In this Second Chance at Life, where I can see skills as clear as day, everything feels like a breeze. And to make it even better, I’m spending my days joyfully with my First Love. - Chapter 29

I had just finished transforming the dungeon into a nest of Golden Fairy Papillons, akin to the metal slime of Dragon Quest, for Ichika-chan’s leveling, when I found her standing in my room with a worried expression.

And then, in the living room, were my parents, who should have been at work, my grandparents, who should have been back in the countryside, and even Ichika-chan’s parents.

At first, I panicked, wondering if this was about the kiss from earlier. But when they started asking about the “announcement,” that thought quickly disappeared. I was utterly confused.

So, I asked.

“What announcement?”

“Yasukun, the one about you unlocking the first occupation! And how the [Trial of the Gods] quest was issued to all humans on Earth!”

Ichika-chan’s words brought back the memory of the mechanical voice that echoed in my mind after I tamed the Sub-god Dragon, Kanahebi. But still…

“Wait, you heard that too?”

Ichika-chan nodded. And not just her—everyone in the room nodded in unison.

“My coworkers mentioned it too,” my dad added. “They asked if Yasukun was my son.”

“And I rushed over because I was worried something had happened to you,” said my grandfather.

Their explanations reminded me of the time in my previous life when I got food poisoning from raw eggs and had to be rushed to the hospital. Both my dad and grandpa had shown up in no time back then too.

But Ichika-chan’s parents? Why were they here?

“My day off happened to align,” her father said.

“And you know, Yasukun might be our son-in-law in the not-so-distant future,” her mother added with a knowing smile.

Ichika-chan blushed slightly, looking a little embarrassed as she explained that her parents had followed her when she rushed out of the house.

But to think that voice had been heard by everyone.

“…It’s not just because we’re related, right?”

“Nope,” my dad confirmed. “It seemed like everyone at work heard it too. They even asked me about it, so I’m guessing it was broadcast to the entire world.”

I quickly used Appraisal to check. Ichika-chan’s occupation was listed as Witch, while everyone else in the room had Villager as their occupation.

Villager…? And what’s Witch?

It seemed that being a Witch required an extremely high level of magic power, and judging by the rarity, it must be something special.

Moreover, one of Ichika-chan’s occupation skills was Four-Element Magic, the same skill Kanahebi had. I’d always been fascinated by magic—it was the reason I started training my magic power in the first place.

What kind of power does it have? How strong is it? I wanted to see for myself. And more importantly, could I use it too? My curiosity about magic grew stronger with each passing moment.

As my thoughts wandered, I realized Ichika-chan was looking at me with a slightly exasperated expression.

“Later,” she whispered quietly, sensing where my thoughts were headed.

…Right. For now, the “announcement” took precedence over magic.

“So, Yasushi,” my dad began, his expression turning serious, “I’ve always had a feeling you were hiding something. But now, with all this, don’t you think it’s time you told us the truth?”

“Whatever it is, Yasushi, you’ll still be my child,” my mom added with a reassuring smile. My grandparents nodded in agreement, signaling their acceptance of whatever I had to say.

I hesitated.

What should I explain first? Should I start with my skills? The dungeon during the Chuetsu Earthquake? My status?

How should I explain it to make them understand? How should I structure it so they’d believe me? As my thoughts spiraled, Ichika-chan stepped forward.

“…Yasukun and I have memories of our previous lives,” she said.

Ah, of course. That’s what I should have said. Thinking about it now, there really was no better way to begin. Ichika-chan, who had been my interpreter with classmates and teachers ever since I acquired Intimidation, handled this so naturally. Her communication skills were exceptional.

“What…?”

“No way…”

Ichika-chan’s parents were visibly shocked, while my parents and grandparents nodded as if it all made sense now.

“Well, that explains a lot. Otherwise, how could you work out like a man possessed?” my dad said.

“True. Yasukun always did seem a bit… different,” my mom added.

“Honestly, even in his previous life, Yasukun was a bit odd,” Ichika-chan interjected.

“He was!?” my parents exclaimed in unison.

So, That’s How Everyone Saw Me!?

Wait, is that really how people see me? In both my previous life and this one, I thought I was a quiet, unassuming kid who didn’t cause much trouble… right?

I pushed aside memories of raiding the fridge and throwing up everywhere, or the time I accidentally destroyed school property, as I reassured myself with that thought.

Ichika-chan’s parents, who were initially shocked, seemed to start accepting the situation as they watched my family’s familiar silliness unfold, just as it had in my previous life.

“Well, I always thought Ichika was unusually smart for her age,” her father said.

“Yes, otherwise there’s no way she could’ve passed the entrance exams,” her mother added.

“Actually,” I chimed in, “Ichika-chan was incredibly bright in her previous life too. I heard through the grapevine that she placed first in her grade on the first test.”

“Really?” Ichika-chan’s mother looked surprised.

“…And how do you even remember all that?” Ichika-chan asked, half-glaring at me. She seemed slightly embarrassed but relaxed her shoulders and smiled gently.

Truthfully, I hadn’t shared much about my past life memories until now. Partly because I never found the right opportunity, but mostly because I didn’t think they were relevant.

Whether or not I remembered my previous life didn’t change who I was, nor did it change who Ichika-chan was. Even if our memories shaped our actions, our core selves remained the same.

Still, now that we’d managed to convince everyone of the seemingly outlandish idea of past life memories, it became much easier to explain other things—my skills, stats, the dungeon that appeared during the Chuetsu Earthquake, and the one that had appeared in my room just recently.

Ichika-chan, as usual, handled most of the explanations, while I stood in the background, nodding along in agreement.

Honestly, my Intimidation skill still wasn’t under perfect control. I’d gotten to the point where it didn’t affect my daily life much, but explaining everything in front of these people under their intense gazes? That was… too much effort—not to mention there was the risk of slipping up.

We talked about the dungeon, and finally, about occupations.

When I mentioned that I was a Beast Tamer, Ichika-chan was a Witch, and everyone else was a Villager, my grandpa protested loudly.

“That’s impossible! I’m supposed to be a Hero!”

Ichika-chan’s mom laughed and said, “What a lively grandfather you have.”

I was honestly a little embarrassed.

I could feel everyone looking at me as if to say, Like grandfather, like grandson. I really hoped I was imagining that.

As we sorted through all the new information, one thing became clear to me.

“In any case, now that my name has been broadcast to the entire world, it’s only a matter of time before something happens because of it.”

That was probably the real reason everyone had gathered here.

I wasn’t worried for myself. Whether it was my health, strength, magic, or agility, I wasn’t an ordinary person. Even if someone dropped a nuclear bomb within my perception range, I was confident I could protect Ichika-chan, her family, and my family.

But it wasn’t realistic to expect everyone to stay by my side at all times. And even if Ichika-chan could handle herself—seriously, she could probably take down the most advanced aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy—the same couldn’t be said for everyone else.

My parents, grandparents, and even Ichika-chan’s parents were ordinary people. Their stats were mostly around 50, with barely any skills, and their levels were a mere 1.

Now that my name had become public knowledge, it was only a matter of time before my parents or grandparents got caught up in something.

I didn’t fully understand the Trial of the Gods quest yet, nor could I predict what might happen. But assuming nothing would go wrong was overly optimistic.

As the saying goes, better safe than sorry. Having a means to defend oneself in the face of danger could make all the difference.

So, I decided to start with this suggestion:

“There’s a perfectly good dungeon in my room. How about we all level up together?”