The Banana Forest Tribute

A victory worth having is always followed by its reward.

He had beaten Tetonam, the tribal representative, and now it was time to collect the spoils.

And yet—

Ukki... ukkikki...! (Your Majesty... we shall escort you to the Banana Forest...!)

Was it the title King of Monkeys at work? The mischievous monkeys had turned abruptly solemn, as if they were attending an emperor. Heh. His shoulders were squaring themselves for no good reason at all.

"Ahem. Yes, yes. Lead the way."

Minhyuk set off under the monkeys' lavish escort, and before long the towering banana trees came into view.

"Oh...?"

A small sound of admiration escaped him. Hearing "Banana Forest," he had assumed it would be nothing more than a stretch of ground where banana trees happened to grow. What he found was quietly, thoroughly organized.

There's a fence up, even... and is that a watchtower? They've posted sentries, too?

He could even make out monkey farmers assigned to the pests. Every banana tree was under meticulous care.

What are these guys, exactly?

The longer he looked, the less ordinary their level of civilization seemed.

Ukkikki—? Ukki— ukkikki— (How many do you require? If you wish it, we shall offer bananas every week.)

Oh? They'd throw in a regular delivery service, too?

"Hmm... I'll take about a hundred for now. If I need more, I'll say so then."

And so Minhyuk put himself down for a standing order of a hundred bananas. That was more than enough to share among the Safe Zone's staff. He meant to grow them himself on Fertile Soil besides, so "enough" hardly covered it. They would have more than they could eat.

At any rate.

Next came his first meeting with the principal figures. The monkeys who held office in the tree village formed a line and saluted him.

Ukki—!

Ukkikki—!

Ukki— ukki—!

"Yes, yes. Good to meet all of you, too."

Minhyuk shook hands with each of them in turn: the Monkey Security Captain, the Monkey Minister of Agriculture, the Monkey Minister of Education, the Monkey Chief Councilor, the Monkey Scout Captain, and the rest. And last of all—

Uki— ukikikki—

"Hmm. You're the one I saw earlier, aren't you?"

Monkey Doctor, the crown of his head gone bald. Only a little while ago he had been the monkey reading a stone slate through a pair of glasses. No matter how you looked at it, this one was the finest brain of the lot.

"Hey, Monkey Doctor."

Uki—!

"What's the greatest invention in this tree village?"

He asked in hopes of glimpsing just how far their civilization went, and Monkey Doctor held out a stone.

Ting—!

An item ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠window rose with it.

Good grief. So this thing was a radio?

This guy... sweet-talk him properly, and I could get some serious use out of him.

For the record, Minhyuk's technical ability ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠amounted to nothing but Crafting, and that at level 1. He was, for all practical purposes, still in the Stone Age. But take counsel from this clever Monkey Doctor, and he could improve by leaps and bounds.

Ukki— ukkikki—? (Your Majesty, are we to relocate now to the king's country?)

The inaugural round of handshakes done, the Monkey Chief Councilor pressed his palms together and spoke. Minhyuk gave it serious thought.

Taking them into the Safe Zone... there are far too many.

Hundreds, just among the ones he could see. A Safe Zone of barely two hundred and fifty square meters could never support that many, and even if he brought them along, he would have nothing for them to do.

Security's already handled by the Little Wooden Soldiers and Kkureung, and the farming's plenty with just me and the meerkats.

Farming, besides, was one of Minhyuk's joys. Raising the crops himself and watching them shoot up green — how much happiness was there in that? He had no wish to hand the whole of it over to the monkeys.

"No. You keep living here. I'll recognize you as a vassal state of the Safe Zone."

A second subcontractor, after Elia. Was that the way to put it?

Ukkikki—! Ukki—! (Understood. In return, if there is anything you require, we shall offer all of it!)

Oh? Now that was a decent proposal.

Minhyuk made a careful circuit of the monkeys' tree village. There was plenty worth coveting.

"Ooh? That's a bed, isn't it?"

A bed woven from giant leaves — exactly what Minhyuk needed, still sleeping as he was on the sand. There was even a child's version.

That one I can give to Elia.

She slept over in the Safe Zone now and then, and every time, the thought of her lying on bare ground nagged at him more than he liked to admit.

"All right. This'll do."

A hundred bananas, a leaf bed, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a child's bed hung with a twig mobile, a wooden sofa for four, the Communication Magic Stone, a few pieces of wooden equipment, and more besides. Having claimed a generous haul, Minhyuk made ready to return to the Safe Zone.

And how was he meant to carry all of it? Why, the people of the jungle would help.

Dun-dun—!

The monkeys bearing the spoils formed up in a column of four. It was a grand procession, worthy of a king's return.

"...Huh?"

Except, that is, for the two monkey vassals who had fallen in empty-handed and were standing there staring blankly. And why were the two of you standing there?

Ukkikki—

Ukki—

"Ah... you yourselves are the spoils?"

Minhyuk nodded without a fuss. A couple of vassals to wait on him — he was welcome to that any time.

"Boss!"

Kkurung—!

The moment he stepped back into the Safe Zone, Elia and Kkureung came running to greet him.

"How'd it go? You won, right?"

"Of course. Won it fair and square."

"Heehee, so cool, so cool!"

Elia bounced in place, delighted by the news of victory.

Kkurung—!

Big bro's the best—!

Kkureung clung to Minhyuk's leg and rejoiced right along with her.

"But how come you aren't carrying anything?"

"Hm? Carrying what?"

"The bananas? You said you'd bring them if you won, didn't you?"

"Ah, those—"

Minhyuk turned, just slightly, and pointed behind him.

"They're on their way."

"Uuung...?"

A procession of monkeys stretched back in a column of four.

Hic—

Elia, seeing a monkey for the first time in her life, hiccuped in surprise. The meerkats hid behind her and peeked out, nothing but their heads showing.

Kkuruk...?

Kkorong-kkorong...?

Kkururung...?

Hopeless, the lot of them. Kkureung he could excuse, but the rest of you were full-grown. An adult ought to be thinking about protecting the child.

"It's all right. They're staff who agreed to help out, starting today."

"What do you mean by that...?"

"Mm. Friends. Like Kkureung."

"A friend?"

At the word friend, Elia's eyes flashed with curiosity. The meerkats crept closer as well and began to sniff at the monkeys.

Sniff, sniff—

They were still wary. Was it because the monkeys had come swarming in a crowd?

But there was a method for everything. When nerves ran high, nothing worked better than something sweet.

"Kids, shall we have some banana?"

Minhyuk lifted a whole hand of them, and Elia and the meerkats trotted over, nodding. Honest little mouths, every one of them.

Peel— peel—

He stripped the skins himself and passed the bananas over.

Nom-nom-nom—

"Mmm... it tastes like a dream..."

Elia's eyes, as she adorably worked her cheeks, melted into crescents. The meerkats had starlight pouring straight out of theirs.

Kkuruuuung...

From what he could gather, the monkeys had kept the bananas all to themselves, and the others had never once gotten a taste. Something like that.

"Then I'll have one, too..."

Minhyuk took a bite himself, and at once the brow of truth shot up.

"Mmm~"

A heavy sweetness seized his whole mouth. The texture was creamy. It felt like eating a fine dessert, and as the sugar hit a body worn out from climbing trees, his strength came surging back.

And on top of that, the rise in mana he had wanted so badly!

Ahh. Sweet. Achingly sweet.

Imagine if he hadn't beaten the tribal representative.

"Boss, can I have one more?"

"Sure. We've got tons of bananas, so eat till you burst. That goes for all of you."

Kkurung—!

And so, while the monkeys set about arranging the furniture, the others ate bananas as if possessed — and that was when it happened.

Ting—!

A notification window rose over Elia's head.

An official shop? And what was that supposed to be?

Minhyuk's gaze turned to Elia.

A blacklist...?

That dubious little mob of villains, eyes on the pittance Elia had scraped together. With that function alone, she could be safe from them. She could cut off contact at the source and travel only between the shop and the island.

For the record, Minhyuk's current assets stood at 1,620 coins. And now he could sell cherry tomatoes as well, which meant still more income on the way.

Five hundred coins is well worth investing.

Frankly, think how well Elia had done for him all this time. The contract split pricked his conscience a little, too. Of course he had been providing her with that much food, and with various conveniences besides.

Ninety-five to five was a bit much, I'll admit.

Well... he could think of it as something like the four big social insurances back home. Skim a portion of Elia's share, and let yours truly invest it in a place like an Official Shop.

"Elia, you interested in opening a shop?"

"Yeah, I am! Lots and lots! It's my dream!"

"Then how about opening one, while we've got the chance?"

"Uuum..."

Elia drooped all at once and scratched at the sand with a finger.

"It's just... the thing is, I don't have the money..."

"It's all right. I'll put it up for you."

"Really?"

Her face brightened in an instant. Elia's pointed ears perked straight up. Heh. How was it that their little treasure only got cuter by the day?

"Yeah. But you have to keep working hard, just like now. Deal?"

"Okay! Just trust me!"

And the moment Official Shop (D) was added to her status window—

"Wow! Boss is the best!"

Elia threw herself into his arms and stamped her feet for joy. Minhyuk found a dad's smile on his face before he knew it.

I definitely hired her as a merchant.

So why did it feel like he was raising a darling daughter?

Day 75.

Before he knew it, the three garden brothers — cucumber, potato, and cherry tomato — had ripened nicely for the table.

Up and up—

The corn was still growing like mad.

Ukki—

Ukkikki—

And the bananas were under the personal care of the monkey farmers, who had come out to see to the pests themselves. Minhyuk harvested the plump, ripe crops one by one. It was the hour he looked forward to most in this whole castaway life.

"Haa— every one of you grew in nice and solid again."

A satisfaction and a sense of achievement that modern life had never once given him washed over him. Knowing they would be put to good use warmed him all the way through.

And a level-up on the side. Hard to dislike a life like this.

"Heehee, I'm off!"

"Yeah. Do well again this time."

Elia, who had been chirping nonstop about how badly she wanted to see her very first Official Shop, set off for the Free Market more excitedly than ever.

Tidying the field afterward was cleared with ease. Minhyuk stretched out on the wooden sun lounger he had claimed among the spoils and took his rest.

Fwoosh— fwoosh—

The two monkey vassals fanned him with colossal leaves. Billowing clouds lifted his mood just to look at them, and for the perfect idle snack, there was a bite of cherry tomato.

"Ahh. Heaven itself couldn't beat this."

Waited on so devotedly, he really did feel as if he had become a king. On Earth I was an ordinary office worker, and inside the Tower I'm royalty?

"Right... about time I got back to opening up the jungle."

Minhyuk popped a cherry tomato into his mouth and laid his plans.

How would it have gone, before? He probably would have taken the Little Wooden Soldiers and Kkureung and charged blindly into the jungle, without the faintest idea of what food existed where. Like looking for a needle on the beach. He would have wandered that vast jungle without direction and had a miserable time of it, and past the cornfield he would even have had to accept the risk of getting lost.

But that had been in his commoner days. Now that he was King of Monkeys, it was a different story.

"Hand me that."

He gave a light crook of his fingers, and a monkey vassal passed him the Communication Magic Stone.

Click—

"Hey, it's me. Send the scout brigade over."

Ahh, convenient. So very convenient—