***BRRRRRTTTTT***
The sound of Hikari was mesmerizing. Kotori was using the newfound "Machine gun" mode to mow down monsters in front of her. Kotori used [Spirit Seer] to ask her to take the shape of a certain gun.
Currently, Kotori had 2 MP5s in both hands and she was shooting them wildly.
In truth, she didn't really need to hold the weapons since Hikari would usually aim the bullets in the right direction regardless of whether Kotori hit her or not but it was more for Kotori's enjoyment than actually hitting anything.
The feeling of shooting a "gun" was quite satisfying. Kotori was currently able to crush monsters at a rate that was simply unfathomable to normal adventurers. To be honest, it was a little overpowered. She was currently trying out a one-wave strategy that involved aggroing all the monsters in a dungeon and then shooting them all down as they chased her in one mob.
Afterward, she would cast [Gourmet] and split the Monmochi between her party members. Kotori herself was secretly farming Quiggles.
They were only for her!
So tasty…
Kotori felt her mouth slightly drool as she thought about eating more metal slimes. She was killing two birds with one stone with farming the metal slimes. She was slowly becoming stronger and she was farming for Hikari and for Layla's weapon.
In terms of Layla, after the "Make Layla less lady-like" conference. It was decided that they needed to make her do more work and being more considerate of others. Currently, Layla was being deprived of Monmochi rations unless she helped clean and cook.
Well… not cook.
Layla was an utterly awful cook and had no natural talent. Although Kotori and Amelie tried to teach her, she was utterly unable to understand the concept.
To be fair, Layla was a spirit and thus didn't need to eat. She would absorb mana from the surroundings naturally it made sense that she wouldn't understand it. Kotori had been applying what she knew from Shu and Umi onto her and even Kotori thought it was an unfair expectation after thinking about it.
Shu and Umi were not obligated to cook for Kotori and Amelie Kotori didn't force them to do it but both of them seemed to want to do it. They also somehow managed to become respectable cooks and would cook for Amelie and Kotori.
Shu usually made very simple meals by grilling and roasting meat with some bread bought from the village.
Umi's cooking was… utterly divine. She perfectly understood how to use ingredients and make perfect dishes. They were so good Kotori felt spoiled eating them.
The only issue with Umi's cooking was that Kotori just wished she was less weird about it. For example, Umi once made a soup just for Kotori and as Kotori was about to sip it Umi started blushing and saying things like
"Ah I'm going to be one with Kotori-sama"
Kotori politely declined to drink the soup. She could only guess what Umi put inside of it.
Umi looked sad after that but Kotori didn't pay her any mind.
In terms of getting Layla to clean. Well, that was extremely difficult.
"Why should I have to clean I don't make a mess" Layla protested after being told she had to help clean up around the house.
"Because we all live here, and you need to help out around the house" Kotori said exasperated.
While it was true that Layla wasn't a very messy spirit she did occasionally track dirt into the house or fail to clean up after herself. Kotori was trying to teach her the value of selflessness and to stop being so spoiled.
"That mess isn't mine" Layla said pointing the unclean dinner table.
"It's about caring for other." Kotori said
"Why should I care about others?" Layla said
[This selfish girl]'
In a way, Layla reminded Kotori of herself slightly. When she reincarnated, she was more concerned with raising her karma numbers than the people around her. It was this sort of mentality that ended up hurting the people she cared about.
"Layla, do you like anybody?"
"What kind of question is that!" Layla said blushing
[Oh, she's misinterpreted the question] Kotori thought
"I mean, is there anybody you care about?" Kotori asked rephrasing her question
Layla's expression changed
"Oh you mean that? I guess I care about Mama" Layla said
"Then would you help clean for Okateratsu?" Kotori asked
"Of course!" Layla said cheerfully
"What about Mama's friends?" Kotori asked
This question made Layla think for a moment. She pondered for a moment and then spoke.
"hmmm, if Mama told me then I would" Layla said.
"Then what if they weren't Mama's friends and just strangers?" Kotori asked
"I wouldn't help them. They are strangers" Layla said
"But wouldn't there be a reason Okateratsu would ask you to do something even if you didn't understand it?" Kotori asked
"Mama wouldn't do something like that" Layla said
"But what if it was true? What if the strangers were someone important to Mama and you didn't know, and you hurt Okateratsu's feelings?" Kotori asked
"I.. uhm…" Layla started to speak after she realized the error in her logic
"Layla, sometimes you can hurt people by being selfish like this, even if you don't think you should be concerned with it" Kotori said
Kotori knew that Layla was a good girl deep down. Layla cared about the party in her own way. She was always willing to listen to them and her rivalry with Umi was more friendly than hostile. She hoped Layla would listen to reason.
"I.. will…" Layla started to speak
"Hmm?" Kotori asked
"I will clean… just this once though!" Layla said
"Good Girl!" Kotori said patting her head
"Eh!" Layla squeaked the moment Kotori started touching her head. She didn't pull away though and continued to let Kotori pat her head.