Retired S-rank father becomes a teacher

The first day of Aethelgard Academy. At lunch time, I was eating in the courtyard under a tree alone. The shade shielded me from the heat and it was quiet and no one bothered me. I liked it like this. Not having to pretend to like other people and not have them whispering behind my back.

I took out my sandwich from the bag and a voice came from the shadows.

“Hey, you’re Jessica Hartwell right?”

A girl came to sit next to me. She had black pigtails, and I think she was from my class.

“Mizuri was it?” I asked her, my sandwich half way in my mouth.

The girl nodded with a smile.

“Can I sit here?”

I looked around the courtyard, there was enough space for her to sit anywhere. But I shrugged.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Mizuri sat down on the grass, her uniform being stained but she didn’t seem to mind as she pulled out her own lunch. It looked fancy with a name tag.

As we ate together in silence I could feel her stealing glances at me but I didn’t say anything. The sandwich tasted bad all of a sudden. My gaze went to the girl again, she had pretty hazel eyes that reminded me of my mom.

Another girl came running towards us, her red hair bouncing with her movements and she plopped down next to the tree as well. It was Meilin, the other girl from my class.

She was panting and looked at the both of us.

“Hey! I saw you guys sitting here and decided to join...what’s up?” she grinned.

Mizuri waved with her hand as she continued to eat. I was chewing on my food as Meilin grabbed a cookie from Mizuri’s lunch. A protest from Mizuri and a laugh from Meilin followed. I continued eating, not sure how I felt about their presence. The air was quiet despite the chatter around the courtyard.

Then I noticed they were both looking at me again.

I stopped eating and stared back.

“What?”

Meilin had sparkles in her blue eyes as she leaned closer.

“You talked back to the Silas Vane in class today, that was so badass! I loved it.” She had a big smile.

My face felt a bit flushed, the warmth spreading to the tips of my ears as I recalled the event. Never in a thousand years did I expect to meet Silas Vane and especially not as my teacher. I wanted to ask him so many things but I couldn’t get the right words.

Mizuri nodded along with Meilin, agreeing with her.

“I also thought that was pretty cool of you. You didn’t even flinch.” She took a bite from her sandwich and continued, “How did it feel? Talking to the strongest person in the world.”

I bit my lip. I could feel my heart beat faster and my eyes darted away from them for a second.

“Awesome...like I was in a dream,” I muttered. My hands fidgeted on my sandwich.

They both nodded and laughed. The air was warmer than before.

From that day on, I started sitting with them for lunch and breaks. Until the day of our grades. We didn’t get 10’s. Even though I knew I got all questions right. So we went to talk to him about it and he offered us a deal to get his letter of recommendation. That’s when my admiration for him shifted.

A month passed by and nothing. I kept getting 9.9. Meilin and Mizuri too. We were no longer the top 3 of the school. We weren’t even in the top 20. It was a humbling experience. But the worst thing was that we had to be his teacher assistants. He said we needed to learn responsibility.

It was like being bullied. He would make us do the dumbest tasks that he just didn’t want to do. Like making him coffee and having a cup ready for him every morning, sharpening his pencils before class. One day in a private gym, a high end one, where rich people exercised, I was with Mizuri and Meilin.

The fan and air conditioning were on but it was hot in the room. We wore our gym clothes as we ran on the treadmills, keeping a steady pace.

“I think Professor Vane is playing us,” I said to them.

Mizuri was sweaty and panting but she shook her head.

“No, he is a legend...he just wants to test our determination.”

I wanted to argue but Meilin butted in, a water bottle in her hand. She also was red faced and sweating but her eyes were bright.

“He knows more than us about magic. So whatever he does must be right.” She nodded along her words.

My shoulders slumped and I groaned. These two would not see how he was taking advantage of us. I used my wind magic to cool myself off as we sat on the floor on a mat, drinking water and waiting for the next machines. The floor was soft and the mirrors showed our tired bodies.

“Say girls, did you hear about that incident with one of the illegal magic in Brazil?” Mizuri brought up the news that was all over the school, her hair a mess as she used it as a towel to wipe her sweat.

My heart skipped. This was not something to bring up so casually.

Meilin put her hand on her chest dramatically.

“Oh no, what illegal magic was it this time?” She sounded like she was talking about the weather and not about someone breaking the Hunter Association’s law. Which had the penalty of death. In all countries. It was forbidden to use illegal magic unless authorized.

I ignored them, my attention on the entrance of the gym as a familiar figure strolled in. Her black hair and violet eyes were hard to miss.

Katherine Vane. She was ranked two.

A pinch from Mizuri pulled my attention back to them.

“It was contract magic. Someone put up a contract to marry their boss. If the bride said no, they’d die or something.” Mizuri explained the news to me.

Meilin sighed. “It’s no different than killing someone with fire magic so why is it such a big deal?”

A voice answered her question from behind. It was Katherine, her eyes were sharp as she looked down on Meilin who had a blush on her cheeks.

“Because it’s one thing to kill a person and another to control one.” She said as she walked past us to one of the weight machines.

We stayed quiet. It wasn’t every day that a celebrity and the daughter of the world strongest person talked to you. My heart was beating quickly as I watched her from my peripheral. Her form was amazing, and the sweat on her made her glisten.

She caught my stare and I turned back to Meilin and Mizuri.

But something about what Meilin said was stuck in my head. Was it truly wrong to use illegal magic? The Judge, Lucifer has contract magic, and she used it as a tool for justice. So why was it forbidden?

The memory of my mother screaming and burning appeared in my head. These panic attacks were getting more frequent lately.

A warm hand on my shoulder brought me back and I met Mizuri’s gaze. She looked concerned.

“Jessica, are you okay?”

“Yeah just sweaty,” I lied and stood up from the floor, walking away to the water cooler.

I tried not to look in the direction Katherine was and got myself a cold drink. My mind still wasn’t focused, the noise of the machines was loud and distracting as I looked up at the ceiling. It was white and spotless.

At some point Meilin and Mizuri finished their workouts and left the gym. I stayed a bit longer and watched Katherine do her own exercise. Her muscles were flexed and the weights she lifted were three times as heavy as mine. Even her breathing was calm, her eyes focused on her reflection in the mirror.

I found it impressive how hard she worked. It was expected of the daughter of the strongest but it still had an effect on me. As if she was setting an example to all of us, the common people.

She went to the basketball court and started shooting hoops, her form perfect with each throw. The sun from the windows cast a glow on her, she looked so pretty to me. Score. Score. Miss?

Her form was perfect yet she still missed. I leaned forward to see why she missed.

Then he appeared. Silas Vane, standing with the ball in his hand and a grin on his face. I held my breath.

They talked, well Katherine cursed the Stripesout of him and he laughed.

I was too far away to hear the actual words but he threw the ball at her and just when she was going to catch it, it would disappear. Then return. Over and over again he would tease her until she tackled him with her body. He hugged her and rubbed the top of her head.

My hero, was on the dirty, sweaty floor being squished by his daughter. The man who refused to give us our deserved grade and toyed with our future like it didn’t matter.

Yet I couldn’t hate him for it, no matter what, because he looked so happy playing with Katherine. His smile was real, the crinkle by his eyes when he laughed and the warmth in his voice when he praised her.

My mom used to smile like that.

I finished my water and left before he could see me there.