Youngest on Top - Chapter 60

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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 60

Admiral Ekellan hummed and groaned, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
Then he grinned and spoke.

“One doesn’t refuse a lady’s gift, after all.”
“Yay! I’m definitely going to win my bet with Dad!”

As I threw both hands up excitedly, Admiral Ekellan chuckled.

“So when will you give me this gift?”
“Um, I live at Artemisia Temple. Please come to Artemisia Temple, Admiral.”
“Artemisia?”

Today, Randel, Ilay, and I had all gone out without wearing our priesthood robes.
In casual clothes, it would have been difficult for the Admiral to recognize us by our brief words alone.

“Artemisia!”
“Artemia?”
“Ar-te-mi-a!”
“Attemia?”
….

For some reason, the sorrow from the Assembly meeting came flooding back.
Back then, there was also an older woman who couldn’t understand my name….

Randel, watching from beside me, let out a quiet sigh.

“Please stop teasing the child. It’s Artemisia Temple.”
“Ha, you caught me.”

The Admiral chuckled and nodded.

“Your little lady is just too adorable.”
“May I inquire about your plans to visit?”

Randel stated his business regardless of what the Admiral said.
Admiral Ekellan laughed as if amused and conversed with Randel.

‘Fortunately, the atmosphere wasn’t as tense as before.’

While I watched with relief, the conversation wound down naturally.

“Then I’ll see you at the Temple. Take care, little lady.”
“Goodbye, Admiral.”

After giving a respectful bow, we left the room.
I’d worried Gerald might press me for more information, but he said he had other matters to attend to.
I was grateful for that—I really wanted to rest now.

The moment we stepped out of the White Pearl Eastern District, Ilay’s expression darkened.

“That man’s got a bad vibe.”
“You’ve got a good eye, as always, Ilay.”

Both Randel and Ilay seemed deeply displeased with Admiral Ekellan.

‘I can’t blame them.’

He’d accused us of peddling the god’s name to run scams—what priest could let that slide?

‘Honestly, I was pretty irritated too.’

But Admiral Ekellan was a powerful figure who would become Artemisia Temple’s backer going forward.
Worried his first impression was too terrible, I gently tried to soothe both of them.

“He’s mistaken us for other temples. We need to show him we’re different.”

But Ilay stopped short and stared at me intently.

“What’s wrong?”

Did I get something in my eye again?
Panicked, I rubbed at my eye.

Ilay immediately stopped me, saying I’d hurt my eye.

“What else would it be if not eye gunk?”
“Just… I remembered something Dmitri would say.”
“Dmitri? Out of nowhere?”
“If he were here, he’d definitely throw a fit, saying ‘Why are you taking that bastard’s side!'”

Hmm.
He probably would, knowing Dmitri.

‘But why did I suddenly bring up Dmitri?’

I tilted my head in confusion before the answer came to me.

‘We’ve gotten so close that I think of him even when we’re out like this!’

That’s wonderful.
I chuckled to myself and unwrapped the chocolate I was holding.
Admiral Ekellan had slipped it to me during our conversation earlier.
I’d held back from eating it while we talked, but now I finally could.

That’s when Randel snatched my chocolate right out of my hands!

“Hey! Randel!”

I gasped in surprise.
I tried to snatch the chocolate back from Randel, but he held his hand high above his head.
No matter how much I jumped, I couldn’t reach it.

“Randel…”

I stared at him like a raccoon that had just had its cotton candy washed away in water.
But Randel, why won’t you meet my eyes?

“You shouldn’t just eat things strangers give you.”
“…”

That’s so unfair.
But I have to listen to what Randel says.
With tears welling up, I gave in, and then Randel spoke.

“Instead, how about we stop by the Dessert House on the way back? I heard they just released a new pudding that’s absolutely delicious.”
“…!”

I lifted my head sharply at the good news.
Randel was smiling at me.

“Randel is the best!”

I threw my arms around Randel’s leg in a tight embrace.
Ilay shook his head beside me with a sigh.

* * *

Admiral Serge Ekellan despised chance encounters.
On the sea, chance encounters were almost always with pirates or monsters.

What about on land, then?
On land, chance encounters were nothing but the schemes of con artists targeting the Admiral’s wife or daughter.

Moreover, Admiral Serge Ekellan despised temples.
The temple that had extracted vast sums of money under the pretense of finding his daughter had filled his ship’s hold to capacity.
In the end, the priests who failed to find his daughter all said the same thing.

“If you make even more donations, your sincerity will reach the heavens, and the Goddess will surely return your daughter to you!”

It was nonsense.

And today, Admiral Ekellan encountered both things he despised simultaneously.
By his nature, he would have ordinarily mocked and humiliated the priests he met by chance.

But his reaction was somewhat strange.
Not only did he let them go, but he even promised them a visit?

So the Adjutant had no choice but to ask.

“What exactly are you thinking, sir?”

Admiral Ekellan raised one eyebrow slightly.

“What?”
“You’re actually humoring such pointless remarks.”

Admiral Ekellan had a history of stringing up every last charlatan who came to swindle him from the ship’s railings upside down.
He’d even deliberately sailed the vessel into shark-infested waters.

To the Adjutant’s eyes, those swindlers and the Artemisia Temple Priests seemed no different from one another.

“There’s no way such magical ingredients actually exist, is there?”
“They do exist.”
“At best, they’re probably just pickled goods. Honestly, the odds are high they’re not even that.”

A small blonde girl appeared before the Admiral searching for his daughter.
It was an obvious ploy to anyone’s eyes.
Was their meeting just now truly a coincidence?

“Surely she’ll present some gift—something naive and adorable that only a child could conceive of.”
“….”
“Something capable of captivating the heart of a worldly adult in an instant.”

Admiral Ekellan let out a soft chuckle.

“Are you saying I’m worldly and jaded right now?”
“Are you not?”
“….”

Admiral Ekellan breathed deeply and leaned back against the chair with languid ease.

“Fine. Just as you say, she’ll surely give me a very adorable gift. Without a doubt.”

Seeing that response, the Adjutant’s brow furrowed.

“Surely… you’re not actually taken with that child, are you?”

Until that moment, the Admiral had paid no mind to whatever the Adjutant said, but now his eyes narrowed sharply.
Those vivid violet eyes fixed upon the Adjutant.

“…I misspoke.”

The Adjutant bowed respectfully to Admiral Ekellan.
The back of his neck grew damp with cold sweat.

Admiral Ekellan was generous with his own people, but he would not tolerate crossing the line.
That line was about
his daughter.
’
It was about.

“Does she bother you? Surely not.”

The Admiral let out a bitter laugh.

“Whenever a girl has blonde hair, they push her forward as if she were my daughter.”
“….”
“Even when it’s clear she’s not my daughter, they act as though she could take my daughter’s place.”

It was well-known that Admiral Ekellan searched for his daughter.
The number of people who brought children forward hoping to fill that vacant place was beyond counting.

“That reckless little thing must be one of them.”
“Yes, surely that must be the case.”

Though he responded with a smile, Admiral Ekellan found the little girl he’d met quite offensive.

‘To resort to such an obvious ploy.’

Pretending not to see and deliberately colliding with him was far too typical an approach.
He’d lost count of how many times he’d seen it—it was nauseating.

“Since I’ll be staying on land for quite some time, I needed to make an example of someone.”

An example to show those wretches who dared exploit the desperation of losing a blood relative, seeking to find their opening.
So they would never attempt such crude tricks again.

“If you deceive me, you must pay the price.”
“Then why not hang her as an example right away?”

At those words, Admiral Ekellan laughed playfully.

“I’ll let them soar to the highest peak of hope, then watch them plummet.”
“You have rather cruel tastes, sir.”
“It’s not like my bad temperament is anything new.”
“I do wish you would reform if you’re aware of it.”

The Adjutant exhaled a long sigh.

“If you must, drop them from the highest place possible. Those wretched dogs who dare covet our precious youngest lady’s position.”

Admiral Ekellan withdrew the flower from the vase on the side table.
The yellow, delicate bud resembled that child from earlier perfectly.

“Indeed.”

Crunch.
The yellow bud crumpled in the Admiral’s large hand.
Thud, thud—the petals, crushed by tremendous force, scattered to the floor.

“I’ll make them fall. Break their limbs so they can never rise again.”

When he opened his hand, the yellow flower was beyond recognition.
All traces of its former loveliness had vanished, reduced to nothing but refuse.

The Admiral gazed at the crushed flower with eyes turned cold as ice.
Though its form was destroyed, its fragrance clung thickly to his palm.

That was when it happened.
A knock sounded, and the door opened.

Gerald, entering the room, flinched upon seeing the Admiral with the crushed flower.

“My apologies, Admiral Ekellan. I regret that my unintended actions have caused you displeasure during your visit to Whitepearl.”
“So you understand.”
“I assure you, this will not happen again.”

Gerald arranged refreshments and tea from the trolley he had brought himself, all while gauging the Admiral’s mood.

“For next quarter’s transactions, I intend to decide based on last year’s figures as is customary, but should there be any changes, please feel free to call upon me at any time. I will rush over directly, no matter what.”
“I worry we’re troubling the branch manager over such trivial matters.”
“Trivial? This concerns the naval supply issue for the garrison guarding the waterway. It’s only natural that I attend to it.”

Gerald, seated, studied the Admiral’s expression for a moment before speaking carefully.

“…Still, that child from earlier isn’t a bad one. She wouldn’t do anything to deceive you, sir—.”

The Admiral’s eyes grew sharp once more.

“Are you in league with her as well?”
“Of course not.”

Gerald hastily waved his hand in denial.
He no longer had the courage to speak further about Saelika.

‘I’m sorry, little priestess. I did my best to keep my honor.’

A bitter taste lingered in his mouth.
She had been a child he genuinely liked in this monotonous existence.

But now that child was finished.
Having fallen out of favor with Admiral Ekellan, there was no hope for her.

Now that I’d calculated the gains and losses, it was time to withdraw my hand from her.
It was never anything more than a mutually beneficial arrangement anyway.

‘…Though the information about Iaadelph flowers was truly worthwhile.’

This lingering regret must be because of that.

“Gerald brother still Gerald looking. So don’t mess around, need to behave better.”

That child’s voice kept echoing in my mind because I hadn’t yet written it off.

* * *

One week later.
A carriage bearing the crest of House Ekellan, the great southern noble family, entered Artemisia Temple.

For today, I had filled my stomach well in advance and even eaten some cookies to keep my mind sharp and alert!
I stood before the Main Building and watched the carriage arrive.

‘I absolutely need to make Admiral Ekellan my backing.’

There are three major reasons why.

1. Most high-ranking nobles have already established deep relationships with specific temples.
If we try to recruit such a noble this late, we have no choice but to compete with existing temples.
In short, we can only attempt to poach a noble from another temple.
The difficulty increases dramatically, and our relationship with other temples will deteriorate instantly.

2. The larger a trainee priest’s family, the more constraints they face in their temple relationships.
That’s why the Rapashiello family didn’t appear at the Assembly.
Of course, there are many cases where they’re supported quietly behind the scenes, but openly supporting them is being discouraged.

The Rapashiello family seemed uninterested in the crumbling Artemisia Temple anyway…
Well, Edmund felt the same way himself.

3. Admiral Ekellan is a highest-ranking noble who has not formed relationships with any temple.
It’s almost a unique case.
An unattached high-ranking noble—could there be anyone better to make my backing?
Moreover, I can provide what Admiral Ekellan needs.

Therefore, meeting Admiral Ekellan was an opportunity Artemisia Temple would never have again.

There was just one thing that bothered me…

‘Admiral Ekellan despises temples far too much.’

I watched the magnificent carriage drawn by fine horses and offered a silent prayer.

‘Respected and beloved Artemia.’

Please grant me the strength to do well today.
So that I can have Admiral Ekellan—a highest-ranking noble, a wealthy man, a man of power—backing me and soar.

‘So that I can crush all those arrogant temple bastards!’

Come on, come on! Let’s go, let’s go!

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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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