"Come on, let's go upstairs and eat."
Seeing that Tony Stark understood, Harvey said casually.
"Alright."
Tony Stark nodded at that.
This time, the two of them went directly to the dining area on the second floor.
Since it was New Year's, Tony Stark had already prepared plenty of delicious food.
This time, because he had planned to visit Harvey Anberaka for the New Year, he had prepared even more.
But after meeting Harvey Anberaka, he had also had two full beef banquets prepared. There was not enough room on just a few tables, making it feel like a lavish buffet.
"Mr. Harvey Anberlaka, the full beef banquets will take another half hour or so. Please have these first. The plates are over there."
When Pepper saw Tony and Harvey Anberlaka come upstairs, she said with a smile.
Although Pepper had been shocked when she first met him, she had watched Harvey effortlessly finish a dinner meant for a hundred people.
That gave Pepper an entirely new understanding of Harvey Anberlaka's appetite.
So when she heard that Tony had specially prepared two additional full beef banquets for him this time, she was no longer surprised.
"Mm, thank you for the trouble, Miss Pepper."
Harvey smiled and nodded.
"Eat quickly. Another guest will be coming later."
Tony Stark picked up a plate and began selecting the food he wanted as he spoke casually.
Then Tony Stark went over and sat down at one of the dining tables.
"Another guest is coming? A man or a woman?"
Pepper did not stand on ceremony either. She began serving herself the dishes she liked and came to the table as well. Hearing Tony's words, she asked curiously.
Harvey Anberaka directly picked up two plates, piled them full for himself, and sat down at the table.
"It's Coulson. He'll be bringing me something later."
Tony Stark answered casually.
"What exactly did you two talk about downstairs?"
"How did Coulson get dragged into this again?"
"Isn't he an agent who specializes in handling strange incidents?"
"Could it be that what you discussed was related to strange incidents? Can you tell me about it?"
Hearing this, Pepper felt completely left in the dark and was incredibly curious.
Like Tony, Pepper was quite talkative.
"Didn't you have a lot of things you wanted to ask Harvey Anberaka?"
Tony Stark immediately shifted the topic toward Harvey.
"Mr. Harvey Anberlaka, you deal in stocks and real estate, right?"
Seeing that Tony did not want to discuss the matter, Pepper's eyes flickered. She wisely did not press further and turned to Harvey.
"Strictly speaking, I deal in stocks. Real estate is just a side business."
"Because I do not have much of a connection with the military, I cannot directly obtain development permits to develop land. I can only casually buy some properties and wait for them to appreciate."
Harvey swallowed the food in his mouth before answering.
"..."
Hearing him say "casually," Pepper was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Even I can't understand his values and thought process, so there's no need for you to dwell on it either, Pepper."
Tony Stark glanced at Harvey and spoke.
Harvey alone owned more than a hundred properties worth over ten million dollars, spread across various states in America.
In particular, the manor where Harvey lived most often was worth at least a hundred million dollars, judging solely by its grounds, furnishings, and the many facilities scattered throughout it, though Tony had never actually been inside.
Harvey Anberlaka owned the most properties in New York: fifty-seven villas and manors in total.
Tony could understand Harvey Anberlaka buying a few villas in other states and cities.
After all, owning property meant that wherever he went, he would have somewhere comfortable to stay.
But buying so many in New York was something Tony could not fully understand.
America was still developing, and real estate in New York in particular kept rising in value. Buying properties simply to hold onto them for appreciation was not impossible.
But with Harvey Anberlaka's keen eye for stocks, the money spent on those properties could have earned him even more if invested in the market.
Still, thanks to the many properties under Harvey Anberlaka's name, almost everyone believed that he dealt in stocks and real estate.
So Tony Stark could only convince himself that Harvey Anberlaka simply wanted to keep a low profile and avoid drawing too much attention.
"Alright then, Mr. Harvey Anberlaka, several people have asked me to ask you something."
"What would it take for you to be willing to attend the banquets they host?"
Pepper was surprised by Tony's words, but she did not dwell on the previous question. Instead, she asked politely.
"I've been receiving a lot of invitations lately, and they've been giving me a headache."
"Please help me tell them something, Miss Pepper."
"I have many things to do as well, so please ask them not to send me meaningless invitations."
Harvey spoke seriously.
"I'll convey that to them tactfully."
Pepper was stunned by the obvious refusal in his words, then quickly recovered and agreed with a smile.
There were rumors in New York that Harvey Anberlaka was also a playboy, but it now seemed that those rumors were not entirely true.
At the very least, it was certain that Harvey Anberlaka had no interest in some of New York's young wealthy women.
"Mm, thank you for your trouble, Miss Pepper."
Harvey responded politely.
He carried his empty plates back toward the tables covered in food.
"Tony, does Mr. Harvey Anberlaka actually dislike me?"
Seeing Harvey go get more food, Pepper asked in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
Fortunately, Tony Stark's body had been enhanced considerably, and his hearing was better than before. Otherwise, he would not have heard her clearly.
"Of course not. If he really disliked you, he would not be polite to you. He would directly show his displeasure."
"So as long as you don't see him acting particularly repulsed by you, don't overthink it."
"He only left to get more food. It's not as bad as you imagine."
But once Tony Stark heard her clearly, he immediately shook his head and answered.
After several encounters, Tony Stark knew that Harvey Anberaka was an extremely proud man.
Obadiah Stane had been directly called trash.
He did not give Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., even a shred of face either.
If Harvey Anberlaka truly disliked Pepper, he might not even bother speaking to her, much less respond to her in such polite terms.
Hearing that, Pepper saw Harvey Anberlaka serving himself food and finally relaxed.
"Miss Pepper, how does it feel to be in charge of Stark Industries?"
Harvey had naturally heard Pepper's question, but he pretended not to notice. After getting more food, he sat back down and asked casually.
"Mr. Harvey Anberlaka, I know you're a shareholder of Stark Industries."
"But today is the first day of the new year, so please don't talk about work."
"Let me clear my head and rest properly for one day."
When Harvey brought up Stark Industries, Pepper rubbed the space between her brows, looking as though she had a headache.
Stark Industries was currently under her management, while Tony continued conducting research and preparing the company's transformation.
That left her running around everywhere, and it was nowhere near as wonderful as she had originally imagined.
"I have no authority to control the direction of Stark Industries."
"So naturally, I had no intention of asking about it. I only mentioned it casually."
"If you don't want to discuss such matters, Miss Pepper, there's no need to take it too seriously."
Seeing Pepper's pained expression, Harvey spoke while eating.
Looking at Pepper's life as a whole, setting aside whether people liked her or not.
From her youth onward, Pepper had worked for Tony Stark, dutifully handling matters both great and small for him.
Faced with the proud, arrogant, sometimes unconventional, and even willful Tony Stark.
Pepper might show a softer side, grumble, and complain now and then, but in the end, she would still choose to trust and support Tony Stark.
The strong bond they had built over many years made Tony Stark dependent on Pepper.
That was also the key reason Tony Stark later settled down, stopped being a playboy, and wanted to marry Pepper.
When Tony Stark had just faced an opportunity that could completely change him, he had not immediately wanted to obtain power similar to Harvey's. It was likely because he was concerned about Pepper's opinion.
Harvey had long understood all of this, so he would not be surprised whenever Tony Stark eventually asked whether Pepper could also gain a long life.
For Harvey, the more people and things that believed in and joined the Void, the better.
After all, he could gain Void Energy, while they could gain long lives and extraordinary power. It was a win-win situation.
So Harvey had never worried that he would be unable to persuade others to believe in and join the Void.
After all, the prospect of a long life alone was enough to drive countless people mad.
"I'm going to create an Arc Reactor that no one else can replicate."
"I already have some ideas. It may succeed, so just give me some more time."
Tony Stark also knew that the reason Pepper was so stressed from running around was that Stark Industries was currently in the middle of transitioning to a new industry.
Yet no new energy source had been released, which would cause dissatisfaction among Stark Industries' other shareholders and place some pressure on Pepper.
However, if the Arc Reactor he had made were leaked and acquired by another company, they could replicate it after spending some time analyzing it.
Therefore, Tony Stark could not possibly announce the Arc Reactor to the public.
"Tony, you don't need to put too much pressure on yourself. We're transitioning into a new industry, not following the old path. We can take it slowly."
Hearing Tony's words, Pepper comforted him first.
"Sorry to make you see that, Mr. Harvey Anberlaka."
"I just didn't want my rare day off to be disturbed. I overreacted a little. I wasn't blaming you at all."
Then Pepper looked at Harvey and spoke somewhat embarrassedly.
"I understand. After all, managing a company as large as Stark Industries is not easy."
Harvey shook his head slightly to show that he did not mind.
Before you continue