Chapter 864 – Out of Pattern

In the room, Lux was still sitting on the bed.

Naked.

Completely.

Comfortably.

Because... yeah.

His mansion.

His room.

Who exactly was he trying to impress here?

He leaned back slightly, one hand braced behind him, the other resting loosely on his knee.

Lux exhaled slowly.

"System," he murmured. "Status."

The response came instantly.

[Level Up! You are now Level 418!]

[EXP Gained: +??? (Overflow Converted)]

[HP and DP increased significantly due to Sovereign Growth Scaling]

Updated Attributes:

[Name: Lux Vaelthorn]

[Class: Sovereign of Twin Sins]

[Level: 418]

HP: 4,280,000

DP: 1,720,000

Strength: 1,540

Agility: 1,640

Magic Affinity: 1,855

Charisma: 999 (MAX)

[Bonus: +10% Magical Attack]

Lux blinked once.

Then leaned forward slightly.

"Ten levels?" he muttered.

His voice wasn’t loud.

But there was something in it, something between disbelief and quiet amusement.

"That’s crazy."

[Affirmative.]

Lux ran a hand through his hair slowly.

"Explain."

[You successfully elevated her Lust Meter to maximum capacity.]

A beat.

Lux stared at nothing for a second.

Then huffed faintly.

"Yeah. I could see that."

His lips twitched.

"She was lonely," he added under his breath. "So yeah... I guess I loosened her tension a bit."

[Indeed.]

[Your negotiation and cooperation last night were highly efficient.]

Lux’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"That wasn’t transactional."

Silence.

A brief one.

[Outcome remains transactional.]

Lux frowned.

"I said it wasn’t."

[Clarification requested.]

Lux leaned back again, staring at the ceiling this time, fingers still tapping lightly against his knee.

"I didn’t go into that thinking ’yeah, this is a deal,’" he said.

[You initiated contact with a high-value entity.]

[You secured alignment.]

[You created mutual dependency.]

[Conclusion: Transaction.]

Lux let out a quiet, humorless chuckle.

"You’re annoying, you know that?"

[Observation acknowledged.]

[You didn’t even know her and literally just met her at the mountain.]

"Exactly."

A pause.

Then his voice lowered slightly.

"But I kinda understand her."

That line hung there.

Unusual.

Out of pattern.

The system didn’t respond immediately this time.

[Explain.]

Lux exhaled slowly, gaze drifting from the ceiling back down to the room, unfocused for a moment.

"She was alone," he said. "Chained."

His fingers stopped tapping.

Just for a second.

"Left there."

The memory wasn’t vivid.

But it didn’t need to be.

The feeling was enough.

"And me?" he continued quietly.

A faint smirk appeared.

"I was also chained."

[Negative.]

[You were never physically restrained except last time, by your harem.]

Lux snorted.

"Not physically. But mentally."

He leaned forward again, elbows resting on his knees now, gaze sharper.

"To the Greed throne," he said.

A pause.

"I took Dad’s responsibility before I was ready."

His fingers curled slightly.

Not tight.

Just... aware.

"And because I’m Greed, because I handle Hell’s economy..."

He trailed off.

Then laughed softly.

"I didn’t get to feel anything about it."

[You performed within optimal parameters.]

Lux shook his head.

"That’s the point."

Silence.

"Everything I did?" he continued. "Every deal, every meeting, every ’casual’ hangout?"

He made a vague gesture with his hand.

"All of it was networking." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

A faint grin.

"Building connections. Expanding influence."

[Effective.]

"Yeah."

Another pause.

"But it wasn’t real."

That word came out quieter than the rest.

Lux leaned back slightly, shoulders relaxing, but his gaze remained distant.

"Even when the work was done," he said, voice lower now, "when everything was handled..."

A beat.

"...it was just quiet."

The system didn’t interrupt.

Didn’t correct.

Didn’t evaluate.

And somehow...

That made it worse.

"And I couldn’t do anything about it," Lux added. "Because I had to stay professional."

He scoffed faintly.

"Can’t exactly tell Hell’s economy to pause because I feel like taking a break."

[You maintained stability.]

"Yeah."

A pause.

Then softer...

"At the cost of something."

[Undefined variable detected.]

Lux smirked faintly.

"Yeah. No kidding."

He leaned forward again, running both hands through his hair this time, exhaling slowly.

"So when I saw her there," he muttered, more to himself now, "chained, isolated, angry..."

A faint pause.

"I got it."

The system responded.

[Emotional alignment identified.]

Lux snorted.

"Don’t make it sound like a skill."

[It influenced your decisions.]

"Yeah."

Another pause.

[You deviated from optimal transactional behavior.]

Lux smiled slightly.

"Maybe."

[Result: Increased unpredictability.]

"Also increased results."

[...Acknowledged.]

Lux leaned back again, resting against the bed, eyes half-lidded now.

"It wasn’t just about allies," he said quietly.

[Clarify.]

Lux’s lips twitched.

"You wouldn’t get it."

[Attempting comprehension.]

He let out a soft breath, slower this time, like something in his chest loosened just enough to slip out.

"...It felt... less empty."

That was the closest he got to explaining it, at first.

Silence stretched for a second longer than usual. Then his gaze drifted, unfocused, like he wasn’t looking at the room anymore, but somewhere further back. Somewhere quieter.

"Since I knew how it feels," he added, voice softer now, almost absent-minded, "I didn’t want her to stay like that."

[Elaborate.]

Lux exhaled through his nose, faint smile tugging at his lips, not amused, just... aware.

"I wanted to fill that emptiness," he said. "Not with power. Not with control. That’s what Kaelmor does."

A small pause.

"I wanted her to feel... alive again."

His fingers tapped once against the mattress, then stilled.

"To have a place," he continued, gaze sharpening just slightly, "where she doesn’t have to be that ancient being all the time."

Another beat.

"Doesn’t have to be strong."

He huffed quietly.

"Because that’s tiring."

A faint smirk returned, but it didn’t carry his usual edge.

"Trust me. I know."

[Self-reference detected.]

"Yeah," Lux muttered. "Because I was tired too."

His gaze flicked briefly toward the bathroom door.

"But I’m not anymore," he added.

A softer tone.

More grounded.

"I’ve got my women now."

A beat.

"And somehow... I get to be more like myself."

Silence followed.

And for a moment...

The system didn’t respond.

Lux closed his eyes briefly.

Then opened them again.

"Don’t get used to it," he muttered.

[Noted.]

He exhaled again, longer this time, tension easing just slightly from his shoulders.

Because saying it out loud...

Even to a system...

Made it real.

And real things?

They complicated everything.

His gaze shifted toward the bathroom door.

Still closed.

But he could feel it.

Her presence.

Lux smirked faintly.

"...Yeah," he murmured under his breath.

"Definitely not transactional."