Youngest on Top - Chapter 5

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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 5

* * *

The morning after I discovered the treasure.
Walking while holding Randel’s hand, I noticed our direction was different from usual.

“Aren’t we going to see Mogen?”

I was asking why we weren’t heading to our usual workplace.

“From now on, you’ll be working in the High Priest’s office.”
“Did Randel become a more important person? That’s wonderful!”

Randel laughed at my words.

“It’s not that. The High Priest said he wants to keep a closer eye on you because you’ve been so impressive.”

A lie.

‘More like he wants to monitor me more closely.’

But since it was an adult’s lie, I decided to play along as a child would.

“Wow! That’s great for me?”
“Yes. You did very well.”

Either way, it wasn’t bad for me.
Before finding the treasure, I hadn’t even seen the High Priest’s face, let alone his hair.
But now I’d see him every day—it was an opportunity.

‘I need to see his face. Familiarity breeds affection, after all.’

If summoning a divine beast and discovering treasure had raised his guard?
Then acting like an ordinary child in reverse would lower it.

To be honest, I was a bit nervous.
Right now, I wasn’t just spouting words carelessly.
Sometimes my consciousness would follow my body completely, becoming childlike.
Whether it was because of this child’s body or because my soul and flesh were synchronizing, I wasn’t entirely sure.

‘…If I become completely childish in front of the High Priest, I’ll make a mistake.’

Still, I couldn’t avoid it.
And so Operation “Win Affection Through Persistence” began.

“Hi-Piest, hellow. (High Priest, hello.)”

Even without any response, I greeted him faithfully.

“I wanna be fwiends with Hi-Piest. (I want to be friends with the High Priest.)”

I always claimed the spot beside him.

“Hi-Piest, ahhh~”

I even picked out food and offered it to the High Priest.
People who give food are good people, after all!
I’m a good child too.

But the High Priest’s gaze had turned unusually cold.
His eyes looked as though he might freeze the mushroom I’d offered him to death.

‘…Did he find out that I gave it to him because I dislike mushrooms and wanted to get rid of it?’

Feeling a bit guilty, I fidgeted and asked.

“Hi-Piest, you no like mushwoom? (High Priest, do you not like mushrooms?)”
“….”
“Wandel said so. He said picky eating is bad. (Randel said so. He said picky eating is bad.)”
“….”

The High Priest still said nothing.
His gaze that looked ready to freeze the mushroom remained unchanged.
Sweat was about to form on my brow.

‘Geez, he really does hate mushrooms….’

“…Sae will eat it instead for you…. I’ll keep quiet about it from Randel….”

I pushed the mushroom away to my side of the plate.
Staring at the spongy fungal mass, my face naturally turned pale.

‘But I still have to eat it.’

If I ate something the High Priest disliked on his behalf, my favorability would naturally increase.
I was a dark knight.
A dark knight rescuing the High Priest’s princess from the mushroom monster…!

I held my breath and gulped down the mushroom monster in one bite.
My face contorted involuntarily.
I chewed quickly several times and swallowed hard.

‘Ugh, how tasteless….’

As I opened my eyes after shaking my head, the surroundings were oddly quiet.
All the adults were staring at me.

‘…Did I eat it too unappetizingly? Children who eat with relish are the ones who get loved.’

It was a moment of panic.

Plop.

Something fell onto my plate.

‘…A sausage?’

I looked up blankly at the High Priest.
He was eating as though nothing had happened.

I picked up the sausage and popped it straight into my mouth.
Honestly, it was cheap sausage, so it wasn’t particularly delicious.
It surely wasn’t.

‘…Delicious.’

* * *

After the meal, hope began to bloom within me.
Perhaps the High Priest would accept me as a Trainee Priest?

‘People who give you food are kind people.’

I gathered my courage.

“Come now, Sae. We must return to the Trainee Priest Quarters.”

Randel extended his hand, but I shook my head firmly.

“I want to stay here.”

I clung to the High Priest’s leg like a koala.

“I’m going to stay with the High Priest.”

I glanced up at the High Priest, but he wasn’t even looking at me.
He paid me no mind whatsoever, as though a dog were barking somewhere distant, and simply continued reading his documents.

‘…But he hasn’t pushed me away either.’

I gathered my courage anew and held the High Priest even tighter.
My plump cheeks pressed against his leg so firmly they nearly flattened.
The adults around us began to murmur.

“Sigh…. I should have married long ago. Then I would have had a daughter like Sae.”
“How curious. My nephew finds being among adults tedious and cries to go home right away.”
“Now that I think about it, Sae is always so well-behaved. Clinging right beside the High Priest without a single complaint.”

The Temple Priest asked me a question.

“Doesn’t it get boring spending time with the High Priest?”
“No boring. Fun! (Not boring. It’s fun!)”
“Fun?”
“Yeah. High Priest’s face fun. (Yes. The High Priest’s face is fun.)”

The expressions of the Priesthood grew subtle.

“…His face… is fun?”
“And it’s the High Priest’s face at that….”
“Does that mean his face is, uh, funny…?”

The Temple Priest who had been speaking while glancing at the High Priest quickly averted his eyes and clamped his mouth shut.
His complexion had turned ashen as though he’d witnessed something horrifying.

“Ha, haha. Children don’t even know what they’re saying when they speak.”
“Sae didn’t mean anything by it….”
“It’s fun!”

I pointed directly at the High Priest.

“Handsome face fun. Handsome face see good. Eyes refreshing. (A handsome face is fun. Seeing a handsome face feels good. It’s refreshing to the eyes.)”

Whoosh—

An awkward breeze swept through the office.
A chilling atmosphere.

But in moments like this, I had to be bold.
Half-hearted flattery was worse than none at all.
I would serve you properly, your Excellency!

“High Priest’s face always new. Thrilling. Best! (The High Priest’s face is always fresh. Exhilarating. The best!)”

The High Priest gazed down at me with an impassive expression.
The flattery didn’t seem to work at all….
It seemed to have backfired instead….
Did I mess up…?

In that moment.

‘Huh?’

As I studied the High Priest’s expression, something peculiar caught my eye.

“Ha, haha! It seems Sae is quite fond of you, High Priest.”
“Well, your appearance is certainly well-known, High Priest. Even among the believers…”
“The child is simply being honest, so please don’t be too upset with her, High Priest…”

The Temple Priests fumbled over their words while defending me.
I let their words go in one ear and out the other, keeping my gaze fixed on the High Priest.
I could have sworn the corners of his mouth twitched upward just a moment ago.

But no matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t find a trace of a smile on his face.
Well, I suppose that’s that.
Given everyone else’s reactions, I must have been mistaken.

“I thought Sae followed Randel the most. Randel, you must feel a bit hurt?”
“Haha, well, I do feel a little hurt.”

Flinch.
At Randel’s voice, I turned my gaze away from the High Priest.

“Randel, are you sad?”
“A little.”

How could this be!
I never imagined Randel would feel hurt.
While I needed to curry favor with those in power, I didn’t want to see kind Randel suffer.

“Oh no~ What should I do~? Randel is feeling hurt~.”
“That’s understandable. Sae has been clinging only to the High Priest, not to Randel.”

As the adults spoke with cheerful smiles, I found myself truly conflicted.
Should I go to Randel right now?
But the most powerful person here…

As I squirmed uncertainly, the High Priest raised one eyebrow.
Then he spoke to Randel.

“Then you take her with you.”

Randel smiled broadly.

“Is that truly acceptable? I thought you enjoyed keeping Sae by your side.”
“What are you talking about? She’s just a nuisance.”

The High Priest’s face as he spoke those words looked genuinely annoyed.
For some reason, he told me to go with Randel without the slightest hesitation.

‘What a terrible man.’

After all the effort I’d put into becoming closer to the High Priest.
I’d even flattered him with all my might.

“I want to go.”

I stretched my arms toward Randel.
Randel laughed heartily and scooped me into his embrace.

The moment I left the office cradled in Randel’s arms.
I poked my head out toward the High Priest.

“Sae actually likes Lord Randel way more. As much as the sky and earth!”

After saying my piece, I quickly buried my face back into Randel’s chest.
There!

* * *

Saelika’s parting bombshell left the office in silence.

“Bahahaha!”

And it was boisterous laughter that shattered that silence.
The reaction of the elders who were peers with the High Priest.

“You’re telling me a child the size of a bean got a hit in on you?”
“Well, you should treat them better. I thought they’d die from pity, whimpering like a puppy caught between their former master and current master, not knowing what to do.”
“And yet you, who claim to pity them, find it so amusing to tease the child?”
“Ah, tease? Honestly, isn’t it you who’s been too harsh, High Priest?”

The High Priest let out a sigh, twisted his mouth, and set down the documents.

“Did I torment them? Randel said he felt slighted.”
“Randel has become much more well-behaved now, but he had quite the temperament in his day.”
“Regardless, that child’s contributions are substantial. Should we not bestow a reward?”

The atmosphere that had relaxed suddenly grew tense again.

“Isn’t that premature? The divine beast summoning and the treasure discovery might have been Parmanase’s doing.”
“Actually… the circumstances of how they came to the Temple before arriving are rather peculiar.”

The Temple Priest who had been investigating Sae’s background spoke.

“Peculiar?”
“Yes, something seemed odd, so I’ve sent another investigator. I’ll report back after confirming everything from the beginning.”

The Priesthood nodded at those words.
Certainty was what mattered most.

“Then it would be best to decide on the reward after that.”
“Sae will be disappointed.”
“Indeed. Thinking of their sadness pains my heart.”
“It is unfortunate, but….”

It was just as the conversation seemed to be concluding.
The High Priest, who had remained silent, opened his mouth.

“—Giving no reward at all would also be problematic.”
“Yes…? But—”
“Regardless of whose orders they followed, that child has been of great benefit to the Temple. No one can deny that.”
“….”
“For the sake of the Temple’s order, rewards and punishments must be clear. The majority of the Priesthood who don’t know that the child came with Parmanase’s divine power will wonder why they aren’t being rewarded.”
“….”
“Furthermore, if Parmanase is using that child, it would be better to make them think we trust the child in return.”

The Priesthood found the High Priest’s continuous stream of explanations rather peculiar.
The High Priest was not the type to explain himself.
Yet now, of all times…?

But since his words weren’t wrong, they all nodded in agreement.

“That’s certainly true.”
“Then perhaps we should offer a reward, even if it’s a simplified one…”

A few elders watching the scene whispered among themselves.

“…Isn’t he just giving out a reward because he wants to beat Randel? In the end, it was Randel that Sae chose.”
“True, but I think he’s concerned that the child might be disappointed.”
“Nonsense.”
“Well, it’s the High Priest we’re talking about, after all.”

The elders shook their heads, as if amused by their own words.
Thinking it absolutely impossible.

* * *

I must be insane, absolutely insane!
Why did I say Randel was better after doing so well!
Did eating that mushroom turn me into a complete child!
Cursed mushroom!

At this point, there’s no helping it.
I have no choice but to use my final trump card.

I solemnly opened the drawer.
Inside lay an object that had been causing me serious anguish all this time.

‘The High Priest is only human. He’ll be helpless before this.’

Sigh, to think I’d have to resort to ‘this’.
The High Priest really is something else.

“Acknowledge me! (Acknowledge it!)”

But this was the end of it.
I grinned wickedly and clutched the object that fit snugly in my palm.

And the next day.

“Daddy!”

The moment the office door opened and the High Priest appeared, I scrambled toward him at full speed.
The High Priest lifted me up with an annoyed expression as I clung to his legs.

“Behave yourself.”
“Yes.”

The Temple Priests around us chuckled.

“You saw Sae yesterday too, but you’re happy to see the High Priest again, aren’t you?”
“Yes!”
“But you said you like Randel more?”
“Well, that’s….”

I wiggled my fingers.
This was the perfect moment to deploy my final trump card.
But now that the moment had arrived, I felt a twinge of reluctance.

After agonizing over it for a while, I finally made my decision.
I opened my mouth with solemn determination.

“Daddy.”

And with even greater solemnity, I extended my hand.
More precisely, the mint chocolate in my palm.

“Here. (For you.)”

The High Priest raised one eyebrow and gazed at my open palm.

“…What is this.”
“Bribe.”

Surely you wouldn’t have expected me to prepare something so precious.
A believer who came to the Temple gave it to me, saying I was cute, and I’ve been saving it for days without eating it.
I puffed out my chest proudly.

But the Priesthood’s reaction was strange.

“Ha, haha. The child is still so young—what would they know? Where did you even pick up such words…?”
“I know what a bribe is.”

I spoke toward the High Priest.

“I want to look good.”
“Look good?”
“Yes. So I can become a Trainee Priest.”

The High Priest furrowed his brow.
His gaze upon me grew noticeably sharper.

“For what purpose.”
“If I become a Trainee Priest, I can live with you, High Priest.”
“….”
“Because I like you, High Priest.”
“….”
“More than candy.”

Though that last part was a lie.
Hehehehe, powerful one. This is the extent of my skill at dangling my little finger to manipulate you.

The High Priest gazed quietly at my face, then poked my plump cheek.

“…I heard Randel was more favored.”

I caught a faint murmur like that.

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