Conquer the world, young man!

[Since the host is so eager to know, then this system will issue a mission. This is the main quest of the K world. The host must 'die' at the hands of the Colorless King in a little over four months. Mission reward: None; Failure penalty: Annihilation.]

Is the system malfunctioning? Is it because the great Tom Sue has given up on him and decided to let him self-destruct?

[This is a mandatory mission. You will still earn points after completing it. Has the host forgotten that the Red King's current Weisman value has reached an extremely dangerous level? At least you wouldn't want him to destroy everything after you die, would you?]

Totsuka lowered his head, a self-deprecating smile creeping onto his face. He had always believed he could change his fate, that his power would no longer put him in danger. He had no fear of the Colorless King who would have killed Totsuka Tatara, but in the end, everything had come full circle? His fate had always been in the hands of that Mary Sue god, and only now did he realize how foolish he had been.

[Host, please complete the mission with peace of mind; there will be a surprise!]

The system's words maintained their usual cheerful tone, but Totsuka had absolutely no interest in listening. No one would be happy knowing they were destined to be abandoned.

"Tatara, are you unhappy?" Kushina Anna clenched her hands, staring intently at Totsuka, and asked nervously.

When Totsuka looked up, he had a big smile on his face. He patted Anna's head with his other hand and said, "Don't think too much. We're going to the beach. I'm really, really looking forward to it."

Suoh Mikoto, whose clothes were being tugged by Kushina Anna, turned his head and looked at Totsuka, his brows furrowing slightly. "If you don't want to go, you can..."

"King, I really want to go, and I'd love to go." Totsuka's voice rose slightly, his tone very serious. He had already made up his mind; even if it meant completing this kind of mission, he would at least accumulate enough points to upgrade his earrings and save them for Suoh Mikoto. Once a person sets a goal, their spirits immediately become full of energy.

Seeing that Totsuka seemed to have returned to normal, Suoh Mikoto clicked his tongue and led a group of people toward the beach.

When the group arrived at their destination and looked at the vast sea, Totsuka's worries seemed to vanish in that instant. Chitose Hiroshi and Bando Saburota had already taken off their shirts and were running towards the sea in their swim trunks as soon as they saw the water.

After changing into her swimsuit, Anna Kushina started piling sand on the beach.

"Such a view definitely needs to be captured on camera." Totsuka wanted to take out the camera from his system inventory, but found that he couldn't find it anywhere.

[The host's camera has been damaged. The system will update and provide you with a new one tomorrow.]

Shishu's lips twitched. This thing can still be refreshed? Could it really be like a prop? And how did the camera, which is supposed to be indestructible no matter how it's dropped, break?

[It was crushed by the Red King. Of course, the reason was that Kushina Anna noticed the camera wasn't working, so she handed it to the Red King to check, and the result was...]

Okay, he could already guess what the situation was like. If it was Zun's destructive power, he would have completely destroyed the camera.

"As expected, having a camera would be so helpful in a situation like this," Kusanagi Izumo remarked after hearing Totsuka's mutterings.

Shizuku smiled broadly, almost greedily taking in everything before him. "Even without a camera, I would remember all of this."

"Speaking of which, it's not good for us to show so much skin in front of outsiders." Totsuka looked at the group of people with their bodies showing; they were definitely attracting a lot of attention on this beach.

Kusanagi Izumo nodded in agreement, saying, "Yeah, I wonder what people will think when they see a bunch of thugs all with the same tattoos..."

Totsuka chuckled. Indeed, those who had been granted flames by the Lord of the Flames bore the marks of HOMRA on different parts of their bodies. But to them, it was all a source of pride. He wondered, however, why didn't he see Fushimi? Had that guy left HOMRA in the end?

"Haha, I'm going to strike up a conversation, strike up a conversation!" Chitose Yo said excitedly, clenching his fist. "Last summer, I wasted my time because of Kamakimoto. I must make up for it this year!"

Dewa Masatomi, looking helpless, remarked from the side, "That's all you can think about."

After cheering himself up, Chitose Hiroshi ran up to Kusanagi and Totsuka and said, "Kusanagi-nii, let's go together!" Of course, he didn't invite Totsuka, because if he let Totsuka flirt with girls, he would definitely get burned.

"I'll pass," Kusanagi Izumo chuckled dryly. "At this age, I can't be as energetic as you guys anymore."

Upon hearing this, Totsuka laughed so hard he clutched his stomach. "Haha, Kusanagi-nii, how old are you? Are you already acting like an old man?"

Seeing Totsuka laughing happily, Kusanagi Izumo walked over and hooked her arm around his shoulder. "You, Totsuka, don't even know how to chat up girls, yet you dare to laugh at me?"

Totsuka shook her head and took Kushina Anna's hand, who had stopped playing in the sand. "I'm completely devoted to Anna, and I won't flirt with any other girls besides Anna."

"What a slippery fellow!" Kusanagi Izumo lightly tapped Totsuka's head and released his grip. He turned around and looked at Suoh Mikoto, who had been lying under the parasol since arriving at the beach. This guy, even when he's out, he's becoming less and less active.

"Ah, Kamamoto-sama is making yakisoba!" The girls in swimsuits on the beach exclaimed, blushing, when they saw Kamamoto Rikio making yakisoba on a teppanyaki grill.

Looking over, Totsuka remarked, "Kamamoto looks really popular now that he's lost weight."

“You are much more popular.” Kusanagi Izumo glanced at Totsuka and said slowly, “If everyone didn’t know that the Red King’s people are not to be touched, then who knows how many people would be chasing after you.”

"Huh?" Totsuka's eyes widened, not expecting to hear such a thing from Kusanagi. After a moment's hesitation, his face flushed red.

Hatta was already surfing on the sea, attracting the attention of some girls. However, given Hatta's innocent nature, he would blush for a long time when he saw a girl and would never take the initiative to chat with her.

At that moment, Chitose Hiroshi found Bando Saburota as his partner and began chatting with the girls passing by on the beach. Kusanagi Izumo watched for a while, then went under the parasol, set up a bench, lay down, and said while drinking his beverage, "Those kids really have energy."

"You're starting to look more and more like an old man, Kusanagi-nii." Totsuka looked at the people on the bench, then his gaze fell on Suoh Mikoto, who was lying to the side with his eyes closed. He should enjoy this leisurely time. After all, there were still more than four months until the final deadline.

Totsuka walked up to Kushina Anna and smiled, "Anna, want to go swimming together?"

"Hmm." Setting down the mountain of sand, Anna followed Totsuka into the very shallow water, which barely reached her knees. Anna hesitated, her face flushing slightly. "Tatara..."

"Hmm?" Totsuka kicked at the seawater at his feet, feeling a refreshing coolness even in the sunlight.

"I'm sorry about the camera..." Kushina Anna said with some shame. She knew that the camera contained many memories and treasures, something that Totsuka had always cherished, but it had been broken in her hands.

"Anna, are you still thinking about this?" Totsuka chuckled, looking at Anna's cautious expression. No wonder this child had been watching him closely since they left the house; what a silly girl.

“Because today, it’s rare for everyone to get together and have fun.” Anna Kushina’s fingers tightened, and she lowered her head to whisper, “A rare memory…”

Totsuka walked up to the girl and said, "Then I'll take a picture with the terminal." Such memories are indeed very valuable and worth treasuring.

However, when she heard Totsuka's suggestion, Kushina Anna quickly shook her head, indicating that she was not willing.

Totsuka chuckled, squatted down, and met her gaze. "If Anna likes my old camera, then I'll get an identical one tomorrow, and we can use that to film our memories, okay?"

Anna Kushina's face flushed red. Without saying a word, she lunged at Totsuka. The sudden impact caused Totsuka to fall into the water with Anna. Totsuka helped the girl in her arms up, her mood instantly brightening. "Really, why did you suddenly lunge at me like that?"

Totsuka took off his clothes, which were already soaked from the waist up, and scooped up seawater with his hands to splash Anna, who was stunned. "See how I repay you!"

For a moment, the boy and girl frolicked happily in the water...

Chapter 121117 Time That Never Fades

Seeing that Anna was exhausted, Totsuka quickly pulled her out of the water. However, as soon as they reached the beach, he discovered that Suoh Mikoto had woken up sometime earlier and was staring intently at him with his dark golden eyes. Unlike his previous interactions with Mikoto, Totsuka felt a slight awkwardness, unsure if it was because Mikoto's aura was too strong three years later, or something else entirely…

However, Totsuka was clearly not stunned for long. Suoh Mikoto walked up directly, picked up Kushina Anna from Totsuka's arms, and put her aside. Then, he decisively took Totsuka's hand and went into the changing room on the beach.

"Huh?" Before Totsuka could react, he found himself following Mikoto inside.

There were a few people chatting and changing into their swimsuits in the changing room, but after Suoh Mikoto gave them a dismissive glance, they immediately ran out. Watching those people practically 'run away,' Totsuka's lips twitched, and he looked at Suoh Mikoto with some confusion.

At that moment, Suoh Mikoto reached out and put his arm around Totsuka's waist, pressing his entire body against him. After being embraced, Totsuka's heart rate increased by one percentage point in an instant.

"King?" Totsuka blinked, puzzled, and reached out to gently pat Suoh Mikoto's back. "What's wrong?"

"They actually exposed their bodies right there in the open..." Suoh Mikoto muttered in a low voice, "I wonder how many people saw them."

Feeling the pressure on his shoulder, Totsuka chuckled almost immediately upon hearing Mikoto's words, "This is a beach, everyone's like this, I'm nothing special..."

Before Totsuka could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a sudden kiss. If his previous kisses with Mikoto were somewhat reckless, this one was much more tender and considerate. Totsuka almost trembled as he accepted the kiss; it was like the slightly tipsy, dizzy feeling of being slightly drunk—very comfortable. Totsuka involuntarily closed his eyes, letting this person do as he pleased with his mouth. This guy, after all these years, his kissing skills have become so advanced?

After the comforting kiss, Totsuka thought Mikoto would let him go, since if things continued like this, his physical reactions wouldn't be able to hide them from others. But to his surprise, after Mikoto's lips left, they pressed against his ear, his warm breath spraying on his earlobe, the moist touch making Totsuka's back tremble slightly.

The pounding of his heart echoed in his ears, but the kiss gradually moved to his neck, and then further down. Totsuka knew he couldn't continue. His hands trembled as he pushed Suoh Mikoto away, gasping for breath, "King..."

"Tsk, is this not okay?" Suoh Mikoto awkwardly turned his face away, calmed himself down, walked to a cabinet, and threw a set of clothes to Totsuka. "Change before you come out. I'm going to soak in the sea first."

Initially shy, Totsuka burst out laughing upon hearing Mikoto's words. After receiving a glance from the red-haired man, he suppressed his laughter and watched him leave the fitting room. Totsuka clutched the clothes in his hands. Years later, he and Mikoto would probably have done everything, right? Right now, his mind was filled with thoughts of 'what men should do with men'. The more he thought about it, the hotter his face became, prompting Totsuka to quickly pat his cheeks and change into the clothes.

[Hehe, how innocent! This system has eighteen different techniques to satisfy your needs.]

"You don't need to worry about that, System," Totsuka rolled his eyes at the ceiling, rested for a while, and then went out.

Outside, the members of HOMRA had already started enjoying a beachside barbecue. Fujishima Kosuke was flipping through skewers of meat and squid, and standing next to him was Eric Surt, a boy who had later joined HOMRA. Bando was holding a plate, waiting for the food to be grilled, while Kamamoto was drinking water from a cup nearby.

When they saw Totsuka, they all waved and greeted him with smiles, "Totsuka-ge, your portion is ready!"

Shishu stepped forward and unceremoniously picked up the barbecue from the plate. After tasting one, he gave a thumbs up and said, "Hmm, not bad. It seems your hands-on skills are pretty good now."

"Hehe, but it looks like Brother Zun won't be able to eat any now." The group exchanged glances and said in low voices, but when they received a look from Totsuka, they immediately changed the subject, "But Brother Yata hardly ate anything, huh?"

Totsuka also turned his head and looked at Hatta, who was sitting on a bench to the side. Hatta's expression was also a little bad.

In the summer, Kamamoto's hair had grown quite a bit, and he was very handsome. While drinking water from his cup, he leaned closer to Hatta and said, "I just heard someone say that there seem to be ghosts around here."

Upon hearing Kamamoto's words, Hatta, who was drinking water, choked. Totsuka walked over and asked with a smile, "A ghost? Where is that?"

"It's said that a child once drowned in a cave by the sea." Kamakimoto lowered his voice and said slowly, "That child was probably exploring the cave with his friends. After the tide came in, his friends urged him to go back, but the child went deeper into the cave alone. Even now, that child probably hasn't realized he's dead and continues exploring the cave..."

Hatta, on the other hand, was getting paler and paler. When Anna Kushina gently patted him from behind, he was so startled that he fell off the bench.

Totsuka covered her mouth, but laughter still spilled out. "So, Yata's afraid of ghosts?"

"With Totsuka-nii here, Hatta-nii, you don't need to worry so much at all," Kamamoto said cheerfully from the side.

Hatta blushed and quickly waved his hands, saying, "I...I wasn't scared!"

"If there really are ghosts, Totsuka-kun is more than capable of handling them." Kamamoto Rikio's tone was full of reverence. "After all, Totsuka-kun is an Onmyoji!"

So, they found out about his abilities later too? Totsuka smiled thoughtfully at Hatta, "Well then, let's all go take a look together later. I also want to see if there really are ghosts."

"A test of courage? Very good." Suoh Mikoto, who had already been soaking in the sea, walked over, picked up a brush to wipe himself, and went to Totsuka, taking something from his plate to eat.

Totsuka placed the plate in Suoh Mikoto's hand, picked up a clean towel and began to dry Mikoto's hair. "Speaking of which, if there really are ghosts there, they must be very lonely. After all, being alone in a cave must be so boring."

Hatta's expression was still not good. He gave a dry laugh. "But what if it's one of those deeply resentful creatures that jumps out and scares people?"

“Then let’s have a heart-to-heart talk with him.” Totsuka smiled brightly. “Maybe it will cheer him up. King should come along too.”

Suoh Mikoto nodded, finished the food on his plate and put it aside, saying, "Just consider it an after-dinner walk."

And so, as night fell, the members of HOMRA headed towards the cave by the sea. There were rocky areas on this beach, and the cave should be in that direction.

Kamamoto walked up to Hatta and whispered from behind him, "Are you really that scared, Hatta-nii?"

Completely terrified, Hatta raised his voice an octave higher as he addressed Kamamoto, "What are you scared of?!"

At this moment, Totsuka found a crab on the beach and began to study it with Anna, wondering if it was edible. After hearing Kamamoto's scream, they immediately looked up.

It turned out that Hatta had seen something and, in his emotional state, had hit Kamamoto, who was standing next to him. With Hatta's face pale, everyone, driven by curiosity, finally stepped into the cave.

Upon entering the cave, Hatta almost instantly grabbed Totsuka and Anna's hands, holding them tightly and saying loudly, "I, I will protect you both, so please, don't let go!"

Kusanagi Izumo, standing behind the group, shook his head and rubbed his forehead. "That idiot Yata," he thought, "when he's scared, he really doesn't care about anything." He glanced at Suoh Mikoto; the guy didn't seem to be paying much attention to Totsuka and Yata's postures. Was he also watching Yata make a fool of himself?

At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed from deep within the cave. Yata gripped the hands of the two people beside him tightly, and even Kamamoto broke out in a cold sweat. "Footsteps?"

“Hata’s hands are all wet,” Anna Kushina said at that moment, which made Totsuka laugh out loud again.

At that moment, Yata's eyes were almost filled with tears, and he stood frozen in place. Suoh Mikoto's right hand then ignited a flame. After Yata guessed that Suoh Mikoto was going to burn the ghost, he noticed that the cave was illuminated, and the figure of a boy appeared in front of him.

"It's here!" Yata panicked and tried to rush towards Totsuka, but was hit on the head by Suoh Mikoto halfway there and thrown aside.

Totsuka reassured Hatta, "It's alright, Hatta, this is a person, not a ghost."

At that moment, Anna Kushina ran up to the boy, reached out and touched him, saying, "He's alive."

After confirming that the child in the cave was alive, Hatta finally calmed down. Then Totsuka asked the boy why he had come there, and gradually learned what had happened from the boy.

The boy was a friend of the boy who had died. After they went to explore the cave, he was scared halfway through and advised his friend to go back early, but his friend did not listen and continued to go deeper into the cave... After hearing rumors that there were ghosts in the cave, he came here and wanted to see his friend one more time.