Late that night.
A weary voice drifted from inside the tent.
"...I can't sleep."
Having finished a quick bath after the women were done, Rest had returned to the task of supplying mana to the barrier. He had focused entirely on pouring his energy into the magic circle carved into the earth, and as the night deepened, he had finally sought rest in the tent pitched directly over it.
Between one thing and another, the day had been exhausting—mentally, if nothing else. He had fully intended to fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, but there wasn't even a hint of drowsiness in sight.
It was only natural.
Just a short while ago, Rest had consumed a meal so potent it would put even the most legendary stamina tonics to shame. On top of that, he had been subjected to those inexplicable temptations from the women during their bath, leaving his mind in a state of agonizing frustration.
"I can't sleep... I can't sleep at all..."
If anything, he felt as if his senses were becoming sharper by the second.
Perhaps he would feel better if he could find some moderate way to vent his desires, but Yuri and Urula were sleeping in a tent just a stone's throw away. Yuri possessed heightened physical senses and was incredibly sensitive to smells. As for Urula, while she didn't have the same sensory gifts, her gaze always made him feel as though she were peering into the very depths of his soul.
Both of them were prone to unpredictable behavior at the best of times. To avoid even the slightest chance of an accident, he knew he had to avoid any reckless movements.
Is Yuri asleep? Must be nice to be that carefree...
Because he kept his Life Search magic active at all times, he could sense Yuri, Urula, and Carly sleeping in their tent a short distance away. He could swear on his life that he wasn't spying on them on purpose.
It was just that, likely due to the cocktail of Worm meat, blood, and reproductive organs, his nerves were more frayed than usual. He could vividly sense the rhythm of their breathing and the rustle of fabric even before they shifted in their sleep.
She kicked off her blanket. I hope she doesn't catch a—wait, that is so creepy!
To be sensing every minute movement of sleeping girls—just how disgusting of a guy was he? Even though they were the ones who had caused this mess in the first place, Rest felt as if he were being crushed by a weight of inexplicable guilt.
"Ah, forget it! I can't take this anymore! I'm not staying in bed!"
Rest sprang up and marched out of the tent.
Now that things had come to this, he would go and creep into their tent—as if he ever would. For a fleeting second, he might have wavered, but he refused to do something so fundamentally unbecoming of a gentleman.
"I'll just go hunt some monsters...!"
Staying still would only leave him wallowing in his own frustration; he needed to move his body to vent the pressure. Fortunately, this place was crawling with monsters. He would fire off magic until his heart's content, until the heat in his blood finally cooled.
It’s like those people who use sports to work off their frustration... Alright, let’s do this!
Rest poured a massive surplus of mana into the magic circle. With this, the monster-repelling barrier wouldn't falter even if he was away for an hour or two.
"Stealth. Floating. Wind Control."
He activated the spells as a Trio. Hiding his presence so as not to wake the women, Rest drifted up into the night sky. He soared toward the vast canopy of stars before banking west, using the wind to propel himself forward.
"Honestly... the reason I'm in this mess is because of the Worms. It's all their fault."
If it weren't for the Worms, he never would have come to this place. If he hadn't eaten their meat or drunk their blood, he wouldn't be brimming with this much unwanted vigor. He wouldn't be getting jerked around by Yuri and Urula, and he wouldn't be agonizing with blood rushing to his head—or rather, his lower half.
"Fine... I’ll kill them. Every last one. I'm going to slaughter them until there's nothing left!"
Normally, Rest wouldn't harbor such extreme thoughts. He had fought monsters as part of his training since he was a child, but he had never felt personal hatred or a grudge against them. The unnatural heat in his blood was undoubtedly the result of that Worm meat.
Despite it being the dead of night, Rest flew toward the wetlands where the Worms nested and began a relentless, systematic purge.
Because of the Worm meat, the Worms themselves were about to be hunted to extinction. It was a grimly ironic turn in the food chain.