Youngest on Top - Chapter 210

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

Chapter 210

In that moment of confusion, the communication cut off.
And without a single moment’s delay, the communication chimed again.
It was King Bennayser once more.

‘What’s this? Did something happen?’

Just as I was about to answer.

“Is it King Bennayser again? Don’t answer it.”
“….”

Wait, why was he saying it like “Is it that woman calling again? Don’t answer it”?
The problem was….

[Sae! You finally answered, my dear!]

The excited voice of King Bennayser rang out loudly from the communication stone.
The Emperor’s eyes widened sharply.

“Who is ‘my dear’?!”

[Hm?]

“How dare you call someone ‘my dear’!! I haven’t even been able to call her that yet!!!”

[I hear a dog barking somewhere. It seems my dear must be outside.]

“What?!”

[Be careful not to get bitten by some mad dog. Come back home quickly. Actually, would you rather come here instead? Your quarters are always prepared at the royal palace.]

“Have you lost your mind already? Do you know who I am? The Emperor of the Empi—.”

[Oh, that dog sound again. It keeps barking. By the way, my dear. Our two boys have been missing you. It’s been half a year since they last saw you….]

“Saelika…. Did you go to Bennayser? And you don’t answer my summons?!”

The Emperor looked at me as though I were a husband who had already set up a separate household.

But the surroundings were in chaos.
I thought it was because of the banter between King Bennayser and the Emperor, but it wasn’t.
Everyone was clutching their communication stones.

“Pardon? Do you know Sacred Maiden Saelika? Well, yes, I do know of her… What? An introduction?”
“The Sacred Maiden as a marriage prospect? No, even so, it’s too sudden to ask for such a connection like this.”
“What?! Abduction marriage is a crime in the Empire!!”

Had everyone lost their minds?

[The little one enjoys our viper liquor. It’s aged perfectly well.]

“The imperial palace has even more delicious things!”

[We have our venom wine too.]

“The imperial palace has incredibly handsome men!”

[Our two princes are quite beautiful as well!]

“My son is more handsome!”
“….”

Was this really a conversation between a king and an emperor of nations?
It seemed the confusion was mutual among the others as well.
Foreign journalists approached me with awkward expressions.

“Um, Sacred Maiden, would you have time next Saturday at lunch?”
“…?!”
“How about having a beautiful encounter in a nice atmosphere?”
“Beautiful encounters are better with more people, don’t you think? One of our country’s advantages is our system of one husband with multiple wives—would you be interested?”
“Uh, sorry, but do you perhaps have any romantic fantasies about abduction marriage?”

…Pardon?
What kind of marriage?

“Of course, in this day and age, even abductions are conducted with consent. Still, if your preferences align—”
“No, I prefer monogamy instead. It accommodates various tastes.”
“What good are multiple worthless husbands?! One reliable husband is worth ten mediocre ones!!”

Is this continent really going to be okay like this?
That’s when it happened.

“What in blazes are you all doing?! I called dibs first!!!!!”

[How dare you cut in line?! And a mere journalist at that!!!!]

The Emperor and King Bennayser, who had been bickering just moments before, spoke in unison.

‘I want to go home.’

* * *

It was the fathers, Admiral Ekellan, and our Elders who brought order to the chaos.
The journalists retreated, their faces drained of color by an aura of charisma that threatened to end their very lives.
The Emperor and King Bennayser also departed, saying they would discuss it next time.

“This is serious.”
“Are they actually going to get married at this rate?”
“I think marriage proposals will arrive before the Sacred Maiden is even selected.”

Zabelina, Eyrene, and Helene, who had drawn near, whispered to me.
I shrugged my shoulders.

“They’re not seriously putting in marriage proposals. That’s why they’re doing it so casually through the journalists.”
“No, it seems like they’re just eager about it….”
“It’s a form of appeal. They want to exchange with the Elves through me. What they’re saying is that we want to establish such a close relationship with Artemia that we’d even consider marriage proposals—that’s all.”
“No, there’s that too, but it’s not just that….”
“But why are you all still here?”

The mission had ended long ago.
I’m still here because of the Emperor and all this commotion, but.

“W-was I going to leave?!”
“What, you think I was waiting for you?”
“I got held up because interview requests kept pouring in, so I ended up being late.”

True to their nature, all three of them wore identical smug expressions.
Helene, who had been silent for a moment, opened her mouth.

“Ahem, it’s been such a long time since I’ve received this kind of attention.”
“…?”
“Good attention, I mean. Do you know how much I’ve been criticized since that old gathering? I only ever received negative interest!!”
“Well, of course? Think about what you did. You tried to kill a child.”
“….”
“And let’s be honest. This kind of attention is unprecedented in Helene’s life, isn’t it?”

Helene’s eyes widened slightly.
I grinned wickedly.

“So, how does it feel to have defied everyone’s expectations and accomplished something remarkable?”

The three of them flinched before pouting their lips.

“Well, it’s not so bad, I suppose.”
“Seems decent enough.”
“I was drenched in cold sweat, and cutting through the wind on the way back was incredibly uncomfortable. Still, well—.”

Zabelina laughed while furrowing her brow.

“—this kind of adventure isn’t the worst thing.”

I nodded.
In any case, the three of them (despite their nature) were quite helpful on this mission.
Since they said it was fine too, it was time to wrap this up without any lingering resentment.

“Ahem, if you’d like, we could—.”
“Working with you was disgusting, so let’s never meet again!”

I declared loudly, and Zabelina froze mid-gesture.
I tilted my head in confusion.

“What did you just say?”

Zabelina’s face flushed crimson.
It wasn’t just Zabelina.
Helene and Eyrene also began huffing indignantly for some reason.

“Who, who would’ve thought we’d join forces again?!”
“We only held hands by accident, and that’s the end of it!”
“Next time we meet, we’re enemies, enemies!! I’ll never stand on the same side again!!!”

…What did I even say?
Why are they like this?

As I turned my head, I spotted Nelije and Dolores.
The two of them stood at a distance, glaring at me with resentful eyes.

Somehow reminiscent of the Emperor….
Like watching a wife stare at an unfaithful husband….

‘Why are they acting like this too?!’

* * *

【Kaiser the Sacred Knight, “It wasn’t my choice—Saelika chose me.”】
【The reason the mightiest Sacred Knight Kaiser calls himself inadequate】
【Charismatic Sacred Knight outside, utterly helpless father inside?!】

Knights poured in.
This mission itself garnered far more attention than the previous one.
Because they weren’t conducting the mission in a fabricated scenario, but in an actual situation.

Witnessing a real situation live.
Being able to vote in real time.
These two factors were also another catalyst for the spectacle.

But then Elves appeared out of nowhere.
At the last moment, the Diamond Team pulled off a reversal like a plot twist.
People erupted in excitement, pouring out discussions about the Grand Sacred Maiden Selection.

“Even so, this is ridiculous. Why are they publishing articles about every little thing?”

I was dumbfounded seeing even what Kaiser said turned into news.

“It’s proof of how much interest there is in Sae.”
“Sure, all sorts of articles come out, but only a limited number make the front page.”
“Since Protagonist is the strongest and Kaiser is strong too, of course articles come out!”

I had to take Dmitri’s last comment with a grain of salt.

“Hmm, Kaiser’s popularity played a role too. Either way, it’s not a bad thing for us.”

I had to channel this attention positively and maintain it through the next mission.
Because.

‘The voting was a disaster.’

The real-time voting conducted during the broadcast.
My ranking in that vote was essentially at the bottom.

‘Fortunately, I came in first in the mission itself.’

There was some protest and backlash about this.
But.

“Did we announce how rankings would be calculated?”
“…!”
“The idea that rankings would be based on order of arrival was merely your speculation, wasn’t it?”
“Well, that’s….”
“We intended from the beginning to rank teams based on the most outstanding performance demonstrated during this mission. From the start.”
“….”
“Looking at both process and results, is there any team that demonstrated superior skill compared to the Diamond Team?”

The people who had been protesting fell silent at the Operations Director’s words.
They were silent because they had nothing to say, not because their dissatisfaction had vanished.

Then Edmund spoke.

“Amelia’s interview just dropped. Looks like it’s about the first-place situation.”
“Why worry about that? We’re swamped rewatching Protagonist’s interview.”
“No, if it’s about first place, the youngest will definitely come up. Might as well check it to be safe.”
“Right. Amelia’s fanbase probably thinks she lost first place because of this incident.”

At Edmund and Ilay’s words, Dmitri bristled.

“What do you mean lost?! She never had first place to begin with! First place was always Protagonist’s from the start!”
“Human hearts aren’t always rational, you know.”
“Amelia’s support base is massive. It extends beyond the Empire to overseas. If Amelia shows even the slightest hint of feeling wronged here….”
“That resentment will be directed at me.”

Silence fell over the room at my words.
Dmitri let out an exasperated sound.

“That Amelia or whatever—I’ve never even met her, but how irritating!!”

Then he huffed and played the interview.

[You lost first place in this mission right before your eyes. Aren’t you disappointed?]

The interviewer in the video asked Amelia the question.

[The purpose of the Grand Sacred Maiden Selection is to identify the most exceptional Sacred Maiden. To stand against calamity.]
[Yes, that’s right.]
[Sae displayed her abilities. If this improves relations with the Elves, that would be nothing but a good thing.]
[A good thing, you say. Then you have no regrets whatsoever about losing first place?]

Amelia smiled gently.

[I never had first place to lose.]

“…Her response is actually pretty solid.”
“No resentment, acknowledging Sae as first place….”
“Yeah, but….”

Dmitri furrowed his brow.

“Why does this feel so irritating?!”
“…Look at the reactions.”

Ilay spoke.

-As expected of Amelia. Even her personality is impressive.
-Honestly, I’d feel regretful in her position. But she acknowledged her opponent so readily—that’s cool.
But seriously, it’s such a waste… I would’ve gotten first place normally… It’s not that Saelika did poorly. It’s just so unexpected…ㅠㅠ
└Saelika’s fanbase said they felt regretful too.
└? Why would they feel regretful?? I thought she’d be eliminated, so isn’t getting first place something to be grateful for?
└They said she was at a disadvantage in the voting.
I wonder if anyone could feel as wronged as Amelia, who did all the work to come in first place only to have it taken away from her.
└They said if the voting happened after the broadcast ended, the results would’ve been different?
Hahaha, seriously, this is ridiculous. So you’re saying you think you can knock out Amelia in the voting in one go?

There had never been such chaos.

“This is obviously bait no matter how you look at it. It’s not something said for the youngest member’s sake.”
“It doesn’t matter though. People are thinking she got first place stolen from her.”
“You’ve just given proper ammunition to people who want to tear down Honeybread no matter what.”

-Saelika’s fanbase is really funny. They think they can beat Amelia in voting.
-They’re getting cocky about winning first place in the mission.
-Amelia did a polite interview, but why is Saelika’s team acting like that?
-I get that they’re excited, but they should tone it down a bit.
-Honestly, this time I understand Amelia’s fanbase. They must already be frustrated, and now you’re adding fuel to the fire.

There were some attempts to correct the facts.

-But isn’t it true that the results would’ve been different if voting happened after the broadcast ended? Not that she’d beat Amelia, but Saelika’s current voting rank is too low.
-Sae’s true fans just seem regretful about the current voting rank. The ones connecting her to Amelia are the ones baiting.

But it was futile.

Haha, look at them distancing themselves and saying it’s not their doing just because they’re getting cursed at.
-The Sacred Maiden that these kinds of people like is predictably pathetic.
-????? Wait, are you insulting Sae here?

Mixed in were ordinary people unaware of the fanbase conflicts.

-I voted for a different Sacred Maiden, but the moment the Diamond Team came back with the World Tree, I regretted not voting for Saelika. The catharsis was insane.
Just to clarify, I’m not really a fan of anyone in particular.
-I regretted it the moment the Elf King appeared. I should have poured all my votes here. Why can each person only cast one vote??
-Right! Let us buy votes!! I’ll purchase as many as I need and dump them all here!
-If we show our support through votes, could the Elf King appear again? Then I’m in too.

The casual remarks people tossed out, belonging to no particular fandom, only further ignited the flames between both camps.

Hahaha?? You’re saying if we can buy tickets now, Saeliqa can beat Amelia? But Amelia should have way better funding, right? I heard Amelia is loved by the imperial and royal families.
-Yeah~ our Sae is even being discussed for a national marriage arrangement.

The confrontation between both fanbases truly never ceased.

But something felt strange.
It wasn’t even my own matter, yet here I was, getting angry on their behalf, worrying, anxiously fretting, and feeling concerned….

“Why? Are you moved?”
“Huh?”

I lifted my head at Ilay’s words.

“You had a touched expression on your face.”
“And your eyes look worried.”
“Are you concerned because the people cheering for you seem so stressed?”

At their words, I looked down at my own hands.

“I….”
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to sweep them all!”
“”Huh?!”

I clenched my fists tightly.

“We’re being attacked in return because we’re falling behind in the voting.”
“Uh, uh?”
“Next time, I’ll crush them completely!”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
I swung my fist through the air.

“That way, the people who care about me can just cheer comfortably without worrying!”
“….”
“….”
“…Well, I suppose so.”

The ones who had been wearing reluctant expressions suddenly burst into laughter.

At that moment.
A new post appeared on Manashell.

Did you know?
The lost princess of the Perardin Noishurael Duke household.
Apparently she’s still alive.
And they say she’s the Sacred Maiden.

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————