CHAPTER 549: CHAPTER 549 - GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER STAGE (PART 2)

I can see the fear starting to show in Zak’s eyes as if he is already imagining himself in that difficult situation. He must be feeling double or even triple of the worry or fear that I felt earlier when I realized that I may be putting his life in danger when that time comes. I honestly told him that I am not sure yet but I will ask my father who is the master of the room of beginnings about it. I also assured him that I will do everything in my power to keep him and the future kits safe.

After he calmed down a bit, I told Zak that if the situation really calls to put his safety above all, he may have to opt to use the second option even if he did not want to. I told him that it is not only the kits that we should be thinking about but also his. I also addressed the other two about the possibility of doing the same for them.

Zak’s eyes widened then his face showed some sadness all of a sudden but he nodded his head eventually in understanding. For some reason, he also blushed furiously and looked down shyly after that.

The same sadness was seen from Voss and Oran since they shared the same number of possible offspring with Zak. Even the others showed different levels of nervousness, fear and also a tinge of excitement of the possibility of having more children in one birth which is deemed as a miracle and a blessing for these races.

Once the murmurs of fear and doubts have died down a bit, I finally decided to answer Lir’s question by nonchalantly saying, "I have 3 children who are already born, twins from the first husband and 1 deified child. As for the ones on the way, I have a total of 23."

My statement elicited a couple of gasps, widened eyes and agape mouths from the crowd. These were the reactions I was expecting and also was happy about.

While they are still recovering from the surprise, I added, "This goes to show that I am serious about having a lot of children. I am also confident in providing sustenance for all of them as I have several business that I run to earn money. As I said, I won’t be vying for a huge family if I can’t support it financially."

The men around the table were looking at each other as if they were checking if everybody is still up for what is up ahead. I observed all their movements quietly to see if there are any who would be backing out at the end of this meeting. I really don’t mind if some people do since I am not forcing anyone anyways.

I gave them a couple of minutes on their own but gave a little push that if they don’t want to continue with the setup I presented, they can leave the room within the next 5 minutes. During those 5 minutes, I finally received a response from my obviously very excited father by the tone of his voice in my mind alone.

Instead of answering my questions immediately, he bombarded me with his own questions instead which is very like him by the way. He sounded like a gossipy neighbor who is very excited to share some juicy news to someone else.

He started asking if I am finally taking in beastmen husbands (he doesn’t use the "vessel" term anymore because I dislike it) and what tribe I am interested in approaching first. He then started telling me that rabbits and sheep are really cute and adorable, clearly asking me to consider those two tribes first. I guess got my fondness for such from this father of mine who likes cute and fluffy things too.

I passively answered him that I am indeed considering taking in beastmen husbands next but I did not tell him which tribe am I taking in first. I had to force him to refocus and answer my question immediately since I need that information so I can start convincing certain men to have babies with me.

He excitedly answer, "Yes.Yes. Yes. Sure!" He then started explaining that with my high fertility, it will not necessarily double the number of offspring for beastmen husbands but instead it ensures the maximum number of offspring instead. He said that the only exception are for those that only give birth to one offspring since they will surely have twins like the ones I usually have.

Once I have the answers, I looked around just in time for the five minutes to be over. I waited patiently for the time to pass and surprisingly, nobody left the room until the time was up.

Since they have made up their minds, I smiled sweetly and declared, "I have received the information I need from my father. He said that due to my abilities, you can expect to have the maximum number of offsprings per birth depending on your tribe. The challenge would be for the cow and horse tribes. I think you need to prepare yourselves to have twins. Any questions?"

After looking around the room, none of the men have any more questions. I noticed though that a few particular men started to look worried instead. They were the ones whose race usually have only one offspring, Gyan (cow tribe), Corin (house tribe) and the three merfolks, Marius, Lir and Levi. They are bound to have twins for sure.

We continued talking about the similarities and differences between how the beastmen tribe have their pregnancies compared to that to humans and Eieneans alike. I had another shocking discovery and that is, beastmen babies are born in their animals forms with the exception of Merfolks who give birth to human-like children which will then have the ability to transform their legs into tails and fins. The baby animals will then be able to change into their human forms once they are strong enough which should be about 100 days from the time they were born.

During this time, the fathers will focus all of their time in taking care of the children which is the reason why the mortality rate of fathers and their children are low. It is very rare that a female stays to take care of the pregnant beastman and their children so the man has to take care of everything. Weakened by pregnancy, childbirth and fatigue from hunting for food constantly, without help from others, they would surely die even before reaching the 100 day period.

Sometimes, it was a matter of making a choice. If the father chose to take care of the children until they reach 100 days, the father would surely die. If the father chose to hunt and find food for his little family, he would risk that the children will be killed by non-sentient wild animals without anyone guarding them in his absence. It was a painful decision where no one is happy in the end.

I guess the tribes with the "community mentality" was in a sense better since the survival rate of the children are higher with the whole tribe trying to help out. For the more independent tribes where the man is left to fend for himself once he has a family, the situation was quite hopeless.

I tried to take note and absorb all of the information and stories they gave during the meeting. In the end, I told them that I won’t be consummating the union just yet but I just wanted to make sure that we are all in the same page first and no one is being forced into the relationship.

I also told everybody that eventually, they will move to the new world tree realm with the other races. As for my husbands, there is a dedicated place where they can stay with my other husbands but they still have a choice if they want to stay with their tribe instead.

Avis raised his hand and asked, "Is it possible to stay in that place in the evenings but in the morning, we want to be with the tribe to help with work and so that the children can grow up with the guidance of the elders and other tribesmen. I... I’m not requesting or anything. I am just asking if it can be possible?"

I nodded at Avis and asked everyone if there are others that are thinking of the same. Most of the herbivores and omnivores agreed to be having the same thoughts with Avis while the carnivores simply asked if they can go out once in a while to teach the children how to hunt. It is understandable that each tribe have their own priorities and preferences.

I furrowed my brows as if I was making a hard decision and they all seemed to be staring at me nervously. When the room was silent that only our breaths can be heard I chuckled and said, "Of course, we can arrange that. Why are you all such scaredy cats?"