Dad is Back From a Deserted Island - Chapter 23

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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 23

“Whoa! G-good grief, Vivian. When did you get here?”
Jang spun around in surprise, only to find Vivian and Kiki descending from the bed with grunts of effort.
The pink-haired girl answered without a shred of shame.
“I’ve been here the whole time! I was playing hide-and-seek with Kiki!”
“I see. So that’s why you didn’t acknowledge me when I came in?”
“Yep!”
Vivian continued to giggle, clearly pleased with herself for startling me.
“By the way, Vivian, you said the Divine Beast asked you to plant this?”
“Yeah. Kiki said, uh, what was it? Oh! Banana! He wants to eat that.”
Is this what a banana seed looks like?
I examined the seed with a look of regret—I’d only ever seen bananas growing, never the seeds themselves.
“Ah, so this is a banana seed. But Divine Beast, bananas won’t grow in this land. They only thrive in places as warm as the island where you once dwelled.”
Kiki thrust his belly forward and chittered indignantly. His stomach had grown noticeably rounder since I’d brought him snacks last time—apparently they suited his taste.
Vivian quickly relayed his words.
“He says, ‘How dare you underestimate me. For Kiki, this is as easy as lying down and drinking soup.'”
“…?”
“Huh?”
[You should be bowing your head in reverence before my magnificence, yet why do you stand there with such a foolish expression?]
For me to immediately grasp that a plant which couldn’t grow in this land could be cultivated here was no simple feat.
So I tilted my head in confusion, and Vivian and Kiki mirrored the gesture perfectly.
“Are you saying… that bananas can be grown here?”
The dramatic reaction Kiki had been waiting for came a beat too late.
My eyes widened and my voice rose in pitch, and Kiki seemed satisfied, chittering with amusement.
“Good heavens.”
I genuinely wanted to prostrate myself before this monkey and kiss his feet.
With such an ability, I could amass tremendous wealth without needing the Diamond Mine at all.
I was on the verge of covering entire mountains with banana trees when the next words brought me back to reality.
“Huh? But he says I have to do it.”
“What? What do you mean, Vivian?”
Kiki chittered urgently.
“He’s sharing his power with me, so… oh, I see. He really wants me to know that he can do it too. Anyway, that’s why it’ll be more… efficient? if I do it instead of him. What’s efficient, Father?”
Upon hearing that my beloved daughter had to be the one to do it, I quickly regained my composure and began asking questions.
“Divine Beast, what method will Vivian use to cultivate these plants?”
“Is there a price? Is there no separate price?”
“I don’t know much about these mystical powers, but the stories usually say they require a person’s lifespan. There shouldn’t be such an issue, right?”
Kiki’s expression grew reluctant.
This human.
When I said I could do it, he acted as though he’d rush outside and execute it immediately, but the moment he heard it was something his daughter would do, his attitude completely changed.
Was this better than telling me not to care what happened to Vivian and just raise her?
Feeling an odd sensation, Jang answered.
[Would I ever make Vivian give up her lifespan! My power is sacred, fundamentally different from such peculiar forces.]
“Oh, I see!”
[Ahem. However, Vivian’s body is far too fragile to withstand my power. If I use too much force, she may collapse from exhaustion.]
“In that case… if that’s how it is, I’ll find another way. If I can find a Merchant from where bananas grow, a trade should be possible. Please wait just a little longer, Kiki.”
Jang’s expression became quite serious.
After all, everything he was doing was to see Vivian living happily and healthily.
He didn’t want to risk his daughter collapsing.
But Vivian responded before Kiki could.
“No!”
“Huh? Vivian, you don’t want to?”
“I’m gonna grow bananas! Bananas!”
Having already conversed with Cat, Vivian was brimming with anticipation that she could do something wonderful again.
Sensing that Jang might stop her, her cheeks were already puffed out, and she showed no sign of backing down easily.
“Vivian, later. Let’s try later. Right now, if you use such power while you’re young, you might collapse!”
“I won’t collapse! I’m strong. Daddy!”
Vivian even extended her finger, launching her appeal to her father.
“If it gets hard, I’ll just stop right away! Promise! If I promise, it’ll be fine!”
As she stomped her feet and pleaded, Jang’s resolve began to weaken by a grain.
Vivian didn’t miss that moment.
“Right? Right? It’s okay, isn’t it? Then it works, doesn’t it?”
Before Jang could even protest, Vivian snatched the banana seed from her father’s palm and dashed outside.
Jang let out a hollow laugh, deflated, then chased after the child.
The sunlight was pleasantly warm. Spring had passed, and the season of deep verdant green seemed perfect for growing things.
However, the Lamber Family Garden hadn’t been fully tended since Jang’s return, with weeds sprouting everywhere, making it slightly difficult for new shoots to push through the overgrowth.
Undeterred, Vivian went to the corner where she and Kiki had dug and played before, and crouched down.
How deep could such small hands possibly dig?
The banana seed was buried in soil barely as deep as Vivian’s index finger.
Watching from behind, Jang wondered whether he should tell her that plants wouldn’t grow properly if the soil was dug so shallowly.
Vivian, completely unsuspecting, extended her dirt-covered hands to Kiki with a bright expression.
“Kiki! Tell me how to do it now!”
Jang secretly anticipated what would happen. How would it be grown through some mysterious method?
[You just give it power.]
“Huh?”
[Infuse the plant with your power.]
“But how am I supposed to do that?!”
Kiki fell into deep thought.
For Kiki, born as a mystical divine beast, being asked how to use power was no different than being asked how to breathe.
I just use it.
Yet Kiki, who would rather die than hear someone say he didn’t even know such a thing, wracked his brain for an answer.
[Whisper to it that you wish to see how it grows.]
“To the seed?”
[Yes. Then nature will fulfill your desire.]
Vivian, without hesitation, prostrated herself on the ground—Jang flinched at the sight of dirt smearing all over her clothes—cupped her hands before her lips, and whispered softly.
“Banana! Grow big and strong for me! I’m so curious to see what kind of child you’ll become!”
But nothing happened.
Her voice, so full of anticipation, had become almost embarrassing.
“Nothing’s happening… huh?”
The moment Vivian’s cheeks began to puff out with disappointment, a soft sprout broke through the soil with a gentle pop, revealing itself to the world.
Faced with this miraculous sight, Jang couldn’t even muster a gasp of wonder.
The sprout, no larger than Vivian’s fingernail, shot upward in an instant, forming a stem, taking the shape of a delicate sapling…
Thump.
The sound of someone collapsing came from behind. At the same moment, Vivian’s concentration wavered, and the plant’s growth halted.
“Wh-what?”
Turning around, I found Anne sitting on the ground with her mouth agape.
Her once-pristine skirt was now covered in dirt, but she had no mind for such trivial matters.
Anne’s fingers trembled violently as she witnessed the miraculous sight of a plant growing before her very eyes.
“I-I-I came to find you for your snack time, but… what exactly did I just see?”

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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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