David set the rock he had picked up on the way to the dungeon, down on the ground inside the new tribute room. As to why Violet had gone to the trouble to make a tribute room without doing anything to officially designate it as such was beyond him. However, he wasn't so sure that he understood much about the rather frustrating Dungeon Master he was in charge of teaching swordsmanship.
She had said repeatedly that she wanted to play at being a merchant yet she always seemed to dismiss the possibility of selling anything to him. It was always "Maybe tomorrow", "Not today", or "I don't have enough in stock for it to be worth your while." After a while, David had simply given up on asking, but he was still waiting for her to bring up the idea again herself. He had already gone out of his way to stuff a magic bag full of [Items] to trade away to her and he brought it along every single day in the hopes that she would be interested. Yet, she never was.
That didn't stop him from feeling sour about the whole thing, though. He was beginning to worry about how he would provide for his daughter. He had been hoping to get by making trades with Violet for useful [Items] like food and medicine throughout the winter, ensuring no one had to go hungry, but that was clearly off the table now.
The next best option he had was to complete challenges in the dungeon and collect edible plants from the first floor. His daughter had already been hard at work doing so over the last few days. At first, she had only added a few small [Items] to the basket, but she had become more bold as of yesterday. It made David feel guilty that she felt she had to shoulder the burden of providing food for them like that.
Well, it wasn't like this was an entirely new phenomenon. Alice had been asking about why the meals were getting smaller, why there was only soup and so little bread, etc. since a short while before the snow first fell. Gregory's family was not well off by any standards, but they were used to living this way. They knew how to make the most of what food they did have and none of them ever complained about it.
It was a little embarrassing the few times that Alice's complaints and questions had been overheard. However, it was less so because of the dirty looks that David received and more so because he knew he was helpless to do anything about it. They were fortunate he had been able to catch a wild animal a short while back and it would likely last them a few more weeks. However, that was nothing compared to the life that Alice had been able to enjoy back when her mother was still alive.
David was desperate to return things back to the way they used to be, even though he was already past his prime. There was no way that he was going to be able to return to a life of adventuring and take on the very real and dangerous threats that a proper dungeon would provide. That was a good way for him to leave his daughter an orphan and ensure that her life would be a difficult one.
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David had hoped that Violet's dungeon would be promising and it had seemed that way, up until recently. However, after the dungeon had undergone its recent transformation, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. Most adventurers knew better than to even enter a dungeon too soon after it developed a new floor. Many dungeons would leave the lower floors alone, but some of them could end up changing so much that it was like night and day. David hadn't been expecting Violet to be the sort to change things so drastically, but he had clearly been wrong.
Who knew just how much more he was wrong about? Violet kept trying to talk to his daughter, even despite his warnings. Perhaps she was trying to harm his daughter somehow? Maybe she wanted to twist her mind and turn her against him? Violet had seemed innocent enough and like there was very little harm that she could cause, but maybe all of that was just a ruse. David wasn't sure, but he couldn't help but feel on edge.
This, of course, bled through into his sparring sessions with Violet. He couldn't help but flinch and react more aggressively every time she got near him. David just wanted to create some distance between them. Yet, here he was stuck training her every single day. Maybe he should try begging Theodore for some leniency when the next spring arrives. While David knew he was supposed to train Violet for a minimum of a year, he wasn't sure he could handle the constant stress that it brought.
David still wanted to build a nice home for Alice to finish growing up in. He still wanted to send her off to a reputable magic academy and help her grow up to be a strong adventurer. However, if he couldn't even depend on Violet to follow through on her own words, such as playing a dungeon merchant, how could he trust anything else about this dungeon either?
"Alright, well, that's time. I'm going to go now."
Violet dismissed herself quickly and David watched her carefully as she left. Once more, it would seem she was failing to follow through on her promise to sell him anything. It would seem he would have to depend on Alice to forage things while he tried to complete some challenges.
Luckily, the new arrangement of the dungeon seemed to make that easier, for the most part. All of the more difficult challenges were no longer in the way and David and Alice could safely go from room to room gathering as they wished. Of course, now they had to share the space with others.
The strange elf man and his half-giant companion always seemed to give David plenty of space, which was how he preferred it. During his time as an adventurer, he had met plenty of different types, not all of which were the friendly type. It was always best to avoid others in the dungeon, especially if you weren't on equal footing and able to properly defend yourself. If you wanted to meet new people, it was better to do so in the local tavern or adventurers' guild where there was more of a guarantee of safety for everyone involved. The local guards and other adventurers never tended to like it when others caused problems, after all. However, someone dying in a dungeon was less likely to be questioned, or even investigated, so you were always better off playing it safe.