Youngest on Top - Chapter 50

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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 50

“Ah, I think I ate too much yesterday. My stomach still feels unsettled.”
“But wasn’t it really delicious? I’ve never had a steak like that back home.”
“I want to eat it again…”

This was completely contrary to Helene’s expectations.
The Artemisia Trainee Priests were patting their bellies and chatting away.
Not a trace of fear on their faces.

What in the world was this?
They were talking about food in a situation like this?

‘While facing off against this Helene?’

Helene stared at the Artemisia children with an expression of disbelief.
‘They’re all abnormal.’

Helene looked at the Artemisia Priests with contempt, then shook her head slowly.

‘I shouldn’t accept any of the others besides that girl.’

Yes, I should limit recruitment to just Dmitri, Ilay, and Edmund.

Besides, the fewer I bring over, the more isolated those three will become.
When someone is thoroughly isolated, an extended hand becomes the most precious thing.

Soon, a massive crystal display board entered Helene’s view.
That annoying girl’s face hung there, larger and higher than her own.

‘Eventually, she’ll find her proper place too.’

* * *

The Artemisia Trainee Priests looked carefree.
Not the slightest, not even a speck of tension visible on them.

In fact, even this kind of conversation had emerged.

“Are you nervous?”
“No.”
“Ah, I’m worried because you’re not nervous at all. Because of that, I don’t even feel like going to the bathroom. What if I need to go in the middle of the match?”
“You’re disgusting.”

I even laughed at that.

It was a curious thing.
The children of Artemisia had memories of being utterly defeated by Reyatan before.
On top of that, all the countless people gathered in this tournament venue expected nothing but their loss.

By how large a margin would they lose?
How pathetically would they lose?

It was a situation where they should have been anxious and discouraged, yet they weren’t at all.

“Are you confident?”
“Well… I just have something far more terrifying than them.”
“Me too.”
“Yeah, me too.”

All the Artemisia Trainee Priests thought of the same person.

“Is Reyatan scary, or is Sae scary?”

“…”
“…”
“…I think I want to go to the bathroom now.”
“Yeah, that’s really scary.”

Reyatan was incomparable.
The youngest one who had been swinging his fists with that morning fury was truly terrifying.
I even had a hallucination of horns sprouting from his head and fangs jutting out sharply.

That was right.
Behind these children stood an even more nerve-wracking and terrifying existence.

‘Back then, I was treated that way just for losing. If I lose in front of him…’

At that thought, the Reyatan Trainee Priests suddenly felt their legs trembling uncontrollably.

“Uuuugh….”
“The bathroom, the bathroom…! Give me some tissue!”
“If we lose, I’ll kill myself….”
“I might actually die….”
“If she forces us to win, we’ll be rolling around until we die….”

Saelika, who had been quietly listening to the Trainee Priests’ words, finally spoke up.

“Right? (You’re right.)”

One of the children speaking suddenly flinched and turned his head in surprise.

“What, what?”
“We, we didn’t lose. The match hasn’t even started yet!”

The children’s shoulders shot up in alarm.
Saelika’s expression became subtle.

‘I suppose I have been pushing the children too hard….’

She had been quite strict about telling them not to go out and get beaten up.
If they were humiliated in front of others, it would affect their entire lives.

Saelika let out a groan—”Hmmmm….”—and looked at the children.

“If you win, I’ll give you the meat from yesterday. (If you win, I’ll give you yesterday’s meat.)”
“…!”
“For a whole week! (For a whole week!)”
“…!!!”

At Saelika’s words, the Priests’ eyes went wide.

“R, really?!”
“Can I, can I eat two plates?”

Saelika coolly raised her fist in a morning punch.
Then she spread three fingers and spoke.

“Three plates is possible.”
“Ooooooh!”
“For, for a whole week, three plates each!”

Looking at those three confident fingers, it didn’t seem like she was lying.
Come to think of it, she was frightening, but she never lied.

Three plates of that glistening steak?
And that meat with such incredible flavor at that?
For a whole week?

The children fell silent for a moment.
And then…

“Waaaaaahhhhh—!!”

—They suddenly erupted in cheers.
Seeing the Artemisia Trainee Priests like that, the Reyatan children flinched.

“What, what are those things.”
“Why, why are they like that.”

They had naturally expected us to be intimidated, but there was no sign of it whatsoever.

‘What have they been eating all this time?’

It was so different from the last gathering.
Back then, they looked tense like insects about to be stepped on, which was amusing.

This version of Artemisia was displeasing in many ways.

‘But what could they possibly do?’

We now had a Sacred Maiden, after all.
But all they gained was one small, pathetic girl.
A child far too young to be any real strength.

“Those fools will only be laughing for now.”

Hendrick raised an eyebrow, glancing toward the Reyatan Trainee Priests.

“They still seem so leisurely about their precious Octagon. Let’s show them reality!”

The children rallied behind Hendrick’s cry.

“Yes, let’s break that arrogance!”
“Shatter it so badly it can never be put back together!”

Hendrick, who had been rallying the priests’ spirits, exchanged a glance with Helene.
Hendrick nodded.
Seeing this, Helene smiled softly.

‘Yes, this is truly our only moment.’

Once the match ended, everything would return to normal.
Back to when Reyatan cowered in fear.

Buuuuu—!

A trumpet blast echoed from the arena. Simultaneously, the referee’s voice boomed through the magical device.

[Trainee Priests from each temple, please take your positions.]

At last, the joint competition between Artemisia and Reyatan had begun.

* * *

[Line up!]

The children from Artemisia and Reyatan faced each other in a single line.
And the representative Trainee Priest from each temple stepped forward.

From Reyatan came Sacred Maiden Helene.
And from Artemisia was….

“Huh? Isn’t she incredibly small?”

Among the Reyatan Trainee Priests, a notably small child waddled forward.
It was Saelika.

“That’s the kid from the scoreboard.”
“Wasn’t there 120 million in cash on the line?”
“That’s right.”

The spectators stirred with murmurs.
Hearing this, Hendrick smirked wickedly.

“Artemisia has no Sacred Maiden, so they sent out some scrawny little girl. Their representative is pathetic—I almost feel sorry for them.”

Then Dmitri, facing Hendrick directly, spoke.

“Shut your mouth. Even here, I can smell shit coming from your lips.”
“What? You bastard…!”

Hendrick’s teeth ground together with a harsh sound.

“That son of a bitch, I’ll kill him…!”
“Hendrick.”
“Y-yes, Sacred Maiden!”
“There’s no need to get worked up.”

The difference would reveal itself once the match began anyway.
Understanding her words, Hendrick chuckled with satisfaction.

The Sacred Maiden was right.
Once the match started, they’d be crawling insects on the ground.
They were merely annoying, like insects should be.

Helene smiled brightly at Saelika.

“I’m counting on you, Saelika.”
“Mm.”
“This is a place where we show our devotion to one another. So an injury here would be a wound of honor. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Mm!”

Saelika grinned widely and raised both her arms.

“It’s fine if the Reyatan Trainee Priests get hurt! (It means it’s okay if the Reyatan Trainee Priests get hurt!)”
“My, I was only concerned for you all. Being young, you may not fully understand the situation… but let’s do our best.”

Shedmen, who had been watching, let out a quiet chuckle.
Then he turned his gaze toward Anatullio High Priest of Artemisia with an arrogant expression.

“What a pity. It would have been a fine match if Artemisia had a Sacred Maiden as well.”
“Well, we’ll have to see about that.”
“A leader’s most important ability is understanding the times…”

Shedmen glanced around at the distinguished guests.
The implication was clear—Artemisia Temple’s current state was due to the High Priest’s recklessness.

One of the guests pointed toward the arena.

“It appears to be starting.”

Boom, boom, boom!
The sound of drums announcing the beginning of the match rang out widely.

Shedmen laughed with a ha-ha.

“We have quite a number of children who have awakened divine power. Enough to rival the children from most Octagon temples—”

But that was when it happened.
The moment the match began, radiance burst forth from the bodies of the Artemisia Trainee Priests.

A power entirely different from mana.
The brilliant, radiant power of divinity—divine power itself!

“Wh-what…!”
“Besides the child who awakened it at the last assembly, there’s another child who has awakened divine power?!”
“Wait. It’s not just one or two!”

One, two, three, four… no! All of them!
Every single child of Artemisia was radiating divine power.

“The Artemisia Trainee Priests have awakened divine power?!”
“All of them have awakened?”

The moment the spectators gasped in astonishment.
The tiles beneath the children’s feet turned blue in an instant.

Parararalak—
Like dominoes toppling, or rather like a tidal wave sweeping everything away, the blue tiles spread rapidly!

“F-faster than the Reyatan Trainee Priests!”
“L-look at the scoreboard!”

Already, the entire first half of the board indicating the tiles had turned blue.
The Reyatan children hadn’t even managed to draw upon their sacred power yet.

“This is impossible—!!”

Shedmen shot to his feet and bellowed.
The expressions of the Reyatan Priests hardened rigidly.

And the Artemisia Priests….

“W-what?!”
“…!!”
“W-what on earth…!”

—were equally shocked.

I knew the children had grown stronger.
But I never imagined they could change so many tiles so rapidly, all at once like this.
At the last harmony festival, they were no match for the Reyatan Trainee Priests, yet now they overwhelmed them decisively from the start.

“Well done!”

Devon thrust his fist into the air and shouted.
The expressions of the Artemisia Priests brightened.

“What is happening! The children…!”
“Sae. Could it be Sae?”
“That’s right, they said he was teaching them something!”

The spectator section erupted into deafening noise.

“You’re telling me they hadn’t even awakened their sacred power at the last gathering?! So how are they so skilled at this?”
“Incredibly fast! What on earth happened to them!”

The children of Artemisia Temple, hearing the murmurs of the audience, thought to themselves.

‘Well, that’s what happens when you get beaten until you can use it properly.’
‘Or you keep rolling until you figure it out….’

Like an acorn tumbling down a slope, they had rolled and rolled.
The person who taught them was truly terrifying.

“Huh? Why isn’t your sacred power coming out in one second? That’s strange~? Maybe your faith in Artemia is lacking? Roll. (Huh? Why isn’t your sacred power coming out in one second? That’s strange? Maybe your faith in Artemia is lacking? Roll.)”
“I told you to maintain equal strength in both hands for equal time. Is Sae’s instruction hard to understand? It’s fine. Eventually, when you keep rolling, you’ll understand it. Roll. (I told you to maintain equal strength in both hands for equal time. Is Sae’s instruction hard to understand? It’s fine. Eventually, when you keep rolling, you’ll understand it. Roll.)”
“Oh my, tired? It’s fine. If you pass out, you won’t be tired. Huh? Why are you getting up? You want to try again? Then! Roll. (Oh my, tired? It’s fine. If you pass out, you won’t be tired. Huh? Why are you getting up? You want to try again? Then! Roll.)”

Roll.
Roll and prove your faith.
Like an acorn, tumbling and rolling.
Roll!

The past flashed before their eyes like a lantern show.
Suddenly, tears seemed to blur their vision.

But that was only momentary.
The children left the fleeting past behind them.
And three words filled their minds completely.

Meat.
Three plates.
For one week.

The children chanted it inwardly like a mantra.

‘Meat, three plates, for one week!’
‘Meat, three plates, for one week…!’

The eyes of the Artemisia Trainee Priests sharpened.

The Reyatan Trainee Priests also stained their tiles beneath them red, but they were slower than Artemisia’s.
From the activation of sacred power to its use, they were noticeably sluggish.

The Reyatan Priests in the guest seats, having witnessed this, struggled to conceal their displeasure.
And they forced out a casual laugh.

“The growth of Artemisia’s Trainee Priests is quite rapid, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It seems that not long ago, there was barely one child who had awakened sacred power.”

They praised it as fast, yet dredged up the slow past to mock it.
At those words, Randel’s eyes widened gently.

“Reyatan’s Trainee Priests are the ones who are truly fast. Didn’t the majority of your children awaken sacred power back then?”
“That’s right.”

The Reyatan Priest answered with pride.
Yes, most of us did awaken it.
And at a much younger age than you.
Randel nodded.

“Was it forty-three back then? Then now it’s… oh, still forty-three.”

We’ve grown so rapidly in this short time, yet you remain unchanged.

At the implication of those words, the Reyatan Priest’s face flushed crimson.
Seeing this, Debon Elder chuckled.

“The Reyatan children’s abilities must be quite remarkable. To see them turn even a distant Priest’s face red like that.”
“Mind your tongue, Debon Elder!”

Shedmen cried out sharply, glaring at the mocking Debon.
Debon smirked and spoke.

“My, the Reyatan children have quite the talent for turning even the top of your head red—.”
“Debon Elder!”

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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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