Chapter 723: I'll Steal For You!
With her thoughts swirling and her cheeks still warm from earlier, Olivia kept silent for a while, her fingers lightly fidgeting in her lap as the scooter hummed steadily along the road.
They passed field after field, the morning sunlight gilding the rolling plains and the occasional flutter of birds darting past them.
But in her mind, she was still wrestling with that shameful thought, the image of her son savoring her as though she were one of the fruits this place was so famous for.
'Idiot...I can't believe my brain even went there.' She scolded herself, biting her lip.
The silence felt heavy now, and she waited for the moment they would finally roll into town so she could get off and let her nerves settle.
Just as she was about to ask Kafka how much longer it would take to arrive, her eyes caught something in the distance.
Coming up close was a sprawling grove of towering trees, hundreds of them rising like proud sentinels into the sky. Their slender trunks curved slightly in the wind, crowned with lush palm-tree like leaves that swayed softly.
But what caught Olivia's eye the most were the heavy clusters of round fruits at their tops, glinting in the sunlight like emerald jewels.
Her heart skipped a beat as she shot forward, pointing excitedly. "Kafi! Kafi, look at that! Look over there!"
Kafka glanced in the direction she was pointing, his brows quirking as his eyes narrowed on the grove.
"Those?" He asked casually, a hint of confusion in his voice. "Aren't those just coconuts? Why are you getting so worked up over them? Coconuts are everywhere."
Olivia's head whipped toward him so fast he swore he heard her neck pop.
"They are not coconuts!"
She said in a scandalized tone, her expression full of fiery indignation. Her eyes glittered, and a proud smile curled her lips as though she were a teacher about to impart some rare wisdom to her student.
"Kafi, listen carefully. Those aren't coconuts at all. They may look similar, and yes, they even have a juicy center like coconuts, but they're completely different. That..." She said with a little flourish of her hand. "...is the Veluna Palm. Its fruit is called the Veluna orb."
Kafka blinked, feigning curiosity as his lips twitched at her enthusiasm. "Veluna orb, huh?"
"Yes." She said with a nod, her tone turning almost reverent. "The juice inside is nothing like coconut water, it's far sweeter, smoother, and has a delicate floral aroma."
"And the tender fruit flesh inside...oh, Kafi, it's supple and rich, like biting into a perfect dessert. You don't just drink or eat it, you experience it."
Kafka nodded along, his expression attentive, even though a knowing glint flickered briefly in his eyes.
Why?...Well, it was because he already knew about Veluna orbs as he had already studied countless books about this world, memorizing its flora and fauna when he settled here.
But Olivia was so full of passion, so determined to teach her son something she thought he didn't know, that he kept his secret locked away and simply smiled like an eager student.
As they passed the grove, Olivia kept her gaze on the fruits, her voice softening with nostalgia.
"I remember when I was younger...my mother somehow managed to get her hands on a few Veluna orbs. She paid a ridiculous price for them, but Kafi…" Her voice trailed off, her eyes glassy. "I can still remember the taste. It was like drinking sunlight itself. It's been so long since I've had one." She let out a wistful sigh. "It would be so lovely to taste them again, especially now in the morning...They'd be perfect."
And then...The scooter lurched to a gentle halt.
"Eh?" Olivia blinked in surprise, her body jerking slightly forward. She looked around and realized they had stopped right next to the grove of towering Veluna palms.
She whipped her head around, giving Kafka a puzzled look. "Kafi? Why are we stopping here? We don't need to linger, we should get to town."
Kafka didn't answer immediately. Instead, a sly, mischievous smile curved his lips as he stepped off the scooter in a slow manner.
"We're not here to linger, Mom." He said with a glint in his eye. "We're here to eat."
"Eh?" Olivia's eyes widened.
"You said it yourself." He went on, crouching slightly as he examined the nearest Veluna palm. "It's been so long since you had them, right? You've been dreaming about tasting them again, haven't you? So…"
He straightened and turned toward her, his smile softening into something warm and tender.
"Let's have them. A little pre-breakfast before we head to town. Just you and me."
Olivia tilted her head, her brows knitting as she scanned the grove around them.
The towering Veluna palms swayed lazily in the breeze, their giant emerald fronds casting rippling shadows on the ground. She then took a slow step forward, her slippers crunching on the brown field.
"H-How are we going to do that?" She asked, glancing at him with mild suspicion. "Is there a shop around here? Or maybe a vendor you spotted somewhere?"
When he didn't answer right away, her voice grew slightly more hopeful. "Or...are you going to ask the owner of the grove for a few? Maybe pay them? I'm sure they won't mind selling us some…"
But instead of nodding, Kafka only shook his head with an amused smirk and raised his finger, pointing straight up.
"Nope. Nothing like that...I'll just climb up there myself and pluck a few fresh ones for us."
Hearing this sudden statement, Olivia was taken aback for a second. She then whipped her head toward the tree he was pointing at.
The Veluna palm loomed high above, its smooth bark stretching upward like a pillar of polished stone, with no visible branches or footholds until the very top where thick clusters of golden-green fruits clung beneath the leaves.
"You'll...climb that?!"
Olivia's voice rose an octave as she stared at him in shock. She took a step closer to the tree, her head tipping all the way back as her eyes widened further.
"Kafi, that thing's enormous! It must be over twenty feet tall! And the bark, it's smooth and slippery. There aren't even any low branches for you to grab onto...Are you out of your mind?"
Kafka only chuckled at her panic, reaching up to flex his fingers playfully like he was already preparing for the climb. "Relax, Mom. It's no big deal. I've done this plenty of times before. All you need is the right technique and a little upper, body strength. Easy."
Her eyes darted back to him, full of disbelief. "Easy? Easy? You're talking like you're some sort of jungle monkey!"
"Well…" He said, scratching the back of his neck and grinning sheepishly. "I guess you could say I'm pretty good at being one."
"Kafi!" She hissed, still staring at the tree's impossible height. "This isn't a joke. You can't be serious. If you fall from there, you could break your neck!"
"I won't fall. Trust me." He gave her a lazy shrug, completely unbothered.
After hearing this, the Olivia of her past, the cautious, practical Olivia who hadn't met the Kafka before her would have shut this down immediately, scolding him like the reckless boy she thought he was.
But the Kafka standing before her now...he was different. So different from the son she remembered.
There was a strength and certainty in his movements, a quiet confidence that made her chest tighten in unfamiliar ways. And against all reason, she found herself wavering.
Still, another thought suddenly struck her, and she caught his wrist in a firm grip. "Wait. Even if you can climb it, you shouldn't."
He stopped and looked down at her, his eyebrow quirking in faint surprise.
"This tree...it belongs to someone else." She said softly but with conviction, her eyes searching his. "You can't just go up there and take their fruit without asking. That's stealing, Kafi."
Her tone hardened, tinged with indignation as she held her ground. "No matter how much you want it, we have to do the right thing. You were raised better than this. We can't just act like it's fine because no one's watching."
But Kafka only smiled, his expression soft but unyielding, and waved her words away like a breeze brushing past his face.
"Mom...it's not a big deal at all. Look at this place, there are hundreds of trees. The owner wouldn't even notice if one or two fruits went missing."
"...Besides, it's not like we're clearing out the whole grove. Just a couple for us. That's all."
He then began to step forward, his strides confident as though he was already picturing himself scaling the tall Veluna palm and plucking its green treasures.
"Kafi, wait!" Olivia called out, her voice rising as she quickly moved after him.
Her hand shot out and gripped his wrist firmly again and he stopped, blinking in surprise as she pulled him back, her brows furrowed and her lips pressed tight.
"No..." She said firmly, her voice quivering only slightly with emotion. "You can't do that. You're wrong. You shouldn't be doing something like this."
"Even if no one knows, we know. And that's enough. Doing something wrong in secret is still wrong. We should act with morals, with integrity."
"...We're better than this, Kafi. You're better than this."
Her eyes searched his face desperately, hoping, praying that he would listen. That he would understand.
But then, to her shock, his lips curved into a faint, almost melancholic smile. His eyes softened, though there was a strange flicker of sadness in them, as if her words had touched something deep inside him.
"Mom…" He murmured, his voice low and a little unsteady. "After hearing you talk about it earlier, how much you missed it, how much you wanted to taste it again I…"
His grip on her hand tightened ever so slightly, and then his smile turned bittersweet.
"I want to get it for you. At all costs. I don't care if it's stealing. I don't even care if I get caught. I'll take the punishment. Whatever it is, I'll bear it. Just so you can taste it again."
And before she could respond, he began to move forward again, his resolve clear in the firm set of his shoulders.
"Kafi!" Olivia gasped, her heart pounding in panic as she watched him.
He was unstoppable. She could feel it, the weight of his presence, the overwhelming power of his will.
No matter what she said, no matter how much she pleaded, she knew...she knew that if he decided to do something, there was nothing in this world that could stop him.
Her mind whirled with helplessness. She didn't want him to do something bad, not her son. Never her son.
And so, in a sudden surge of determination, she stepped in front of him, blocking his path with her small frame.
Kafka froze, his brows rising slightly in surprise. "Mom…?"
She lifted her chin, her gaze meeting his with solemn conviction, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside her.
"If you want to do it...you'll do it. I know that. I don't have the strength to stop you."
She swallowed hard, her hands clenched at her sides.
"You're too strong. Too determined. I can feel it, you've grown so much that sometimes I don't even recognize you anymore. You could do anything you wanted...and I wouldn't be able to stop you."
Her voice wavered, but then her expression hardened into something fierce, almost defiant.
"But even if I can't stop you, I can do something else instead."
Kafka tilted his head, his eyes narrowing in curiosity as she took a step closer to him.
"I'll do it." Olivia said firmly. "I'll climb the tree and I'll get the fruit for you, so you don't do it yourself."