Was my words that unexpected? The Golden Mirror slowly lifted his head from the bell and looked at me.

The demon who created alchemy. The great giant who changed the world. He was a being who irrevocably altered both humanity and this world.
But even for a demon, no matter how monumental their achievements were…
A human remains a human. No matter how much the Golden Mirror might be.

The face I saw as a child, when viewed from the outside, was now a face marked by over twenty years of age and excruciating pain. If I added the weight of that time, I imagined it might look like this: a weary, tortured young man. His face was too ordinary for a demon.
Because, after all, he was still human.

“No one knew. Until you did that insane thing, no one knew that gold was so useless! When more gold was produced in one year than ever before, no one knew what would happen to the country or the economy! Not even the seers of the Holy Empire, who can see the future, saw it coming! They could ‘see,’ but they didn’t ‘know!’”

Even prophecies require understanding. Even if they can see the future, if they don't understand it or cannot interpret what they see, it’s meaningless. Even saints are still human.
Therefore, the demon, who was something new to this world, couldn’t be seen or understood by even the saint of the Holy Empire. All they could do was react to what followed.
If the Holy Empire, which collects the sins of all mankind, could not foresee it, then what of the others?

“Ignorance is not a sin.”

The Golden Mirror didn’t fully grasp the meaning of my words. He shook his head, as if rejecting my comfort, thinking it was a form of consolation. How amusing, he probably thinks I’m just being kind.

“You think I’m saying ignorance isn’t a sin? No, that’s wrong! To recognize something as a sin, you first have to acknowledge it exists! You discovered something that could be a sin! Before doing anything, you don’t even know it’s there. To know it, you must first find it! You must uncover the veil of ignorance and discover it! Like the primitive humans from long ago, to understand what gold is, you first have to dig it out!”

“And when the result is countless human lives lost, terrible tragedies, and the nation plunged into despair, you think that’s acceptable?”
“Ha! Do you seriously believe alchemy alone caused the country’s downfall?”

Is it arrogance just because he’s a demon? Or is it because he’s a demon that he’s this arrogant?
If he were truly a demon, he wouldn’t even speak. I laughed so hard that I almost doubled over.

“You’re really full of yourself! Even human kings aren’t as arrogant as you! You think you’re a demon? Are you going to take all the blame for the evils in the Golden Nation? You were trying to, weren’t you? That’s why you wander through the lands with the name ‘Golden Mirror’!”

Is everything really his fault? Is he planning to run for the position of king? He might have created gold, but does that mean he’s responsible for all the sins in the Golden Nation? Whether it's right or wrong, is it even possible?
After laughing for a while, I quieted myself. It wasn’t to show him consideration, but because I had more to say.

“What sins are you talking about? Did you plow up the fields to make a gold workshop? Did you kill a fellow who suggested creating a gold workshop when food ran out? Did you eat your own family members when hunger got unbearable? When the curse of gold was revealed, did you hide the gold and keep it all for yourself to maximize your profits instead of sharing the knowledge? Did you start a coup with iron weapons to seize power in the midst of chaos? Did you incite the people, in a frenzy, to kill alchemists and make it impossible to reverse things?”

Just reading the images in his mind, I could tell these were just some of the terrible things that had happened. If the Golden Nation were a real place, it would have been even worse. It must have been a true hell of human existence.
Who could have imagined? Not from an invasion of another country, nor a terrible natural disaster, but because of the curse of gold, the nation was on the verge of collapse.

But…

“Is all of this really your fault? Do you think just because you’re a demon, you’re some omnipotent god who controls life and death, who can shape human destiny according to your will?”

The evil that arose couldn’t all be blamed on the Golden Mirror.

“As a human king, I’ll tell you: you’re not needed. Because you’re human, just like everyone else.”

Whoever it was, whatever they did, to me they are just another human, and that’s why I am ordinary.
No, anyone and everyone… to me, they’re all the same.

“After all, the Golden Nation was a country full of merchants, with bright minds who were good at working the system for personal gain. They did their best for their own profit. When the blessing of gold arrived, they all took advantage of it, but the moment it turned into a curse, they abandoned it. That’s the decision of the entire Golden Nation. If there’s ignorance as a sin, they share that responsibility too.”

Ah, in case he misunderstood, I added a quick remark.

“Of course, I don’t particularly care for the concept of ‘sin’ created by the Holy Empire! It’s too luxurious a concept for beasts, don’t you think?”

Humans are beasts, and I am their king. So, whatever they do, I accept it. No matter what the winds of fate bring.
Now that I’ve understood myself better, the Golden Mirror reacted slowly to my words.

“…That…”

“Don’t get it twisted. I’m not saying this to comfort you. I’m saying it for the thousands of humans you’ve disregarded. You saw the people of the Golden Nation as mere puppets, unable to have any will of their own. You saw them as nothing more than those who couldn’t resist the flow of fate and were doomed to die. Tch. That’s why the world you created looks like this.”

I stretched out my arms with a slight grin. I couldn't see it in the mental space, but I knew beyond this was the Golden Palace. His idealized version of the Golden Nation.
The fields were full of crops, and grand cities combined beauty with utility. The walls built to ward off enemies were so massive they seemed to separate the world from itself.

But…

Within it, there were no people.
That’s what you can see.

“I can see it clearly. The Golden Nation you made. There’s only homunculi. The only ones who have a fragment of reason are the homunculi who somewhat resemble you or the high-ranking officials who share your mindset. The rest are just puppets, unable to do anything but follow orders. It’s ridiculous! You treat all the people of the Golden Nation like soulless puppets, and yet you say you care about the Golden Nation? About its importance?”

“…No!”
“Prove it!”

I shouted, and the Golden Mirror looked at me, taken aback. Despite that, perhaps out of pride, he reached out and made something.
It was Elric. Specifically, the Elric he imagined, depicted in delicate detail, his body and face highlighted in beauty.

I snorted.

“Do you have a conscience? What part of that is even human? That’s just your pillow, the one you cuddle with while you sleep.”
“I… I never did that!”
“Look, I get that you want to boast. It’s a nice creation. But that’s just the surface, isn’t it? Does this ‘Your Majesty’ display any sharp insight? Did he understand all the world’s technologies in an instant? Did he look at you with any sense of awe… or jealousy?”

The Golden Mirror shut his mouth tightly.
He knew. He knew it all too well. The Elric he had imagined was a fake.

I dug at the painful truth.

“Well, if you only needed a body, this would suffice. But can you truly call that ‘Your Majesty’?”
“I know! I know! No matter how much I make, I know it’s not real!”

The Golden Mirror shot up from his seat. His sword rattled at his neck, and the shackles clattered as he moved. Even in these restrictive chains, the Golden Mirror raised his voice in defense.

“But it’s different! The reason I can’t make humans is not because I look down on them! I just… I just didn’t understand!”
“You admitted it yourself. You don’t understand other humans. How could you understand their sins if you don’t even understand them? You don’t even know what sin is.”

No one, least of all the Golden Mirror, had the right to ask for atonement. He wasn’t even a proper example. No one could do what he did.
He slumped down helplessly. His eyes, once again, turned to the golden bell. But unlike before, it wasn’t because he wasn’t interested in me. It was because he could no longer bear my gaze.

“I don’t understand. I made gold, and they cheered for me. Everyone praised me as a hero. The ones who received gold bowed their heads and thanked me profusely. But how did it all end up like this?”
“I’ve told you before. You didn’t understand humans. You misunderstood their actions, and yet you took responsibility for things you didn’t even comprehend.”

There was no ‘sin’ in his actions. But there was one thing he failed to understand—he, too, was just another human being caught in a complex web of choices, consequences, and misunderstandings.