Dad Came Back from a Deserted Island Chapter 23

“Whoa! Y-you startled me. Vivi, when did you get in here?”

Jean turned around in surprise and saw Vivian and Kiki climbing down from the bed with little grunts of effort.

The pink-haired girl answered shamelessly.

“I was here from the beginning! Kiki and I were playing hide-and-seek!”

“I see. So you didn’t even let Daddy know you were here?”

“Yep!”

Proud of herself for surprising her daddy, Vivian continued to giggle.

“Anyway, Vivi, did the divine beast tell you to plant these?”

“Yeah. Kiki said it wanted… What was it again? Oh! Bananas! It wants to eat them.”

So this is what banana seeds look like?

Jean had only ever seen bananas growing, never their seeds. As he examined them, he gave a regretful look.

“Ah, so these are banana seeds. But, His Divine Beastship, bananas don’t grow in this land. They’re plants that only grow in places as hot as the island where you lived.”

Kiki stuck out its belly and chattered indignantly. Perhaps the snacks Jean had brought it last time had suited its taste, because its belly was much rounder than before.

Vivian quickly relayed its words.

“Kiki says, ‘What do you take me for?’ It says something like that is as easy for it as drinking soup while lying down.”

“…?”

“Huh?”

[You should be bowing your head before my greatness this instant, so why are you making such a foolish face?]

It was difficult for Jean to immediately comprehend the idea that a plant completely incapable of growing in this land could somehow be cultivated.

He tilted his head in confusion, and Vivian and Kiki unconsciously tilted theirs in exactly the same way.

“Are you saying… you can grow bananas here?”

The intense reaction Kiki had been waiting for came a moment late.

Jean’s eyes widened as though they might pop out, and his voice rose with excitement. Kiki giggled in satisfaction.

“My goodness.”

Jean honestly felt like falling at the feet of this baby monkey and kissing them.

If Kiki truly had such an ability, he could amass an enormous fortune even without a diamond mine.

But just as Jean looked ready to cover the mountains in banana trees, one sentence brought him back to his senses.

“Huh? But it says I have to do it.”

“Hmm? What do you mean, Vivi?”

Kiki hurriedly chattered.

“It says it gave me some of its power. Ah, okay! Really! It says I have to tell you that it could do it itself, too. Anyway, it says it’ll be more efficient if I do it instead. What does ‘efficient’ mean, Daddy?”

The moment Jean heard that his precious daughter would have to do it, he immediately became serious and began asking one question after another.

“His Divine Beastship, how exactly can Vivian grow plants?”

“And is there some kind of price to pay?”

“I don’t know much about divine powers, but in stories, people often have to give up part of their life force. That won’t happen here, will it?”

Kiki looked rather displeased.

This human.

When Kiki had said it could do it, Jean had looked ready to rush outside and put it into practice immediately. But the moment he heard that Vivian would be the one doing it, his attitude changed completely.

Still, perhaps it was better than simply telling Vivian to grow the plant no matter what happened to her.

With mixed feelings, the divine beast answered.

[Do you really think I would make Vivian give up her life force?! My power is sacred and completely different from such wicked practices.]

“Ohhh, I see!”

[Ahem. However, Vivian’s body is still far too fragile to withstand my power. If she uses too much of it, she may exhaust herself and collapse.]

“In that case… I’ll find another way. If I find a merchant from a place where bananas grow, we can trade for them. Please wait a little, His Divine Beastship.”

Jean was completely serious.

Everything he had been doing was ultimately for one purpose: to see Vivian live a happy and healthy life.

He had no intention of risking his daughter collapsing just for the sake of growing bananas.

But Vivian spoke up before Kiki could.

“I don’t want to!”

“Hmm? What do you mean, you don’t want to?”

“I wanna grow ba-ba… bananas!”

After already experiencing the wonder of speaking with cats, Vivian was thrilled at the thought of being able to do something else extraordinary.

She puffed out her cheeks, already convinced that Daddy was going to stop her, and showed no sign of backing down.

“Vivi, later. We can try it later. You’re still young, and Kiki said you might collapse if you use that much power!”

“I won’t collapse! I’m strong, Daddy!”

Vivian even pointed a tiny finger at him as she tried to persuade her father.

“If I get tired, I can stop right away! Promise! We can promise!”

Watching her stomp her feet and plead, Jean’s resolve weakened by about as much as a single grain of rice.

Vivian seized the opportunity.

“Hm? Hm? It’s okay, right? Then I can do it, right?”

She snatched the banana seed from Jean’s palm and ran outside before he could stop her.

Jean let out a drained little laugh before following after her.

The sunlight was pleasantly warm. Spring had already passed, and the greenery had grown thick and lush, making it look like the perfect season for growing something.

However, the garden at House Lambert had yet to be completely tended after Jean’s return. Weeds were growing thickly in various places, which might make it difficult for a new sprout to push its way through.

Vivian wasn’t discouraged. She went with Kiki to the corner where they had played by digging in the dirt and crouched down.

How deep could she possibly dig with those tiny hands?

The banana seed was buried only about as deep as the length of Vivian’s index finger.

Watching from behind, Jean wondered whether he should tell her that a plant couldn’t grow properly if its seed was buried so shallowly.

Vivian, however, innocently held out her dirt-covered hands toward Kiki with a bright expression.

“Kiki! Tell me what I have to do now!”

Jean was secretly excited.

What kind of mysterious method will it use to grow the plant?

[Give it power.]

“Huh?”

[Give the plant power.]

“But how do I do that?!”

Kiki pondered.

For a divine beast like Kiki, being asked how to use its power was like being asked how to breathe.

You just use it.

But Kiki absolutely refused to hear Vivian say that it didn’t even know how to do something so simple. So it racked its brain for an explanation.

[Whisper to it that you want to see it grow.]

“To the seed?”

[Yes. Then nature will grant your wish.]

Without hesitation, Vivian lay down on the ground—making Jean flinch as he watched dirt smear all over her clothes—then clasped her hands around her mouth and whispered,

“Banana! Please grow big and strong! I want to know what kind of child you’ll become!”

Nothing happened.

The hopeful tone in her voice made the silence that followed almost embarrassing.

“Nothing’s happeni—huh?”

Just as Vivian’s cheeks began to puff up in disappointment, a fresh green sprout poked through the soil.

The sight was so miraculous that Jean couldn’t even find the words to express his astonishment.

The sprout, which had been no bigger than Vivian’s fingernail, rapidly shot upward, forming a stem and then taking shape as a tiny sapling…

Thud.

The sound of someone collapsing behind them rang out.

At the same time, Vivian’s concentration broke, and the plant stopped growing.

“Uhh?”

When she turned around, Anne was sitting on the ground with her mouth hanging open.

Her once-neat skirt was covered in dirt, but she was far too stunned to care.

She had just witnessed the magical sight of a plant growing right before her eyes, and her fingers trembled uncontrollably.

“I-I came to find you because it was time for your snack, but… w-what did I just see?”