Youngest on Top - Chapter 57

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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 57

Saelika declared her true feelings outright.

“When Artemisia Temple prospers, I prosper too! (If the Artemisia Temple does well, then Saelika does well!)”
“Our little money bag!”

Devon, moved by emotion, lifted Saelika high into the air and spun her around in circles.

Our little blessing, our little money bag, our little blessing-and-fortune bag!
Love, love, my love, our precious little blessing-and-fortune bag!
Mmph! Mmph! Mmph-mmph-mmph!

The children watching whispered with bewildered expressions.

‘I didn’t think the Debon Elder was like this….’
‘He must have been under incredible stress from the budget all this time….’
‘It’s kind of sad…. To see a person change like that.’

And even more pitiful than Devon was Saelika, who was suffering at his hands.

‘I’m really glad I’m not the youngest.’
‘I’m truly grateful I’ve passed the age where I can be lifted up like that.’

The children let out sighs of relief.
Regardless, Devon continued spinning with Saelika in his arms, completely absorbed in it.

“Blessing! Money bag! Blessing-and-fortune bag!”
“Ugh, I’m getting dizzy….”
“Stop it already. The child is getting dizzy.”

Sirius, watching from the side, seized the opportunity to reproach Devon.
And he subtly snatched Saelika away.

“No, why are you taking away my blessing-and-fortune bag! Why!”
“Does it matter who’s holding her when the child is dizzy?”
“Of course it does. No one can take my blessing-and-fortune bag from me!”

The two Elders leading Artemia bickered about who would hold the child.

The ultimate victor was Randel, who had been quietly smiling from the sidelines.
Saelika, who had been struggling between the two Elders, slipped behind Randel.

The two Elders regarded Randel with dissatisfied eyes.
Randel accepted their gazes with his characteristic gentle smile.

At that sight, Sirius turned his head with a snort and furrowed his brow.

“Why are our Trainee Priests in such a state?”

Devon’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What’s wrong with these children? They look half-dead!”

It seemed they had been in the middle of training.
The adults’ eyes grew misty.

“Was there any need to push this hard? You’ve already won the Conclave. Why not rest a little?”
“Oh my, how pitiful. Take it easy from now on.”
“Training is important, but your bodies are more important. Look after yourselves first.”

At the concern of the Elders and Priests, tears welled up in the children’s eyes.

‘When was the last time I heard something like this?’
‘Take it easy? Take it easy!’
‘All I ever got from Sae was criticism for not doing better!’

The children, overwhelmed by sorrow, began to sniffle and tried to pour out everything that had happened.

“It’s just that, sob, we didn’t want to be like this—.”
“We were just doing our best.”

At Saelika’s words, the children’s voices were drowned out.
The Priests furrowed their brows.

“Just training? Who conducts training like this?”
“At this rate, we’ll lose all our children!”
“No, Beckman, wasn’t that too much? Our children even defeated Reyatan, yet you’re grinding them down like rags—.”
“Sae is conducting the training.”
“….”

Silence.
The adults who had been venting their frustration at the sight of their crying children suddenly clamped their mouths shut as if nothing had happened.

A brief pause.
And then.

“Right! That’s true—one shouldn’t grow complacent after a victory.”
“Once you start slacking, it never stops, does it? You absolutely cannot rest. You must continue training!”
“Exactly, exactly! This is precisely when you need to work the hardest!”

As if nothing had been said before, the priests nodded their heads with hearty laughter.
They even went a step further.

“In fact, you should advance to the next level and undergo even more intense training!”

What?
More intense training?
Thunder and lightning crashed down upon the heads of the trainee priests.

“Excuse me, Sirius Elder? Debon Elder?”
“Your words now are completely different from before!”

The two elders cleared their throats with a cough.

“What do you mean, our words are different?”
“It’s all for your sake!”
“No, Elders!”

The children cried out, but the two elders simply gazed off into the distance.

“Hahahaha! Back in my day, I had to move logs by myself that wouldn’t even fit in a single armful!”

Combat Priest Derrick grinned widely, slapping the children’s backs with his massive, lid-like hands.
It was his way of offering encouragement.
But the children, already battered and bruised, couldn’t endure that encouragement and shrieked in agony.

Today, the Trainee Priest Quarters remained remarkably peaceful.
Randel smiled warmly.
Then he spoke affectionately to Saelika.

“Our Sae seems to have a talent for teaching as well.”

The elders, who had been pretending not to hear the trainees’ voices, quickly agreed with him.

“That’s right, that’s right. Whatever our lucky charm does, she’ll naturally do it well.”
“Indeed, she’s the one who awakened the children and even orchestrated victory over Reyatan.”
“The Artemisia Temple must become the greatest. I’ll work hard.”

The trainees’ eyes widened at Saelika’s words.
That wasn’t a promise to work hard herself.
It was a promise to make others work hard!

“It must be difficult to teach other children while undergoing personal training, yet you’re truly admirable.”

Personal training, my foot!
While the trainees were being worked into rags, hadn’t Saelika been sprawled out alone, munching on cookies?
Crunch, crunch, crunch!

“Your heart is so pure and righteous, wishing for all the trainees to succeed rather than just yourself.”

Pure and righteous heart, indeed.
She only imposed such brutal training that even demons would weep!
It was impossible to tell whether they’d come to serve the gods or to be tortured by demons.

The trainees trembled at these horrific memories.
The adults, oblivious to their suffering, laughed heartily.

“She’s truly our youngest!”
“Our lucky charm!”
“Our precious one!”

One of the trainee priests gathered courage and spoke up at the sight of this.
It was unfair, and I couldn’t let things continue like this.

“Sir, isn’t this going too far? We’ve been rolling around until we’re in tatters, but couldn’t you at least go a little easier on the training—.”
“600 million gold.”

Devon spoke with a stern expression.

“Pardon?”
“That’s the money our little money-maker brought in today.”
“….”
“We cannot hold any grievances against our little money-maker. It’s not something we should do, and it’s not something we can do.”
“….”
“Our little money-maker is the truth!”
“….”
“Everything you eat, everything you wear from now on—it’s all bought with money our little money-maker earned! She didn’t keep a single coin and gave it all to the temple. Our little money-maker is an angel. Yes, absolutely!”

Sae, an angel.
There seemed to be no scarier words in the world than that.

But the wall of 600 million gold was far too high.
The trainee priests could only hang their heads in silence.

‘G-getting stronger is good!’
‘Right! I was the one who said I’d train harder first anyway!’

They tried to convince themselves with such mental gymnastics.
But somehow their eyes felt moist, as if sweat were dripping from them.

* * *

A few days later.
I went out at Gerald’s invitation.
The destination was the eastern branch of the Whitepearl Merchant Company.

“Sae, it’s high, so be careful.”

Randel lifted me up and set me down as I descended from the carriage.
He was my guardian for today’s outing.

‘…The process of selecting a guardian wasn’t a trivial matter either.’

“Dondeung! Of course you’re coming with me! We’re going to the merchant guild, and who better than me, Devon, who manages the Temple’s finances—.”
“Elder Devon. Where are you going? You have work to do! Money has come in, and tasks are piling up.”
“Ah, no, just for a day—.”
“You still need to revise the Temple’s budget for the second half of the year and review all those pending payment documents!”

As Devon was seized by the priests and disappeared, Sirius appeared.

“Ahem, well then, as I’m responsible for external affairs—.”
“Elder Sirius, you need to greet our guests and handle the external visit schedule. There’s a guest waiting for you right now, guest!”
“No, I don’t need to greet them personally—.”
“You know how busy things have been since the assembly! In such a critical time!”

And so Sirius was dragged away.
Sirius was originally famous for being as cold as ice, but before the overworked priests, he was nothing but water flowing freely.

And then.

“Ahem, ahem!”
“…High Priest, why do you keep clearing your throat like that? Is something bothering you?”
“….”

The High Priest just kept clearing his throat until I left.

‘Is his throat bothering him because of the changing season?’

In the end, I came out with Randel, and the priests who had been pestering the elders about being busy were well-behaved toward Randel alone.

“We’re dying of work, so who else is—. Oh, right. A guardian is necessary, after all. Yes, have a pleasant outing, Randel.”
“Ha, haha, I wasn’t about to say anything at all. Yes, may your journey be peaceful.”

Since Randel was so kind, everyone seemed to treat him with courtesy.

Today’s companion wasn’t Randel alone.

“Ilay, do you want to come with me?”
“To the Whitepearl branch office? Who else is going?”
“Randel.”
“…And no one else?”
“Nope.”
“You wanted to go with me, Sae.”

Since we were heading to the merchant guild, I wanted to go with Ilay, who was knowledgeable about commerce.
For some reason, Ilay nodded with a smile so radiant it was almost irritating.

Taking Randel’s hand and walking a few steps, a massive building that had been hidden behind the ornamental trees came into view.

“Wow….”

Whitepearl.
True to its name—white pearl—the building gleamed pristine and spotless, polished to a brilliant shine.
Moreover, it towered far higher and more splendidly than the surrounding structures.
This was merely a branch office, not even the main headquarters, yet this was the true power of the Whitepearl merchant guild.

‘Though I can sense a touch of Gerald’s inflated ego in it.’

For some reason, Gerald’s face—wearing that characteristic smile—seemed to overlay the white walls of the building.

That was when it happened.
The main gate burst open and Gerald emerged with both arms spread wide.
Wearing that very smile I had just imagined.

“Welcome to my sweet office! Hehehehe! Our little priest shines brilliantly as always!”
“Uh….”
“And Randel, do come in. You look as handsome as ever today.”

When Gerald winked at Randel, he returned the gesture with a good-natured smile.
Randel truly had a kind heart.

“And ah, you must be Priest Ilay? I remember being impressed by you at the assembly meeting.”
“Thank you.”
“Your skills are remarkable, but to be so beautiful at such a young age—my goodness! It’s like seeing myself in my youth.”
“Y-yes….”

Ilay’s lips were still curved in a smile, but his eyes had turned cold.

“Hehe! That smile! It’s identical to the one I wore as a child!”

Gerald Delc made an elaborate gesture, circling his hands around Ilay’s face before placing them on his own chest.
His eyes, which held a dreamlike quality, were clearly reminiscing about his own childhood.

“Rest assured, Priest Ilay! If things continue this way, you’ll grow into a handsome and magnificent man just like me! I guarantee it!”
“….”
“Come now, let’s head inside. Quickly.”

We finally managed to enter the building.
Ilay lowered his voice and whispered to me.

“…There was no mention of him being like that.”
“I saw him at the assembly banquet.”
“He wasn’t like this back then.”

Now that I thought about it, Ilay hadn’t been present when Gerald first arrived at the assembly.
At the banquet, he hadn’t acted quite so strangely.
At least he’d managed to behave like a normal person.

‘Come to think of it, this is exactly the sort of personality that would exasperate Ilay.’

Ilay was subtly particular and selective about people.
The fact that he hadn’t made a single friend among his peers while living in the Trainee Priest Quarters spoke volumes.
Being a reincarnator with a mental age that didn’t match probably contributed to that as well….

‘Still, I’m glad he’s grown quite close to Dmitri and Edmund now.’

“Why are you smiling like that?”
“Hm?”
“You look quite pleased with yourself.”

Ilay narrowed his eyes.
I quickly changed the subject.

“Gerald is a bit odd, but not to the point where I’d be so repulsed by him.”
“You were just as repulsed when that man came out with both arms spread wide.”
“….”

I had nothing to say, struck by the truth of his words.

There was no helping it.
I stopped and met Ilay’s gaze seriously.

“Bear with it.”
“…Why? Did he dig up some weakness of mine?”

In that instant, Ilay’s eyes turned fierce.
I shook my head vigorously.

“Just kidding.”
“…!”

At my words, Ilay’s furrowed brow smoothed out as if pressed by an iron.
His sullen expression melted away, and a smile bloomed at the corners of his lips.

“You should have said so earlier.”

Ilay headed straight toward Gerald with a sweet smile on his face.

“Haha, Gerald?”

Yeah, it was clear.
That guy had mastered the art of social interaction.

‘What kind of place is this Earth anyway.’

Every time I witnessed Ilay’s masterful social skills, I found myself wondering.

—————
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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