The Tycoon's Ledger hovered above the mahogany desk, projecting a holographic map of the four billion dimensions that currently made up the Pantheon Group's portfolio.
Seraphina stood by the roaring fireplace, rapidly scrolling through data on her silver clipboard. She looked unusually stressed.
"Principal Thorne," Seraphina adjusted her glasses, her dark business attire pristine but her violet eyes tired. "The Q4 administrative overhead is catastrophic. We are currently managing local goblin disputes in Dimension 12, repairing magical infrastructure in Dimension 8,000, and handling HR complaints from the Reaper division in the Underworld. Our middle management is buckling under the sheer scale of the multiverse."
Victor Thorne took a slow sip of his black coffee. "Micromanagement is the death of scalability, Seraphina."
Princess Ignis, standing guard by the towering glass windows, crossed her arms. "So what do we do? Let the local gods rule themselves again?"
"Heavens, no," Victor pulled his gold pocket watch from his midnight-blue suit. "If we let them rule themselves, they stop paying us. But if we rule them directly, we bear the operational liability. We need to shift the risk back to the consumer."
Victor slashed his gold-nibbed pen across the Ledger.
"Seraphina, draft a Master Franchise Agreement," Victor ordered, his Tycoon's Aura projecting pure, unadulterated capitalist efficiency. "Effective immediately, the Pantheon Group is decentralizing. We are converting all four billion dimensions into independently operated franchise locations."
Elara, standing near the bookshelves, blinked in confusion. "You're giving the dimensions back to their original gods?"
"I am licensing our brand to them," Victor corrected his Growth Partner smoothly. "Under the franchise model, the local deities are responsible for all infrastructure maintenance, all monster spawning, and all HR disputes. They bear one hundred percent of the operational risk."
"And what do we get?" Ignis asked, a wicked grin spreading across her demonic face.
"We get thirty percent of their gross multiversal GDP," Victor checked his Rolex. "Paid directly into our offshore holding company in the Shattered Void. We provide the Pantheon Tokens, the SaaS infrastructure, and the branding. They do all the grueling administrative labor, and we extract a passive royalty from the comfort of this office."
Victor smiled a cold, calculating smile.
"I am no longer a Principal, and I am no longer a King. I am the Chairman of the Board. Let the franchisees deal with the heroes."