Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

Chapter 49 – I Feel Awful

He froze.

Turned his head slowly.

And there she was.

Rava Bluewave.

Poised. Elegant. Slightly flushed.

Her high heels clicked once against the wet pavement.

Lux blinked.

”...You’ve got to be kidding me.”

His coat was half-burned. He smelled like ash and broken promises.

And now she shows up?

Rava stepped closer. Her gaze scanned him up and down.

”You look awful,” she said softly.

”I feel awful.”

She tilted her head.

”Still... something about you right now is... different.”

Lux groaned.

”Please don’t say hot.”

She smirked.

”I was going to say real.”

He blinked.

And for the first time that morning—

He didn’t have a comeback.

Only a tired, bloodstained grin.

”...You picked a terrible time to flirt.”

Rava didn’t laugh. Not really.

She just tilted her head. The heels of her boots clicked gently as she stepped closer, the expensive kind that didn’t belong in dirty alleys or near bleeding men with fractured ribs.

Her nose crinkled slightly. Her eyes now caught Lux’s blood. ”What happened to you? Did you get robbed?”

Lux let out a low breath. His eyes, half-lidded and glowing faintly with residual power, flicked to her.

”No.” He paused, shifted weight from one leg to the other. Pain flared down his spine like lightning through wet wire. ”I just... need to get back to my room.”

Rava blinked, confused for only a second before her expression shifted. ”You need to go to a hospital.”

”No hospital,” he said quickly. Too quickly. ”Just...”His jaw clenched.

Rava stepped closer, frowning.

Lux looked away.

He was about to say it. Almost.

’Just leave me alone.’

Push her away. Deflect. Cut the connection before it hurts. He was good at that, especially in times like this. He’d perfected it over a century. In Hell, it was easier to be alone. Safer. Cleaner. No expectations. No consequences when someone vanished.

But... he remembered the last time.

A demonic healer.

He’d offered to help. To stay.

And Lux, being Lux, had waved him off, because of stress and his abandonment trauma.

An hour later, his legs were broken.

His ribs? Crushed by a berserker debt-wraith who’d sucker-punched him in the middle of a negotiation.

He crawled out of that underworld vault with one hand and a healing potion made from melted tax collectors. It was awful.

[You need her help, sir.]

Lux exhaled through his teeth.

”I need a rest,” he finally muttered.

Rava didn’t look convinced. ”Just rest?”

He nodded weakly. ”And a car. Or a nice motorcycle. I was... on my way to buy one or two before I got... this.”

She stepped beside him without another word, her perfume clean—like sea salt and dusk. Her fingers curled around his arm.

”Come on,” she said softly. ”We’re going to my mansion. My car’s nearby.”

He blinked. ”Your parents?”

She didn’t miss a beat. ”My mansion.” She gave him a sideways look. ”I’m a Kraken. Not a human. I got my freedom and financial clearance at eighteen. I own five properties. I can bring a dozen bleeding men home without asking for permission.”

Lux laughed.

Then winced because it hurt.

Rava’s grip on his arm tightened instinctively, steadying him as they began walking. He didn’t lean in at first. But after a few uneven steps, he gave up the tough guy act and let some of his weight shift onto her.

His breathing was slow. Measured. Like someone walking across a cracked bridge and praying it didn’t snap.

”Y’know,” he said, his voice low, ”you’re a lot less annoying than I expected. I thought all you ever thought about was money.”

”Gee, thanks.”

”I’ll pretend that was romantic.”

They reached the edge of the alley, and there it was—her car.

Correction, her beast of a car.

Sleek. Ocean-blue. Glass curves that shimmered like fish scales in motion. It was a custom Kraken-made roadster, smooth as sin and illegal in three countries due to ”unstable speed optimization.”

Lux stared at it.

”Get in,” she said dryly.

With effort—more than he’d admit—Lux slid into the passenger seat. The leather was cold. Smooth. It hugged his battered frame like an expensive coffin. The door shut with a soft click.

Rava got in beside him, tapping her keyless ignition rune, and the car purred to life. As they pulled away from the curb, she muttered, ”Try not to bleed on my upholstery.”

”No promises,” Lux said, wincing slightly. ”I’m ninety percent internal injuries and regret right now.”

The driver, an older man with a clean-cut appearance, glanced at Lux through the rearview mirror, his face frozen in shock. His eyes flicked from Rava to Lux, confusion settling in.

”Uh... Miss Rava,” he started hesitantly, still staring at Lux. ”I, uh... didn’t expect a... guest?”

Rava shot him a quick look, a little smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. ”You’re not paid to ask questions, just to drive,” she replied casually, before turning her attention back to the road.

The driver swallowed, nodding in nervous silence as they sped through the city.

Lux leaned his head back, letting his eyes drift shut. The city outside blurred into neon streaks, the soft growl of the engine accompanying the steady hum of the car. The pain was still there, gnawing at his insides, but for the moment, he welcomed the quiet, letting the world pass by, even as it seemed to hold its breath.

But something else had settled under it.

Warmth.

Not physical. Not demonic. Just... presence.

Someone not running away.

Someone bringing him somewhere.

The car turned down a private road. High-end sensors beeped gently. A gate slid open. Up ahead, a cliffside mansion loomed—modern, minimalist, glowing faintly with enchanted sea glass and mana-laced water channels that flowed through the architecture.

As they pulled into the underground garage, Rava turned to him.

”Can you walk?”

”Nope,” Lux said, his head thudding against the seat. ”But I’ll try anyway.”

He forced the door open.

His legs burned.

His side screamed.

He staggered, nearly folded—until Rava caught him again, slipped under his arm like it was the most normal thing in the world.