Kotori had made quite a mess of things after her business with Gerard. Several people on the streets look in horror at the punishment she inflicted on him and many of them shied away when she walked past.

A trail of blood came from her right shoe, staining the ground.

Kotori didn’t mind. In fact, her heart felt quite light. She hummed a chirpy tune as she walked back to the DaiMaru.

She had gotten rid of the thorn in her side for the past month. She had plans for Gunter but that would have to wait another day.

[He’s going to get it anyway] Kotori thought as she trotted back.

** ** **

Kotori was currently watching a mixture of expressions on Fawk’s face. She had just reported her actions to him. She was sure that he would’ve found out sooner or later but she wanted to paint the story in a good light.

Fawks was holding his head in his hands.

“You went out, alone? Do you understand how dangerous that is?” Fawks asked her.

“I wasn’t alone, I had Amah with me,” Kotori said pouting. She did technically leave the ship very undefended but in her mind Amah was enough. For once, Kotori was indulging her childish side.

“You can’t just waltz in and turn a sea lord into a eunuch on a whim.” Fawks said shaking his head

[Well, I just did] Kotori thought.

“How am I going to do business here now” He muttered under his breath.

In truth, Kotori could’ve stopped Fawk’s scolding with her slavering, but she enjoyed it as well. It was nice having someone reprimand her for once. While Amelie was a decent enough substitute Kotori rarely got reprimanded for anything. It was strangely comforting.

“Anyway, we’re leaving tomorrow,” Fawk said

“Eh?” Kotori replied. She was surprised by the sudden news. She had planned her revenge on Gunter for later that week but apparently, Fawks was having them take a voyage.

“Didn’t I tell you? You’re a queen’s candidate now, I have to bring back to the kingdom. I would recommend you get your act together. It would be wise for you to gain the love of the populace, and not act out like you did today” Fawks said.

“Oh… I see” Kotori said her voice trailing off. To be honest, this whole “queen’s candidate” business was a bit over her head. If it weren’t for the fact that she would be hunted down if she didn’t participate she wanted to avoid it entirely.

Being forced to address crowds as a queen would only trigger her social anxiety further.

On a deeper level, she still didn’t know what the trials to become a queen entailed. Fawks had been very vague on the details and she had the impression even he wasn’t quite sure. She had once asked him, but he avoided the question. Apparently, the trials were chosen by the current ruler and thus the candidate would have to adjust themselves on the fly.

The only thing that all trials shared would be that they would test some aspect of being a queen.

[A queen huh?] Kotori thought. Although she was hesitant at the thought of being a queen she could see the appeal of it. For one, having a bunch of servants lining up to do her every bidding was a very attractive proposal.

She could also leverage the resources of the kingdom to enact her revenge on Atlea. The thought of it made her quite fired up.

If she failed the trials Kotori also still had one idea. Something that she was sure would work. It would just take some time to prepare.

Still, Kotori realized that despite all her thinking she still didn’t know anything about the country of Eris.

“So, what is the queendom of Eris like,” Kotori asked Fawks suddenly changing the topic.

“Hmm? Well, I guess if you can’t tell based on the name it’s a country built on the desert. Though, in all honesty, the whole island is a desert. The mana density is pretty good though, so there’s quite a few dungeons. We sell the materials from the dungeon monsters overseas and import the rest of the materials we need. Incidentally the capital, Xernos is built on an oasis and one of the few places where there is decent farmlands. Xernos is also home to the biggest dungeon in the world. It’s mostly unexplored and it’s why Eris has the most adventurers out of any country.

[Biggest dungeon?] Kotori thought her interest was piqued. She had fully stopped listening to Fawks after he said that.

Kotori was not a fan of dungeon diving for the sake of profit, but the thought of exploring a dungeon was something that she could get behind.

The “biggest dungeon in the world” would probably also have insane mana density which some that Kotori wanted to sample. She had become quite a bit of a “gourmet” and the thought of tasting the biggest dungeon in the world sounded excellent for her hunger pangs.

Kotori could feel her stomach rumbling at the thought.

Kitsura

Alright my main League of Legends account got 14 day banned for toxicity so I guess I have to post more now instead of play like a degen.