Umi like Shu was a very low maintenance pet. For one, since Umi was a spirit she didn't have to eat and would naturally absorb mana from her surroundings or dungeon monster kills.
Though, Kotori thought it was weird to use "she" since spirits didn't really have a gender in the first place but Umi didn't seem to mind much in the first place.
She seemed to like being viewed as feminine so Kotori just kept with it.
Although Umi constantly dripped water from her body it didn't seem like she needed to be near a water source to refill. It was actually quite nice for Kotori and she was basically a portable water bottle. Thus Kotori didn't really spend time near the pond where she was born anymore.
Not that she was going to keep staying there since Kotori wanted to avoid making any more spirits. It would be troublesome to have so many following her around.
Kotori's major goal was still to kill the king lizard herself and Umi unfortunately, was not very useful in that regard. Her combat stats were quite low and even with a mana buff, she wouldn't be able to hold up to the dragon very well. The three of them might be able to kill the lizard but they would likely be 50/50 on whether they would win in the first place.
Incidentally, Shu seemed to have gotten over the jealousy of Kotori picking up a new spirit and started treating Umi like he was a "Spirit Senpai". He seemed to be trying to teach her the proper etiquette required to follow Kotori around. Kotori herself didn't understand why there had to be any sort of etiquette in the first place and usually left Shu to his own devices.
[Not like he follows any of these in the first place.]
Despite the fact that Shu had no authority to tell Umi how to act she listened to him intently and seemed to ask him questions as well.
[What a diligent student]
Although Kotori could not glean the meaning of their conversation it was pretty obvious that he was teaching her something.
When she asked Shu he confirmed that he was doing his due diligence as her "Senpai" s
Still, Umi seemed to have drastically changed her behavior as a result of Shu's lectures.
Kotori tried to tell Umi that she didn't have to listen to Shu but she seemed resolute in her resolve to follow "proper spirit etiquette".
Umi was still young and didn't seem to talk much, but it seemed like spirits had their own way of communication that Kotori didn't really understand. Although she had the [Spirit Seer] trait all it did was allow her to talk to spirits. She still didn't understand how they communicated with each other in the first place.
Kotori kept practicing her flute and trying to extend her mana.
Umi who had stayed by Kotori's side often watched this scene. It was something that was becoming a common occurrence for her.
She was puzzled at why Kotor would do this all the time and noticed her annoyance when the mana pool would run low so Umi tried to do something about it.
Kotori felt something trickle into her.
[Odd?] She thought
It felt strangely invigorating like when she cast mana buff she checked her status
Sato Kotori
Race: [Human] Age: 8
HP: 40 (+19!)
Mana: 5/21
Agility: 33 (+20!)
Strength: 30 (+20!)
Defense: 27(+20!)
Karma: -100,009,647 (+21!)
Skills: [Magic Musician], [Hunter], [Desire of Monte Cristo](Removed)
Traits: [Spirit Seer], [Monte Cristo] [MANA BUFF] (TEMPORARY 5:59)
[Hmm that's odd?]
She was sure she used all of her mana when she played the last flute song.
She looked at Umi who gave her a bored expression as if saying
"Watcha looking at me for?"
[Did you do something?]
Umi blinked and looked at Kotori as if she was asking the most obvious question in the world
Kotori checked her status for good measure.
Water Spirit (Umi)
Race: [Spirit] Age: 0
HP: 10
Mana: 15/20
Agility: 6
Strength: 2
Defense: 5
Karma: 0
Skills: [Water blade] [Mana Flow](adapted from [splash]!)
Traits: [Minor Water Spirit]
[Umu? It seems that Umi had learned a new skill?]
This was the first time Kotori had seen a skill change before.
Umi didn't seem to think anything of it. This would make sense since Umi had only been recently born and didn't understand much of how this world works
Still, Kotori had realized that her little pet had now gone from a water bottle to a battery.
She gave a head pat Umi who seemed very proud of herself.
In her mind she made a little name for Umi "Battery-Chan" Umi didn't think anything of it
[Not that anyone in this world knows what a battery is] Kotori thought.
She could feel Shu's eyes once again staring daggers into her back so as a good measure she gave Shu some pets as well.
This time it was Umi's turn to be jealous. She gave Shu a splash with her water.
He growled in response. And they began to circle each other as if they were about to fight
[Stop] Kotori said, sending a mental message out with a lot of threat.
After hearing Kotori's admonishment. They both immediately stopped and went back to their respective spots as if nothing had happened. Still, even though the potential fight was over they were glaring at each other
[Pets really are troublesome] Kotori thought While sighing internally.
Still, Kotori was very excited. With Umi's [Mana Flow] skill Kotori effectively had a mana pool of 41 points. This would translate into a 40 point stat boost for all her allies. More than enough points for her to take on the lizard. Even to the point where it would be trivial. The time limit seems pointless since she was sure the lizard would be able to kill it in time.
Kotori would kill the lizard and bring its head as proof to the Boss that she was able to leave the village on her own.