After answering Hwa-eun’s question, I firmed my resolve.

The Silver Fish spirit beast.

That bastard—I'd catch it no matter what and make it take responsibility.

Wasn’t it because of that thing’s venom that I ended up completely trapped, forced to take both Gun Hye-rin and the princess as my wives?

So, in return for spending my whole life with those two women, that damn thing should also spend its whole life with me.

Otherwise, this resentment would never be appeased.

Because of that thing, this So-ryong might end up with a shortened lifespan.

From lack of yang energy.

Of course, they said once I gather all Ten Poison Beasts and reach Life-and-Death Enlightenment, my energy would overflow, so the yang deficiency issue would also be resolved.

Since Life-and-Death Enlightenment is a realm where one can freely use the energy of nature itself, if I’m lacking, I could just draw from nature’s energy however I please—or so I heard.

But until then, I had to be extremely careful.

Yohwa, Hwa-eun, Gun Hye-rin, the princess.

Two in Flower Realm, and one at the Peak of Transcendence.

And now a spirit beast on top of that.

My yang energy capacity was hanging by a thread.

'That bastard—I will definitely catch it and hold it accountable! Because of that damn thing, I got stuck with no way out and ended up with the princess and Gun Hye-rin as my wives! My yang energy is obviously going to be permanently drained now!'

'They say if your yang is too weak, you could die early... Dammit.'

'But then again, being “stuck” also has a bit of a... weird connotation... No, no, not like that.'

As I mulled over various thoughts, the part about being “stuck” suddenly made me flinch.

But shaking off unnecessary thoughts, I quickly called out to Yohwa.

‘Yohwa, where are you?’

To lure out the Silver Fish, I needed fabric spun from Yohwa’s thread—and for that, I needed her permission.

I needed silk made from Yohwa’s threads.

Of course, I wasn’t asking her to make me new fabric.

What I needed now was one of my old garments.

Clothing Yohwa had made for me long ago.

Since Yohwa had gifted it to me, if I used it as bait and it ended up getting eaten away, I wanted her permission just in case.

If I used it without asking, she’d definitely be hurt.

And the reason I wasn’t using freshly made fabric but my already worn clothing as bait was due to the silverfish’s dietary habits. You might think silverfish would prefer fresh new fabric—but actually, they don’t.

Silverfish prefer older textiles over freshly made ones.

That’s because they thrive in environments rich in moisture and organic decomposition—places where fibers or paper have aged and started breaking down, which boosts their carbohydrate and protein content.

Old cloth or paper, as it decomposes and accumulates grime, becomes richer in proteins, sugars, mold, dead skin cells—all sources of nutrition. The surface also softens, making it easier for silverfish to consume.

Soon, Yohwa’s voice echoed in my mind.

—Kish. 『Yes, Brother. I’m here with Mama.』

‘Mama?’

‘Yes.’

Hearing Yohwa say she was with Mama, I turned to Hwa-eun, who was still deep in conversation with Gun Hye-rin and the princess.

I asked her directly.

“Did you come here with Mama, by any chance?”

“Oh right, I forgot to mention. Yes, So-ryong. I came with Mother. Oh, Princess, you should greet her too. And Lady Gun as well—you’re part of the family now, so you should formally greet her.”

As I suspected, Hwa-eun confirmed it, and said they’d introduce the princess and Gun Hye-rin to Mama directly.

“I see.”

“Your mother? From the Beast Palace?”

The princess tilted her head as she asked about my mother.

It seemed she hadn’t interacted with Mama yet, likely because Mama rarely used the group chat and never responded since the princess joined.

Too chaotic, she said?

Just then, the kids who had vanished toward the doorway returned—with Mama.

—Tschrrp. 『Kyaruruk. Grandma, so then, about Dad and...』

My adorable charm machine Hyang was clinging to Mama, apparently telling her a fun story. Mama’s antennae curled in delight.

“Mamang. No, Mama.”

I rushed over and hugged her tight. Mama licked my cheek and said:

[Hmph. So-ryong, you’ve lost weight again, haven’t you?]

A martial artist at the Flower Realm doesn’t slim down just because he doesn’t eat for a few days, nor gain weight just because he eats well.

The body only takes in as much as it needs, and if there’s not enough, it doesn’t draw energy from muscles or such.

A martial artist just uses internal energy when needed.

So Mama saying I’d lost weight was just her impression.

I waved my hand firmly.

“No, no, Mama. I haven’t lost any weight.”

[No, I’m pretty sure you have...]

I already knew where this conversation was heading, which is why I cut her off with a serious face. And at that moment, Hwa-eun stepped in to introduce the others.

“Mother, this is the one who’s become So-ryong’s wife—Lady Gun, as you know. And this is the Princess.”

'Nice assist.'

Hwa-eun cutting in at just the right time.

Gun Hye-rin bowed first with a composed demeanor.

“I greet you formally. I’ve decided to be So-ryong’s mate, so I ask for your blessing.”

“This spirit beast—no, this spirit being—wait, uh... is this really So-ryong’s mother?”

“Yes.”

“N-Nice to meet you. M-Mother.”

Gun Hye-rin already knew Mama and greeted her naturally, but the princess—seeing Mama’s massive wasp form for the first time—was clearly flustered.

Well, Mama is quite unique.

'What, you’ll have to get used to it. Becoming my wife isn’t that easy, you know?'

While the princess stood frozen, Mama walked over with heavy steps.

She gently tapped Gun Hye-rin’s head with her antennae, seemingly pleased, then tilted her head and stared at the princess before muttering:

[Didn’t humans say that many females gather around an outstanding male?

But this one is a “princess”? Don’t all human females give birth? Even so-called princesses don’t look particularly suited for bearing young.]

Hearing the word princess, Mama must’ve imagined a bee princess.

In bees, only queens reproduce, so Mama seemed to assume a princess was someone who’d give birth exceptionally well.

“Haha... ‘Princess’ is just a status. It means she’s the daughter of the highest-ranking person among humans.”

[Ah, I see.]

When I explained what a princess was while laughing, Mama nodded.

Hearing that, the princess seemed curious about what Mama had said.

“What did Mother say that prompted that explanation, So-ryong?”

“Oh, it was nothing major. You see, for bees and hornets, a ‘princess’ usually refers to the next queen. Only queens lay eggs and continue the line.

So when I introduced you as a princess, she asked if you were some kind of human female particularly good at bearing children. I just clarified the misunderstanding.”

Just as I finished explaining—

The princess suddenly shouted.

“W-What are you talking about! So-ryong, Mother is right! I—I’m a princess, so I can give you babies—no, offspring—especially well!”

The princess began insisting that she could bear my children exceptionally well.

'Uh... We haven’t exactly tested that yet, have we?'

***

As soon as the princess declared she could bear children well, Gun Hye-rin also jumped in and shouted that she could too.

“M-Master, I... I’m confident too!”

“Mother! Hwa-eun’s confident too!”

Even Hwa-eun couldn’t be left out, and just like that, the atmosphere turned completely chaotic.

'No, that’s something that needs effort on this side to see results, you know? All three of you, calm down.'

In the end, Mama gave all three of them a motherly blessing, telling them to try their best—and that was how the conversation wrapped up.

Just then, Yohwa came over and asked why I had called her earlier.

—Kishit. 『Brother, by the way... why did you call Yohwa?』

The matter I’d meant to discuss had gotten delayed thanks to Gun Hye-rin and the princess’s introductions.

I walked over and patted Yohwa’s head as I spoke.

“Oh, it’s nothing complicated. I think we’ll need bait to catch the Silver Fish spirit beast. And for that, I might have to use one of the clothes you made for me as bait.

So I wanted to ask your permission.”

—Kishishi. 『One of the clothes I made for you? Uh... could the clothes get damaged?』

“Yeah. So, um...”

As I made my request, Yohwa hesitated briefly before replying.

—Kishit. 『The red thread was made with yang energy, so it was tough for me to spin... Couldn’t I just make you a new one instead?』

I flinched in shock at Yohwa’s words.

So the more durable, tougher threads Yohwa spun were actually made using yang energy?

That meant... if the fabric melted away, making it again would require yang energy.

My yang energy.

“Then... l-let’s go with white thread instead.”

—Kishii. 『Understood. Then I’ll make you a new one. How big should it be?』

“Uh... the size we used back when we made that cloth with the silk masters should be fine? No need to weave it too tightly.”

Old cloth would be better than new, of course—but if I dusted the fabric all over with warehouse grime, then wrapped it around myself and added a topping of sweat and dead skin, that’d be enough.

And since I had to conserve my yang energy even more from now on, we agreed to use the new fabric Yohwa would make as bait. With that, Yohwa began spinning thread quickly.

—Sharararak.

***

While Yohwa worked on making the cloth—

I decided to scout out the bastard’s base of operations.

If it was startled and didn’t return ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) to the warehouse again, we’d have to place the bait closer to wherever it was hiding.

Leaving behind the loud Mama and the torchlight-like kids, I quickly set out with Gun Hye-rin, Hwa-eun, and the princess to track its traces.

“This is where the trail ends.”

“So the back mountain must be its base.”

“Seems like it.”

Surprisingly, tracking the thing wasn’t too hard—because the silver powder it had scattered remained behind like a trail.

Under starlight and moonlight, it shimmered in the dark like glitter.

The trail led all the way up the back mountain, making it likely that the bastard was based there.

“If it doesn’t show itself again, we’ll have to lay bait starting from here.”

“All the way to the warehouse?”

“Yeah.”

If the creature didn’t reappear at the warehouse, then we’d lay the bait starting from where the trail ended.

We’d lay Yohwa’s fine threads from there to the warehouse.

Operation “Unbreakable Noodle Line.”

Once the creature tasted the protein-rich thread spun by spirit beast Yohwa, it wouldn’t be able to stop—so we’d connect that all the way to the warehouse.

“It might have been so shocked that it won’t move for a few days. Plus, preparing the bait will take a few days too. Let’s go back and rest for now.”

“Understood.”

“Let’s do that.”

By the time morning broke, we returned to the straw-lined warehouse.

There, Yohwa rushed over and held out the cloth she’d made.

Since I’d told her there was no need to weave it too tightly, the finished cloth had a texture similar to summer ramie.

—Kishit. 『Brother, I finished the cloth.』

“Oh, good work.”

Now I just needed to soak it with my sweat and dead skin—so I took off my upper garment and wrapped the cloth Yohwa gave me around my body.

And since I’d stayed up all night, I laid down on the straw for some rest.

“Let’s catch a nap.”

I lay down without much thought.

Even though my body wasn’t tired—having ascended to the Flower Realm last night—my mind was, and I needed to rest.

Then, Hwa-eun quickly lay down, resting her head on my right arm.

The princess and Gun Hye-rin whispered something to each other, and this time, the princess laid her head on my left arm. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

And then, another head rested atop my left arm.

Gun Hye-rin’s head, of course.

“Tomorrow, we’re switching.”

“Of course.”

It looked like peaceful sleep was out of the question from now on, so I quietly made a request in my heart to Hyang.

‘Hyang-ah.’

—Tschrrp. 『Yeah?』

‘If my face looks uncomfortable while I’m sleeping... could you lick my nose?’

Because it was obvious I was going to get a cramp—and licking the nose was the best cure for that.