Reincarnated as the favorite of an obsessive goddess: gave me a system-Chapter 30: The plan.

Kai observed King Gabell. The monarch, who minutes earlier had seemed like the personification of power in Athelgard, now appeared strangely human and vulnerable behind his oak desk. The veins in his temples were throbbing.

"Your Majesty," Kai began, his voice resonating with a gravity that drew every eye in the room. "The banquet where they plan to kill you is in less than forty-eight hours. It is the most important event on the diplomatic calendar. If we cancel it now, or if we reinforce the guard in an obvious way, they will realize it was us who took the parchment and discover that we know what they’re planning. The infiltrators will go into a panic. And a cornered assassin is far more dangerous than one who believes they are invisible."

Gabell struck the table with his fist, making the inkwell jump.

"Are you asking me to sit down to dinner with hyenas, Kai? To share my wine with men who have paid for my blood to stain this very floor? I am the King of Athelgard, not bait in a trap!"

"With all due respect," Allice intervened, stepping forward. "At this moment, you are the bait. The difference is whether you want to be bait that waits for the blow, or one that has its hand on the fisherman’s throat before he pulls the cord."

Lyla crossed her arms, staring at the map of the banquet hall.

"Kai is right. The magic we saw in those nobles... it isn’t weak. If they suspect anything, it will be too risky. And if we attempt a conventional arrest, the regular guards will be dead before they can even draw their swords."

Kai sank into his thoughts. The System began projecting lines of sight over the palace map in his mind.

[ ANALYZING TACTICAL ENVIRONMENT... ]

Civilian Risk: 94%

Risk to Objective (King Gabell): 88%

Suggestion: Do not alert them, perform a precision operation.

He was surprised to see that the system could analyze things this way. He looked at Lyla for a few seconds and smiled slightly. It was incredible.

"The plan will be as follows," Kai said finally, his mind working at full speed. "We won’t change a single invitation. We won’t move a single guard from their usual position. The banquet must seem boring, routine, and full of excess. However, Allice, since you inspire trust as Lyla’s subordinate I need you to select five of the best men you remember existing in this city for years. Not the strongest or the guards, but the ones you trust most. Those who wouldn’t hesitate to die for Athelgard."

Allice nodded with a serious grimace.

"I can get three retired adventurers who are in the city and owe me a few favors. They are strong and completely trustworthy. They will be enough to cover the palace surroundings without raising suspicion."

"Good," Kai continued. "They will simply have to circle the area and ensure no one suspicious enters or leaves. If they see someone, they will intercept them; they must also protect the civilians if combat breaks out. I, for my part, will be in the upper galleries."

Lyla raised an eyebrow. "Alone?" she asked, her concern evident.

"No, with you," he replied, looking at her intently. "I need your eyes, Lyla. You have the most experience here; you’re the one who can best help me see exactly where all those bastards position themselves."

Kai paused, looking at the King.

"Your Majesty, your role is the most difficult, and I understand that you are nervous and agitated by it. But you must offer the main toast. The moment you raise the golden cup under the moonlight streaming through the rose window, that will be the point of maximum vulnerability. They will believe it’s the perfect moment to finish you and escape amidst the chaos. And that is where we will strike."

Gabell sighed, his shoulders dropping slightly.

"It’s madness. But it’s the only way to clean my house without the people knowing how close we came to the abyss. If Zenit invades after this, at least I will have a united kingdom to defend me, not one divided by the fear of spies and internal betrayals."

"There is something else," Kai added, remembering his friends in the village. "I need to send a rider to Thorne and Mira."

Allice looked at him with curiosity. "For what? They are days away."

"Thorne knows the forests surrounding the capital. If they have an escape plan, it won’t be through the main gate. They will use everything possible in the woods to hide and flee. That’s why I need Thorne and Mira watching those areas. If someone escapes our net inside the palace and the city, they cannot reach the Zenit border with news of their failure, especially if they realize who we really are."

The four of them knew that if Malk found out the hero they all killed together had returned, they wouldn’t hesitate to raze everything in their path to finish Kai once and for all.

"I’ll go to the kitchens now," Allice said, breaking the tension. "If they’re using poison as a backup, I need to know. The palace chefs are loyal, but anyone agile enough could infiltrate and poison anything. Better safe than sorry."

"Be careful, Allice," Kai warned. "If you notice anything strange, don’t face it alone."

Allice let out a dry laugh as she walked toward the door.

"Kai, I’ve been killing conspirators since before you knew how to hold a fork. I’ll be fine."

When Allice left, the office seemed to shrink. Gabell sat down again, pulling a bottle of amber liquor from a hidden drawer. He poured three glasses, though Lyla declined with a gesture.

"To survival," the King said, drinking it in one gulp. "And to the hope that this plan isn’t the last one we draw."

Kai drank the burning liquid, feeling it slide down his throat. He looked out the window. The moon was almost full, a silver disc observing the world with indifference. He thought of Roshia and little Elara. He thought of Bram, who would probably already be planning how to reinforce the village defenses or designing different types of weapons. He thought about how his life had gone from dying by a falling crane in Japan to deciding the fate of a nation and thousands of lives.

"Lyla," Kai whispered when Gabell became immersed in reading some reports. "Do you think we’re ready?"

Lyla approached him, leaning her forehead against his shoulder. The scent of wildflowers that always accompanied her calmed the noise in Kai’s head for a moment.

"One is never ready to face the macabre games of a god, sweetheart. But you have something they don’t. You have something to come back to. They only fight for power and entertainment, you fight for a home, for the people."

Kai wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her close with care. Just then, a sound was heard clearly. Kai tensed instantly. His hand shot out, ready to pull his daggers from his inventory. But the noise stopped.

It was only the night guard change. The sound of metal boots against marble reminded everyone that time was running out.

"Go and rest," King Gabell ordered without looking up. "Tomorrow will be the longest day of our lives. My butler will take you to your rooms through the private corridor. No one must see you leaving here at this hour."

They walked in silence through the palace’s secret passages. The stone walls smelled of saltpeter and history. Kai felt Lyla’s gaze on him, heavy with words she didn’t dare say. He knew she was afraid, not for her own life, but for what Malk might do to him if he were recognized.

Reaching his room, Kai stopped at the threshold.

"Lyla, if things go wrong tomorrow... if all of them prove to be too strong for my current level, I want you to flee."

Lyla looked at him with a mix of indignation and tenderness. She placed a hand on his cheek as if he were a small child, forcing him to hold her gaze.

"Kai, you gave me a reason to exist when I was bored of thousands and thousands of years watching others play with people at their whim. You gave me a feeling, you gave me moments I can never forget. You gave me something no one else could in my entire existence. I am not the kind of goddess who runs away. And I am definitely not the kind of woman who leaves her beloved behind. You don’t know how much I regretted every day since they murdered you, how I couldn’t do anything. But this time, I won’t leave your side, no matter what happens."

Kai sighed, defeated by her logic. He kissed her forehead, a soft gesture that sealed their silent promise.

"Then we will win. There is no other option."

They entered the room and closed the door. Kai lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time, thinking and imagining scenarios of what could happen tomorrow, of everything he could lose, or win.