Retired S-rank father becomes a teacher

The Vane’s mansion, much like the Hunter Association’s headquarter, was in North America. The epicenter of the awakening and also the safest place. It was why Silas chose to live here; he wanted the safest home possible for his girls. But his family lived scattered around the world and he kept tabs on all of them. His mom in, well every month it changed. But his sister-in-law, Lisa, and his niece, Hailey, were in Japan.

Tokyo, Japan. The city of neon lights and endless crowds. Silas appeared on a rooftop, wearing a casual black jacket and jeans. The skyline stretched before him. It was morning and people were already bustling.

He took out his phone and tapped the screen. It showed a message from Hailey asking if he was free to visit them. Of course he was; it was his duty as an uncle.

“But what is a ‘NekoRamenCon’?” he wondered aloud, scanning the map for directions.

Putting his phone back in his pocket, Silas vanished from the rooftop and reappeared in front of a skyscraper. It was the apartment building where Lisa and Hailey lived.

A doorman greeted him with a bow as he entered.

He stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the 40th floor and as the elevator ascended, he glanced out the window and admired the view of the city. It hadn’t changed much. When the awakening happened here, the Japanese used them to their advantage. Their tech industry benefited the most, turning their island into a tech haven.

The elevator doors opened to reveal a hallway with wooden floors and plush carpets. He walked to the end, reaching the door of apartment 4045. The name plate had ‘Lisa and Hailey’ engraved on it. Cute.

Silas rang the bell and heard a dog bark from inside. Oh that little devil. A small yap that annoyed him but Lisa loved it. After a few seconds, the door opened and Hailey’s face lit up when she saw him.

“Uncle Si!” she jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his torso. He hugged her back.

“Heya kiddo, how are you?” He asked, ruffling her silver hair.

She pouted, “I’m not kiddo anymore, I’m older than VK. Almost 21.”

He chuckled, patting her cheek affectionately.

“Right you’re turning into an old woman. My bad, my bad.” He walked inside and the apartment was bright and cozy with modern furniture, the walls lined with posters of anime shows he couldn’t name.

Lisa was sitting on the couch, watching TV with a bowl of popcorn. Her hair was a mess, tied in a sloppy bun. She looked at him and smiled.

“Silas, nice of you to drop by,” she said, grabbing a piece of popcorn and throwing it at him. He caught it with his mouth.

Tasting the buttery salt, his face turned into a grimace.

“What abomination is this?” he said, trying not to spit it out.

She laughed. “It’s soy sauce flavored popcorn. Not too bad right?” She put a piece in her mouth and chewed. He was sure she was the only one who liked that.

He turned to Hailey who had a chihuahua on her lap. The dog growled at him.

“Mom’s taste buds have gone rogue, uncle. Don’t listen to her.” She petted the little dog.

Sitting down next to Lisa, he leaned back and sighed, taking in the comfort of her couch. She threw a blanket over his legs and he nodded his thanks.

“So what’s this Nekoramencon thing you mentioned Hailey?”

Her face turned red and she looked away. Was she that embarrassed by it?

“Umm it’s a convention for anime and manga and ramen... and stuff,” she mumbled.

He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think ramen needs a convention, but okay.”

Lisa snorted. “Hailey, why don’t you show him the trailer? It has a lot of explosions and cool things,” she suggested, grabbing the remote from the table.

Hailey nodded and got up from her seat, taking out a laptop from a nearby shelf. She turned it on, the screen illuminating the room with a blue light. Opening a browser and clicking on a video file, she played the trailer for the convention.

Scenes of colorful characters, flashy battles and scantily dressed women filled the screen. Then it cut to a ramen shop. A guy slurping noodles. A very hairy guy with whiskers and cat ears. It looked too realistic.

What the actual fuck was that?

Hailey looked at him with wide eyes, expecting some sort of reaction. Silas blinked a few times before looking back at her.

“What am I looking at?”

She smiled. “It’s a cat-eared ramen chef. He’s the mascot of Nekoramen. He has superpowers and uses ramen as weapons.”

He glanced back at the screen where the hairy cat man was swinging a giant ladle and making some weird poses. In one scene he was wearing a thong made of noodles. Why?

“Hailey...I think you might need an intervention.”

The two of them burst into laughter. Lisa snorted again. “You’re just old Silas. Don’t judge us young people,” she said.

Oh? Now they were ganging up on him. That wouldn’t do.

“Last time I checked Lisa you were—”

His sister-in-law threw a pillow at his face, interrupting him. He caught it before it hit him, of course, and placed it on the couch.

“You were—”

This time a bat flew at him. A real bat.

He caught the poor creature mid-air before it could hit him. The creature was squirming and screeching, tiny wings flapping in panic before it turned to smoke in his grasp.

“Really? Using summons to hit your brother-in-law?” he shook his head dramatically. “Your younger brother-in-law at that.”

Lisa crossed her arms, sticking her tongue at him.

“Hey! That was a good summon. Don’t diss my magic.”

Chuckling, he leaned back on the couch again. He had missed this side of her. She used to take him to all kinds of weird places before the incident...before Jakob changed.

Clearing his throat he changed the subject, “Hailey so you need a chaperone right? I’m here for you.” He winked at her.

She clicked her tongue. “No I am an adult, thank you. I can go to a con without a babysitter.”

Silas grinned. “So what do you want me for? Didn’t you say you had an emergency only I could solve?”

Her expression shifted from playful to serious as she walked to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him off the couch. She dragged him to her room, leaving Lisa behind who was laughing at her daughter.

Hailey’s bedroom was like the rest of the house, full of posters, plushies, and merchandise. In the middle of the room was a large table with a big pile of... ramen. In various shapes, colors and sizes.

“What am I looking at, Hailey?” he asked, picking up a noodle that looked like it was glowing blue. Was it enchanted?

Hailey put her hands on her hips and looked at him with determination. “That Uncle Si, is my collection. I am a ramen connoisseur, you know. And I need your help for the biggest contest of them all: the Ramen King Competition at Nekoramencon!” She announced with passion in her voice, gesturing towards the pile.

He raised an eyebrow. A competition? Did they fight each other with noodles?

Seeing his confusion, she explained further. “It’s simple. Each participant has to make the most delicious, creative and original ramen dish possible. The winner gets a one of a kind Nekoramen themed chopsticks and a meeting with the creator himself. This is my chance to make it big uncle!”

He looked at her with sympathy. She was far gone. Lost in the sauce, so to speak.

“Hailey...do you have a job? Do you know what bills are?” he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. He felt like he had to give her the talk. “Listen kiddo, ramen won’t pay your bills or taxes or rent. You need something more stable—”

Before he could finish, Hailey pulled out a folder from under her bed and slammed it on the table, scattering some noodles. It had documents inside, showing a list of contracts and income statements. Silas blinked and picked up one of the papers.

“These are my channel revenues. I have over 10 million subscribers and they donate to me every month.” She crossed her arms proudly. “I make more money than mom does at the hospital, okay? I know what I’m doing.”

Silas scanned the numbers and whistled. She wasn’t lying, the numbers were impressive.

“Does that mean you’ll stop using my credit card?”

Thanks to him and his mom, they covered the expense of the Vane family. They were all on his card.

Hailey smiled, “Nope.”

He chuckled and then she pulled him into a hug. His niece was taller than him, like her mom. And she was a strong hugger. She squeezed the life out of him.

“Okay okay! Enough with the bone-crushing hugs. You’re gonna make me pop a rib out.” He tapped her back and she released him.

“I love you, Uncle Si. And your cooking skills? Top-tier. So can you please, please, please help me win? Pretty please?” She pouted and looked at him with her violet eyes. It was his weakness.

He sighed and nodded. “Fine. When is the competition?”

She avoided his gaze and whistled, “Uh, today,” she mumbled before bringing her hands into a heart sign. “You got this.”

Oh she was still the same procrastinator as ever.

“Great. Okay...what kind of ramen should I make then?” He scratched his head, thinking about all the ingredients and recipes.

“I got that covered!”

Hailey searched her closets before remembering where it was and bent under her bed. Her butt wiggled as she struggled to get a box out. Her pink panties were showing.

“Uncle push me down. My ass is stuck on the bedframe.”

A moment passed.

“Okay that came out wrong. Not what I meant!”

He held back his laughter and did as she said, pushing her by her hips until she slid out with the box in her hands.

Her face was red.

“So I take it you’ve been watching some adult content?” he winked.

“Uncle! Shut up. I’m an adult I can watch whatever I want.” She huffed, standing up and putting the box on the table.

Inside it was a notebook, old and worn. It had a ramen bowl drawn on it. She opened it carefully and revealed pages of recipes.

“The great ramen master himself wrote this before he died. Its the only copy left. I spent a billion yen on it,” she said.

“Excuse me?” Silas looked at the book then at her. He needed to have a talk about her spending.

“Relax it’s in yen not dollars.” She smiled.

That didn’t help.

But he picked up the notebook and flipped through it, reading some of the recipes.

“These ingredient can only be found in the Ramen Dungeon of Nagasaki.” He read out loud, looking at the pictures of glowing noodles and spicy broth.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Hailey wasn’t this the dungeon where they launched nukes at it? I heard the radiation is lethal even after all these years. And I doubt the ramen is edible either.”

His niece was insane.

She nodded and looked at him with pleading eyes, “Please uncle, I want that crown. I need it. It’s my only dream in life to become the ramen queen.”

Grabbing his hand, she held it tight and smiled, giving him the same puppy-eyes his daughters gave him.

“I’ll do whatever you want. Even if its taboo.”

The last part caught him off guard.

“What do you mean by that?” His brow raised, wondering what his sweet niece was implying.

Hailey tilted his head. “I mean you are daughtercon right? Vic and Kat have told me stories about how you don’t let any boy near them and spy on them when they’re naked in the bathroom.”

She did not just say that.

Silas face palmed.

“I do not spy on them...in the bathroom...” He muttered. “It’s protection, that’s all. And I only use spatial senses, not my eyes, big difference.”

Hailey’s face fell for a second before she recovered, “Sure sure. Anyway you get me that crown and I’ll let you do whatever you want with me, as long as it’s not too kinky.” She winked and stuck her tongue out, “I’ve seen some weird porn.”

Oh dear lord.

His little innocent niece was offering him her body for ramen?