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 61

The large-scale protest happening right in front of my family home. The confinement imposed by the government. The overwhelming public opinion, both domestic and international, pushing to eliminate me.

…Power that is too overwhelming, like nuclear weapons or poison gas, naturally evokes primal fear in people.

Even so, I had tried to restrain myself to some degree.

I knew this might happen, yet I still chose to fight the monsters. I couldn’t stand to see the world torn apart by them. But to think it would come to this—I never imagined people could be this foolish.

I thought that showing them my power would make them understand. That protests and demonstrations were meaningless. That persecuting someone who could easily destroy the world was counterproductive.

I was wrong to assume they’d be that rational.

After mulling it over, I decided to deal with the noisy protestors outside first.

The protest was silenced—temporarily—through sheer intimidation.

Since becoming a Human-Demon, all the abilities I had gained through skills were now embedded into my memory thanks to Iterative Trials. This allowed me to perfectly control even previously uncontrollable abilities, like intimidation.

For example, this time, no one outside the protestors was unintentionally affected or knocked unconscious.

“Still as overwhelming as ever, Sashima-kun,” Koumei said.

“Well, yeah. But what about you? Why are you here, Koumei?”

“…There’s a lot of backstory behind that,” he replied. “Why I’m with these people, why I was opposing the protestors—it’s all connected. Which part do you want to hear first?”

Judging by his tone, he was letting me choose.

To be honest, I could already guess why Koumei was with the members of The Stars of Adoration—a group I had once subdued. Aside from Ichika and me, Koumei was one of the most skilled individuals in terms of both occupation and abilities. It wasn’t hard to see why they’d choose to follow him.

“I’d like to hear why you defended my family from the protestors first. And thanks for that, by the way.”

“You’re welcome. Although, even if we hadn’t stepped in, your familiars would’ve protected them just fine, so I’m not sure if it made much of a difference,” Koumei said with a light shrug.

Still, I appreciated the effort.

“Let me start with this—it ties into why I’m here. The actions of the protestors and the persecution you’re facing are by no means representative of the world’s or humanity’s collective opinion.”

He paused before continuing.

“In fact, these extremists are a small minority. Sure, there are people who criticize you, but there are also many who are grateful for what you’ve done—protecting the world from monsters, clearing countless dungeons, and even helping to capture dangerous criminals. Most people fall into the latter group.”

Koumei added, “That said, critics tend to be louder. Few people take large-scale action to say, ‘Thank you for defeating the monsters!’ So, the critical voices stand out more.”

I understood what he was saying.

In short, most people weren’t criticizing me. They were grateful but chose to stay silent, unwilling to get involved with the extremists.

If I were in their position, I’d probably do the same—stay uninvolved and keep my head down.

Even so, it didn’t change the fact that I was deeply disappointed in humanity.

At least now I understood why Koumei was here in front of my house.

“To be honest,” Koumei said, “I think the way the world is reacting to you is utterly disgraceful. I know you’re disappointed, and rightfully so. But even if it feels like the entire world is against you, the ones truly trying to hurt you are just a small minority.

“Please, Sashima-kun—don’t destroy the world.”

With that, Koumei bowed his head deeply.

We’d known each other for over three years.

I knew he understood. He knew how seeing the current state of things would make me consider wiping out the world. And he knew that his plea, bowing his head in front of me, could make me reconsider.

Koumei hadn’t done anything wrong. Bowing like this wasn’t something anyone could do easily.

Even so, he also understood that the fact the world had targeted my loved ones was something I couldn’t simply ignore.

At the forefront of my family home, the protests continued to rage. The government had placed me under house arrest. Public opinion, both domestic and international, had unified in its desire to expel me.

…Overwhelming power, like nuclear weapons or poison gas, incites a primal fear in humanity.

That’s why I had tried to hold myself back.

Even knowing this might happen, I fought against the monsters because I couldn’t stand to see the world destroyed by them. But I never imagined things would escalate this badly—I underestimated just how foolish people could be.

I thought that showing my power would make them understand. That protests and demonstrations would be meaningless. That persecuting someone who could easily destroy the world would only be counterproductive.

Apparently, I gave them too much credit.

After considering my next steps, I decided to first deal with the noisy protestors outside.

The protestors were silenced—at least for the moment—through sheer intimidation.

Since becoming a Human-Demon, all my skills had been converted into memories through Iterative Trials, allowing me to perfectly control even those abilities that were once uncontrollable.

For instance, this time, my intimidation only affected the protestors, leaving no bystanders fainting or otherwise harmed.

“Still as overwhelming as ever, Sashima-kun,” Koumei said.

“Well, yeah. But what about you? Why are you here, Koumei?”

“…There’s a lot to explain,” he replied. “Why I’m with these people, why I opposed the protestors—it’s all connected. Which part do you want to hear first?”

It was clear he was leaving the choice up to me.

Honestly, I could already guess why Koumei was with members of The Stars of Adoration—a group I had once subdued. Aside from Ichika and me, Koumei was one of the most capable individuals in terms of skills and abilities. It wasn’t surprising that they chose to follow him.

“I’d like to hear why you protected my family from the protestors first. And thanks for that, by the way.”

“You’re welcome. Although, even without us, your familiars would’ve protected them just fine, so I’m not sure if it made much of a difference,” Koumei said with a light smile.

Still, I appreciated the effort.

“Let me start with this—it ties into why I’m here. The actions of the protestors and the persecution you’re facing are not representative of the world’s or humanity’s collective opinion.”

He paused before continuing.

“In fact, these extremists are a minority. Sure, there are critics, but there are just as many—if not more—people who are grateful for what you’ve done. You’ve protected the world from monsters, cleared countless dungeons, and even helped capture dangerous criminals. Most people appreciate that.”

Koumei added, “That said, critics tend to be louder. People rarely take large-scale action to say, ‘Thank you for saving us from the monsters!’ So, the critical voices naturally stand out more.”

I understood what he was saying.

In short, most people weren’t criticizing me. They were grateful but chose to stay silent, unwilling to get involved with extremists.

If I were in their position, I’d probably do the same—stay uninvolved and keep my head down.

Even so, it didn’t change the fact that I was deeply disappointed in humanity.

At least now I understood why Koumei had come to my family’s home.

“To be honest,” Koumei said, “I think the world’s reaction to you is disgraceful. I’m sure you’re disappointed—rightfully so. But even if it feels like the entire world is against you, the ones truly trying to harm you are a small minority.

“Please, Sashima-kun—don’t destroy the world.”

With that, Koumei bowed deeply.

We’d known each other for over three years.

I knew he understood. He knew that seeing the current state of things would make me consider wiping out the world. And he knew that bowing his head like this might make me reconsider.

Koumei hadn’t done anything wrong. Bowing like this wasn’t something anyone could do easily.

But at the same time, Koumei surely understood that the world targeting my loved ones was something I couldn’t ignore.

That’s why his next words carried such weight.

“…Still, given the current situation, there’s no guarantee that you or your family won’t continue to be threatened by malice. So, to counter that—why not create your own kingdom, Sashima-kun?”

“A kingdom, huh…”

I couldn’t help but smirk.

I hadn’t thought of it before, but it sounded intriguing.

“With you and those mechanical soldiers, military strength wouldn’t be an issue. And if you were the ruler of a kingdom, even foreign nations wouldn’t be able to interfere so easily,” Koumei explained.

“And where exactly would this kingdom be?”

“America,” he said without hesitation. “It has abundant resources and vast, fertile land. Unlike Russia or Canada, it’s not mostly permafrost—it’s usable land.

“On top of that, America’s history makes it unique—it’s never been a battleground for foreign wars. It’s also the world’s sole superpower and the strongest country in existence.

“If you were to take it over, the world would have no choice but to remain silent in the face of your strength.”

I nodded. He had a point.

America was a country unparalleled in its wealth of resources and vast, usable land. That’s why it had grown strong enough to be called the world’s greatest power.

And in 2011, before China became a true competitor, America’s dominance was undeniable.

If I were to take over such a country and declare myself its king, the world wouldn’t be able to oppose me.

And I certainly had the strength to do it.

Until now, I had thought my choices were limited to either destroying the world or ruling over it entirely.

But creating a kingdom—that sounded surprisingly fun.

“Interesting. But I’d like to discuss it with Ichika first. Could you give me a night to think it over?”

“Of course!” Koumei said, visibly relieved as he took my hand.

That night, Ichika and I were in the depths of Kanahebi’s dungeon as we didn’t have a room for ourselves at home, given that my parents, grandparents, and her parents were all staying there.

I told her about my thoughts earlier in the day—about how I’d considered destroying the world—and how Koumei had suggested creating a kingdom instead.

Ichika hugged me tightly and said,

“Whether the world is destroyed, ruled, or a kingdom is created… as long as I’m by your side, I’m happy.

“If gentle Yasushi can’t bring himself to destroy it, I could rewind time and recreate the attack from March 11th. If you want to rule, I’ll do everything I can to help.

“Oh, but if you become king, I’ll be your queen. No concubines, okay?”

Her words were warm, comforting, and unwavering.

Ichika had always accepted me completely, no matter what. She was far too kind and precious for someone like me.

“I swear, no matter what happens to the world, I’ll love only you, Ichika. From my past life, this life, and even into the next.”

“Me too…”

Ichika smiled and kissed me.

A kingdom where Ichika could be my queen?

To me, she was already my princess, so making that dream a reality didn’t sound bad at all. In fact, it sounded perfect.

My heart was already leaning toward the idea of creating a kingdom.

But more than that, I was completely captivated by Ichika’s charm.

“Ichika…”

“It’s okay. Come here…”

In my first life, I had never experienced this. But in this second life, I finally shared love with the girl I cherished most in the world.

Needless to say, I didn’t get a wink of sleep that night.

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