Eat The World Tree

“Beep.”

In the lonely dawn that crept around her waist, Shiba woke up and turned over in bed.

“……”

There was no one else lying in the dark room on the bed except for Shiba.

Again. Dad took her sister and disappeared.

The sister with white hair and the sister with orange hair often did this.

Why did he leave her behind?

Shiba’s eyebrows shot up sharply.

“Dad…”

Worried and anxious. She hoped Dad hadn’t come to harm.

Shiba recalled a scene she once saw outside the bedroom.

The orange-haired sister was swallowing Dad whole.

It was terrifying to the bone.

-Beep, Beep!?

Ah, Dad was eaten!

She didn’t know how much she shrank back then.

Whining as if in pain… The sound of her breathing grew louder.

Fortunately, the sister was merciful, and Dad still took her to school the next day.

It’s better this way. Shiba was strong.

She had no doubt that Dad would be lying next to her when she woke up in the morning.

But she still hated the thought of Dad being hurt.

“Beep.”

It’d be okay. Like last time.

He’d come back in the morning again.

Dad had his things to do too! Shiba was an understanding family member.

Just like she played at kindergarten, Dad needed to play too.

Just close her eyes until then.

Wrapped in a green blanket, hands clasped to her head.

“…Peep.”

A pure white imaginary world unfolded in her mind.

There, Dad was stroking Shiba’s head as she lay in bed.

The more she imagined, the number of Dads increased.

Dad as one… Dad as two.

“Peep-hee-hee.”

Laughing childishly in her happy imagination, Shiba fell into a light sleep.

She wondered what lunch will be at kindergarten tomorrow.

Bibimbap? She hated bibimbap!

Shiba hated sprout bibimbap the most in the world.

The foods Shiba liked were similar.

Her favorite was the food Dad made. The food Dad bought was her second favorite. The water Dad gave was her third favorite.

Thinking of Dad made her tear up again.

Leaving her like this. Bad Dad.

Maybe he knew he’s wrong?

“Beep?”

A great idea popped into Shiba’s mind.

Hwangdo’s thighs trembled as she walked down the street.

“Hng… Euh.”

“Stop crying.”

“My lower stomach still throbs.”

Bent back, she awkwardly smiled and shook her hips.

As I patted her back leaving the motel, Hwangdo screamed.

-Bang!

“Eek!”

Her hips jolted violently.

The more you looked, the more provocative her body became… but carrying Hwangdo in the future would be hard.

Hwangdo must be feeling left out too, so throughout this dawn, I let her draw all the energy she wanted from me.

By doing so, when we met again later, it would feel completely natural as I tried to infuse as much affection as possible.

The days until we parted were not many now.

Mostly, I wanted to quickly get past the awkwardness because the young Hwangdo came to mind.

Honestly, I didn’t feel entirely without guilt.

It felt odd seeing young Hwangdo and then realizing the age gap didn’t seem to apply.

Maybe that’s why I was a bit rougher during our interactions.

“Little Brother, Little Brother.”

“Yes?”

As we were crossing the pedestrian walk, Hwangdo slowed down and called me twice, pulling her face close to mine.

“…I liked that it was rough today.”

…She seemed to like it rough.

As Hwangdo made a risqué joke on the street, I playfully smacked her on the upper part of her rear.

Hwangdo shivered, holding her breath.

Smack.

“Ugh!”

“Come on, let’s go. What if you wake Shiba?”

“Shiba won’t wake up! Even if you carry her away while she’s asleep, she wouldn’t know.”

I wish I could say the same.

For some reason, today felt unsettling.

The emotional connection between father and daughter alerted me. In the middle of the night, I felt an emptiness in my chest, making me miss Shiba.

Could she have woken up?

I entered the dorm, punched in the password, and entered my room.

Beep, beep.

I lowered the door lock as it imitated Shiba’s voice.

The door swung open with a thud-

“……”

Inside, Shiba was seated, clutching a pillow.

“Daddy.”

Hwangdo entered behind me but froze upon hearing Shiba’s voice at the entrance.

“I’m back.”

That phrase, colder than the day before.

“Daddy.”

“Yes.”

“…Beep.”

Beep, beep.

The sullen chirps resonated deeply within me.

Was that ‘beep’ a stand-in for ‘I hate you’?

It wasn’t just my imagination. I could somewhat decipher Shiba’s language.

This was…

Undoubtedly my fault.

Shiba was sleeping so peacefully… what a pitiful excuse for my actions.

['World Tree of Purity' puffs up its cheeks, scolding you.]

The voice echoing in my mind snapped me back to reality.

You’re right, World Tree of Purity.

But you, who only gave birth and then neglected her, had no right to criticize.

[…….]

Purity remained silent.

Alright… understood. That’s not the point here. It’s a complete disaster anyway.

I knelt down and wrapped my arms around Shiba, offering myself as a pillow.

Thankfully, Shiba hadn’t yet withdrawn her affection.

“Beep.”

A beep that was colder than usual.

“Shiba, our daughter.”

“Beep.”

“I’m sorry, Daddy. Okay? I won’t leave at dawn again.”

As we entered the room, I patted her back. Hwangdo hurried in and began apologizing profusely to Shiba.

“Shi, Shiba… It was all your sister’s fault… Daddy did nothing wrong.”

“What are you telling a child? Tempting or whatever. Just apologize.”

“Fine. Sorry.”

Hwangdo’s apology seemed to fall on deaf ears as Shiba simply snuggled her face against my chest.

Rubbing, rubbing.

Seeing her rub her head against me, it seemed she was somewhat mollified.

When I gently let go of Shiba, her smiling face quickly reverted to a pout.

“…Beep.”

Her outstretched arms seemed to be asking for another embrace.

Her eyes, cynical yet charming, sparkled with cynicism.

I hugged Shiba once more.

Rubbing.

And when I released her again, her smile shifted to a delayed expression of ‘I’m upset’.

Hmm.

That couldn’t be.

Our Shiba couldn’t be that cunning.

“Beep! Beep!”

With fists the size of pebbles on her waist, Shiba shouted energetically.

I quickly hugged her and patted her back.

“Beep-heh.”

Laughter could be heard.

Once again, I sensed a mysterious tension, but it didn’t matter since Shiba seemed to enjoy it.

“What would you like to eat, Shiba?”

Today was a holiday, the retreat was over, and it’s Saturday.

I planned to meet Hwangdo only during the night and spend the rest with Shiba. It didn’t work out as planned.

I must console my daughter. After all, my life revolved around her.

I hugged her tightly, lifted her in my arms, gave kisses, and showered her with all kinds of affectionate attacks to lift Shiba’s spirits, while Hwangdo watched enviously.

“I wish I were born as Little Brother’s daughter.”

“What?”

“No, just, you look happy.”

Why would you be jealous of a child? As if she was the embodiment of jealousy.

“You got a lot yesterday.”

“…Hehe. It felt good.”

Dealing with both my daughter and Hwangdo could be draining.

Especially since Hwangdo subtly brought a sexual appeal, making it even more so.

…If I ever got married, would I literally be bone-tired?

While playing with Shiba and syncing up with Hwangdo, such a thought crossed my mind.

“Daddy.”

“Yes?”

I looked up at the sound of Shiba’s voice coming from my shoulder.

Shiba took out a tiny dictionary from her pocket and slowly opened her mouth after reading a word.

“…Daddy, I love you!”

“…….”

Yelp!

A feeling of fatigue lifted.

It felt like being hit with both a whip and a carrot.

“Shiba! What about me? What about me?”

“…Scary.”

“Huh?”

When the excited Hwangdo spoke to Shiba, she replied with a slightly reluctant voice.

As expected, Shiba was just Shiba. She loved her Daddy.

I swiftly lifted Shiba onto my shoulders and hugged her tightly.

“Baaah~ Daddy!”

Hwangdo looked utterly lost as she watched us.

“I’m jealous… It’s strange. They say kids like the people who take care of them.”

“Doesn’t this show how smart Shiba is? I think we should send her to a good school. Maybe look into piano lessons?”

“…Overprotective. The book said there should be some distance from a dad who is always out working. I tried so hard though.”

Shiba clung tightly to me while looking at Hwangdo.

“Scary! Daddy, love! Hwangdo? No like.”

“That’s right.”

“Hmph… Shiba.”

I was still more accustomed to her chirping sounds, but I suppose she’d adapt to this lisp soon enough.

“Shiba.”

“Beep?”

“You still have to go to kindergarten. We finished early today.”

“…….”

Shiba clearly understood my words.

Pouting wouldn’t help.

Social skills were a must to develop.

In the morning, I made breakfast for Shiba, helped her with brushing her teeth, and then we teleported to kindergarten.

The way to the kindergarten was simple.

Teleport to a coordinate in a secluded alley.

We appeared in a place where people didn’t frequent and walked to the kindergarten as if we came from nearby, holding Shiba’s hand.

“Ah? Mr. Shiba’s father, hello~ It’s you today?”

“Ah, hello. I haven’t been able to come because of work.”

A kindergarten teacher in a yellow short-sleeve shirt smiled and greeted me warmly.

Her smiling face looked delighted as soon as she saw Shiba.

“It always looks like you have a great relationship with your daughter. Hehe.”

“Does it look that way?”

“Of course~ Shiba loves her daddy so much~ She always draws just you in her pictures, you know?”

I knew that.

The drawings Shiba brought from kindergarten always featured a tall man with black hair at the center.

I imagined at first that he was a prince on a white horse, but Baekdo clarified that anyone could see it was me.

Grinning, I asked the teacher something I’d been curious about since last night.

“Oh right. When did Shiba start talking?”

“Ah~ Shiba’s language learning is slow for her age… so she’s had special classes.”

“I see. I was surprised yesterday when she came back saying ‘daddy.’”

“Fu-huhu. It must have felt great?”

“The best.”

Special classes, huh.

Given her appearance, Shiba looked about five or six years old, so to others, it might seem strange that she hadn’t spoken until now.

But Shiba was not even a year old yet.

A genius, truly a genius.

“Come on, Shiba. Shouldn’t you go to your teacher?”

“…Beep.”

Seemingly reluctant, Shiba clung to the teacher’s legs as she left my arms.

This teacher was the one she followed best among all the staff at the kindergarten.

Her name was… Shin Hye-young, I think?

It seemed clear Shiba liked pretty women, just like her father.

“Ah right. Next week is the talent show, you’ll be coming, right?”

“Of course. It’s our daughter’s performance, so I must watch.”

Girin Class. Shiba, Lee.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized I chose the name poorly…

‘Sigh.’

Now that Shiba had come to recognize it as her name, could I really change it?

It wouldn’t be strange to change it later if she ends up being teased.

“Please take good care of our Shiba.”

“Yes, Mr. Father~ Come on, Shiba.”

“Beep…”

Shiba’s dejected voice made me chuckle.

After settling most of the morning’s tasks,

I thought about taking a break and waiting for Shiba, who would return around lunchtime, so I teleported back to the alley.

-Flash!

I returned to the dormitory.

The normal morning scene after Shiba left: dishes piled up, uneaten rice bowls left on the table.

And the laundry accumulated in the bathroom.

The details I never noticed as a child were now starkly apparent, making me realize how carefree my childhood was.

“…Time to clean up.”

Fortunately, my body didn’t feel tired at all.

I picked up Shiba’s scattered clothes and headed to the kitchen.

-Sliding.

As I entered the kitchen, I was greeted with a voice.

“…Are you back?”

Cheondo was sitting at the kitchen table, sorting through the leftover food while reading a magazine.

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