As Madame Hinata glided gracefully past Kirito’s position, her aristocratic gaze paused upon him for a beat. The corners of her lips curved upward into an intensely captivating and sensual smile:
"Oh, you look quite dashing and handsome indeed."
The gentle remark lingering by his ear caused Kirito’s chest to skip a beat, his heart throbbing erratically before that lethal allure and charm. Immediately afterward, she strolled past, leaving behind a rich, lingering fragrance in the space.
Before long, the banquet’s main protagonist — General Akaza — officially appeared. Completely contrary to outdated prejudices or Kirito’s mental image of a brutal ruler typically being a chubby, middle-aged man or someone with a ferocious visage, Akaza surprised everyone greatly with his extremely youthful appearance, imposing golden hair, and towering, majestic demeanor.
As the banquet officially commenced, countless major and minor affairs of the kingdom were brought up for debate and lively discussion. Amidst the height of the atmosphere, General Akaza suddenly turned his head, his sharp gaze locking onto Kirito for precisely one second.
He casually spoke in a resounding voice, proposing a deeply sinister, milestone strategic plan:
"Denji, Kazuma, Rudy. The three of you will undertake this special mission."
Kirito was rather surprised to find himself personally called out and assigned a task by the general himself. Instantly, a beautiful maid respectfully stepped forward, placing a securely sealed letter right before him. Glancing to the side, two young men named Kazuma and Rudy also received identical letters with deeply serious expressions.
All three stood up abruptly in unison, bowing in response: "Thank you, Lord Akaza, for trusting us with this heavy responsibility!"
Throughout the duration of the banquet, Kirito thoroughly maximized the opportunity to gather a massive amount of invaluable intelligence regarding the rebellious faction’s forces and plots.
When the banquet drew to a close, Kirito took the opportunity to investigate a few surrounding nooks, and only on his way back to the warehouse did he curiously open Akaza’s letter to read.
The contents inside left Kirito gripped with terror: Akaza’s plan was to directly exploit the three of them — himself, Rudy, and Kazuma. Combining Kirito’s innate financial control and statistical prowess (under the disguise of Denji) with the effective support of Kazuma and Rudy, the core objective was to infiltrate and establish an exclusive market monopoly right within the Imperial Capital — where the empress and her pro-war ministers were hoarded.
Once the commercial market manipulated by them took shape, all merchants and the flow of essential goods within the Imperial Capital would entirely depend on the three men. At the decisive moment, all three would vanish simultaneously without a trace, directly strangling the economy, triggering extreme panic, and causing the empress faction’s supply chain to collapse completely from within.
Reading up to this point, beads of sweat poured profusely down Kirito’s forehead out of sheer fright. This plan was so profound, vicious, and visionary that even a modern reincarnated soul like him could hardly fathom it, and he firmly believed the empress’s faction could never defend against it in time.
"Akaza... this man is truly far too terrifying and capable." Kirito swallowed hard inwardly.
Yet, just as he turned to step into the interior of the cold storage, the sight greeting his eyes nearly made his heart stop: a human shadow was feebly crawling across the blood-soaked ground.
Kirito’s eyes widened in utter astonishment, immediately darting forward to deliver a precise strike that knocked out the crawling figure.
It was none other than Denji — the warehouse manager he thought was dead for sure! The old man was still stubbornly alive thanks to a fierce survival will. Seeing this, Kirito silently blamed himself for being too complacent, vowing to be far more cautious in his executions hereafter.
He hoisted Denji’s tattered body, dragging him back to the desk, then pushed open the wooden door to enter his private room and tied the old man securely to a chair.
To guard against the old man biting his tongue to commit suicide, Kirito carefully wedged two small pieces of wood into Denji’s jaws, while casually bandaging the horrifying wound on his neck to keep him alive.
Just moments later, Denji slowly opened his eyes, waking up amidst aching agony.
Kirito leisurely pulled up a chair to sit opposite, clearing his throat: "Oh, finally awake, are we?"
Denji glared widely, discovering himself bound tightly. Despite the obstruction of the wood in his mouth, he still managed to emit gruff sounds from his throat filled with hatred:
"You bastard... what on earth do you want?!"
Kirito smiled gently, cutting straight to the point: "No beating around the bush, I’ll say it straight."
"I’ve investigated all information about your family. If you want your wife and children to live in peace, you’d better obediently cooperate with me."
Hearing mention of his family, Denji panicked, his eyes revealing extreme anger as he glared at Kirito as if wanting to devour him alive.
Kirito smirked, slowly listing: "You have two sons and a second wife, don’t you...?"
As a professional Shinobi, prying into psychology and mentally torturing opponents was his specialty. However, finding torture too tedious and time-consuming, Kirito retrieved a familiar silkworm cocoon-shaped object from his pocket, brutally shoving it straight into Denji’s mouth and forcing him to swallow it down his belly.
"I am a Shinobi; I have a hundred ways to torture you until you die in utter remorse."
"Don’t be stubborn. I’ve already made your wife and children swallow that first. When the eggs hatch, the venomous worms will consume all the internal organs inside their bodies."
"If you don’t believe it, try fasting for seven days and you’ll understand how terrifying that excruciating pain feels. Of course, I still keep the antidote ready that can lull that worm into a peaceful sleep."
Denji was so furious that his entire body trembled violently while feeling utterly helpless, his teeth clenching hard against the piece of wood.
He had no choice but to yield, trembling as he uttered: "Fine... state your conditions!"
Seeing Denji finally soften and cooperate, Kirito smiled with satisfaction. He briefly recounted what had transpired at tonight’s banquet and Akaza’s mission letter.
"That’s the plan. Now, your task is to continue disguising as me, staying here in my place to carry out warehouse management duties."
Though intensely infuriated by this deception, to safeguard his family’s lives, Denji could only grit his teeth and nod: "Alright... I agree."
"But first, give me the drug to make that worm sleep!"
Without hesitation, Kirito retrieved four small wooden boxes and placed them on the table: "This worm has a five-year lifecycle; inside here I’ve prepared the suppressive medicine for the next four years. When the time comes, if you behave, I’ll hand over the rest."
Finished speaking, Kirito personally disguised Denji back into an exact replica of his own face, then untied him.
Denji rubbed his numb wrists, his voice hoarse: "Then... when General Akaza falls from power, you must keep your promise to save my family."
Kirito gave the old man’s shoulder a firm pat, smiling to reassure him:
"Rest assured, I keep my word. Moreover, you’re a talented manager; your life is very valuable, nobody is idle enough to kill you, just trust me."
Concluding everything, Kirito gathered his belongings and quietly slipped away from the warehouse amidst the silent night. Although the initial plan had unexpected deviations, the core ultimate objective had been successfully accomplished to an 80 percent perfection.