Chapter 880 – I Process Everything Through Economics
The trap was not ant to kill him.
Not yet.
It was ant to make him spend.
Energy. Attention. Trust. Reputation.
Lux stared at the chart, feeling that cold, electric thrill of strategy aligning.
[Market Volatility: Increasing]
[Royal Stabilization Probability: 61%]
[Opportunity Window: Active]
The glowing lines reflected in his eyes for a second before he flicked his fingers.
The projection vanished.
Silence settled over the room again, not empty silence. Thinking silence. Dangerous silence. The kind that happened right before people either changed history or made incredibly regrettable decisions.
With this group?
Usually both.
Lux leaned back deeper into the couch and looked toward Corvus.
"You said you were going to help find them, right?"
Corvus puffed his feathers proudly. "Correct."
Lux narrowed his eyes slightly. "Do you know how?"
The raven clicked his beak once.
"You put spies on Kaelmor and wait for him to move."
Lux stared at him.
Deadpan.
Pure deadpan.
The kind of stare that said ’I trusted you for three seconds and now I regret it deeply’.
"...You’re kidding."
Corvus tilted his head innocently. "No?"
"I said before we can’t get close to the king yet," Lux replied slowly. "He’s suspicious around him."
Corvus tched dramatically like Lux was the unreasonable one here. "That’s why you don’t spy on him. You spy on the people around him. Servants. Guards. Torturers. Weird priests. Kings always think about the knife pointed at their throat. They rarely think about the person pouring their tea."
That...
Actually made sense.
Lux hated when the bird made sense.
Yue spoke up quietly from beside him.
"Maybe I can help."
Lux turned imdiately.
"Yes?"
"Kaelmor ntioned sothing once. About the light power of the elves."
That pulled everyone’s attention toward Ely almost instantly.
The high elf blinked once.
Yue continued, voice quieter now, mory dragging behind every word.
"He spoke about wanting to experience the light despite being a creature of darkness."
Sira frowned slightly. "That sounds disturbingly poetic for a tyrant."
Lux muttered, "That’s because Kaelmor likes theatrics."
Yue nodded slowly. "He said ancient elves possessed sothing unique. Sothing tied to pure light."
Ely crossed one leg over the other, posture elegant even while processing centuries-old potential trauma.
"I don’t know much about ancient elves," she admitted. "But I’ll try to search the archives."
A pause.
"Don’t expect too much from , though."
Lux tilted his head. "Why?"
Naomi answered before Ely could.
"The Elf-Human War."
Lux blinked once.
"The what?"
Naomi looked mildly horrified.
"You seriously don’t know?"
Lux shrugged. "I handle infernal economics. Mortal history wasn’t exactly my elective."
Ely sighed softly.
"It happened during the Industrial Revolution."
Naomi nodded. "Humans started expanding factories everywhere. More smoke. More waste. More dead forests."
"And elves," Ely continued quietly, "are deeply tied to nature."
Lux already knew where this was going.
"...War."
"War," Ely confird.
The room dimd slightly around her voice, not literally, just emotionally. Even Sira’s usual amusent faded.
"A lot of humans died," Ely said. "A lot of elves too. Cities burned. Sacred forests collapsed. Entire libraries vanished."
Her fingers tightened faintly against her sleeve.
"So histories disappeared with them."
Lux exhaled through his nose.
"...Ugh. War."
Everyone looked at him.
Lux frowned.
"I hate war."
Sira blinked. "You’re a demon."
"Devil," Lux corrected automatically. "And war crashes market stability."
Naomi snorted.
Lux pointed at her imdiately. "I’m serious. Supply chains collapse. Trade routes die. Currency panic spreads. Emotional instability affects spending behavior. It’s exhausting."
Rava humd thoughtfully. "You really process global tragedy through economics."
Lux looked offended. "I process everything through economics. I’m a Greed."
"That’s sohow worse."
"Thank you."
Ely smiled despite herself.
"So yeah," she said softly. "I’ll search what I can."
Lux waved one hand lazily. "Don’t pressure yourself."
And he ant it.
That surprised him slightly.
A month ago, he probably would’ve calculated usefulness first. Efficiency first. But now?
Looking at Ely’s expression...
At the subtle tension in her shoulders...
He found himself caring more about not reopening old wounds than getting information faster.
That realization sat strangely in his chest.
Warm.
Annoying.
Dangerously human.
Before changing the subject entirely, he pointed at Corvus and Zehar. "Both of you. Start monitoring Kaelmor’s subordinates. Quietly. Servants, logistics, lower wardens, ritual staff. Anyone moving strangely."
Corvus froze for half a second.
Then slowly grinned.
"Ha."
Lux already regretted this.
"Now you agree with my thod," Corvus said smugly, puffing his feathers.
Lux deadpanned. "Don’t make revoke your coffee privileges."
Corvus looked deeply pleased with himself anyway. "You mocked the bird. But the bird was right."
Zehar wobbled proudly. "Espionage through beverage workers. Excellent strategy."
Lux sighed dramatically.
"...I hate that both of you are becoming competent together."
Corvus preened imdiately.
Zehar puffed up like proud pudding royalty.
The worst part? Lux genuinely ant it. Separately, they were manageable disasters. Together? They were evolving into a coordinated problem with caffeine dependency.
Sira watched them with open amusent. "You’ve accidentally built your own little shadow intelligence agency."
Naomi pointed toward the raven and sli. "No, worse. He built coworkers."
Lux grimaced like she’d cursed him.
"That is deeply offensive."
The room laughed softly, tension loosening again. The heavy strategy talk, the stock charts, Kaelmor, ancient prisoners, it all drifted back just enough for breathing room.
Honestly?
Weirdly nice.
"So," he said. "Since this is Sunday..."
Everyone looked at him cautiously.
That alone offended Lux a little.
"Should we have a party? A welco party for Yue."
Silence.
Then Yue blinked once.
"...I can’t go anywhere."
Lux turned toward her imdiately. "I know."
His tone softened without him noticing it.
"We’re having the party here."
Yue paused.
Lux gestured vaguely around the mansion. "Big house. Strong wards. Endless coffee supply. Emotional support couches. It’s basically designed for bad decisions and social gatherings."
Naomi nodded solemnly. "Mostly bad decisions."
"And," Lux continued, "we can invite so friends over."
Then Sira physically recoiled.
"Ugh," she groaned dramatically. "Like the goddesses?"
Lux imdiately pointed at her.
"Okay, not that one."
Because yeah.
That previous gathering with celestial politics, suspicious angels, divine tension, and emotional disasters?
Absolute nightmare.
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