Skill Kasegi 2

Shinya’s Daily Life

”West Minia Private High School” is one of the educational institutions established in the “Welkia Great Country” [1] where I live. It is one of the most intelligent high schools in the neighborhood, but if you look at it on a national scale, it’s a fairly common high school with a standard score in the upper middle range.

The reason why I enrolled in West Miniar High School was quite simple: it was close to home.

Isn’t that pretty much what choosing a high school is all about?

Besides, thanks to its proximity, I didn’t have to spend a long time traveling in the heat of the day, so for today, it sure could be a good motivation.

”Then, Nii-san, I’ll see you after school.”

”Yeah, let’s set the meeting place in front of the school gate.”

When I arrived at the school, I changed into the designated slippers and saw Hiyomi and Sara walking towards the first grade classroom.

After watching their backs, I walked quickly to the second year classroom.

There are a total of five classes in the second year, and they are assigned in order of grade from A to E.

By the way, I’m an A class student.

”Hot! I need to get to an air-conditioned classroom as soon as possible. ……”

As soon as I walked into the classroom of Class 2A, the sweat in my body began to recede.

Thanks to the properly closed doors, the classroom was sleepy and comfortable, just like an oasis of breath in the middle of an extremely hot desert.

Then I closed the open door tightly and hurried to my reserved seat.

My seat was at the very back by the window, the best seat in the class where the outdoor and indoor temperatures were in perfect harmony.

”Well, I guess I’ll just sleep the day away.……”

As soon as I was seated, I looked out at the scenery and decided on my schedule for the day.

The second youth that I had dreamed of when I was a working adult in my previous life came to me in this form, albeit reluctantly, having single day where I don’t do anything should be fine.

While I was thinking about this, I was about to lie down on my desk and get ready to sleep when a person that talks to me appears.

”Shinya, even if you come school early, you’re going to sleep?”

”Ah, if it isn’t Kanato. I’m in a comfortable seat with good temperatures, so this leaves me no choice but to sleep. Well, I’m sleepy, too.”

Kanato Kanba is a classmate and a childhood friend of mine.

Darkly pigmented gray hair and ruby red eyes.

He is called the handsome man [2] in the school thanks to his sophisticated face and his double punch of talking to everyone in a friendly manner.

Having a handsome childhood friend is a constant struggle, and very often I asked to give him love letters from the girls.

It was just torture play for the unattractive male students.

”Then, are your eyes like a dead fish because you couldn’t sleep last night? Or was it the heat’s fault?”

”Hmm, probably the latter. It’s too hot and I don’t feel like doing anything. So all I can do now is sleep.”

”You’re greedy when it comes to sleep……. But today’s P.E. is ‘Spirit Art’ [3], so you’d better have your energy back by then, okay?”

”…… I’ll somehow make do.”

If there’s one thing I have over Kanato, it’s probably the “Life Core” that each one of us possesses.

”Life Core” is like the root of magic, if I would say.

He has never beaten me in a physical education class “Spirit Art” that uses the “Life Core”, so whenever we have a physical education class like today, he always looks at me as his rival.

Well, it’s no wonder Kanato can’t beat me.

Because somehow my “Life Core” has seven effects.

My “Life Core” given to me at birth is a [Combination].

Usually, there are only two or three pieces per Life Core, but I don’t know if it’s a mistake or a challenge from the gods, I had seven effects of Life Cores in my body thanks to that.

Needless to say, Hiyomi and my parents only have three effects.

”Well then, make sure you get some rest until gym class.”

Kanato then waves his hand fluttering as he turns his back to me.

Physical education huh…., I’m not feeling very motivated today.

It was hot today and I didn’t want to do anything that would make me extra hot as much as possible, but my humanity is not warped enough to tear up a challenge from a childhood friend.

So, let’s save strength for gym class.

As soon as Kanato left me, the school bell echoed throughout the school.

All the students who had been chatting with their friends returned to their seats at the sound of the bell, but today the classroom, which is usually quiet as if surrounded by silence, was unusually noisy.

Yes, it was because of that case.

”Hey, hey, whose name did you write?”

”Eh, isn’t that supposed to be a secret?”

”Hey, tell me who you like. I’ll tell you mine.”

”No, you’re definitely going to tell him later!”

No matter how you look at it, isn’t that a bad taste!?

It’s too pitiful if her friend told him that she likes him first before she could tell him herself!

As I was looking around in a daze while making a tsukkomi in my mind, I heard a rattle and the sound of a chair being pulled next to me.

The onomatopoeia brought me back to my senses, and I pretended to be asleep as I slumped back in my chair, looking sideways at her.

—— Kotoka Tsukinoto, is an example of a girl I’m interested in.

She’s the most beautiful girl in the class, with semi-long brown hair pulled up in a half-updo, the left side bang hanging straight down, and the right side pinned up with a stylish flowery hairpin. (According to me)

She seems to have a very calm personality but she also screw up a lot, making her very popular with the boys.

Come to think of it, I kind of feel like the person in my dream.

If that person in my dream was Kotoka, then I might have wanted her without realizing it.

Well, all such gross jokes aside, in my “Love Affair Survey,” I naturally wrote her name as the girl I was interested in, but even if I fell in love with her, it would be an unattainable love.

After all —- I’ve never spoken a word to her.

Since we were seated next to each other, there would have been plenty of time to talk to her, but I hadn’t been able to talk to her since last month when we switched seats, and I had been putting it off until this month, waiting for the right moment.

I want to talk to her somehow —— but I don’t know what the hell to say.

I wish there was some way to get started.……

”Come on, be quiet, the bell has already rung.”

It was the homeroom teacher, Tsuyoshi Tayama, who came in after lightly warning the students who were making a fuss.

He’s a muscular teacher in a jersey, like most gym teachers, and he’s a pain in the ass who gets involved with the students in any way.

One of those students is, of course, including me.

While I was thinking about this, Tayama-sensei stood in front of the podium and began to take the roll call as usual.

”I’ll take attendance, then. —— Shinya Asami”

”…… Here.”

”What’s with the cheerless voice? You’re young, can’t you give a more cheerful reply?”

”Ye, yes.……”

I’m not Asami, I’m Asaumi.

Is it just a mispronunciation of “umi”?

It doesn’t matter, this mispronunciation of my surname has been going on for a year now.

According to what Kanato told me, Tayama-sensei deliberately misspells names to force his students to laugh.

It wasn’t funny to me at all, but Class A was full of students trying to hold back their giggles at the mistake of my last name.

I really don’t like this teacher.

After that, the roll call proceeded smoothly, and when the last student was called, the teacher announced the contact information in a flowing manner.

”The results of the recent “Love Affair Survey” have arrived. I’ll call you in order, so please come to the podium to pick them up. —— Shinya Asami”

Again? I swear, that’s not funny at all.

I thought about it, but didn’t say it out loud, and quickly went to get it.

After I finished, I sat down quietly and decided to check out the contents.

Inside the envelope with my name written on it, there was a neatly folded piece of paper enclosed, which apparently contained the number of people that likes me.

”—— Well, of course.”

I unfolded the folded paper and almost laughed at what was written on it.

Because the number of people that liked me was shown as 1, and I knew who this 1 is.

”I didn’t believe that Hiyomi was really putting my name…….”

So, I’m done with the “Love Affair Survey” because it was my sister’s prank.

I put the folded paper away in the envelope and was about to fall asleep quietly when ——

—– ……Hm?

For some reason, I thought Kotoka, who was seated to the seat next to me, saw me for a moment.

However, I was not sure if I was being watched or not since I need to got up from my seat and walked quickly to the podium.

Well, I’m sure she wasn’t looking at me, she was probably looking at the “Love Affair Survey” envelope.

She must have been unconsciously affected by a kind of psychology that makes you curious about other people’s answer sheets.

Then I decided to plop down on my cold desk and go to sleep quietly.

Author’s Note :

More on [Combination] in the next installment!

Translator’s Note :

[1] ウェルキア大国 reads ‘Welkia Taikoku’. taikoku basically means Great Country or Large Country or Major Powers.

[2] Ikemen.

[3] 生霊術 : it was hard to find this readings, but I think its Seirei-jutsu so ‘Spirit Arts’.

On Shinya’s name and basically everyone — I made mistake in chapter 1 that swapped their first and last names position. Apparently, in this isekai world, the name ordering is different than japanese so the correct one is Shinya Asaumi, not Asaumi Shinya (with Asaumi as the family name).