Chapter 52: Shiba, Finally Becomes Human (1)
Shiba was strong.
That was an unchanging truth that she was Fun, Cool, and Sexy.
She believed that her strength was an evident proposition. At least, that was what Shiba had always thought.
“Squeak!”
In a dark room, Shiba endlessly waited for her father.
Holding a handful of soil, she absentmindedly shook a sprout. Shiba was in high spirits.
“Peep~ Squeak~”
What would today’s water taste like? Six drops, no, she should drink seven today!
While she waited and daydreamed, Shiba suddenly noticed that she had grown a bit.
“Squeak?”
Her slightly risen torso. The overflowing magic.
Realizing her own growth, Shiba, for a brief moment, understood the trick to change her form.
Shiba focused on the tip of her sprout and soon drew the magic towards it.
-Pop!
“Squeak?!”
Boom! Shiba grew hands!
Pushing the natural congratulatory sounds in her head to the background, she focused her energy on her roots this time.
“Squeal!?”
Shiba grew two legs!
-Thud.
The pot, unable to handle her increased size, rolled off the table. Emerging from the pot, Shiba had a small body of about 30 cm. Her appearance, wrapped in tree bark, unmistakably resembled a first-generation Tree Person.
The sprout on her head swayed with her head’s movements.
“Squeal, Squeal!”
Shiba, startled by the sudden emergency, looked around, struggling to adapt to her changes, searching for her father.
Growth was scary. Her body ached from growing.
Shiba, wiping away tears from her eyes with her arms, stood up and approached the door in baby steps.
Then, whoops! She lost her balance and fell, a bright red mark appearing on Shiba’s forehead.
“……Squeak?”
Touching her forehead, Shiba soon burst into tears from the sharp pain.
“Squeal…. Waah! Waah!”
Desperately seeking her protector, Shiba. She crawled towards the door, but her body was too small.
Crying out loud and holding her forehead with both hands, Shiba sat down in dismay, unable to contain her sorrow.
“Squeak, sob, peep.”
After crying for a while, her tears slowly subsided.
She was in so much pain, yet her father wasn’t coming. She thought,
‘What is he doing when he should be rushing here in a heartbeat? What will he do if I disappear?’
Suddenly resenting her father, Shiba wiped away her tears and puffed up her cheeks.
He would realize how important she was if she disappeared, right?
Suddenly.
Shiba stood up.
She thought about it!
Last time, too, he left her alone, and didn’t he return only after several days? She was surely a tree picked up from under a bridge. With that thought, a tear trickled down her face.
“Squeak.”
Shiba, sobbing, made up her mind internally.
She decided to run away from this detestable corner of the house. To teach her naive father how precious she was.
With a determined will, Shiba gazed mightily at the doorknob.
“……Squeak.”
However, from the very beginning, Shiba encountered a huge obstacle: the door she had to get past to leave the house. She realized her hand couldn’t reach the doorknob.
This couldn’t be happening.
Despair filled Shiba as she realized that this sloping threshold was made for humans.
Given the situation, there was no other way to escape. Scanning the room, Shiba’s eyes landed on the refrigerator, which seemed to have a slightly spacious gap at the bottom.
“Squeal.”
Shiba spoke. After all, as long as she was out of sight, it was fine, right? Shiba’s aim was to take revenge on her father, who had neglected her.
With her crafty idea, Shiba dashed and crawled under the refrigerator after struggling a bit.
Huddled in the tight space, Shiba covered her eyes with her tiny hands. She hoped she was now invisible.
The preparation was complete……now all she had to do was wait.
With her eyes closed, Shiba sat still. Imagining her surprised father’s face, she giggled, then, recalling he still hadn’t searched for her, her face turned gloomy.
“Squeak. Squeal.”
Shedding tears little by little, Shiba eventually rested her head on a dust pillow and fell asleep.
-Thud.
Awakened by the sound of the refrigerator door opening, Shiba rubbed her eyes and stood up. Seeing the feet visible from under the refrigerator, her face lit up.
Checking her surroundings, Shiba struggled out from underneath.
Now, he must realize she is gone, right?
However, Shiheon seemed completely disinterested in his daughter, lying down on the bed with a distant look.
Shiba, witnessing this from under the bed, was appalled.
“……Squeak.”
‘Dad, you’re mean.’
A visibly upset Shiba spread her hands and climbed up to the middle of the bed. Placing both of her feet on her father’s chest and frowning, she looked at her sleeping father.
“Squeak.”
For some reason, she felt like everything was okay. Shiba suddenly recalled Shiheon’s face since she was born.
She had tried her best to live; maybe forgiving him just this once was okay. Time healed, after all. After sighing and waking up, her anger seemed to dissipate.
“…Mmm.”
Shiheon frowned at the weight. Shiba, startled, tried to get off but paused. Bringing a finger to her lips in thought, she decided to kneel down and embrace him.
The warmth of the hug melted her heart.
-Tightly.
Shiba spread her arms wide and hugged him. Her short arms and hands couldn’t reach his back, but the warmth of her father’s embrace brought a smile to Shiba’s face.
Wishing she could always stay like this, she wondered why he always went outside.
“Dad.”
Shiba called her father and closed her eyes.
Embracing the vitality of the vegetation, her growing body, which was now gradually maturing, was just a growing pain she could easily overcome.
What was this?
Waking up in the morning and feeling an unexpected weight, I looked down to see a small child sprawled over me.
About 1m in height, with a sprout protruding from the head. The not fully matured skin was translucent, and it seemed as if a dark-colored bark covered the upper half of the body for protection.
Light green short hair. Puffy cheeks. And that sprout sticking out from the head.
Anyone would say that it was Shiba. Without even realizing it, my extended hand brushed Shiba’s hair.
“……Peep.”
She let out a pleased sigh. A noticeable blush appeared on her cheeks.
‘Why did my child suddenly become like this?’
I rummaged through my pockets, took out my phone, and squinted at the screen due to the headache from the hangover.
-Growth Process of the Tree People.
I accessed the internet and searched. Clicking on the first link, a lengthy article sprinkled with emojis popped up.
Hello~ It’s Fruits! Today, we’re going to delve into Tree People! Considered sacred beings born between the World Tree and humans, right? Let’s explore the growth process of these Wooden People.
(A pure white human emoji grinning cheekily)
Tree People (??). Defined as a new race born between the World Tree and humans.
(A surprised white human emoji with a hand on its cheek).
But did you know the growth process of Wooden People isn’t much different from ours?
(A laughing white human emoji)
In the case of Wooden People, there are two types. One grows from saplings! And the other? Drumroll…
(A white human emoji blowing a trumpet)
Yes, that’s right! They are born with a human appearance from the start. The reason for the difference is simple! It depends on which, human or the World Tree, is the parent! If the parent is a human, they’re born looking like one. If the parent is a tree, they’re born as seeds. Either way, Wooden People can emerge.
(A smiling white human emoji)
Wait, so do all the seeds from the trees become babies? No! Female trees can reproduce without male seeds. Only Wooden People and humans require a relationship for reproduction. Of course, it’s said that trees enjoy relationships, too… ahem. Anyway, how do these babies grow? Surprisingly, both seeds and babies grow into a human form!
This was overwhelming.
After skimming through the article, I roughly gathered that a sprout turning into a human form was quite common.
‘So trees don’t necessarily need to form a relationship to have babies?’
Somehow, that made sense. Why I had a baby without knowing… turns out it was this reason. It wasn’t a pregnancy I could avoid by just not “doing it”.
‘Wait. So, is she really my child?’
“Whistle.”
Taking my eyes off the phone, I looked at Shiba. Shiba, who seemed to have woken up, rubbed her eyes, glanced at my chest for a moment, and then met my eyes.
Her eyes, filled with indescribable emotions, quivered.
“……Dada?”
Shiba leaned into my chest and nuzzled her cheek against mine. My heart ached. I genuinely believed she was my daughter. Even if she was not, she was still my daughter.
“Peep, Squeak! Whistle”
Shiba, still unable to speak words, continued making these sounds. Her appearance might have changed a lot, but the fact that she was adorable remained unchanged.
Holding Shiba tightly in my arms, I got up from the bed. Clinging to me, Shiba looked like a banana hanging from a tree.
“…The question now is, how do I raise her?”
Scratching my head in confusion, I looked at Shiba, who playfully tilted her head.
I would need to buy her clothes first. Could she even eat food?
“Peep?”
Looking at her open mouth, proper baby teeth had grown in. She could eat. Whether she could eat human food will have to be verified later, but it seemed unlikely to be a problem. After all, other Tree People like Jin Dallae and Sansuyu also ate food consumed by humans.
“Why did my daughter grow so big?”
“Peep?”
Stroking her head, Shiba closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of my touch. Seeing her adorable reaction, I naturally smiled. And then I wondered,
‘What now?’
Until now, she was just a simple plant I could care for. But now that she had taken a human form, it changed things. Caring for a child while pursuing my studies would be a terrible idea as a parent.
“Uh… Shiba?”
“Peep?”
“Can you turn back into a tree?”
Shiba gave me a puzzled look. Pointing to the fallen pot on the floor, she seemed to understand. Smiling, Shiba touched the pot.
“Whistle.”
The bark patterns on Shiba’s skin started to become more prominent, transforming her back into a slightly bigger sprout than before. I replanted her in the pot.
At least I didn’t have to worry about unexpected scandals due to suddenly having a daughter.
Now, what remained was… Oh, Jin Dallae.
“Daddy will be right back.”
-Whistle? Peep!
I patted Shiba once, washed up quickly, and changed my clothes.
The mistake I made yesterday in my drunken state might require a big apology. Dressed neatly, I headed for the door.
“Peep!”
Just as I was about to leave, Shiba rushed from the room and hugged my leg tightly.
“Dada. Eh, uhh.”
No longer just ‘peep’, but different sounds were coming from Shiba. Even without words, a deep understanding between parent and child seemed to exist, and I felt her emotions.
“Shiba, Daddy needs to go out, okay?”
Gently patting her shoulder, I subtly freed myself from her grip. But as I stepped back, a shocked Shiba hugged my leg again.
“Uh uh!”
… I needed to go.
Holding my forehead, I sighed. She was adorable, but such a handful.
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