Mr. Pantalone has no crazy plans today.

To be honest, he had only casually mentioned Arecino's invitation, but he never expected her to actually accept it.

This suddenly gave him an idea.

Could it be that Arecino was deliberately pointing out the flaws in his plans to break through barriers?

Otherwise, why would Arecino always go to great lengths to remind herself and even have her subordinates help her complete the plan?

Of course, such thoughts and ideas only lingered in his mind for a moment before he dismissed them, given his impression of Arecino's character.

From any perspective, Arecino could not possibly be that kind of person.

Rather than saying that Arecino was deliberately pointing out flaws in his plan, it would be more accurate to say that there might have been some personal grudges between him and Arecino that he was unaware of. This explanation is more in line with Arecino's character and personality.

This also explains why Arecino was targeting him; that's why he invited Arecino to see why he was so hated.

After all, at least in terms of Arecino's relationship with the other executives, although it was just average, it wasn't particularly bad either; it was only against him that things were so hostile.

This inevitably made him think more about his former self, and what kind of conflicts and grudges he had with Arecino in the part of his memories that he hadn't received.

Pantalone, regaining his composure, filled the glass with molten fire and handed the ice goblet, made from condensed ice elements, to Arecino.

"Adding ice can enhance the flavor of drinks and reduce the burning sensation of high-proof liquors. Although my skills are not particularly good, this basic mixing technique is still no problem for me."

"Tonight, let's cast aside all our burdens and drink together as friends and colleagues. Of course, it's not poisoned; you can rest assured about that."

"Ha, do you think I'm the kind of person who would be afraid of something like that?"

Arecino accepted the iced glass from Pantalone with a disdainful sneer.

I gently swirled the liquid in the glass. In the cold light of the winter night, through the ice glass formed from pure water, I could see the crystal-clear liquid swirling within.

With the aroma of the liquor wafting through the air, Arecino glanced at the liquid in her glass briefly before downing it in one gulp.

The moment the liquor entered her throat, a burning sensation swept through it, making her body, which was covered by the uniform of the Fools' Enforcers, feel the intense heat from the high-purity liquor.

But she didn't care, and simply savored the lingering fragrance of the wine in her throat.

His calm demeanor, coupled with the nonchalant way he drank the molten water in one gulp, left even Pantalone, who witnessed it all, speechless with admiration.

Such a strong, high-purity liquor, and I actually drank it all in one go.

This made Pantalone wonder if he had picked up the wrong wine or if the wine he had picked up was actually fake.

You know this is cauldron and water!

How could you drink it all in one go so easily?

Or is the correct way to drink kerosene this way—by gulping it down in one go?

After Alegino downed her drink in one gulp, she then brought up a topic with Pantalone.

"Since we've already had the drinks, let's just say what you want to talk about right here. Whatever your intentions may be, I'll take it."

"I'm being really sincere this time, okay? Since we've said we're setting aside our roles as executives and just being friends, I'd rather talk about the past than anything else. What do you think?"

Pantalone carefully chose his words, trying to use an attitude that didn't seem particularly meaningful, and greeted Arecino with a sincere smile.

From any perspective, he believed that his attitude was extremely sincere. Even someone he didn't get along with wouldn't give him the cold shoulder, right?

However, Pantalone was overthinking it. As for Arecino, she wouldn't care about things like politeness.

After Pantalone said that, she sneered at him with a sarcastic attitude.

"Things from the past? It seems our banker is quite forgetful, having forgotten everything so quickly? In that case, would you like me to help you recall?"

"You're always like this, always so self-righteous and domineering, never caring about anyone, always hiding all your thoughts, and putting on an act as if you know everything."

"Indeed, that is the case. You always prove yourself right with your actions, and even I cannot deny that you are on the right path."

Pantalone knew nothing of politeness; to her, there was only merciless condemnation and criticism, her words filled with mockery.

The sharpness in those words made Pantalone raise an eyebrow; his inner self was not as calm as he appeared.

He hadn't expected that his slight guess would lead him to believe that Arecino had such a bad impression of him, perhaps because the two of them had some past grievances.

However, Pantalone's speculation on this matter is merely conjecture, lacking substantial and sufficient evidence.

However, judging from the reactions and emotions revealed in Arecino's words, there was indeed some conflict between Arecino and her past 'self' that she was unaware of.

This makes Arecino seem to harbor great prejudice against his past self, and the events of the past that he is unaware of may also be one of the main reasons why Arecino holds such a strong grudge against him.

To be honest, he didn't have the memory that Arecino mentioned, which left him unsure of what exactly happened between his past self and Arecino.

So he could only pretend to be calm and ponder for a moment before slowly replying.

"I don't think I did anything wrong."

"Yes, you haven't done anything wrong. You've never changed since a long time ago, just like a long time ago before we became this kind of relationship."

Arecino let out a soft breath and smiled.

"If I had to say you did something wrong, it would probably be that you betrayed our promise and chose Columbia as your confidante?"

"Now that things have come to this, I won't say anything more about the choice you made back then. I will only prove that my choice was more correct than yours."

"No matter how many plans you come up with, I will find the flaws in your plans and crush them all. I will use them as stepping stones to get what I want to do."

The sheer amount of information revealed in Arecino's words left Pantalone speechless.