I opened the notebook and began flipping through its pages, searching for the method Sister Mary had used on me when I was little. After a few moments, I finally found a familiar heading written in large letters.
Method One: Rope and Throw.
"Oh! This one!"
I leaned closer and began reading the instructions. The method was surprisingly simple. All I needed was a strong piece of rope, something heavy enough to pull it, and enough courage to endure the moment when the tooth finally came loose.
Of course, I remembered this particular method very well. Back when I was a child, I'd once complained to Sister Mary about a troublesome baby tooth that refused to fall out. She'd tied a thin rope around the loose tooth, attached the other end to a small rock, and thrown it high into the air. Before I could even understand what was happening, my tooth had popped right out.
"Hahaha! Those were the days."
I smiled nostalgically before closing the notebook. Looking back, it was a rather questionable technique, but my younger self had been convinced that Sister Mary possessed some extraordinary wisdom when it came to dealing with loose teeth.
"All right! Let's start with this one!"
Elena, who had been watching me with great curiosity, immediately raised her little hand.
"Okie-dokie, Papa!"
I chuckled at her enthusiasm and gathered the necessary materials. A few minutes later, I returned with a length of rope and a small rock, which I placed on the table before turning toward my daughter.
"All right, sweetheart. Open your mouth."
"Aaaaah!"
I carefully secured one end of the rope around the troublesome tooth and attached the other end to the rock. Elena watched my preparations with complete trust, apparently convinced that her father knew exactly what he was doing. Honestly, that confidence was rather touching, considering I was relying on a childhood memory instead of any actual dental knowledge.
Once everything was ready, I led her toward the balcony, where there was enough open space for my brilliant plan. Elena stood beside me with her little hands clasped together while I examined the rock one final time.
"Okay, Elena. Are you ready?"
"Yes! Elena ready!"
"Good! Close your eyes, sweetheart. It'll be over before you know it!"
Elena squeezed her eyes shut and stood perfectly still. I took a deep breath, adjusted my grip on the rock, and prepared myself, silently hoping that Sister Mary's old technique would work as well as I remembered.
All right, Sister Mary. Watch over your student.
"Here we go!"
With a powerful swing of my arm, I threw the rock high into the air. It shot upward, pulling the rope taut as it climbed higher and higher. I watched with growing anticipation, fully expecting Elena's tooth to pop out at any moment.
But something strange happened.
The rope stretched tight, the rock stopped climbing, and Elena's tooth didn't move an inch. For a brief moment, the stone hung in the air before gravity reclaimed it, sending it straight back toward the unfortunate idiot standing beneath it.
Unfortunately, that idiot was me.
THUD!
"OUCH!"
I grabbed my head as the rock struck me, stumbling backward with a painful groan. Elena immediately opened her eyes and looked at me, her worried expression slowly changing into amusement when she realized what had happened.
"Papa?"
"Nothing, sweetheart! Papa's fine!"
I rubbed the top of my head, trying to understand what had gone wrong. Elena stared at me for another moment before covering her mouth with both hands, her little shoulders trembling as she struggled to contain her laughter.
"Hehehe!"
"Hey! Are you laughing at Papa?"
"Nooo!"
She giggled again, clearly finding my suffering rather entertaining. Good heavens, even my daughter was starting to behave like her mother. At this rate, I was going to become the family's personal source of entertainment.
I sighed and picked up the rock.
"All right, let's try that again."
And so, I threw it a second time. Unfortunately, the result was exactly the same. The rock flew upward, the rope tightened, and Elena's tooth remained firmly in place. This time, I managed to dodge the returning stone before it could strike me again.
"Huh? Still nothing?"
I frowned and tried a third time, followed by a fourth and then a fifth. Each attempt ended in complete failure, no matter how much effort I put into throwing the rock. Meanwhile, Elena stood there patiently, occasionally giggling whenever the stone came flying back toward me.
Eventually, I stopped and stared at the rope in disbelief.
"What the heck is going on? This should've worked!"
I rubbed my chin, trying to figure out what I was missing. Sister Mary's method had worked perfectly when I was a child, so why was it failing now? I was certain I remembered the procedure correctly, and the tooth was already loose enough that it should have come out without much resistance.
Then, all of a sudden, something occurred to me.
I slowly turned toward Elena, who was standing beside me, happily swinging her little arms while humming to herself. Her beautiful white hair fell around her shoulders, her red eyes sparkled with curiosity, and two tiny black horns protruded from her head.
I stared at those horns for several seconds before the answer finally struck me.
"...Oh."
Of course!
My daughter wasn't an ordinary human child. She was half-dragon, with the blood of the White Dragon Queen flowing through her veins. And here I was, attempting to remove her tooth using the same strength that had worked on an ordinary human boy.
I slapped my forehead.
"GOOD HEAVENS! I'M AN IDIOT!"
No wonder the rock couldn't do anything! Her tiny tooth was apparently much tougher than I'd expected. If I wanted Sister Mary's technique to work, I'd have to account for the fact that my daughter was considerably more durable than an ordinary child.
Damn it, Yuuta! Use your brain!
I looked down at the rock in my hand. Well, if ordinary human strength wasn't enough, perhaps it was time to use something a little more appropriate.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and began drawing upon the energy within my body. A faint aura emerged around me, flowing through my arms and gathering around the rock. I reinforced the rope as well, making sure it wouldn't snap under the additional force.
The air around us stirred as the aura grew stronger. My hair fluttered slightly, and the rock began trembling in my hand as I concentrated more energy into it. This time, there was no doubt that the force would be far greater than anything I'd managed before.
There we go. Now we're talking.
Elena watched me with sparkling eyes.
"Papa glowing!"
"Hahaha! That's right, sweetheart! Papa's getting serious now!"
I grinned confidently and lifted the rock, feeling rather pleased with my brilliant adjustment. Surely, with enough strength behind the throw, the troublesome tooth would finally surrender.
"All right, Elena! One more time!"
"Okay, Papa!"
She closed her eyes again, standing perfectly still as I prepared for the final attempt. I tightened my grip, gathered the remaining energy into my arm, and swung with considerably more force than before.
"GOOOOO!"
WHOOSH!
The rock shot upward with tremendous force, creating a powerful gust that swept across the balcony. Loose papers flew from my desk inside the room, the curtains billowed wildly, and the nearby windows rattled as the stone tore through the air.
"Hahaha! Now that's more like it!"
I kept my eyes closed for another moment, waiting for the familiar little pop that would signal our victory. With that much power behind the throw, surely the tooth would have come loose by now.
But several seconds passed without any sound.
"...Huh?"
I slowly opened my eyes and looked toward the place where Elena had been standing.
She wasn't there.
For a moment, I simply stared at the empty space, wondering whether she'd stepped aside without telling me. I glanced toward the doorway, then behind the nearby furniture, but there was no sign of my daughter.
"Elena? Sweetheart, where are you?"
A strange feeling crept into my stomach as I searched the balcony again. Then I noticed the rope stretching upward, disappearing beyond the railing toward the sky.
I slowly raised my head.
And there, high above the balcony, was my daughter.
Flying.
Not with her wings, mind you. She was being dragged through the air by the rope still attached to her tooth, following the rock I'd thrown with all my strength. Her little dress fluttered wildly as she soared higher, looking more like a kite than a four-year-old girl.
For a moment, my brain simply stopped working.
Then the horrifying reality of what I'd done finally registered.
"OH MY GOOOOOD! ELENAAAA!"
I rushed toward the balcony railing, nearly tripping over my own feet as I looked up at her. My heart was pounding so violently that I could practically hear it over the wind, and a thousand terrible possibilities flashed through my mind.
High above me, Elena was spinning through the air.
And somehow, she was laughing.
"WEEEEEEEE!"
I stared at her in absolute horror.
"ELENA! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!"
"Papa! Papa! Elena flying!"
"THAT'S NOT HOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO FLY!"
She giggled happily, stretching her little arms outward as though she were enjoying the greatest amusement park ride in the world. Meanwhile, I was desperately trying to figure out how to get her back before something terrible happened.
Oh, God! What have I done?!
The rock finally reached the highest point of its flight. For a brief moment, Elena hung motionless in the air, her little white hair floating around her face as she looked down toward me.
Then gravity took over.
And my daughter began falling.
"ELENAAAA!"
I immediately prepared to jump after her, gathering energy into my legs while calculating where she'd land. There was no way I was letting my little princess crash into the ground, even if I had to throw myself off the balcony to catch her.
But before I could leap, two small wings suddenly burst from Elena's back.
FWOOOSH!
Her little dragon wings spread wide, catching the air and slowing her descent. She wobbled for a moment before regaining her balance, flapping them rapidly as she floated safely above the ground.
I froze, watching her hover in the air before releasing the longest sigh of my entire life. The tension finally drained from my shoulders, and I leaned against the railing, feeling as though I'd aged ten years in the span of a few seconds.
"Thank goodness..."
Elena, meanwhile, was happily hovering in the air, waving toward me as though nothing unusual had happened.
"Papa! Look! Elena flying!"
I pressed a hand against my chest.
"Yes, sweetheart... Papa can see that."
"Elena did it!"
"Hahaha... Yes. You certainly did."
I laughed weakly, although my heart was still pounding like a drum. Watching my daughter fly was usually a wonderful experience, but seeing her launched into the sky by a rock attached to her tooth was something I never wanted to experience again.
And then another terrifying thought crossed my mind.
If Erza finds out about this, I'm finished.
Forget being scolded. My wife would probably freeze me into a statue and display me somewhere in Atlantis as a warning to irresponsible husbands.
I shuddered at the thought.
After making sure Elena had returned safely to the balcony, I carefully removed the rope and examined her tooth again. To my complete disbelief, the troublesome little thing was still there, apparently unaffected by everything that had happened.
"Unbelievable..."
Elena smiled proudly.
"Papa! Again?"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
She blinked, clearly disappointed that her unexpected flying adventure had come to an end.
"Aww..."
I sighed and gently patted her head.
"No more flying, sweetheart. Papa's heart can't take another adventure like that."
Once Elena was safely inside, I returned to my desk and opened Sister Mary's notebook again. I picked up a pen and drew a large cross beside the first method, making sure there was absolutely no possibility of accidentally repeating that particular disaster.
Method One: Rope and Throw — FAILED.
I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my forehead as I considered the situation. One method had already failed spectacularly, and my daughter had nearly become the first little dragon to reach the clouds through an improvised dental procedure.
Unfortunately, the troublesome tooth was still firmly in place.
I glanced at Elena, who was happily recounting her flying adventure to herself, before looking back at the notebook.
Three methods remained.
All right, Sister Mary. Let's see what comes next.