WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 355: The King Who Kills Others, the God Who Kills Himself - 13

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Were my words really that unexpected? The Lord of Gold looked away from the bell and slowly raised his eyes to me.

The Demon God who created alchemy. A great titan who changed the world. He was human, yet he was also a Demon God who had changed this world irrevocably.

Still, even if one reached the level of a Demon God and left behind great achievements.

A human was still human. Even the Lord of Gold.

It was the face I had seen outside, only as a child. If you added twenty-odd years and every kind of terrible suffering, would it not become this face? The weary, suffering young man looked far too ordinary to be called a Demon God.

Probably because he, too, was human.

"No one knew. Before you did that mad thing, no one in the world knew gold could be so useless! Even less did anyone know what would happen to a country and its economy when, in just one year, more gold was produced than had ever existed before! Not even the prophets of the Sanctum, who could see the future! They knew how to 'see,' but not how to 'understand'!"

Prophecy required comprehension as well. If you saw something but did not understand it, if you could not interpret what the sight meant, there was no way to know. Holy Maidens were human too.

That was why even the Sanctum's Holy Maidens could not see through a Demon God who had never existed before. At most, they could only take measures afterward.

If even the Sanctum, which took on the sins of all people, was like that, what about everyone else?

"Ignorance isn't a sin."

The Lord of Gold did not grasp what I meant. He took my words as consolation and shook his head as though declining it. Did he think I was that kind?

"Do you think I'm saying it isn't a sin? No, that's not it! To know that an act is a sin, it has to exist in the first place! You discovered an act that might become a sin! Before you do something, you don't even know it exists. To know it, you first have to find it. You have to pull away the veil of ignorance and discover it first. Just like primitive humans of old, to know what gold was, they first had to mine it!"

"Even if the result was the deaths of countless people, terrible tragedies, and a country plunged into grief?"

"Ha! You found alchemy, so the country fell apart?"

Was arrogance unavoidable, even for a Demon God? Or was he that arrogant because he was a Demon God?

If it had truly been his fault, I would not even have said anything. I clutched my stomach and laughed.

"You're really arrogant! Not even the King of Humanity is as arrogant as you! Is it because you're a Demon God? Were you going to swallow up every sin committed in the Golden Kingdom and become the King of Sin? No. You were already trying to, weren't you? That's why you wander the Lesser States bearing the name Lord of Gold!"

Everything was his responsibility? Was he planning to run for King of Humanity? He had made gold, yes, but he wanted to take responsibility for every sin that had happened in the Golden Kingdom. Leaving aside whether that was right or wrong, was it even possible?

After laughing for a while, I desperately stifled the sound. Not out of consideration for the Lord of Gold, but because I had more to say.

"What sins? Did you plow under the fields to build gold workshops? When food ran short, did you murder the colleague who suggested building those workshops? Did you endure hunger until you ate your own flesh and blood? Once the curse of gold became known, did you monopolize actual goods and hide them away to maximize your own profit instead of telling everyone the truth? Did you make weapons from iron and launch a coup to seize power amid the chaos? Did you incite people driven mad and have the alchemists killed, taking away even the chance to undo it all?"

Even just reading what was in his mental image revealed this much. In the real Golden Kingdom, even more terrible things must have happened. A true hell on earth must have been born there.

Who could have imagined it? Not because another country invaded, nor because some terrible disaster struck. A nation had nearly been destroyed by the curse of gold.

And yet.

"You think all of that was your fault? Everyone praised you as a Demon God, and now you think you're some truly omniscient, omnipotent deity? An absolute being who governs life and death, even molding humans to your will?"

Not every sin that had emerged could be the Lord of Gold's sin.

"As the King of Humanity, I'll tell you this. You aren't needed. That's human too."

No matter who it was, they were all just humans whose thoughts I could read. That was why I was ordinary.

No, everyone... was ordinary to me.

"The Golden Kingdom happened to have many merchants. They understood self-interest and knew how to use their heads. They did their best to gain something for themselves at every turn. When the blessing of gold came, they rode it as far as they could. The instant it turned into a curse, they abandoned it all. That was the choice of everyone in the Golden Kingdom. If there was a sin of ignorance, then they shared it too."

Just in case he misunderstood, I quickly added one thing.

"Of course, I don't much like the concept of sin created by the Sanctum! Sin is far too great a luxury for beasts, isn't it?"

Humans were beasts, and I was their king. So I affirmed all of it, whoever they were and whatever they did. Whatever they desired.

Perhaps he finally understood a little of who I was. The Lord of Gold responded to my words slowly.

"...That."

"Don't misunderstand. I'm not saying this to comfort you. I'm saying it for the tens of thousands of humans you disregarded. You saw the people of the Golden Kingdom as puppets without wills of their own. People who would die without resisting fate or any greater current. Heh. That's why the world you made turned out like this."

With a faint laugh, I spread both arms wide. This was a mental space, so I could not see it now, but outside had to be the Golden Palace. The ideal Golden Kingdom he had imagined.

Grain ripened thick in every field, and a majestic city held beauty and practicality together. Walls built to keep enemies out looked as though they could cut off the world itself.

But.

There were no people inside.

You could see it right there.

"I can see it plainly. The Golden Kingdom you made has nothing but homunculi. Even among them, only the homunculi of Lords who can speak with you and share similar mental images retain a fragment of reason. The rest are puppets that can do nothing but follow the orders they were given. That makes it even more ridiculous. You see every citizen of the Golden Kingdom as a puppet without a will of their own, yet you claim the Golden Kingdom is precious!"

"...No!"

"Prove it!"

When I shouted, the Lord of Gold looked up at me, seeming a little cowed. But perhaps his pride remained, because he reached out and created something.

It was... Elik. The Elik from his imagination, depicted with special care, her figure and beautiful face emphasized.

I snorted.

"Do you have no conscience? How is that a person? That's a pillow you hug while you sleep."

"I-I have never done that!"

"I understand wanting to show it off. You made it well. But that's only the outward appearance, isn't it? Does that 'Your Majesty' show sharp insight? Does she understand every skill the moment she sees it? Or does she look at you with even a little awe... and envy?"

The Lord of Gold pressed his lips together.

He knew. He, of all people, knew all too well that the Elik outside, always wearing a gentle smile, was a fake.

I dug into the sore spot.

"Well, if all you need is a body, that might be enough. But can you call that Your Majesty?"

"I know! I know! No matter how many times I make one, it isn't the real thing!"

The Lord of Gold sprang to his feet. The blade hanging from his neck rattled, and the iron ball rolled across the floor. Even in restraints that looked too heavy to move in, the Lord of Gold raised his voice to defend himself.

"Still, it's different! The reason I can't make humans isn't because I look down on them. I... I simply didn't understand them."

"You confessed it yourself. You don't understand other humans. How can you know human sin when you don't even understand them? You don't even know what sin is."

No one had the right to ask to be punished in the first place. In the Lord of Gold's case, he could not even serve as an example, because no one could do anything similar. Someone might retaliate to vent their anger, but that was another matter.

The Lord of Gold sank down weakly. He stared at the golden bell again with a miserable expression. Unlike before, it was not because he had no interest in me. He simply could not bear my gaze.

"Still, I don't understand. When I made gold, they cheered. Everyone praised me as a hero. Those who received gold bowed their heads and thanked me over and over. How did it become like this?"

"You don't understand humans, yet you claim their unknown actions are your responsibility. That's quite nasty. You're like a self-proclaimed expert judging something they know nothing about. If you know nothing, why do you insist it's your fault?"

"But everyone said it was my sin. They said I caused every one of these tragedies! Even Her Majesty...!"

The Lord of Gold paused, as though overcome, then cried out in anguish.

"Even King Elik, who taught and supported me when I had nothing! Even she ordered me to die! Because I committed a sin deserving death, because it was only right to repay it with my life!"

Of course he wanted to believe that. Otherwise, he would have to doubt not only himself, but King Elik, whom he revered as highly as the sky.

That was not it, though. Sin was only a name attached later through judgment. Human actions came from more instinctive, primitive reasons.

I spoke calmly.

"No. She simply needed someone to take all the responsibility and die."

Footnotes:

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