Youngest on Top - Chapter 22

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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 22

* * *

That night.
I lay on my bed tying the ears of a rabbit doll, lost in thought.

‘Of course there must be corrupt Priests. There’s no way there aren’t.’

When I was near the High Priest, I hadn’t noticed and failed to pay attention.
Besides, there were many other things I needed to focus on.

‘Parasites must be exterminated the moment they’re discovered.’

The longer time passes, the more they’ll consume the body.

Randel was such a kind person to the children that he seemed quite angry about today’s incident.
But that didn’t mean I could immediately expel Gawain.

‘Exposing that he’s been taking bribes would be the surest method. How should I go about—.’

That’s when I got that far in my thoughts.

“Ow!”

Suddenly, something hard pressed down firmly on my head.

‘So heavy!’

Unable to lift my head at all, I collapsed flat on the bed.
The thing pressing down on my head was a book as thick and large as the original scripture.

【Understanding Aesthetics】

‘What’s with aesthetics?’

When I lifted my head, Edmund was looking down at me with his characteristic haughty expression.

“Wow… Now he’s coming to Sae’s room too? This stalking is terrifying… (Wow… Now he’s coming to Sae’s room too? This stalking is scary…)”

The stalker’s lips twitched at my words.

“It’s not stalking. It’s showing mercy to someone of lower station.”
“Mercy? (Mercy?)”
“Read it. A book like that is far too expensive for you to ever afford.”

Well, a book this large and thick certainly seemed like it would be costly.
The cover was even made of leather.

‘Is he really giving me an aesthetics book because I’m ugly? And in the middle of the night, no less?’

I was utterly speechless.

“Since you were born of lowly origins with no sense of taste, you should at least try to learn.”

Edmund spoke with arrogance.
I gripped the weapon I’d just acquired in my hands tightly—this book on aesthetics, my instrument of violence.

“Eddie, have you ever been hit with a book? (Edmund, have you ever been hit with a book?)”
“Regardless, you should appreciate your humble nature. Using a book—a treasury of knowledge—as a weapon.”

Edmund scoffed and left the room.

“Make sure you read that book!”

Leaving those final words behind.

‘Is that idiot out of his mind?’

Does he really think I can read a book like this at my age?
Even if I could read it, it’s difficult just to hold.
Of course, I could lift it easily if I used my holy power.

“Sigh.”

A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
I already had so much work to do, and now this nonsense.
Should I chase after her and beat some sense into her right now?

* * *

Edmund returned from Saelika’s room and collapsed directly onto his bed.

‘That commoner, anyway.’

“Sae, why do you like something so ugly?”

At the memory of that voice, his teeth ground together involuntarily.
Once he developed a proper eye for beauty, she would realize her judgment was wrong.

‘Even if she comes crying and apologizing later for not recognizing true beauty, it won’t matter.’

Of course!
He didn’t care one bit what that lowly creature thought of him.

He had given that wretch the aesthetics book solely because he despised how the average judgment of all the trainee priests was so poor.
There couldn’t possibly be any other reason.

Edmund tossed and turned on his bed several times.
Just as sleep began to claim him, dozens of winged pastries would appear, shrieking “So ugly! So ugly!” forcing him to jolt awake—this happened repeatedly.
Only after a long time did Edmund finally fall asleep.

How much time had passed?
Edmund awoke with a sense of frustration and displeasure.
Someone was shaking his body roughly.

“What…”

Long, wavy blonde hair entered his blurred vision.
Then came the blue eyes he recognized.
Saelika—that insolent commoner brat.

Edmund’s eyes widened as he identified his visitor.
Sleep vanished in an instant.

“You—what are you doing here…!”

Was she here for revenge over what happened earlier?

“Eddie, did you finish the books?”

Had she deliberately targeted the moment when I fell asleep?

Even so, sneaking into a man’s room was crossing a serious line.
Adults like Randel and Derrick, who were fond of this girl, wouldn’t overlook this either.

‘Her judgment is terrible. She’s resorting to foolish tactics.’

Just as Edmund finished assessing the situation and was about to speak.

“Mmph…!”

Suddenly, a damp cloth was shoved into my mouth.
Edmund was bewildered by this treatment, which he had never experienced before.

A gag in my mouth—what on earth was she trying to do?
She was far more vicious than I’d thought.

Fortunately, both my hands were free.
The moment I tried to pull the cloth from my mouth.

“Get up now! You have to leave! (Wake up quickly! You have to go!)”
“What…?”

Looking more carefully, Saelika’s face was deathly pale.
Her blue eyes trembled with desperation.
Most of all, the damp cloth pressed against her lips.

Only then did I notice the acrid smoke.
The stuffiness and discomfort I’d felt upon waking were from the smoke.
A cough erupted immediately.

“Cough!”
“Idiot! Don’t breathe in the smoke! (Fool! Don’t inhale the smoke!)”

Saelika gasped and shoved the wet cloth deeper into the wound.
Edmund furrowed his brow and grabbed the cloth.
I needed to stop the bleeding, not stuff more cloth inside.

A sharp, acrid smell.
The stench of burning.
And intense heat.
Edmund instinctively pushed himself upright.

“Fire…?”
“We have to get out! Hurry!”

Small hands continued to drag at Edmund’s body.
Edmund glanced down at those hands in shock.
They were covered in blisters.

The child pulled with all their strength, seemingly unaware that the blisters were bursting open.
The sight was so painful that I let myself be dragged along.
Yet Edmund remained bewildered.

Fire in the Temple?
That shouldn’t be possible.
There should be holy magic protecting it.

“Get your head together!”

And this child came to rescue me?
Why?
How could this be?

The moment we stepped out of the room, suffocating heat crashed over us.

‘This is insane…’

It was completely different from inside the room.
The corridor was already so thick with smoke that visibility was nearly zero.
Red flames and billowing smoke everywhere.
My skin felt like it was shriveling from the scorching heat.

A landscape that seemed overwhelming.
A child far smaller than him stood blocking the way ahead.

“You go that way. Get out through there.”

The child who had pointed the direction released his hand without hesitation.
Then she turned around.
In the opposite direction from where she had pointed.

Long hair swayed with the child’s movements.
Golden strands scattering between the flames burned themselves into Edmund’s vision as if they were ablaze.

“…?”

The child’s blue eyes looked at him with bewilderment.
Only then did Edmund realize he had grabbed the child.

“…Who are you?”
“Other kids still here.”

The child who had left those words moved forward without hesitation.
Just a few steps away, her small frame appeared like a shadow through the acrid smoke.

Even though I was the youngest in this place.

‘Damn it.’

It was hot, suffocating, and I couldn’t see ahead clearly.
Instinctive fear weighed down my limbs.

I had always looked down arrogantly at everything, but now I had no choice but to admit it.
I was terrified and afraid.
I wanted to bolt for the exit immediately.

What did I care about other trainee priests?
I had only come here to gain divine power anyway.

But.

A child much smaller than myself wavered in my smoke-filled vision.

‘Damn it. Damn it!’
Edmund reached his hand into the thick smoke.
His small fingers brushed against the child’s body.
He gripped that arm firmly.

“…?!”
“Come with me.”

Even as he spoke, Edmund regretted it.
It would have been better to just leave.
The child hadn’t even asked for help, so why did he step forward first?

He was not the type to die a dog’s death in a place like this.
Even if he survived, becoming disabled would be catastrophic.
He had too many responsibilities to bear.

Despite all these regrets, Edmund

“Why are you looking at me like that? I told you to stay flat on the ground in front of me.”

did not turn back.

Those large blue eyes staring at him.
Surrounded by smoke, their color was hazy, but the fact that those eyes met his gaze… he thought it wasn’t so bad.

‘Arrogant for a commoner, though.’

“Then follow me closely.”
“Who are you to say that? I’ve been here much longer than you.”

In the midst of the flames, the two children gripped each other’s hands tightly.

* * *

The children who woke from sleep whimpered in fright.

“A-are we going to die?”
“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to burn to death!”
“Mom! Dad!”

Edmund’s head throbbed.
My eyes already stung, I could barely breathe, and the heat was unbearable—I was about to lose my mind.
And the children I’d just woken up were crying without even trying to understand the situation.

‘This is exactly why I didn’t want to deal with people beneath my level.’

In this state, explaining things to them seemed pointless.
Should I try to comfort them instead?
Dealing with whimpering children was absolutely unbearable.
And would they even stop if I tried?

That’s when it happened.

“Would you rather die by Saelika’s fist?”

Saelika raised her plump fist menacingly.

‘Idiot. That’ll just make them cry harder.’

Edmund’s face twisted.
But then.

“No!”
“W-we’ll just burn to death instead!”

Sniff.
The children’s crying suddenly stopped.
They wiped their tears away decisively and waited obediently for Saelika to speak.

“Listen to me, Sae. You won’t die.”
“Okay.”
“Remember what I taught you this morning.”
“Okay.”
“Pray as you go. That way.”
“Okay.”
“Go quickly.”

‘Does that actually work?’

Edmund was dumbfounded.
Among these children was the young woman who had thrown a note at Saelika telling her to leave.
Yet they obeyed so readily.
What on earth had happened over these past few days?

“Edmund can go too.”

Saelika said this to Edmund as she sent the children off.

“You want me to go alone after coming this far? Just keep up with me. We’re almost there.”

Edmund took Saelika’s hand and led the way forward.
As she said, there weren’t many rooms left.

And the number of remaining children was far fewer than the number of rooms.
Many children had woken when Saelika first noticed the fire and cried out, and even more had awakened and fled in the commotion of those leaving.

That was when it happened.

“Help me! Someone help! Hurry!”

A scream came from within the flames.
A coughing voice could be heard, as if the person had inhaled smoke while crying out loudly.

“That voice is….”

Edmund immediately recognized who the voice belonged to.
It was Roana.

Saelika rushed toward the direction of the voice.
Edmund followed close behind her.

“E-Edmund?”

Roana cried out upon spotting Edmund and Saelika.
Relief washed across her tear-stained face.

But there was a problem.

‘The flames are too intense…!’

While Edmund hesitated over which way to go.
Saelika glanced at Roana, then immediately turned around.

“W-What…!”

Roana cried out in shock.

“This is awful! How could you leave me behind! Are you telling me to die here? To burn to death?!”

Edmund was equally shocked.
He never expected Saelika to leave immediately after seeing Roana.

That was when.

“Who’s dying.”

Saelika, draped in a blanket, spoke in an irritated voice.
The child threw herself into the flames without hesitation.

“Kyaaaah!”

And quickly wrapped the blanket around Roana as well before escaping.
But the flames were too fierce for both children to escape unscathed.

“It hurts! It hurts! It really hurts!”

Roana wept inconsolably.
Though she hadn’t suffered burns, it was an experience far too painful for a young girl to bear.

“Roana, please calm down—.”
“It hurts! I think I’m going to die! Mother! Father!”

Edmund’s attempts to soothe her were useless.
It seemed she couldn’t hear his voice at all.

Saelika, watching the scene unfold, raised her right hand.

Crack!

A small hand struck sharply across her cheek.
Stunned by the sudden sting, Roana clutched her face in shock.

Saelika met Roana’s eyes directly.

“Sae will save you. I will help. You won’t die.”
“….”
“Roana will leave here. Safely. Do you understand?”
“…Yes.”

Roana nodded.
Only then did something come into focus for her.
Saelika’s right arm was swollen and bright red.

‘She got that protecting me.’

While I was too panicked to hold the blanket, she gripped it tightly instead.

“Your arm….”

At Edmund’s words, Saelika shrugged.

“Sae doesn’t hurt. This much is familiar.”
“…?”

What did she mean by familiar?

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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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