As soon as Zimjo stepped inside, I quickly shut the door, pulled her into my arms, and half-dragged her toward the bed as if kidnapping her.

I needed to talk to her, but if we spoke at the doorway, the children outside would overhear.

Then, from within my arms, she spoke in a satisfied voice.

『Hoho. Were you waiting for me as well? Such a heated reaction—truly delightful.

But wouldn’t this body find it difficult to move atop the bed? If I could transform, perhaps I could meet your expectations...』

“W-what are you talking about? That’s not it! What did you even say to the children!?”

While she was saying something about the Golden Spider clan, I’d been eavesdropping—and the conversation had gone in a strange direction, dragging out the children’s true feelings.

I’d always told myself it couldn’t be, but hearing it confirmed directly had shocked me.

Even the faint hope that it might not be true had vanished, so of course I was stunned.

I couldn’t open the door from the shock, just repeating in my head a thousand times, ‘What do I do now?’—and right then, Zimjo had gone and planted weird hope in the children.

That if they accepted her, they too would have a chance.

That one was easy, but two or three wasn’t hard either.

Well, technically she wasn’t wrong.

The first time is difficult, but the second and third grow easier as resistance fades.

Still, just because that’s true of the world doesn’t mean that if a bird wife appeared, other races could become wives too—that’s a completely different matter.

So I had no choice but to scold her.

Why did she say something like that to the children?

Zimjo smiled faintly.

『Well, isn’t it natural for a strong male to have multiple females?』

Of course, she was a bird—she said it as if it were no problem at all.

In the wild, it was indeed natural for a strong male to have many mates.

The law of the wild.

For birds, an unquestioned truth.

But that wasn’t the issue, was it?

This wasn’t about numbers—it was about species.

“No, that’s not what I mean. Why even talk about different species to them...”

『So, are you saying you intend to reject all their feelings? How cruel. They look only to you.

Well, I also prefer monopolizing, but since you already have the consent of your three wives, and those girls are in a similar position to mine, I couldn’t just tell them a hopeless story.』

“That’s not the point...”

She was clearly sympathizing as if she were one of the girls—female empathy at work.

But the one who had to accept them was me.

I was wondering how to make her understand when she suddenly said something that made my eyes widen.

『Those girls are like me—they won’t easily bear offspring unless it’s with you. How pitiful. In this lower world, they can’t easily gather the required energy...』

Zimjo claimed that the children’s reproduction would be like hers.

I asked in surprise.

Up to now, how the children reproduced had been an unknown realm.

“So you’re saying all of them need my venom like you do to bear young?”

After all, one of the main pleasures of breeding venomous beasts is obtaining offspring, right?

But these children were spirit beasts.

Some—like Seol and Bing—had male ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ counterparts and could just wait until they conceived naturally.

Moji and Soji.

Yeondu and Juhwang.

Even seniors like Yeoncheon and Yeonji.

But for those who had no males, or seemed entirely female, I’d wondered how they could reproduce at all.

So of course I had to ask.

Little ones resembling Sister Jeokwol.

The offspring of Cho, Hyang, and Bini.

Tadpoles that looked like Hwayang.

And Cheongwol carrying baby scorpions on her back—that image alone was delightful to imagine.

Zimjo nodded as she answered.

『Spirit beasts usually store within their bodies the energy they require, and then use that to produce offspring. But in this lower world, gathering that much energy is no easy task.

However, with your current realm, producing such energy shouldn’t be difficult, should it?』

“Ah!”

At first I thought all the children might need venom to reproduce—but that wasn’t it.

I understood what she meant.

Each child required a different kind of energy.

Moji and Soji needed demonic energy; Yo-hwa fed primarily on human yang energy.

Hwayang required the energy of fire, Cheongwol the energy of earth.

But selecting and absorbing those from natural energy took an extremely long time.

Natural energy contained countless attributes, and isolating just one type was no easy feat.

The children were spirit beasts, but their method of absorbing energy was quite similar to martial artists.

Martial artists filter natural energy through their internal techniques to draw in what they need; spirit beasts, being born of nature, instead instinctively absorb their required energy directly from nature or from crystals and spiritual herbs rich in it.

They lacked a dantian, but stored energy in something akin to an inner core—much the same.

For such children, having me—who had entered the Life-and-Death Realm—meant I could create energy of multiple pure attributes for them.

My martial art was poison-based, yet through the Beast-Heart Technique, I’d accepted children of various attributes and thus could handle multiple elements.

That was one of the realizations I’d gained upon entering the Life-and-Death Realm.

I could now handle Moji and Soji’s demonic energy, Hwayang’s fire, and Cho’s water.

So if the children required specific energy for reproduction, I could drastically shorten the time it would take them.

Perhaps even reduce their growth period as well.

'Ha... this is troublesome.'

If I were to help the children reproduce, I’d have to supply them energy myself.

Which meant I might have to enter a relationship similar to what I had with Zimjo.

My headache deepened.

If it were only a matter of transferring energy for breeding, that would be fine—but if it came with responsibility without pleasure, like with Zimjo, it would become very complicated.

Even if I only passed on energy, wouldn’t that make them my children?

While I was agonizing, Zimjo’s voice reached me.

『You wound me. Here I stand before you, yet you’re thinking of other females? Is this not our wedding night?』

“Ah, n-no, this isn’t that kind of wedding night!”

『To me, it is.』

“Ugh, fine... haah...”

She called it a wedding night even though I was just giving her venom, wearing a mischievous expression that made it hard to deal with her.

Just as I was thinking that this girl had a real talent for making things awkward, Zimjo spread her wings wide and bowed to me.

It was a greeting—a sincere one, as if saying, 'I look forward to working with you from now on'.

It came suddenly, yet was perfectly polite and heartfelt.

『Henceforth, I entrust myself to you. This body’s true name is Zihwa—the Violet Flame.』

Her fully spread wings gleamed with luster.

Purple feathers shimmered, reflecting the lantern light in dark violet hues.

It was a beautiful color, mixing the depth of ebony with the nobility of amethyst.

I’d never raised a bird, but the gloss and beauty of her feathers felt like silk—like the fine silk Yo-hwa wove, its sheen overflowing from her plumage.

Zimjo’s name was Zihwa.

A perfect fit for one called “Purple Flame.”

Unable to take my eyes off her feathers, I replied,

“O-oh, r-right, I’m So-ryong.”

『A small dragon, then? A name most fitting for you.』

“You too.”

When I awkwardly returned her greeting, she smiled softly and took a light step closer to me.

Standing before me, she spoke politely.

『Then, please, grant me that thick, white essence...』

Her words were elegant and sincere, yet their meaning made my head throb.

Why couldn’t she just say she wanted venom?

“Thick and white”—that was something meant for my wives!

I grimaced.

“C-could you... maybe phrase it differently? Do you have to say it like that? There are other ways to put it!”

At my words, Zimjo tilted her head with an innocent expression, as if wondering what she’d done wrong.

『Did I say something incorrect?』

“I mean, ‘thick and white’ can mean other things...”

She blinked, then her eyes brightened as if she’d realized something.

『Haa? Oh, I was only teasing earlier, but so you were thinking along those lines?

Fufu. Were you picturing this body as it appeared in your mindscape? Ah, but yes, I should consider human thought too. If a child were conceived without doing anything, your attachment to it might wane.

What do you say? That’s right! Can you return to that place where we met before? It was only an illusory realm, but I can fulfill your expectations there.』

I immediately regretted speaking.

All I’d said was that “thick and white” could mean other things—yet she’d completely misunderstood.

Shaking my head, I muttered,

“No...”

Better to just let her talk however she wanted.

Well, technically, she wasn’t wrong—it was thick and white.

Resigned, I spread my hands and began to form venom in my palms.

Layering the children’s venoms over one another to create white venom.

Red, blue, and green energies added one after another.

Each time the children’s venoms merged within me, the venom grew purer, more brilliant white.

When all their venoms had fused, I suddenly realized I’d forgotten one.

'Ah—Zimjo’s venom, too!'

I’d completely forgotten to include her venom, the most recent I’d gained.

Last time I’d made it with nine venoms—but now I possessed ten.

I could add hers as well.

Whoosh.

When Zimjo’s venom finally joined, the toxin burst into blazing white flame.

A searing, white fire ignited within my hands.

『Hooh. You’ve grown in the meantime. The purity is much higher now.』

Zimjo looked delighted, smiling at the sight of the venom.

Of course she said I’d grown—it was true.

When I first created this, I’d only been at the Manifestation Realm.

And I’d only possessed nine venoms.

So that version had been a Nine-Venom product—its feel, when I recalled those fragmented memories, had resembled Hongbi’s venom.

Thinking back, it had been too much for the Manifestation Realm.

No wonder I’d lost consciousness.

Looking back now, that fainting fit probably had been something like qi deviation.

But now I had reached the Life-and-Death Realm, with ten venoms complete.

With Zimjo’s added, its purity must have risen even further.

And imbued with her properties, the venom now burned like flame.

As the white venom blazed in a perfect orb between my hands, Zimjo looked at me and bowed deeply.

『My benefactor, this grace—Zihwa shall repay it for life.』

As her beak slowly touched the white venom in my palms, it began to flow into her mouth and nostrils.

The chamber gleamed with alternating dark violet and bright light, and Zimjo’s voice rose in exhilaration.

『Ahh... your thick, white essence is filling my body completely...』

Truly, such troublesome phrasing.

'Please—stop...!'

***

Fulfilling the amount Zimjo desired was no simple task.

Even I, who could endlessly draw natural energy and replenish my inner power, had to spend three full days continuously creating venom.

By the dawn of the third day, Zimjo—who had been absorbing my venom—suddenly leapt onto the bed and perched there.

『It is done, my beloved. Now it is enough.』

As soon as she landed on the bed, my wives, who had been sitting at the table with their lips pursed, waiting for her to finish, sprang to their feet.

“Is it done!?”

“Is it over?”

“Finished?”

They’d been waiting, after all—because Zimjo had monopolized the master bedroom.

Waiting for their own night with me.

At their voices, Zimjo looked apologetic and bowed slightly.

『Indeed. I monopolized So-ryong for three whole days—my apologies.』

“It’s fine.”

“It’s all right. So-ryong promised, after all.”

“Of course, it’s fine. Really.”

They told her it was fine now that it was over, but then exchanged careful glances and asked,

“But, could you perhaps... step out for a moment?”

“Yes, it’s our turn now, so maybe we should draw lots—”

They looked ready to draw straws, when suddenly light burst forth from beneath Zimjo’s body.

A brilliant violet glow radiated outward.

“Eh!?”

Startled, everyone’s eyes went wide.

In the place where Zimjo had stood, a single egg now rested—shining like a violet gem.

It was as beautiful as an amethyst.