Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 204: Episode 203: Let’s Do This

Roxy was dumbfounded.

Back on Earth, the most romantic thing a guy had ever said to her was that she "looked cool" in a hoodie.

Yet here, at the bottom of the ocean, a man with gills and a tail who had known her for less than a month was pledging his eternal soul to her with the eloquence of a Shakespearean poet.

Why? Roxy thought, her mind reeling. Why are the beasts better at this than humans? Why is a shark-man sweeping me off my feet?

She looked at his face. He wasn’t lying. His golden eyes were wide, open, and terrifyingly sincere. He saw something in her, some strength, some light, that she didn’t even know she possessed.

"You..." Roxy stammered, gripping his hand tighter. "You really have a way with words, Caspian."

Caspian smiled, a soft, boyish expression that made him look less like a King and more like the man she had saved from the Kraken.

"Words are cheap, my Pearl," he whispered, raising her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles, right over the new band of living white coral that encircled her finger. "I shall prove them with a lifetime of service."

The crowd cheered again. The jellyfish pulsed. The ceremony was over.

Hand in webbed hand, the new King and Queen of the Deep swam away from the altar.

***

The swim back to the Pearl Wing was a blur of bowing guards and tossing flower petals. Roxy didn’t register any of it. Her mind was a chaotic storm of panic and guilt.

I am married, she thought hysterically. I am married to a fish. Fuck.

They reached the pearl room. The heavy doors swung shut, sealing them inside.

It was just the two of them.

Roxy floated near the wardrobe. She felt cornered. She knew what came next. The Rite wasn’t finished until the "seed was planted."

She braced herself. If they were going to do it, let him just go ahead. Instead, Caspian did something that broke her heart a little more.

He bowed.

He lowered his powerful body and extended one hand toward her, palm up, trembling slightly.

"My Queen," Caspian spoke to the floor, his voice thick with reverence. He paused, then looked up. His eyes were fierce, but gentle.

"I do not wish to take you because of a law," Caspian said softly. "I do not wish to claim you because the Moon is high. I wish to be received. I wish for you to choose me, as I have chosen you."

He waited.

"If you are not ready... if your heart is still on the surface... say the word. I will sleep at the door. I will tell my mother the lie. I will take her wrath so you can sleep in peace."

Roxy stared at him.

He was offering to die for her. Again. If Nerissa found out they hadn’t consummated the marriage, she would see it as a rejection of the bloodline.

He is too good, Roxy thought. I can’t let him die.

But she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t resign herself to this life. If she slept with him, if she really became his Queen, she was accepting that she would never see the sun again.

She would never see Tanith’s first steps. She would never hear the triplets laugh.

I have to say no, Roxy decided, her chest tightening. I have to find another way. I have to escape.

"Caspian," Roxy whispered, stepping back. "I... I can’t."

[Ding!]

A massive blue window materialized in front of Roxy, blocking her view of the kneeling King.

[SYSTEM ALERT: MAIN QUEST UPDATE]

Roxy groaned internally. Not now. Please, not now.

[Quest: The Path Home]

Roxy froze.

[Objective Analysis:]

[User is currently located in the Abyssal Zone (Depth: 12,000m). The Spires are surrounded by a Mana-Barrier and a perimeter of SS-Tier Leviathans. Physical escape is impossible (Survival Rate: 0%).]

[Solution Identified: The "Gate of Tides" is an ancient teleportation array located in the Royal Vault. It is the only safe transport to the Surface World.]

Roxy’s heart leaped. [Constraint: The Gate of Tides is locked. It requires a specific genetic key to activate.]

[Requirement: Obtain the Royal Key.]

[Method: The Key is generated by the gestation of a Royal Heir. A child born of Land and Sea (Hybrid) is the only biological signature capable of unlocking the ancient seal.]

Her blood ran cold. Then hot. Then cold again.

"Are you kidding me?" she hissed at the screen.

[Reward for Completion: Full Access to the Surface World (Gate Activation).]

[2. 100,000,000 LP.]

One hundred million points.

It was a staggering amount. Enough to buy anything in the shop.

But the cost...

’A baby?’ Roxy raged internally, her fists clenching at her sides. ’Another baby?!’

What is wrong with this world?! she screamed in her head. Why does every single male in this dimension have a fertility issue? First the Dragon was dying out. Then the Fox needed a mate. Then the Wolf pack was barren. And now the Fish?!

What is the issue here? There are thousands of mermaids outside! Why me? Why do I have to be the universal broodmare for the Beast World?

[Unknown. Mer-folk fertility rates have dropped by 90% in the last century due to Mana Stagnation. Your genetic code acts as a Universal Catalyst. You are the fix.]

"I am not a fix!" Roxy shouted, forgetting that Caspian was watching her pace about, in confusion. "I am a person! I am tired of being pregnant!"

She looked at the reward again.

Access to the Surface World.

That was it. That was the only line that mattered.

If she didn’t do this, she was trapped here forever. She would be a pet in a fish tank, aging and dying while her children on the surface wondered why she never came home.

If she did this... she could go home. She could take the baby and go.

She looked at the number again. 100,000,000 LP.

[Quest Acceptance Required to Proceed.]

Roxy closed her eyes. She had to go home. No matter the cost.

And if the cost was giving this beautiful, devoted, lonely King an heir... well, there were worse fates.

She accepted the quest.

Caspian was still kneeling on the floor, his head bowed, waiting for her rejection. He looked so resigned. He expected her to say no.

Roxy let out a long, shaky sigh. The anger drained out of her, replaced by a heavy, pragmatic resolve. She swam down to him.

She hovered right in front of him, her pink tail brushing against the sand.

"Caspian," she said softly.

He flinched, preparing for the blow. He didn’t look up. "I understand, my Queen. I will take the floor. You take the bed."

"Stand up," Roxy commanded.

Caspian froze. Slowly, hesitantly, he lifted his head. His golden eyes met hers, filled with confusion and a flicker of painful hope.

He uncoiled his tail and rose to his full height, towering over her. He looked at her with such fragility that it made her chest ache.

Roxy reached out. She placed her hand on the cold, hard armor of his chest, feeling the frantic rhythm of his three hearts beating beneath the pearl.

She cared for him. And she needed him. "We don’t need to lie to your mother," Roxy said, her voice steady.

Caspian blinked. "Roxy?"

She looked at the clam bed, then back at him. She gave him a small, tired, but genuine smile.

"Fine, Caspian," she whispered, pulling him gently by the armor. "Show me how we are going to do this."