Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation-Chapter 745: The Sword of Damocles

Chapter 745 – The Sword of Damocles

Silence.

The kind of silence that could fund a war.

Sira’s eyes sharpened first.

"Please. Calm. Down?!"

There it was.

Not just anger.

Pride anger.

The kind that turns cities into ash just to prove a point.

Lux could literally see the imaginary fire gathering behind her irises. If she shifted one percent closer to her demonic form, the chandeliers would melt.

He had seen her burn mountains before.

He preferred the dining hall intact.

Naomi leaned back in her chair slowly. "No."

Mira crossed her arms. "Absolutely not."

Lullaby nodded. "I’m still worried."

Rava didn’t speak. Which was worse.

Lux sighed dramatically and grabbed another slice of toast.

"Unbelievable. I survived a realm level assassination attempt and this is the customer feedback I get?"

Sira stared at him like a beggar staring at gold.

"It should be worse!" she snapped. "This is the best I can do while holding myself."

Her aura flickered.

The candles on the table trembled.

Lux blinked once.

Okay.

Escalation risk high.

He snapped his fingers. "Lyra. Give Lady Sira some tea." A second later he added, "Actually, give all of us tea."

Lyra, ever efficient, appeared from the side door with a tray like this was a normal morning and not emotional combustion hour.

Steam curled gently from porcelain cups. Light jasmine scent. Slight honey undertone.

Sira didn’t touch hers.

Naomi said softly, "Lux, I don’t think tea—"

He raised one hand without looking at her. "I know."

Then he looked at all of them.

"But seriously. I need you to calm down. Rage won’t benefit us."

He took a slow sip of coffee instead of tea because of course he did.

The bitterness grounded him.

He could still feel that spear.

That pressure.

That one second where the world thinned.

He hid it well.

Always did.

"I’ll explain."

The girls didn’t relax.

But they listened.

Lux leaned back slightly, crossing one leg over the other like this was a board meeting instead of an emotional intervention.

"So. The ancient Abyss Lord’s death is just the King’s scapegoat."

Sira’s jaw tightened.

"He said there’s another mastermind," he added.

Rava’s voice finally cut in, low and calm.

"So he’s preparing a second scapegoat."

"Yes."

Lux bit into his toast like it was responsible for cosmic instability.

"Which means he is positioning."

Naomi’s eyes sharpened.

"For what."

"For narrative control."

He wiped a small crumb from his lip with his thumb.

"Don’t do anything reckless."

That part came out quieter.

"If we react emotionally, he can turn the facts."

The room stilled slightly.

Lux continued.

"The celestial main council wants bilateral agreements to be secure. They need trade lanes. They need liquidity. They still need me."

Mira tilted her head.

"And the factions." Lux’s smile thinned slightly. "Some factions never liked me."

Sira scoffed. "They don’t like anyone competent."

"Correct."

Lux leaned forward now, elbows resting lightly on the table.

"Those angels would happily mount my head on a spear for moral branding."

Lullaby gasped softly.

He waved it off.

"Metaphorically. Probably."

He paused.

Then added casually, "Possibly not metaphorically."

Naomi closed her eyes.

"Lux."

He exhaled slowly.

"Yes. Both the King and some celestial factions likely coordinated pressure."

Sira’s nails dug slightly into the wood of the table. "To kill you."

Lux tilted his head. "To test viability."

"That’s the same thing," Naomi muttered.

"Not exactly."

He tapped his chest lightly.

"They want me."

Mira frowned.

"What."

"My contracts."

The air shifted.

Oh.

Right.

Lux Vaelthorn.

Hell’s CFO.

Cross realm stabilizer.

His soul was tied to trade corridors, infernal liquidity buffers, pride tariffs, wrath volatility dampeners, lust influence markets.

He wasn’t just a demon.

He was infrastructure.

"If I die recklessly," he continued, "the shockwave destabilizes both realms."

Rava’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"So they can’t fully commit."

"Exactly."

He sipped coffee again.

"They want leverage. Not chaos."

Sira leaned forward.

"And you."

"I am the asset."

Naomi stared at him.

"You are not an asset."

He blinked.

"Well. Technically—"

She kicked his shin under the table.

"Ow."

"Stop saying that."

Lux rubbed his leg dramatically.

"I’m explaining macro political structure."

Mira exhaled sharply. "It’s like a sword hanging above your head."

Lux smiled faintly. "Ah, yes. The Sword of Damocles." He took another bite of toast and chewed. "But it’s balanced for now."

Sira looked ready to explode again.

"Balanced."

"Yes."

He swallowed.

"They want me alive."

The room went quiet again.

That was the part that mattered.

They want me alive.

For now.

He didn’t say the last part.

That some of them also wanted him dead.

He didn’t need to.

Naomi watched him closely.

"You’re not scared."

Lux paused.

He felt something flicker inside his chest.

Annoying.

Complicated.

He smiled.

"I am prepared."

Rava leaned forward slightly.

"That wasn’t the question."

Lux looked at them.

All of them.

Angry.

Protective.

Terrified.

Because he almost didn’t walk back into this room.

He inhaled slowly.

"I don’t have the luxury of panic. If I panic, markets spiral, contracts snap, dominoes fall, and both realms implode."

There it was.

Raw.

He softened his tone slightly.

"But I am not careless."

Sira’s aura dimmed just a fraction.

Mira’s dragon presence cooled.

Lullaby finally sipped her tea.

Lux leaned back again, reclaiming posture.

"So."

He gestured casually.

"Please. No city burning. And..." This time, he sipped his tea. "Don’t tie me up to the bed."

Sira glared.

"I wasn’t going to burn the city."

"You were thinking about it."

She didn’t deny it.

Naomi shook her head.

"You’re unbelievable."

He grinned.

"I prefer indispensable."

The tension didn’t disappear.

But it shifted.

Less explosion.

More calculation.

Rava finally took her tea.

"You should have told us."

He nodded.

"Yes. I just did."

Sira blinked. Her stare literally said ’seriously?’

They all stared at him.

Lux shrugged.

"I miscalculated stakeholder communication."

Naomi almost laughed despite herself.

"You are insufferable," Mira huffed, shaking her head.

"And alive."

He lifted his cup slightly and smiled.

They didn’t toast.

But none of them left the table either.

And Lux sat there, smiling, pretending the weight on his shoulders didn’t feel heavier than the crown of Greed itself.