Youngest on Top - Chapter 281

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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 281

* * *

Inside an abandoned building on the outskirts of the temple district.
The forsaken structure possessed a peculiar charm, as if it were once a magnificent ancient civilization in its golden age.

Kaishurit sat there languidly in the center of it all.
Bathed in the fractured sunlight filtering through the cracks in the broken walls.

‘…That bastard really has grown well.’

Saelika stepped into the building with such playful thoughts, lest her limbs betray her composure.
If she didn’t distract herself this way, she feared her arms and legs would move in opposite directions.
Kaishurit was certainly handsome—there was no denying that.

Kaishurit smiled as he watched her approach.
She seemed to think she was walking naturally, but she was actually creaking like a broken mechanism.

‘How adorable.’

“Hey! It’s been a while, you bastard!”

The fact that she was still stubbornly maintaining her Ricardo persona was genuinely endearing.
Kaishurit opened his mouth leisurely.

“I didn’t expect you to suggest meeting in a place like this.”
“Hmm, was it perhaps too shabby to entertain the Crown Prince?”

Saelika tilted her head curiously.
But there was no helping it.
No matter how remote a location, anywhere with people couldn’t escape Teodor’s gaze.

‘No one knows that Ricardo is me….’

If word reached Ilay that the Crown Prince was with some blonde boy, there was no telling what would happen.

‘The forests on the outskirts of the temple district would be teeming with beastfolk and elves.’

My only remaining option was this place.
With nothing around and a palm-sized abandoned shrine that no one even glanced at, it was the perfect location.

Thud, thud.
Kaishurit took two or three steps forward, his heavy dress shoes echoing against the floor.
The cramped building meant that distance between us closed dramatically with just those few steps.

Saelika felt the cold chill of stone wall against her back.
She felt exactly like hunted prey being driven into a corner.
His dense gaze fixed upon her made it hard to breathe.

“Dark, narrow, no one else around, just the two of us.”

With each word he uttered, his breath brushed against her ear.
Saelika’s trembling eyes, which had been wandering uncertainly, fixed back on Kaishurit.
When their eyes met, his pupils curved with amusement.

“How bold of you.”

His voice was low and damp.

“The sacred and virtuous Sacred Maiden who follows the will of God—.”
“…!”

Saelika trembled slightly.
Kaishurit savored her reaction before belatedly adding more.

“—and her closest friend.”
“….”

Saelika looked up at Kaishurit with an uncertain expression.
Kaishurit met her eyes as if asking why she looked so confused.

‘Well, there’s no way he could have found out.’

I had considerable confidence in my disguise techniques.
And just how logically (?) had I deceived Kaishurit all this time?
There was absolutely no way I could be exposed.

“Ahem, Sae carries herself with the purity and sanctity befitting Sacred Maiden Artemia, but I’m not like that.”
“I see.”
“They say you can tell what a person is like by looking at their friends, but Sae is an exception. She’s the Sacred Maiden of Artemia. Incredibly sacred, holy, and… anyway, she’s formidable and impressive. You can’t cross her. Understood?”
“Yeah.”

Kaishurit nodded.
Noticing something oddly delighted in his expression, Saelika pouted her lips.

‘Why is he smiling like that.’

For some reason, my cheeks grew warm.
Saelika deliberately ignored her flushed face and extended her hand.

“Let me check your condition first. It seems the seal has been broken, so I need to inspect it as well…”

To completely lift the curse, I needed to understand the current situation well.

Kaishurit readily extended his hand.
Saelika grasped it and closed her eyes.

Kaishurit, quietly observing her closed eyelashes, opened his mouth.

“Ricardo.”
“What.”
“Did you know?”
“…?”
“The Sacred Maiden’s preferences.”
“…!”

Saelika’s eyes snapped open.
And she was startled.
Kaishurit’s face was much closer than she had expected.

“I never would have guessed. That the Sacred Maiden would favor half-beasts among the beastfolk.”
“What?”
“Is it your preference for those covered in fur? Hmm, that’s rather troublesome.”
“W-what are you talking about!”

Caught completely off guard by his words, Saelika let out a sharp cry.

“Exactly. She prefers something closer to an animal than a person.”
“B-but Barensya can take human form too?!”
“Ah.”

Kaishurit broke into a grin.

“So your preference is being able to switch between both forms?”

Saelika’s mouth fell open.
What nonsense was this…

“I see. So Sacred Maiden Artemia’s preference is—.”
“Absolutely not!!”

Saelika clapped her hand over Kaishurit’s mouth.
His jewel-like tricolored eyes widened dramatically.
Only then did Saelika realize she had practically pounced on him.

Her face flushed crimson as she hastily pulled away.
Kaishurit felt a twinge of disappointment, yet an odd satisfaction lingered.

‘When did she lie beside me without hesitation, even when removing clothes…’

“A-anyway, my— I mean, Saelika’s preference isn’t like that.”
“It isn’t?”
“Of course not! Her preference is—.”

Saelika abruptly stopped mid-explanation.
Kaishurit’s face came into view.

“Your preference is?”

Kaishurit pressed further.

“What is the Sacred Maiden’s preference?”
“I-it’s…”

Saelika’s gaze landed on Kaishurit’s head.

“B-black….”

Black hair.
It couldn’t merely be black—it had to be smooth and lustrous like a raven’s tail feathers, gleaming with a polished sheen.

Eyes of golden hue.
But not just golden—they had to shimmer with hints of crimson and azure, sparkling like precious gems.

A sharp nose, a firm jawline, flawless skin, eyes that were deep-set and penetrating with sharp edges at the corners….

‘Shuri’s shoulders are quite broad, aren’t they.’

The shoulders had to be exceptionally broad.
Well-developed pectoral muscles, taut and defined.
A tightly cinched waist.

‘The abdominal muscles were incredibly defined too.’

More solid and distinct than any sculpture.
My gaze, which had been traveling downward from the face, descended further still.

‘The thighs… Oh!’

Saelika’s head snapped up abruptly.

‘What am I doing right now….’

But since I’d already confirmed it, one more item had to be added to my preferences list.
Thick, muscular thighs.

“Black?”

At Kaishurit’s question, Saelika answered while hiding her flushed cheeks.

“Oh, well, yes, it does.”
“Hmm, Barensya’s fur was black too. So black half-beasts really are….”
“That’s not it! It’s just, just.”

Flustered, Saelika blurted out in resignation.

“…I like handsome men.”
“That’s a relief.”

Kaishurit laughed.
His smiling face was so strikingly handsome that I had no energy to say anything.

“But you know the Sacred Maiden’s tastes well?”
“Well, that’s because we’re best friends…?”
“The Sacred Maiden called me Shuri last time.”
“…!”
“The only people who call me that are Ricardo and you.”

Saelika swallowed hard.
I wanted to deny it.
But it seemed like I had called him that in a moment of crisis, when my mind was in disarray.

“She was always so proper, yet she speaks casually like you do.”
“That, that’s—.”

Cold sweat trickled down my back.
While Saelika searched for words to respond.

“Perhaps it rubbed off on her because you two are so close?”

A lifeline descended from an unexpected place.
Saelika grabbed it without any suspicion.

“Y-yes! That’s right! Every time I talk about Sae, I call you Shuri, so…!”

Kaishurit grinned widely.

“Seems like you talk about me quite a lot.”
“Huh?”
“I wonder what stories you tell about me.”

Saelika blinked her eyes.
Soon, as if struck by a thought, her face flushed crimson.
Like a ripe fruit that would burst with sweet juice at the slightest touch.

Kaishurit leaned forward.
He had no intention of missing this opportunity.
Someone would surely complain about why he was flirting instead of trying to break the curse.
But for Kaishurit, seducing Saelika took priority over the curse.

Just as his lips were about to brush against Saelika’s ear.

Creeeeak—
The sound of the abandoned building’s door opening rang out like an unwelcome visitor.
And.

“Well, darling. You waited for me in such a desolate place?”

A frivolous, light voice echoed.
It was Behemoth, returned from the past.

* * *

“…Darling?”

Kaishurit raised one eyebrow and straightened up.
He was in a foul mood like never before.
He had missed the chance to gently seduce Saelika and swallow her whole.

“Who the hell is your darling?”

And Behemoth was equally displeased.
He had finally completed the contract and returned from the past, only to find….

‘My darling was playing around with that contractor at the mill.’

This wasn’t actually a mill.
But the atmosphere was better than a mill, which irritated him even more.

“What’s this pathetic wretch doing here with you? Darling, were you bored while I was away?”
“Are you introducing yourself?”
“What?”
“Isn’t that so? Coming from a pathetic demon wretch like you.”

Behemoth’s gaze sank low.
A ferocious aura rippled from him like a tidal wave.
An ordinary human could never have faced such power directly.

Yet Kaishurit remained serene.
The aura emanating from him actually pushed back Behemoth’s strength.

‘…He’s certainly not someone to be underestimated as a mere human.’

A few years ago.
It was this man who had blocked him when he tried to take Saelika through a possessed vessel.
He never expected to be thwarted by a human wretch, even through a possessed body.

‘Now he’s incomparable to back then.’

Behemoth’s gaze studied Kaishurit carefully.

‘Bloodline of mythology, curse of the Demon King, and the power of a god and the Sacred Maiden…. This man might be—.’

While Behemoth gravely assessed his opponent’s full strength.

“Think carefully about your answer. I’ll hear it once that demon trash disappears.”
“I thought you were just going to let it slide.”
“Your face said otherwise.”
“What, what was wrong with my face….”
“….”

Kaishurit was bickering with Saelika.
Behemoth exploded.

“Darling, are you flirting right now?”

Saelika flinched.
Her voice came out shaky for anyone to hear.

“W-w-who are you?”
“Who else? Your darling’s darling.”
“You must have me confused with someone. I’ve never seen you before.”

Saelika spoke desperately.
Behemoth’s eyes narrowed.

“Darling and I have played many fun games together, but this is a first. What kind of game is this?”
“Is it some fantasy you concocted while stalking alone?”

At Kaishurit’s words, Behemoth’s lips hardened rigidly.

“How dare you intrude on my games with Darling?”
“A delusional stalker with an overactive imagination.”
“You know nothing about what lies between us. Saelika—.”
“Ahhhhh!”

Saelika screamed at the sudden mention of her name.
And she cried out frantically.

“I really, absolutely, truly have no idea who you are! I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else. Well then, goodbye!”
“What are you talking about? Did you really think I wouldn’t recognize Darling just because you cut your hair short and changed your features slightly?”

Saelika’s composure shattered at Behemoth’s words.
Please, just take the hint!

“My love for Darling is not something that would falter just because of a slight change in appearance—.”
“Ah, yes! I understand now! You’re the one Sae was talking about!”

Behemoth paused.

“Right, Sae mentioned there was some perverted stalker. Sae blessed me, so I must have been confused by that energy. Right? Yes? That’s it, isn’t it? Yes?”

Saelika stared at Behemoth with desperate eyes.
Even so, we’ve known each other for over a thousand years by count.
Behemoth is an unreasonable stalker with no sense and no answers, but he shouldn’t be completely oblivious.

‘So please….’

Indeed, as if her earnest gaze had reached him, Behemoth’s expression softened.

“Darling…. Are you referring to yourself in the third person? I thought that was something people grew out of in early childhood.”
“….”

Saelika’s face flushed crimson.
How embarrassing!

“Ah, you wanted to look cute to me?”

…What?

“You don’t need to do that, darling. You’re already cute without the third-person speech.”

‘This bastard.’

Saelika seriously considered just unleashing her angelic power and smacking this fool across the face, consequences be damned.

“Or is it that you’re too embarrassed to express your honest feelings for me directly, so you’re doing it indirectly instead?”
“….”
“I prefer love confessions to be direct. Though I suppose darling is quite shy!”
“That’s not a love confession at all!!! All I said was that you’re a perverted stalker!!!!”

Behemoth’s eyes gleamed with mischief.

“Do I need to spell out the deep love contained in those words? For a human man who’s only lived twenty years or so, that’s way too intense. Not R-rated—more like 999-rated.”
“….”
“….”

Saelika clenched her fists tightly.
Just kill him.

As she stepped forward, Kaishurit opened his mouth.
Kaishurit opened his mouth.

“I don’t think he’d do that 999-rated stuff with you.”
“What?”
“His taste is for handsome men.”

Kaishurit tilted his head slightly.
His handsome face gleamed as light caught it.
Not a single man across the Empire—no, across the entire continent—could hold his head high before that face.

But Behemoth was not.
Behemoth puffed out his chest proudly.

“Me, then.”
“No, it’s me.”
….

Saelika pondered.
Should she just abandon both of them and leave?

* * *

Inside Artemisia Temple.
Within it sat five angels in solemn dignity.
It was not a metaphor—they were sacred paintings incarnate.

The Temple Priests and priests of Artemisia all sat beside those holy angels, eagerly hanging on their every word.

“So, what was Sae like back then?”
“He itched so much when his baby teeth fell out. I wish I could have seen that!”

At that moment.
The angels lifted their heads in unison.

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