Youngest on Top - Chapter 30

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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 30

* * *

Gawain couldn’t believe what his own eyes were showing him.

‘Why in the world is the High Priest here?’

And not just him—the other Elders too!
Not to mention Ilay, Dmitri, and Edmund were all present.

This place behind the building had been abandoned for ages, with no one venturing here.
It was the last location where so many people should gather.

Everything had been proceeding perfectly.
Until the arson, I had planned to pin it all on Saelika.
There were High Priests who seemed wary of Saelika, particularly the outspoken Sirius Elder, which worked in my favor.
It was convenient that she had just emerged from the Underground alone.

But when Saelika sought divine protection with the other children, my plan fell apart.
It was truly unexpected.

So I chose Roana instead.
Of course, it was a shame.
The bribes I’d been receiving from her had been quite lucrative.

But she was the perfect sacrifice.
Roana harbored resentment toward Saelika and had even slandered her.
Moreover, she had spent a long time alone in the Dormitory on the day of the fire.

All I needed was for Roana to continue tormenting Saelika, and for people passing by to naturally witness it.
Roana was simple-minded and would act on impulse, making her easy to manipulate.
That’s what I thought.
Until just moments ago.

“How dare you.”

A low voice crashed down like thunder.
Gawain flinched and looked toward the High Priest.
The High Priest was staring at Saelika’s face, which was brimming with tears.

“I-I can explain everything! I—.”
“Bind her.”

At the High Priest’s command, sacred vines wove around Gawain’s body.

“Ugh…! H-High Priest! Please, let me—cough!”

The intense pain made it difficult to even breathe.
It felt as though my body would be crushed to death at this rate.

‘Damn it! How did things go so wrong!’

Through gritted teeth, Gawain’s eyes caught sight of two children standing with their hands clasped together.
Roana and Saelika.

‘No way… did they plan this together from the start…?’

It couldn’t be.
Roana clearly despised Saelika and didn’t know what to do about it—.

Then, as their eyes met, the corners of Roana’s mouth curved upward with a smirk.

“…!”

Gawain’s eyes widened as if they might split open.
Before he could say anything, the vines wrapped around him dragged him roughly away.

As Gawain was dragged away, Saelika’s figure came into view.
She was waving her hands flutteringly with an infuriating smile on her face.

“Bye bye.”

She mouthed those words silently.

* * *

The whole affair was quite simple.
The day I learned that Gawain had betrayed the Temple before his regression.
I went straight to Roana.

Roana seemed a bit flustered to see me, but there was no displeasure in her expression.

“What’s the matter?”
“Roana, make up with Gawain.”
“That… I already apologized for that.”

She seemed to have misunderstood my purpose.

In any case, I intended to use the relationship between Gawain and Roana to catch him in his tracks.
I asked Roana to probe Gawain.
To see if he might be the arsonist.
I had prepared an answer in case she asked why, but Roana simply nodded without asking.

And not long after, Roana came to my room.

“Gawain came to see me. There was no need to probe him.”
“Why?”
“He told me you were the culprit and to harass you. Otherwise, he said I’d be accused of arson.”

It was truly foolish logic.

“He must think I’m an idiot. If I attacked you in this situation, everyone would obviously find it suspicious.”
“So?”
“I just pretended to fall for it. What should we do now?”

That’s how we set the trap.
I asked Ilay to bring the High Priest and the Elders to the scene.
That was the “special gift” I had prepared.

‘That’s why I deliberately cried out in such a loud voice.’

So the High Priest and his entourage walking nearby would hear it and come running.

And the result was a complete success.
It was as good as him confessing that he had set the fire—there was no way for him to escape.

‘Phew, dealing with a parasite, an arsonist, and a traitor all at once—it feels incredibly satisfying.’

While I was thinking such thoughts, Randel asked with a worried expression.

“Are you both alright?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, we’re fine.”

Roana and I quickly nodded our heads.

Other High Priests stood beside Randel.
I thought we’d go straight to Gawain, but it seemed they wanted to hear the circumstances first.
Just as I was about to explain what had happened—.

“Pushing an injured child into the wall like that! That bastard deserves to be torn apart!”
“This won’t do! Sae, always carry the mace I gave you! Shall I give you special training?”

At Devon and Derrick’s words, I felt a bit bewildered.
Weren’t they here to hear what happened?

Sirius spoke to me.

“Sae, you know well how cautious and suspicious I am.”
“Yes. It’s well known, sir.”
“So from now on, you don’t need to be swayed by such talk.”

Such talk?
What kind of talk was he referring to?
Sirius’s gaze was so sharp that I simply listened quietly for now.

“You only need to concern yourself with my judgment. Since I’m the most suspicious, what I don’t suspect is the truth.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think you’re a demon.”

I opened my eyes wide and looked at Sirius.
Devon shook his head beside me.

“How do you offer comfort in such a way? You’re truly a difficult man.”

Then he grinned at me with a wide smile.

“I’m always on the side of our little blessing. Roana must have been quite startled.”
“Huh? No, well… I was a bit startled, but it’s fine.”
“How brave.”

Roana’s face flushed with embarrassment.
She seemed mortified.
The adults had arrived after my cries, so they wouldn’t have witnessed Roana threatening me.

The High Priest, who had been quietly looking down at me, asked a question.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, sir.”
“Good.”

The High Priest gently stroked both my head and Roana’s.

* * *

After the adults left.
Roana came to Saelika’s room together with her.

Sitting down with a slightly awkward feeling, Roana glanced at Saelika.

‘…Did I at least behave decently?’

Roana had always considered herself a special existence.

A noblewoman.
Wasn’t that alone enough to make her inherently special?
And on top of that, she possessed talent in sacred power.

Coming here and encountering other children her age had only deepened her conviction that she was special.
Of course, most of the other children were nobles too.
And they all possessed talent in sacred power as well.
But she was different.

I was Edmund’s closest friend, someone far more noble than the other children.
Unlike the children who first met Edmund at the Temple, I had known him for much longer.

But when flames engulfed everything around me.

‘…I was nothing at all.’

Being a noble didn’t mean the fire would spare me.
Even with talent for divine power, I couldn’t extinguish the flames.

‘…Because I didn’t make the effort. That’s why I never awakened my divine power.’

Simply being given something, being given talent, didn’t make one special.
Effort and action had to follow.

Being the friend of someone special didn’t make me special either.
If I wanted to be special, I had to make myself special through my own effort.
Then anyone could become a special existence.
Even if they weren’t a noble.

Roana turned her head to look at Saelika beside her.

An orphan and a commoner. On top of that, a failure who entered without even taking the test.
I had thought there was plenty of reason to despise her.
She was the complete opposite of special me.

But.

“Sae will save me. Help me out. Please.”
“Roana, you need to get out of here. Safely. Understand?”

The child’s arms were swollen bright red as she spoke those words.
From shielding me, from saving me.

‘I only tormented her. Even that very afternoon.’

Not only did I bully her, I even tried to have an adult punish her.
Simply because she annoyed me.

‘How could I possibly do that?’

I couldn’t do something like that.
Yet even as I thought this, another idea crossed my mind.

Could I become like that too?
If I tried to change, to transform myself… perhaps one day…

I felt strange thinking such thoughts about myself.
Still, I decided to act that way once.
It felt quite pleasant.

Crack!

When my cheek was struck, a spark ignited within me.
It seemed my senses had also sharpened at that moment.

Roana stared at Saelika before speaking bluntly.

“You’re the first person to ever slap my cheek.”
“Um…”

Saelika answered reluctantly.
She had been gazing at her with such intense eyes, and now suddenly this confession?
Out of nowhere in this situation?

‘Is she a pervert too? Like that bald man?’

Roana, seeing the wariness in my eyes, suddenly flushed red.
Even she thought that last remark was rather strange.

“Anyway!”

She cleared her throat awkwardly and looked at Saelika with an embarrassed expression.

“Thank you.”

The words felt awkward once spoken.
Now that I thought about it, I had never said thank you in my entire life.

“That’s what I wanted to say most of all.”

Now that I’d actually said it, the feeling wasn’t so bad after all.
A faint smile began to spread across Roana’s lips—

“Thank you…? For hitting my cheek back then…?”
“Huh…?”
“Roana is acting really strange…”

Saelika looked at Roana with a bewildered expression.

“No, that’s not it! I mean that day! That day!”

Roana burst out loudly, then cleared her throat with a cough.
Honestly, that damned brat! Here I am trying to speak seriously for once.

“I wanted to thank you for saving me that day. I apologized, but I don’t think I ever said thank you. The truth is, that’s what I wanted to say most.”

Saelika quietly watched Roana ramble on.
Soon, a smile began to slowly bloom across the child’s face.

Seeing the child grin widely, Roana hesitated with a small sound.

“D-don’t laugh! Stop it!”
“Hehe.”
“I said don’t laugh.”

Roana’s eyes darted around as she mumbled, her lips moving.

“…Short hair looks pretty on you too. It suits you well.”

Truth be told, I’d been bothered by it for a while now.
The way that long hair used to be now swayed lightly at her shoulders.

“I happen to have a hair ribbon, so I’ll give it to you. I don’t wear it, well, not that I’ve abandoned it or anything, but it’s pretty and I treasure it dearly— anyway, I’m giving it to you.”

Roana glanced sideways at Saelika’s reaction.

“…?”
“So, can I come to your room again to give you that?”
“Yeah.”

Roana’s eyes wavered for a moment.
Soon after, a bright smile bloomed across her face.
It was the most age-appropriate smile Saelika had ever seen from her.

That was when it happened.

“Hey, what are you two doing all by yourselves?”
“We helped too.”
“I helped Sae, not ‘we.’ You guys just butted in.”

The door opened and Dmitri, Edmund, and Ilay entered.
The atmosphere instantly became lively and boisterous.

“Damn, if it weren’t for the High Priest being here, I would’ve beaten that bastard. How dare he grab Honeybun by the collar? And what was that? Mamool~?”
“From the start, he was a vulgar and unpleasant fellow obsessed with money.”
“But I, Dmitri, showed up at just the right moment, didn’t I? Pretty helpful, right? Right, Honeybun?”

Saelika shrugged her shoulders.

“Rona worked really hard.”
“Huh?”

Roana looked at Saelika with slight surprise.

“And thanks. Without Rona’s help, I couldn’t have caught the bad guy.”

It was a strange feeling.
While Roana struggled to find words to respond, Ilay nodded in agreement.

“That’s right. If you hadn’t deceived Gawain so well, we wouldn’t have succeeded. You did well.”
“That’s her specialty. She tattled on our father so annoyingly back then.”

At Dmitri’s words, Roana’s face twisted into a mischievous smile.

“Really? I should reach out to them then.”
“That’s what I meant—well done! It was praise!”

Dmitri cried out as if wronged.
He seemed to have spoken his compliment with genuine sincerity.

“Ahem, anyway, nothing happened to you, right?”

Dmitri cleared his throat unnecessarily before asking Roana.
Roana answered curtly.

“What do you mean?”
“I’m asking if that bastard threatened you or anything. Grabbed you by the collar, or whatever.”
“Hmph, do you really think I’d fall for something like that?”
“Fair enough then.”

Dmitri turned his head and interjected into the conversation between Ilay and Saelika.
He lifted Saelika’s hair into two bunches before getting smacked for it.

Edmund shook his head beside them.

“He’s always so chaotic.”
“Tell me about it.”

Roana nodded quietly in agreement.

The two children fell silent for a moment.
Dmitri chattered away energetically while Ilay offered occasional jabs.
Saelika laughed among them.

Watching them, I felt something strange stir within me.
The Temple was merely a place I would pass through anyway.
I had planned to return to my family after mastering divine power.
So I had no intention of working hard or getting along well with the other children.

“Hey, Edmund.”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe… I could actually try putting in some effort at the Temple?”

Feeling Edmund’s gaze, Roana deliberately kept her eyes forward.
For some reason, she felt embarrassed.

“No, I’m not saying we should bury bones here, but since we’re already doing this, I thought it might be good to put in some effort… that’s just the thought that occurred to me.”

Edmund turned his gaze away from Roana and looked ahead again.
Saelika was offering her hair to Dmitri with a sullen expression.
Edmund watched this scene and slowly opened his mouth.

“…I feel the same way.”

* * *

Deep in the night.
I moved swiftly through the darkness like a flying squirrel.
My destination was the Prison.
The moment I poked my head out of the secret passage,

“You, you…!”

My eyes met Gawain’s.
I hadn’t expected to run into him like this.
I smiled awkwardly, and Gawain’s face twisted even more.

“You, wench!”

He seemed so agitated that he hadn’t conducted a proper interrogation yet.

“How did you even get here? Well, welcome! How dare a lowly creature like you—.”
“Sae finds you annoying and doesn’t want to hear it.”

I opened the Prison door and stepped inside.

“Just answer the questions Sae asks you.”
“Ha! Insolent wench. Do you think I’ll answer to you?”

Why do all these types react so predictably?
Things would be easier for everyone if they just answered the questions asked of them.

“Sigh, Weina. Did Tae really come all this way at night just to hear such nonsense?”
“What?”
“If Tae dragged his aching body here, shouldn’t Weina show some sincerity?”
“This is insane—!”

Thud!

The metal head of the mace collided with the floor, producing a heavy sound.
It was the very mace Derrick had given me.

Of course, since it was a toy, it was light enough to never actually hurt anyone—.

‘When justice and faith come together, things change!’

I lifted the mace swiftly.
As sacred light infused it, the mace gleamed brilliantly.
This was a true divine mace!

“W-what…”

Sensing the ominous turn, Gawain flinched back.
But it was already too late.

“It’s all Tae’s fault from the start.”

I realized I had forgotten a step that was absolutely necessary for smooth communication.

“Let’s just start with a beating.”

Once you get hit, you end up saying everything anyway.
Even when told not to speak, they just want to say more.

—————
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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