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 38

The days leading up to the end of summer break marked the beginning of my new life living with Ichika-chan. To sum it up, nothing significant happened.

Well, that’s not entirely true.

For instance, seeing Ichika-chan after her bath, even though I’d seen her like that plenty of times before—whether at my house or my grandparents’ house in this life—felt different now that it was just the two of us at home. She somehow seemed even more alluring.

Sharing a living space also meant there were plenty of opportunities for unguarded moments. Add to that the fact that it was the peak of summer, and the light, minimal clothing made things even more… distracting. My body was fully in its hormonal prime, and sometimes I couldn’t help but wonder if she was inviting me.

Even though we’d spent so much time together before, I found myself feeling restless and distracted around her.

Whenever that happened, I’d retreat into the dungeon I’d set up in my closet, sparring with my clones to convert my frustrations into physical energy. You might know this, but exercising increases your libido—and yet, the heightened libido can also fuel your workouts. It’s essentially a perpetual cycle of muscle training and self-control.

Thanks to this “system,” I managed to avoid any incidents where the “precautionary measures” I bought would need to be used. Meanwhile, Ichika-chan spent her free time experimenting with potions, alchemy, and various spells on the dungeon’s 30th floor.

And so, September 1st rolled around. Friday marked the beginning of the new school term.

Roughly 10,000 students were gathered in what I assumed was the schoolyard—or maybe it was more like a plaza—of the National Vocational Training School Tokyo branch. The crowd included students ranging from about ten years old to those who looked as old as eighteen.

All of them were new students, all of them transfer students. Despite being strangers to each other, everyone stood neatly in line, perfectly coordinated. It was a bit eerie, but it felt very Japan—a country known for its discipline and collective behavior.

Ichika-chan pulled me along toward the front of one of the lines, and before I knew it, we were standing at the very front of the middle school first-year section, all the way on the right.

I wondered why we were at the very front. It wasn’t like I was the shortest—if anything, thanks to all the training I did as a kid, I’d grown taller than in my previous life. At around 170 cm, I was by no means the smallest.

“I am Kurasaki from the Ministry of Defense, and I’ve been assigned as the principal of this school’s Tokyo branch,” a serious-looking middle-aged man said as he began speaking into the microphone. He wasn’t particularly muscular, nor was he overweight—just someone who looked resolute and responsible.

“Recently, as you all know, dungeons—these mysterious holes—began appearing worldwide. Our country hasn’t been spared from the damages caused by the monsters that inhabit these dungeons, resulting in no small number of casualties.

“Therefore, in response to this, we’ve gathered individuals like you—those granted professions by that voice—especially those with particularly useful or powerful ones.”

I listened to his speech absentmindedly until Ichika-chan nudged me.

“You should pay attention today,” she whispered.

Why, though? Well, if Ichika-chan says so, I guess I’ll listen.

“However, I must admit that we have very little information about dungeons and professions. That’s precisely why we want all of you to work together with us here at this school to study and understand the Trial of the Gods, the professions granted by that voice, and their implications.”

Then, after a brief pause, he added something that made my stomach drop.

“And lastly, though this isn’t exactly a formal new student speech, I’m sure many of you are curious about the name Sajima Yasushi, which was announced by that voice.

“That very person is now one of your peers and will be learning alongside you here at this school. Sajima-kun, I know everyone—including myself—is curious about you.

“Please step forward and give a self-introduction and a few words of greeting.”

…Huh?

…Wait, what?

I alternated between looking at the principal and Ichika-chan. Could it be that I was standing at the very front for this reason?

Wait a second—

“Ichika-chan, did you know about this?”

“Yeah, kind of. Someone in a suit mentioned it to me this morning.”

“Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“I did tell you. You even replied, ‘Got it.’ But, well… I figured you probably weren’t listening.”

Her words jogged my memory, and I finally recalled it. Yeah, I think someone knocked on the door this morning and told me, “Yasushi-kun, you might have to give a speech in front of everyone today.”

But I’d been half-asleep at the time, and after that, I’d gone back to sleep until Ichika-chan woke me up again. I’d completely forgotten.

Argh… The past few days of deliberately staying up late just to enjoy Ichika-chan waking me up with a cheerful “Time to get up!” had backfired.

“Besides, Yasushi-kun, you don’t hate speaking in front of people, do you?”

“That was in my previous life!”

With a playful, encouraging push on my back, Ichika-chan urged me forward. I couldn’t exactly refuse her, especially with how happy she looked.

It was true that, in my past life, I didn’t mind public speaking. But in this life, my words carried traces of Intimidation due to my skill, so I’d made a point to avoid it.

Speaking in front of a large crowd was much harder to control than casual conversation.

Still, everyone here had been granted exceptional professions—they were strong, or at least competent. It should be fine.

Even if it wasn’t, Ichika-chan was looking at me so enthusiastically. If I couldn’t handle a simple speech with controlled Intimidation, what kind of man would I be?

I relaxed my entire body, exhaled slowly, and walked to the front.

Avoiding direct eye contact with the crowd, I leaned casually against a wall of magical energy I’d created behind me, staring up at the clouds in the sky. Without looking at the principal, I accepted the microphone.

“Uh, my name is Yasushi Sajima. Honestly, I had no idea that voice would be heard by the entire world, but apparently, I was the first person to be granted a profession.

“My profession is Tamer. I’m not sure how rare it is, but…”

As I spoke, I used the Miniaturization skill to summon my contracted demi-dragon—currently the size of a lizard—from my uniform pocket.

“This is my tamed monster, Kanahebi. Even though it looks like a lizard, it’s technically a magical creature. My profession, Tamer, allows me to subdue and command monsters like this. Anyway, I hope we’ll all get along!”

A sparse, hesitant round of applause followed. It started with one person clapping and gradually spread to a few others.

I handed the microphone back to the principal, glanced briefly at the students gathered, and returned to my spot.

“Yasushi-kun, you were so cool!”

The first to compliment me was, of course, Ichika-chan. Her words made me ridiculously happy.

“Thanks. Uh, I didn’t let any Intimidation slip out, right?”

“You didn’t. Your control’s gotten so much better!”

The weak applause had worried me a bit, but it seemed it wasn’t because my Intimidation had accidentally leaked out.

Maybe the lackluster response was because I didn’t make eye contact during my speech? But honestly, speaking directly to the crowd might’ve made me nervous and could’ve triggered my Intimidation, so I hope they’d cut me some slack.

And so, my and Ichika-chan’s new life at this academy began—

◇

During Yasushi’s speech, as he casually gazed at the sky and took the microphone without once looking down at the audience, Kurasaki Hidetoshi, the principal of the Tokyo branch of the National Vocational Training School, couldn’t stop thinking:

(How on earth is Sajima Yasushi standing like that!?)

Kurasaki couldn’t see magical energy.

So, watching Yasushi casually lean back against seemingly nothing, his weight clearly not centered on his feet, Kurasaki was astounded by what appeared to be a blatant disregard for gravity.

The sight of him standing there as if leaning against an invisible wall left the principal completely baffled.

Of course, neither Yasushi nor Ichika-chan, both of whom could see magic, ever considered that others might find it strange.