Kotori spent the next two weeks on the ship. No one could get on, it almost felt like she was sheltering in an embassy in a foreign country.
Kotori spent her time slowly building up Umi, Shu and Layla with her [Magic ministrel]. They had taken a lot of damage to their spiritual bodies after Kotori used [Gourmet] on them and she was making the effort to restore their forms. Despite this Kotori only really had one thought.
[These spirits are too deredere!]
Umi, Shu, and Layla followed her around like a pack of ducklings and would fight for a spot in her lap.
Kotori could understand why Shu would follow her around since she had essentially raised him, but it seemed like Layla and Umi were in much the same way.
Felt more like she was taking care of several kittens rather than full grown spirits.
[Well, they deserve it though] Kotori thought
She let the spirits indulge themselves and spend more time with her. It wasn't like she was doing anything anyway.
Amelie was also still injured; her ribs were nearly healed up thanks to Kotori's healing song, and she had little trouble moving around. Although, she was still not quite at full form.
They had short conversations while Amelie was still bedridden.
"Why do I keep breaking bones!" She remarked
"Drink more milk" Kotori quipped smiling.
Amelie pouted.
"Can't you make that mana buff stronger?" She said.
Kotori shrugged her shoulders.
"Sorry need my mana pool to increase for that"
"Pfft!" Amelie said.
Still, what Kotori didn't tell Amelie was that she was unhappy.
The entire ordeal with the Flare merchants had left a bad taste in her mouth. In all honesty, she felt cheated
[Why can they just do that!] Kotori thought. She thought it was rather arbitrary to have a "Sea Lord council" if the Faramouth merchants always had the last laugh.
Fawks had told her they would be voyaging to the kingdom soon. It wouldn't be long before the kingdom was sending tougher people after her again. Hatake was already a verifiable monster when they tried to fight her. She still didn't understand why Amah was able to defeat him in the first place.
[He had the same skill as Yooma right? Why did his weapons look different] Kotori thought. Yooma's weapons were physical weapons that would deal physical damage. Amah's weapons seemed to pass through Hatake.
[Do they attack the mana of the target?] Kotori thought. All people in this world had some form of mana. In fact, it could be said that humans were fleshy spirits in a way. She did plenty of "mana attacks" when she was skimming the mana off adventurers when they attack her. She had never thought to directly attack the hard core of mana that lied beneath the soft covering of mana the core had.
Dungeon monsters were different. They were completely soft, no core like humans. Spirits on the other hand were all core which is why Shu, Umi and Layla were damaged so much when Kotori siphoned mana from them.
If Amah was directly attacked the core of Hatake it made sense why he wouldn't be able to defend against it. Hatake's defensive stats were all tied up in "physical" defense. He wouldn't have been able to defend against such an attack.
Kotori was scheming for herself now.
She wasn't just going to let these merchants get what they want. They thought that money and influence would protect them.
A nagging feeling was felt in her again. A feeling that was compelling her. It welled deep inside her soul.
"Those fucking merchants!" she spat before composing herself.
Shu, Umi, and Layla all upturned their heads.
Kotori was currently laying in her hammock with her spirits. They were busy having their comfy time but Kotori's mind had drifted
"I'm sorry" She said.
She must've startled them with her sudden outburst.
[That was odd?] for a moment Kotori felt not herself. The feeling of revenge had overwhelmed her common sense.
It had been a while since she had felt so compelled. Kotori wondered what was causing it.
She stroke the heads of her spirits to assure them.
Regardless. She was going to take her revenge on these nobles who had thought they could get away with this.
It would help out Fawks after all.
She would need Amah to help her. Kotori couldn't deal with the Merchants if they still had Hatake protecting them.
Kotori stopped petting her spirits. She got up and started walking towards the mysterious man who had protected.
The ship was massive, almost the size of a cruise ship, and she was having trouble navigating it. It was a royal vessel after all. She asked a nearby sailor where Amah was at and she was directed towards a secluded portion of the ship.
Apparently, Amah was a bit of a recluse and didn't leave the ship.
[A shut-in] Kotori thought about hearing the tib bit.
She wondered what kind of person Amah was until she reached his door. He was residing in quarters on the ship that were relatively mid level. It wasn't a fancier cabin-like Kotori was staying in.
With an anxious heart, she opened the door to meet her savior.