Chapter 85
Johann Wolfgang Goethe, one of the oldest members of the Smile Merchants, is rumored to be one of the most senior members in the organization.
However, the long history of Goethe does little to add to his mystique. On the contrary, because of his great fame and illustrious deeds, Goethe's extraordinary abilities are either common knowledge or mere rumors.
Goethe's supernatural ability is called "Faust," which is obtained by signing a contract with someone, and the strength of the ability depends on the amount of the reward.
Among these, Goethe's contracts can be divided into three types: "temporary contracts", "long-term contracts" and "preliminary contracts".
Temporary contracts are the most common type used by Goethe, where the client pays a fee in exchange for Goethe providing "services." There are few constraints on either party, but the enhancements offered to Goethe are limited, and the ability disappears immediately once the contract's requirements are fulfilled.
The long-term contract was signed after strict terms were agreed upon. Goethe could retain his ability indefinitely as long as he complied with the contract requirements, while the other party to the contract was required to continuously provide Goethe with remuneration.
A pre-contract involves paying a fee in advance, but the fee cannot be used. Goethe will not gain any abilities from it, but he can sign a contract immediately when needed, saving many steps and quickly acquiring abilities.
If the other party breaches the above contract, Goethe will permanently gain the ability (but its strength will be very weak); if Goethe breaches the contract, he will lose some of the abilities he previously gained.
If Goethe were to breach the contract without the ability to pay compensation, he would have to pay with his "life".
However, this punishment did not frighten Goethe; instead, it inspired him—if "life" could be taken as a punishment, could it also be taken as a reward?
Nothing in the world is more precious than one's own life. Therefore, it must be reinforced with considerable intensity.
After repeated attempts with this idea in mind, Goethe successfully developed a new use for his supernatural ability—the "Life Contract"—through the characteristics of the "Pre-order Contract".
"In other words, it utilizes the 'Faustian's' provisional contract's characteristic of pre-payment of compensation. In situations of mortal danger, where 'survival is in the other party's hands,' one's own life is included in the contract as compensation."
After giving a rather lengthy explanation, Christie calmly took a sip of tea, giving everyone time to understand.
"Although it is called life, it is not really anything special to Goethe - information from various sources confirms that Goethe signed at least a hundred such life contracts."
Having already accepted this as a strange tale, Pu Songling subconsciously remarked, "How many parts has he divided himself into..."
"Even so, this contract is still quite binding on Goethe—at least, for Goethe, even if he could break a contract that risked his life, the price he would have to pay would still be very high."
"As for why I have Goethe's 'life contract'..."
Christie put down her teacup, and several conversations immediately surfaced in her categorized and organized memories: "The Smiling Merchant Guild once accepted a commission to 'attack London.' At the time, I was a bell tower attendant, responsible for intercepting Goethe."
Pu Songling paused, pen in hand: "The battle that made 'The Angel of Death' famous? The one where the entire city of London was shrouded in 'no one survived'?"
“That’s right. In that situation, Goethe could escape, but he would suffer heavy losses.” Christie tapped her forehead with her index finger, her brow furrowing slightly as if she had thought of something ominous. “So for him, signing a ‘life contract’ is the easiest way to escape.”
Although the situation at the time was not actually that simple.
That was one of the few times she and Holmes had collaborated. Even if the Smiling Merchant Guild couldn't inflict serious injury due to their size, leaving a scar was still possible.
result...
It can only be said that accepting Goethe's "life contract" at that time was the best choice for both parties.
"That's how it is. Because of the special circumstances, the clock tower attendant didn't pursue the matter further, and also because Goethe's contract couldn't be transferred. So Goethe's contract has always been in my possession."
Even if she betrayed the clock tower servants, the contract would still remain in Christie's possession.
Barry suddenly raised his hand.
Christie glanced at him: "Barry, is there a problem?"
"Ah, I just have something I wanted to ask..." Barry pointed at Vladimir, "Why has that pervert been acting so gloomy ever since we started talking?! I'm even a little afraid to mess with him!"
"I'm incredibly annoyed!" Vladimir's face darkened, looking as if he might pull out a bunch of bombs at any moment and take everyone present down with him. "Why do we have to cooperate with the Smiling Merchant Guild when there are so many organizations in the world?!"
Seemingly intimidated by Vladimir's imposing manner, Sepulson Ling carefully asked, "Nabokov, are you very dissatisfied with the Smiling Merchants?"
“Of course I’m unhappy!” Vladimir’s face darkened, and he suddenly remembered something terrible. “Back when I was in Russia trying to escape to Europe, some bastard posted a million-dollar commission with the Smiling Merchants to stop me from going to Europe—only a million! Those lunatics blocked me more fiercely than the government!”
Barry: "You pervert, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the word 'talent'?"
Of course, Vladimir was referring to the early stages of her crimes; it was only after she committed so many offenses that the Russian government became furious.
For Vladimir, who was struggling to survive under the government's siege at that time, the Smiling Merchant Guild was long gone, so she stopped paying attention to it.
Romain Rolland was clearly hearing this story for the first time, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
"In your case, the order must have come from a highly reputable client within the Smile Chamber of Commerce. To ensure a good working relationship, the Smile Chamber of Commerce has invested additional resources."
Vladimir was also thinking about this, and as he leaned back in his high-backed chair, he muttered to himself, "Isn't it supposed to be that you only do what you're paid for..."
Romain Rolland shrugged: "Even the Smiling Chamber of Commerce is, after all, a commercial conglomerate."
“True transcendence is impossible, which is perfectly normal.” Pu Songling was not surprised by this situation at all, and continued to write furiously in his notebook.
Cervantes, still confused, pondered for a long time before raising his hand: "Excuse me, is it really alright to bring out something that looks so valuable in this situation?"
"Of course, although what is written in the contract is absolute, Goethe's ability to exploit loopholes is world-class."
Christie remained calm, showing no sign of how much she had just spent hiring help: "A contract signed in this kind of crisis is the least effective one. Goethe is unlikely to really put in much effort for this contract—in other words, this situation is actually the most suitable for using this contract."
“With no serious hidden dangers and no clear threat to his life, this kind of moderately difficult character is where Goethe can maximize his strength.”
If the difficulty is too low, Goethe won't gain much ability; if the difficulty is too high, Goethe will switch to a defensive mode with survival as the goal.
This was not about coveting life, but rather a decision made by Goethe to "avoid loss" after considering his own life as one of his assets.
Goethe was that kind of person who put a price tag on everything, yet was not consumed by reason and still maintained his love for everything.
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