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 37

On the 21st of last month, a Friday afternoon when most schools across the country were celebrating their closing ceremonies, something major happened.

Because I unintentionally cleared the Trial of the Gods, it triggered the appearance of small-scale dungeons worldwide. The event, known as the Trial of the Gods, began.

In response to this trial, humanity was granted “professions” to combat the challenges it brought.

Among those professions, certain individuals were given particularly useful or powerful roles. Others, while their professions might seem ordinary, possessed exceptional skills that more than compensated. To help such individuals fully utilize their abilities, a new school system was established.

The name of the school: National Vocational Training School.

For its initial launch, schools were established in major cities across Japan: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo. These schools varied in structure, some being combined elementary and middle schools, others integrating up to high school and even university levels.

However, neither Ichika-chan nor I lived in any of those five cities.

In fact, when factoring in daily commuting, even traveling by train or bullet train would place us well outside the feasible range. Sure, I could theoretically run across Japan in under a minute thanks to my boosted stats, but doing that every day would probably be a disaster waiting to happen. (One mistake in controlling my strength, and I’d likely cause some massive destruction.)

For those reasons, we were going to live in the school dormitory. According to the pamphlet, the school we’d attend would be the one in Tokyo—the closest branch to us. To accommodate a large number of students, the dormitory would house four people per room, in a shared living arrangement.

Honestly, the idea of living with complete strangers sounded unbearable, but I also doubted it would actually happen.

After all, I’d already informed Sumida-san, the person who first brought up the school transfer, about my Intimidation skill, which I couldn’t fully control.

While I could generally keep it in check as long as there were no disruptions, shared living was practically a breeding ground for trouble. If every little incident caused someone to faint because of my Intimidation, neither I nor my roommates would survive the experience.

Curious, I contacted the school on the same day I completed my transfer procedures at my current middle school.

“Ah, Sajima Yasushi, correct? Yes, we’ve been informed about your circumstances, and we’ll ensure proper arrangements are made. As part of the transfer process, we’d like you to visit the school once during summer break—sometime next week would be ideal. Of course, Kobayashi-san is welcome to join you,” they replied.

And so, three days later…

Since Sumida-san’s visit to my house, we had already discussed the matter with my parents and Ichika-chan’s parents, anticipating the possibility of a transfer. We’d even begun preparations—although, in my case, it was as simple as stuffing dungeons and daily necessities into my item box.

With everything ready in a single day, we spent the next two waiting for my dad’s day off so we could hold a small send-off gathering.

Incidentally, despite the fact that their middle school-aged child was leaving home, neither my mom nor dad seemed sad. If anything, they looked relieved and happy.

Was I really such a difficult child to deal with? (The times I accidentally broke doors due to strength control issues or raided the fridge and threw up everything don’t count!)

And so, Ichika-chan and I boarded a train to Tokyo. It was a five-hour journey, transferring between express and local trains. For the record, there wasn’t a bullet train in operation along that route yet.

Even though I could’ve run there in under a minute, my mom had given me money for train fare and bento lunches, and the express train was quite comfortable. So, we decided to take our time and enjoy the ride.

It felt almost like a picnic—simple but fun.

According to the pamphlet I read during the journey, the National Vocational Training School was completely free. Tuition, dorm fees, and even the cost of materials were covered.

That said, unlike Japan’s National Defense Academy, students didn’t receive a salary. I thought that felt very “Japan-like” in a way.

When we arrived at the bus stop in front of the Tokyo branch of the National Vocational Training School, it became immediately clear where we were.

The school was located on the outskirts of Yokosuka, on a former military base. The new reinforced concrete school building loomed ahead—but no matter how you looked at it, this was definitely in Kanagawa Prefecture, not Tokyo.

I mean, maybe this school was considered some sort of detached territory of Tokyo? Or was it operating on the same logic as how Tokyo Disneyland is in Chiba Prefecture?

“Still, for Kanagawa, this place feels way out in the countryside,” I muttered.

When we got off at Yokosuka Station and boarded the bus, I started to feel a bit off.

Maybe it was because of the nearby military base, but it occurred to me that the town where we had lived might actually be more urban than this place.

Thinking such rural thoughts, I headed toward our new school.

When we arrived at the dormitory, I told the person there, “Hi, I’m Yasushi Sajima,” and their immediate reaction was, “Ah, that voice!” before hastily guiding me.

The place I was led to wasn’t inside the dormitory itself. Instead, it was a separate area cordoned off with spiky-looking ropes to restrict entry. Standing there was a small, single-story house—it looked more like a tiny home than a typical dorm.

“We’ve heard about your situation. We believe this will prevent any harm to other students, even if your skills happen to go out of control…”

That was all the person said before they quickly left.

I briefly considered testing whether this place really could contain the effects of my abilities, but I decided against it. Why?

“Hey, Yasushi-kun! This room is super nice!”

Ichika-chan’s excited voice drew me inside. The interior was much more spacious than it looked from the outside, and it had a fresh, newly-built feel to it.

The place was equipped with separate bath and toilet areas, and the bathtub was significantly larger than the one in my home. On top of that, it had the basic furnishings and appliances we’d need.

The layout was a 2LDK—two rooms, a living room, dining area, and kitchen. The living room was about 12 tatami mats in size, and the two rooms were roughly 8 tatami mats each. The kitchen had an IH stove, which felt high-tech for 2007.

While Ichika-chan enthusiastically explored the space, clearly more excited than I was, a thought crossed my mind.

…Wait, does this mean Ichika-chan and I are going to live here together?

I mean, the 2LDK layout seems perfectly suited for two people. And now that I think about it, when I called to confirm things with the school, they specifically said, “Kobayashi-san is welcome to join you.”

Looking closer, I noticed that all the tableware provided came in pairs. And come to think of it, it would be strange if Ichika-chan wasn’t assigned a separate dormitory unless she was going to live here too.

Why would they arrange this? Well, I guess I’m technically an important figure since my name was broadcast worldwide during the Trial of the Gods. At the same time, I can’t fully control my Strength Intimidation or Magic Intimidation skills.

Having Ichika-chan, who can help manage things, nearby must be convenient for them.

In other words, this is definitely a setup for us to live together.

I could feel my nose flaring as I tried to contain my excitement. Honestly, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about coming here before, but now that I know I get to live with Ichika-chan, this vocational school suddenly feels like the best thing ever!

Maybe Sumida-san pulled some strings for this. If so, I have to admit, the guy’s got good instincts—though I still don’t trust him.

“Yasushi-kun, did you read the papers they left in the room?”

“Not yet. Why? Is there something important?”

“Yup. It says, ‘Looking forward to living together. Also, feel free to visit my room anytime!’”

Ichika-chan said this with a mischievous smile.

“Uh… yeah. You can visit my room anytime too…” I started to say before it hit me.

Her room.

We’re living under the same roof as boyfriend and girlfriend. With the girl I love.

…Does this mean we’ll always be able to visit each other’s rooms? Does it mean something more? Like… taking a step up the “ladder to adulthood”? Or maybe she just meant hanging out to play games or something.

But still…

I could feel my face and ears heating up.

There’s only one thing I know for sure. As a 13-year-old boy with a highly active imagination, being around the most attractive girl in the world 24/7 is going to test my limits.

…No ulterior motives, but for the first time in both my lives, I bought condoms.

The convenience store clerk grinned knowingly at me, and it was incredibly embarrassing.