Dad Came Back from a Deserted Island Chapter 22

Kiki landed on top of Vivian as she fell backward onto her bottom, then gently bit her nose as if to bring her to her senses.

“Ow! W-why did you bite me?”

Tomakeyoucometoyoursenses!I’vetoldyoutimeandagainthatthere’snoneedtofearalittlelightning.Andwhywereyoutryingtocleanupthebrokenpiecesyourself?Whatifyougothurt?To make you come to your senses! I’ve told you time and again that there’s no need to fear a little lightning. And why were you trying to clean up the broken pieces yourself? What if you got hurt?

There was warmth in Kiki’s scolding voice, so Vivian said nothing and listened quietly.

Ifyougothurt,hownoisywouldthathumanbeonceshewokeup?‘Ishouldn’thavefallenasleep…Lookatmypoorlady’sdelicatehands…’She’dgoonandonuntilmyearswereringing.Icanalreadyimagineit.If you got hurt, how noisy would that human be once she woke up? ‘I shouldn’t have fallen asleep… Look at my poor lady’s delicate hands…’ She’d go on and on until my ears were ringing. I can already imagine it.

“Were you copying Big Sis Anne’s voice?”

… Q−quiet!Ifyou’rereallythatscared,there’snopointcoweringaroundhere.Justgobacktoyourroom,wrapyourselfsnuglyinawarmblanket,andcoveryourearswithafluffypillowsoyoucan’thearthethunder.Don’teventhinkaboutgoingnearthoseshards.Goon,upyouget.…Q-quiet! If you’re really that scared, there’s no point cowering around here. Just go back to your room, wrap yourself snugly in a warm blanket, and cover your ears with a fluffy pillow so you can’t hear the thunder. Don’t even think about going near those shards. Go on, up you get.

Kiki stretched out its long arms and nudged Vivian’s legs.

Seeing it imitate Anne’s way of speaking, Vivian burst out laughing as though she’d never been frightened at all.

But when a rumble sounded in the sky again, her smile quickly vanished.

She dashed into her room as if fleeing for her life. Kiki kept pushing her until she was safely on the bed.

“G-geez. Stop pushing me!”

I’minahurrybecauseyoumightgetstartledandfalloveragain.Nowstayrightthereonthatsoftbeduntiltherainstops,yourdaddycomeshome,orthatwomanwakesup.I’m in a hurry because you might get startled and fall over again. Now stay right there on that soft bed until the rain stops, your daddy comes home, or that woman wakes up.

Kiki struggled to lift the blanket with its tiny hands and drape it over Vivian’s head. Then it turned around, intending to leave.

Vivian promptly grabbed its tail.

Howrude!How rude!

“Where are you going?”

Wheredoyouthink?Thisgreatonehasthingstodo,soletgo.Where do you think? This great one has things to do, so let go.

It was planning to ask the insects that had emerged in the rain for news about the mine.

As the days passed, the dark circles beneath Jean’s eyes had grown more pronounced, and it was becoming a serious blow to the divine beast’s pride.

But when Kiki met Vivian’s eyes, she was clutching the blanket and trembling, and it couldn’t bring itself to leave her so coldly.

…Whatareyousoafraidof?Nomatterhowloudthethundergets,doyoureallythinkit’llmakethehousecollapse?…What are you so afraid of? No matter how loud the thunder gets, do you really think it’ll make the house collapse?

When did it start?

Vivian hadn’t always been this afraid of thunder and lightning.

Whenever a storm rolled in, Jean would draw the curtains before she could get frightened. He would light the fireplace, make the room cozy, and bring her warm milk.

In fact, she had loved stormy days when she was even younger than she was now.

But after Jean left, Ron and Mary’s once-kind treatment of her began to change.

As she spent more and more time alone in dark attics and storage rooms, the flashes of light and the thunder that sounded as though the sky were falling apart became terrifying.

Whenever lightning struck, her cries for someone to let her out of the attic were swallowed by the thunder.

Of course she was afraid.

“It’s just…”

But Vivian was still too young to put her feelings into words.

Even remembering those days made her feel as though her breath were caught in her throat. She could hardly bring herself to speak of them.

Instinctively, she had grabbed Kiki because she was afraid of losing its warmth as it tried to leave.

“Eep…”

She was wrapped in a cozy blanket, and Kiki would even draw the curtains before leaving. She couldn’t imagine being any more comfortable.

So why did she look like a poor, abandoned animal?

Sigh.

A deep sigh escaped the baby monkey’s little mouth.

Kiki burrowed beneath the blanket and clung to Vivian’s arms before speaking as though it were granting her a great favor.

Youreallyareatroublesomehuman.You really are a troublesome human.

“Hehe.”

Despite the scolding, Vivian giggled happily and hugged the little body nestled against her.

Focusing on Kiki’s warmth—hotter than a human’s—and the steady thump of its heartbeat, she found that the thunder no longer frightened her.

“Thank you, Kiki.”

Forwhat?For what?

She rubbed her cheek against its grumpy little forehead.

“For staying with me.”

Hmph.You’restatingtheobviousasthoughitweresomegreatrevelation.Iamanabsolutelyinvincibledivinebeast,soIshallalwaysremainbyyourside.Andyou,Vivian,shouldalwaysbegratefulformypresence—Hmph. You’re stating the obvious as though it were some great revelation. I am an absolutely invincible divine beast, so I shall always remain by your side. And you, Vivian, should always be grateful for my presence—

“Nom!”

Vivian opened her mouth and took a big bite out of Kiki’s cheek.

Whatdoyouthinkyou’redoing?!What do you think you’re doing?!

“You’re too noisy, Kiki.”

While trying to soothe the outraged monkey, who was shouting about her insolence, Vivian failed to notice the world flashing brightly again—or that the thunder was now shaking the world more violently than ever.

Wrapped in the warm blanket and hugging Kiki’s toasty little body, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

As she nodded off, Vivian tightened her arms around Kiki and mumbled,

“Kiki… when I fall asleep… don’t go away…”

Hmph.I’llleavethemomentyoufallasleep.Hmph. I’ll leave the moment you fall asleep.

Despite its words, Kiki curled its tail around the arm Vivian had wrapped around it.

The soft, fluffy fur made Vivian smile in her sleep.

…I’mnotgoinganywhere,sostopfightingsleepandgotobed.…I’m not going anywhere, so stop fighting, sleep and go to bed.

Its gentle voice soothed her.

As though she’d never been afraid of lightning at all, Vivian drifted off to sleep.

It was a peaceful nap, lasting until Anne woke up two hours later and screamed at the sight of the trashed living room.

 

***

 

Jean climbed the stairs to the second floor, his face tense with impatience.

Developing a mine wasn’t something that could be done quickly. He would be better off assuming it would take several years, if not longer.

He knew that.

Still, as day after day passed without any news from the mine he had invested so much of his fortune in, he felt as though his blood were slowly draining away.

It’s fine. Jean de Lambert. There’s plenty of information besides the diamond mine. I still have the advantage of knowing the future.

But most of the future he knew lay several years ahead.

During this period, he had been fighting tooth and nail to keep monkeys from stealing his food on the deserted island. Naturally, there wasn’t much he knew about what was happening in the outside world.

Perhaps he would feel more at ease if he had the jewels in the treasure chest in his bedroom appraised again.

Jean entered his bedroom and opened the sack wrapped around the treasure chest.

As he took the chest out, something tumbled from the sack.

At first, he thought it was just dust. But when he looked more closely, the objects resembled plant seeds.

What are these? Did they get stuck to the sack on the island?

The deserted island had been untouched by human hands and was teeming with all kinds of plants and animals.

There had been so many unfamiliar fruits growing there. Without them, escaping the island alive would have been much more difficult for Jean.

Just thinking about his favorite fruit from the island made his mouth water.

Ah, the bananas were delicious. Was it eight more years before bananas started arriving from the south?

Jean smacked his lips wistfully.

Bananas didn’t grow in the Empire or any of its neighboring countries.

Even in the future Jean had experienced, the fruit had only recently been introduced to the Empire. Only nobles and the very wealthy had begun to enjoy it; ordinary people had hardly had a chance to try one.

Ah, I want a banana…

“Eek-eek!”

“Kiki says you should plant those, Daddy.”

The monkey’s chattering and his beloved daughter’s voice suddenly reached Jean’s ears.