Sleep

【Side: Ashid】

“I’m sorry, Ashid.”

Mother was always apologizing to me.

I couldn’t remember the reason.

But I remembered that most of them had been trivial things.

“If only I had been born into a better family…”

Back then, I couldn’t understand at all what Mother was apologizing for.

But even as a child, I understood that Mother was sad.

And I also understood that the cause of it lay with Father.

That was why, in my childish heart, I had sworn an oath.

Someday, I would make Father acknowledge the existence of both me and Mother…

My mother had originally been a dancer in a traveling troupe.

While they were touring various places, Father noticed her beauty and arranged for their performance to be held in his domain.

And then he laid his hands on Mother, and I was born.

If you were a man, it wasn’t hard to understand that you would make a move whenever the opportunity arose.

But after that, Father completely neglected us.

Even though he gave so much attention to Woody, the child of the legal wife, and even though he regularly visited the children of his concubines.

No matter how many times Mother and I asked, he rarely showed his face or spoke with us.

The reason was simple.

Children born to parents with good aptitudes were simply more likely to have good aptitudes themselves.

My mother was just a dancer with no aptitude.

The chances of a child with an excellent aptitude being born from such a mother were low.

Even if the child carried his blood, he had no time to spend on children from whom nothing could be expected.

Money was given to us, and we were able to live comfortably in the mansion, but that was all.

It had been a childhood with nothing interesting about it.

The mansion where we lived was an annex built next to the main residence.

From there, we could clearly see the state of the main residence and the people there playing in the garden.

Whenever I looked toward the neighboring mansion to see if I could catch a glimpse of Father, I often saw that guy—Woody’s face.

That was the child of the legal wife.

Because of him, Mother and I were living like this…

Smiling so carefree—because of him, we were…

I hated Woody.

Every time I saw that carefree face that didn’t understand how valuable the place he stood in was, it made me feel sick.

The truth was that I envied him—the one who lived without a single inconvenience.

Yes, I must have been envious.

Why was it Woody, surrounded by a smiling mother and father, standing in that place—and not me?

What was different between him and me?

I could have been there too… I could have…

As I thought about it like that, my admiration turned into jealousy, and I began harassing Woody whenever he came out of the mansion.

Sometimes Mother even joined me and had the maids harass him.

Doing things like that wouldn’t make anything better.

If it were exposed carelessly, our position would only worsen.

But even so, I had no choice but to do it.

Because if I didn’t… I wouldn’t have been able to endure that pathetic situation.

In the end, the man never retaliated against me, and time passed… until the day of the Rite of Blessing arrived.

Woody, who had been expected as the heir and possessed the intelligence to live up to it, was given the production-type aptitude Tree Planting.

And what I received was—the same aptitude that Father possessed and had wished above all else to be inherited—the Great Magus aptitude.

With that, I could finally show everyone.

The one who was right wasn’t that fool.

It was me.

I was the one who would inherit House Conrad…

Huh… what had I really wanted to do…?

“Oh! As expected of you, Ashid—my son!”

Ah, that’s right.

All I had wanted was for Father to acknowledge me.

To acknowledge my existence—and the existence of the mother who raised me.

That was all.

I had worked hard for that… and yet in the end, Woody got in my way again.

Just what the hell was he?

He commanded a massive number of golems that even my grand magic couldn’t defeat.

He had prepared a golem unit that fired mysterious magic.

Then he even brought out a mysterious rainbow-colored golem.

And on top of his combat ability, he perfectly handled food production and desert greening.

Seriously… what the hell is he?

This just makes me—who’s been working so hard—look like an idiot.

Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!

If it was going to turn out like this—then what the hell was I even trying for!

“You awake, Ashid?”

“…Of all people, it’s you, Woody.”

When my consciousness returned, I found myself in a room I didn’t recognize.

I was lying on bedding I had never seen before, but it was comfortable enough.

Light was coming in from outside, leaving the room dimly lit.

When I raised my upper body, Woody was there.

Memories began flowing through my mind.

That’s right… I had lost.

I fought him one-on-one—and was completely defeated.

“What… is going to happen to me?”

“Nothing, really. Ashid just came to visit his older brother’s territory… that’s all.”

Woody spoke casually, maintaining his carefree attitude.

…I didn’t like it.

Including the fact that he came to meet me alone without any guards.

So I was someone he could deal with easily, huh.

“You have an aptitude like that… was being exiled all part of your plan too?”

“That’s not true. Back then, no one followed me except Aira… honestly, all I remember is that I was desperate.”

“You’re making fun of me, aren’t you!? Even though you have that kind of aptitude, you’re laughing at someone like me who can’t even beat someone with a production aptitude!”

“……”

Woody silently stared at me.

It was rare to see him with such a serious expression.

Even during the battle earlier, he had been smiling faintly.

“Hey, Ashid.”

“What.”

“Maybe I’m mistaken… but do you think I’m some kind of heartless person?”

Mistaken or not, that was the truth.

Even though he had such an incredible aptitude, he still treated me with the same mocking attitude as before.

He overtook me in no time, and before I knew it, he had become independent and even founded his own house.

He sat at a higher position than me—while Father was still active—and looked down on me from there.

When I laid out all his viciousness one after another, Woody let out a big sigh.

“There’s no way I’d think something like that… sure, I didn’t like being harassed, but you’re still my younger brother. Being a punching bag for a younger brother who has nowhere else to vent his emotions isn’t a big deal.”

“T-That goes for the aptitude too! You have such an incredible aptitude, yet you deceived Father and me—”

“Like I said, there’s no way I’d do that. I didn’t even realize the true power of my skill until long after I came here. And besides, I’ve never deceived or mocked Father or you!”

Woody looked exasperated.

He didn’t seem to be lying.

He… didn’t feel anything about me?

Was everything just my misunderstanding…?

…Haha, if that’s the case, then I’ve been nothing but a clown.

What the hell was everything I’d hated him for until now?

In the past, I probably wouldn’t have believed anything Woody said.

But after being defeated so completely like that.

And on top of that, being spared and even nursed back to health…

I had no choice but to believe him.

“What happened to my subordinates?”

“They’re being kept in a holding facility. No one died, so you can rest easy.”

“I see…”

When I looked up, moonlight was pouring down from the open ceiling above.

Right now, I didn’t know where to release my emotions.

The Woody I thought was the root of all evil was talking to me instead of killing me.

It seemed he wasn’t the kind of bastard who laughed at other people’s misfortune like I had thought.

How was I supposed to process that fact?

I couldn’t find an answer.

“…I’ll go back tomorrow.”

“Really? You don’t have to push yourself…”

“I’m not pushing myself.”

After saying that, I lay back down.

Then I pulled the blanket over myself, signaling that the conversation was over.

Apparently the exhaustion from rushing here and using magic with all my strength had finally caught up to me.

Sleepiness quickly took over, and I let my consciousness fade without resisting.

Just before falling asleep, I thought I heard Woody’s voice.

“—Good night, Ashid.”

I thought I responded, but I wasn’t sure if the words actually came out.

Before I knew it, I had fallen into a deep sleep.

And I slept like the dead until the next morning—