Youngest on Top - Chapter 92

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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 92

* * *

Whoooosh—
A cold wind swept through the room.

“What in the world is….”

Admiral Ekellan couldn’t even finish his sentence, utterly dumbfounded.
I was genuinely taken aback as well.

‘The High Priest is suddenly my grandfather?’

Admiral Ekellan rubbed his chin with a shocked expression, muttering to himself.

“How can someone with such a refined face be called a grandfather….”
“….”

So it was him who found it absurd.
I regarded Admiral Ekellan with cold, indifferent eyes.

‘True, the High Priest is far too young to be called a grandfather.’

No matter how I looked at it, his face was that of someone who could barely have a teenage child.
In reality, his actual age was likely far greater than his appearance suggested.

‘The sanctity of Artemia flowing through him keeps his entire body vital and prevents him from aging easily.’

And his handsomeness too.
As I mentioned before, those who accept sanctity inevitably come to resemble the god’s characteristics.
In other words, having talent in Artemia’s sanctity meant one was born with a certain degree of good looks.

And the more one accepts sanctity, the more one comes to resemble the god’s characteristics….
The greater that talent, the more sanctity one possessed, the more handsome one became inevitably.

For that reason, the High Priest, the Elders, and High Priests like Randel and Kaiser were all uniformly handsome.

‘After all, the deity I serve must be beautiful.’

What?
Why am I speaking as if Artemia’s defining characteristic is her beauty?

For your reference, here are Artemia’s credentials.
Most desirable deity to marry, rank 1.
Most desirable deity to be held by, rank 1.
Most desirable deity to hold, rank 1.
Most desirable deity to bury one’s face in her… well, chest, rank 1.

Doesn’t this qualify as having beauty as her defining characteristic?

Enrik: Of course!
Enrik: Nothing in this world is more beautiful than our Artemia!

I nodded in agreement with Enrik’s words.
The perfection of the deity I served was the very pride of being an angel.

“Randel and Kaiser are my adopted sons, my children. Therefore, that child, their adopted daughter, becomes my granddaughter.”

As if asking when I had made such a declaration, the High Priest explained with his usual expressionless face.
Then he extended his hand toward me.

“Come here, my little rascal.”
“….”
“….”

I tilted my ears.
Did I just hear something strange?

Admiral Ekellan seemed to share my thoughts, tilting his head with a peculiar expression.

Seeing no reaction from me, the High Priest’s brow furrowed slightly.

“…I heard grandfathers all call their grandchildren that way.”
“….”
“Isn’t that right?”

Did he really call me a “shit puppy”?!

* * *

I nestled obediently in the High Priest’s arms, fidgeting with my hands.
The High Priest walked through the Main Hall Corridor while speaking to me.
I simply nodded along.

‘This feels strange.’

I had been carried like this before, so his embrace should have felt familiar, but it felt oddly awkward since it had been so long.
Besides, it had been ages since I last spoke with the High Priest.

‘And now he suddenly calls himself my grandfather….’

Who calls a great-great-granddaughter their granddaughter?
And as if treating her like a true granddaughter at that….

I never imagined I would have such a person in my life, so my palms kept tingling inexplicably.

Then the High Priest suddenly stopped.
I lifted my head in confusion, and after a long silence, he asked.

“Do you hate that I’m your grandfather?”

His mysterious silver eyes gazed down at me, then trembled slightly.

“It doesn’t matter. Even if you hate me, I will wait until you open your heart again….”
“…?”

I stared at the High Priest in bewilderment.
Why was he digging himself into a hole?

I was about to say something.

“Why are you clinging to a child who says she dislikes it?”

Kaiser spoke from the opposite end of the corridor, his brow furrowed.
He approached with measured steps and extended his hand.

“Give him to me.”
“No.”
“Do you truly believe you’re qualified to keep that child?”
“You’re right, I’m not. That’s exactly why I’m doing this now—to earn that qualification.”
“Can’t you see how uncomfortable this child is?”

At those words, the High Priest fell silent, his lips pressing firmly together.
For some reason, his usually impassive face seemed wounded.

“Still.”

Determination crystallized in the High Priest’s eyes as he murmured those words.

“Even if I shatter into pieces from this child’s rejection, I will continue to reach toward their heart.”
“Approaching someone against their will is violence.”
“Since when did you have the right to say that?”
“If not me, then who?”

This was bad.
The atmosphere between the two had become ominous.

‘Kaiser and the High Priest already don’t get along.’

The two of them were the twin pillars of Artemisia Temple.

‘If their relationship fractures any further…’

Just when we’d finally laid the foundation to surge forward, everything could crumble from within!

“You claim it’s for the child’s sake, yet you stand there looking so uncomfortable and restless—”
“I’m not uncomfortable!”

I cried out urgently.
Kaiser paused and looked at me.

“Stop it.”

I firmly grasped the High Priest’s collar.

“I’ll do it.”

So don’t be angry and let’s all get along nicely.
The High Priest is your godfather anyway, isn’t he?

“…I’ll, do it.”

But something strange happened.
For some reason, Kaiser became far more furious than before.

Meanwhile, the High Priest—.

“Yes, I’ll do it for my little pup. I’ll do it.”
“….”

His usual expressionless face had completely transformed into an enormous grin.

“Oh, my precious! Ah, my precious! My little pup!”

Smack, smooch smooch smooch!
With my face covered in kiss marks, I gazed upward with an expression of enlightenment.

‘…At least I prevented a fight.’

I’ve preserved the temple’s peace this way, so that should be fine, right?
Right, Artemia?
What?

* * *

“Hahahaha! So that’s what happened!”

Gerald spoke as if he found it absolutely hilarious.

“Man, when that invitation arrived that day, it was so entertaining! I happened to be there, so I got to watch from the front row! I’ve been curious about what happened after!”

Gerald chuckled and asked me in a suggestive tone.

“So, have you decided who you’ll go with?”
“It was decided from the start.”
“Indeed, considering our genius baby Sacred Maiden’s nature, it’s only natural. I, the genius Gerald, would have calculated the same way.”

Gerald hummed and crossed his arms before speaking.

“Then wouldn’t it be better to say it quickly? As the saying goes, it’s better to take the beating first. The longer you delay, the worse it will get.”
“Just say it.”

But what could I do if it wouldn’t work?

I decided to speak seriously, wanting to at least stop Admiral Ekellan, who came by every day with such devotion.

“This is my first time going to the banquet alone.”
“Yeah, so with me—.”
“If I go with you, people will misunderstand.”
“….”
“Besides, I can’t do anything on my own anyway.”
“Ha.”

Admiral Ekellan exhaled as if utterly exasperated.

It was something I had anticipated.
Admiral Ekellan had been supporting the Artemisia Temple in every way possible.
Not just the tea party issue, but even the Sacred Maiden’s coronation ceremony.

Yet he couldn’t even grant this small request to attend as my partner, so his pride was surely wounded.
He was a great noble no matter what anyone said, and even an admiral commanding hundreds of thousands of naval forces.
Such lofty pride could not go unscathed—

“Who do you take after to be so clever? Already considering such external circumstances.”

Huh?

“…Now that I think about it, your hair color is exactly like mine.”
“….”

Ah, that’s right.
I belatedly remembered anew.

‘Admiral Ekellan wasn’t in his right mind either.’

As I recounted what happened back then, Gerald’s eyes went wide as saucers.

“That Admiral Ekellan had such a reaction…. Knowing the Admiral’s personality, he would’ve overturned everything if anything, but this doesn’t make sense….”
“Overturned? (Flipped out?)”
“Yes, ‘You’re bothered by others’ misunderstandings but not your own? I suppose I’ve been too lenient.’ And…. Ugh…!”

Gerald shuddered with disgust.
I gazed at him with hazy eyes.

“Did you seriously just mimic the Admiral like that?”
“Yes! Wasn’t it similar? As a genius, my acting is also—.”
“Not even close.”
“Eh?! The baby Sacred Maiden surprisingly doesn’t have an eye for—.”
“Terrible face.”
“….”

Gerald deflated.
I patted him earnestly to console him.
Though honestly, Gerald probably needed to be brought down a peg or two.

“But you see, there’s no rule that says you must have exactly one partner.”
“Hmm?”
“Especially since the baby Sacred Maiden is much younger than the other Sacred Maidens, having more guardians wouldn’t be a problem.”
“….”
“This tea party’s partner feels more like bringing along a guardian rather than a true partner.”

He was right about that.
That’s why I’m choosing adults as partners instead of children my own age.

“Since I’ve only recently awakened and might suffer from divine fever, there’s even more reason to bring multiple guardians.”

The reasoning was flawless.
I regarded Gerald with newfound respect.

“Gerald, you’re a genius?!”
“Hehehehe, this genius Gerald! Once again, I’ve impressed the baby Sacred Maiden with a stroke of genius. Ah, there’s no need to cry. It’s only natural that tears would flow from admiring my genius, but if you do that too much, I’ll be embarrassed. No wait, I’m not actually embarrassed. It’s only natural, after all. Anyway, there’s no need to cry.”

I wasn’t crying.
My sense of wonder had evaporated entirely.

Gerald hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth with a bashful expression.

“Well, since you’re already bringing so many partners along, I was wondering if perhaps I could also….”
“…?”
“I’m being considered as the most promising successor to Whitepearl, one of the continent’s three greatest merchant guilds, and I do have some influence…. But no, never mind. I understand.”

Good grief.
I scratched my head.
I never expected Gerald to be eyeing a partner position as well.

Given his usual demeanor, it was surprising to hear him speak so timidly.
I would’ve expected Gerald to puff out his chest and strike a dashing pose.

‘Take this genius Gerald as your partner! I’m certain I’ll be invaluably helpful!’

—something like that.

‘…somehow I feel sorry for him.’

So I gave Gerald one more piece of information about Iadelph flowers.
He seemed pleased, yet his expression remained oddly unsettled.

“Why?”
“I should be happier receiving information about Iadelph flowers, but I feel a strange sense of regret instead.”
“…?”
“I think my calculations are starting to malfunction.”

Then he gazed at me with melancholic eyes, looking distant.
He resembled a tragic male protagonist.

‘This guy too….’

Why was everyone I’d joined hands with for the temple’s sake so peculiar?

* * *

A few days later.
A tea party for the Sacred Maidens was held.

Helene, the Sacred Maiden of Reyatan, trembled violently while gripping her dress hem tightly.
It was from humiliation.

“What? Helene, answer me.”
“How did you lose to Artemisia in a gathering where they don’t even have a Sacred Maiden?”
“I thought it was a joke when I first heard it, but it’s true?”
“You were going on about how Artemisia only has one person who awakened sacred power—a mere husk.”
“So why did you lose to that husk?”
“And you even cheated using sacred relics and still lost?”
“Ah, so Reyatan is even worse than a husk? If there’s no substance and no shell either, what is it?”

The young girls snickered and mocked Helene.
She had become a complete laughingstock.

It was understandable.
A Sacred Maiden was the pride of a temple, and her mere existence elevated the temple to another level.

Yet Helene had suffered a complete defeat against a temple without a Sacred Maiden, even resorting to cheating.
It was as good as diminishing the value of a Sacred Maiden and brought shame upon the title itself.

The other Sacred Maidens naturally wanted to draw a line between themselves and Helene.

There was also what Helene had said before.

“I feel sorry for the people of Artemisia Temple. They don’t even know their proper place, and they’re still stuck in the Octagon. It’s really pitiful to watch.”
“That’s why I’m going to show them their true position at this gathering.”
“Ah, I feel a bit sorry for the other temples too. If our Reyatan becomes the Octagon, they’ll lose all hope.”
“At least when Artemisia was the Octagon, they could entertain the happy delusion of climbing up by trampling on Artemisia.”
“But against our Reyatan, they won’t even be able to dream such dreams. Sorry about that?”

“What does Reyatan think it is. All talk and no substance.”

Finally, Helene snapped and cried out.

“The Sacred Maiden wasn’t absent! That child awakened as the Sacred Maiden!”
“Hah! Do you realize what you’re saying? That you’re weaker than a child who hasn’t even awakened as the Sacred Maiden yet?”
“Before awakening as the Sacred Maiden, she’s just like any other child. You know that too, don’t you?”

It only invited even greater ridicule.
Helene had no choice but to close her mouth.

“Ah, now that Artemisia even has a Sacred Maiden, the day Reyatan surpasses Artemisia and enters the Octagon will never come.”
“Never.”

A clear voice cut through the children’s giggling.

“Now, everyone, that’s enough.”

It was Eyrene Alias.
Eyrene was a thirteen-year-old girl who had already awakened as the Sacred Maiden two years ago.
She was the first to awaken among the Sacred Maidens of this generation, and also the oldest.

That was why Eyrene was the host of this tea party.

“This gathering is for exchange. Please refrain from excessive criticism.”

Eyrene spoke gently and glanced at the clock.

“However, the Sacred Maiden from Artemisia is rather late.”

Thirty minutes had already passed since the tea party was supposed to begin.

“Indeed. For a first meeting, being this late is…”
“Why hasn’t she arrived?”

Discomfort filled the faces of the Sacred Maidens.
None of them were accustomed to waiting.
Rather, they expected others to wait for them.

“If she’s this discourteous—”

That was when it happened.

“The Sacred Maiden of Artemisia Temple has arrived!”

With that cry, the tea party hall’s doors swung open.
And….

‘Light?’
‘A halo?’
‘A miracle?’

Suddenly, a brilliant radiance flooded the entire tea party hall.
It was the luminescence radiating from the faces of the four men who entered alongside the Sacred Maiden of Artemisia.

—————
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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