Youngest on Top - Chapter 4

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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 4

A jackpot?
At my nonsensical words, deep furrows etched themselves across the High Priest’s brow.

“What are you talking about?”
“Well….”

The Assistant Priest glanced nervously at the Duke of Noishurael.

“I shall take my leave now. There’s no need to see me out.”
“Safe travels, Your Grace.”

At the High Priest’s words, the Duke of Noishurael gave a light nod and departed from the reception room.
Count Peynum, the Duke’s close attendant, leaned in beside him and whispered.

“It seems Artemisia Temple has received some good fortune.”
“….”
“In desperate times, even the smallest favorable wind can have great effect, can it not? I find myself quite intrigued.”

A single breeze can alter the direction of the current.
The difficulty lies only in summoning that wind.

“Aren’t you curious who brought this wind, Your Highness?”
“…Pointless speculation.”

The Duke of Noishurael dismissed Count Peynum’s words and stepped forward to board his carriage.

It was then.

“Randel! Hurry! The High Priest is waiting!”

A bright, crystalline voice—utterly incongruous with the solemnity of the Main Temple—rang out through the air.

‘A child?’

The Duke’s eyes caught sight of a small figure bouncing eagerly down the corridor beyond, urging the Priest forward.

“Your Highness?”

Count Peynum called out to the Duke of Noishurael with a puzzled expression.
The Duke then realized that, for just a moment, his attention had been stolen by that small child.
How unlike him.

“Is something the matter…?”
“No.”

The Duke of Noishurael climbed onto the carriage without hesitation.
The carriage departed immediately without delay.

* * *

“Ahahaha! With this, we won’t need to worry about our budget for quite some time!”
“We’ll finally be able to repair the Temple that we’ve been putting off. The corridors where the children walk have always been so dangerous—I’ve been constantly worried.”
“And now we can treat the children to delicious food when they return from their training retreat.”

The faces of the Priesthood bloomed with joy for the first time in a while.

“Sae, you discovered this?”
“Remarkable, truly remarkable!”
“First you brought us a divine beast, and now treasure!”
“How can something so tiny be so impressive and admirable! Hmm?”

The large hand of Derrick, the combat priest, pinched my cheek.

“Oh my? So soft and squishy! Like a perfectly risen bread dough!”
‘Nooo!’

My body swayed back and forth as his thick, kneading fingers worked.

“Derrick.”

Randel steadied my body while looking at Derrick.
His expression was stern, unlike his usual gentleness.

Derrick withdrew his hand with an embarrassed expression.

“Not only in appearance but in durability too—you’re like a chick.”

…Durability?
Suddenly being treated as fragile as a chick, I felt indignant.
If my divine power just grew stronger, I’d be so much more capable!

“Sae is not a chick! Sae is sturdy! (Sae, I’m not a chick! I’m strong!)”
“Oh my, weren’t you a chick? You’re still chirping away right now.”

Derrick laughed heartily.
I puffed out my cheeks indignantly and looked around.

All the adults were laughing.
I knew perfectly well that getting more upset would only make me look even more childish and immature.
So I had to display the dignity of someone on their third life and endure it.
I had to endure it…

“Please stop teasing me.”

That’s right!

“The chick is sulking.”

What?

“Sae is not a chick!”

How could I possibly be a chick? If anything, I’m completely strong—

“Sae is a tiger! (I’m a tiger!)”

At my resounding roar, the adults looked at me with startled expressions.
For a moment, I thought their flustered faces meant they wouldn’t tease me anymore, and I felt slightly relieved.
But then the adults spoke to me with twice as much warmth as before.

“Oh my. Derrick made a mistake. Sae is a tiger, yet he called her a chick.”
“Goodness, our Sae is a brave and mighty tiger.”
“I really made a big blunder. Calling our tiger a chick!”

Everyone pretended to agree with me, but their lips were trembling with barely suppressed laughter.

“….”

I turned away from Pang and clenched my fists as tightly as small potatoes.

‘Just you wait. Once I regain my strength…!’

Then Randel lifted me up and stopped the other priests from continuing.

“Everyone, please stop. Can’t you see the child is upset?”
“Randel….”

Only Randel is truly reliable.
Even when I grow stronger, I must protect Randel.

“I’m sorry, Sae. I was just so happy.”
“Yes, we got carried away and made a mistake with you.”

I clung tightly to Randel and glanced sideways at the adults.
They all wore apologetic expressions.

‘…I suppose I’ll forgive them this once.’

As a gesture of reconciliation, I extended my hand and grasped Derrick’s thick finger.

“Are you forgiving us?”
“Of course! I’m a magnanimous person! (I’m a big-hearted person!)”
“….”

Suddenly Derrick turned away from me. The other adults did the same.
Looking closely, their shoulders were trembling faintly.

‘Are they moved by my magnanimous bearing?’

I tilted my head in confusion.

“The High Priest is arriving.”

The Meeting Hall door opened, and the High Priest entered along with the Elders.
Some of the Elders regarded me with expressions of approval, while others cast wary glances in my direction.
Yet the High Priest’s expression remained utterly unreadable.

I fidgeted with my hands, studying the High Priest’s reaction carefully.
Was he also suspicious of me, like the others?
Would he interrogate me about how I knew the treasure’s location, or demand to know if the Parmanasus Temple had revealed it to me?

Unlike the other Priests who knew nothing and were favorable toward me, the High Priest disliked me.
His reaction was the only genuine one.

‘Once these Priests learn I arrived with the divine power of Parmanasus, they’ll shun me just like before.’

Before my return, there were several Priests at the Parmanasus Temple who had smiled warmly at me.
Just as they had turned cold in an instant back then.

‘I don’t want to be cast out again….’

The High Priest stood before me, silently looking down at me without a word.
His gaze was cool and emotionless.
My spirit was beginning to falter when the High Priest’s lips parted.

“Well done.”
“…!”

My eyes widened involuntarily.
I had never imagined receiving praise from him.

Even thinking I was sent by the Parmanasus Temple, he was acknowledging me?
What I had accomplished.
Me.

A strange emotion washed over me.
It felt ticklish in some way, and suffocating in another….

As I hesitated, the other Priests looked at me with confusion.

“Sae?”
“…Yes.”
“What?”
“…Should I do Gromon’s hair like this too?”

As I ruffled my hair carelessly, the Priesthood’s expressions shifted to bewilderment.

“Father, I’m doing well, so if I do well, should I do it like this with Mom and Dad?”
“…Ah.”

The Priesthood’s faces contorted strangely.

‘Is this not it?’

Did I act as though I was handing over praise?
Or perhaps.
Was someone like me simply too difficult to praise, even with this much effort….

Damn it.
I needed to make a good impression, but I couldn’t hold back….

But I had my reasons too.

‘I’ve never once received praise for anything I’ve done….’

I only ever watched in secret whenever Amelia received praise.
The expressions on the Priesthood’s faces when they looked at Amelia were incredibly tender.
Even their touch, as though caressing a precious treasure….

If I received such a touch, I felt I would become precious like Amelia too, and so.

But I wasn’t Amelia.
I was different from her, the one who received praise just for smiling.

‘Perhaps discovering a treasure wasn’t enough for me.’

One careless word and the good impression I’d built up would crumble.
I spoke with the spirit of a beaten puppy, completely deflated.

“Over there, I made a mistake.”

Then.

Tap.

A large hand descended over my head.

“Well done.”

It was the High Priest.

I froze solid, staring blankly up at his hand.
The moment our eyes were about to meet, he quickly withdrew it.
And he averted his gaze from me.
His expression looked as though he’d made some mistake.

Without looking at me, the High Priest gave instructions to the Priesthood.

“The gold coins we’ve found won’t be enough for the Temple repairs. Use the divine statues. They’re all made of solid gold, so it should suffice.”

I heard the Priesthood respond to his words.

While the adults discussed noisily, I quietly lowered my head and placed my hand over the crown of my own head.
There was no warmth left at all.
It had been such a fleeting moment—barely a touch before it was gone.

But.

“Well done…”

I quietly murmured the High Priest’s words to myself.

“Done well. Well done, done…”

Those words felt like treasure.
I carefully took them out, just for myself, where no one could hear.

“Mm, sniff… well done…”

Swish, swish—I gently moved my hand resting on top of my head.

* * *

“B-but these are all statues of Artemeia and the angels who serve her, are they not? How can we lay hands upon them?”
“We cannot sell them, nor can we melt them down for use.”

There was no time to indulge in sentiment.
At the priesthood’s words, my jaw dropped open.
My runny nose snapped back up.

‘So they want to just keep those golden lumps sitting around? Will the statues feed anyone?’

I glanced around the room.
The priests who had just moments ago declared “our financial troubles are over” now wore expressions of distress.
It seemed they had never actually considered using the statues.

‘Artemeia, there are people here so stubborn they won’t even accept food prepared soft enough to swallow without chewing.’

My head throbbed.
How was I supposed to convince them again?
If I suggested using the statues, they might think the Parmanasus Temple had influenced me….

I stole a glance at the High Priest.

‘…Still, he said I did well earlier, so maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try speaking up.’

Even as I thought this, my mouth wouldn’t open.
Why was that?
Speaking had become harder than before I received his praise.
What if he suspected me again….

That was when it happened.

“The children will return from their training retreat soon. Surely we should feed the hardworking children meat, should we not?”
“W-well—”
“Artemeia would surely prefer her young servants to have full bellies rather than golden statues cast in her image.”

Oh, who is that?
Pleased to see someone familiar, I turned my head to look at them.
Standing there was a man with set lips and a sharp jawline.

A face so cold it was impossible to imagine him as a Priest.
That perfectly balanced visage made him appear even more frigid.
Beneath that icy countenance, a heavy high priest’s vestment draped over his sturdy shoulders.
And on his chest, a brooch gleaming with divine power.

‘An Elder.’

One of the Elders.
Sensing my gaze, he turned his head toward me.

“…!”

He regarded me with eyes as glacial as a frozen wasteland.
Since my return, this was the first time I had received such a hostile look.
Without thinking, my small child’s body shrank back.

“The Sirius Elder speaks the truth.”
“Surely Artemeia would prefer her followers to care for one another rather than worship her through material wealth and gold.”

One by one, the Priesthood voiced their agreement with the Sirius Elder’s words.
His gaze had already shifted away from me.
Yet I could not relax my rigid shoulders.
Like ice water poured over my head.

‘…This is only natural.’

What happened earlier was merely a fleeting moment of magic.
This is reality.

‘It’s fine. I’m used to it.’

I felt Randel’s gaze upon me.
I offered him a small, forced smile.

* * *

After deciding how to use the gold coins and golden statue,
the High Priest, the Elders, and several senior Priests entered the small conference room adjoining the office.
Now that we had determined the general purposes, it was time to discuss other important matters.

“Something feels off about this.”

Sirius Elder spoke in a cold voice.

“How could that child have known about the sacred artifact imbued with divine power, and how could she have known the location of the treasure?”
“Elder Sirius, as I mentioned, Sae was simply looking for a picture from a fairy tale book.”

Randel gently defended Sae.

“Wanting to search for a pretty picture from a fairy tale as treasure is quite a childlike notion, is it not?”
“Moreover, everything that child has done has benefited our Temple.”

The other Priests also spoke in Sae’s defense.
But not everyone agreed.

“However, it could be to lower our guard.”
“Sae is still just a child.”

At Randel’s words, Sirius Elder’s eyes narrowed.

“Indeed. A child. Far too young a child.”
“That child knows nothing.”
“But what if the Parmanasus Temple is using a child who knows nothing?”
“Elder.”

The Priests nodded in agreement.

“The Elder Sirius speaks the truth.”
“A child, being innocent, is easily manipulated.”

At the cold words, the other Priests burst forth with emotion.

“Did you not see that child earlier? At a single word of praise, she looked as though she might cry…”

Recalling that pitiful sight, the Priest fell silent, unable to continue.

The hall fell silent.
Everyone’s hearts were left with the impression of that small shadow—pitiful and sorrowful.

“…Do you know what Sae said about wanting to play an exploration game?”

Randel looked around the assembly.

“She said that if she finds treasure, she wants to give me meat and soft, fluffy bread.”
“…”
“Cookies for Mogen, warm tea for the other priests. And—.”

Randel lifted his head and looked toward the High Priest.

“She said she would give all the treasure to you, High Priest.”
“…”
“To thank you for allowing her to live here.”
“…”
“She thought that if she gave everyone treasure, perhaps they wouldn’t hate her so much. That maybe, just maybe, they might come to like her a little.”

A solemn hush descended upon the meeting hall.
The Sirius Elder slowly opened his mouth.

“What a good child.”
“Yes.”
“It is precisely because she is so good that she is all the more dangerous. Look at yourself now, Randel.”

The Sirius Elder swept his cold gaze across the meeting hall.

“Is there anyone here who does not know that child appeared with the sacred power of Parmanasus?”
“…”
“Yet already, you have all lowered your guard.”

The Sirius Elder clicked his tongue.

“I’ll admit this is the first time we’ve brought such a young child into the Temple, but look at the state of all of you—utterly smitten.”
“What? When were we ever like that?”
“You don’t know? Every time that child passes by, haven’t you been opening windows that were perfectly fine closed?”
“I-I never did any such thing. I was simply airing out the space.”
“Airing out as a group? All of you pressed against those windows grinning so widely I thought your gums would dry out.”
“Ahem, ahem!”

The Elders cleared their throats and turned away.
The Sirius Elder’s gaze grew cold and sharp.

“Since you all lack such discipline, I must be all the more vigilant.”

He declared it with grave finality.

“I will never accept that child as a member of this Temple.”

* * *

Every Priest knew how much the Sirius Elder had devoted himself to the Temple.
They all understood that his every word stemmed from concern for the Temple’s future.

So the Priests stopped opening windows for ventilation and turned their backs on Sae.
But there was one thing they had overlooked.

“…What is this.”

The High Priest raised one eyebrow.
Resting delicately in the small child’s hand was a piece of chocolate.
Mint chocolate, no less.

“A bribe.”

Sae was a resourceful child who would resort to bribes if gentler methods failed.

—————
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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