Rest and his party had set out to investigate the central region of the Sabnock Plains, but... an unexpected obstacle stood in their way.
This obstacle wasn't monsters strengthened by the demon realm's mana—it was merely ordinary weeds that had undergone abnormal growth.
The weeds, as tall as adult men, blanketed their field of vision and concealed the monsters from sight. On top of that, they were saturated with enormous amounts of mana, which interfered with his presence detection spell.
At this rate, they'd be unable to defend against a surprise attack and would be completely at the enemy's mercy.
The harsh natural environment—a great enemy in its own right—sought to bar Rest's path.
"Well... I guess all I have to do is burn it down."
As he spoke, Rest set the surrounding clusters of grass ablaze.
Advanced Magic: **Burning Storm** Through wide-area fire magic, he burned away the grass, carving a path toward the center of the demon realm.
He deliberately refrained from using Amaterasu. Gathering sunlight would darken the surroundings, creating a risk of ambush from the monsters.
"Incredible..."
"Rest really is amazing, isn't he? I can't believe he can do this kind of thing too."
Behind Rest as he burned through the grass with his flames...
Isis watched him with eyes full of awe, while Yuri watched him with eyes of honest admiration.
"Well... someone's gotta do this much, at least."
"............"
"............"
Lubeth stood with his arms crossed, letting out a quiet "Hmph" as he kept watch over their surroundings.
The other two—the knight dispatched from the royal castle, Argil, and the priest dispatched from the temple, Rail—stood speechless, struck dumb with astonishment.
Rest unleashed advanced fire spell after advanced fire spell, continuously burning away the surrounding grass.
Incidentally, he had obtained prior permission from Andrew Aiwood, the leader of the development corps, to burn vegetation like this.
This location was already slated for town construction after development. By harnessing the demon realm's mana, they could build a more prosperous city than usual.
Whether they cleared the vegetation or not, the plants and the monsters inhabiting them would be obstacles to building the town. If Rest was willing to burn it all away, that would only make things easier for Andrew.
"He's cast that many advanced spells, yet his mana reserves show no sign of running dry... As expected, this man truly is my ideal..."
Isis swallowed hard, mesmerized by Rest's feat.
Advanced spells were so powerful that even senior students in the Magic Department could only manage two or three shots at most.
Yet Rest had fired off more than twenty of them—spells that should have consumed enormous amounts of mana—without showing the slightest sign of running dry.
"Graaah!"
"Gyaauu!"
Monsters scorched by the flames burst out from the grass.
Some charged toward Rest, while others tried to flee.
"Thunder Cannon."
"There!"
Isis immediately shot down a monster lunging at Rest.
A fleeing monster had its skull shattered by Yuri's kick, sinking into the ground.
"Hmph... small fry."
Lubeth swung his sword, cleaving a monster in two.
The four of them carved their way through the center of the demon realm without a moment's hesitation, making steady progress.
"Damn it... are you serious...?"
Behind them, Argil clenched his fist in frustration.
Up until now, only the four young ones had been performing brilliantly, and there had been almost no opportunities for Argil—the veteran knight—to achieve anything.
It would be easy to misunderstand, but Argil was by no means incompetent.
He'd had the misfortune of having relatives involved in the rebellion, but his abilities were genuine. That was precisely why he'd been given this job—as a chance to clear his name.
(I came here planning to clean up after a bunch of greenhorns... but every last one of them is a damn monster!?)
It wasn't just Rest, who possessed seemingly infinite mana.
Isis's spell-casting speed, Yuri's physical abilities—they finished off enemies before Argil could even move.
Lubeth's swordsmanship was no lesser than theirs. And because he was a fellow knight, Argil could tell— That Lubeth stood above him in martial arts.
(Are these kids even students!? I can't get a single chance to step up...!)
He'd taken on this dangerous job, thinking it would be his chance at a comeback—the opportunity to clear the stain on his name caused by his relatives' involvement in the rebellion—yet he was being overwhelmed by young talent at every turn.
Not a single opportunity to show his worth came his way. Wasn't he just dead weight?
"Damn it... at this rate...!"
"Even so... you've really been a tremendous help, Argil."
"Hah?"
As Argil fumed, Rest—who had paused his work—spoke to him.
"Because you're watching our backs and protecting Rail, our healer, I can focus all my attention forward without having to worry about what's behind me. The fact that you've been taking on the unglamorous work ahead of everyone else—I truly respect that."
"Ah, ah. That's... well, yes, that's quite right!"
Remembering that Rest held the rank of count, Argil corrected his tone.
"The unglamorous work must be shouldered by people like me! Supporting the young is the duty of our generation. Please, don't give it another thought!"
It seemed he had decided to accept Rest's framing.
If he was deliberately holding back to support the younger fighters, then the fact that he couldn't step to the front line wouldn't damage his pride.
"Leave the rear to me! Everyone, continue pressing forward!"
"Absolutely. I'll be counting on you."
Rest turned his face away to hide his grin at the sight of Argil, who had regained his good spirits.