Dad Came Back from a Deserted Island Chapter 8

Jean asked as he watched Vivian carry the egg around all the way until dinner.

No matter how precious that gemstone was, at this rate, she looked ready to carry it even while bathing.

“Vivi, isn’t it heavy? Want Daddy to carry it for you?”

“It’s okay. It’s not heavy at all!”

In truth, it was a little heavy.

But the moment Jean suggested taking it, the egg had made such a fuss, insisting that she absolutely must not hand it over, that Vivian couldn’t let on.

Vivian pouted as she looked down at the egg, then suddenly remembered something and hurriedly called out to Jean.

“Daddy, Daddy! Come here. There’s something you need to do.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Let’s go to my room first! I put it in there.”

Vivian hugged the egg with one arm and tugged on Jean’s sleeve with the other.

“What could it possibly be? But Vivi, your room is downstairs, isn’t it?”

Vivian fidgeted with her lips.

She couldn’t bring herself to tell him that Peter had taken her room. She still remembered the look on Jean’s face when she’d volunteered to do the dishes that morning, and it bothered her.

If Daddy finds out how I’ve been living, he’ll be sad. I won’t tell him!

“……Th-that room… I gave it to Peter. This is my room now.”

“……”

There was no way Jean could fail to understand what had happened.

But seeing how Vivian was trying to protect his feelings, he found it both heartbreaking and precious, so he deliberately pretended not to notice.

Vivian opened the door and pointed toward the corner of the room.

“D-Daddy! That painting. Take the painting out!”

“The painting? What painting… Ah.”

What Vivian was pointing at was a portrait of Jean and Vivian.

Jean had bitterly regretted the fact that he had never had a painting made with his wife, so he had saved up money and sought out a painter to have this one made.

It had originally hung in a place where it was visible the moment one entered the room, but Ron and Mary had taken it down and tried to throw it away.

Vivian had begged them again and again, so they had reluctantly decided not to throw it away and instead left it stored in her room.

It was so large that an adult man had to stretch out both arms to hold it. Carrying it up the stairs had been so difficult that the scar from that time was still left on Vivian’s leg.

After staring at the painting until it had become worn from countless viewings, Vivian’s longing had only grown stronger, until eventually she couldn’t bear to look at it anymore.

She had left it in the corner and tried her best to forget about it, which was why Jean hadn’t immediately remembered it.

But Daddy’s back now!

It was time for the painting to return to its proper place.

“This painting was still here…”

Jean had thought the painting had been thrown away long ago.

His expression tightened with emotion as he walked toward it.

A young Jean dressed as formally as he had been on his wedding day, with a tiny Vivian precious in his arms.

Thanks to the painter’s incredible ability to capture the sunlight streaming through the window, simply looking at the painting made Jean feel as though he could once again sense the air of that moment.

How beautiful the day had been.

How light Vivian had felt in his arms.

How lovely her sweet, baby-like scent had been.

All those memories came rushing back to Jean in their entirety.

He wiped the corners of his eyes before embracing Vivian.

“Thank you, Vivi. You kept this painting all this time. Shall we hang it back where it used to be?”

“Yeah! I want it to be the first thing I see when I come home, just like before.”

“Okay. And from now on, Vivian, your room is that room you used to sleep in. Got it?”

“Okay! But…”

Vivian cupped one hand around her mouth—while still holding the egg against herself with the other—and whispered into Jean’s ear.

“Can I keep sleeping in Daddy’s room with you? I don’t want to sleep alone in my room.”

Before he left, she had insisted that she would sleep in her own room all by herself.

Touched and amused by how adorable his daughter was, Jean let out a soft laugh and whispered back.

“Daddy will always welcome you, Princess.”

 

***

 

Before they knew it, a week had passed.

Vivian no longer doubted that Jean was really her father. Once she realized that her father wasn’t going to leave again, the child became much brighter.

And a week was more than enough time for Jean to become accustomed to seeing his daughter carry the egg around everywhere.

But not now.

Jean spoke in a fairly stern voice.

“Vivi. What did I tell you about holding the egg while you’re eating?”

“Yes.”

“[No! Don’t put me down! I think I can wake up soon! There isn’t much longer!]”

“But you’ve been saying that for a week.”

“[No, this time I really mean it! Five minutes. Just five minutes.]”

“Ugh…”

“Vivian.”

Unable to choose between Jean’s stern gaze and the egg’s whining, Vivian dragged the chair beside her closer and placed the egg on it.

“[I said just five minutes! Hmm? Hmmm. Good. I think this is close enough.]”

Vivian sat so close to the egg that her hip and side were pressed firmly against it, making it difficult for her to pick up her utensils.

Apparently satisfied, the egg, which had been squawking noisily, finally quieted down.

“Daddy, the egg kept whining and whining, saying it wanted me to hold it, so I couldn’t help it. It says it’ll come out soon, so just bear with it a little!”

Vivian spoke like a mother exhausted from dealing with a fussy child.

Jean’s stern expression naturally softened.

“I’m only letting it slide today. Starting tomorrow, you need to sit properly while you eat, okay?”

“Mm-hmm! I want to sit properly and eat too, Daddy.”

“[To think you’re talking about the precious opportunity to care for this noble body as though it’s such a nuisance!]”

Vivian pretended to scratch her ear once.

Seeing that, the egg bobbed up and down on its own, angrily making a series of eek-eek sounds.

“Huh?”

It moved?

Vivian, who had been reaching for her fork, froze with her mouth open.

Sure enough, the egg was moving.

Unable to contain its own frustration, it wobbled back and forth on the chair like a roly-poly doll.

And then—

Crack!

A crack appeared across the surface of the egg, which was glowing with a brilliant light.

“Oh! Daddy! The egg! The egg is hatching!”

“Huh? The gemstone really is cracking!”

“It isn’t a gemstone! I told you it’s an egg!”

“[Little human! I was secretly proud of you for helping me, and you dare treat my words like nonsense?]”

“This isn’t the time for that! The egg is cracking! Does this mean you can come out now?”

“[What? The egg is cracking? Wh-What? It really is! Light, light! Eek-eek-eek! I’m free!]”

The egg bobbed a few more times, and the cracks became increasingly distinct.

More than half of its surface had cracked.

And soon, the creature that had been speaking to Vivian from inside the egg all this time finally revealed itself.

“[Eek-eek!]”

“What… is that?”

The creature that emerged with half the eggshell sitting on its head like a hat—

Was a monkey.

A baby monkey with black fur and red eyes.

“M-Monster! Vivi, c-come here!”

Jean was startled at the sight of the monkey that had hatched from the egg. He hurried around the table and scooped Vivian into his arms.

The monkey stretched its stiff body with a long yawn, then heard Jean’s words and angrily let out another series of eek-eek sounds.

“[How dare you call this noble body a monster! Foolish human!]”

“Daddy, is this a monkey?”

“Monkeys don’t hatch from eggs, Vivian!”

“[I am not a monkey. Human!]”

“He says he’s not a monkey.”

Vivian answered while pressing her index finger against her lips.

Since Jean couldn’t hear the monkey that had emerged from the egg, all he saw was Vivian saying something completely nonsensical on her own.

But at this point, Jean could no longer simply dismiss Vivian’s words as a child’s imagination.

Jean had looked ready to grab even the knife on the table and attack the monkey, but Vivian’s voice made him lower his guard slightly.

“…You really were talking to it, Vivi?”

“You thought I was lying this whole time?”

Vivian glared at him with narrowed eyes.

Jean immediately stammered, “No, no, I—” dragging out the words awkwardly.

Meanwhile, the monkey continued stretching its body, then climbed onto the dining table and proudly stuck out its chest.

“[The air outside is refreshing! Human. And little human. Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am a divine beast left behind by a dragon.]”

“He says he’s a divine beast, Daddy.”

“A-a divine beast?”

“He says a dragon left him behind.”

In the Empire where Vivian and Jean lived, there was a legend that the nation had been founded by a child born between a dragon and a human.

But in a world where both monsters and magic had faded into obscurity, people thought of it as nothing more than a fairy tale they had heard as children.

Jean was no exception.

And yet now, before the eyes of the two of them, that very legend had appeared.

“[Kneel before me and worship!]”

I don’t know what he’s saying, but I don’t think I need to tell Daddy that part.

Vivian ignored the monkey’s words.

Jean, who had no idea how ridiculously pompous the baby monkey was being, asked cautiously.

“Um… Divine Beast… sir? May I ask you just one thing…?”

“[Yes! Humans. Unlike the little human, you know how to show proper respect to me! Ask away!]”

“He says it’s okay, Daddy.”

“Why, of all things… Are you a monkey?”

Silence fell.