Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation-Chapter 573: Always Tired

Chapter 573 – Always Tired

The hologram faded in sparkly pink dust, like even his exit had afterglow.

"Okay," Lux muttered, dragging a hand down his face. "So much for an interruption."

He exhaled through his nose, adjusted his posture, and went right back to work, swiping, tapping, summoning new LustNet screens in synchronized arrays. The emerald-green of Greed still flickered under the pink overlays, casting faint mint and rose hues over the dark stone walls like someone tried to decorate a goth mansion with Valentine’s Day lights.

His fingers moved fast again. Focused. Mechanical.

[Report: Trade Surges Realm 9 to Realm 14 – Spike in aphrodisiac flower circulation]

[Report: Dreamscape Leak Incident – Overlap of LustNet and Sloth realm database]

[Security Flag: Unauthorized Contract Duplication Attempt – Traced to Zoltarin linked nodes]

Lux paused at the last one.

His eyes narrowed.

Then he dove in deeper.

He ran trace routes, checked relay links, cross-referenced with market inflation spikes. Click. Scroll. Swipe. Swipe. Analyze. Swipe again. His lips pursed like he found something mildly disappointing, but not surprising.

"So that’s why Zoltarin wanted access," he muttered.

From behind him, the others were still lounging in their respective seats like backup dancers waiting for the plot to swing back their way.

Lux barely noticed.

Because now he saw the patterns. The trade loopholes. The corrupt nodes and duplicate pleasure contracts. Zoltarin hadn’t wanted LustNet for some emotional perversion. He wanted to weaponize it. Turn it into a cross-realm manipulation tool. Emotional resonance control. Addictive desire link chains. Make other factions dependent on LustNet’s low-tier contract bindings and then buy out the backend through third-party vaults.

A full system takeover via seduction economy.

"Of course he would," Lux muttered, tapping another screen and locking a few contracts for review. "Disgusting. Brilliant. Disgustingly brilliant."

And despite himself... he was relieved.

Not about Zoltarin.

No, he wanted that bastard erased from every family tree and soul registry.

But at least the Network was still guarded by Asmo himself. A demon with charm, yes. Lust incarnate, obviously. But also... old. Powerful. Experienced.

And slightly more responsible than Eros. Which wasn’t saying much. A dying cactus had more self-control than Eros. But still.

Lux sighed and muttered, "I forgot to tell grandpa about Zoltarin."

He hesitated for a second.

Then shrugged.

"Guess I’ll just email him."

He casually flicked a screen to the side, summoned a new one, and typed a fast message.

Subject: Deep LustNet Trigger

Zoltarin’s targeting LustNet.

Do not trust any automated pulse signatures.

Regards,

Your half blood incubus grandson.

Then he hit Send.

The pink screen chimed.

And he went back to digging through the system like a caffeinated stock broker with a fetish for charts.

Sira, still seated with Lullaby curled up in her lap like a sleepy kitten, leaned toward Ely and whispered, "Don’t worry. This is normal."

Ely blinked. "Is it? I mean... this is the first time I’ve seen Lux like this."

"You mean the hyper focused demon mode?"

Ely nodded. "He hasn’t even looked up in ten minutes."

Sira smirked and gently stroked Lullaby’s hair. "Yeah. He’s like this when he’s really working. Wait until he starts talking to himself."

"I thought he was."

"No. That’s the quiet muttering phase. The real show is when he starts arguing with the system."

As if on cue...

"Why is there a foot fetish trade loop on the same ledger as the political seduction contracts? Who the hell merged these entries?!"

Lux barked at the air like it owed him rent. Then furiously opened another screen.

Sira smiled. "Told you."

Ely looked both amazed and horrified. "Are all his family like this?"

Sira chuckled. "Depends which house you’re talking about. If you mean Lust... yeah. All of them are beautiful. Handsome. Way too good with their tongues. Emotionally chaotic. Perfect for sweet talking you into an orgasm and a ten year contract you didn’t mean to sign."

Ely blinked. "And Greed?"

Sira nodded slowly. "Greed is money. All money. Every word is an investment. Every action is a calculation. Every friendship is a stock they monitor for loss or gain. Lux grew up in that house. So even though he’s a half incubus, he acts more like Greed than Lust."

Ely frowned thoughtfully, watching Lux as he scowled at a chart.

"Then... is all Greed like that?" she asked. "Like Lux?"

Sira’s gaze shifted.

Softened.

"There’s only a few noble Greed demons left in hell," she said. "The royals. Right now it’s just Zavros, his dad, Lux... and Zoltarin, his uncle. The one trying to kill him."

Ely looked stunned. "That’s it?"

Sira nodded. "Greed is the sin of wanting everything. Like... literally. Every piece. Every power. Every asset. Every desire. And demons of Greed act based on profit and loss. The weak ones? They do their job. Fill a ledger. Stay low. Their sin exists, but it doesn’t burn inside them. They can survive without being consumed."

"But the strong ones..."

Sira’s eyes turned distant.

"Strong Greed demons are rare. And terrifying. Their sin is so overwhelming it eats them. They want more than they can take. They have no boundaries. They rewrite laws. Topple markets. Then they die. Killed by rivals. Executed. Or... like Zoltarin, they lose their damn minds and try to enslave an entire economic network and take over the Hell’s throne."

Ely’s brows knit. "But... Lux is different."

Sira nodded. "He is."

"Why?"

"Because he knows his limit," Sira said. "He’s ambitious. But he doesn’t trespass. He values peace. Balance. Maybe because of his Lust blood. Maybe because of his mother. Or maybe just because he saw what happens when you go too far. It’s what makes him different. What makes him strong."

"But he looks so calm..."

"That’s the trap," Sira whispered. "Inside? He’s always calculating. Always hungry. But never lets it control him."

Ely was quiet for a moment.

Then softly asked, "Is that why he’s always so tired?"

Sira didn’t answer right away.

She just looked at Lux.

At the way he sat, surrounded by a sea of glowing data, back straight, jaw clenched, eyes flicking like a predator who hunted information instead of flesh. His fingers moved constantly, like they didn’t know how to rest. Even his posture was defensive, like relaxing might break something.