As a kodama spirit, life had always been peaceful. The kodama who lived in Violet's dungeon had spent a few hundred years living amongst its own kind in a peaceful forest. It was rare for the kodama to run into people or [Monsters] while living in the forest. The elves had an easier time sensing the kodama spirits, but others tended to be oblivious to their presence.
Kodama spirits could, potentially, live forever and were rarely killed out in the wild. As spirits, they weren't exactly alive in the same sense that people or other [Monsters] were. Instead, they were more akin to ghosts while having a close connection to nature in the same way that dryads and nymphs often do. There was seemingly no reason for a kodama to ever volunteer to come to a dungeon.
Most [Monsters] were willing to sign a contract with a dungeon in exchange for longer lives and a sense of safety they wouldn't otherwise have. Goblins and orcs tended to be hunted to the point of nearly going extinct and had to have a supernaturally high reproduction rate to prevent their species from forever disappearing. However, not all of them were satisfied with such a life and would often be willing to join a dungeon, given the chance. Of course, most goblins were summoned [Monsters] rather than contracted [Monsters].
None of this was information the kodama in Violet's dungeon was particularly aware of, however. It just knew that it had been curious when it had chosen to volunteer to join a dungeon. However, now it missed its own kind and felt a bit lonely. The early days of the dungeon had been filled with hard work, but not the sort it liked to do. Now, things were much more boring as it had nothing to do.
Normally, in its natural environment, a kodama spirit would care for the plants and forest it called home. It would help to spread seeds throughout the forest from various plants, prune plants to ensure they could thrive, and enjoy being one with nature. However, in the dungeon, everything was different. What little plants and wildlife there was, were spread out and did not need its help. If a tree was cut down, it would be perfectly fine the next day. The bees never struggled to find pollen and the plants never went to seed. Well, there were the apple blossom trees and dandelions in the one room, but they were strange and the kodama's efforts were wasted since the seeds it helped plant always seemed to disappear.
Then there was the matter of the people. They always seemed to come and go with some coming at the same time every day while others were more random. Right now, the kodama was following a strange young girl, an older man, and its master. Normally, the kodama would check out whatever strange [Item] was left near its tree before carefully following the group and curiously watching what they would all do. However, today it seemed things were different.
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The kodama watched as the man handed some strange white thing to its master before saying
"I wanted to get you something nicer today. So, I went out and bought you some silk tights since it didn't seem like you had anything to wear with your boots."
The kodama wasn't sure what any of that meant, but its master seemed happy, so the kodama felt happy too. Normally, this strange man seemed to make its master uneasy and the kodama often felt irritable as it wished it could make the strange man leave. However, kodama spirits weren't violent creatures and they didn't engage in combat, nor did they have the ability to communicate with people.
Of course, the kodama spirit also couldn't realize its own intellectual limitations. Where the slimes had no higher thinking skills and could only act on instinct, the kodama spirits were significantly more capable. However, they were still no smarter than a toddler or a dog might be. The spirit could understand simple commands and had some thoughts of its own, but it couldn't understand more complex ideas nor did it have the ability to learn more about such things due to its inability to communicate with anyone but its own kind.
Still, the kodama spirit was happy and it enjoyed the change of pace the dungeon brought. It could meet many new people and discover new plants that it had never seen before. It was just that the kodama wished there were more of its own kind. Perhaps, it would also be nice to have a more comfortable home, a nice cozy forest, just like its old home.
As per usual, Violet didn't notice her kodama's presence. She knew nothing of its thoughts and so there was very little she could do to accommodate its wishes. Had she known, she likely would have reassured it that she hoped to give it a more comfortable environment soon enough. That she wouldn't be asking it to forage for things when spring came, that she planned to contract some friends for it, and that she too hoped to add a forest to her dungeon one day. After all, David had brought her all of those forest plants, so it would be a shame if she never got the chance to use them.
However, since she was unaware of the kodama's problems, she could only go about her own business. She diligently did her sword training, slightly happier that David was taking his job more seriously, but still feeling fed up with his previous attitude. Then, when he went to take a break, she spent her mana. 10 MP went towards recreating the lacey white silk stockings that she promptly put on. It was a relief to no longer have to worry about blisters from wearing her boots without socks. The rest was spent on four ceramic pots of butter to sell alongside the bread rolls she had previously bought.
Then, when David left for the night, Violet spent her next set of 50 MP on five glass jars of apple jam. The jam didn't seem as appealing as a nice berry jam might be, but Violet didn't want to spend any of her dungeon points on creating new [Items] until after she unlocked her next floor. Considering she now had 1,021 DP, she'd be able to do so the next morning. While she would have loved to do so right away, unfortunately, she had promised to let Avorn and Camellia sleep in the dungeon, so it would be rude to do so now.