Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

Chapter 936: Numbers

Vizreel stared at him. "Coffee break?"Lux nodded.

"I thought it was for vacation."

"Yes."

Vizreel waited.

Lux smiled like a man about to explain something perfectly reasonable that was, in fact, deeply unreasonable. "Sadly, my father disagreed with the premise."

Celestaria set her cup down. "Your father disagreed with your vacation?"

"My father disagreed with the concept of me not working."

Vizreel grunted. "That sounds like Greed."

Lux’s expression turned dry. "That sounds like child labor with royal branding."

Celestaria looked at him.

Lux waved it away immediately. "Don’t do the therapist face."

"I wasn’t."

Vizreel looked at Celestaria. "She was."

Celestaria looked mildly betrayed. "Vizreel."

"What? Only us here."

Lux continued, "Anyway, when I said I gave up the Greed throne, my father somehow interpreted it as a temporary tantrum instead of a legally and emotionally valid resignation."

Vizreel’s brows rose. "You gave up the Greed throne?"

"Yup."

"And he ignored it?"

"Professionally."

Celestaria folded her hands. "So you said you would take a break."

Lux’s smirk returned.

The smug one.

"Yes."

Lux leaned back. "A coffee break."

For one second, neither celestial reacted.

Then Vizreel slowly leaned forward.

"You really said that?"

Lux nodded smugly.

Celestaria closed her eyes.

Lux ignored the imaginary paperwork.

"For my whole life, I stared at numbers and overworked," Lux said. "Numbers before breakfast. Numbers after dinner. Numbers during crises. Numbers during assassination attempts. Numbers while my father was busy being romantic on another plane of existence."

Vizreel looked genuinely horrified. "You worked during assassination attempts?"

Lux shrugged. "Depends on the attempt. Some assassins are slow."

Celestaria opened her eyes. "Lux."

"What? If someone takes three minutes to cross a hallway dramatically while chanting death vows, I can finish a quarterly projection."

Vizreel stared at him. Then said, "That is unhealthy."

Lux pointed at the tea. "That’s why I’m here." He smiled. "So yes. Coffee break."

Vizreel rubbed his forehead. "A hundred years."

"Minimum."

"Minimum?"

"I’m open to extension depending on management behavior."

Celestaria’s gaze sharpened with faint amusement. "By management, you mean your father."

"And Hell. And Kaelmor. And interrealm diplomacy. And my inbox."

Vizreel muttered, "So everything."

Lux smiled. "Exactly."

The door opened before Celestaria could respond, and several plates floated in on a soft current of light.

Lux immediately sat straighter.

Food.

Finally.

The plates arranged themselves with divine precision. Soft grain cakes, fragrant steamed vegetables, pale fruit that glowed faintly, a bowl of clear broth with floating silver herbs, and a dish that looked suspiciously like tofu had gone to etiquette school.

Celestaria smiled faintly. "Try it."

Lux did.

He chewed.

Paused.

Annoyingly, it was good this time.

Clean.

Light.

Warm.

The kind of flavor that didn’t punch the mouth but politely improved the body.

Celestaria saw it immediately. "You like it."

"It is nutritionally competent."

Vizreel snorted. "That means he likes it."

Lux stabbed another piece.

"I appreciate culture."

Celestaria’s eyes warmed.

That softness she kept pretending wasn’t there.

Selena did the same sometimes. Solara too, in a brighter, more dangerous way. Lux knew. He could smell affection like other people smelled rain. He read attraction, fondness, curiosity, attachment. He noticed every lingering glance, every slight shift in tone, every moment Celestaria held his gaze one second too long before becoming professionally serene again.

He knew.

He also said nothing.

Celestaria lifted her cup. "So. Your coffee break."

Lux immediately sensed danger.

"You left Hell to rest. And you ended up with a lot of women," she continued.

Vizreel nearly choked on tea.

Lux froze for half a second.

Celestaria continued, calm as snowfall. "Having s*x."

Vizreel coughed.

Lux stared at her.

"And," Celestaria added, "playing with mortal economy."

Lux pointed at her with his utensils. "Hey. That last one, I only did it a bit."

Vizreel set his cup down with visible effort. "That is your defense?"

"Yes."

"Not the women part?"

Lux looked at him.

Vizreel looked back.

Lux said, "That part is accurate."

Celestaria’s mouth curved faintly.

Vizreel muttered, "Demons."

Lux smiled. "Efficient demons."

Celestaria leaned forward slightly. "Is that what you call it?"

Before Lux could defend the academic value of emotional diversification, the door opened.

Selena entered first. Solara followed behind her.

Lux looked at them both. "Confidentiality seals applied?"

Solara smiled. "Very applied."

Selena added, "One council member tried to object."

Vizreel looked up. "Which one?"

Selena paused. "The one with the golden throat markings."

Vizreel sighed. "Of course."

Solara’s smile brightened. "He no longer objects."

Lux lifted his cup. "That sounds ominous."

Selena’s gaze shifted to Lux. Then to Celestaria. Then back to Lux. "So those women..."

Lux immediately felt danger.

Personal topic danger.

Selena tilted her head slightly. "You formed your harem accidentally?"

Lux placed a hand over his chest. "Accidentally is such a strong word."

Celestaria looked at him.

Lux sighed. "Fine. Mostly accidentally."

Solara slid into a chair with far too much interest. "Not only that. The mortal realm has already started branding you as a mysterious playboy billionaire."

Lux smiled instantly. "Thank you. It matches my brand."

Vizreel stared at him. "That was not a compliment."

"It became one when I received it."

Lux took another sip of tea, but his expression shifted after that.

The smugness softened at the edges.

"But yeah," he said, voice lower. "All accidental."

The room’s humor dimmed a little.

Lux looked into the pale tea like the answer might be hiding there, even though no answer worth having would be found in leaf water without caffeine. "But they help me."

Selena’s gaze softened. "Help you with what?"

Lux didn’t answer right away. "Finding myself." His thumb brushed the edge of his cup. "That I’m more than a walking calculator."

Lux exhaled once, almost amused at himself. "I know. Very tragic. Demon CFO discovers emotional complexity. Investors shocked. Markets unstable."

No one laughed immediately.

He looked up with a faint smirk. "Please react normally. This room is becoming emotionally expensive."

Vizreel huffed.

Celestaria smiled softly. "You make jokes when something matters."

Selena’s lips curved slightly. "So they are not only your way of having fun and breeding."

Lux looked at her. "No." His voice was quieter this time. "They’re the first people in a long time who looked at me and didn’t just see function."

A pause.

"Or profit."

Another pause.

"Or a throne I didn’t ask for."

Solara leaned back, studying him with sunlight-soft eyes. "And what do they see?"

Lux smiled faintly. "Depends on the woman."

Vizreel groaned.

Lux’s smile grew. "But mostly?" He looked down at the tea again. "Me."

And for once, nobody ruined the silence too quickly.