Chapter 17 - The betrayer.

"MY HAND IS BROKEN!!!!!."

"Arthur, keep your voice down. You nearly burst my eardrums."

Arthur, who had his hand broken while fighting the demon, was screaming and complaining. I don't see anything wrong with having a broken hand when you have healers who can heal you with a simple spell.

"When we get back to the village, Angelica will heal your hand. Now stop whining, at least you're not dead."

"But...."

I decided to ignore Arthur, who was still complaining, and walked towards the bodies of the magical beasts. Most are considered high rank beasts and have some value, but I don't have enough space in my storage ring to store them all. Even more so when I intend to put the demon's body in it.

Because of that, I decided to collect the cores of the dead beasts. Just like I did with the monsters that attacked Angelica's village, I can absorb the beast cores to further increase my magic power.

I used my sword to cut open the monsters' bodies and collect the cores. The bodies of some magical beasts were so badly damaged that I didn't even need to use my sword. After a few minutes, I collected about twenty-five cores and decided to stop. I looked at Arthur and noticed he wasn't collecting the cores that were supposed to be his.

Arthur is a very spoiled human being in my opinion. He's more concerned about his hand, which will soon be back to normal, than getting stronger. Come to think of it, he has a system like mine that allows him to get stronger. Was he given the mission to defeat the demon?

I want Arthur to stay strong, so we can have a heated fight in the future. It wouldn't be nice to fight Arthur at this current level. A final battle between me and him. If it was an interesting serious story. But since my life is not a fairy tale, I don't know what the future will be like.

"Arthur. Stop crying and let's go."

After telling Arthur that, I approached the demon's body and placed it in the storage ring. I intend to take you to the empress so that she can take care of this situation, having demons in the white faction's territory is something dangerous.

"Walk fast."

I spread my magic power through my body and jumped, leaving Arthur behind.

'System. Is there any way to detect the traitor in Angelica's village?'

[The ring on the devil's finger, have you noticed?]

'Yea. Thanks for the tip.'

The demon wore a ring on his index finger with the symbol of a crow. The villager who told me the location of today's meeting wore a similar ring. If I'm right, this ring should be given to members of the shadow night group.

I quickened my steps even more, leaving Arthur, who was a little behind me, even further behind. After thirty minutes, I arrived at the entrance to Angelica's village. Unlike the first time I arrived, much of the village has a wall protecting it. The villagers have made a lot of progress in their work today, both on the wall and on the site that will be the new plantation.

I believe two more days and everything will be ready. Tomorrow, I intend to return to the empire. The villagers manage to finish the job without me, just like they did today during the day.

I jumped high and landed in the center of the village. So I went to the house where I am staying these days. Upon entering, I find Angelica meditating in the middle of the room, increasing her magical power. Sensing presence, Angelica opens her eyes, interrupting her meditation, and smiles at me.

"Are you okay? Your clothes are covered in blood."

"Let's say so. I'll tell you all about it later, but right now we need to do something important. Can you take me to the house of the man who used to buy the fertilizer?"

"Mr. Wilson? He must be sleeping."

"Look, Angelica."

I took the demon corpse out of my storage ring. Seeing the demon's body, Angelica's face paled.

"That's what I struggled with today. This demon is part of a group called the shadow of the night, and I believe Mr. Wilson is part of that group."

"That's impossible. Mr. Wilson has always lived in this village, how could he be part of this group?"

"But he is the prime suspect. He was the only one who knew the merchant, that is, the only one who knew how to contact him. Besides, he wears a ring similar to the one the demon wore."

"..."

"I know it must be hard for you to think that everyone in this village is part of your family. It must be hard to think that one of them would be a traitor."

"I don't want to believe your words. But at the same time, I can't stand by when something suspicious like this happens. What do you intend to do?"

"My only proof is the ring he wears. If it has the same symbol as the devil's ring, I intend to capture him and take him to the empress for interrogation. After all, there is a possibility he is a traitor."

"I understand. Hopefully he's not what you suspect. I don't know how the villagers will react if he turns out to be a traitor."

I placed the demon's body back in the storage ring and left the house with Angelica, heading towards Mr. Wilson's dwelling. When we arrived at his house, I knocked on the door, calling for Mr. Wilson. After a few minutes, Wilson opened the door, dressed in pajamas and looking like he'd just woken up.

"Luke, I see you got back safely. Did everything go well?"

"Mr. Wilson, can we come in to talk?"

"Isn't it a little late?"

Mr. Wilson, who opened the door, made a beckoning gesture. A ring, with the symbol of a crow, was exported so that Angelica and I could see. I looked at Angelica beside me and saw an expression of anger mixed with sadness.

"YOU TRAITOR!" Angelica screamed, showing her anger.

"Angelica, what are you..."

Mr. Wilson tried to say something, but before he could finish his rant, my fist hit his face, sending him flying backwards. Mr. Wilson, who had been hit in the face, put his hand over his mouth, which began to bleed.

He again tried to say something, but first, I gave his stomach juices, making him fall to his knees. I grabbed his hair, making his face contort in pain.

"Today, when I went to meet the merchant, who sells him the fertilizer, a demon appeared. He said he belonged to a group called the night shadow and wore a ring very similar to yours."

"..."

"Don't get me wrong, but you have a high chance of being a traitor. For that reason, we will take you to the imperial capital tomorrow. You will be interrogated by the empress's forces."

"Wait.."

This time, I landed a blow hard enough to make Mr. Wilson pass out. I asked Angelica to look for a rope to tie Mr. Wilson. Angelica was taking a while to arrive, so I took Mr. Wilson's body out of the house. Suddenly, I see Arthur, already healed, coming towards me. He must have stopped Angelica on the way to heal him, delaying her search for her rope.

"You bastard. You left me behind."

"I was just cleaning up the mess you started a few years ago."

"What? Is that Mr Wilson?"

"Yes, and you're going to watch him tonight."

"Watch? Why?"

"Use your head. Mister Wilson is suspected of being part of the night shadow group, he who informed the demon of our plan to go to the meeting place today."

"On second thought, it makes sense."

"We will arrest him and take him to the imperial capital for interrogation tomorrow."

"Right."

"So, tonight, you will be responsible for watching him. I believe he won't be able to escape, because he will be tied up. But it doesn't hurt to prevent."

"But why me?"

"You must be useful sometime."

"..."

After Angelica returned, we tied up Mr. Wilson. Arthur eventually agreed to keep an eye on Mr. Wilson, being useful for the first time since he arrived. After finding a solution to almost all the village's problems, tomorrow I will finally be able to return to the imperial capital.

.....

(Elizabeth POV.)

It's been days since Marceline, Luke's personal maid, warned the empress that he had an urgent matter to attend to. Because of this, Luke is several days without coming to train at the imperial palace.

To be honest, I miss him a little bit. My days went back to being boring, without even an interesting event. Being a vassal of the empress is a great honor, but at the same time boring. An event never happens that piques my interest.

But when Luke was here, he always surprised me with interesting results. Even though it was just a week of training, it ended up entertaining my days.

Today was another normal day at the palace. I was in the empress's office, sitting in a chair watching her work. Empress Margaret rarely sends me on a mission, which is why I spend most of my time by her side, watching her. Suddenly, one of the guards came to the empress's office to warn that Luke was here to see her.

After a few minutes, someone knocked on the door. The person who entered, after permission from the empress, was Luke himself. Upon seeing the figure I hadn't seen in a few days, I was surprised to see the change in him. I looked at the empress and saw that she had one eyebrow raised, making a face of surprise mixed with amazement.

Luke, who had closed the door behind him, bowed to the empress, showing respect to Margaret.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

"It's been a few days, Luke."

"Yes, it already does. I came here today to inform you about an important matter."

"What subject?"

Luke, reaching out, pulled something out of his storage ring. A large body, over two meters, fell to the ground. From the looks of it, he was a demon. Luke then began to recount everything that had happened the last few days when he was in Angelica's village.

Empress Margaret listened attentively. After all, Luke has uncovered important information that could affect the future of the empire. He reported that he had brought in a prisoner, suspected of being part of the shadow group of the night, which he had mentioned during the story.

The prisoner, if found to be a traitor, is likely to be executed. Unless the empress thinks of using some form to get more information from the night shadow group.

After Luke finished the story, Empress Margaret sent him away, telling Luke to rest. He went through several difficult situations in a few days. After Lucas left.

"He got stronger." said Margaret.

As Luke walked through the door, I felt the power level had risen grotesquely. Both the empress and I were surprised to see such an evolution. He, in a few days, managed to reach the s-Rank of magic power.

"His growth rate is not something normal. I would say he is a variable of the level of the hero Arthur." I said.

"Or maybe worse than Arthur... Coof... Coof."

Suddenly, the empress began to cough. Recently, I've noticed that her coughing has been getting worse and every time I ask, she says she's fine. I'm just a vassal, I have no say in her life. However, I can't help but worry.

Every time I see her coughing like this, I wonder if she's really okay.

...

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