Chapter 7

Youngest One on Top Chapter 7 (7/299)

In the silent room, only the whispers echoed softly.

"What... was that... a pervert?"

"A pervert slave..."

Shedman's face, which had turned red, now became pale.

He glared around with bloodshot eyes.

He had thought only the Artemisians would be laughing, but he was wrong.

The priests who met his gaze flinched and quickly lowered their mouths.

'They dare to...!'

How could they mock him, an elder of the main temple?

He wanted to teach them a lesson right away, but...

Getting angry here would only make him look foolish.

"You've raised the child well."

Shedman forced a smile, trying to appear calm.

But his voice trembled, making him look pitiful.

The high priest nodded indifferently at the sarcastic remark.

"A pervert should be kept at a distance."

"..."

He had started a fight for nothing and lost.

Shedman glared at the high priest and twisted his lips.

"Is this the new training acolyte? He resembles you, High Priest."

The high priest's lips curled up slightly.

A strangely triumphant attitude.

'Why is he so smug about being mocked?'

Shedman was baffled.

"That's unusual. Most children are afraid of... sorry, High Priest, you're so unique that... you make people a bit uncomfortable—"

"No! I love Dad. Dad is the best. I'm good at this."

A clear voice suddenly interjected.

'There he goes again...'

The child said this while clinging to the high priest's leg.

Shedman couldn't believe his eyes.

There was a child who was so close to that Anatorio.

"But your hair hates you. (But your hair hates you.)"

"..."

"Because it left you. (So it left you.)"

"..."

A silent wave rippled through the reception room.

Everyone was trembling and pinching their thighs in a panic.

"I have a question. (I have a question.)"

The child asked with big, innocent eyes.

"Do you use shampoo? Soap?"

"Y, you insolent brat, how dare you!"

Shedman finally exploded.

A sharp aura from him quickly rushed toward the child.

At that moment.

Rumble—

A massive presence overwhelmed everything in the reception room.

Shedman's aura vanished like a candle in the wind.

A heavy force instantly dominated the space.

Silence.

In the complete stillness, the high priest's voice slowly echoed.

"Did I hear that wrong?"

Only then did the tension release, and Shedman could move again.

He gasped for breath and forced out the words.

"T, this is... unfair... Using force, huff, goes against the rules..."

"Again."

"High Priest..."

"Again."

Shedman gritted his teeth.

The chest pain from the pressure made it hard to breathe.

He finally bowed his head.

"Sorry."

The high priest straightened the child who was clinging to him.

As if telling him to apologize.

Shedman's eyes widened with humiliation.

But there was nothing he could do.

"S, sorry..."

"..."

"Please forgive me..."

The child wiggled his fingers at the apology.

"I'm sorry too. (I'm sorry too.)"

The child, looking around cautiously, said meekly.

"It's not bad to be bald... It's not like you chose to be bald... (It's not bad to be bald... It's not like you chose to be bald...)"

Is he teasing me?

But the child's eyes really looked apologetic.

"Just because..."

"..."

"Do you wash your face up to here? (Do you wash your face up to here?)"

The child tapped his forehead with his small hand.

* * *

Hee hee~

I whistled a tune as I left the reception room.

Shedman was choking and about to pass out, so the adults sent me out.

'Why did you have to poke at someone's sore spot?'

Thinking of the priests' hurt faces made me regret not saying more.

If they act rudely, acting dignified just makes you angry.

Becoming the same as them?

Then I'll become the same, so what!

'You have to poke someone to know it hurts.'

Matching their level is the best approach.

'By the way, the meeting...'

Meetings between temples were common.

They were meant to foster competition and friendship for mutual growth.

But it was more about showing off the children they had.

Usually, Artemis would meet with other Octagon temples.

But the reason for meeting with Leathan, which wasn't part of the Octagon, was obvious.

The other Octagon temples had refused to meet with us.

'They think meeting with you won't help them at all.'

Those jerks.

All the other Octagon temples had refused.

So Artemis had no choice but to meet with a non-Octagon temple.

Not having meetings would be like advertising our isolation.

Leathan, being a top-tier temple, wouldn't damage our reputation.

The problem was Leathan's intentions.

Shedman, as an elder, had openly shown it.

'They want to beat us and get a foothold in the Octagon.'

Leathan is a pathetic little temple that can't even compare to our Lady Artemis.

To think they treat us like this just because we don't have a saint.

'Just wait. I'll find a saint no matter what.'

But realistically, I couldn't find a saint right away.

So the only hope now was—

'The training acolytes.'

To crush Leathan's pride at the upcoming meeting, the training acolytes needed to be strong.

But I wasn't worried.

The level of Artemis priests was excellent.

That's why we're still in the Octagon despite not having a saint for two generations.

'The problem is me...'

Would I still be here by then?

What if I'm still a candidate?

Being kicked out would be better than that...

'I need to do better!'

As I resolved, something caught my eye.

'Huh? That statue looks like the high priest?'

Artemis is too poor to have made a statue of the high priest, so what is it?

It also felt strange.

'What is it? It's weird.'

I got closer to see better, but the height was wrong.

I tiptoed.

'Good. I can see better— huh?'

My tiptoeing leg wobbled.

I reached out to grab something.

Clang!

With a dull sound, the high priest's statue fell to the ground.

There's no such thing as a light statue in the world!

Panicking, I checked the high priest, and the priests, including the high priest, were approaching.

They had also noticed me.

I shouted with a pale face.

"O, oh no! H, high, High Priest! Your head is broken!"

"..."

"Your head! Oh no!"

"..."

The high priest (not bald. Human) looked at me and the high priest (bald. Statue) alternately, frowning.

* * *

After the Leathan priests left.

The high priest, elder, and other high-ranking priests went outside together.

"My heart feels so much better. To see those stiff-necked ones bow and leave."

"Did you see Shedman's face? I thought I'd die laughing."

"Pervert slave..."

At someone's mutter, everyone tried to manage their twitching cheeks.

"That child is really outrageous."

"Since Saelica came, only good things have happened, don't you think?"

"Waking the divine beast, finding treasure, and now giving those annoying ones a taste of their own medicine."

Laughing, the priests praised Saelica, subtly hinting to the high priest.

They wanted to accept Saelica as a training acolyte.

"Saelica really seems to like the high priest, doesn't she?"

"..."

"Otherwise, why would she butt in and say she likes the high priest?"

"Hmm..."

"He even tried to protect the high priest from the pervert."

"..."

"He keeps trying to stick with you, even if you find it annoying."

The high priest raised his chin arrogantly.

Seeing his smug look made me a bit annoyed.

The elder, walking beside him, added nonchalantly.

"But he seems to like Randal more."

One of the high priest's eyebrows shot up.

Randal laughed awkwardly.

The elder's words seemed to confirm the truth.

A crack appeared on the high priest's forehead.

"Really? Are you jealous, High Priest?"

"Ridiculous."

The high priest's dismissal made another elder laugh.

"Of course, the High Priest wouldn't be jealous unless his head was broken."

"Debon, you should watch your words, even as an elder..."

The words trailed off.

They saw a child sitting lifelessly in front of the broken statue.

The child, noticing them, trembled and shouted.

"O, oh no! H, high, High Priest! Your head is broken!"

"..."

"Your head! Oh no!"

Debon muttered behind the high priest.

"Broken? Your head."

"Hey."

* * *

I stayed up all night with wide eyes.

'It's over!'

I jumped out of bed as the birds chirped.

It's completely over! Over!

'Why did I have to break the high priest's (statue) head?'

I pulled my hair and rolled around like an acorn.

Vandalizing a statue of a powerful figure!

This is a reason to be immediately expelled.

I need to make a good impression!

"Saelica, are you up?"

"Who?"

Morgan, who opened the door, made me widen my eyes.

"Why are you here, Morgan?"

"I'll be with you today."

"Randal?"

"Too much...! Isn't it enough with me?"

Morgan pretended to sniffle.

Honestly, it was a bit awkward, so I quickly calmed Morgan down.

Then we held hands and went to Morgan's office.

Not the high priest's office.

'I'm probably hated...!'

Am I about to be kicked out?

I turned pale and cupped my small cheeks.

'I need to make amends!'

But I've already summoned a divine beast and found treasure.

If I do something impressive again, it will raise suspicion.

I groaned and thought, but my mind didn't work well.

I felt like a half-child, thinking slowly.

Breaking the high priest's head and staying up all night in a child's body was a natural result.

'Ugh, I want pudding... What am I thinking? Focus!'

I moved my hand holding the crayon to clear my mind.

Then, Morgan looked at the picture I drew and asked.

"Is this a marine creature? A sea monster?"

It's pudding.

"Who?"

"!"

Morgan looked very shocked.

Of course, he would be.

Calling a sea monster "me"...

"Saelica... you drew me!"

"..."

"Does this mean you like me more than Randal? Kids usually draw family pictures. Oh, I'm so touched."

He liked it?

I was confused as other priests joined in.

"Unfair! Why only you?"

"This looks more like me than you."

"Wow, Saelica, you draw so well. You made Morgan look much better."

I looked up at the adults and asked.

"Do you like my drawings?"

"Of course!"

"I'd like one too."

"Me too, me too. Draw me with you."

The adults' eyes sparkled, making me feel uncomfortable.

'What? Is there something I don't know about my drawings?'

I don't know much about art, but maybe I have a hidden talent?

I noticed Morgan's eyes were moist.

'Am I a genius artist who can make people cry with just scribbles...?'

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed in my mind.

A way to impress the high priest.

'Oh? I'm smart? Maybe I'm back to my senses now that I'm a child?'

Not at all.

If I had been in my right mind, I wouldn't have had that thought.

But it was too late for regrets.

* * *

I paused, holding the doorknob of the office.

A small movement was felt inside the office.

The other priests also noticed and fell silent.

"..."

The high priest slowly turned the doorknob.

He didn't see the intruder right away.

He took a step, then another, toward the source of the movement.

And he found it.

Squatting between the bookshelves...

'Butt?'

A very familiar butt.

Saelica was buried in a book, reading intently.

"What are you doing here?"

"Ah, you scared me!"

The child, startled by the sudden voice, jumped.

The high priest realized the child was looking at the temple navigation data.

And that a small, chubby hand was tightly holding a note.

The navigation data and the note.

The combination was clear.

The high priest's eyes turned cold.

"Even if you don't understand, you can at least copy it, right?"

His voice was icy.

The child froze completely.

"What a pity. To be caught like this."

"..."

"Did you think I would let my guard down with words like 'I like it here' or 'I want to stay'?"

Thud, thud.

The high priest slowly approached the child.

He didn't know why he was so angry.

"You're wrong."

Even if the child was from Parmanas, what could they know?

Too young to have intentions, too young to understand the consequences of their actions.

"Speak."

"..."

"What were you trying to steal?"

"..."

"What were you trying to take with that cheap lie?"

"A, ah... I wasn't... I..."

The frightened child shook their head.

Seeing the child's cowed appearance made him even angrier.

The high priest took the crumpled note from the child's frozen hand.

"Whatever it is, it won't change my decision to accept you."

He unfolded the note.

He didn't know why his insides were so twisted.

He wanted to check and throw it away quickly.

"None..."

He stopped.

"High Priest?"

The priests, puzzled by his reaction, approached.

'What's written on the note?'

Everyone's eyes were on the note the high priest held.

What was written on it—

"...A drawing?"

A drawing made with crayons.

A child in a training acolyte's robe, smiling widely.

The child was holding someone's hand tightly.

Hearts surrounded the person.

They were in the temple.

A temple filled with sparkling stars.

The priests' eyes moved from the drawing to the high priest.

The high priest, who had never wavered, was now looking at the child.

His usually calm eyes seemed to be trembling.