Dad is Back From a Deserted Island - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Father has returned from the Deserted Island
Chapter 17

“Pweee! Pweeee!”
“Miss, you need to purse your lips a bit more!”
“Pweeee! Phew. Ouch. It tore again!”
On her fourth day of attempting to play a grass whistle, Vivian held up the torn blade and pouted.
“Sigh. Anne, can you show me how you do it just one more time?”
“Of course! Now, watch my lips carefully—and my hands.”
Anne began to slowly play Vivian’s favorite nursery rhyme.
The two had grown nearly like cousins by now, and behind them, Kiki stared intently at a white butterfly.
“Kee-kee-kee!”
Watching the butterfly flutter about while chittering like that, one might have thought Kiki wanted to hunt it.
[Vivian, call your father!]
But after the butterfly fluttered away and Kiki scurried over to Vivian looking for Eduard, it was clear that wasn’t the case at all.
“Huh?”
Vivian didn’t understand, but at Kiki’s insistence, she asked Anne’s permission and went to find Eduard.
“Father!”
“What is it, Vivian?”
Eduard, who had been organizing luggage, poked his head out from the storage room on the first floor.
“I don’t know. Kiki said to call you!”
“The divine spirit? …Could it be!”
Eduard hastily set down the box he was holding and rushed outside.
Kiki stood atop the sofa’s backrest with an air of supreme dignity.
[Bow before me!]
“A toast? He wants us to toast.”
“Wouldn’t it be ‘bow’?”
“Oh! That’s right! How did you know?”
“If I’m thinking of what you’re thinking, that’s what your father really needs to do.”
[Ahem-haha! Your father actually knows something, Vivian. Now relay my words without missing a single syllable.]
“Ahem-haha! Your father actually knows something. Vivian. Now relay my words without missing a single… syllable?”
[Not that part!]
“Not that part!”
Unable to contain his exasperation, Kiki clawed at the sofa’s backrest before clearing his throat and resuming his dignified posture with effort.
[In any case, a butterfly that came from the Northwest Region heard from a cockroach there that there’s a mine producing glittering powder—not gold, not silver, but something that sparkles.]
“From a cockroach….”
I had imagined communing with the earth directly, but faced with Kiki’s surprisingly practical method, I swallowed my laughter.
[The killifish living in the nearby Stream Bank often mentioned seeing luminous powder drifting downstream. Since there’s no news of such occurrences elsewhere, it would be wise to visit the mine in the Northwest Region.]
“The Northwest Region… that must be the Dohaaju Diamond Mine… Oh!”
My eyes widened as the thought crystallized in my mind.
“Ju! There’s ‘ju’ in the name. I think ‘ju’ was in the name! Now that I’ve narrowed it down, I’m starting to remember!”
Kiki tilted his head quizzically.
A peculiar human indeed.
The fact that she already knew of the diamond mine’s existence was strange enough.
This human possessed an unsettling certainty about an unknowable future.
Was there something she wasn’t telling me?
The divine spirit’s eyes narrowed.
Well, it hardly mattered.
Vivian had awakened me, and she meant no harm to Vivian.
Whatever her secrets were, they were of no concern—
[Kyaaaah! Release me!]
But lifting his own body high with unbridled joy was another matter entirely.
[Release me! How rude!]
Though Kiki shrieked in protest, I was too elated at the prospect of becoming the owner of a diamond mine to hear him.
A lamentable situation.

* * *

Purchasing the Dohaaju Diamond Mine proved embarrassingly simple.
The Mine Owner, unaware that his mine harbored diamonds, actually offered me unsolicited advice—that mines like this shouldn’t be bought at all.
He asked me countless times if I was truly certain about acquiring this abandoned pit.
Knowing the diamonds lay hidden beneath, I felt a twinge of conscience.
Yet I consoled myself with the thought that if not me, some Merchant would seize ownership—one rumored to traffic in people as readily as goods. There was no helping it.
Since mountains cannot expel their jewels of their own accord, I hired new miners.
Between additional expenses and miscellaneous costs, my hands trembled at the expenditure.
I could always liquidate more gems if funds ran short, but this was my first time wielding such vast sums by my own will.
‘When I made purchases under his name, I never felt this burden.’
Had he always carried such weight?
Recalling the face of my beloved benefactor, I sank into melancholy for a moment.
‘To see him again, I must succeed.’
My benefactor, Eduard, was the great merchant said to be second only to the Emperor in wealth throughout the Empire. In my current circumstances, I couldn’t even greet him properly.
Once I held the respectable title of diamond mine owner, perhaps I could arrange an audience.
Renewing my resolve for the future, I dismounted from my horse.
After placing the horse in the Stable and unloading the bundles, I felt their considerable weight.
They were all treats for Kiki and Vivian.
That a divine spirit capable of locating diamond mines could be satisfied with mere sugar—it seemed almost absurd.
‘I must do better by them.’
Imagining Kiki’s praise—calling me a truly admirable human—I opened the Mansion door.
“Father’s home!”
“Faaather!”
As twilight descended, Vivian, who had been waiting in the Living Room for my return, came rushing toward me.
The pale pink hair tied high on both sides bounced adorably with each step.
“Why did you come so late!”
I carried Vivian, who clung tightly to my thigh, dangling her as I walked.
“Father was busy with important matters and came late. I’m sorry, Vivian. Did you miss Father?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Oh my. Father was wrong. Making Vivian wait so long.”
“That’s right. You were wrong!”
“Ahahaha.”
I lifted Vivian into my arms and rubbed my face enthusiastically against her soft, warm cheeks.
“Ugh, stop it.”
Though Vivian made sounds of protest, she didn’t push me away, and I nearly felt tears prick my eyes.
How much longer would she run to me like this, saying she missed me?
What would I do when the day came that she left my arms for a man she loved?
I wanted to see her grow healthy and laugh happily, yet I wished that day would never arrive.
“What did you do while Father was away? Were you learning the grass flute from Anne again today?”
“Mm-mm.”
Vivian shook her head.
So your goal is to play a song on a grass flute?
Vivian cupped her small hands together and whispered into my ear.
“I was talking to the cat.”
“Huh?”
When I failed to understand immediately—which was only natural—Vivian added a clarification.
“It’s Kiki’s gift!”
I still wore a bewildered expression.
Only then did Vivian realize something.
‘Oh no!’
She had never told me what Kiki had promised to give her!

* * *

After I departed to negotiate the mine contract.
Vivian planted one hand on her hip and crossed her arms before her small monkey companion.
[What is it, Vivian? That disrespectful posture and that look in your eyes.]
“Kiki! Why aren’t you keeping your promise?”
[What are you talking about?]
“You said you’d give it to me! That thing!”
[What.]
“Honestly! I want to talk to butterflies too!”
Upon hearing that Kiki had conversed with butterflies, Vivian belatedly recalled the ability Kiki had promised to grant her.
To converse with butterflies—wasn’t that just like a princess from a fairy tale!
Yet Kiki was far too shameless for a divine spirit who had broken a promise.
After glancing at Vivian once and grooming his fur, he casually tossed out these words:
[I already gave it to you.]
“When!”
[Naturally, when I awakened.]
“But then why can’t I hear what the passing dogs are saying? All I hear is barking sounds.”
[That’s because you had no intention of conversing with them. You’ll only hear their words when you truly wish to speak with them, Vivian. If you could hear them all the time, wouldn’t you be confused?]
“Huh? Is that how it works?”
[Yes! And here you are, questioning me without understanding my profound wisdom… Vivian! Where are you going without listening to me!]
The moment Vivian heard that she already possessed the ability, she bolted outside.
Unfortunately, there were no butterflies in sight, but there was a cat enjoying an afternoon nap in a sun-drenched spot.
It was a tabby cat with striking markings, its fur gleaming with the luster of a well-fed creature.
“Butterfly!”
The cat did not respond.
“Um… Cat?”
The cat did not respond.
“Kiki, you liar! It’s not working at all!”
“Meow!!” [Good grief, be quiet!]
The moment Vivian stamped her feet in betrayal, the cat’s eyes snapped open as it barked sharply at her.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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