Youngest on Top - Chapter 49

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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 49

“One hundred twenty million isn’t the child’s name. (One hundred twenty million isn’t the child’s name.)”
“Of course not! Ah, but if I have children in the future, I’d love to name them one trillion or one quadrillion. Or better yet, one thousand trillion, one thousand quadrillion…!”

He was truly a man of business through and through.

“That’s not what I meant. (That’s not what I meant.)”

Gerald knelt before me and grinned widely.

“Money is precious. I would never treat it lightly.”
“….”
“I was able to place this bet because I believed the young Priest would win.”
“….”

His eyes were very serious.
The gaze of someone who trusted me completely, one might say.

No, rather it was the gaze of someone who believed in their own judgment.

‘Well, it’s his own money he wagered, so what can I do?’

Even if he lost against all odds, as long as he didn’t blame me, it would be fine.
Since he had faith in his own discernment rather than in me, he wouldn’t blame me.

I had worried about what would happen if the relationship I’d carefully built crumbled.
But it seemed there was no need for such concern.

I set down the pastries the Sisters had given me on the table and opened my mouth.

“Gerald, do you have a pen? (Gerald, do you have a pen?)”
“A pen? I do have one, but…?”
“Then write it down. (Then write it down.)”
“Yes?”

Gerald, looking bewildered, nonetheless produced a pen and notepad.

“The Imperial Palace is investigating the Cocorasi Family. So you can’t get tangled up with them, and also—”
“The Cocorasi Family investigation… investigation… what?!”

Gerald’s eyes widened in shock.
His expression screamed: how could I possibly know information even he wasn’t aware of?

“That’s why connections matter.”
“Connections?”
“I heard it from my sisters.”
“Ah. Those distinguished guests from the day they took the young priest away—I understand now, sir.”
“Mm.”

Even amid his shock, Gerald scribbled notes frantically.

He truly never missed an opportunity.
I let out a soft laugh.

After jotting down his notes, Gerald looked at me.

“But why are you telling me this?”
“Your brothers are still targeting you. So you need to be more careful and do better, so you don’t slip up.”

My enemy, Parmanace Temple, was connected to several major merchant guilds.

Meanwhile, I had only Gerald.
So I had to keep him from falling.

‘You need to hold your position well so I can use you later.’

Of course, I’d collect interest on the information generously.

But something was strange.
Gerald’s eyes grew misty.
He suddenly grasped my hand.
My small hand felt trapped within his two large ones.

“Young priest…”
“…Why are you crying?”

Gerald, with tears welling in his eyes, began pouring out words in rapid succession.

“I never knew you thought of me this way, little Priest. That’s right. We’re friends, aren’t we? Friends should help each other, after all. I’ve never really had friends since childhood, so this feeling is entirely new to me. I’m so happy that you think of me… Oh, speaking of which, when I was young, I was surrounded by people jealous of my genius. But I couldn’t understand it myself. Why, when you teach someone one thing, do they not understand ten? You understand that too, don’t you, little Priest? That’s why I had no friends… Ah, but you must have friends among your fellow trainees, little Priest. Still, please don’t forget this Gerald. I’ll be a good friend to you too. If we’d met at similar ages when we were younger, we truly would have been soulmates. Actually, I enjoyed playing horseback riding games too. Though my absolute favorite was playing merchant. I remember when I was little, I monopolized mud and sold it at high prices—the adults were amazed that I already understood hoarding and price manipulation. Do you enjoy playing merchant games too, little one? If only we’d played together when we were young—”

Gerald’s chatter was nearly a tempest.
I was growing dizzy from this verbal storm.

“—Now that I think about it, I did have something I could call a friend. That was books, you see—”
“Gerald.”
“Yes?”
“Be quiet. My ears hurt.”

Gerald laughed with a hahaha.
Then he rummaged through the snacks I’d set down.
After unwrapping the candy, he opened his mouth again.

“Ah, that’s right. Nom nom. Hearing such information, I couldn’t possibly stay silent. Being knowledgeable about commerce doesn’t mean loving freebies. Nom nom nom. It means paying appropriate value for everything.”
“….”
“So I had a proposal too. Nom nom nom. About that match wager. Oh, this tastes delicious.”
“….”
“If Artemisia wins, I’ll share my winnings with you. Nom nom.”
“….”
“If you, little Priest, nom nom, achieve victory, then I’ll make a great profit thanks to you. This is my repayment.”
“….”
“Ten percent, nom nom, how about it? Ah, this really is delicious.”
“…Gerald, what are you doing?”
“Hm? Nom nom.”

Gerald was busily devouring the candy.
It must have tasted really good—there were already barely any pieces left.

“About sharing my winnings with you, little Priest—”
“Stop.”
“What…? What did I do—”
“Why are you eating those—!!”

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Gerald yelped and groaned as he was struck on the back in rhythm with each word.

I glared at him.

“That’s for our children. Our little ones have never tasted sweets like this before…!”

These were candies brought by powerful figures whom Artemisia wouldn’t even glance at.
Only high-ranking nobles could afford such confections.

‘So I’ve been suppressing my own desires to give them to our children!’

These precious sweets I was saving to encourage them to do their best in tomorrow’s competition!

A resounding crash echoed through the room.
Thwack! Thwack, thwack!

“Ow! Wait, please! Ow! Ow!”
“The sworn enemy of the children’s precious sweets…!”
“Ow! P-please, spare me! Ow! Why are your hands so strong… Ow!”
“The nemesis of candy.”
“Ow! I’ll g-give you 20 percent of the dividends! 20 percent!”
“Bite down harder.”
“30 percent! Ow! No more, please! Ow! I understand, 40 percent! 50! 50!”

In the dead of night, the sound of Gerald being beaten echoed through the chamber.

‘I didn’t even use any sacred power, yet he’s being so dramatic.’

If it had been our children getting hit, I would have asked, “What? Sae, where does it hurt? Why is your punch so weak?”

* * *

The next morning.
The second day of the Convocation Festival dawned.
Today was the day of the Convocation’s main event—the competition of trainee priests.

Far more people visited the Artemisia Temple than the day before.
Those who had visited the temple yesterday had spread word of its complete transformation far and wide.
Even those who couldn’t purchase competition tickets came hoping to catch a glimpse.

“Wow, is this really the Artemisia Temple? It’s completely transformed.”
“Right? I wonder if their abilities have transformed just as much.”
“Why is an Artemisia Trainee Priest ranked highest instead of Reyatan’s Sacred Maiden?”
“Should we catch a match from outside the fence? It’d be a shame to miss the competition entirely.”

As the match time drew near, people who had been enjoying various events while touring the temple all gathered in the arena.

“Beverages and snacks for sale!”
“Cold beer! Who wants beer!”

The arena was packed with people. There wasn’t room to set foot anywhere.
The spectator stands were filled with ordinary spectators.
The VIP section belonged to the invited guests and the High Priests of Artemisia and Reyatan.

Around three in the afternoon.
A crackling sound came from the magical apparatus installed in the arena.
Soon the announcer’s voice began to echo.

[The friendly match between Artemisia and Reyatan Trainee Priests will begin shortly. Spectators are requested to take their seats.]

People watched the arena with excited expressions.

The match rules were simple.

【Tile Flipping】

When sacred power is infused into the white tiles beneath your feet, they change color.
Artemisia’s is blue.
Reyatan’s is red.
When time runs out, whichever side has more tiles wins.

“The Reyatan Trainee Priests will win again this time, right?”
“Of course. I heard that at the last gathering, the Artemisia Trainee Priests hadn’t even properly awakened their sacred power.”
“You never know. Maybe they did this time.”
“They didn’t. At best, one or two of them?”
“Right. How could something that wasn’t happening suddenly happen to all of them?”

The spectators predicted the victor based on information from the previous gathering.
Nearly everyone wagered on Reyatan’s victory.
Artemisia had performed so poorly during the last gathering.

“It’ll be tedious if there are few priests who’ve awakened sacred power. Reyatan’s victory is obvious.”
“Right, they said tile colors are exchanged using sacred power. They won’t even be able to do that!”
“What then, will they tackle the Reyatan kids with their bodies to block them? Hahahaha!”
“Blocking with your body—what kind of priest is that, pfft!”

The crowd erupted in giggles.
Critiquing and mocking the participants was another form of entertainment.

“Honestly, shouldn’t we have bet on how many tiles Reyatan wins with instead of who wins?”
“I’m betting all the tiles turn red!”
“That’s too harsh. Hmm, let’s see… I’ll wager on ‘all but one turning red.'”
“You’re even harsher, hahahaha!”

The spectators weren’t anticipating who would win.
What they anticipated was one thing alone.

‘How overwhelmingly, and in what manner, will Reyatan win.’

The outcome was that predictable.
Interest in the match itself had waned, but excitement about the circumstances overflowed.
And if Reyatan became the Octagon through this, wouldn’t they be witnessing a historic moment?

“But there’s someone who bet on Artemisia’s victory, right? And a massive sum at that.”
“Must be a philanthropist. Ah, we benefit from it!”
“Right, we get to pocket something! Very profitable.”

The spectators gazed down at the arena with keen interest.

* * *

Reyatan Trainee Priest waiting room.
Hendrick, the leader of Reyatan’s trainee priests, drew back the curtain and looked out at the arena.

“As expected, everyone is rooting for our victory.”

At those words, Helene’s expression became thoroughly satisfied.

“People understand this absurd situation well enough.”
“Absurd?”
“Yes, it makes no sense that our Reyatan would be inferior to Artemisia or anything like that.”
“Ah! Yes! That’s absolutely right!”

The Reyatan Trainee Priests snickered.
Helene watched the trainee priests and lifted the corners of her mouth.

‘The audience is all on my side.’

Of course, people must have been shocked when they first saw the transformed Artemisia Temple.
Moreover, Gerald from the Whitepearl Trading Company had placed an absurd sum of money on Artemisia.
They must have been curious about what was going on.

‘But that was merely an unexpected event.’

An event that would make our victory shine all the brighter.
As proof, the money the ordinary spectators had wagered on Artemisia turned out to be mere pocket change.

‘In the end, everyone recognizes our Reyatan over Artemisia, don’t they?’

Everyone was hoping for my victory.

I was frustrated yesterday, but now that the day of the match had arrived, I could see it clearly.
The gap between Reyatan and Artemisia.

The trainee priests of Artemisia must have realized it too, seeing this atmosphere.

‘They must want to abandon Artemisia and stay by my side as the Sacred Maiden.’

“After the match ends, there will probably be many children wanting to join as Reyatan Trainee Priests.”
“The Artemisia children?”
“Hehehehe….”
“Why would we accept such unlucky wretches? We’ll just leave the Artemisia Temple children to starve, yes?”

At the trainee priests’ words, Helene shook her head saying, “My, my….”

“My, a Reyatan priest should show magnanimity.”
“B-but…!”
“If you shape us into people worthy of Reyatan, wouldn’t that be enough?”
“Shape us…?”

The young boys of Reyatan wore contemptible expressions.
A splendid idea.
I should beat Dmitri, Ilay, and Edmund—those arrogant show-offs—until they’re black and blue.
To match our Reyatan.

Helene smiled sweetly.
She could see exactly what the children were thinking.

‘I should extend a hand to those three struggling under the children’s persecution.’

That’s the magnanimity of a Sacred Maiden, after all.

Ah, but she would never accept that arrogant girl.
Perhaps as a laborer doing menial work, but not otherwise.
She’s an orphan anyway, and when the Artemisia Temple falls, she’ll have nowhere to go.

Helene turned her head slightly toward the Artemisia Trainee Priests.

‘How about it? You must be discouraged after hearing what the audience said?’

But something was strange.

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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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