Does a trade require equal standing?

That's clearly a lie.

Doro knows better than anyone that at this moment, within the sweet words of the Demon King Mohe, there is absolutely no genuine intent to be found; instead, it is he who is being seen through completely by her. She didn't say such words because she truly felt that way, but because she knew, he needed this.

What an "understanding" person.

If she weren't the Demon King but a true human, she might have become someone like a Wise King, or a noble Empress, for she could easily manipulate human thoughts within her grasp, observing and controlling at will.

Flower of Bewilderment.

Doro suddenly thought of this kind of flower. Back when he and Frodonick were in battle in the valley, Mohe used an alchemy item that looked almost identical to the Flower of Bewilderment to conceal herself.

This type of flower is now widely welcomed as an ornamental flower, with a total of seven colors of petals, representing what the Demon King calls "sins." Of course, after the Demon King was defeated, these seven sins were rewritten by the people as "seven virtues." Thus, the Flower of Bewilderment became the "Flower of Trial."

In the examinations of the Holy Legion, similar to the White Church, believers are led into gardens planted with a large number of Flowers of Bewilderment. They see whether the believers can resist the temptation of the Flower of Bewilderment and can stand out relying on their own virtue.

In this sense, it can indeed be called the Flower of Virtue and the Flower of Trial.

At this moment, embraced by Mohe, Doro smelled the fragrance of the Flower of Bewilderment.

Not the real scent of that flower, but—for the current Doro, he understood deeply why Mohe would create something like the Flower of Bewilderment. Clearly, the Demon King was immensely powerful, and she never relied on the power of something like the Flower of Bewilderment in the final battle, so why would she create such a thing?

It was just her way of expressing herself.

"At that time, I drank the 'spiritual medicine' Charlette handed me. It contained some sort of curse's power, I could feel it." Doro spoke of this issue, "I didn't hesitate at the time because I felt Charlette wouldn't harm me. Since this 'spiritual medicine' contained a curse, it's likely she needed to weaken me to deceive someone, and this plan couldn't be spoken of—it required a tacit understanding between her and me. So I drank it."

Mohe just held Doro, without speaking. She knew that at this moment, there was no need for her to guide the conversation. Doro had already taken the first step, like a small opening on a dam, and the words surrounded by the thick barriers of his heart would flood out like water.

"But it didn't."

Doro simply said, "Until various forces invaded my body, Frodonick severed my tendons, and that uneasy feeling in my heart still hadn't disappeared. Years ago, I kept waiting, waiting for a killer, a conspiracy to surface."

Mohe felt a dampness in her chest...

What a pathetic man.

"I kept waiting until human power grew more and more intense... Haven't I always talked about the Snow Elves? In the fifth year after your death, the Snow Elf 'Elf' came to me, questioning why I allowed humanity to prevail when I had once made a pact with them to make humans and Snow Elves eternal partners—now the Snow Elves are one of the most fiercely resistant races against humans, and I couldn't give Elf an answer at that time."

In fact, there probably wasn't any conspiracy needing to be performed here. Nor was there a need to sacrifice the Hero who defeated the Demon King to deceive opponents.

"How do I respond to them?"

"I am human."

"But they once helped humanity, we became a shared fate community, fought together, under your rule we were able to help and depend on each other, how come after your death, they just end up hurting each other? If that's the case, wouldn't it be better if you were there in this world?"

He raised such an inquiry.

But Mohe knew, such a question was simple. Perhaps it was a question for Gedora that year, but for the current Doro...

"But how naive is such a question? Because the essence of life is just so, I saw the betrayal of humans against other races, but if the positions were swapped, wouldn't other races do the same? I think it's probably unavoidable, the rulers of races, whether Wise Kings, or Dwarf Kings, Elf Queens... they all just want to make their races stronger, to give their people a better life. They can even be said to be great and noble figures. They were probably ready to sacrifice everything for their race, even their conscience and morals. To other races, they might be villains, but to their own race, they are heroes."

Doro has probably thought a lot over the years: "It's not because there's something wrong with them, but precisely because they are all outstanding rulers, because they led their people to defeat you, the greatest ruler, in the despairing times under your rule. It's because they're not lacking in courage, wisdom, and sacrifice, that's why the world situation is like this. If they were mediocre and foolish, maybe the various races could still maintain a harmonious picture."

Precisely because the current leaders of all the races can be described as "great," this era would bring such immense sorrow to the Hero that once connected all the races. Because each has its own justice, each has its own reasons—reasons that A·Gedora cannot refute.

So, he did nothing.

Whether it was protecting other races or helping humanity... he did nothing.

"When drinking the spiritual medicine, I asked Charlette, I asked her why."

Mohe could probably imagine the scene, A·Gedora who had absolute trust in Charlette, even though his intuition was quite uneasy, he still believed Charlette had some profound plan. He hoped Charlette could give him some hints.

What kind of answer did Charlette give at that time?

"Because Gedora, you chose nothing."

Doro uttered these words.

This is what he heard from Charlette at that moment, words that were incomprehensible to Gedora at the time.

Because he chose nothing.

He did not choose humans, did not choose elves, did not choose dwarfs, did not choose minority races, did not choose the Mage Union, did not choose the Alchemist Association, did not choose the Curse Master Alliance—he didn't choose any of them. The Hero named A·Gedora, it seemed his mission from birth was to defeat the Demon King, and after defeating the Demon King, after seemingly standing in the same realm as the Demon King... he lost his position.

He naively thought that after defeating the Demon King, a beautiful life for all races would come. He naively thought that all those terrible things would disappear, he naively thought he should not intervene in the affairs of the major races because he believed in the excellent leaders he knew could handle everything well.

He perceived the feelings of the maidens for him, but worried about hurting others, so he pretended not to realize anything.

Because he chose nothing.

"It's the sin of inaction."

Mohe finally spoke the first words after holding Gedora: "If those with power do not shape the world according to their will, then do not pray for the world to flow according to their visage. The strong should shape the world they want according to their will. No... the world should operate according to the will of the strong, Gedora, after my death, as the strongest, you should shape the world, but you gave up this right, how can you complain about others betraying you?"

The strong inherently have weight.

No one can easily ignore the existence of the strong.

For example, the Wise King and Charlette, they should rightfully be leaders of humans, expanding human rights, and in this process, they will inevitably touch the interests of other races—if A·Gedora himself had a position, he could just deal with it according to his position.

But what would A·Gedora do?

Precisely because he has no stance, yet possesses the power to overturn the world—he has to be cleared, for people like Charlette and the Wise King, Gedora, such a person who might act at any time but it's uncertain what he will do, someone with a sense of justice yet often confused, is completely an "unstable" bomb.

If they push their strategy, and one day, A·Gedora suddenly realizes something, and counteracts against them, forcing them to make some concessions, then what about the previous investment and sacrifice?

Neither an enemy nor a partner.

Might as well clearly turn him into an enemy.

In fact, reviewing Doro's mistakes is a completely meaningless thing, after all, the past has already happened, even the great Demon King cannot reverse time—even if she could, why would she do such a thing for Doro? Moreover, this matches her expectations.

Doro's repentance is meaningless.

But...

Feeling the wetness on his chest, Mohe knew, for Doro himself, this might be able to make his heart more at ease.

Humans are such a subtle creature, they have these emotions, and after confiding some words hidden in their heart to others, a lot of pressure is relieved. Of course, the person being confided to... if it's some "male lord," perhaps they would kill Mohe to keep the secret.

But Doro wouldn't.

If anything, he would certainly feel goodwill towards me.

What an exasperating situation.

A smile graced Mohe's lips, Lisidorwei, Rose, Ah Xion, can you three really not handle it... is it so difficult to win over a man like Doro? I think it's just so-so...

If he actually fell for me, it would be quite troubling!

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