Rest hovered in the air, looking down at the wretched remains of the sand castle.
"They’ve surely died from that... or so I’d think. Probably."
The fortress was currently collapsing, torn apart by the massive volume of water that had erupted from within. It was like watching a sandcastle on a beach being crushed by the incoming tide. Rest narrowed his eyes at the sight.
The moment he had unleashed Divine Fishery God, he had escaped through the hole he'd previously carved into the ceiling. The sheer force of tens of tons of water bursting forth like an explosion had been enough to bring the Sorcerer’s creation down.
There was no sign of the Sorcerer himself. He should have been crushed by the pressure or drowned.
"The timing shouldn't have allowed for an escape, but... nothing is absolute. He might still be alive."
If he had managed to shield his entire body in sand or escaped into the earth immediately after, it was possible he had survived. However, there was no way to confirm it. There was no response to Presence Search, making a manual search impossible.
"Well... for now, I suppose I can claim the victory."
"Lord Rest, over here!"
"...It looks like everyone else is safe, too."
Dieble was calling out to him from a spot a short distance away from the collapsing ruins. Beside him stood Bareya, Lyubase, and several other soldiers. Curiously, a group of Ogrekin warriors was with them as well.
Before destroying the castle, Rest had used Communication to urge them to evacuate. Communication was a state-secret spell not even listed in the public Register of Magic, taught only to select Court Mages. Rest had been granted special permission to learn it as a sign of the high trust the Royal Family placed in him.
"Is everyone unharmed?" Rest asked as he touched down.
"Yeah, more or less," Bareya replied. "Did you finish off the Sorcerer?"
"I succeeded in defeating him, but I can't be certain if I dealt a finishing blow."
"Well, looking at this mess, that’s understandable," Bareya sighed, glancing at the wreckage of the sand fortress. "That’s frightening magic. Could you crush an entire fortress with a single strike like that?"
"Who knows... I've never had the occasion to try."
"It seems my sister’s eye for men was accurate... I’m slightly relieved."
Bareya’s gaze toward Rest was softer than it had been before. It seemed he had finally accepted him, at least to some degree, as a worthy partner for Yuri. Whether he approved or not didn't technically change the situation, but Rest was glad the friction had lessened.
"Now then... what about you? Do you still intend to fight us?" Bareya turned his attention to the side.
The Ogrekin stood a short distance away from the Aiwood Kingdom’s surprise attack unit. They watched the soldiers warily, positioned as if to shield the children they had just rescued. Among them was Rou, standing close to a young, white-haired girl.
"We rescued the children held hostage by that Sorcerer," Bareya continued. "Shouldn’t you show us some sincerity in return?"
"I know that without you telling me," one of the Ogrekin—a giant of a man standing over two meters tall—spoke solemnly. "From this moment, our battle with you is over. On the honor of my clan, I will even ensure the other tribes cease their attacks."
"You won't go back on those words?"
"Do not be tedious. I swear it in the name of our ancestor... the Sandalwood Ogre God."
The Ogrekin man pressed his fist over his heart and made a grand declaration. Rest didn't fully grasp the cultural weight of the pose or the name, but the man’s sincerity was palpable.
"As for your intrusion into the forest... we shall overlook it this time. Leave at once."
"We intend to... Everyone, pull back!"
The matter with the Ogrekin was settled. Rest wasn't sure if they could be trusted implicitly, but the foreign tribes likely lacked the strength to pursue them regardless. They wouldn't be following.
"Please, wait."
However, Rou’s sister, one of the former hostages, stepped forward.
"You there... I heard from my brother. You are Lord Rest, yes?"
"I am... Do you need something?"
Rest stepped toward her, remaining slightly on his guard.
"I am Sara of the White Ogres," the girl said. "I offer you my supreme gratitude."
Before Rest could react, Sara took his hand and popped the tip of his thumb into her mouth. Her small lips enveloped his finger, and her tongue stroked it in a strangely enchanting manner.
"Sara!?"
"Hey, what do you think you're doing!?"
Both Rou and the giant Ogrekin man shouted in shock. Sara pulled her lips away and looked up at Rest with a bashful smile.
"Let us meet again."
"Ah... yes. Right."
For some reason, Rest found himself replying with stiff formality. The girl with the bob cut looked up at him with an expression that seemed far more mature than her years, and it made his heart skip a beat.
"We’re moving out! Return to the fortress immediately!"
At Bareya’s command, the surprise attack unit began their withdrawal from the dense forest. Despite the strange turn of events at the very end, Rest and his companions had successfully completed their mission and began their journey home.