By Zephyria 
After a brief silence, Ashley spoke.
“Wait, Koi, what did you just say? How many are you going to have?”
“Twelve.”
It was the doctor who interjected with a voice higher than usual. Ashley glared at her with a momentarily frightening look, but returned his gaze to Koi at his subsequent answer.
“The more kids, the better. Wouldn’t twelve be just right? It’s a bit of a shame, but what can you do?”
Seeing him grinning sheepishly and scratching his head, Ashley was once again speechless.
“Koi, Koi.”
Unable to find the words, Ashley called his name twice in a row, then barely managed to pull himself together and asked.
“Twelve? What are you talking about? You’re going to have twelve? Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
Ashley barely managed to repeat the question to Koi, who nodded readily.
“Why twelve?”
Because, Koi began, as the doctor and Ashley focused on him.
“I saw a documentary before, and some Omega had fifteen kids. There were twins in between, but after seeing that, I figured I could have at least twelve.”
“Don’t watch documentaries anymore.”
Ashley, having administered first aid, looked up at the ceiling once before turning his gaze back to Koi.
“Koi, you do know that the period for being pregnant and giving birth is ten months, right?”
He began his persuasion in a calm and quiet voice. Seeing Koi nod, Ashley asked again.
“You also know that roughly calculating one year per child, twelve children would be twelve years?”
“Uh……”
Koi hesitated a little before nodding. That’s right, Ashley soothed him in an even more affectionate voice.
“You’ll be giving birth for twelve years. Can you handle that?”
At that, Koi lowered his head and couldn’t readily answer. Ashley thought, is this it? But the answer that came a moment later was completely unexpected.
“If I’m pregnant for that long, will you get tired of me?”
“No, Koi, that’s not what I’m talking about.”
Ha, Ashley sighed deeply. What should he do? In the end, he went back to square one.
“Why do you need twelve kids?”
“Because the more, the better.”
Koi answered immediately.
“I saw in that documentary earlier, the kids were running around all over the place and it was so cute. The house was noisy and chaotic all day long. I was so envious of that……”
After a pause, he mumbled in a deflated voice.
“Neither you nor I have any siblings. So I thought it would be nice if we at least had a lot of kids and our family became very big……”
Ashley looked at Koi for a moment before gesturing to the doctor. After she reluctantly got up and left the examination room, Ashley was left alone with Koi.
“Koi, are you lonely?”
Only then did Ashley ask in a quiet voice.
“Am I not enough with just me? Am I lacking?”
“Uh, no, it’s absolutely not like that.”
Koi hurriedly shook his head.
“I’m satisfied with just you, but still, kids are different. It would be nice to have a lot of kids in their own way. ……Wouldn’t it be okay?”
Koi looked up at Ashley with pleading eyes. He couldn’t possibly withstand that gaze. In the end, Ashley surrendered to him.
“Let’s just have two.”
Huff, he offered a compromise with a sigh, but it was no match for Koi.
“Two is too few! Then ten.”
“No. Two.”
This time, Ashley didn’t back down either. At the stern voice, Koi mumbled in a barely audible voice.
“Nine……”
“Two, Koi.”
Ashley spat out as if growling through gritted teeth. Koi flinched in surprise and cautiously looked around.
“Six……”
“Koi, how many times do I have to say it? Two, no more.”
The stern voice was sharp. Realizing that he had hit a wall, Koi trembled and looked up at Ashley with a pitiful expression.
“Then, three.”
Ashley could no longer withstand Koi’s face, which was brimming with tears. He barely suppressed a groan rising from deep within his chest and opened his mouth.
“Okay, three.”
Instantly, Koi covered his mouth with both hands. Seeing him brighten up so quickly, Ashley gave a wry smile.
“How can I ever win against you, Koi.”
“Thank you, Ash!”
Koi exclaimed with joy and hugged Ashley tightly. Giving a wry smile, he hugged him back, but Koi soon pulled away and looked at his face.
“No more reducing it.”
At the utterly serious expression, Ashley nodded.
“I understand.”
It was a victory to have rejected Koi’s earnest request this much. Three was excessively many, but his mind might change again as he gave birth to and raised the children.
Let’s try to persuade him again later.
Ashley seemed to have overcome the crisis for the time being, but he froze at Koi’s subsequent words.
“If you secretly get surgery or something without me knowing, I’ll be really disappointed in you.”
Why didn’t he think of that?
Ashley almost sighed at that moment, but it was already too late. Koi was waiting for Ashley’s answer with a serious face.
He hadn’t been as quick-witted as Koi.
For another reason, Ashley was once again dazed. Twelve must have been a shockingly high number.
“……Okay.”
“I love you, Ash!”
As soon as Ashley’s answer was given, Koi cheered with relief and hugged him again. Ashley instinctively hugged him back, but his mind was still complicated.
After finishing the consultation with the doctor who came in a moment later, Koi was full of happiness as he left the hospital.
“Will it be a daughter or a son? I’m so excited.”
Holding a bag in one hand and Ashley’s waist with the other, he walked and smiled brightly.
“I don’t care which it is.”
Ashley said nonchalantly to Koi. Well, what does gender matter? Koi thought so and smiled happily, but Ashley’s mind was thinking of something completely different.
What does it matter as long as they don’t manifest.
There was a good chance they would be Betas or Omegas. The union of an Dominant Alpha and an Dominant Omega didn’t necessarily lead to an Dominant Alpha. Thinking that way, twelve children seemed like nothing more than a small happening.
He’ll change his mind later.
For now, he thought it was enough that Koi was happy, so he put Koi in the car and drove out of the hospital parking lot.
* * *
“You’re buying a house?”
Koi, who had met Bernice as usual, was surprised by the unexpected news. Bernice nodded with her usual expressionless face, conveying the instructions she had newly received.
“He said that the condo we’re living in now would be too small to raise three children, so he told me to look for a mansion. One with a large lot.”
Of course, this was just an excuse. The reason why he, who had sued the entire condo residents, had decided not to live there anymore was purely because he didn’t want to be in the same space as the humans who had humiliated Koi. The penthouse had a separate private entrance, but it was Koi’s choice to use the common entrance, and Ashley was very upset.
How dare they embarrass Koi.
Punishing the condo residents was a separate matter. For that reason, he had been thinking of moving, and it was as if Koi had given him a suitable excuse. Of course, Koi couldn’t even imagine such circumstances.
Ash really agreed.
Koi couldn’t help but open his mouth wide, unable to contain the overwhelming joy. Ashley, who had clearly been flustered at first, was even thinking of actively looking for a mansion, and Koi was deeply moved.
Ash must have realized that it’s good to have a lot of kids.
Koi couldn’t hide his excitement and recalled as he checked the several floor plans that Bernice had presented.
Ash will change his mind as he gives birth to and raises the children.
While looking at the largest and widest of the mansions and lots, he saw before his eyes the image of children running around and Ashley and himself watching them with a happy smile.
I should tell him to have more kids then.
*
“Mr. Miller?”
A staff member who was enthusiastically reporting on the progress of the trial asked, puzzled by Ashley’s shivering in the middle of the meeting. Ashley waved his hand, feeling a chill down his spine for some reason.
“No, continue.”
His complexion was still pale as he listened to the continuing voice. What was this? It was getting warmer, and he never caught a cold, so it didn’t make sense that he was feeling chills.
It must be a mistake.
He calmed his mind and focused on the meeting again, but for some reason, the goosebumps on the back of his hand didn’t subside for quite some time.