Chapter 343
Chapter 343
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 343
Chapter Title: My Daughter Shiba
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"Shiba's grown so much."
"I wonder if the teacher has changed at all."
Cold sweat trickled down his back amid the nerve war between the two women, who wore smiles that weren't quite smiles.
The idea of sharing the person you love was impossible by his common sense.
Getting cozy with someone other than himself. If jealousy didn't stir, wouldn't that make you question the love you had?
It was an utterly undeserved love. And yet, Yi Se-young and Jin Dalrae had permitted the relationship knowing that.
"...So. Who's that kid?"
Se-young pointed at Shiba, who was snugly nestled in his arms.
Her tense face, sweating just a bit, was adorable.
"R-right! Who's this kid?"
Byul, who had been subdued until now, suddenly raised her hand high as if she finally had something to say.
"Pip?"
Shiba clutched his chest tightly under the two women's attention and looked up at him.
'What do I do, Daddy?' it seemed to ask, so he lifted her up and puffed her cheeks.
"Pihihihi."
Laughter bloomed instantly from her soft, squishy cheeks. The tension melted away.
"My daughter."
"...Daughter?"
"Huh, eh? Ehhh? S-Siheon, you're a dad!? I didn't hear about this!"
Se-young's face went blank, while Byul jumped in shock and slammed the table.
-Thud!
Jin Dalrae's smile watched it all unfold.
Dalrae snatched Shiba from his arms and gently stroked her head.
Shiba reacted immediately to Dalrae's touch. She tilted her head, then eagerly accepted the cake Dalrae offered.
"Mommy?"
-Smirk.
Dalrae grinned at the two of them.
He knew her psychology well.
She expressed affection more deeply than others and was quite jealous, but it was time to intervene.
He hurriedly explained to Yi Se-young, whose face had hardened coldly.
"Se-young knows this already. Remember the potted plant I was raising?"
"...Ah. So that's the kid? Wait a minute... If that's the sprout, then when the hell did you make a baby?"
"It's a long story."
Everyone knew he was a candidate husband for the World Tree.
Ignoring Dalrae, who looked a bit disappointed, he calmly explained.
The tree he'd strangely kept in touch with had given him its seed.
When he raised it, it became a young child. And Dalrae had cared for Shiba so much that she now saw Dalrae as her mom.
"Legally, she's my child. And we're living together."
"What about this?"
Se-young glared at him. He was cornered.
"This is, well, real."
"...Haa."
A deep sigh escaped her. Annoyed by Dalrae's triumphant expression, he flicked her forehead.
-Smack!
"Hehehe."
Look at her laughing. Her face screamed, 'Bet that pisses you off, huh?'
As if proving their family bond, Dalrae lovingly stroked Shiba with her hand.
Yi Se-young, watching quietly, muttered coldly.
"Hey. Dalrae."
The atmosphere sank icy cold. Ice cubes in the coffee melted, clinking softly.
Byul, startled, patted Se-young's shoulders with both hands.
He hadn't expected this reaction from Se-young and was flustered too.
"S-Se-young. Even so, picking a fight with a twenty-year-old kid... "
Byul timidly tried to calm her down. Sweat beaded as she glanced between him, Dalrae, and Se-young.
Just before he screamed internally, Se-young looked at Shiba.
With a serious face, Se-young spoke.
"Has the kid gotten her tetanus shot?"
"...Yes?"
Dalrae, who had bared even the kiss mark on her neck preparing for a verbal battle, blinked in confusion.
"Did you or didn't you?"
"Uh, not yet..."
"What? Lee Siheon, why didn't you do anything?"
He didn't know much about Wood Person ecology.
Se-young alternated glances between him and Dalrae, then clicked her tongue and propped her chin.
"S-sorry."
Dalrae, realizing her mistake, immediately bowed her head.
Se-young, still grumpy, glared at him.
"Now that you two barely-adults are playing mom and dad, will you even do it right...? But basics are basics. What the hell are you doing? Especially you, Siheon—don't leave her alone at every chance?"
"..."
"Kindergarten?"
"Private tutor. One."
"Good. That's a relief."
As a young professional, Se-young was young herself, but far more experienced than freshly twenty-year-old Dalrae.
Moreover, Se-young had endured harsh trials since elementary school.
She knew what mattered and what needed attention.
Byul sighed in relief, stroking her chest.
"Byul, what makes you think you can sigh like that?"
"I didn't know."
"Don't ever raise a kid... You'd probably just game at home even after having one."
"No way? I could totally be a good wife! And not every girl our age knows how to be a mom! Running around fussing like some auntie."
"What?"
"...Eek!"
Byul, thoroughly cowed, scooted her chair over and stuck right next to him.
He gently stroked her head, and her face relaxed immediately.
"Lee Siheon, you didn't do shit either."
"Yep."
"Seeing how big she is, you used the Plant Ring, right? Obvious overgrowth. Turn her into plant form periodically in the pot and alternate water and fertilizer. That's basic."
Basic.
"Have you... ever worked with that stuff?"
Dalrae, who had been listening quietly, finally set aside her hostility and asked Se-young.
Having been called out once, she seemed willing to fix it.
"A lot. Managing World Tree saplings or young Wood Persons..."
He recalled the Se-young from their first meeting.
-You've got something good, huh?
She'd shown up out of nowhere demanding the Plant Ring.
She knew that market inside out.
"That's why you were looking for the Plant Ring back then..."
"Yeah, pretty much."
Se-young replied indifferently, then reached out to Shiba.
Dalrae handed Shiba over without a word.
Right now, Se-young was the child-rearing god in this room.
"Shiba. Remember me?"
"Pip? I remember!"
Shiba, recalling the one who often cared for her as a sprout, spread her arms wide.
Se-young peered closely at Shiba's body with her eyes.
A faint mana rose from her.
"Let me see. No major issues. Still, growing too fast. Gotta watch for growth disorders."
"What kind?"
"Overuse of Plant Ring makes the body unable to handle growth—kids get fevers and die."
"Die-?!"
"Shiba's fine. But just in case. Needs her shots."
Shiba tilted her head.
"Shot?"
"Yeah, shot. Stings a little. But endure it and good things happen."
"Shot!"
Dalrae was diligently noting down Se-young's words.
She even pulled out a notepad and scribbled with a pen.
Se-young smirked at the sight and stroked Shiba's head.
"I came worried about this bastard Siheon. What the hell is this? Hey. Is this all women care about?"
"All?"
"Is this all it takes for the girls dating you?"
"...There's one more."
For now.
Se-young stared into his face, then sighed.
"Then how many girls have you fucked?"
"..."
"Answer."
"Well, seems like way more."
"Come here. I'll give you bread."
"Death bread? That ancient joke..."
"You know it."
"Urk!"
He took a solid hit. Shiba, on Se-young's thigh, shrieked in shock.
"Pip!? Don't hit Daddy!"
"That was deserved. What do you think, kid-mom?"
"He deserved it, Shiba."
"Pip? Pip???"
Shiba, unsure what to do, hopped down and toddled over to him.
She climbed his knee with grunts, grabbed his forehead, and blew on it.
"Paa..."
"Seriously... you're one of a kind."
If there were angels in the world, Shiba was one.
Who the hell named our kid Shiba?
She was pretty enough to name an angel.
As if proving Shiba's cuteness, Byul beside him had been fidgeting, staring at Shiba.
"Hey. Lee Siheon."
Se-young said.
"Take the kid out for some eel or whatever. Prep to die at dawn. Me and Byul synced up and took birth control."
"Huh? H-huh? No, fuck, what?"
"Gotta talk with Dalrae."
"Go on out, honey."
Under the intense pressure, he had no choice but to stand.
Truth be told, he wanted to escape the heavy air.
And he still had tons of calls to make.
He scooped up Shiba and reluctantly rose.
He dreaded his fate. What would happen after marriage?
"Oh, but."
Still, he had something to say before leaving. He addressed Se-young, Dalrae, and Byul.
"Don't fight, okay?"
Until now, they'd been separate lovers.
But as they gathered by his side one by one, they'd inevitably intertwine someday.
She was the only one who grasped the implication of his serious question, and Se-young smiled brightly.
"Yeah."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ -Sizzle.
'Why the hell is there an eel place in the academy?'
As Se-young recommended, he had no choice but to enter the eel restaurant.
She'd earnestly warned him never to eat stamina-draining food like yukmu.
It wasn't about her body, but if her affection for him waned even a bit, his dick might suffer—she'd wailed about it. The memory sent chills to his lower half.
"Women are scary, Shiba..."
"Pip?"
Shiba, sipping miso soup with a spoon, tilted her head.
"My daughter. Grow up to be a kind, angelic girl."
"Shiba good kid! Got award too."
"Really? Wanna check it out when we get home?"
So, just the two of them.
He hadn't played with Shiba in a while, so he'd probably spend most holidays with her from now on.
Just watching her eat made time fly.
'Work's done. Was gonna eat with Sansu-yu.'
She's not picking up.
No read receipts on messages either. And since the Cradle incident, she'd grown quieter, which worried him.
He asked Seong Ji-ho if something happened, but no reply yet.
'Might need to investigate personally.'
If Sansu-yu was involved, it was serious.
'Whatever. Bad to think work while kid eats.'
Se-young's words had taught him something.
Kids were more delicate and sensitive than expected. Parents had to teach and protect without rest for them to grow right.
In his case, even more so since he spent little time with Shiba.
He stroked Shiba's head as she sat beside him.
"Shiba."
"Pip?"
"You know Daddy loves you, right?"
"..."
She set down her spoon and looked at him.
Cat-like, sparkling light-green eyes. Pale hair that shimmered in the light, and cute short-sleeved animal top for summer.
Their distance could grow anytime in the future.
Apart, even known love turns to doubt. And he'd feel down alone often.
Not because love faded.
That's how minds work.
Distant feelings cherry-pick good memories into beautiful nostalgia.
Sometimes, nostalgia packed with only good vibes outshines recent bittersweet ones.
Seemed happy back then.
Why now? Has something changed? Easy to mistake.
"Shiba loves Daddy too!"
Shiba beamed innocently, overflowing with affection.
Somehow, from sprout days, that one feeling never changed.
It pained him that he couldn't pay enough attention.
But action over regret and worry.
-Smirk.
"Alright, Shiba. What's this fish called?"
Daddy's new at this. No idea what my girl likes.
He's young, knows little of the world, and his own dad wasn't great.
"Eel!"
"Oho. Smart girl."
"Hehehe. Shiba smart."
Not sure if he'll be a good dad, but he wants to be an effort-making one.
He picked well-cooked eel without bones and placed it on Shiba's small plate, smiling contentedly.
My daughter is amazing.