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 36

It’s been about three weeks since Kazuma Sumida, the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, visited our house. Summer vacation is now nearing its end.

Looking back, it feels like nothing significant happened over the summer—aside from that time Ichika-chan kissed me on the way home from the closing ceremony.

Well, to be honest, a lot did happen.

For instance, after my name became public, I worried that my parents might lose their jobs because of me. To test my abilities as a Tamer and ease my concerns, I discreetly checked in on both of their workplaces. At my mom’s office, my name occasionally came up in conversations like, “Isn’t Yasushi your kid?” but she wasn’t harassed or treated unfairly.

As for my dad, it didn’t seem like any of his coworkers even knew my name.

When I asked them about it, they told me the worst they experienced was my dad’s boss asking a few questions. Other than that, nothing happened.

Well, that makes sense. After all, I didn’t do anything illegal or harmful. Thanks to safety precautions, injuries or deaths caused by dungeons nationwide were minimal. And if no one even remotely connected to you was affected, there wouldn’t be any reason for resentment.

Besides, let’s be real—if you don’t enter a dungeon, you don’t get hurt or killed. So, to some extent, the injuries people suffered were their own responsibility.

In the end, despite my name being brought up, my parents’ and grandparents’ daily lives remained mostly unaffected.

This summer, as usual, we visited my grandparents. Ichika-chan came along for one of the visits (if she doesn’t, my grandpa always asks, “Why didn’t Yasushi bring his girlfriend?”). We also did our annual trip to the beach.

At the beach, Ichika-chan’s dad approached me.

“Yasushi-kun, are you dating Ichika?” he asked.

I figured lying would cause complications later, so I answered honestly, “Yes.”

He sighed and said, “When I was younger, I was a no-good guy, constantly fooling around with different girls. As someone like that, I don’t have much moral ground to stand on, but I hope you’ll take your relationship with Ichika seriously.”

Then, he bowed his head to me.

…I knew from my previous life that his infidelity had caused a lot of turmoil in Ichika-chan’s family. While part of me could understand his concerns, it was still a bit heavy. Nonetheless, I answered earnestly.

“Of course. If Ichika-chan doesn’t reject the idea, I’d even like to marry her someday.”

I’m not great at building relationships, and because of my Intimidation skill, I doubt I’ll ever have that kind of connection with anyone else. Honestly, I don’t even want to.

Even if it seems heavy or awkward, my genuine desire is to spend my life with her.

Hearing my response, Ichika-chan’s dad smiled in relief, patted me on the head, and said, “Yasushi-kun, you can start calling me ‘Dad’ anytime.”

I couldn’t tell if he was joking or being serious.

Later, Ichika-chan teased me, saying, “Should I start calling you darling from now on, Yasushi-kun?”

Wait, she heard that?! I thought no one else could hear me, so I spoke honestly! Well… not that I minded her knowing, but still—it was a bit embarrassing.

So, in a sense, my relationship with Ichika-chan progressed this summer. Our relationship is now officially recognized by both families (though my dad drunkenly told her last year to “Take care of Yasushi”).

Aside from that, politicians, corporate representatives, journalists, and the police kept showing up at my house. I managed to fend them all off.

Looking back, I suppose it wasn’t a “quiet” summer at all. In fact, it was pretty chaotic. And because of that, I hadn’t made much progress in my relationship with Ichika-chan, aside from our first kiss.

Oh, what a shame!

Well, anything beyond kissing at this age would be inappropriate. No matter how much Ichika-chan and I remember our past lives, we’re still physically thirteen. Taking things further at this age would be unhealthy.

There’s still about a week left of summer vacation, but I’ve decided not to push my luck.

As I was stewing over this, I got a summons from my middle school.

◇

To sum it up, they told me, “You need to transfer to a newly established school for students with unique and useful professions.”

My family isn’t poor, but we’re not wealthy either.

The school I’d enrolled in before was a middle school affiliated with a national university—a fairly prestigious one.

Yes, it’s a national school. And being a national school, it’s naturally more susceptible to government and state influence compared to other institutions.

Honestly, when the Commissioner General and politicians started meddling, I could see this coming from a mile away.

Even my homeroom teacher, who usually cowers under my Intimidation skill, was on the verge of tears when I immediately replied, “I refuse.”

“Please go. If you don’t, I’ll lose my job… I have a family to support,” he pleaded, half-crying.

If I’d stubbornly refused, the rest of my middle school life would’ve been a nightmare.

Not that I’d mind. If I wanted to, I could’ve aimed for a more prestigious school this time around. Or, if I didn’t care about academics, I could’ve just attended the local school without going through exams. But I chose to attend this school again because I had some fond memories of it from my previous life.

More importantly, I didn’t want Ichika-chan to go through any unpleasant experiences because of me.

In other words, I didn’t really have the option to refuse.

Truthfully, I have zero interest in transferring to a school for students with “useful professions.” If anything, I expect it to be full of people with strong, problematic personalities. I really don’t want to go.

I glanced at Ichika-chan, unsure of what to do, and she mouthed silently:

“No matter what choice you make, Yasushi-kun, I’ll stay by your side.”

…Ah! That’s so unfair. She says things like that so casually.

How many times has this happened now? How many times have her words saved me and made me fall for her all over again?

“…I’ll transfer,” I said.

“Then I’ll transfer too,” Ichika-chan replied immediately.

“I see. I’m really sorry. But I’ll make sure both of you have a proper learning environment in the new school. Especially you, Kobayashi—you’re an excellent student, and it’s a real loss for us to see you go.”

…What about me?

“As for Sajima, well, you’re good at studying, but everything else about you is… pretty unfortunate. Kobayashi, make sure to support him at the new school, alright?”

Hold on, in this life, I’m confident in my physical strength too, you know?

But my teacher looked so genuinely sad and apologetic that I didn’t even feel like rising to the bait.

“I’ll be quietly cheering for your success at the new school.”

“Thank you very much for everything up until now,” Ichika-chan said as she stood and bowed. I followed her lead, bowing as well.

And with that, Ichika-chan and I left the school.

In this life, I’d only attended this school for three months. But in my previous life, I’d spent three years here. And even in this life, Ichika-chan and I had taken the entrance exam together, creating some special memories.

As I crossed the threshold of the school gate, the thought that I’d never come back made me feel a bit sentimental.

“Hey, Ichika-chan,” I called her name.

She turned to look at me silently, as if she already knew exactly what I was about to say—or do.

Maybe that’s why. The fact that she looks at me like this feels like proof that she won’t reject me.

“I love you. I love you so much. No matter what choices you make, Ichika-chan, I’ll stay by your side too.”

“Thank you,” she said, smiling softly as she closed her eyes.

And then, I shared the second kiss of my life with her.