Mr. Pantalone has no crazy plans today.

"Then it's a promise, brother, you can't lie, let's pinky swear!"

"……it is good."

The boy, who was a little stunned for a moment, then smiled slightly and reached out to hook his fingers with his younger brother's.

The younger brother also wore a similar smile, and then chuckled.

"Pinky promise, don't break it, or we'll throw him to the glacier."

"Glaciers are cold, snowfields are frigid, and even a lying tongue will freeze to pieces!"

The boy and his younger brother made a pinky promise, reciting a popular children's rhyme that circulates widely among children in the countryside as winter approaches.

After making this promise, the boy bid a proper farewell to his younger brother and family, and then took a step forward.

At the end of the boy's gaze were the other soldiers of the Fools' Conscription Corps, who were already waiting for him ahead.

At that moment, Pantalone, the executor of the Fools, was waiting for him. After the young Ajax came before him, Pantalone, who had witnessed everything, looked down at the young Ajax and smiled gently.

"It seems you've said goodbye to your family properly. So, go ahead and set off. But before you do, let me remind you one last time: once you take this step, there's no turning back."

The reality of being an officer of the Fatui is not as idyllic as you imagine. There is a great deal of dark and unspeakable darkness within the Fatui. I'll ask you one last time, are you truly prepared for this?

Long before he fell into that abyss, he already knew about the darkness and reality of that world, so no matter how many times Pantalone asked, he only had one answer.

The boy in Pantalone simply smiled and gave his answer.

"No matter how many times, my answer will always be the same: my goal is to conquer everything. Since I have chosen this path, I am naturally prepared to face all the thorns and difficulties that may be encountered along the way."

"What I pursue is to become stronger. As long as you can make me stronger and give me more opportunities to hone myself, I will naturally do as you say."

After receiving this answer from young Ajax, Pantalone returned a meaningful smile to him.

"Since you say that, I'm relieved. I also promise you that as long as you do as I say, you will gain strength far greater than that of ordinary people and have the opportunity to challenge more powerful opponents."

"That's natural, and I have no intention of breaking my promise."

Young Ajax was oblivious to the deeper meaning behind the smile in Pantalone's eyes, and simply patted his chest in assurance.

If someone familiar with Pantalone were here, they would understand that when Pantalone showed that expression, it undoubtedly meant that he was about to scam someone.

He wasn't asking for young Ajax's opinion for no reason other than to do something meaningless.

On one hand, he was trying to determine whether the boy named Ajax had really made up his mind to board his pirate ship and follow him down this dark path, though he put it rather vaguely.

If young Ajax agrees to his request, it means he's tied to his own pirate ship.

By then, it will be impossible for him to disembark midway.

This means that the future eleventh executive officer of the Fools, "Prince" Tartaglia, has successfully poached this talent, which means that he has now obtained a useful and highly potential tool.

This would make it easier for him to do things that he himself couldn't do. After all, for his own safety, he didn't plan to leave for winter, so he needed a useful tool to do some dirty work for him.

And this person, who is currently only an Ajax candidate and has not yet become "Prince" Datalia, is the perfect tool that meets his needs.

On the other hand, whether it's the performance testing of the 'mechanical prosthetics' and 'intelligent autonomous sequence mechanisms' that "Puppet" is currently helping to research, or the personnel needed for the 'Light Dimension Bio-Fusion Warrior Project' that "Doctor" is working on...

As the future eleventh executive officer of the Fools, "Prince" Tadalia would be a good choice. If the plan there succeeds, he would also be able to benefit to some extent.

After all, as long as it wasn't one of those crazy plans he himself had prepared.

He was very willing to sponsor these projects that could directly help him. With the results of these projects, it would be easier for him to report back to his superiors when they asked about his performance.

All things considered, such as a love for talent are all empty and fake.

Only a full calculation makes it real.

Unfortunately, Ajax, who was still just a young and inexperienced boy, did not realize this.

But thinking back on it, I guess he probably wouldn't even realize it if he became "Prince" Tartaglia in the future.

Although he was full of scheming, if the boy named Ajax really knew, he would most likely be indifferent. As long as it didn't endanger his family and made him stronger, he didn't care much about other schemes.

While Pantalone was scheming and plotting, Ajax, being impatient, asked him very directly.

"By the way, speaking of which, I'm not quite clear about the tasks and things I'll be doing after joining the Fatui. If possible, I'd like to know in advance so I can get used to it."

"Don't worry about this. I can only say that the best days are yet to come, and you will be satisfied."

After hearing what the young Ajax said, Pantalone suppressed his thoughts and smiled gently.

Looking at the naive and impetuous young Ajax in front of him, Pantalone had already begun to plan how to exploit him to maximize his profits.

However, the young Ajax did not realize what kind of life he was about to face.

Chapter 70, "Using Kindness to Repay Favor," is correct.

After poaching the future "Prince" D'Artagnan from the "Rooster" and bringing him into her own hands, Pantalone did not linger in the town of Seacrest, but returned to her small villa in the winter capital.

Pantalone himself believes this.

Compared to wandering around outside, it's definitely more reassuring to stay under the Queen's watchful eye.

As for the rumors circulating outside about wealthy businessmen and politicians hiding away in the depths of winter, cold-blooded big shots who don't know how to listen to the suffering of ordinary people, Pantalone didn't take them to heart at all.

After all, he knows his own reputation well, so let him be criticized.