Chapter 1147: Vacation Status: Cancelled [Part 1]

Chapter 1147 – Vacation Status: Cancelled [Part 1]

The next morning, Lux opened his eyes.

Not because of the sunshine.

There was sunshine, certainly. It spilled through the curtains in beautiful golden ribbons, illuminating the expensive furniture and the spectacular consequences of allowing several powerful demonesses to treat his bedroom as a communal sleeping arrangement.

But sunshine had absolutely nothing to do with his awakening.

There were three reasons.

First, his internal clock.

A reliable little bastard that apparently considered sleeping past seven a personal betrayal.

Second, something furry was sitting on his face.

And third...

[EMERGENCY WARNING]

[Five critical announcements have been received from the Hell Finance Department.]

[One emergency announcement has been received from the Seven Sin Houses.]

[One urgent message has been received from High Custodian Celestaria.]

[Your vacation status has been updated.]

[Cancelled.]

Lux remained perfectly still.

Something soft brushed his nose.

A tail.

He opened one eye.

Fur.

He opened the other.

More fur.

Wonderful.

He had survived ancient gods, royal assassins, dimensional infiltration, and an exceptionally enthusiastic night with the first demon.

And now he was being suffocated by a cat.

"Runa, your current location is interfering with executive operations."

"Meow."

"That’s not a counterargument."

The cat shifted.

Her tail swept across his mouth.

Lux carefully lifted Runa off his face and deposited her on the pillow.

She blinked at him.

Then immediately curled into a ball.

No apology.

No remorse.

Absolutely no respect for the hierarchy.

He sat up.

And discovered that his bed had become a remarkably successful demonstration of inter-house cooperation.

Sira slept on his left, one arm draped over his waist. Her dark hair spilled across his pillow, and her expression was unusually peaceful.

Gula occupied his right side, hugging a cushion with the possessive determination of someone protecting the last dessert in existence.

Lullaby lay diagonally across the foot of the bed.

Naturally.

Because sleeping in a conventional direction would have required effort.

Lux looked at them.

Last night.

Runa had spent hours identifying the locations she remembered from Kaelmor’s map. Corvus and Zehar had added their surveillance findings, while Rava compared the information against Greed’s intelligence network.

By the time they finished, it had been well past midnight.

Sira had suggested that Lux needed rest.

Gula had agreed.

Lullaby had already fallen asleep against him.

And Runa had apparently decided his face was premium real estate.

Lux rubbed his eyes. "System. Open the reports."

[Before coffee?]

Lux froze.

Oh, that was cruel.

He glanced toward the bedside table.

No coffee.

Only water.

The universe was testing him.

[Your decision-making capacity may be impaired by severe caffeine deprivation.]

"Then stop making me think."

[An ambitious request, given your career.]

Lux swung his hand.

Dozens of translucent screens unfolded around the bed.

Five financial alerts occupied the center.

A royal emergency announcement flashed beside them.

And above everything hovered a sealed message bearing the insignia of the Upper Realm.

Lux stared. "Wonderful."

The first financial report opened.

[Hell Finance Department: Critical Incident 01]

[Unauthorized attempts to access the inter-house settlement network.]

[Origin: Multiple royal administrative terminals.]

Lux’s expression sharpened. "Attempts?"

[Four hundred and seventeen.]

"Successful?"

[Zero.]

Good.

At least someone in Hell was doing their job.

Unfortunately, that someone appeared to be him.

He opened the second report.

[Critical Incident 02]

[Attempted alteration of Greed House transaction histories.]

[Unauthorized entries rejected.]

[Original records preserved.]

[Royal auditors have requested access to the system’s historical correction privileges.]

Lux laughed.

Quietly.

Dangerously.

"Oh, that’s adorable."

Sira stirred beside him. "Mmm... what’s adorable?"

"Someone is trying to rewrite my books."

Her eyes opened.

The sleepy softness vanished. "Who?"

"Guess."

"Kaelmor?"

"Congratulations. You’ve won a lifetime subscription to disappointment."

She sat up, glanced at the floating screens, and sighed. "It’s too early for treason."

"Apparently not."

Lux opened the third report.

[Critical Incident 03]

[Attempted suspension of inter-house payment channels.]

[Royal authorization rejected.]

[Reason: Insufficient contractual authority.]

Lux smiled. His father might have designed the greed empire.

But Lux had built the financial infrastructure.

And he had not spent years creating a system that allowed an angry monarch to press a button and bankrupt everyone who annoyed him.

That would have been terrible engineering.

And worse accounting.

The fourth report appeared.

[Critical Incident 04]

[Multiple requests to expose confidential House financial reserves.]

[Requests denied.]

[Greed House legal division has submitted formal objections.]

[Lord Zavros has initiated counter-audit proceedings.]

Lux’s smile widened. "That’s my father."

[Lord Zavros has additionally requested a complete record of the royal auditors’ expense accounts.]

Lux blinked.

Then laughed.

Oh, Father.

Beautiful.

Vindictive.

Professionally magnificent.

"Did he find anything?"

[Preliminary discrepancies detected.]

"Of course he did."

The fifth report opened.

[Critical Incident 05]

[Coordinated attempt to compromise the Hell Finance System’s administrative authority.]

[Multiple access keys presented.]

[All invalid.]

[One key was accompanied by a forged authorization bearing your signature.]

Lux stopped smiling. He leaned forward. "Show me."

A document expanded before him.

His name appeared at the bottom.

Lux Vaelthorn.

His title.

His seal.

Even the ornamental flourish he occasionally used when signing documents for people he particularly disliked.

He studied it.

Then tilted his head.

"Hmm. They got the flourish wrong."

[Indeed.]

"The third stroke is too long."

[An unforgivable artistic failure.]

"And the authorization date is a day when I was attending an Upper Realm meeting."

[The forger appears to have neglected your calendar.]

Lux’s smile returned.

"Archive it. Preserve every access attempt, originating terminal, and authentication failure. Send copies to Father and the House legal teams."

[Executing.]

"Then isolate the compromised administrative channels without interrupting legitimate payments."

[Executing.]

"And flag any royal official attempting to use that forged authorization again."

[Would you prefer a discreet notification?]

Lux considered it. "No. A very embarrassing one."

[Understood. Public authentication failure notices will be issued to the relevant administrators.]

Excellent.

Nothing discouraged financial crime quite like having your incompetence professionally documented.

A soft rustle came from the bed.

Gula opened one eye. "Are we being attacked?"

"Financially."

She closed her eye.

"Wake me when they attack with food."

"Someone tried to steal my signature."

Her eyes opened again. "Oh. So we’re killing people?"

"Not before breakfast."

"Fine."