Tamer Master Challenge

Kaino regretted coming to the beach to have fun.

"It really is... hot."

Seele, who was wearing less than Kaino, was doing a little better, but not by much.

Beads of sweat slid down her skin, soaking Seele's face and making it glimmer under the sunlight.

"Seele, how are you? Want to switch with me?"

Red-eyed Seele looked at Seele with concern, then shot Kaino a resentful glare.

"This is the place you picked? Seriously?"

"Seele, don't be like that..."

Seele quietly tried to stop her.

"Hey, silly Seele, I'm speaking up for you. You're the one who's hot, not me. To put it bluntly, even the Quantum Sea wasn't as hot as this place."

Kaino manifested a fan and began fanning himself. "Then should we go back?"

Red-eyed Seele fell silent.

That empty, lonely place, where not even the echo of your own voice could be heard, was bearable for an hour or two. Stay too long, and it was practically a prison.

After spending a whole year there, neither Seele wanted to go back.

"Alright, I think there's a swimsuit shop up ahead... Let's buy some swimsuits, then get a parasol. It should be much better that way."

Unlike small items like fans, directly manifesting parasols or swimsuits would draw too much attention.

The pedestrians coming and going weren't all blind.

After manifesting a small fan for Seele as well, Kaino quickened his pace.

"Then we can look around for an ice cream shop or somewhere selling cold drinks... Wouldn't that make things much better?"

Seele felt a little hopeful at those words, but soon became despondent again.

"But we don't have this world's money... Seele didn't bring any money before coming here either."

"It's fine, leave it to me!"

Kaino patted his chest and gave a thumbs-up.

He was no longer the same person who had once been ignored by merchant caravans in Shenzhou!

He stepped into the shop first. A blast of cool air hit him head-on, and all the oppressive heat instantly faded away.

A blissful expression appeared on Kaino's face.

It had been so long since he had wandered around a modern city that he had nearly forgotten about air conditioning.

"Sir."

The shop owner was a woman with short brown hair. The beauty mark beneath the corner of her right eye made her look exceptionally charming.

She smiled politely at Kaino and lightly pointed toward Seele behind him.

"If you don't intend to shop, please move aside. There's another customer behind you."

"Um, we're together."

Before Kaino could turn around, Seele's voice came from behind him.

"Is that so? I see."

The owner's smile deepened, her eyes curving into crescents.

"You two are..."

Before she could finish, the owner fell silent, her expression going blank.

Kaino held a red-and-white feather in his hand and gently waved it before the woman's eyes.

"Huh? Brother Kaino, you..."

Seele's eyes widened in disbelief, and she unconsciously took a tiny step back.

Though she did not know what that feather was, she could tell what Kaino was doing.

"Hey? What are you doing? What's that feather?"

Red-eyed Seele, on the other hand, was completely fearless. She floated around Kaino a few times, staring at the feather with gleaming eyes.

Who knew what she was thinking.

"I'm not doing anything bad... This is just more convenient."

Kaino slipped behind the counter and began searching for loose change.

He needed a sample to manifest from. After all, he did not even know what this world's currency looked like, so there was no way he could manifest it.

Fortunately, Fu Hua had given him the Feather of the Underworld. Otherwise, this really would have been troublesome.

"Brother Kaino, stealing is wrong."

Watching Kaino's movements, Seele gathered her courage and suggested,

"If we don't have money, we... we can work at the shop first. There's no need to do this."

"Silly Seele, we're only passing through this world anyway. What's wrong with taking a little?"

Red-eyed Seele had a different opinion.

"We came here to have fun. Why should we work to earn money? Besides, we're using our own hands to take property right in front of the owner. How can that be called stealing?"

"But..."

Seele still looked troubled. The other Seele's words failed to sway her.

"No, what are you two thinking? How could I possibly steal money?"

After analyzing banknotes of every denomination, Kaino crawled out from behind the counter.

"Huh? You weren't stealing money?"

Seele still found it a little hard to believe.

After all, Kaino's actions had looked suspicious no matter how she viewed them.

Kaino did not explain. He merely shrugged, lightly snapped his fingers, and spread open his right hand.

A stack of the largest-denomination banknotes he had seen earlier appeared out of thin air in his hand.

"Huh?!"

Seele was stunned.

"Brother Kaino, you can make money too?!"

"Just a little magic trick."

Without explaining the Herrscher of Reason's powers in detail, Kaino woke the owner from the Feather of the Underworld's control and placed the stack of cash on the counter.

The owner, who had just woken up, was clearly still dazed. Seeing that stack of bills on the counter left her even more at a loss.

"Two... no, three swimsuits."

As he spoke, Kaino pointed at Seele. "Please pick out two for her—preferably in different colors."

"You're buying one for me too?"

Red-eyed Seele raised an eyebrow and floated over to Kaino's side.

"Forget it. Even if you buy one for me, I can't wear it."

"Don't worry, I have a way."

The owner looked at the banknotes on the table, then at Kaino, who was talking to thin air. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but we don't accept funeral money here."

Kaino:?

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Red-eyed Seele floated beside Kaino, clutching her stomach and laughing wildly.

Kaino had already changed into his swimsuit.

His knee-length black swim trunks, dark sun-protection jacket, and sunglasses made his already delicate features look even more handsome.

But he had his face covered at the moment, so no one could tell.

"Funeral money, hahaha, funeral money."

"Alright, Seele, Brother Kaino... he didn't mean for that to happen."

Seele had already changed into the swimsuit they had just bought.

Like her previous clothes, the swimsuit was mainly blue. Its design resembled a traditional school swimsuit, outlining Seele's figure.

Of course, the shy Seele had added a translucent skirt over it, her legs faintly visible beneath the fabric. What drew the most attention was the octopus ornament wrapped around her left thigh.

She also wore a blue rabbit-head accessory on her head.

Although the swimsuit really did feel cooler once she put it on, it was actually more conservative than Seele's original outfit.

Still, it was all very cute.

Seeing Kaino with his head hanging, looking as if life had lost all meaning, Seele could not help saying,

"Brother Kaino, it's okay. Didn't you find real money afterward and give it to that owner?"

"But the way she looked at me was still really strange!"

Kaino covered his face. Although the Feather of the Underworld could erase memories, he was not the kind of person who would use it over something like this.

"Alright, alright. I won't make fun of you anymore."

After laughing enough, red-eyed Seele gave Kaino's shoulder a phantom pat.

"So, how are you going to let me wear a swimsuit too?"

The swimsuit she had chosen was the same style as blue-eyed Seele's, except the blue portions had been changed to red. She was holding it in her hand.

It suited her hair and eye color quite well.

Kaino sighed, tossed the swimsuit in his hand into Imaginary Space, then took out a Feather of the Underworld and gave it a slight wave.

After all, Seele was a consciousness entity. Using the Feather of the Underworld to change her clothes was absurdly easy.

"Huh? It really can change?!"

Seele, now dressed in a red swimsuit, looked at her clothes in disbelief.

"Right. And it can do more than change clothes. Once we buy ice cream and cold drinks later, you'll be able to taste them too."

Halfway through his sentence, Kaino suddenly stopped.

"Brother Kaino, what's wrong?"

Seele, following behind him, did not understand why he had stopped. She leaned out from behind him to look ahead.

Then she froze as well.

A Knight-class Honkai Beast was curled up not far ahead, lazily sleeping.

Beast Tamer Grand Prix

The previously lively atmosphere instantly became extremely stiff.

A Knight-class Honkai Beast.

In truth, Knight-class Honkai Beasts were not rare. The Seeles had lived in the Orphanage all year and might never have encountered one, but Kaino and the Priest had seen quite a few while going out to clear Honkai Beasts.

Though this type of Honkai Beast was far stronger than ordinary people, its raw strength was only so-so. Kaino could now easily kill a whole group of them, not to mention that Seele was beside him.

But...

"Why isn't it attacking the people around it?"

Kaino, who had already drawn Judgement of Shamash, was deeply puzzled.

"And do Honkai Beasts sleep too?"

In Kaino's understanding, Honkai Beasts were killing machines born from Honkai, creatures that would madly attack humans. They should not have a need for rest.