The Dangerously Cute Dungeon Volume Two [A Dungeon Core LitRPG]

2.29 Goodbye For Now

Violet had been sleeping when Tobias's party first came through her dungeon. However, she had immediately felt the effects of their return to the dungeon. Every day that they came through, she would have additional mana to spend on upgrading her first floor as well as a few extra dungeon points to save up.

It was rather reassuring to see them return to the dungeon as she had been genuinely worried that she had scared everyone away. Having to wait until spring arrived for new adventurers to show up was bad enough without having to worry that those who were already patrons of her dungeon were avoiding her. Violet's worry about causing them to disappear was so bad that she couldn't seem to bring herself to approach them quite yet.

However, today would be different! Violet had psyched herself up and now she was ready to try talking to them again. She wasn't sure what she had done to scare them away in the first place, if it was even her fault at all, but she was going to do her best to be extra friendly and accommodating this time around!

Since Tobias's party wasn't really sure where Violet would be, they took their time walking from the entrance through the left side of the dungeon. By the time she ended up reaching them, they were still just hanging out inside of the tribute room. Clearing her throat, their attention snapped over to her right away. This group must have been less skittish than Avorn's as they didn't even bother brandishing their weapons against her.

"Uhm... hello! It's been a while since we've talked. I hope I'm not bothering you?"

While Mirabella had always had a feeling that Violet was less of a threat than most Dungeon Masters, their party had done some talking during their time away from the dungeon and they were now convinced they shouldn't act so warily towards Violet. Acting hostile towards her was more likely to cause harm than good and it wasn't like they had ever met a human Dungeon Master before this anyhow. So, Mirabella was quite excited as she greeted Violet warmly.

"It's great to see you again! You're definitely not bothering us at all! We were actually looking for you."

Violet blinked her eyes in surprise as she hesitantly asked

"Oh, you were?"

Thodin laughed in a warm and friendly way before smacking his hand across Violet's back in the customary way he might among his own people. Violet flinched in pain, finding it rather unpleasant, but saying nothing, as she listened to him speak.

"Of course. We couldn't exactly leave without showing you our thanks!"

Now Violet felt even more confused and a bit frightened herself. This sudden change in attitude and being treated in such a friendly manner was more than a bit disorienting. Tobias took pity on her and explained

"Yes, well, unfortunately we have finished our job here. We have to return to Elesfield, a small city near here, and turn in our reports to the adventurer's guild there. Then we will likely return to our families until the winter season ends and we are assigned a new job.

Still, you've been quite cooperative and friendly during our time in your dungeon. We really appreciate how easy you've made our job. So, we wanted to give you one last gift before we depart."

They had actually just gotten confirmation that they would have a ride out of here as early as the next morning. Apparently, a merchant wagon had been sent over to collect herbs from a local alchemist shop and would be heading out towards Bramouth the very next morning. Since it would be passing through Elesfield on the way, they had agreed to act as extra security in return for hitching a ride.

Violet felt a little disappointed as she replied

"Oh... I was kind of hoping you all would stick around for a while longer. You were gone for so long and now you're leaving for good..."