Ever since I was a child, I believed that it was right for people with talent to develop it and take their rightful place for the sake of the empire's prosperity and, more importantly, for the contribution of human society and the world.

　It destroyed the old tradition of aristocracy that prevailed in this world and held that those with new powers and talents, called the heroic system, should be at the top.

　And that is why he understood.
　And that is why I understood that when such a system was established, it would not be me on the throne of this empire.

"Brother, rejoice!　Finally, I was recognized by the goddess and given the title of the highest rank in the brave system, the Great Brave!

"Well, that's brilliant. That's my brother, Rostam.

　Our empire flourished around an aristocratic system.
　Therefore, the right of succession to the throne should have originally belonged to my brother.
　Ironically, however, the reforms I attempted to implement resulted in the succession of the empire going to the more powerful and talented Rostam.

　Ever since I was a child, I knew Rostam's talent better than anyone else.
　That's why I knew it should be Rostam who had greater talent than me to take the throne.
　There were no regrets or unrequited regrets, as there should have been.

"Brother ...... I heard that you were told that you were not qualified enough to be a great warrior in your application the other day. I believe that you will be able to get the same qualification as me.

"...... Oh, sorry. Rostam ......

　I should have thought so, but at some point I began to feel anxious, impatient, and jealous of Rostam, who was leaving me to go on.

Master Sachaque!　Please reconsider!　If you don't do something now, your second son, Rostam, will take over the inheritance!

The Empire is a nation that values bloodlines. It is outrageous that the court is whispering of a second son's succession in place of the first!　I heard that Rostam is planning to abolish the aristocracy and set up a new system of brave men. Mr. Sachaque, we must expel Rostam right now!

"...... Shut up.

　It's a good idea to have a low growl of warning at the annoying voice of your subjects, and then they back off as if frightened.

...... Rostam is more gifted than I am, and he has earned the title of the Great Warrior. ...... There is no need to argue about which one is truly more deserving... ...

　I spit out and walk down the hallway as if to say to myself.
　Soon I hear the whole court whispering in my ears.

"Did you hear that Master Rostam was crowned a great warrior?

"What, the pinnacle of the heroic system where only four people have ever won it!　Wow, that's great, Master Rostam! If only he were the eldest son, there would be no problem.

Rostam is even more powerful than his brother, Sachaque. This is exactly the right person for the emperor.

Sacherk, on the other hand, has a certain amount of talent ......, of course, but compared to Rostam, he's ......

"It looks like you've lost your old swagger lately,

I don't blame you. With so much of my brother's talent in front of you, it's only natural to lose confidence.

　With this gossip in the background, I returned to my room and quietly looked in the mirror.

　At some point in time, dark circles had formed under my eyes due to hard work, and the majestic image I once had seemed to have faded away.
　No, I knew.
　Now I no longer had the emperor's demeanor that I was born with.
　This is because I have accepted it in name and in deed.
　It is my brother Rostam who deserves to be king of this country.
　That I deserved to be his shadow.
　The darker I became as I admitted this, the darker my mind became.
　That was when.

Even if you thought you knew, it must be harder than you thought to admit. Mr. First Imperial Heir to the Imperial Throne.

"...... Who's that?

　I looked and before I knew it, there was a man standing at the window.
　A man I didn't recognize.
　The man's narrow eyes, the cold expression on his face, as if he were a fox or a snake, were still haunting him.

　But it was clear to everyone that the man was an intruder.
　Sachaque draws his sword from his waistband and points it at the man, but he doesn't seem particularly concerned as he continues.

Mr. Sachaque. At this rate, the gap between you and your brother remains wide. Perhaps you will never be one of the brave men and you will be ostracized by your brother. The irony is that the heroic system you've adopted separates you from your brother's side, as you are inferior in ability. No, it's ironic!

You ......

You know that. You know that this will happen.

　Although he had mixed feelings about the man's words, Zachak agreed with him on a fundamental level.

　I'm a different, ordinary talent from Rostam.
　It would be impossible for me to even shadow Rostam.
　The gap was too wide.
　You'll always carry that fear and jealousy in your heart, that you'll be left behind by your brother.

"I can help you if you want. Help you take your talents into your own hands?

"...... what?

　Then the man took something in his hand.
　It was a red nut, some kind of fruit.
　He threw it toward Sachaque and Sachaque took it in his hand.

...... What's this?

The fruit of the tree of life, if you can call it that.

　The man's voice astonished Sachaque.
　Because it was the fruit of the World Tree that only the top of all the brave men and women, the one who had become the Great Warrior, could obtain.



　There is a skill in this world called the Creation Skill, which is a skill of God's power.
　As the name implies, it is a skill comparable to the very creation that God does, to create or transform something.

　There are two main ways to obtain it.
　The first is to take hold of what is called the fruit of the tree of life and eat it.
　There are also two ways to eat the fruit.
　When a hero who has earned a certain number of hero points set by the goddess is recognized as a great hero, the messenger will guide him/her to the goddess and give him/her the fruit of the tree of life to eat.
　My brother Rostam was one of them. When Rostam was recognized as a great brave, he was led to the goddess and ate the fruit of the tree of life to gain the creation skill.

　Another way is to find a fruit that is believed to lie somewhere in this world and eat it.
　But this too is practically a test comparable to that of the great hero.
　You must travel around the world and traverse the ruins where the fruit is said to lie and defeat the guardian to get the fruit.
　It was the future warrior Amanes who obtained the fruit in this way.
　She was instantly recognized as a great warrior thanks to the success of her journey and her creation skill.

　And there was another way to get the creation skill.
　You can obtain the creation skill without eating the fruit, but by growing and evolving yourself.
　Originally, this so-called creation skill is said to be the skill that is given to a person when their evolution is complete.
　But no one has ever achieved it.
　Everyone thought this means was an illusion that existed only in lore, but this was not the case.
　A heroic man, known as Ferrid.
　He had defeated an SS-ranked demon alone, and in doing so, had taken the creation skill into his own hands.

　But I had resigned myself to the fact that I was no match for him.
　Now the fruit of the World Tree, which contained the skill of creation that I thought I had given up on, was right in front of me.

If you eat it, you too will have the skill of creation. Well, you could just get the results first, but that's one way. With your creation skill, you have a better chance of becoming a great warrior. It wouldn't be bad for you either.

"What's the purpose of ......?

"Purpose?　This is a very skeptical person. There's no such thing. Well, if you want to say: ......

　At that moment, the man's narrow, closed eyes opened, and from them, golden eyes like a snake's.

I want to see how people like you struggle and grow up, and I want to see that human anthem. That's all.

　Sacherk felt a distorted sensation from the man, as if he were being slowly digested by a snake.

"Who are you ......?

　The man narrowed his eyes again at Sachaque's question and replied quietly, "Well, let's just say 'snake'.

Then let's just say 'snake'. Mr. Sachaque, the First Imperial Heir to the throne of the Empire. Please let me sing your hymn of humanity as you describe it.

　With that, the man who called himself the snake disappeared.
　All that was left was the fruit of the World Tree clutched in Sachaque's hand.