Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

Chapter 954 – Predictable Pattern

Lux stared at her.

Yue gave him an elegant look. ”I am merely observing a predictable pattern.”

Sira grinned. ”Ancient dragon wisdom.”

Lullaby, eyes half-closed, nodded. ”Mm. Soon.”

Lux sighed. ”Oh dear...”

Gula pouted. ”Rude.”

Lux looked at her. ”What part?”

”All of it.” She stabbed another dessert with her fork. ”Gluttony doesn’t just assess someone from abs and d*ck size, you know.”

The table went silent for one second.

Then Fiera covered her mouth.

Naomi’s brows lifted.

Rava coughed softly into her napkin.

Sira looked like she had received divine revelation.

Lux stared at Gula.

Gula blinked. ”What?”

Lux said slowly, ”You understand that sentence did not help your case.”

Gula frowned. ”I was defending my dignity.”

”You set it on fire.”

Mira smirked. ”At least she is honest.”

Ely’s cheeks had turned faintly pink, but she still tried to help. ”Maybe she meant Gluttony assesses... more than appearance.”

”Yes,” Gula said quickly. ”That.”

Lux gave her a flat look.

Gula took another bite. ”Mostly.”

Sira leaned into Lux’s shoulder. ”She’s adorable.”

”She threatened to maybe eat me earlier.”

”That’s also adorable.”

Naomi folded her hands beneath her chin. ”So why are you truly here, Gula?”

That changed the air.

Not heavily.

But enough.

Gula chewed, swallowed, then smiled a little less brightly. ”Because Hell is hungry.”

Lux’s gaze sharpened.

Gula continued, ”When a realm becomes unstable, every house starts eating differently. Pride eats attention. Greed eats opportunity. Lust eats affection. Sloth eats distance. Envy eats comparison. Wrath eats silence before violence.”

She lifted her fork. ”And Gluttony eats signs.”

Lux leaned back slightly. ”That sounds like something your father taught you.”

Gula smiled. ”He teaches between meals.”

Fiera tilted her head. ”And what signs do you see?”

Gula looked at Lux. ”Everyone is orbiting him.”

The table quieted.

Gula pointed casually with her fork, as if discussing cake. ”Some because they love him. Some because they need him. Some because they want to use him. Some because they’re afraid of what happens if they don’t stand near him when the king moves.”

Lux’s fingers tapped once against the table.

Naomi looked at him.

Rava too.

Sira’s expression softened just a little.

Gula smiled again, softer now. ”So I’m here because of Lullaby. But I’m watching him.”

Lux said nothing.

Gula’s gaze dipped briefly to his open collar.

Then she added, ”For political reasons.”

Fiera burst out laughing.

Sira nearly fell into Lux.

Lux looked at the ceiling. ”I am surrounded by criminals.”

Yue sipped tea. ”You collected them.”

”I did not collect Gula.”

Gula smiled. ”Not yet.”

Ely finally set down her glass. ”Speaking of Kaelmor...”

The table shifted.

Not abruptly.

But the air tightened.

That name had weight. It did not ruin dinner, exactly, but it made the warm candlelight feel slightly sharper around the edges.

Lux looked at Ely.

Her high-elf grace was still there, soft and composed, but beneath it sat concern. Real concern. The kind she had carried since she sent the ancient book to the mansion.

”Did the book help you?” Ely asked. ”Did it give you a hint or two?”

Lux leaned back in his chair. ”A lot.”

Ely’s eyes widened slightly.

”But not enough,” he added.

Sira reached for her wine. ”That book is rude.”

Yue nodded once. ”Sealed.”

Fiera’s ears twitched. ”Sealed how?”

Lux tapped one finger on the table, and a small dark-gold system window opened near his hand.

[Ancient Elven Manuscript]

[Status: Partially Awakened]

[Accessible Memory Layer: Origin Sequence]

[Restricted Memory Layer: Debt Collection Sequence]

[Primary Barrier: Unknown Archive Seal]

[Possible Unlock Conditions: Bloodline / Song Key / Memory Resonance / Authority Recognition]

Naomi read it carefully.

Rava’s expression turned serious.

Mira narrowed her eyes. ”Debt collection sequence?”

Lux’s mouth curved without humor. ”Yeah. Lovely phrase.”

Ely leaned forward slightly. ”What did it show?”

Lux glanced at Yue.

Yue gave a slight nod, allowing him to summarize. ”The book showed the origin of the first elves. Or at least one version of it. Forests, song, memory crystals, first civilization. Then a catastrophe. Fire. Volcano eruption. Their civilization was almost wiped out.”

Ely’s face paled a little.

Lux continued, ”A shadow helped them survive. That shadow carried a sigil connected to Kaelmor’s bloodline. Not his current royal sigil. Older.”

Mira’s eyes sharpened.

Rava’s fingers tightened around her fork.

Ely whispered, ”Kaelmor’s bloodline was there?”

”Yes.”

Lux’s expression remained calm, but his eyes were cold. ”The strongest first elf promised to repay the debt one day.”

The silence that followed was heavy.

Not everyone at that table understood contracts like demons did.

But they understood enough.

Sira exhaled through her nose. ”One sentence. One careless sentence.”

Lux nodded. ”One expensive sentence.”

Ely’s brows drew together. ”And you think that promise is how Kaelmor trapped her?”

”I think it was the foundation.”

Lux lifted his glass, but did not drink. ”The book didn’t show where she is. That’s the problem. It gave us origin, connection, and motive. Then it locked itself before the important part.”

Ely stared at him for a second.

Then blinked.

”Wait...”

Lux looked at her.

”You guys could read it?”

Sira lifted one finger. ”Correction. We tried to read it and failed with dignity.”

Lux gave her a side glance. ”With partial dignity.”

Sira ignored him. ”Yue helped.”

Ely looked toward Yue.

Yue set down her tea. ”I did not read it fully. I awakened a memory layer through ancient draconic resonance. The book responded, but only enough to show what it wanted to show.”

Ely absorbed that slowly. ”None in my family could do that.”

”That is likely because it was not meant to be read normally,” Yue said. ”It is not a book in the ordinary sense. It is a record. A sealed memory.”

Gula swallowed a bite of cake. ”That sounds chewy.”

Everyone looked at her.

She blinked.

”What? Metaphor.”

Lux sighed. ”Please do not chew the ancient book.”

”I wasn’t planning to.”

Lux returned his attention to Ely. ”And maybe you can help us, Ely.”

Ely straightened. ”How?”

Lux’s gaze softened slightly.

Not much.

Just enough that Naomi noticed. Rava too.

”With your blood.”