Youngest on Top - Chapter 7

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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 7

Whispers rippled softly through the silent chamber.

“What…? A pervert?”
“A perverted slave…”

Shedmen’s face flushed crimson, then drained to a sickly pallor.
He glared at his surroundings with bloodshot eyes.

I thought only those Artemisia fools would be laughing, but I was wrong.
The Reyatan priests whose eyes met mine flinched and hastily suppressed their smirks.

‘How dare they…!’

How could they mock him, an elder of the Main Temple itself?
He wanted to teach them the proper order of things right then and there, but…
Losing his temper here would only make him look foolish.

“You’ve certainly taught the child well.”

Shedmen forced his lips upward, feigning composure.
Yet his voice trembled noticeably, making the sight rather pitiful.

The High Priest simply nodded calmly at the barbed remark.

“It’s only right to keep perverts at a distance.”
“….”

He’d picked a fight for nothing and gained nothing in return.
Shedmen glared at the High Priest, his mouth twisting.

“Is this year’s trainee priest? They resemble you, High Priest.”

At that, the High Priest’s lips curved slightly upward.
A subtly smug expression.

‘Why is he preening over a backhanded compliment?’

Shedmen was dumbfounded.

“That’s quite unusual. Normally children tend to avoid the High Priest… Forgive me, but the High Priest is so distinctive that he makes people rather uncomfortable—”
“No! Sae like Big Priest. Big Priest friend. Stay together.”

A bright, clear voice suddenly interjected.

‘Here we go again…’

The child clung to the High Priest’s leg with a soft thud.
Even seeing it with his own eyes, Shedmen couldn’t believe it.
There was actually a child being so affectionate with that Anatolio.

“But mister’s hair hate mister. (But your hair hates you.)”
“…?”
“So mister go away! (That’s why it left you!)”
“…!”

A silent shockwave rippled through the Audience Chamber.
Everyone trembled, pinching their thighs to stifle their laughter.

“Sae have question. (Sae has a question.)”

The child blinked innocently with wide eyes as she asked.

“Big head use shampoo? Use soap?”
“You, you…! Damn brat, how dare you!”

Finally, Shedmen exploded.
A sharp aura of power emanated from him, rushing swiftly toward the child.

That was when it happened.

Whoooosh—

A colossal presence descended, overwhelming everything and crushing down upon the Audience Chamber.
Shedmen’s aura extinguished like a candle before the wind.
A weighty force seized and dominated the space in an instant.

Silence.
In the complete stillness, the High Priest’s voice resonated slowly.

“I think I must have misheard.”

Only then could I move my body, as if released from invisible chains.
Shedmen gasped for breath, his words forced out like wringing water from cloth.

“T-this is… unjust… using force, kgh, violating propriety…”
“Again.”
“High… Priest…!”
“Again.”

Shedmen clenched his teeth.
His heart constricted painfully, making it difficult to breathe properly.
He finally bowed his head.

“…I apologize.”

The High Priest straightened the child clinging tightly to me, positioning them directly before Shedmen.
As if commanding him to apologize to the child.

Shedmen’s eyes widened with humiliation.
But there was nothing he could do.

“I-I’m sorry…”
“…”
“Please forgive me…”

At that apology, the child’s fingers fidgeted.

“Sae did wrong too. (I did wrong too.)”

The child spoke timidly, gauging the atmosphere with uncertainty.

“Being bald isn’t bad… It’s not like you wanted to become bald… (Being bald isn’t bad… It’s not like you chose to become bald…)”

Is this mockery?
Yet the child’s eyes genuinely drooped at the corners, as if truly sorry.

“Just a little bit more around here…”
“….”
“When you wash up, do you clean all the way up here?” (The child asked, patting the crown of their head with tiny hands.)

The child tapped the top of their small head repeatedly with their tiny hands as they asked.

* * *

Hmm~ Hum~
I hummed a little tune as I left the Audience Chamber.
The adults had sent me out because Shedmen was choking and struggling to get through his words.

‘Why did I have to poke at someone else’s sore spot?’

As I recalled the displeased faces of the Priesthood, I regretted it even more. What good does it do to act dignified when the other side comes at you rudely? It just leaves you frustrated.
It just leaves you frustrated.

Becoming the same kind of person as them?
Then I’ll become that kind of person. So what!

‘Some people only understand pain when their own sore spots are poked.’

Meeting someone at their level is the best approach.

‘Anyway, this assembly meeting…’

Assembly meetings between temples were common occurrences.
They were meant to foster competition, strengthen bonds, and promote mutual development.
But in reality, it was just a place for everyone to show off the children they were raising.

Since birds of a feather flock together, the Artemisia Sect typically held assembly meetings with other Octagon Temples.
But the reason we were holding one with the Reyatan Church, which wasn’t even part of the Octagon, was obvious.
The other Octagon Temples had rejected holding an assembly meeting with us.

‘Holding an assembly meeting with you won’t help us at all—that’s what they meant.’

Unlucky bastards.

All the other Octagon Temples rejected the assembly meeting.
Because of this, Artemisia had no choice but to hold the assembly with a temple outside the Octagon.
If we didn’t hold an assembly at all, it would be like announcing we were isolated.
Reyatan was still a relatively high-ranking temple, so meeting with them didn’t damage our reputation too much.

The problem was Reyatan Church’s intention.
Shedmen, their elder, hadn’t even bothered to hide it.

‘They’re going to defeat us and use that as a stepping stone to enter the Octagon.’

Reyatan couldn’t even reach the hem of our Artemisia’s robes.
Yet they dared mock us like this just because we lack a Saint.

‘Just wait. No matter what happens, I’ll find the Saint.’

But realistically, I couldn’t find the Saint right away.
So the only hope I could grasp at now was—.

‘The trainee priests.’

To crush Reyatan Church’s arrogance at the upcoming assembly, our trainee priests needed to perform well.
But I wasn’t particularly worried.
The caliber of Artemisia’s priesthood was excellent.
That’s why we remained in the Octagon even in this unprecedented situation of lacking a Saint for two generations.

‘The problem is me….’

Would I even be here by then?
What if I was still just a candidate?
It was better than being expelled entirely, but….

‘I really need to make a better impression!’

As I made this resolution, something caught my eye.

‘Huh? That statue looks oddly like the High Priest?’

Artemisia was too poor to have commissioned a statue of the High Priest, so what was this?
Moreover, I felt an strange power emanating from it.

‘…What is this? Something feels off.’

I stepped closer to get a better look, but the height made it difficult to see clearly.
I rose up on my tiptoes with a soft grunt.

‘Good. Now I can see better— huh?’

My leg wobbled as I balanced on my tiptoes.
I reached out to grab something for support.

Crash!

With a dull thud, the High Priest’s stone statue tumbled to the floor.
How could a statue this light even exist in the world!

Startled, I checked on the High Priest, only to see him and the other priests emerging from the meeting room, heading in my direction.
They had spotted me too.
My face went pale as I cried out.

“Oh, oh no! H-H-High P-Priest! The statue b-broke!”
“…”
“High statue! Not on purpose!”
“…What?”

The High Priest (not bald. human) alternated his gaze between me and the High Priest’s statue (now bald. stone) and furrowed his brow.

* * *

After the Reyatan Church priests departed.
The High Priest, the Elder, and the other senior priests stepped outside together.

“My heart feels so relieved. Watching those stiff-necked fools leave with their heads bowed—it was something else.”
“Did you see Shedmen’s expression? I thought I’d die laughing.”
“Perverted slave…”

At someone’s murmur, they all made an effort to suppress their grins.

“Sae is being quite reckless about this.”
“Ever since Sae arrived, hasn’t it felt like only good things have been happening?”
“Awakening the Divine Beast, discovering treasure, and now even giving those eyesores a taste of their own medicine.”

The Priests laughed while praising Sae, subtly directing their words toward the High Priest.
They were the faction hoping to accept Sae as a trainee priest.

“Come to think of it, Sae really does seem to like you, High Priest.”
“Well….”
“Otherwise, why would she insert herself into that situation and take your side, saying she likes you?”
“Hmm….”
“She even tried to protect you from that pervert.”
“…She keeps insisting on being my partner and sticking by my side. She doesn’t care even when I find it bothersome.”

The High Priest arrogantly lifted his chin.
Seeing that smug expression, I found myself annoyed.
The Elder walking beside me added casually, as if unaware.

“Though it seems she likes Randel more.”

One of the High Priest’s eyebrows shot up sharply.
Randel laughed awkwardly, as if embarrassed.
His reaction confirmed the Elder’s words were undeniably true.
A faint crack appeared between the High Priest’s brows.

“My, is the High Priest perhaps jealous?”
“Nonsense.”

At the High Priest’s dismissal, another Elder chuckled.

“Indeed, the High Priest wouldn’t resort to jealousy unless his head were broken.”
“Debon, you’re an Elder—choose your words more carefully….”

The sentence never finished.
A child sat before the shattered statue, looking utterly dazed and vacant.
Our eyes met, and the child cried out, trembling violently.

“Oh, oh no! Big, big, big head! The head’s all broken!”
“….”
“Big head! No way!”

Devon muttered from behind the High Priest’s back.

“…It’s broken, isn’t it? Your head.”
“Yeah.”

* * *

I spent the entire night with my eyes wide open.

‘I’m ruined!’

The moment the birds began chirping, I bolted upright in bed.
I’m completely finished! Absolutely ruined!

‘Why did I have to break the High Priest’s statue’s head!’

I tore at my hair and rolled around like an acorn.

Defacing a powerful man’s statue!
This was something I couldn’t excuse myself for, no matter what.
I was already struggling to make a good impression!

“Sae, are you awake?”
“Mogen?”

Seeing Mogen enter through the open door, my eyes widened.

“Mogen, why are you here?”
“Today I’ll be spending time with you.”
“What about Randel?”
“That’s so mean…! Isn’t I enough for you?”

Mogen pretended to cry, his shoulders heaving dramatically.
Honestly, it was a bit awkward to watch, so I quickly tried to comfort him.
Then, holding his hand, I went to the office where Mogen worked.
Not the High Priest’s study.

‘So I really am disliked…!’

Was I about to be thrown out right now?
I went pale and cupped my small cheeks in my palms.

‘I need to make up for this!’

But I’d already summoned the Divine Beast and discovered the treasure.
If I accomplished another feat now, it would be like publicly announcing that they should suspect me.

I groaned and tried to think, but my mind wasn’t working well.
My thoughts moved sluggishly, as if I’d regressed to being half a child.
It was only natural—I’d stayed up all night in this small body, startled after smashing the High Priest’s head.

‘Ugh, I want pudding…. What am I thinking? Get it together!’

To regain my composure, I moved the crayon in my hand frantically across the paper.
Then Mogen looked at the picture I’d drawn and asked.

“Did you draw a sea creature? Is it a sea monster?”

It was pudding.

“…It’s you, Mogen.”
“…!”

Mogen’s face showed utter shock.
Well, it made sense.
I’d just told a sea monster that it was him—

“Sae drew… me, drew me!”
“…?”
“Does this mean you like me more than Randel? I’ve heard children usually draw their families. Ah, I’m truly moved.”

You actually liked it?
As I stood there bewildered, the other Priests crowded in without hesitation.

“That’s unfair! Why do only you get one!”
“This one looks more like me than you, doesn’t it?”
“My, Sae really is talented at drawing. Much more handsome than that Mogen fellow.”

I gazed up at the adults in a daze and asked.

“You like my drawing?”
“Of course!”
“I wish Sae would draw me too.”
“Me too, me too. Draw me together with Sae.”

The adults’ eyes sparkled with an intensity that was almost overwhelming.

‘What, what is this? Is there something about my drawing I don’t even know?’

Though I knew little of art, could it be that I possessed some extraordinary talent?
Now that I thought about it, Mogen’s eyes had been glistening.

‘Could I be… a genius painter who moves people with mere doodles…?’

In that moment, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind.
A way to impress the High Priest.

‘Oh? Am I clever? It seems my sanity has returned now that I’m leaving this childish state.’

It was anything but.
Had I possessed my wits about me then, I would never have entertained such a notion.
But regret came too late.

* * *

I reached for the Study door handle and froze.
I sensed a faint presence from within the Study.
The other Priests fell silent, sensing it as well.

“….”

The High Priest slowly turned the doorknob.
At first, no intruder was visible.
He approached the source of the sound, one step at a time.
And then he found it.
Between the bookshelves, something was wiggling back and forth….

‘A bottom?’

A very familiar bottom at that.
Sae had buried her head while intently examining something.

“What are you doing here?”
“Ah, you startled me!”

Startled by the sudden voice, the child jumped with a yelp.

The High Priest realized the child had been looking at Temple navigation materials.
And that her chubby little hand was clutching a note tightly.

Navigation materials and a note.
The meaning of this combination was unmistakable.
The High Priest’s eyes turned cold and sharp.

“So, even if you couldn’t understand it, you could at least copy it down.”

His voice was like frost-laden wind.
The child became completely rigid.

“How unfortunate. To be caught like this.”
“….”
“Did you really think I would let my guard down at words like ‘I like it here’ or ‘I want to stay’?”

Thud, thud.
The High Priest slowly approached the child.
Even he didn’t understand why he was so angry.

“You’re wrong.”

What would this child from Parmanase possibly know?
She was too young to harbor intentions, at an age where she couldn’t fathom what consequences her actions might bring.

“Speak.”
“….”
“What were you trying to smuggle out?”
“….”
“What did you think you’d gain by deceiving me with such a pathetic lie?”
“N-no…. Sae didn’t….”

The frightened child shook her head vigorously.
Seeing her so cowed only irritated me further.
The High Priest extracted a crumpled note from the child’s trembling hand.

“Regardless of what this is, my acceptance of you——”

The High Priest unfolded the note.
I couldn’t understand why my insides twisted so violently.
I wanted to verify it quickly and dispose of it.

“There’s….”

The High Priest’s movements froze.
Everything stopped.

“High Priest?”

The Priesthood, sensing something amiss, approached.

‘What on earth was written on that note?’

All eyes turned toward the note in the High Priest’s hands.
What was written there——.

‘…A drawing?’

It was a picture drawn earnestly with crayons.
A child in an acolyte’s robes, beaming with a radiant smile.
The child was clutching someone’s hand tightly.
Hearts surrounded that someone abundantly.
The two of them were in the Temple.
A Temple filled with glittering, shimmering stars at that.

The gazes of the Priesthood turned toward the High Priest upon seeing the drawing.
The High Priest stood motionless, his eyes fixed on the child.
For the first time, the High Priest’s pupils—those that had never wavered—seemed to tremble now.

—————
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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