Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 179: Episode : A Friend in the Sea

"The Dragons dive from the sky like arrows. Their scales are hard, but their greed is harder. They hunt us for our pearls. And the Tigers... they sit on the rocks and hook us with iron claws. To them, we are just big fish."

Roxy’s hands paused for a fraction of a second. That’s definitely what Zarek and Torian are capable of doing.

So they are truly the predators of this world.

Then what about a Lion?

"I get it," Roxy said softly, resuming the braid. "When I first arrived in this world... Everyone wanted to eat me, too. I spent the first week running from pigs, snakes, wolves, and... well, everything."

Only to mate with a snake and a wolf, bearing children for them.

Oh my little ones...

Roxy silently sniffled.

"You were prey," Nimue stated simply. "It is the way of things. The strong eat the weak."

"Not always," Roxy countered. "Sometimes the weak make garlic butter shrimp, and the strong decide to keep them around."

[Or when they wake up and find out you are heavy with their child, and so they decide to keep you!]

They were not like that!

[That’s because Zarek paved the way for them.]

Nimue let out a low, rumbling chuckle. "Touché, Little Landwalker."

Roxy separated the glossy black hair into three thick sections. She decided on a Crown Braid, something regal that would keep the hair out of Nimue’s face while highlighting her sharp cheekbones.

"So, tell me," Roxy asked, shifting the tone. " If it’s so safe down there, why are you two out here in a cave?"

Nimue sighed. "The Spires are crowded. And loud. The mating season is approaching."

"And that’s bad?" Roxy asked. "I would think a princess like you would have suitors lining up around the block."

"Suitors?" Nimue grimaced. "You imply choice. In the Trench, courtship is... violent. The males are solitary. They are aggressive. They fight for territory, and they fight for females. If a male wins, he claims you. He drags you to his nest and guards you until the eggs are laid. There is no conversation. There is no... cooking."

Roxy shivered. I fucking hope that’s not what Caspian implied by locking me here.

She tilted her head back to look at Roxy upside down.

"It is lonely," Nimue admitted, her voice dropping to a whisper. "To be a prize is not the same as to be a partner."

Roxy felt a pang of genuine sympathy. She looked at this terrifying, beautiful creature and saw the same loneliness she had felt in her old life on Earth, surrounded by people, but unseen.

"It’s different on the surface," Roxy said quietly. "At least, for me."

"Tell me," Nimue demanded, closing her eyes again. "Is that the reason why you want to go back to the surface? Don’t they try to kill you?"

Roxy giggled, "I have five husbands."

Nimue exclaimed in surprise, leaning her head back to look at Roxy as if she were a beast, and Roxy flushed pink.

Was it that bad?

"We only have one mate in our entire life, and you have five?! How did you do it? Don’t they try to kill each other?" Nimue sounded shocked, surprised, and curious like never before.

Roxy was amused and immediately started on her story.

"They try to, sometimes," Roxy giggled, thinking of Torian and Ren’s constant bickering. "But... They work together. Because they love me more than they hate each other."

She wove the braid tighter, securing it with a small strip of leather she had pulled from her inventory.

"Zarek... he’s a Dragon. He’s possessive and loud and arrogant. But he keeps me warm. He flies me above the clouds."

"Those proud and spiteful creatures," Nimue hissed, but mused. "Useful."

"And Torian... he’s a Tiger. He’s huge and scary, but with me, he’s a giant kitten..."

"Babies?" Nimue’s eyes snapped open. "You have a spawn?"

"I have five," Roxy smiled, her heart aching with a sweet sorrow. "Three wolf pups, Axel, Onyx, and Iris. Drax, a young dragon. And my baby girl, Tanith. She’s a basilisk. She has scales like jewels."

"A basilisk daughter..." Nimue murmured, sounding impressed. "Venomous?"

"Very," Roxy grinned. "And then there’s Ren. The Fox. He’s the smart one. He helped with the economic system and trades. And Kaelen... the Wolf. He provided a pack we can all call our own. Syris the Basilisk was once cold but turned into a little puppy by my side."

Nimue fell silent. She stared at the cave floor, processing this information.

"Five males," she whispered. "And they all serve you?"

"They don’t serve me," Roxy corrected gently. "We take care of each other. It’s a pack. A family."

Nimue let out a long, envious sigh.

"I am jealous," the mermaid admitted. "Down here... I am powerful. I am the Princess. But I eat alone. I hunt alone. And I don’t even have a mate."

She looked at her hands, tipping her claws.

"I hope," Nimue said softly, "that somewhere in the black, there is a male who does not just want to bite my neck. One who might... brush my hair just like you do."

Roxy finished the last tuck of the braid. She smoothed down a few flyaway strands with a dab of the conditioner.

"Maybe he’s out there," Roxy said encouragingly. "Or maybe you just need to teach him. Males are trainable, Nimue. You just need the right treats."

She stepped back. "Done."

"Is it?" Nimue reached up, touching the elaborate crown of braids that circled her head. It felt tight, secure, and incredibly neat.

"Don’t touch it yet," Roxy ordered.

She pulled a silver platter from the pile in the corner. She wiped the dust off it and held it up in front of Nimue.

"Look."

Nimue stared.

The reflection that stared back wasn’t the wild, tangled, terrifying monster she was used to seeing in the dark reflections of caves.

The female in the mirror was regal.

Her hair was sleek, glossy, and woven into a coronet that highlighted the sharp, elegant lines of her face. The structure lifted her features, making her neck look longer, her posture prouder. She didn’t look like a scavenger. She looked like a Queen of the Deep.

Nimue gasped. She turned her head left and right, watching the light catch the intricate weaving of the black silk.

"I look..." Nimue faltered, touching her cheek. "I look..."

"You look powerful," Roxy corrected. "And beautiful."

Nimue stared at herself for a long moment. A slow, vain smile spread across her dark blue lips. She sat up straighter, puffing out her chest.

"Yes," she purred. "I do."

She turned to Roxy. The cold, calculating look was gone entirely. In its place was the look of someone who had just found a best friend, or at least, a very valuable asset.

[System Notification: Social Link Established.]

[Target: Nimue (Abyssal Princess).]

[Trust Level: 60% (Friendly).]

[Status: Ally.]

Nimue reached out and took Roxy’s hand. Her grip was still cold, but it wasn’t threatening anymore.

"You are useful, Little Landwalker," Nimue declared, her violet eyes shining. "Caspian was right to keep you. But he is a fool. He treats you like a trinket."

She squeezed Roxy’s hand.

"I grant you my protection. No shark, no crab, and no mermaid will touch you while you are in my brother’s care. If he neglects you, you tell me. I will bite his tail."

Roxy giggled, a sound that was light and innocent, masking the desperate calculation in her brain. She squeezed Nimue’s hand back.

"Thank you, Nimue! That means a lot. My mates would be so happy to know I have a strong friend down here."

She paused, biting her lip, looking down shyly.

"Actually... since we’re friends now... and since you have protection..."

Nimue tilted her head, feeling benevolent in her newfound beauty. "Speak, Little Witch. What do you require? More garlic?"

"Can you do something for me?" Roxy asked softly. "Something secret?"