The other problem I have now is the Demonic energy that has corrupted the forest. Even though the Demon Lord is dead, that doesn’t mean that all the corrupted parts of the forest will simply disappear. The good thing is that I can purify the forest using purification magic but due to the large scale of the forest, that will probably take me months to finish.

It's only a few months till my sixteen birthday and I want to be finished by then. Purifying the forest will probably cause a lot of disorder in this continent. A lot of kingdoms and people will probably try to seize this forest by force but I’m not worried.

I plan to create five more beings like Michael and the others and I’m pretty sure they’ll be able to protect this place in the period I’ll be gone. I plan to go and explore the maps found in the Draconic book. I also plan to leave something that will help the guards with their training.

Sigh, I feel like there is so much to do in a short amount of time.

I go to my room. My room is still simple as it has ever been. I sit down on my comfy bed and stare at my hand. I release some energy out of it. Eerie dark energy emanates from my hand. It is demonic energy.

After absorbing the demonic energy to replenish my mana and magical energy when I was fighting the Demon Lord, I seem to have created something within me. The demonic energy attached itself to my body and created its own source below my magic core. So, now I also have a demonic core.

I’m not demonized by it which is something that’s weird. I’m still human… or at least, I think I am. My mana is still pure and isn’t contaminated. Usually, a demonized human’s mana turns dark and stuff. At least that’s what Ray told me. And no matter how much I try to purify that demonic core within me with purification magic, it doesn’t disappear. I guess my body accepted this demonic energy.

People say the worst betrayal is by a family member or a friend. I guess those idiots have never been betrayed by their own bodies, huh?

I should go to the village to see if Gram got there fine. I’m worried that they might not have recognised her.

At the village gate.

“Hey Marco. I see it’s your time to guard the gate.”

“Oh, ah yeah leader. It is my turn. Um, yeah hehe.”

He is acting weird. Ariel, scan his facial feature and give me an analysis.

Scanning in progress. Scan complete. Based on the excessive sweating and awkward smiling and the excessive movement of his eyes, he seems to be scared and feeling a sense of guilt over something.

What did this idiot do?!

“What did you do?”

“W-what. Nothing. I did nothing, nothing at all. I mean… definitely nothing *gulp* leader.”

“Hmm?! That’s an awful lot of nothings for nothing?”

“…”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

I enter the village. The village is much lively than the other days.

I guess the merchant caravans have arrived, huh?

I walk up to the pharmacy like always.

*Jingle*

“Oh, Allen. You are here?”

I am greeted by Amy who has piles of books on the table, studying them. I almost didn’t recognize her since she’s also wearing a white coat and has a ponytail like a certain somebody.

“Amy?! Where is Stacy?”

Amy is starting to look more like Stacy. I guess she’s probably staying up all night studying and working like her.

“Don’t know. She left a few hours ago. I thought you wouldn’t come today.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, considering the tremors we felt from the forest, I thought you were fighting a powerful monster. So, I figured you’d take a day off and sleep.”

Tremors?! They actually felt those! I had no idea. Well, I was fighting the Demon Lord but I can’t tell her that now can I.

“Don’t look so surprised. We always feel tremors from the forest when you’re fighting a powerful monster. But yesterdays were a bit too much. We thought we were under attack or something.”

“Oh. Anyways have you seen my gram anywhere?”

“Nope. Wait your gram? Isn’t she sick?”

“I managed to heal her.”

He healed her?! That’s incredible. I bet he feels happy. I’ve been working hard too. I’m now an intermediate-grade potion alchemist. It’s not as close as him though, but I’ll catch up to him one way or the other.

Amy is a hard worker. She works twice as hard as the other people in this village. She works with Stacy in this pharmacy and also helps granny Alma with taking care of the inn. She also attends all the classes I host in the training fields when I’m teaching the guards how to fight. Now that Gram has woken up, I bet she’ll ask for her tutelage on being a healer.

“Oh, yeah. Here are some books. Give these to Stacy when she comes back, okay.”

“Okay.”

The books I just gave her are potion recipes I found in the Draconic book. I also included other books I created using the knowledge I gained from Athena. It’s mostly chemistry but an advanced version.

“Oh, before I forget. The village chief has been meaning to talk to you. You should probably pass by his house.”

“Okay, thanks.”

I wonder what the village chief wants.

I leave the pharmacy and immediately go to the village chief’s house.

The village chief’s house is quite small. I think he isn’t married nor have any children, right? Come to think of it, my house is also small. I should build myself a castle.

*Knock, knock, knock*

“Oh, young Allen. It’s you.”

“It’s nice to meet you today chief. I heard you wanted to see me.”

“Ah, yes. Come in, come in. Have a sit.”

I enter the house and take a sit. The village chief’s house is simpler than I thought. The living room is small and has only a table and a few chairs. I can also see the kitchen which has a one plate magic stove mounted atop a table. I can also see the door to what I assume is the bedroom. To get to see all of this in the living room shows how small his house really is.

“I’ll get straight to the point then. I want you to become the village chief.”

“What?!”

I didn’t expect this. I was planning at some point in time to be the leader of this village. Becoming the leader would make my plans much easier but I never really had a plan on how to do it yet.

“Why me?” I ask as I narrow my eyes.

“As you know, I don’t have an heir to inherit my position. I’m also old. I can’t keep leading the people when I see a bright young man like yourself. You have helped this village more than I could. Thanks to you, no villager has died due to starvation. Thanks to you, no villager has died due to sickness. And thanks to you, no monsters have attacked this village.” He pauses and sips a smoking hot tea that he had brewed for himself. “I can also see that you’re a special young boy with great ambitions. I don’t want to be in the way of your plans.”

Huh, I guess this is good for me.

“I’ll accept the position.”

“Good lad. I’ll just have to announce it-“

“You too have helped this village, chief. I know that the tax money that the villagers pay doesn’t go to your pocket. Instead, you use it to help the villagers grow their crops and more. You are a good leader.”

I’m not kidding when I say this. Other people would probably monopolize that amount of money especially considering the money the village has made ever since Stacy started selling the potions to the merchant caravans.

“Thank you, young Allen.”

He might be old but with age comes wisdom. I’m gonna need that wisdom in the future chief so, don’t count yourself out.