Retired S-rank father becomes a teacher

Gone was Ibiza and Silas was back home in his mansion, sitting on a chair in his study, surrounded by books and documents about magic and science. There was a warmth to this house, a coziness that couldn’t be replicated. His girls were already up and it wasn’t even 8 am. That was surprising. Usually on days like this, where they had no school or work, he would have to wake them up. But they were sitting in the living room, studying as Victoria tutored Kathy.

Seeing that brought a smile to his face. He was proud that his princess was taking the initiative to teach her twin. His mind always drifted to them.

On the desk, next to a dusty book about death magic, his phone buzzed. A new text from Elizabeth.

“Garden supplies? And Chocolate? I love you.”

He chuckled as he saw the message. It was that time of the month again for Liz. His wife got intense cravings for chocolate and gardening around this time. She was already knee deep in the garden, taking care of her flowers and her fruit trees.

“Of course, love,” he replied and stood up.

Putting on a shirt and some pants he walked out of the study, down the stairs, to where his girls were. The sun was shining through the big window in the living room, lighting up Victoria’s face as she pointed to some text on her notebook and explained a theory to Kathy.

“Kathy it’s not that hard. It’s easier than rocket science,” Victoria sighed dramatically as if she was disappointed.

Kathy scoffed. “Easy for you to say...your wires are literally crossed.” She looked up and saw him approaching.

"Case in point," she said, her finger following him as he came downstairs. "The man himself."

A chuckle escaped him and he leaned over them, inhaling their scents and ruffling both of their hairs, much to one’s delight and the other’s annoyance.

Kathy groaned, her glasses going crooked.

“Hey, watch the hair, old man. Unlike you my hair actually has style,” she joked.

Silas raised an eyebrow. He was known for his amazing hair in the academy. It was slicked back and...okay he hadn’t styled it in years and just combed through it to get the frizz out.

A warm lightness filled his chest. He grinned widely and he messed with Kathy’s hair even more, making it stand up in odd places.

“Who wants to go on a date with papa?” he asked.

“Hell no.” “Yes.” Two responses came at the same time.

Kathy crossed her arms, her lips in a pout and Victoria seemed to radiate pure unfiltered joy. Like a puppy whose owner said they were going for a walk. It was amusing how much they loved to contradict each other even at the simplest of things.

“Are you sure Kathy? It’ll be fun, a papa-daughter-daughter date,” he pressed.

Letting out a sigh, before pursing her lips in thought—she flipped him the bird.

“AlrightI’ll take your sister then and we will have fun. You’ll miss us.” He turned away and looked at Victoria who was already standing, a wide smile on her face and a sparkles in her violet eyes.

She was finally getting her princess date. After the kiss this was the logical next step. The world was quiet and he could only focus on his princess as she linked her arm with his.

They walked to the door together. Her face was so beautiful up close, the mole on her cheek was cute and she didn’t have any imperfections.

“Can you two please act a little more normal for once? You don’t have to be so clingy all the time,” Kathy’s annoyed voice called out from the living room.

Silas looked at Victoria and she grinned.

“I will never let go of my papa~” she sang, kissing his arm that she was holding on to.

Victoria’s mind reeled with all the possibilities of their date. He was going to get her ice cream, a crown, maybe they’d go to a movie or he’d take her clothes shopping. Endless possibilities for a princess.

A few minutes later they were in a car. Victoria was quiet.

“What’s the matter princess?” He said with a grin on his face, watching his daughter lean agains the car door.

She was avoiding his gaze.

Her hands were folded on her lap, she bit her bottom lip in that cute way of hers.

“I just... I didn’t expect it to be like this,” she said, her voice a little raspy.

Victoria was dressed in her princess outfit: her brown overalls, brown long sleeved shirt and a baseball cap. Brown of course.

“This is not a princess date,” Victoria grumbled.

Silas smiled and put his hand on her thigh, a warm, heavy presence.

“First of all, you look very cute like this, princess. Second, you need some new experience in your life,” he said as he tapped the steering wheel with his free hand, looking back to the road.

Looking down at her boots, muck boots that were dirty already and smelled of mud, she sighed.

“Princes don’t trick their princesses,” she muttered under her breath.

He laughed and squeezed her thigh. She looked up again and the frown on her lips melted into a smile at the sound of his joy.

One left turn and one more right turn, they arrived at the home depot. It was a big building with lots of different sections for different tools and the garden section. He parked in front of it and got out. Victoria hopped out of the passenger seat with her own little bounce.

A big cart was pushed by Silas as he walked into the store.

“Papa why are we coming here and not the magical garden store? This is... a store for normal people.”

Victoria sounded genuinely confused.

Silas stopped walking, a smile on his lips as he turned around to look at her.

“Before the apocalypse your mom worked part time here and I would always visit her after her shift.”

The memory of the old days came to his mind, a time when they were still in highschool and he would wait at the end of her shift so they could go on a date.

Victoria tilted her head, her eyes focused on him.

“Right you couldn’t just use magic back then,” she said.

A nod. He pushed the cart forward again and Victoria walked next to him like a lost duckling. She knew exactly what place they were in; she wasn’t stupid, but being in one made her feel strange. The air smelled of wood and fresh paint. The floor was clean but felt dirty at the same time. All sorts of people walking around the aisles. Lots of manaless ones.

Her boots squeaked with every step.

“Hop on princess,” Silas suddenly spoke, pulling her out of her thoughts and she looked at him, confused. He tapped the front end of the cart.

Heat radiated through his body. Watching her try to figure out what he meant was too cute for him. The princess eventually walked around the metal cart, approaching the front and slowly putting her left foot on the cold metal.

“This? This is the princess spot?” She looked back at him, her nose scrunching.

He nodded.

“All princesses ride on a noble steed, and this cart is as noble as it can be my dear Victoria,” he said with a dramatic flair and watched her eyes light up.

The smile on her face was beautiful as she climbed on and stood on it.

“Onward papa! Let us find the biggest tree there is to make our kingdom,” she yelled out.

Silas couldn’t contain his laugh, shaking his head at her antics. His princess was always like this.

He pushed the cart towards the garden section. The artificial lights hit the green plants and made them glow a bit. There were rows and rows of plants and Victoria hopped off the cart to admire a tomato plant. It was small and it had three red tomatoes hanging from its green vines.

“This is so small papa...and the fruits are tiny,” Victoria pointed at the plant, a bit of confusion evident. The tomatoes they ate were bigger, tastier and the plants were almost three times the size of this one.

He hummed.

“These are plants that didn’t evolve with mana,” he explained as he plucked one of the small tomatoes and held it in his palm. It felt heavier than he remembered.

A gasp came from his daughter as she looked at it.

“Were you malnourished as a child, papa?” The worry in her voice was clear as day.

Another laugh. His princess and her assumptions.

He ate the tomato whole, chewing on it and nodding. It was sour but still tasty.

“Before mana, this was considered a good size,” he continued, picking another and handing it to Victoria.

The princess did not seem convinced as she examined the fruit in her hands. She was squishing it slightly with her index and thumb.

She was repeatedly looking between the small tomato and him, raising an eyebrow at him like he was playing a trick. Then she ate it in one go. She grimaced as she swallowed.

“Bleh... it was very sour,” she complained, her tongue sticking out. “But I suppose this could be considered good if you were a caveman who hadn’t eaten in a month,” she laughed.

He patted her head. She closed her eyes at the touch and leaned in.

“Can you find the seed aisle and bring back...” he paused.

From his right pocket, Silas took out his phone and read the list. It was quite long and detailed.

Victoria sighed. A princess doesn’t just run off on her own to find things.

“Honeycrisp, mango, watermelon, strawberry and peach seeds?” He asked his daughter.

The sound of metal falling to the floor rang out, making Victoria flinch. He looked at where the noise came from. A man had dropped his tools.

“Can’t you just teleport to the aisle and get them? And why does mommy want so many seeds?” Victoria asked as she pulled out her own phone. He watched her search the store map for the aisle.

“Because today is no unnecessary magic day so we’re doing this the old way, with our legs,” he said.

Pushing the cart forward, he heard squeeky steps. His eyes lit up as she quickly ran to his side, hopping back on her magical steed.

Her face scrunched in concentration.

“Take me to the aisle first, papa and I will get the seeds,” she demanded with a cheeky smile.

His princess was happy and that was all he could ask for.

Half an hour passed and two Vanes could be seen walking out of the home depot. One of them was pushing a cart filled with bags of seeds and gardening tools, with a crown made of leaves on her head. The other was just walking normally, carrying only a few bags in his hands.

Victoria was humming a tune, her mood bright. It had been an interesting experience for her.

When they got into the car, Silas put the seeds and tools into the trunk while she sat in the passenger seat, her crown still on her head.

He reached over and put her seatbelt on. Their eyes met.

The blush was back on her face and his stomach fluttered. He leaned in and kissed her on her lips. Soft and sweet.

Then he pulled back and rubbed her cheek.

“You’re going to help papa and mama in the garden right?” he grinned, starting the car.

Victoria pursed her lips and brought a finger to her chin, thinking carefully. Dirt and labor were not princess-like. However, she was being indulged with sweet words and kisses and she loved it.

With a sigh, she gave in. She was a good princess and good princesses helped in the gardens.

“Fine. But you owe me a real princess date later,” she pouted.

He smiled wider and buckled his own belt too.

“Of course my princess.”