Retired S-rank father becomes a teacher

Pushing my way through the crowd of people, I had a lightness in my chest that made me feel like a young girl again. My father let me drag him, laughing behind me as he held my hand tightly. That laugh of his was addictive, I loved it when he was happy. But he used that same laugh ten years ago—my first dodgeball practice with him—when I confidently, maybe arrogantly said I could beat him with my eyes closed and ended up getting hit in the face with a dodgeball. My hand shot up to my cheek. The smooth rubber skin of the ball still lingered in my memory.

We reached the archery range, it was a wide area with straw dummies set up and targets behind them. A line of people were waiting their turn, kids and adults. I pulled my father to the line and he ruffled my long black hair.

"Princess, I am not sure this is a good idea," he teased me.

Moving one step forward, I crossed my arms. This princess won't be distracted by some teasing and the way his fingers dug into my scalp, making me feel warm.

"It is a perfect idea papa. No magic, just pure skill. The princess has to beat the prince in a competition of accuracy." I said and looked up at him. He rolled his eyes playfully.

"Alright, I won't go easy on you just because you're adorable," he replied, his hand left my hair and I felt a pang of loss. But both hands now rested on my shoulder, squeezing gently. Oh how I wanted those hands to touch me in other places. Later. The line kept moving and we were two people away from our turn.

The smell of sweat was in the air and I could hear the sound of arrows hitting their targets, some missed, some hit. One guy was bragging about hitting a bullseye. He was loud and kept talking about his technique, his voice grating on my ears—distrupting me from hearing my papa's soft, steady breathing.

His turn was over yet he picked up another arrow even when the staff told him to let the next person go. He ignored them and turned around, a stupid, ugly grin on his face.

"I can teach you some tricks of the trade, little lady. A beauty like you could use some lessons from a master," he said, his eyes looking me up and down. Bile rose in my throat and my fists clenched. This tall pig with black hair was disgusting—he should be slaughtered for daring to speak to me, let alone look at me.

Mana poured from my core but papa's hand on my shoulder squeezed once. Right no killing or hurting people.

I took a deep breath. The pig scoffed at me before turning back to shoot his arrow again. Instead of killing him, I decided to just embarrass him.

When he shot his arrow I snapped my fingers and used my space magic on it, making the arrow fly way over the target and hit a tent instead.

Silas laughed beside me, the sound like music to my ears. I felt a surge of love and pride. Papa was the only man I needed, no pig could compare to him.

The staff immediately told the man that his turn was over and we stepped up to the range. The sun was high in the sky and I felt sweat on my skin, but it was fine. I grabbed a bow and an arrow, my papa doing the same. We stood next to each other, the smell of the straw dummies was strong and the cheering and laughing in the other lanes were an annoying background noise.

"Are you ready, princess?" he asked with a smirk.

My lips curved into a smile as I raised my bow and aimed at the target. The circle was painted in red, yellow and black. My target was the center, the black dot in the middle.

With a nod from him, we both shot at the same time. The arrows flew in a blur and my arrow pierced just above the center, my father's was right below it. Equally far apart from the middle.

"Again," I demanded and we did it again.

My arm moved in a smooth motion, so did his and he was right, he didn't go easy on me. Every shot landed on target, not always in the center but always on the red part of the circle. Ultimately I lost, my last arrow hit the yellow part while papa's landed in the center.

With a sigh, I put my bow down and papa ruffled my hair.

"You did good princess," he praised me and that made up for the loss. My heart felt full.

Grabbing his hand, I led him to a different part of the festival. The sky was still blue but there were clouds now, covering the sun a little. I could feel the heat slowly going away.

We reached a tent that said "Medieval Love Oracle". A smirk was on my lips as I pulled my dad inside. The inside was dark and a small lady with a long white dress and a hood sat at a table with a crystal ball in front of her. Her face was covered by the shadow of her hood and the smell of incense was strong.

"Ah a couple, welcome, welcome," she said, her voice was croaky.

Couple. The word made me grin—this lady wasn't a fraud, she could see the truth. We sat in front of her and my papa looked unimpressed. Something about future telling or fortune tellers rubbed him the wrong way. I asked him a few times if he knew time magic users and he never told me but the fact that he was not a fan of them meant he probably did.

The lady put her hands on the crystal ball, her fingers were long and bony.

"What do you want to know?" she asked us.

Papa turned to me, his hand on my knee. And there was only one thing I wanted to know.

"I want to know when the castle will be finished!" I exclaimed. My castle. Our love nest. I wanted it to be done perfectly but I only had so much patience.

He chuckled and squeezed my knee, turning to the fortune teller.

"Yes please, can you tell us when the castle is done?" He played along, his voice amused.

The lady closed her eyes and started to hum, the crystal ball started to glow and my breath hitched. Even if it was just a show I couldn't help but be excited.

"The stars say...the castle will be finished next Saturday," the lady spoke, her voice sounded more clear now.

I turned to papa with hinting eyes. If it wasn't done by Saturday, I would jump him wherever he was and he would have to finish me in that moment.

"Next Saturday, got it," he smiled at me.