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 32

It has been two days since The Trial of the Gods was issued and my name was revealed to the entire world. In that time, I shifted my regular workout routine to sparring sessions with my clone on the 31st floor of the dungeon.

Ichika-chan, meanwhile, stayed nearby, experimenting with her newly acquired alchemy and potion-making skills.

Even during these sparring sessions, I let my Suppression and Shockwaves spill out unchecked. When I asked her if it was really okay for her to stay on the same floor, she answered:

“Yasukun, I can tell your suppression isn’t directed at me, so it’s fine. Besides, I can block the shockwaves with my Witch’s Barrier. And… I want to stay close to you.”

Please, don’t say things like that with such a straight face—it makes me fall for you all over again. Seriously, I’ll end up loving you even more than I already do…

So, we settled into a routine: 30 minutes of sparring with my clone, followed by watching Ichika-chan work on her alchemy or potion-making and maybe flirting a little.

Afterward, another 30 minutes of sparring, followed by reviewing the monsters and items I could summon with the Dungeon Master privileges. And yes, flirting again.

When it was time for lunch, we’d leave the dungeon. Since my mom was out working a part-time job, Ichika-chan would cook instead.

Apparently, she often cooked for herself in her previous life, and her meals were incredibly delicious.

Even though my cooking skill is quite high, her food somehow tasted better—likely due to the added joy of having someone cook for me.

They say the best secret ingredient is love.

…Yeah, that might sound charming coming from a handsome guy, but from me, it just sounds gross.

Even though we’ve been dating for over a year, I feel like my brain has been turning into more and more of a flower field every day.

And so, while enjoying peaceful and sweet days that gave no hint of the recent global events, my Presence Detection skill suddenly went off, alerting me to activity near the house.

A few seconds later, the doorbell rang.

I cautiously unlocked the door but left the chain on, opening it just a crack. Not that I needed to be this wary—someone who can knock out a demi-god dragon in one punch has little to fear.

“You must be Sasajima Yasushi,” said a stern-looking woman in a black suit, her makeup sharp and severe. “You are a person of significant interest regarding The Trial of the Gods issued to all of humanity. You will need to come with us.”

Behind her stood around twenty officers wielding transparent riot shields.

This… felt excessive. Was I being treated like some kind of terrorist?

“Um… my parents aren’t home right now…” I replied.

“We don’t need your parents. You’re the one we’re here for, Sasajima Yasushi. You don’t have the right to refuse. You will come with us imme—”

Before she could finish, the woman shoved her foot into the door, trying to force it open.

Her aggression made me both wary (80%) and annoyed (20%), so I gave her a sharp, irritated look.

The moment she met my gaze, her face turned pale as though she had seen something truly horrifying. Then, she collapsed on the spot, foaming at the mouth.

Ah… crap.

“What did you just do!?” barked one of the officers behind her, immediately drawing his weapon.

There was no way bullets could penetrate my magic barrier or enhanced muscles, but gunfire was loud and annoying, so I opted to prevent it entirely.

I unleashed Suppression on the twenty officers, causing them to faint instantly.

Ah… crap. Again.

I had been getting better at controlling my Suppression lately, but it seemed I had slipped up.

Deciding to rely on the one person I could count on, I ran inside, calling out:

“Ichika-chan, we’ve got a problem—!!”

◇

The concept of “suppression” is something that all humans inherently possess.

For example, just the presence of a nearly two-meter-tall, sunglasses-wearing, gorilla-like foreigner could exude an overwhelming sense of intimidation. Similarly, when a teacher or boss seems visibly irritated, you might think, “Yikes, they’re scary today.”

The special skills I struggle with the most, Magic Suppression and Strength Suppression, are essentially abilities that allow me to intimidate others at will, leveraging my absurdly high magic and strength stats.

So why do I struggle to control these skills, which are supposedly activated voluntarily? And why do they occasionally misfire, disrupting my everyday life?

The answer lies in the fact that all humans, consciously or unconsciously, experience moments of “intimidation” or “suppression.”

There are two primary triggers.

The first is heightened alertness.

The second is anger.

As for the first trigger, being on high alert is usually avoidable since I’m well aware that I’m overwhelmingly stronger than most opponents. It’s the second trigger—anger—that’s much harder to control.

And when I say “anger,” I don’t mean outright fury. Even something as mild as a “Hmph” moment can unintentionally activate suppression.

Thanks to my awareness of this issue, I’ve worked hard to keep my temper in check. But since I’m still human (to some degree), completely eliminating these “Hmph” moments is impossible.

Here’s the problem: even the mildest suppression caused by a “Hmph” is enough to knock out anyone whose stats are less than one-millionth of mine.

Currently, that means anyone with a strength stat below 4 billion or a magic stat below 77 trillion would faint.

There are ways to avoid this, like averting my gaze to redirect the suppression elsewhere. But honestly, the woman’s abrasive attitude—accompanied by the police entourage—had already left a terrible impression on me.

The fact that she fainted while foaming at the mouth might be because my suppression escalated from a mild “Hmph” to an annoyed “Ugh.”

Seeing the unconscious woman and the police officers lying in heaps, Ichika-chan wore a look that screamed “Oh, come on.”

“Well, I get the gist of what happened,” she said with an exasperated expression. “Yeah… all I can say is, don’t dwell on it. What’s done is done. For now, let’s just dump these people at the nearest park. They’re only in the way lying here like this.”

Following Ichika-chan’s surprisingly cold but pragmatic suggestion, I wrapped the group in magic and gently relocated them to a nearby park.

“For next time, just call me if something like this happens again,” she added. “I’ll handle it for you.”

“O-okay…”

Honestly, it’s impossible not to feel at least a little annoyed when someone shows up with that kind of attitude.

Looking back, I realize I’ve been able to control my suppression reasonably well because Ichika-chan has always been by my side, stepping in and managing things on my behalf.

Once again, I confirmed that I probably can’t survive without her.

Determined not to ever lose her, I resolved to try my best so she’ll never even think of leaving me.