Youngest on Top - Chapter 77

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 77

Kaiser’s eyes trembled at the sight before him.
The child in his arms had her eyes closed, her face drained of all color.

* * *

Dawn.
The moment the sun broke over the horizon, Quentin entered Kaiser’s bedchamber and froze in shock.

“Kaiser?”

Kaiser sat rigidly on the edge of his bed.
His gaze was fixed upon Saelika.
Saelika slept peacefully, her breathing soft and even.

‘Surely he didn’t actually sleep with the child in his arms?’

Quentin swallowed his astonishment in silence.

“Quentin.”
“Yes, Kaiser?”
“Investigate this child for me.”
“Pardon?”
“How she came to the Temple, what she’s done since arriving, every anomaly she’s caused.”

Kaiser continued speaking as he gently stroked Saelika’s hair.

“Beyond the gossip your men are spreading—I want every detail.”

Quentin was overwhelmed by Kaiser’s intensity.
He found himself unable to question further and simply complied.

“Understood, Kaiser.”

* * *

A few days later.
I stared at Quentin with a sullen expression.

“I’m sorry, Sae. Kaiser ordered that no one be allowed inside….”
“Yesterday too. And the day before that.”
“So I tried my best to convince him from the side, but he’s such a stubborn man….”

I stared intently at Quentin.
But he only wore an uncomfortable expression and said nothing.

‘There’s nothing I can do about it.’

I nodded and turned away from Kaiser’s office door.
I had considered waiting outside until he came out, but I gave up today.
I’d been doing this for days with no results.
He’s definitely monitoring my presence and only comes out when I’m forced to leave.

‘How petty.’

I don’t understand what the problem is.
I kept his secret about the demonic contamination and even purified him.
So why is he avoiding me since then?

As I recalled that day’s memory, my body instinctively shrank back.

‘…I was a little scared.’

It had been so long since I heard such words.
I used to be fine hearing them….

I rubbed the rabbit doll’s ears with a gloomy face.
And I subtly enhanced my hearing with sacred power.

I could hear Kaiser and others exchanging words.
From the way they’re discussing reports, it seems he’s working hard.
But then.

“Why did you order an investigation on Sae?”

I was startled by Quentin’s voice.

‘He ordered an investigation into me?’

“There was something suspicious.”
“Suspicious?”
“Yes.”

Thump, thump.
My heart pounded frantically.

Suspicious of me?
Why?
Had I done something strange?

But everyone knew I possessed Artemisia’s sacred power.
I couldn’t possibly belong to another temple.

‘But… still.’

There were parasites like Gawain who fed off the temple.
Had they sensed something amiss?
But everything I’d done was for the temple’s benefit.

My heart thrashed wildly, and nausea churned in my stomach.
I couldn’t think straight.

“You will never be acknowledged.”
“You will never be loved.”
“Wherever you go, whatever you do, people will continue to suspect and hate you.”
“No matter how much you do for them, no matter how desperately you struggle for recognition and love.”
“No, the harder you try, the more endlessly you’ll be despised.”
“Because that’s how you were born.”

“Ugh….”

Old memories flooded back like a tidal wave.
My head throbbed with splitting pain as I pressed my temples hard with both hands.
Through the ringing in my ears and dizziness, I heard Kaiser’s voice.

“…You grew up in an orphanage sponsored by Parmanase.”

Parmanase.
That name still haunted me.

I pushed off the ground and bolted upright.
I wanted to run away.
As I dashed forward mindlessly, I heard someone calling my name.

“Honey?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Did something happen?”

When I opened my tightly shut eyes, the Trainee Priest Quarters came into view.
When did I get here?

The children who had been training gathered around me with murmurs.

“Look at all that sweat. It’s winter.”
“Don’t you have a handkerchief?”
“Come on, lift your face up.”
“Want some chocolate?”

The children carefully tended to me.
They wiped away my sweat, placed chocolate in my mouth, and examined my complexion.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Eyes full of concern.
Gentle hands wiping away my cold sweat.
Warm voices tinged with worry.

Looking at the children, I felt the turmoil in my chest gradually settle.

“Who bullied our youngest! Who!”
“Tell me everything. I’ll go scold them for you.”

The children huffed and puffed, stomping their feet with determination.

I ran without thinking, yet I understand why I ended up here.
I knew it instinctively.
This is a place where I can feel safe.

“It’s nothing.”

My heart, which had been racing until moments ago, gradually found its calm.
Looking at the children, a smile spread across my face without my realizing it.
It wasn’t a forced smile.
Everything truly became alright.

Seeing my smile, the children smiled back at me.

“Did you fail again today?”
“That’s just how Kaiser is. He doesn’t allow anyone close to him.”
“Just give up already. You’ve kept trying ever since Kaiser came back—it’s been weeks now. You’re going to end up hating Kaiser.”
“Why don’t you just choose someone else as your guardian?”
“Yeah, that’s right! They say children grow up unhappy under parents with broken personalities!”

The children each offered their own words of comfort to me.
I shook my head.

“Sae likes Kazamin.”

Let them doubt if they wish.
The number of people who believe in me has grown this much.

‘I won’t run away.’

I will prove that everything I’ve heard is wrong.

“Sae will make Kazamin smile!”

I clenched my fists and steeled my resolve.
Compared to before regression, this is nothing at all.

* * *

Kaiser’s Office.
The Holy Knights who entered the office began speaking one after another.

“It breaks my heart to see her head hanging down as she leaves….”
“Kaiser, perhaps you should reconsider this once more.”
“What’s so difficult about letting her into the room?”
“She has to finish her trainee assignments at dawn and take on inspections just to come here.”
“Don’t you understand how difficult that is for a young child?”

Kaiser, who had been reading the report, spoke.

“Quiet.”

At that single word, the Holy Knights fell silent and hung their heads.

“What are the investigation results?”

He was referring to the investigation into Saelika.
Quentin immediately handed over the report.

“Here it is.”

The report contained everything about Saelika.
Her movements after arriving at the Temple were recorded in meticulous detail.
Even her movements before coming to the Temple were listed chronologically.

Quentin, watching Kaiser’s expression, asked.

“Why did you order an investigation on Sae?”
“There was something worth suspecting.”
“Something to suspect?”
“Yes.”

Kaiser spoke as he flipped through the report.

“…She grew up in an orphanage sponsored by Parmanase.”
“Yes, as you can see, they treat the children as commodities….”

Kaiser set the report down.

“But what exactly are you suspicious of?”

Kaiser rested his chin on his interlaced fingers.

Sacred power far too formidable for his age.
Everything he had accomplished since arriving at the Temple was extraordinary.
He had summoned a Divine Beast, albeit in an incomplete state.
He had awakened the Trainee Priests.
He had even rescued the children and the Divine Beast from the fire.
Moreover, in this process, the children had used resonance, of all things….

“Do you truly believe all of this is something a single child could accomplish?”

Kaiser gestured toward the report with his eyes as he spoke.

“Well…. I do think it’s too coincidental.”
“But sometimes coincidence upon coincidence upon coincidence can produce impossible results.”
“They say that fortunate people are blessed such that typhoons and earthquakes avoid them entirely.”

At the Holy Knights’ words, Kaiser let out a derisive laugh.

“No matter how talented a child is, it’s impossible.”

There was a clear reason for his certainty.
There was a fact that only Kaiser knew.

‘He casually purified demonic corruption.’

Though “casually” was hardly the word, given that he had expended so much power he lost consciousness.

That’s possible?
A child who had only recently awakened his sacred power?
And on top of that, the Trainee Priests resonated that the child was dangerous?

‘This is almost like the Sacred Maiden….’

No, even an ordinary Sacred Maiden couldn’t do such things at that age.

What on earth is this?
That child….

“The child’s accomplishments are remarkable, but they have never once harmed the Temple.”
“In fact, they’ve been helpful. So please set aside your suspicions—.”

Only then did Kaiser realize what misunderstanding the Holy Knights had fallen into.
Kaiser’s suspicion wasn’t about that at all.
It was quite the opposite.

Kaiser pondered for a moment.
But the moment the Sacred Maiden’s sanctity was mentioned, it was obvious what kind of upheaval would sweep through the Temple.

What if that child wasn’t the Sacred Maiden?
What if they were simply a fortunate, talented child, just as the others said?

“…Yes. Still, just in case, have all matters related to that child reported to me.”
“Understood.”

Kaiser, who had been signing documents, paused.

“It breaks my heart seeing them leave with their head hung so low.”
“They finish their training assignments at dawn just to come here, and undergo inspections, yet you don’t realize how difficult that is for such a young child.”

Those words kept circling through my mind.
These fools misunderstood my intentions that much.

‘Have I really been that harsh with that child?’

Kaiser had never been kind to anyone in his entire life.
So he didn’t know the standard.

Normally, if someone annoyed him, he’d throw them to the ground. At least he spared the child because they were young.
Isn’t that doing well enough…?

Kaiser rose from his seat.
As he walked toward the door, Quentin asked.

“Where are you going?”
“Do I need to report my every move to you?”
“…That’s not what I meant.”

But couldn’t he say the same thing with a bit more kindness?
Quentin grumbled inwardly.

Kaiser stepped out of his office and quickened his pace.

After so long, I had returned to the Temple instead of the battlefield.
The accumulated work had been sorted through to some degree.
So I came out to get some air and check what changes had occurred.

‘There’s no other reason than that.’

The fact that I was heading to the Trainee Priest Quarters now.
I heard it had burned, so I was just going to check the damage.
Yes, there couldn’t be any other reason.

When I arrived at the Trainee Priest Quarters, I saw the children huddled together.
Kaiser’s brow furrowed.

‘They’re chatting away instead of training?’

None of them seemed to have their heads on straight.
I was thinking about whether I should go tighten their discipline when I caught sight of short blonde hair.
Kaiser quickly hid his body behind a pillar.

‘…Why did I hide?’

Now that I thought about it, there was no real need to tighten discipline right now.
Beckman was responsible for teaching the children.
I might feel like I was overstepping my authority by interfering.
Of course, if Beckman heard this, he would be amazed at when I started caring about my dignity.

While Kaiser was thinking that way, the children chattered even more loudly.

‘This is absolutely not eavesdropping.’

It’s simply because I have good hearing and can’t help but overhear.

“That’s just how Kaiser is. He doesn’t allow anyone close to him.”
“Give up already. He’s been coming back and searching for weeks now.”

The children were saying exactly what Kaiser wanted to hear.
Right—I had never intended to become anyone’s godfather.

There was a reason for wanting to confirm whether Saelika was the Sacred Maiden.
It was a matter concerning the Temple’s future direction.
There was no other intention behind it.
But why was I feeling this way?
I didn’t like what that brat just said.
Looking at him, his face resembled someone unlucky.

“Why don’t you just choose someone else as your godparent?”

This child’s face also resembled Randel’s.
That meant he was unlucky.

‘Did he really try to make me his godfather?’

Then why didn’t he give me Crepundia?
Of course, that didn’t mean I wanted it.

“That’s right! They say children become unhappy growing up under parents with broken personalities!”

That red-haired one—I’ll definitely put him through special training later.

‘But he does have insight.’

That much was true.
No one could grow up properly under someone like me.
And that child must have changed his mind by now.
After being rejected so many times without understanding why.

And before that—.

“What are you planning?”
“I don’t forgive someone just because they’re a child. There are plenty of monsters wearing the appearance of children, and even if they’re actually children—.”
“If elimination is the right choice, then elimination it is.”
“There are countless ways to make you open your mouth.”

I pressed the child with a terrifying intensity.
The child, who was always so carefree and fearless, suddenly wilted in an instant.
Their entire body trembled.
Like a yellow chick caught in the rain.

‘It’s strange that they keep coming to my office even after experiencing something like that.’

But since I wasn’t letting them in at all, the child would surely give up now.
Even an adult would have grown tired of it.
By this point, surely even this child would be exhausted.
And yet….

“Sae likes Kazamin.”

The child shook their head firmly.
Then they raised both arms high and shouted.

“Sae will become Kazamin’s daughter!”

The child’s eyes gleamed with a clarity unlike any moment before.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————