Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

Chapter 182 – A Very Well Dressed Calculator

A pause.

Then the faint sound of feathers ruffling.

Corvus’s voice softened, deadpan now. ’Got it. Full vanish. I’ll make it look like guilt.’

’Good bird.’

Corvus let out a smug caw as Lux turned away from the stream of hot water and stepped out of the shower.

The mirror was fogged up, but he didn’t wipe it. He liked the way his outline looked.

Steam curled behind him like war smoke. Like warning.

He wrapped a towel around his waist, slowly. Purposefully. Movements clean. Controlled.

Outside, the world spun—so fast, so loud, so obsessed with buying, branding, owning things they couldn’t even begin to understand. Souls. Secrets. Seductions. All for sale, if the price was high enough.

But he wasn’t.

And that lamia queen? She’d learn that soon enough.

[New Task Created: Lylith Seravelle – Distraction. Seduction. Destruction.]

Lux looked at the mirror, at the faint outline of his smirk forming through the haze, sharp as a blade.

”Oh, darling,” he whispered with a wicked promise, ”you really should’ve asked for a taste first.”

The steam curled behind him like a seductive ghost, lazy and intimate, as if the air itself was clinging to him. A bead of water slipped from his collarbone down the lines of his chest, trailing like a sigh. The towel hung low around his hips—barely legal if reality had dress codes.

He stepped out of the bathroom, the heat still coiled around his body like invisible armor.

And there stood Corvus.

In human form now.

Corvus blinked at Lux.

Then narrowed his eyes.

”Seriously, boss?” he said, tone dry as scorched espresso grounds. ”You’re shameless.”

Lux didn’t even flinch. He was busy rummaging through one of the shopping bags by the dresser, digging for a shirt like someone looking for buried treasure.

He tossed a crumpled receipt over his shoulder. The towel fell to the floor a second later with zero ceremony.

Corvus shielded his eyes with exaggerated flair.

”You don’t even pretend to care anymore, huh?”

Lux muttered while sorting. ”I was working, back in Hell. You know that. The only time I got to myself was between meetings—and I spent that reviewing soul inflation charts. Bath? Ten minutes max. Sex? Zero. Coffee? Just enough to keep from combusting.”

He stood, holding up a fresh black silk shirt, and gestured vaguely to his bare everything.

”What do you expect? I felt more like a machine than a demon. A very well-dressed calculator.”

Corvus squinted, unimpressed. ”You are not normal.”

Lux pulled on the shirt, buttoning it up lazily. ”Gee. Thanks.”

”Not a compliment.”

”Don’t care.”

Corvus dropped into the velvet armchair like a hacker king claiming a data throne and kicked one booted foot up on the coffee table.

”You say you’re on vacation,” he muttered, ”but I’ve heard you say that—what? Twelve? No. Fourteen times since we got here. And every single time...” He hadn’t completed his sentence yet, but...

Lux walked over to the suite’s plush couch and sat, towel now abandoned, shirt half-buttoned, still damp and glowing faintly from the hot shower.

And then—out of habit—he flicked his wrist.

A glowing screen unfolded in the air.

Then another.

And another.

Until a half-dozen holo-screens hovered in front of him like spectral office windows. Charts. Graphs. A waterfall of crimson-tinted hell coin values. Asset allocations. Demon tax reports. Soul conversion ratios.

The suite, seconds ago a luxury haven, now looked like a cursed startup office for hell-born billionaires.

Lux just stared at it.

Silent.

The air hummed faintly.

”...F*ck,” he muttered. Yeah... he was on vacation yet he opened his system like he was at work.

[System Notification: Twelve notifications from Infernal Treasury remain unread. Projected net revenue from mortal realm investments has increased by 4.3% since last login.]

Corvus watched with the grin of someone watching a friend fall into their own trap.

”See? You cannot help yourself,” he laughed. ”I swear, if someone sent you a hellfire death threat in spreadsheet format, you’d probably reply in PowerPoint.”

Lux didn’t look at him. He was already zooming in on a pie chart like it had insulted his bloodline.

”I’m not working.”

”You’re working.”

”I’m checking the report.”

”You’re editing the report.”

”I’m making sure my father hasn’t wrecked the entire division.”

”Ohhh right,” Corvus said, arms behind his head, smirking. ”Gotta make sure Daddy Demon CFO isn’t swapping soul stocks for meme coins.”

Lux didn’t even argue and rubbed his temple.

”I just need a little check, okay?” he muttered.

”Nope,” Corvus said. ”You need coffee. Normal coffee. Not soul-roasted beans. Not Phoenix drip. Just something you don’t have to sign a contract for.”

Lux hesitated.

Then nodded.

”Fine. But after I triple-check the Fund ledger.”

”You’re doing it again.”

”I’M JUST CHECKING.”

Corvus pulled out a muffin from seemingly nowhere and took a slow, exaggerated bite.

”You know what you are?” he said, mouth full. ”You’re like those humans who say they’ve quit smoking, then ’just hold one’ between their fingers for the vibe.”

Lux glared at him over his screens.

”I have a vibe.”

”Yeah. It’s called Executive Emotional Damage.”

Lux rolled his eyes and shut two of the charts. Then a third.

He left the email feed open.

A single unopened message hovered at the top of the stack, marked urgent.

Subject Line:

[Unknown Bloodline Trace – Flagged Incident: Mortal Realm]

Lux’s fingers hovered over it.

Then, reluctantly, he tapped the message open.

From: security.alerts @hellsec.ixn

To: lux.vaelthorn @vaultnexus.infernal

Priority: HIGH

Classification: Tier 1 – Executive Threat

Mr. Vaelthorn,

This is a formal advisory from the Infernal Threat Prevention & Surveillance Division (ITPS), under directive 66-Hellfire regarding high-value assets in external realms.

During routine surveillance sweeps, we detected a flagged bloodline trace originating from the mortal realm, matched against encrypted demonic genealogy markers. The trace was initiated by an unregistered third party using unauthorized access vectors. The target signature of the trace: Lux Vaelthorn.

Additionally, related chatter within multiple underworld forums and bounty networks indicates renewed interest in your location, capabilities, and lineage. At least three subterranean syndicates and two rogue angelic splinter cells are reportedly circulating a revised bounty—updated within the last 72 hours.

While no direct attacks have been confirmed as of this writing, the pattern aligns with pre-assault coordination behavior. We advise the following precautions:

o Travel with vetted infernal bodyguards or familiars when outside secured zones.

o Avoid prolonged stays in unwarded locations.

o Do not engage unknown entities asking about family origin, inherited abilities, or relic-class items.

o Refrain from publicly using high-tier skills unless absolutely necessary.

You are reminded that, as a Sin-Blood Executor with pending succession rights, your security is considered realm-critical.

We recommend activating Protocol Umbra-4 should any further breach attempts occur. A portable curse beacon is available upon request.

Should you require additional information, escort reinforcement, or asset relocation, contact your designated Vault Nexus liaison or reach us via secure fireline channel: ext. 666-IXN-SEC

Stay unseen. Stay safe.

Officer Malris Korr

Deputy Director, Threat Analysis

Infernal Threat Prevention & Surveillance (ITPS)

Hellward Citadel, Sector 13 @hellsec.ixn

”Before they move, we already know.”