Youngest on Top - Chapter 211

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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 211

Following my gaze to the screen, the children each offered their thoughts.

“Another rumor popping up.”
“The Sacred Maidens are trending because of the Sacred Maiden Selection Tournament, so this is probably why.”
“Anyone becomes a lady of the Perardin Noishurael Duke’s house if they’re just newsworthy enough.”
“Wasn’t there a lady among the princesses during Grizelda Princess’s coming-of-age ceremony?”
“Yeah, and then she got arrested. No matter how much you want attention, you don’t touch the imperial bloodline.”

The children shook their heads in disapproval.
Then Ilay spoke up.

“Sae, what do you think?”
“Huh?”
“About there being the youngest lady of the Perardin Noishurael Duke’s house among the Sacred Maidens.”

I understood what Ilay was asking.
Whether it was possible based on my experience and knowledge from before the regression.

“I don’t know, it seems impossible.”

Before the regression, there was no Sacred Maiden Selection Tournament at all.
So I can’t say for certain, but….

‘No matter what, Perardin Noishurael Duke had connections with every temple. Would he really not have known if she was close by?’

The children wrapped their heads in their hands as if frustrated.

“Sigh, it would be nice if we knew exactly who it was.”
“Honestly, there’s no possibility now.”
“…Still, I hope she’s alive. It’s such a shame. Separated from her family as a child.”

The chattering children suddenly turned their heads to look at me.

“So Sae, what’s going on with the Elves anyway?”

Oh, that’s right.
I haven’t explained what happened yet.

* * *

Parmanase Temple System, Regional Branch.
The air in the central conference room was unusually heavy.
The Elder lifted his head and addressed the Temple Priests.

“Have you finished analyzing the footage?”
“There are no signs of manipulation. It’s authentic.”

Sighs of disappointment echoed throughout the hall.
However, the Elder’s face remained unmoved.

“What about their location? The Sacred Maidens’ relay magical artifacts should have location tracking functions for emergencies, shouldn’t they?”
“I apologize. We’re unable to confirm it.”
“…The relay transmission source either?”
“I apologize.”

The Elder’s face twisted.

“…The Emperor already took precautions.”
“With the Elves’ exchange at stake, the Emperor wouldn’t want information leaking anywhere. He must have managed it strictly to prevent any breaches.”
“If we couldn’t extract it, then no one else could either. If he did, no one would have discovered the location.”

The Elder stroked his chin.

“Excluding the temples of the four Sacred Maidens who visited directly, try contacting the temples except for Artemia.”
“…That is, the three Sacred Maidens claim they don’t know the exact location.”
“What?”
“Sacred Maiden Saelika rode a divine beast and moved while wrapped in a sacred barrier….”

Boom!

“Then only Sacred Maiden Artemia’s temple knows the location!!”
“…My apologies.”
“How in the world does that woman know about the Elves’ sacred relic!!”

It wasn’t merely knowledge—I could sense it directly.

“How on earth did she manage to win over the Elves?! We haven’t even faced the Elf King directly!!”

The Parmanase Temple had been in contact with the Elves for years.
Given how hostile the Elves were toward humans, it had required considerable effort.
And yet.

‘Sacred Maiden Artemia surpassed all of that in a single moment…!!’

“Could it be that Artemia had been in contact with the Elves all this time?”
“There were no traces of such activity.”
“Then how—.”
“Why trouble yourself with such thoughts?”

At that moment, a voice smooth as melted butter interjected.

“Beatrix.”
“Why not simply ask her directly?”

Beatrix smiled, her crimson lips curving upward.

“Directly?”
“Considering all we’ve done for the Elves, she owes us at least an answer.”
“Indeed.”

The Elder nodded in agreement.
The Temple Priests hastily brought forth a wooden mirror.
Soon, the image of an Elf appeared within its surface.

[What is the matter?]

It wasn’t merely an Elf—it was a High Elf.
Moreover, the Elf Captain!

The moment contact was established with the Elf Captain, color returned to the Temple Priests’ faces.
Yet the Elf Captain spoke with blunt finality.

[I cannot reveal the location of the King’s sanctum.]

“Weren’t you the one arguing that we must interact and cooperate with humans against the King’s wishes?”

This Elf Captain, unlike the other insular Elves, harbored genuine intentions to exchange with humans.
It was only after Parmanase’s prolonged persuasion that such communication had become possible.

[I simply judged that we could no longer cower for the sake of the Elves. Not in defiance of the King, but rather—.]

A glimmer of something profound flickered in the Elf Captain’s eyes.

[You say a branch of the World Tree fell into human hands?]

“Indeed.”

[…The King gave it to them directly, you say.]

The Elder glanced briefly at Beatrix.

‘Should I deny it?’

—That was the meaning behind his gaze.
Beatrix gave a small shake of her head.

This broadcast was being transmitted across the entire continent.
Any falsehood spoken for immediate gain would eventually be exposed.
And if that happened, all the effort invested thus far would come to nothing.

“We didn’t witness how it was given ourselves. But that Sacred Maiden brought a blooming branch, and both the High Elf and the Elf King received human artifacts as tokens in return.”

[So it was Silvester, then.]

The Elf Captain nodded lightly.
At that casual response, the Elder’s brow furrowed.

“Is that all? We’ve poured enormous resources and effort into interacting with the Elves over all these years! And yet—”

[What’s the problem?]

“…What do you mean?!”

[Isn’t this what you all wanted?]

“….”

[You said it was time to end our long enmity and cooperate for the prosperity of humans and Elves—two races of mankind—and for the world’s peace. I agreed with that and formed this bond with you.]

“….”

[The Sacred Maiden of humans and our Elf King exchanged tokens of commitment… Hasn’t what we desired been achieved?]

The Elder’s face twisted.

“Can this really be resolved so simply?!”

[What reason could there be for it not to be resolved? Ah, is it because you couldn’t claim all the credit for yourself?]

“Would you not think it unfair if another Elf stole your achievement?”

[Under normal circumstances, perhaps. But not in this case.]

“…!”

[I am defying the King’s will and making contact with humans for the sake of our Elves and this world. I never sought credit in the first place. I only hoped we could cooperate and overcome this calamity together.]

“….”

[Before such a cause, it matters not whose name the achievements fall under. I am merely grateful that the King has changed his mind and made this cooperation possible.]

The Elder ground his teeth.

‘This foolish bastard…! All our achievements have gone to the enemy faction!!’

Seeing that expression, the Elf Captain’s lips curled into a crooked smile.

[Truly foolish. Squabbling over rice bowls even before a calamity. Don’t make me regret joining hands with humans. You speak of coexistence with other races, yet humans fight amongst themselves.]

Just as the provoked Elder was about to speak, Beatrix stepped forward.
Beatrix stepped forward.

“I gratefully accept your valuable advice.”

[Hmm.]

“But aren’t you curious about that Sacred Maiden who persuaded your king so easily?”

[…I didn’t think you’d explain it kindly.]

Beatrix smiled wickedly.

“We don’t know how we persuaded the Elf King either, so there’s nothing to explain. But she is quite a remarkable child.”

[….]

“The Sacred Maiden of the Artemia Temple always shows me something beyond my expectations.”

[…!]

For the first time, a crack appeared in the Elf Captain’s face, which had been nothing but dry until then.

[Artemia…? A Sacred Maiden of Artemia?!]

“There were three other Sacred Maidens, but the leader was definitely Sacred Maiden Artemia. The other three Sacred Maidens said so as well, and the situation before the broadcast cut off confirmed it.”

Crack!
The Elf Captain’s face, which had been graceful and beautiful, contorted.

[The King still…!]

The Elf Captain, who had briefly composed his emotions, spoke with his usual dry expression.
Yet his eyes burned like a tree struck by lightning.

[I will contact you again.]

With those words, the Elf’s figure vanished from the mirror.
The Temple Priest asked Beatrix with a puzzled expression.

“Why did he get so excited at the mention of a Sacred Maiden of Artemia?”
“Who knows—.”

Beatrix drew out her words with a smile.

“Perhaps because she’s such an unremarkable, worthless chaff of a Sacred Maiden.”
“….”
“What matters is that a rift has formed between the Elf King and the Elf Captain.”
“….”
“It means cracks can appear even among the Elves, who were once so solid and unified.”
“You mean to say…”
“That’s right. It’s not over yet. Our exchanges with the Elves. We still have plenty of opportunities to take the lead.”

Beatrix’s eyes gleamed with sinister intent.

* * *

“That was truly magnificent. When you appeared with the Divine Beast at the last moment, my heart was pounding so hard…!”

Shuellina placed her hand over her chest, speaking with unbridled excitement.
I let out a small laugh.

“Our teammates were complaining about how we just smashed our way through without finesse.”
“What?! If I had been a teammate, I would never have said such a thing!”

Shuellina huffed indignantly.

“Any good news from the Perpidian Temple?”
“W-well, hehe, actually our temple is gathering quite a lot of believers too. The temple contacts me every day with happy news, you know.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“It’s all thanks to Sacred Maiden Saelika.”
“What did I do?”

All I did was save Shuellina from nearly falling into a trap.
And even that wasn’t for her sake.

‘It was for me.’

It was Shuellina’s ability that secured our joint first place by gaining the cooperation of the other Sacred Maidens in that situation.
And reaching this point afterward was all her doing as well.

“If it weren’t for Sacred Maiden Saelika, I wouldn’t have passed the mission properly.”
“That’s the tenth time you’ve said that.”

Shuellina laughed with a “Hehe, was it?” before gazing at me with serious eyes.

“Next time, I hope I can be on a team with Sacred Maiden Saelika.”
“Wasn’t it incredibly convenient being on a team with Amelia this time? She’s especially specialized in team matches.”
“You speak as if you know her well.”

Oops.

“Well, she’s such a famous Sacred Maiden.”
“True, it’s unavoidable to hear news about Sacred Maiden Amelia.”

Fortunately, Shuellina seemed satisfied with that explanation.

“Sacred Maiden Amelia is wonderful too, but I still prefer Sacred Maiden Saelika more.”
“Really?”
“You don’t believe me again!”

Shuellina pulled out a portable Manashell from her pocket.

“Look at this. I’m not just talking nonsense, see?”

Youngest Sacred Maiden’s Leadership (Saelika) – A post I decided to check right now.
Notable reactions about Sacred Maiden Saelika lately.

I thought she played solo during the 7th seed, but surprisingly she leads teams well?
The kids who were all growling came back completely docile.
What happened during the broadcast blackout?

Everyone seems to misunderstand that Sae doesn’t get along with people and only plays solo.
So here’s our youngest Sacred Maiden’s leadership!

The post that started that way was filled with screenshots and short videos.

Subtly helping other Sacred Maidens since the 7th seed.
Handling monsters first here too.
Watching from the side and helping before leaving—it’s hard to notice unless you’re focused solely on Sae.

I wish the operations team had edited this part more prominently.
That’s why I don’t agree with the opinion that Sae benefited from editing.

The Sacred Maidens themselves know best.
From the second mission onward, the Sacred Maidens were positioned all around Sae.

The Host was speaking at this point.
But in the corner, the Sacred Maidens weren’t paying attention to what he was saying—they just kept touching Sae’s head and massaging the back of her neck lol
After it ended, the Sacred Maidens were straight-up hugging the youngest one lol

In Team 7, the Sacred Maidens have such good chemistry that they often meet separately.
The one who never fails to show up when they gather: the youngest
Always squeezed in between her sisters lol

Here too.
Here too.
Here too.
These photos are all from different days.

After this mission ended, Team 7’s Sacred Maidens threw a first-place celebration party lol
The Sacred Maidens even posted on their personal pages saying they stayed in the system to congratulate the youngest lol

And look here—Team 7’s Sacred Maidens are all liking Sae’s posts lol
And jealous Nelije and Dolores lol

Sure enough, after this mission ended.
The Sacred Maidens who were on the same team are hovering around Sae lol
As you know, all three of them have sharp personalities.
But they’re being quiet and hovering, then subtly approaching Sae as naturally as possible lol
See that clingy behavior?
Then Dolores and Nelije, their eyes rolling back with jealousy, burst in lol

Somehow it turned into content about how the youngest is incredibly loved by her sisters rather than about leadership….
Sae’s leadership works through being loved by her sisters as the youngest lol
Because the sisters will listen to whatever the baby says.
But since the youngest is the strongest, the sisters secretly look out for her lol
That’s why the sisters are even more into her!!

How should I end this?
Anyway, the more I see our youngest saint, the more I think she’s destined to become a great saint ㅠ.ㅠ
Please support us!!

There were an enormous number of comments.
The hearts were also incredibly numerous.

‘…Wait.’

The hearts were glowing red.

“…Did Shuellina press the heart too?”
“Oh! Ah!”

Shuellina snatched the Manashell away, her face flushed crimson.

“Ah, anyway, you believe me now, right? Sacred Maiden Saelika always helps everyone without ever taking credit for it…. Everyone knows how much she’s helped behind the scenes.”

After saying this much, denying it now would only be tactless.
I was simply taken aback.

I was honestly… unpopular among the Sacred Maidens.
Before my regression, the Sacred Maidens who followed Amelia treated me like a parasite.

That was when it happened.

“I didn’t know there were guests.”

A cool voice came from behind me.
Shuellina jumped up with a startled expression.

“Ah, ah, greetings, Your Grace the Duke.”

Shuellina greeted him shyly, her face flushed red.
Perardin Noishurael Duke looked at me while barely acknowledging her greeting.

“Welcome, Your Grace the Duke.”

Thinking he wanted me to show proper respect, I quickly rose to my feet and bent my knee.
But Perardin Noishurael Duke was furrowing his brow.

‘What is this?’

As I pondered, the Duke approached with long strides.
And he grasped my cheek.

“…!”

In the moment I was flustered by how close he’d drawn without warning.
His rough fingers gently brushed beneath my eyes.

“Your eyes are darkened underneath.”

His voice was cold.
Yet his manner and gaze seemed to carry some concern for me.
My throat tightened.

Why, why are you doing this, Duke?

—————
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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