My Daddy Hides His Power

Author: rolypoly

“Was it today? You went to me?”

“….”

That simple statement, with nothing more to add or take away, felt like such a relief and a surprise…

Even as I cried, I couldn’t help but smile.

“…Yes.”

I buried my face into Oscar’s neck like a child and dug deeper into his embrace.

A hand gently patted my back.

It felt like he was finally telling me that everything was over, that I had done well…

My heart felt more peaceful than ever.

“Lilith.”

Oscar’s affectionate voice called my name softly.

At this point, I wondered how many touching words he was going to say…

“Hng. Yes…”

I already felt like crying.

He hugged me tighter and whispered quietly in my ear.

“…It’s heavy.”

“….”

“Get down… you pig…”

“….”

He’s really oblivious to the atmosphere. I clung even tighter to Oscar.

“Excuse me, just hold on a little longer… I still want to feel more of this emotion…”

“I, I really feel like I’m going to die…”

Oscar’s face looked like it was hard to bear as he said that.

“Ahahaha! Come to Dad, princess.”

Dad, who had been watching, stretched out his arm.

“Ah! Then…”

Like a baby koala moving from one tree to another, I shifted from Oscar’s to my Dad’s arms.

“Whoa, tsk.”

How long were you holding it?

Dad asked Oscar, who was even letting go of his arm, with a smile.

“Is this the day you mentioned back then? The day the princess said she would go to give the magic formula to the Lord of the Wizard Tower?”

“It looks like that, judging by the kid’s appearance.”

I still don’t know for sure because my memory updates slowly, but it seems like the two of them already knew I had traveled to the past.

“Princess, look at Dad.”

Dad stared at my face.

Not just my face, but my overall appearance, including the large robe that Oscar called a rag…

Dad, who saw me every day, suddenly examined my face thoroughly, then grinned.

“Your justice!”

He suddenly shouted.

“Your upright beliefs!”

“….?”

I wondered what it was, and then realized it.

“Ah!”

“Hero, Enoch Rubinstein!”

“Your justice! Your upright beliefs! One day, you will surely take root in this dry land!”

When I came up with a trick to shake off Dad, who mistook us for impostors and was chasing us.

I was in a hurry and just blurted out whatever came to mind…

‘You remember that?!’

For me, it was only a few hours ago, but for Dad, it must have been twenty years ago.

Just how memorable was it for him?

Then, of course, the natural response is to fire back immediately!

“One day, you will surely take root in this dry land!”

“Hahaha!”

I tightly hugged my strong Dad’s neck, who held me without any difficulty despite my increased weight.

Wow, it’s finally over!

The hero saved the world, and the wizard saved the princess.

The princess finally broke the wizard’s curse and won the beautiful world.

And now the princess and the prince…

“Tsk.”

Oscar clicked his tongue.

He was looking at me with displeasure as I was being held by Dad like a koala.

“When will the—”

I know that while it might have been cute when I was a baby, it’s a sight that’s hard to tolerate now that I’ve grown up.

But.

“I’m not going to change forever.”

I rubbed my face against Dad’s neck and snuggled in even closer. He chuckled, as if completely amused by his 17-year-old daughter’s clinginess.

“Forever! I’ll be Daddy’s daughter!”

“That’s right, our princess, don’t grow up. In Daddy’s eyes, you’re still a baby. Let’s get married and live together forever!”

“….”

The silence fell.

I glanced up and Dad tilted his head teasingly.

“Why~? You promised me when you were little~?”

When did I promise me that?

I don’t know, I don’t know.

“Dad, can you let me down now?”

My request, as someone who had just become an adult, must have been funny because Dad tightly pressed his lips together before putting me down.

I looked back.

And ran towards Cheshire, who was waiting for me.

The end of a fairy tale is always the wedding of the princess and the prince.

The prince who fought beside the hero when he saved the world and the princess when she lifted the wizard’s curse.

“Honey! From now on, we…!”

Let’s get married!

I swallowed the rest of my words, knowing they would cause an uproar.

I grabbed Cheshire’s cheek who was smiling brightly at me.

And without a chance to avoid it!

We kissed.

“….?!”

His eyes widened and he froze.

‘Honey?’

I sent a signal, but there was no response.

‘Why are your lips closed again?’

What I had wished for was a beautiful ending scene, like in a movie.

You know, the kind of scene where everything is over, and the female lead and the male lead share a passionate kiss…

‘We… already did, didn’t we?’

To be honest, five days ago—during the time travel—we finally succeeded in having our ‘first kiss’…

Since we did it once, I thought he would accept it naturally this time too.

I was determined to declare a dramatic love scene at the center of the world, even if I were to die on the spot. However, Cheshire, seemingly intent on saving himself alone, tightly shut his eyes and betrayed me.

I could almost hear his inner voice whispering, “I can’t… I’m sorry….”

Three seconds later.

“Kyaaah!”

An ancient pterosaur roared from behind.

“You really…”

After rubbing against his unmoving lips for a long while, I gave up and murmured weakly.

“You’re too much.”

Soon, the talons of the ancient pterosaur shot through the air and mercilessly snatched the hood of my robe.

“Keugh!”

* * *

Elasticity.

The force that causes an object to return to its original shape after being deformed by an external force.

This world is a single large “elastic body” with elasticity.

‘Thank you for your hard work, boss~’

And the landlord probably has a mission to maintain the elasticity of this world.

‘I’m Lilith, who stayed in a monthly rental room for about half a month. That vow to grab you by the collar when I become a hunched-over grandma and head to heaven? Let’s just pretend that never happened~’

Having finished updating my memories, I decided to forgive the landlord who had ripped me off terribly for rent during my time travel.

After looking through my updated memories…

I thought the landlord must have been tired in his own way.

<The world where the revolution of heroes succeeded and I, the last Primera, survived>

Because of the landlord’s efforts to move that world as it was, even if I touched the past, the ending did not change or any unexpected sacrifices occurred.

This means that there were no significant changes in my memories from the moment the revolution succeeded until I was born and turned fourteen.

Ah, but among the memories that changed, there was a very interesting scene.

When I was seven, in a training center.

When Oscar came to visit.

“I got permission from the researcher. Want to go somewhere quiet and talk for a bit?”

I was realizing the true purpose of the magic tool bracelet that Oscar had given me back then—and I was afraid.

Because it was proof that Oscar knew my identity as a Primera.

“Yes, yes! Master, I have something to say too!”

So I asked Oscar to keep my identity a secret, and I knelt down flat on my stomach and called him ‘Master’ for the first time.

Originally, it went by naturally, but in the newly updated memory, Oscar…

“… What? What did you just say?”

He was overly surprised by the word ‘Master’.

When I asked him later, Oscar realized that ‘Anna’ was ‘Lilith’ from the future.

“I love you, Master!”

The final farewell I left behind as I returned home from my time travels had become a crucial hint.

However, it was surprisingly hard to believe that the conclusion <Anna = Lilith = Primera> was reached just by saying the word ‘Master’.

‘A genius’s way of thinking must be something I’ll never truly understand, I guess.’

And from the revolution to the present, the three years that Oscar had been in hiding.

That was the period where the most memories were updated.

Of course.

Since there was no need to worry about the ban, Oscar never left.

Anyway, the memory update was finished.

We finally achieved freedom from everything that had been tormenting us.

“Master.”

Just one.

Leaving only the last gate.

“What.”

A high-end restaurant in the capital.

Having successfully published the magic formula textbook yesterday and now having some free time, I pestered Oscar into going out for a meal.

Dad, who was my support, was next to me.

What did he come to support?

“I have something I want to give to you, Master.”

“What is it?”

Oscar didn’t even look at me and was busy writing the steak.

“Clothes.”

“Clothes?”

“Yes! Let’s get you a tuxedo tailored. All you have in your wardrobe are stretched-out shirts, Master~”

“I don’t need one, though?”

“These days, everyone’s going crazy over weddings, so all the boutiques are fully booked. But guess what? I was lucky enough to secure a reservation with the capital’s top master designer!”

“I told you I don’t need it? Even if I get it made, I won’t wear it, so why bother?”

Oscar, looking puzzled, pushed his plate toward me, the meat already cut into bite-sized pieces.

At the same time, Dad.

“Princess, here.”

“….”

When Oscar saw that, he tried to take his plate back. I grabbed his wrist.

“I want the ones cut by you, Master!”

I took the plate that Oscar handed me and nudged Dad’s foot under the table, giving him a signal.

“Hmm….”

Dad thought about it and then said.

“Yeah, Lord of the Wizard Tower. It’s a master designer, after all, so get yourself a suit. The princess really likes their work. Besides, you never know—there might be an occasion where you’ll need it. Better to have it ready while you have the chance.”

“No, I’ve been stuck in the tower all day and have nothing to do.”

“Don’t you date?”

“….?”

Dad grinned.

“Shouldn’t the Lord of the Wizard Tower start meeting someone good? After all, there needs to be a successor for the next generation of the Tower….”

“Does the successor have to be my child?”

“A successor who inherits the Lord of the Wizard Tower’s intelligence would be even better, wouldn’t it?”

“Well. I don’t have any thoughts.”

Seemingly uninterested in the topic, Oscar simply continued cutting his food indifferently.

“Don’t be so mean. Don’t you have an ideal type?”

The original goal of getting Oscar’s formal attire to fit him was slowly going downhill.

What a sudden question about an ideal type…

“Of course I have.”

Oscar nodded after thinking for a moment.

“Really?”

“Wow, really?”

I suddenly became interested and pricked up my ears. My father also got excited.

“Well, if there is someone like that… I’ll consider it. But I don’t really want to meet just anyone.”

“What, what! I thought the Lord of the Wizard Tower had no interest in this kind of thing at all! So, what’s your ideal type?”

“That’s right! What is it? Who is ‘that kind of person’?”

Oscar looked at me and my father excitedly, grinning.

“Someone smarter than me.”

That’s what he said.

“Someone smarter than me. Someone who can do mental calculations of three-digit times three-digit numbers.”

“….”

“Someone who can analyze an A-rank magic formula I created within ten minutes. Someone who can memorize high-level magic formulas by heart. Someone who can call me an idiot, and I’d actually agree…”

“Stop!”

Dad frowned and cut off Oscar.

“…So this is how you announce your lifelong bachelorhood.”

“Okay, let’s stop talking nonsense and have a meal.”

Oscar started cutting again.

I got frustrated and rubbed my face several times before finally deciding to throw a tantrum.

“Master! I made a reservation for tomorrow, so please get your suit tailored! If we miss this chance, we’ll have to wait a long time again!”

“Why on earth are you obsessed with my clothes?”

I shut my eyes tightly,

“…The outfit you’ll wear at my wedding! You have to walk me down the aisle!”

I did it anyway.

Then I slowly opened my eyes.