Retired S-rank father becomes a teacher

Silas was standing in a resort room. His back against a wall, peacefully looking at his family with his spatial awareness. The girl on the bed, Jessica was breathing rapidly. A moment ago she flashed him her body. It was an entertaining view but it was not what he cared about in the slightest.

The machine next to her on the bedside table was doing its job. He looked down at the results. Contract magic. It wasn’t surprising. The reason her dad kept her hidden from the world was apparent. She’d either be a tool or executed. At least that’s what Matilda, the old Judge, would have done.

Lucifer, on the other hand, he couldn’t quite predict her actions. That was exactly why he was not going to repeat the same mistakes he made with Matilda. He needed to have a weapon ready, should Lucifer ever decide to follow Matilda’s footsteps.

“What do I have to do?” her voice trembled.

He glanced at her, the tears in her eyes as she looked back at him. Silas nodded to himself. She was smart, knew he had her in his grasp and he appreciated that instead of her wasting time on pretending to not see the reality of things. Jessica knew what her situation was.

Silas sighed and moved away from the wall. The sun was high in the sky, the day barely midway and so much had already happened.

The bed dipped under his weight as he sat on it. Jessica was still looking at him with tear filled eyes. He extended his hand towards her face and she flinched for a moment before closing her eyes.

“Make a contract for me,” he said gently, his hand wiping her tears away with his thumb. The saltiness of it on his finger. Her skin was cold and wet from the crying, fragile. The same age as his daughters yet she had none of the love he felt for Victoria and Katherine.

Still the fact that her father had protected her for two years with nothing but B-rank magic and wit, that deserved something. He'd deal with that quietly.

She sniffled and nodded, opening her eyes. “How? I don’t know how to make a contract...” She whispered.

A red pen and a white piece of paper materialized in his hand and he gave it to her.

“It’s simple. The way you’d use wind magic but put it in your hand, your fingers, and write what you want down,” he instructed, watching her take the items from him.

She looked down at them, her long blonde hair falling in her face. The air in the room was dry and still. She tried to concentrate, the pen shook a bit but she wrote something down.

When she was done, she held the paper out to him, avoiding eye contact.

“Fire,” she read out what was written.

The word wasn’t important, rather the mana on the paper—the magic that he could feel, was the important part. It felt like contract magic. It was hers.

“Good then I want you to write this out,” he said, taking a deep breath as he recited the words. The same words that Matilda wrote years ago. “I Jessica Hartwell, hereby swear to become Silas Vane’s weapon and protect his family from all threats, both foreign and domestic.”

His body tensed as he recalled that day.

Jessica didn’t say anything for a moment and then slowly nodded. The pen was shaking as she used it to write down each letter, each word as she took in the meaning. She bit her lip and her eyes teared up more.

A few seconds passed and she handed him the paper.

“Is this good?” She asked. Her eyes on the contract and not on him.

He took the paper from her and scanned it. The contract was real and it would be unescapable, like a collar on her neck even if she became an S-rank. This would be his leash on Jessica. Until she figured out a loophole in it because that was the danger in concept magic.

To judge fairly. To value life. To rule with logic.

Matilda had a different meaning for fair, for value and for logic. Lucifer seemed to not know that.

“Sign it.” He gave her the paper.

Jessica stared at it. She hesitated, her hand hovering over the empty space where a signature would go.

“This is...” she mumbled.

Silas stood up and walked to the window. He saw his family through the glass and smiled. Elizabeth was sitting by the pool, reading a comic to Aurora as if she didn’t have a worry in the world. And she didn’t because he was here.

“Sign it,” he repeated.

The girl behind him sniffled. The paper moved in her hands as she picked up the pen, her signature appearing on the contract and then the mana in the world shifted. As if a chain was wrapped around her, a collar on her neck that he held the key to.

It was done.

The sun hit his face as he turned to face his new weapon. Her hands fell down and the paper disappeared. He took the red pen from her, twirling it in his fingers before making it vanish into space.

“Congratulations Jessica, you will be the third S-rank contract mage in history,” he said. No sarcasm or joking. Silas would make her as strong as possible for as long as he lived on Earth, as long as his family wanted to live on this planet. The new world needed subtle, discreet monsters. Not planet destroying ones like he was.

Her teary eyes were looking at the ceiling.

“What do I do now?” Jessica asked.

“You go get yourself a cocktail and celebrate the first day of your new career,” he chuckled.

With a wave of his hand the space warped and the girl disappeared from the bed and back in her seat at the pool bar.

Silas leaned against the window, his forehead on the glass as he stared at the pool, the warm glass not giving in to his weight. Liz was laughing loudly at something. Even if he didn’t hear her laughter, he could imagine the sound perfectly. The joy and beauty.

His eyes closed, his smile widened. The thought that she could possibly hate him for this never once crossed his mind.