Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 136: Episode : How to Trade with Others?

"No!" Roxy shouted, waving her hands. "No, you don’t eat the money! You use the money to buy food!"

The large wolf warrior froze. His jaw was clamped shut. His eyes widened slightly. He stayed like that for a second, then slowly, painfully, opened his mouth.

A single gold coin fell out, landing in his palm. It now sported a distinct, V-shaped dent near the edge.

Roxy face-palmed.

[What do you expect from a beast?]

I expected something better.

The warrior rubbed his jaw and grimaced. "It’s not tasty. It tastes like... rock."

"Because it is a rock! Sort of!" Roxy shouted, half-laughing and half-horrified. "You don’t eat the money, Gunn! You eat what the money buys!"

Gunn pouted, not liking the fact that she was laughing at him.

She approached the warrior, and took the dented coin from his hand, and held it up for the crowd to see.

"Look at this," Roxy announced. "Gunn just tried to eat it. But it didn’t break. If this were a loaf of bread, it would be crumbs. If it were meat, it would be gone. But this coin survived."

She turned to Kaelen, who was watching with amusement.

"Kae," Roxy said loudly. "Do you have that dagger? The steel one you sharpened this morning?"

"I do," Kaelen stepped forward, pulling a gleaming hunting knife from his belt.

"I want that knife," Roxy declared. "But I don’t have a deer to trade, nor do I have wood. But I only have this coin."

She held the coin out to Kaelen.

"Will you accept this Coin in exchange for the knife?"

Kaelen played along perfectly. He nodded solemnly. "I know this coin is gold. I know Torian the Tiger King values it. I know I can take this coin to the storehouse later and buy ingredients and fur for my mate. So, yes. I accept."

Kaelen took the coin. Roxy took the knife.

She held the knife up triumphantly.

"See?" Roxy shouted to the crowd. "I didn’t carry a cow on my back. I carried a tiny piece of metal. And now I have a knife. That is the magic. It is a placeholder for a value."

A murmur went through the crowd. The gears were turning. And they could somewhat understand what Roxy was hinting at; they were not that dumb, if they could survive this far as one of the high-tier beasts.

"But how do we get the shiny?" a female wolf asked from the front, bouncing a pup on her hip.

"Simple!" Roxy pointed to the empty table beside the booth. "That is the intake station. You bring your furs, your herbs, your extra meat. We appraise it. We pay you in coins. Then..."

She pointed to the main booth, where the fruit tarts and warm bread rolls were displayed.

"...you come here. And you buy what you want."

Oh my god, I was having so much.

Roxy’s heart was pumping with adrenaline every time she had to explain the concept of money in this world.

She picked up a fruit tart. The smell of custard and sweet berries wafted over the crowd.

"One tart," Roxy announced. "Three gold coins."

The smell hit the wolves. Their noses twitched. They were used to raw meat and dried rations. The idea of sweet, baked pastry was intoxicating.

"I have a fox pelt!" a young wolf shouted, running forward. "Fresh! Winter fur!"

"Bring it!" Roxy waved him over.

At first, one by one, they came, but more continued to pour in, and the money exchange started.

Torian managed the Intake Station. He inspected pelts with a critical eye, weighing dried herbs on a scale, and handing out the shiny new coins from the crates.

"Good quality pelt," Torian would say, sliding four gold coins across the table. "Next."

The wolves stared at the coins in their hands with awe. Then, they turned to the Sales Booth. Remembering every word that Roxy had told them.

Kaelen and Roxy managed the sales.

Roxy began to think maybe she could teach them how to negotiate and deal, but that would be too much stress on her head.

"One tart, coming up," Roxy smiled, taking a coin from the young wolf. She handed him the pastry.

He took a bite. His eyes rolled back in his head. "Sweet..."

"See?" Roxy grinned. "Now go enjoy!"

The energy in the square shifted from confusion to excitement. It was a festival atmosphere. Wolves were running back to their huts to grab spare hides, baskets of berries, or carved wood, anything to trade for the shiny tokens so they could buy the exotic goods the Luna was selling.

Some people decided not to sell the goods but just kept the coins in case there were resources to buy.

As the line grew, Roxy began to feel the strain. Her back ached from standing, and the cold was seeping through her boots despite the fur socks.

Zarek appeared behind her and simply placed a padded chair behind her knees and gently pressed her down.

"You are doing too much," the Dragon King murmured, his hand resting on her shoulder. Heat radiated from his palm, soaking into her tense muscles, melting the ache instantly. "Let Kaelen handle the transactions. You just supervise."

"I’m okay, Z," Roxy leaned back into his touch, sighing with relief. "I am just excited that it’s working."

"Of course it is working," Syris said, appearing on her other side. He adjusted the blanket over her legs. "You have introduced a system that no one has ever done, with a scary logic that we don’t understand..."

Syris picked up a ledger and began noting down the transactions. "We are accumulating a significant surplus of raw materials, Roxy. The storehouse will be full by sunset."

"Good," Roxy murmured, watching her pack thrive. "That builds our reserves for the Mansion."

While the commerce boomed, another kind of crowd was forming near the strollers.

The triplets and Drax were celebrities.

The wolf mothers, having made their trades, gravitated toward the Pups. They cooed and ahhed over the strollers, marveling at how different each child was. They made many faces that made the triplets laugh.

"Look at the little male," an older female wolf whispered, pointing at Onyx. "His eyes are like the bright blue sea. He will be a heartbreaker."

"And his brother," another mother chimed in, waving at Axel. "Look at those paws! He’s going to be huge. A true Alpha like his father."

Axel, loving the attention, grabbed his own toes and babbled. "Big!"

"And the little princess," Mara said softly, looking at Iris.

Iris was currently holding court. She was sitting up, waving her pink-mittened hand at Hati, the wolf pup who refused to leave her side, with the mother watching.

So they don’t topple over each other.

"She is so delicate," a mother noted. "But she has the Luna’s spirit. Look how she looks at us. No fear."

"She is beautiful," another agreed. "The Moon Goddess has blessed this pack."

Roxy watched from her chair, her heart swelling with pride. It wasn’t just about the money. It was about how they accepted her. Her children, hybrids, strange and unique, were being embraced by the pack. They weren’t monsters here.

They were her future.

"They love them," Zarek observed quietly, his hand still massaging Roxy’s neck. "The pack is bonding with them."

"They’re good kids," Roxy smiled sleepily. "Loud. Messy. But good."

The afternoon wore on. The pile of goods in the intake pile grew into a mountain. The crates of coins Torian held grew lighter, dispersing wealth throughout the village.

As the sun began to dip, the rush finally slowed down.

The wolves stood around in small groups, comparing their coins, eating their tarts, and looking generally pleased with this discovery and teachings.

Roxy stood up, stretching her back. Zarek immediately offered his arm for support.

"We did well," Roxy said, looking at the empty tray where the tarts had been. "We sold everything."

"We revolutionized the local economy," Torian corrected, walking over and dusting off his hands. "I have acquired enough high-grade furs to trade with the Dragons for steel. The profit margin is excellent."

"Always the merchant," Roxy teased, poking his chest.

Suddenly, an elderly wolf stepped forward. It was Elder Varon, the oldest member of the pack. He leaned on a gnarled staff, his eyes sharp despite his age. He held a single gold coin in his hand, flipping it over and over.

"Luna," Varon started, his voice raspy but commanding respect. Roxy’s eyes crinkled with warmth as she quickly helped the elder so he wouldn’t fall off his staff.

When he steadied, the elder went ahead to ask. "This..." Varon held up the coin. "This is clever. It makes trade easy. It makes the young ones eager to work."

"Thank you, Elder," Roxy dipped her head respectfully.

"But," Varon continued, his gaze drifting toward the dense forest that surrounded their valley. "We are but one tribe. We trade with ourselves. But what about the Foxes? What about the Bears in the north? What about the Cats in the citadel?"

He looked at Roxy intently.

"If we go to the Bear Tribe with this gold disc, will they give us honey? Or will they laugh and say it is just a rock?"

Roxy stiffened. That was the hurdle. Currency only worked if everyone believed in it. Right now, it was Iron-Wood money. Outside these borders, it was just pretty metal.

"They won’t take it," Torian admitted, frowning. "Not yet. They don’t know its value."

"Then the wealth is trapped here," Varon pointed out. "We become rich in coins, but poor in trade with others."

He stepped closer, his old eyes gleaming with a challenge that mirrored Roxy’s own ambition.

"If this is truly the future, Luna... if this is to make us Kings of the trade..."

He pointed the coin at her.

"How do we get this innovation across the other tribes? How do we make the Bears, the Foxes, and even the haughty Lions bow to the Coin?"