Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 236: Episode 235: What’s your plan?

The red coral table was filled to the brim.

At this point, it felt like the gods had spoiled Roxy rotten and she was happy, for the first time since she entered these waters, she could feel her happiness.

Roxy sat before it, her eyes wide, glistening not with tears of grief, but with the sheer, unadulterated lust for carbohydrates.

Floating in front of her were five distinct, translucent bubbles. Inside each sphere, the laws of hydrodynamics had been suspended. There was no seawater, only the warm, dry, aromatic air of a surface kitchen.

Inside Bubble One: A whole braised chicken, skin glistening with soy glaze, steam trapped inside the sphere.

Inside Bubble Two: A massive porcelain bowl of spicy miso ramen, the noodles springy, the pork belly thick, the soft-boiled egg trembling perfectly.

Inside Bubble Three: A buffalo steak, seared to a perfect medium-rare, topped with a melting pat of garlic herb butter.

Inside Bubble Four: Creamy, rich mushroom soup with croutons that were actually crunchy.

Inside Bubble Five: A bottle of dark, velvety Cabernet Sauvignon and a crystal goblet.

"Thank you, Universe," Roxy whispered, practically vibrating.

She looked to her right.

She had modified the royal crib, tilting the shell and lifting the legs so it acted more like a high-tech stroller. Zale was strapped in securely with silk ribbons, his tiny head propped up on a velvet pillow so he could watch his mother.

He blinked his mismatched eyes at the glowing food bubbles, letting out a soft, confused gurgle.

"Watch and learn, Zale," Roxy told him solemnly. "This is what real food looks like. Mama is going to devour them all!"

She reached into the first bubble, the magic allowing her hands to pass through but keeping the water out, and tore a drumstick off the chicken, gladly for her when she took it out of the bubble, it didn’t mess with the water and went immediately into her mouth.

She took a bite.

The flavor exploded in her mouth. Salt. Sugar. Fat. Umami. The skin crunched before melting away.

"Oh... my... god," Roxy groaned, her head falling back, eyes rolling into her skull. "Mmmmph. Yes. Yes!"

She didn’t bother with manners. She ate like a woman who had been denied joy for months. She moved to the steak next, slicing a piece off and shoving it into her mouth. The garlic butter hit her tongue, and she almost wept.

"This is it," she moaned, chewing blissfully. "This is what I fucking needed. The moment I get back to the Manor, I am making a vat of this. A bathtub of garlic butter. Kaelen will lose his mind."

She grabbed the ramen bowl, slurping the noodles with a noise that would have horrified the Royal Court.

[You are eating like a starved pig.]

Roxy paused, a noodle hanging from her lip. She glared at the blue window.

"Excuse me?" she snapped, swallowing the noodle. "I just pushed a literal human-fish hybrid out of my body. My hips feel like they’ve been pried apart with a crowbar. I have breastfed a future King. I have managed a political coup."

She took a swig of the wine, the dry, tannic liquid washing down the richness of the pork.

"Try being a mother of six kids," Roxy huffed, counting on her fingers. "Axel, Onyx, Drax, Tanith, Iris, and now Zale. Six! Six mouths to feed, six hearts to worry about. You try doing that and tell me you wouldn’t eat a buffalo steak with your bare hands."

The System paused, the text cursor blinking.

[You are just a glutton.]

"Damn right," Roxy muttered, diving back into the mushroom soup.

Zale kicked his legs in the stroller, letting out a happy squeal at the sight of his mother devouring a crouton.

"You want some?" Roxy cooed, waving a spoon at him. "Sorry, little prince. Milk only for you. But one day... one day I’ll make you the best steak in the world."

Just as she was polishing off the last of the chicken wings, the nursery doors creaked open.

Roxy didn’t stop chewing. She just turned her head.

Caspian floated in. He had clearly just come from the Healer’s Bay; fresh bandages were wrapped tightly around his midsection. He looked exhausted, and stopped dead when he saw the table.

His golden eyes went wide. He stared at the glowing bubbles, the bones piled on the coral plate, and the half-empty bottle of wine.

"Roxy?" he asked, his voice bewildered. "What... what is this magic? Smells similar to your cook but isn’t."

Clearly it wasm’t, can’t afford that for a gift right now.

Roxy chuckled, wiping grease off her chin with a napkin the God had thoughtfully provided.

"Dinner," she announced, waving him over. "Come here, Caspian. You look like you’re about to pass out."

"But..." Caspian swam closer, eyeing the steak bubble warily. "Where did you get surface meat? How is it dry?..."

"Don’t ask questions," Roxy said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him down to the coral bench beside her. "Just accept the blessing. You lost a lot of blood fighting that Leviathan. You need iron. Eat."

She pushed the remaining half of the buffalo steak toward him.

Caspian hesitated. He reached into the bubble. He took a piece of the steak.

He put it in his mouth.

Roxy watched him closely.

Caspian chewed. His eyes widened. The rich, savory flavor of the beef, combined with the sharp tang of the garlic and the smoke of the sear, hit his palate like a revelation.

"Oh," he breathed.

He didn’t say anything else. He just ate. The King of the Deep, usually so poised, devoured the rest of the steak in three bites.

"Good?" Roxy asked, grinning.

"Incredible," Caspian admitted, licking a drop of butter from his thumb. "It tastes... heavy. But in a good way. Like it anchors the soul."

"Here," Roxy handed him the wine goblet. "Wash it down. It’s grape wine."

Caspian took the goblet. He sniffed it, fruit, oak, alcohol. He took a sip. His face relaxed instantly. The tension in his jaw unspooled.

"Sweet," he murmured. "And deep. It warms the blood."

They sat there for a while, sharing the remnants of the feast. Roxy finished the ramen broth while Caspian decimated the rest of the chicken. It was a strange, a picnic at the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by magic bubbles, with their newborn son watching from his stroller.

Zale had fallen asleep again, lulled by the rhythmic chewing sounds of his parents.

Caspian wiped his mouth, looking more human, more alive than he had in weeks. The food had put color back in his cheeks.

He turned to Roxy. He looked at the empty plates, then at the sleeping baby, and finally at her.

The contentment in his eyes began to fade, and then he reached out and took her hand. His grip was warm now, fueled by the surface food.

"You possess magic I still do not understand," Caspian said quietly. "To conjure a feast from nothing... to protect it from the sea..."

"I have my tricks," Roxy said lightly, Caspian didn’t smile. He squeezed her hand.

"Tell me," Caspian asked, "Now that the child is here... what is your plan next?"