Chapter 10

Youngest One Top 10 (10/299)

* * *

The young disciples lined up in front of the main hall looked remarkably mature for their age.

The adults watched the children with pleased eyes, welcoming their return.

Then they introduced me.

“Since you’ve arrived late, I expect you to teach him well.”

“Yes, don’t worry. We’ll take good care of him.”

The boy with red hair standing at the front bowed deeply.

Then he raised his head and smiled at me.

It was a very lively smile.

‘He must be the leader of the disciples.’

He was taller than his peers, with a flexible yet sturdy build.

His smile was cheerful and playful, yet he also looked reliable.

‘...This doesn’t match the rumors I heard about Ilay.’

Ilay was said to have flawless snow-white hair and honey-colored eyes that seemed to melt with sweetness.

He was described as a devil who could bury someone in the mud without batting an eye, with a gentle and sweet face.

‘Indeed, it seems I was overthinking it.’

Seeing another child taking the lead, it seemed to be just a name.

‘If it were “that Ilay,” the disciples would have already been under his control.’

After the welcoming ceremony, I returned to the disciples’ quarters with the children.

Finally, we were alone without the adults.

I looked around at the disciples.

These children were the future of the temple.

They would also be the closest people I would live and work with in the future.

‘From what I saw earlier, they all seemed to follow the rules and show proper manners, quite like real priests—’

“Hey.”

Hey?

It was the red-haired boy who had been behaving politely in front of the priests.

“What are you staring at with those wide eyes?”

“Huh?”

“You look like puffed-up bread. Are you as stupid as you look? Can’t you understand the situation?”

The boy smirked.

His tilted head and crooked mouth.

And the completely condescending look.

‘You’re completely different from how you acted in front of the adults, aren’t you?’

The other disciples were also looking at me and grinning.

A few of them approached me and spoke nastily.

“You forced your way in through a closed door, yet you have no sense.”

“You can’t even understand your place.”

“You sneaked in through the back door while we were away, didn’t you?”

When I didn’t answer, the children glared at me.

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

“Huh—”

“Don’t cry. No one here will coddle you just because you cry.”

“Huuu…”

I sighed deeply.

The children who had been grinning maliciously flinched.

“Huh, you’re sighing?”

They must have been surprised,

“Scary. Hooooo!”

—thinking I would make such a sound, but it was far from the truth.

I had experienced everything in my past life.

This level of bullying doesn’t even tickle me.

On the contrary...

‘Not hitting me? These kids are gentle.’

Compared to the Parmenas, their reaction was very mild, which made me feel quite pleased.

Indeed, they are Lady Artemis’s disciples.

They are pure.

Seeing me smile contentedly, the children flinched.

“What, what’s wrong? Why are you smiling?”

“Are you crazy?”

The children looked at the red-haired boy with confused expressions.

‘Indeed, he must be the leader.’

“Dmitri...”

The children looked at the red-haired boy, Dmitri, as if asking what to do.

Dmitri, who had been looking at me with a bewildered expression, suddenly changed his expression.

Then he walked past the children and came up to me.

“You came into the temple without a selection ceremony.”

“...”

“Don’t think we’ll treat you the same just because the adults like you.”

Dmitri warned me.

Indeed, as a leader, he had a commanding presence.

The children now thought I was scared and started laughing again.

But I...

“Randel said to get along well. (Randel said to get along well.)”

“What?”

“Can you give me a chance? (Can you give me a chance?)”

The children looked confused again.

* * *

I walked out of the disciples’ quarters.

‘I should pick some pretty flowers and go to Randel.’

It was a bribe.

I wanted to ask him about Ilay.

‘It’s probably just a coincidence...’

But there’s always a chance.

It’s best to confirm such things to avoid any trouble.

I was heading to the back garden to find some flowers.

A malicious voice came from behind.

“Stop there.”

I turned my head and saw a familiar face.

The red-haired boy, the leader of the disciples.

Dmitri.

He walked up to me and said,

“What makes you think you can act so cocky?”

He warned me.

‘Ah, since I’m not scared, the leader himself came out.’

“Nobody believes you. (Nobody believes you.)”

“Then you shouldn’t act so cocky. Aren’t you a dirty cheater?”

Thud.

Dmitri pressed his finger against my forehead.

Just that made my weak body wobble like a seesaw.

I almost fell over.

‘This is real.’

I frowned and said,

“Stop it. I don’t see you as a man. (Stop it. I don’t see you as a man.)”

Dmitri’s lips curled up in a mocking smile.

Then he pushed my head again.

Thud.

“Why? Are you going to tell the adults?”

And he pushed my forehead again.

Three times.

I stared at Dmitri.

‘Is this the first move?’

And I’ve seen enough.

Randel told me to get along with the children, and I, a lover of peace, prefer dialogue over violence...

‘But maybe a close conversation with my fist and this child’s face is a different kind of friendly dialogue.’

I made a decision for peace.

And I calmly looked around.

Dmitri, misunderstanding my actions, grinned.

“There’s no adult here to help you.”

“...Really?”

“Yes. So stop acting cocky—”

That’s great.

The adults won’t help you, but—

‘They’ll help you, you puppy!’

I clenched my plump fist.

“I said, I don’t see you as a man. (I said, I don’t see you as a man.)”

I know from my past experiences.

Showing kindness once is generous, but showing it twice makes you a pushover.

‘In this case, there’s no other way, Lady Artemis.’

The only solution is to deliver a righteous uppercut to this lost lamb.

I sighed deeply and rolled up my sleeves.

“Dmitri started it first, right? (Dmitri started it first, right?)”

“What?”

I raised my puffed-up morning bun-like fist.

Of course, it was filled with holy power.

A sacred light gathered on my fist.

And...

“Aah!”

“Ouch!”

“Aaaah!”

The sky was clear.

The sunlight felt pleasant, and the shade of the trees was cool.

“Okay, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Stop— Ouch!”

It was a perfect day for exercise.

“What child has such strength— Aah! Ouch! It hurts, it hurts! Stop!”

The puppy’s whining helped keep the rhythm.

* * *

Thud!

Dmitri was pushed by Saelica’s punch and hit a tree trunk.

Saelica dusted off her hands and said,

“I’ll only show you once. Got it? (I’ll only show you once. Got it?)”

“...”

“I said, got it?”

“Ah, got it...”

“Good. Now go get some medicine.”

Saelica turned around and left.

Dmitri watched the small back disappear, dazed.

‘What kind of person is she?’

Even in the midst of the chaos, he had such thoughts.

She looked small and soft, like a honey bun, but she was incredibly strong.

Moreover, her striking points and timing...

‘Art... No, what am I thinking...!’

Am I crazy!

Dmitri had been a leader all his life.

He had never lost to his peers.

But that small girl was impossible to beat.

If he dodged to the right, a punch came from the front; if he dodged to the left, she turned and hit his back.

It was as if she could read his mind!

‘Like Sir Derrick...’

Like the respected Sir Derrick, who could accurately gauge the flow and target weak spots.

It was a truly fantastic beating...

‘...No, it’s not!’

Dmitri shook his head.

He must have been dazed from the beating.

At that moment,

“Leader?”

He heard a noise behind him.

It was his subordinates, or rather, fellow disciples.

Dmitri flinched and quickly stood up.

His body ached from the hits, but he gritted his teeth and endured.

The disciples rushed over and asked,

“How did it go?”

They looked around with hopeful faces.

Saelica was nowhere to be seen.

“Where did that brat go?”

“Where did she go? She ran away crying, right?”

Another disciple shouted with bright eyes.

Dmitri, confused, asked,

“Huh?”

“The leader scared her so much she ran to the adults, right?!”

“...”

“Right? The leader won, right?”

Saelica didn’t show up, but she hit the right spots.

It was incredibly painful, but she looked fine on the outside.

The disciples looked at Dmitri with hopeful expressions.

They never thought Dmitri would lose to a honey bun-like girl.

Who was Dmitri?

The strongest among the disciples!

A boy whose combat sense even the adults praised.

Dmitri swallowed and looked at the children.

‘If I say I lost to such a small girl...’

“Eh? Lost to a honey bun?”

“What, Dmitri isn’t that great after all.”

“Lost to a honey bun... He’s just a water bun?”

‘No, not a water bun!’

The children looked doubtful as Dmitri didn’t answer.

“...You didn’t lose, right?”

“Nah, no way.”

Dmitri exclaimed.

“I didn’t lose! I just got hit!”

The children, with ‘That’s what I thought’ expressions, laughed.

“I knew it! You got a taste of your own medicine for being cocky!”

“Indeed, the leader!”

“Fools. The leader can’t lose. The leader is the one Sir Derrick praised as having the best combat sense!”

The best combat sense...

Dmitri swallowed and recalled Saelica from earlier.

“Dmitri, if you dodge, it hurts more. Just take it. (Dmitri, if you dodge, it hurts more. Just take it.)”

And the punches that rained down.

‘Is the best combat sense something like that...? But where did she learn it?’

She said she came in through the back door.

Her skills were better than the other disciples.

She was not just better, but far superior, considering she beat him.

Moreover...

“Strong people protect the weak, not hit them. (Strong people protect the weak, not hit them.)”

“But why did you hit me!”

“Because I’m strong. It’s a challenge. (Because I’m strong. It’s a challenge.)”

They say strong people recognize each other.

There was no proper opponent among the disciples, but she was different.

‘Damn, what am I thinking again!’

Dmitri shook his head.

She’s just a honey bun.

A slightly stronger honey bun.

* * *

The next day.

No one picked a fight with me.

No one even spoke to me.

“...”

I quietly watched the children playing and joking around.

‘...I’m not jealous at all.’

I turned away from the laughing children.

I need to find Ilay first.

Randel seemed busy with the return of the disciples.

I didn’t get a chance to ask about Ilay.

“Tsk.”

When I approached, the children who were playing and laughing looked at me with sharp expressions.

“What?”

“Who’s Ilay? (Who’s Ilay?)”

“Why are you asking me? Are we friends? He’s not here.”

When I asked the children about Ilay, they answered with obvious annoyance.

I clenched my fists for a moment but showed restraint.

“Then where is Ilay? (Then where is Ilay?)”

“Probably in the garden again. He doesn’t like noise.”

“Is that so...”

The child waved his hand as if annoyed.

I headed to the place the child indicated.

When I went to the garden and turned the corner, I saw a shadow among the bushes.

“Ilay? (Ilay?)”

I called out, and a child who was leaning against a tree trunk and reading a book slowly raised his head.

‘...?’

His silver hair shone like an untouched snowfield.

His eyes, in stark contrast, were a deep, honey-colored that seemed to draw you in.

His young face, though puzzled, looked gentle and kind.

His appearance and aura matched exactly what I had heard about ‘Ilay.’

But what caught my attention more was something else.

‘That kid—’

“What’s the matter?”

Ilay, who met my eyes, smiled softly and said,

“You’re Saelica, right?”

“...Yes.”

“I’m Ilay. I couldn’t greet you properly yesterday. Welcome to the Artemis Temple. I hope we can get along well.”

He stood up and extended his hand to me.

I looked at his hand silently.

“My arm hurts.”

Ilay slightly frowned but smiled.

A smile that didn’t burden the other person and could even evoke a good impression.

Just as I was about to reach out to shake his hand,

“Eek?!”

Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind.

My already unbalanced body tilted backward.

A not-so-gentle hand pulled me away.

“What are you doing?”

A grumpy voice.

It was Dmitri.