Youngest on Top - Chapter 56

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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 56

Shedmen’s mouth fell open.
Yet no words came from his lips.
Only ragged, gasping breaths—hah, hah.

Flames slowly blossomed from Randel’s hand.
Soon the acrid stench of burning flesh permeated the air, and screams filled the prison.

The Artemisia Temple Priests shook their heads in dismay.
Shedmen seemed to regard Randel as nothing but a tool, but that was a grave miscalculation.
When angered, Randel was as fearsome as the High Priest himself.
Debon Elder exhaled a long, weary sigh.

“Sigh… his old temperament’s come right back. I thought he’d matured.”
“Indeed. I remember the headaches every time that boy caused trouble.”

For once, even Sirius agreed.
The two men, clicking their tongues in disapproval, spoke toward Randel.

“So because he has no hair, you’re leaving the scalp intact?”
“Burn away every pore so he can’t even harbor hope.”
They were the same sort of people, after all.

The members of the ‘Sae Appreciation Society’ demanded that the scalp be seared just as intensely as their burning devotion toward Saelika.

* * *

Just as Saelika had predicted, the rumors spread rapidly.

The Reyatan Temple, which was soon to enter the Octagon.
Yet they had lost to the Artemisia Temple—the temple once called the setting sun—in a joint gathering?

People were utterly bewildered by this result that defied all expectations, and they hungered for answers.
The names of the trainee priests who participated, the rules of the match, who had been the architect of victory.
How had Artemisia’s trainee priests defeated Reyatan’s priests, who even had a Sacred Maiden among them?
And what underhanded tactics had Reyatan employed?

“Oh, what a shame! It would’ve been so much more fun to see it in person.”
“Should we visit the Artemisia Temple sometime?”
“I heard it wasn’t great before, so I’ve never been.”
“Apparently it’s completely different now. They say it’s amazing?”
“No, it’s not about the building. It’s the priests there… Whew, it’s no joke. They’re all completely devoted to Artemia!”
“What? Let’s go right now.”
“Ugh! Why didn’t you say that first! You should’ve mentioned it from the start!”
“Well, while we’re there, we should make a donation and ask them to offer a special prayer for us.”
“You’re so transparent.”
“So you’re not going?”
“…Let’s go together.”

While the Artemisia Temple was regaining its reputation among the public.
Word spread to the other temples as well.

“Artemia defeated Reyatan? So she’s still alive, then.”
“It seems to be more than that, sir.”
“What do you mean?”
“Reyatan’s Sacred Maiden even secretly used sacred relics, yet she lost completely. Artemia overwhelmed her in every aspect, they say.”
“…Tell me more.”

The temples that hadn’t even paid attention to Artemia were taken aback.

“They say even a fallen fortune lasts three generations. It’s surprising to see such a turnaround when she was on her last legs.”
“We heard rumors that Artemia gained a divine protector and received vast amounts of gold, but this is beyond expectations.”
“Perhaps it’s merely a falling star briefly flaring with bright light.”
“Even so, we must watch carefully. We never know where a falling star will crash.”
“Hmm, a piece that seemed to have vanished is back on the chessboard. We’ll need to observe how this changes the game.”

The temples that hadn’t dismissed Artemia’s potential became more cautious.

And one particular temple—.

“Hmph, those Reyatan fools are all talk and no action as always. They didn’t crush Artemia—they only exposed their own incompetence.”
“Wasn’t it reckless action rather than empty words this time? Using poison in that situation, no less.”
“But how did they lose even after deploying the Broken Sicklis? That’s unexpected.”
“Artemia shouldn’t have the ability to counter something like that.”
“And they say all her trainee priests have awakened? Rumors say their skills are quite exceptional.”

The round table fell silent for a moment.
Everyone was lost in thought, unable to comprehend the situation.

Then a woman who had been listening quietly without a word opened her mouth.

“This small child is the Divine Nova of the Council Assembly?”

Before her lay a photograph of a young child.
A photo of a child with golden hair cascading past her shoulders.
The child pouted her lips while clenching her small fists tightly.

Tap, tap, tap.
The woman jabbed her crimson nails at the child’s cheeks in the photograph and let out a soft laugh.

“Artemisia has been quite fortunate. Even in the generation without a Sacred Maiden, exceptional talents like Anatolio, Sirius, and Devon emerged.”
“….”
“And in the next generation without a Sacred Maiden, that era should have been far weaker, yet there’s Randel, Derrick, and….”

The woman’s eyes, which had been speaking leisurely, turned sharp.

“Kaiser the Sacred Knight.”

Her grinding voice crackled like sparks.

Kaiser the Sacred Knight.
The sacred knight who allowed a temple without a Sacred Maiden to maintain its seat in the Octagon.
A man whom no other sacred knight of this era could match in reputation.

The woman’s gaze, which had been sweeping through the air, lowered to the photograph.

“Then this child is the one for this generation?”

Press.
Her bright red nails pressed firmly against the unfolded photograph.

“Things are getting interesting, aren’t they?”

Skreeeech.
The woman smiled seductively.
Deep, long nail marks were etched across the child’s face.
Like blade scars.

* * *

Beneath the pleasant afternoon sun.
I sprawled lazily like a cat dozing in the warmth, utterly at ease.

‘How long has it been since I’ve had a moment like this?’

How hard I’d been pushing myself all this time.
To shed the priests’ suspicions and become a Trainee Priest.
To bend those arrogant Trainee Priests to my will… no, to train them properly.
To catch the arsonist who dared set fire to the Temple, corrupting it from within—the spy, the parasite.
To catch the water merchant called White Pearl… no, to properly collect the insurance payout.
To recover Artemisia’s irreplaceable treasure, the Kailum Crystal.
To seize perfect victory at the summit conference with Reyatan, whom I wouldn’t mind killing.

Wow, when I think back and count it all up, I’ve done so much.

‘At this point, I deserve to lie around and loaf about, right?’

Honestly, if you add up all my lives, how old am I really?
Instead of running around as the youngest, shouldn’t I be watching the High Priest’s antics?

‘Artemia, this is how I’m living. Sob, sob.’

Artemia probably doesn’t care much, but my siblings are definitely watching me.

With affection and pity?
No.
They’re laughing at how hard I’m suffering.

“That’s what you get for putting us through so much! Serves you right!”

Just thinking about it, I can almost hear them saying that.

‘Heh, she must be absolutely furious seeing me lounging around like this.’

Moreover, beside me lay a generous heap of sweet chocolate chip cookies.
The Sisters, whose numbers had grown considerably these days, often gifted me snacks.
These were especially delicious since they came from the Sister in the chest-binding prayer group.

I took a deliberate bite of a cookie, making sure to be obvious about it.
The crispy cookie melded with the sweet-bitter chocolate chips, while the marshmallow inside chewed with a sticky sweetness.

A sharp, immediate happiness washed over me.
Of course, no such cookies existed in the Heavenly Realm.

‘See? This is the true taste of the mortal world!’

I gazed up at the sky and grinned widely.
Thinking of my brothers, a certain fact came to mind.

‘Come to think of it, once the Sacred Maiden reaches a certain level, she can commune with the Heavenly Realm, right?’

When I find our Sacred Maiden, I absolutely must tell her about this mortal world flavor.
As I contentedly ate the chocolate chip cookie, a voice that sounded like someone dying came from beside me.

“Uuugghhhhh!”

Crunch.

“Ahhhhh! I can’t do this anymore! I really can’t!”

Crunch crunch.

“Just kill me instead! I’d rather die than endure any more of this!”

Crunch crunch crunch.

“Ohhhhh, what sin did I commit to deserve such torment!”

Crunch crunch, crunch crunch crunch!

“Hey!”

The children called out to me.

I rolled onto my side, munching on a chocolate chip cookie.
The children stared at me with resentment—no, with eyes full of venom.

“What?”
“How can you swallow cookies down your throat while working us like this?!”
“Mm.”

I crunched down on another bite of the chocolate chip cookie.

The children had come back from the Octagon tournament, and inspired by the experience, they’d said they wanted to train more. So I honored their wishes.
That’s what I did.

“You said you’d work hard.”
“We said we’d work hard, not that we’d be tortured like this!”
“You said you wanted to improve.”
“We said we wanted to improve, not that we wanted to die!”
“It’s fine. People don’t die that easily.”
“….”

Crunch, crunch crunch crunch.

In the silent training grounds, only the sound of me eating the chocolate chip cookie echoed.
Why are they looking at me like I’m being ridiculous?

“What are you doing? You still have 263 repetitions left.”
“You were counting all of that while eating snacks?!”
“What a terrifying person…!”
“After that, you’ll run thirty laps around the training grounds.”
“What, what?!”
“Or would you prefer forty laps?”
“….”

The children clamped their mouths shut.
Afraid the number of laps would increase further, they didn’t dare protest and simply stared at me with eyes full of resentment.

I grinned and offered a solution.

“Either defeat Sae, or work hard. (Either defeat Sae, or give it your all.)”
“Yes! I’ll become stronger!”
“One day I’ll win…! I’m getting stronger every single day right now!”
“Right. Even though she just eats snacks, we might become stronger than her!”

Crunch.
I bit into the cookie without responding.
Seeing my expression, determination kindled in the children’s eyes.

“One!”
“Twoooo!”

Listening to the children earnestly counting their exercises, I let out a quiet laugh.
If I only look like I’m playing around, they still have a long way to go, these brats.

That was when it happened.

“Moneybags!”

I froze mid-bite, startled by the sudden shout.
He had arrived.
The person who had become increasingly burdensome lately.

“My little moneybags! Why are you eating cookies instead of more expensive cake! How adorable.”

Debon Elder came bounding over as if about to break into dance, then embraced me with a beaming smile.
I accepted his affection with a serene expression.

* * *

Devon cradled the moneybags—no, Saelika—in his arms and cooed at her while asking.

“Moneybags! Can you guess what I just received?”
“No…”

Saelika shrank her neck.
Devon was clearly smiling brightly, but his eyes held a hint of madness.

‘A madman with clear eyes…’

While Saelika was lost in thought, Debon Elder spoke with pride.

“I received the betting payout from Gerald!”

During the council meeting, Gerald had wagered 120 million gold on Saelika becoming a Divine Nova, and 80 million gold on Artemisia’s victory.
In contrast, nearly every spectator had bet on Reyatan’s victory and Helene, the Sacred Maiden, becoming a Divine Nova.

“That’s why the payout is absolutely massive!”

Debon Elder, caught up in excitement, pinched Saelika’s cheek.

“You little money-maker. Don’t be shocked when you hear how much came back.”
“So how much is it?”
“How much did we win?”

The children rolling around nearby couldn’t contain their curiosity and asked.
Devon grinned and said, “Ahem, the reaction’s a bit weak for an announcement.”

The children, with slightly dampened expressions, nonetheless played along.
Boom boom boom—

“A winning bet of 200 million gold total! And the total payout is!”

Boom boom boom—

“Exactly—!”

Boom boom boom—

“Exactly—!”
‘Ugh.’

The respect for the Elder began to fade from the children’s faces.
Just how much did we win that he’s making such a fuss?

“It’s… 1.2 billion gold!”
“Whoa! That’s insane!”

The children’s eyes, which had grown cold, widened and sparkled with brilliance.

“Gerald sent six hundred million gold as your share.”
“Whoa… (Six hundred million gold…)”

Saelika covered her mouth with both hands.
She’d earned six hundred million gold just by winning the Convergence Conference!

‘With six hundred million gold, how many of those cookies could I buy?’

Without a doubt, enough to bury herself in cookies until death.

“What a wonderful thing! I should give our little money bag some kisses! Mwah! Mwah!”
“Kyaaaaa!”

After Devon had been making kissing sounds for a while, he shifted his tone and asked carefully.

“But really, you don’t need to take your share? It’s practically money you earned yourself.”
“It’s fine. I don’t have anywhere to spend money anyway.”
“Where does such a kind money bag come from?”

Devon’s eyes glistened with tears.
During the Convergence Conference, Saelika had already told Gerald to use her dividend for the Temple’s budget.
But he never expected she wouldn’t take a single coin for herself.

‘Then I should look after her myself. I’ll open a separate account under our Saelika’s name!’

The other elders were all simple-minded and didn’t know what it truly meant to care for Saelika.
But I’m different!

‘Come to think of it, when she found that golden nugget before, she never once coveted it.’

Surely this child was the baby angel Artemia sent down to the Temple.
Pure, selfless, righteous, kind, and sharp….

While Devon continued his internal praise of Saelika.

‘After all, the Temple’s money is my money anyway. Devon will manage it well enough.’

Saelika was already devising a plan to swallow the Temple whole.

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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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