Later that day, Avorn and Camellia showed up to the dungeon. They were excited to test out their new fishing poles and had even brought along some nice wild persimmons they had managed to forage. As it was already cold enough for the surrounding area to frost over, many plants were no longer able to be found and foraged as a food source. However, wild persimmons tended to hang on a good bit longer than most other plants.

As Camellia and Avorn made themselves comfortable in front of the pond, threading some bait and casting their hooks into the water, Camellia asked

"Have you ever tried this type of fish before? Do you think they'll be safe to consume?"

Avorn pursed his lips, looking unsure, as he replied

"I haven't seen these before. However, most fish only have potential parasites for you to worry about. With dungeon fish, that isn't a big concern. The Dungeon Masters would have to go out of their way to give the fish parasites and most Dungeon Masters tend to keep things too simple for that.

I suppose there might be some poisonous fish I've never heard of, but there are usually signs of that. Many poisonous creatures have spots, stripes, or bright colors that give away their poisonous nature to anyone paying close enough attention. These fish have a lot of different patterns and colors, but none of them look particularly dangerous."

Camellia nodded, still looking unsure. It just still seemed rather odd for a dungeon to have a room that was perfectly safe like this without there being a sign asking for tribute in exchange, much like the garden meadow room. However, before Camellia could ask if it was necessary to leave a tribute, just to be safe, Violet entered the room.

Violet saw the look of surprise on their faces and raised her hands to show her lack of ill intent. She hadn't met these two before, so she made sure to speak in a friendly, but calm tone to avoid upsetting the adventurers.

"Hello! I'm Violet and you are?"

Avorn glanced warily from Camellia to Violet. He wasn't sure if he should step between the two to protect his spouse or if that would be insulting. So, he chose to remain where he was as he replied

"I'm Avorn and this is my wife, Camellia. I didn't think very many others visited this dungeon."

There weren't guards outside the dungeon anymore ever since the first batch of undead had brutally killed the first set. So, it wasn't like there was anyone to mention how many others had already entered the dungeon, not that guards could have stopped anyone from entering anyway.

Violet nodded as she explained

"I'm the Dungeon Master here, but I don't mean to cause trouble. I was just wondering if you would be willing to browse my wares and, potentially, make a trade."

Avorn's eyebrows raised in alarm at Violet's confession. While it was theoretically possible that someone could lie about being a Dungeon Master, it wasn't something that an intelligent person would do. They risked angering the actual Dungeon Master and losing their lives. So, it was very likely that Violet truly was the Dungeon Master, but that raised all sorts of other concerns.

Camellia pulled on Avorn's arm as she bowed to Violet and greeted

"Greetings mistress Violet. I apologize, but we weren't aware that you would be trying to sell us anything, so we don't have anything particularly valuable to offer you. We are mere wanderers who forage and hunt for our own food, we don't have much else."

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Violet sighed and Avorn flinched. However, Camellia remained in a half-bowed position, not showing any signs of being fazed by Violet's presence. This was hardly what Violet wanted, but it seemed to be the reaction every time she met new adventurers. Deciding to move on, she replied

"You don't have to keep bowing to me. Also, what holds value in the outside world is not the same as what holds value within a dungeon. A diamond might be valuable the first time it is offered, but it holds no more value than an ordinary stone might after the fact."

Camellia gratefully straightened out her back, standing tall before Violet. It would be uncomfortable to remain bowed like that for very long. This was the first time she had ever met a Dungeon Master, but it wasn't like she didn't have the common knowledge of this world to fall back on. Ever since she was young, she had been told stories about what was appropriate behavior when exploring a dungeon. Besides, even if she did her best to be polite and not agitate the Dungeon Master, it wasn't guaranteed that she wouldn't end up offending the Dungeon Master anyway since every Dungeon Master was, supposedly, different.

"Well, if you don't mind, then I would happily like to browse your wares and then you can see if we have anything of use to you. Do you have a particular room you need us to follow you to?"

Avorn looked frantically at his wife in a panic. However, she only squeezed his hand to calm him. It might be dangerous to follow a Dungeon Master blindly like this, but it was still better than upsetting the Dungeon Master and ending up dying anyway.

Violet shook her head as she replied

"No, I keep all of my merchandise in my leather satchel. I currently have lesser healing potions, healing potions, lesser mana potions, mana potions, tins of black tea, a jar of honey, some wild violets and honey lollipops, lavender meringue cookies, and chamomile and honey shortbread cookies. Each [Item] has its own price, but that's too hard to explain, so I won't be doing so."

Avorn flinched again at Violet's words. Her last sentence had been said in a friendly tone and in a very matter-of-fact manner, but they still seemed to hurt to hear as if he was being attacked verbally. Camellia wasn't sure what the prices were, which made her feel more uncomfortable, but she didn't want to turn Violet down and risk upsetting her. So, she simply said

"Well, I'm not sure what we can afford, but I'll take out some of the [Items] we have for you to look over. It would be nice to have some black tea and honey since it's been getting colder outside."

Violet smiled happily as she watched Camellia kneel down on the floor and begin pulling things out of her bag. Avorn, still looking rather nervous, did the same. When Violet saw a small coin purse among their belongings, she pointed to it and asked

"What's in there? I don't have much use for actual money in this dungeon."

Avorn swallowed nervously before explaining in a shaky voice

"I... uh... these are the acorns I've been collecting from your dungeon over the last few days..."

Violet tried to soften her expression, more than aware of just how uncomfortable she was making the poor elf man. However, she wasn't sure if having a more gentle smile was possible or if her expression would just end up looking odd and thus more terrifying. Turning to Camellia, she asked

"How many acorns do you have? Acorns aren't worth much, you'll need, at least, thirty to purchase the tea and honey."

Camellia took the acorns out, slowly counting them before saying

"Well, this amount is thirty, but we'd feel guilty if we only gave you this much. You should take the whole bag's worth."

Violet shrugged, replying

"Alright, you can just leave the acorns on the floor then. There is no need for you to leave the bag."

Camellia gratefully replied

"Thank you, mistress Violet. We will definitely leave the acorns behind, thank you for your kindness in selling us these items."

Violet merely nodded, pulling the tin of black tea and a glass jar of honey out of her satchel before leaving them on the floor. She carried the acorns out of the room, bringing them to the dungeon core room with her. It wouldn't do any good to have her payment taken back when she wasn't looking. While the pair seemed utterly frightened of her and were highly unlikely to try anything, Violet would rather be safe than sorry.