and gazed at Sirius Elder.
It was a remarkably gracious statement.
He was saying he would board the same vessel as Artemia without hesitation, setting aside all other competing temples.

But Sirius Elder looked at the Emperor with evident displeasure.
Displeasure, or perhaps something else entirely—.

‘—He looks awfully suspicious.’

Extremely suspicious, in fact!
Like watching a thief scheming something.
Yet the Emperor only laughed louder at that irreverent gaze.

“Haha! Let’s see just how remarkable our Sae truly is!”

While everyone in the hall exchanged knowing glances at that familiar form of address.
Only the people of Artemia burned quietly.
Like generals facing their enemy commander.

* * *

‘Have they lost their minds?!’

Zabelina opened her mouth to protest but closed it again.
There were broadcast magic tools hovering all around them.

Unable to mount a proper objection, the three Sacred Maidens could only bite their lips.
If only they’d turned off the broadcast when they had the chance!
They had no idea how to salvage this situation.

At that moment, Saelika smiled softly.

“Of course, I believe you all acted that way because you were just as desperate.”
“…?”
“Helene wanted to make the Reyatan faith an Octagon no matter what it took.”

Helene lifted her head.
Was she really defending me like this here?
Saelika’s words didn’t end there.

“Eyrene wasn’t just being spiteful either. She was doing it to gain more influence among the Sacred Maidens. For the Temple.”
“….”
“Zabelina truly didn’t know the three angel statues were fake. She must have been quite shocked. That’s why she reacted more aggressively. She was worried the Temple of Haruanus would collapse.”
“….”
“Though your methods were wrong— you didn’t torment me for amusement or simple displeasure. You all had clear purposes.”

The three stared at Saelika with disbelieving eyes.
Saelika’s words were half right and half wrong.

It was true that such purposes existed.
But they had also resented Saelika.

They had disliked it from the start when Artemia, who had looked down on having no second Sacred Maiden, suddenly gained one.
As she flourished with each passing day, it felt threatening.
Shamefully, they had felt jealous seeing her surrounded by handsome and impressive Temple Priests and Priests.

Now the three had grown older and become adults.
Now they understood.
That their childhood anxieties, impatience, jealousy, and anger had been refracted into shallow actions.

‘…But that didn’t mean I actually felt sorry toward Saelika.’

Rather, they resented her even more.
Seeing her stay quiet for years and then make such a fuss—they even thought it served her right.

Yet now Saelika was smiling and speaking to them.

“It was something that happened when we were so young. It’s already been several years.”

Her gaze was crystalline and infinitely clear, as if it held the very sky itself.

“I think today is an opportunity to show how much we’ve changed. Am I wrong?”
“…Can we really show how we’ve changed?”
“Why wouldn’t we be able to?”
…

My chest grew strangely warm.
Helene, Eyrene, and Zabelina had all climbed this far with such difficulty.
Because of our past mistakes.

Regretting, resenting, agonizing over how badly I had erred, then regretting again.
Those harsh days after the fall.

A new opportunity had come, we could show how we’d changed, it was a mistake made in youth.
Yet not a single person in that time had said such things to us.
And Saelika was the victim herself, no less!

‘Saelika….’
‘She truly is of a different caliber.’
‘That’s right. How long will I cling to the past and regret? I’m being reborn. And I need to apologize properly to Saelika.’

As if she’d read the hearts of all three, Saelika smiled like an angel.
Then she lowered her voice and whispered softly.

“So let’s do our best, okay?”
“…Huh?”
“Helele, Elele. Let’s do our best, okay? Before Tae’s fist becomes friends with Helele and Elele’s faces.”

Pat, pat.
Saelika’s hand lightly tapped the shoulders of the two.
At her words carrying a hint of post-traumatic stress, both of them stiffened.

Zabelina stared at Saelika with her mouth agape.
At that gaze, Saelika broke into a grin.

“What, feeling left out? Hmm, then…Zabele?”
…

Did you just call me a bug?!

* * *

Boom!
A torrent of sacred power erupted from Amelia, instantly incinerating the monster before her eyes.
Overwhelming martial prowess.
No team had penetrated this deep into the contaminated zone yet.

It was hardly surprising.
Everyone had anticipated Amelia’s stellar performance.
But then.

“Why is Saelika watching that?”

The nobles spoke with bewildered expressions.

The main broadcast screen wasn’t showing Amelia’s team right now.
It was broadcasting Saelika’s team.
Though Saelika was simply operating a portable Manashell to observe Amelia’s team.
Amelia’s figure appeared within the image on the screen.

[Is this really okay?]
[Why? There was no rule against watching another team’s broadcast.]
[But still….]
[We’re not illegally hacking the mana network—we’re just accessing a public channel. What’s the problem?]
[Well, that’s true, but….]
[There’s no rule against using a Manashell either.]

“Puhahaha! That’s Saelika for you. Truly unpredictable.”

The Emperor burst into hearty laughter.
Was there another Sacred Maiden bold enough to brazenly watch the broadcast while gathering intelligence on rival teams?

[Well, we haven’t broken any rules, at least.]
[Let’s watch quickly and decide where to go. Everyone else has already departed, and we’re the only ones left.]
[The Peridot team seems like a manageable matchup.]
[Or what about the Sapphire team? Saelika is close with Dolores and Nelije anyway. If all eight of us cooperate, we could quickly secure one branch, move on, and still take on another team, right?]
[Hmm, not a bad idea.]

Let’s stop fighting over who takes the lead. We’ve actually had some constructive discussion.
The three of them, who had been exchanging opinions back and forth, turned to Saelika with a question.

[What do you think?]
[You’re going for Sapphire, right?]
[No.]
[Then Peridot?]
[No.]
[…?]

The three exchanged bewildered glances as they looked at Saelika.
Saelika pointed to one section of the massive map.

[We’re going there!]
[Huh?]
[But that place… doesn’t have any World Tree branches?]
[We’ve already wasted too much time. We don’t have the luxury to waste it on anything else.]

At those words, Saelika posed a question to the three of them.

[What’s your objective?]
[Huh?]
[Is it to safely complete this mission and survive?]
[….]
[Or is it to rank first in the mission?]
[….]
[My goal is to save and protect people according to Artemia’s will.]

‘That’s a lie.’
‘A lie, indeed.’
‘Definitely a lie.’

Edmund, Dmitri, and Ilay, who had been watching the display screen, thought dismissively.

‘No matter how you look at it, the real goal is to crush all the other temples.’

“As a priest of Artemia, losing to another temple? Why would we even live then? We’d be better off dead.”

The memory was vivid—Saelika smiling brightly as she held up a cream bun to show me.
Because of that, I had to roll around quite a bit.

From Saelika’s perspective, it wasn’t a lie at all.
Artemia is the best = crush all other temples.
—That equation was an absolute truth for her.

However.

“…Artemia’s Sacred Maiden is truly righteous.”
“To hear such words from the youngest Sacred Maiden.”
“And in the midst of competition like this, no less.”

The nobles, unaware of the truth, gazed at Saelika with moved expressions.
The three Sacred Maidens were the same.

[…You have a plan, don’t you?]
[Yeah.]
[Alright, I’ll go with your plan then.]
[Let me trust you this once, why not.]
[I know better than anyone that you don’t fight battles you’ll lose, having fought you myself.]

At those words, Saelika broke into a radiant smile.

[Then let’s cut the broadcast for now.]
[Huh?]
[Why?]
[D-do we really have to turn it off?]

The three Sacred Maidens’ reactions were natural.
Not being able to show their prowess would put them at a disadvantage in the voting.
But it seemed like there was more to it than just that reason.
The way they trembled seemed closer to a fundamental fear—as if they were terrified of what might actually happen….

[Yeah, cut it.]

Click.
With those words, the broadcast cut off.

“Ah, wait—you’re cutting the broadcast here?”
“What on earth…”
“They pointed to the portal in the Basennar region, didn’t they? What’s there?”
“There’s nothing particularly noteworthy in that area. It’s so underdeveloped because expansion is difficult…”

The Nobles murmured amongst themselves.
In place of the Diamond Team’s broadcast, Amelia’s Emerald Team appeared on the main display screen.
But no one paid attention to it.

Beatrix’s eyes grew cold and sharp.
Cutting the broadcast was certainly disadvantageous for the vote.
People’s interest would disappear.

But what about now?
After arousing curiosity by announcing they’d go to a completely unexpected location, then ending the broadcast, everyone was busy talking about it.
Was this also a strategy?

‘How infuriating.’

Beatrix’s crimson lips curved into a wicked smile.

* * *

“Hey, Saelika.”
“Yeah?”
“Now will you explain?”
“Explain what?”
“What do you mean ‘what’! Why are we surrounded by Elves!”

Helene shrieked loudly.
The four of them now stood with their hands raised, surrounded by Elves.

“Well, that’s because we invaded Elf territory.”

Saelika answered calmly.
The other three were on the verge of bursting with frustration.

Elves despised humans.
If a human invaded Elf territory?
That meant death, without exception.

‘Surely they wouldn’t kill the Sacred Maiden, though.’

Then again, who knew?
There was no guarantee the Elves would spare her.

‘But how did we even enter Elf territory in the first place?’

There were several regions known to be Elf domains.
But the area near Basennar had never been mentioned before.
Yet here stood such a massive fortress!

That was when it happened.
The Elves surrounding them withdrew to the sides with disciplined precision.
From their midst, a man emerged.

“Wow….”

Helene, Zabelina, and Eyrene gasped in awe, forgetting the situation entirely.
Even among Elves renowned for their beauty, he stood out as exceptionally handsome.
The three of them instantly recognized his identity.

‘A High Elf!’

I never thought I would see a High Elf in person during my lifetime.
Various oral traditions and documents praised the High Elf’s beauty so lavishly that I had doubted them.
Now I understood why.
It was no exaggeration whatsoever.

“How impressive that humans have found their way here.”

Unlike the three who stood frozen, Saelika responded with composure.

“Thanks for the compliment.”
“Compliment? How typical of humans to interpret things so arbitrarily.”
“How typical of Elves to make such discriminatory remarks.”
“How did you find your way here? Humans shouldn’t be able to pass through the barrier.”
“Well, I managed.”
“I smell a divine beast. Did you ride one here? No, that’s not all. You’re a Sacred Maiden.”
“Well, as you can see.”

Saelika shrugged her shoulders.

“What matters isn’t how I found my way here. It’s why I came.”
“I have no need to listen to human words.”
“The Elves must know as well that calamity is approaching. The corrupted zones have been expanding for years now.”
“And?”
“Isn’t it time we joined forces?”
“The calamity originated from humans. You act as you please, and now that crisis looms, you ask for cooperation?”
“If you don’t want to, that’s fine.”
“…What?”

For the first time, a crack appeared in the High Elf’s composure.

‘What is this woman?’

Didn’t she come to negotiate?
The High Elf’s gaze slowly swept across Saelika.
Even under that appraising stare, Saelika remained unruffled.

Words that didn’t yield but struck back, an attitude both leisurely and confident.
In the past few centuries, had anyone ever treated me this way?
It was refreshing yet disagreeable, unsettling yet novel.
And somehow, strangely nostalgic—.

‘No.’

The human soul is already corrupted.
How could I possibly feel nostalgia?
It would be the same no matter who was reborn.

‘That possibility has already vanished.’

The High Elf spoke coldly.

“Do not mistake our tolerance for Sacred Maidens as mercy. Intruders meet only death.”

Whoosh.
The Elves nocked their arrows in unison.
Saelika didn’t blink an eye.

“Before that, let me say one thing.”
“There is nothing to hear.”
“I wish to speak with your king.”
“…!”

At those words, not only the High Elf but all the Elves’ killing intent sharpened dramatically.
The forest released an ominous sound as if consumed by rage.

“What did you say?”
“That I wish to converse with your king.”
“How dare a mere human speak of the king…!”
“Very well.”

The wind stilled.
A voice as quiet as the forest in the depths of night, yet as profound as the forest at high noon.

Zabelina and the two other Sacred Maidens held their breath.

‘What in the…!’
‘Ugh, this pressure….’
‘Damn it.’

They had merely heard his voice.
Yet the pressure made breathing difficult.

“Your Majesty.”
“First Gatekeeper.”

The Elves knelt.
From among them, someone stepped forward.
Without seeing him, one could sense his presence.

‘The King of the Elves…!’

The Elf King gazed upon Saelika.

“An uninvited guest is still a guest.”
“….”
“Let her in.”

At those words, the trees leaned aside, opening a path.

* * *

The Elf King’s dwelling.
It was a place both wondrous and beautiful, yet the Sacred Maidens could not even muster admiration.
Cold sweat trickled down their spines from the overwhelming presence of the Elf King, vast as an ancient forest.

Only Saelika conversed with the Elf King with an unflinching demeanor.

“You seek a branch of the World Tree?”
“Yes.”
“Humans have killed all the World Tree branches and now demand more without shame.”
“This time, I won’t kill it.”
“There are still World Tree branches in human territory.”
“They’re all in contaminated zones.”
“They’re in your domain—why covet more?”
“Because someone planted them with intent. Wouldn’t you need a healthy branch all the more?”
“To take it and kill it again?”
“I said I would nurture it well.”

Eyrene swallowed hard.
She couldn’t believe Saelika’s audacity.
She herself couldn’t even straighten her spine under this oppressive weight, yet Saelika spoke back so boldly?

The Elf King fell silent.
He merely gazed at Saelika with eyes that revealed nothing.
Even beneath that weighty stare—heavy as roots piercing stone—Saelika remained unmoved.
Instead, she smiled faintly and spoke.

“Care to make a wager?”
“Do I look like I’d fall for such a cheap trick?”
“Why? Afraid you’ll lose?”

‘Is she insane?’

The three Sacred Maidens’ eyes widened.
Saelika spoke with an angelic smile.

“If you’re scared, back out then.”

—————
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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