Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 147: Episode : Roxy Goes into Labor!

After Ren left with that, he settled somewhere in the ironwood forest.

Inside an opulent tent Ren had erected near the edge of the clearing, the air smelled of medicinal herbs and burning sage.

Ren sat on a velvet cushion, his silk robes pooled around him. He had one sleeve rolled up.

His arm, usually pale and flawless, was marred. Black, spiderweb-like veins were crawling up from his wrist, pulsing with a faint, necrotic rhythm.

"It is spreading, my King," a hushed voice said.

Kaito, Ren’s shadow advisor and head guard, knelt before him, applying a cooling poultice to the blackened skin.

Kaito’s face was hidden behind a fox mask, but his eyes were filled with desperate worry.

"You know you should not have come here," Kaito whispered, wrapping the arm in clean linen. " The cold of the North weakens you. The proximity to the Dragon’s fire drains your spirit."

"I know," Ren replied, his voice lacking its usual thrill anymore. He sounded tired. "But Kaito... did you see her?"

"I saw a human vessel," Kaito said bluntly. "Pregnant. Sharp-tongued. Surrounded by monsters."

"I saw a light," Ren corrected, staring at the flickering lamp flame. "A light so bright it makes the shadows retreat. She outsmarted me, Kaito. Me! The King of Foxes."

He chuckled, a dry, rattling sound.

"I want to stay. I want to spend what time I have left with her. I want to see what she builds."

Kaito stiffened. "My King... you cannot mean to pursue her. You cannot join her harem. That is a death sentence. The Dragon will incinerate you. The Tiger will shred you. And your body... You cannot perform the duties of a mate."

Ren pulled his arm back, adjusting his sleeve to hide the rot. He stood up, snapping his fan open. The mask of the arrogant King slid back into place.

"It is the last of my days, old friend," Ren said, a reckless glint in his violet eyes. "What is so wrong with taking risks? If I am to burn out, I would rather do it chasing the sun than rotting in a dark burrow."

Kaito lowered his head, knowing he could not win this argument. "As you command. But I will keep the carriage ready for your corpse."

The next morning, Ren began his campaign.

He claimed he was staying to "oversee the trade transition" and ensure the Stupidity Tax was paid in full installments. In reality, he was there to figure out the anomaly that was Roxy.

He found her on the porch, wrapped in furs, trying to teach the triplets how to count using pinecones.

"Three pinecones plus two pinecones equals?" Roxy asked.

"Food!" Axel shouted, trying to eat one.

"Five," Drax answered from the railing, not looking up from his whittling.

"Correct, Drax," Roxy sighed, wrestling the pinecone from Axel’s mouth.

Ren came into view carrying a box. As if that’s the only thing he could.

"Mathematics is the language of the universe," Ren mused, taking a seat on the railing near her. "Though it seems your wolf-spawn prefers the language of food."

"He’s a growing boy," Roxy defended, wiping sap off her hands. "What do you want, Ren? More contracts?"

"Just conversation," Ren smiled. He placed the box on the table. "And to share a history lesson."

He opened the box. Inside was a swatch of silk so fine it looked like clouds.

"You asked about a lot of things," Ren said, touching the fabric. "You found it strange that a beast tribe possesses such refinement."

"It is strange," Roxy admitted. "Most tribes here are not exposed to such things."

"We didn’t always," Ren revealed, his eyes distant. "Three hundred years ago, the Foxes were scavengers. We lived in holes. Then... She came."

Roxy stilled. "She?"

"A female," Ren said softly. "Like you. She had no fur, no claws. She was found wandering the Forests, and then my ancestor took her in."

Roxy’s heart hammered. Another transmigrator?

"She taught us to spin the worm’s thread," Ren continued. "She taught us to press reeds into paper. She taught us the symbols for sound. She changed us from scavengers to scholars."

"What happened to her?" Roxy asked, leaning forward.

"She died of old age," Ren said. "She was cherished. We called her The Weaver. But she never had magic. That is the one thing she could not give us."

"Magic?" Roxy blinked. "I thought no one in the beast world had magic."

He leaned in, shaking his head, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"The Mer people in the deep oceans... they sing storms into existence. They can heal wounds with water. And the Foxes..."

Ren lifted a finger. A small, violet butterfly made of light materialized on the tip. It fluttered its wings, shedding glowing dust, then burst into tiny stars.

"...we wield Illusion. We can make you see what your heart desires. Or what your mind fears."

Roxy stared at the spot where the butterfly had been.

[System Notification: World Lore Unlocked.]

[Magic System: Confirmed.]

[Note: Previous User ’The Weaver’ detected in historical logs.]

"So I’m not the first," Roxy whispered.

"No," Ren said, looking at her with intensity. "But you are the first to cure thousands of tribes of something even the Weaver never seemed to notice. The Weaver was a teacher. You... you are a ruler."

Roxy stared at Ren, and he stared back at her.

A charged moment that held their breath in the air until....

Torian marched onto the porch, followed by two struggling wolves carrying a massive wooden crate.

"Put it there!" Torian barked. "Careful!"

He looked at Ren with a sneer. "Still here, Fox? Don’t you have a hole to hide in?"

"I am educating your mate," Ren replied coolly. "Something she desperately needs, given who she sleeps with."

Torian ignored him, turning to Roxy with a beaming smile. "Roxy! My love! I have brought you a gift for the nesting!"

He ripped the lid off the crate.

Inside was a crib. But not just a crib. It was a monstrosity of solid gold. The bars were thick gold rods. The headboard was encrusted with rubies. It looked heavy enough to crush a floorboard and bright enough to blind an infant.

"Behold!" Torian declared. "The Golden Slumber! That reptile will sleep like a god!"

Roxy stared at it. "It’s... very shiny, Rian. But isn’t cold metal a bit uncomfortable for a baby?"

"I have lined it with tiger fur!" Torian assured her.

Ren let out a snort of derision. "How cute. A golden cage. How very... Tiger."

Torian bristled. "And what have you brought, Peacock? Another fan?"

Ren smirked. He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small, unassuming object wrapped in velvet. He handed it to Roxy.

She unwrapped it. It was a mobile to hang over a crib. But it wasn’t made of wood or gold. It was made of crystals that rotated on their own without wind. As they spun, they projected soft, moving images of running deer and flying birds onto the ceiling.

"Enchanted Dream-Glass," Ren explained casually. "It soothes the mind and ensures no nightmares can touch the child. It also plays a melody recorded by the Mermaid Queens."

Soft, underwater music began to emanate from the crystals.

Roxy’s eyes went wide. "Oh, wow. This is... magical."

Torian’s face turned purple.

"It’s breakable." Torian spat out in rage and jealousy.

"It is unbreakable," Ren countered smoothly. "Unlike your ego."

And so, the war began.

For the next three days, the Iron-Wood cabin became a storage facility for the most expensive, ridiculous items in the Beast World.

Torian bought a bathtub carved from a single emerald.

Ren countered with a self-heating bathing pool infused with lavender essence, just behind their cabin.

Torian bought five hundred bolts of red silk.

Ren bought a cloak woven from the wool of sheep that made the wearer weightless.

The living room was packed. Kaelen had to climb over crates of jewels just to get to the kitchen. Zarek threatened to burn everything if he tripped one more time.

Roxy sat in the middle of it all, overwhelmed but, she had to admit, secretly loving it.

She was eating chocolate made by Syris, while wearing the cloak gifted by Ren, watching two Kings fight over who loved her unborn baby more.

"It’s too much," Roxy laughed, watching Torian try to shove a life-sized gold statue of a Tiger into the corner. "Where are we going to put the actual baby?"

"We will build a new wing!" Torian shouted.

"A glass wing," Ren argued, leaning against the doorframe. "To let the light in."

"You have no say in the architecture, Fox!" Torian snarled, dropping the statue with a heavy thud. "You are a guest! A temporary nuisance!"

"I am the only one with taste!" Ren shot back.

Roxy shook her head, smiling as she reached for her tea.

Until she felt something pop inside. A wet sound. And her back arched.

Roxy froze, her hand hovering over the teacup.

A sudden gush of warm fluid soaked the cushion beneath her, followed instantly by a contraction that felt like a giant hand had reached inside her body and squeezed her spine.

"Gah!" Roxy gasped, the cup shattering on the floor.

The argument stopped instantly.

Torian froze, holding the golden statue. Ren froze, his fan halfway to his face.

They both looked at Roxy. They looked at the puddle forming under the daybed, and the color drained from their faces.

Roxy gripped the armrest, her knuckles turning white, her face draining of color as the pain rolled over her in a suffocating wave.

Oh shit! She knew she shouldn’t have eaten those damn chocolates!

"Uh," Roxy wheezed, looking up at the two terrified Kings. "Stop fighting."

She doubled over, letting out a low, guttural groan.

"The baby... It’s coming. Now."