The Hero

Chapter 463 Are You Stupid?

"You ... didn't secretly study all this before we left, did you?" Suzanne asked out loud, feeling shocked. The extent of his encyclopedic knowledge is too hard to believe.

Javier smiled and nodded. "of course! I even learned how to predict the future last night. That's how I knew in advance that we were going to visit Gauthe's residence."

Suzanne knew he was joking. Javier would never learn divination of any kind, and it was even more impossible for him to know that he wanted to visit Gauthe's house.

It was a sudden request on his part, as Javier never made any formal itinerary. In other words, Javier doesn't secretly memorize trivia about Gauthe—he's really a professional. As the two of them spoke amongst themselves, another foreign couple stepped closer to them.

Judging from their conversations and the language they used, they were also Chinese. The woman, Mallory Cadman, told her boyfriend, “I've never read Fowst before, but I know it's like, very famous and everything. What's this about?"

Donny Mummery proudly answered his question. “Whoa, so you don't know what it is about? Alright. I can't refuse anyone who's humbly looking for more knowledge, so I'll spoil you. Look, Fowst is the name of the main character, and the story is about love. She was poor when she was young, but one day, she fell in love with this girl. But she really is a princess!

“The princess also fell in love with Fowst, but the emperor raved over the whole affair and insisted on separating the two. They could not be together, and in his overwhelming grief, Fowst suffered from an incurable disease and died young.

"In the meantime, the princess missed Fowst. Upon hearing the news of his death, he dragged his grieving body to his grave. There, he killed himself by hitting a gravestone bearing the name of his lover, and his corpse turned into a butterfly! Fowst's corpse also turned into a butterfly, and the two of them danced and fluttered in the wind before soaring into the sky as a couple who loved each other forever.

“That story is allegory, you know. It is about the evil of feudalistic society, as well as the writer's own hope of the beauty of love. The story was like that,” Donny finished.

Mallory moved. "Oh. Holy hooch! That's the most beautiful story I've ever heard! Geez, honey, how can you be so knowledgeable and smart? You are amazing. I'm so proud of you!”

Donny waved, being humble. “Ah, this is nothing. I have read too many books like this since I was a child, so I am no stranger to literary riches like Fowst. But as soon as formal schooling began, I realized that the 'literature' we were forced to learn was what? Three piggies and a big bad wolf? Thomas tank engine? Just insulting, really. Can't arouse even the slightest interest in me."

While the two of them continued, Javier shook his head helplessly, Suzanne caught him and asked, "What's the matter?"

He shook his head again. "There's nothing. I'm glad he doesn't speak Hildegardan, I guess. Can't imagine how embarrassing it would be if anyone knew what he was saying and beat him up!"

Javier's words were not very loud, but as it turned out, Donny had a very good pair of ears. He started to approach Javier and Suzanne, looking very sad. Then, she looked at Suzanne, and her expression changed from sullen to completely enchanted.

She was amazed by her charming beauty. He was a piece of eye candy with an alluring figure! By comparison, Mallory is...Well, she really has no equal to a woman as perfect as Suzanne. The only way Mallory can be good enough is if she covers her face with a photo of Marilyn Monroe.

His eyes floated onto Javier's face beside him, and his gaze was filled with contempt in an instant. In fact, after being in front of Suzanne, Donny almost looks a little fierce and eager to fight.

"What the fuck?" he started. “We're all Chinese, aren't we? So what's wrong with you stabbing your own fellow gymnast while abroad, huh? You even wish someone would hit me! What is it for, huh?”

Javier opened his palm wide innocently. "There's nothing. I'm sure you realize how much you're making up, don't you? And since we are all Chinese, I tell you this as his compatriot: Shut up and listen. Less talk before your bullshit spreads and shames us all.”

Stabbed by another man in front of his girlfriend and a beauty like Suzanne injures Donny's ego.

“Who let you decide whether I should talk or not, yes ?!” she's upset.

“The last time I checked, I was the one who had my own mouth, not yours. And I humiliated the Chinese? Oh, I got it. You heard how knowledgeable I was, and in your pathetic attempt to impress the beautiful woman standing next to you, you said 'oh, she's just bullshit', right?

It wasn't a cynical accusation—Donny really believed that it was indeed true. He really thought Javier was just a showy, confident guy. That was also why he did the same thing himself. He already knew Mallory was a bimbo, so he started making things up to look cool too. He had just managed to impress Mallory when Javier decided to judge him and question him, which upset Donny! Why is this this guy's problem? That's Donny's business!

Not wanting to get involved with the pick-up postman, Javier decides it's time he and Suzanne leave.

Unfortunately, Donny misinterprets the motives of a confident man's attempt to escape after it is revealed. This emboldened Donny to hold fast to the matter, especially since he thought it was time he made the world-class beautiful woman standing beside him impressed,

“You don't seem to agree with the version of Fowst I just mentioned, man. All right then! You are welcome to join me and argue!”

Donny announced. “Trust me, your tongue will soon be tied up if you fight me. I'm gonna get your bowels out so hard, you're not gonna believe it. At that time, I hope you don't lose your cool and start cursing left and right, my friend, because that would stain the decency of our famous people!"

Javier was so annoyed that he laughed. This moron had just deliberately made things up, and now he was talking about politeness? Good Lord! He had invited her to argue as well?

"You know what? Goody! You're dying to hear about the 'other version' of Fowst? I'll spoil you!” Javier replied as he looked straight into Donny's eyes. Then he started talking.

”Fowst is a game with 12,111 lines overall. This is a work based on a 16th-century folklore about Dr. Fowst, a historical figure who lived in the 15th century. He was a polymath, so people began to spread the story in peppered detail, attributing his success to the help of the devil.

“Fowst is a brilliant scholar with an outstanding reputation, but his life is boring. He was unhappy and lost, not knowing how else he should continue his knowledge. His achievements in the academic world had failed to make him feel satisfied as well.

“This is the part where the epic battle of wits versus emotions takes place. In the end, reason wins, and she begins to suppress her emotional needs. Drowning in the feelings of lostness and anxiety that follow, Fowst's first response is suicide. Of course, it didn't work, or Gauthe wouldn't have any more plots to write.

“Fowst heard the sound of bells ringing and Easter music. He remembered all the good things he had done or had done in his childhood, and those memories came back to him. The crowd, who were celebrating Easter, helped her change her mind and directed her to a different way of thinking.

“In the meantime, Mephisto, the Devil, has just bet with God on Fowst, who knows nothing about this. The Devil put Fowst to sleep to make a deal: The devil will meet every need he needs. However, the price was his soul. The devil will claim it after he dies.”.

Javier continued to speak for more than ten minutes, telling his story as he had read it and even including his own analysis of the characters and themes.

“'Fowst' really is a Gauthe— magnum opus combined of all his artistic thought and exploration. Planning and writing stories is the cause of his lifetime. He worked on it from 1768 to 1832.64 years he spent on the job, and it was only completed a year before he died, ” Javier said. “'Fowst is epic in scale and complex and intricate content. It was a titan among literary works that boasted a perfect blend of realism and romanticism. He has written it by describing reality while juxtaposing it with liberal thought. As a result, he mixed the life of the era with the myths of the past.

“He is good at using paradoxes to set scenes, settings, and characters. Sometimes it is comedic and sometimes tragic. There were many moments of praise and ridicule in common as well. It is a colorful work featuring a diversity of techniques, which is how to reach the pinnacle of art!”

Gazing into the eyes of his bewildered rival, Javier added, “What you've just talked about, is an ugly mix of fairy tales and legends!

“Turn to butterfly'! Really do? Are you really that stupid that you didn't know that it was the story of Leon and Jo? You, you,

it's a stupid ass!"

Donny.