Violet was nervous as she hesitantly asked

"Hey, Elivyre? I was wondering if you'd be willing to join me for tea on the second floor today?"

Her friend looked up from where she was collecting herbs as she answered

"I'm not against it, but... is it safe? I'm not a particularly skilled adventurer since I mostly spend my time running my shop."

Violet smiled, feeling a bit more confident, as she explained

"There are a few [Traps] and more dangerous [Monsters] than I have here on the first floor, but nothing is too dangerous. Mostly I have some jump scare [Traps] in the beginning, some briar patches, and the most dangerous [Monsters] are horned rabbits. I don't know if I can tell them not to attack you, but I can certainly show you a safe path through the rooms.

I also have some pixies, who will likely join us for tea, but they're not effective at combat. They aren't all friendly towards adventures, but I think it would be good for them to meet you."

She genuinely thought so too. With how much some of her pixies hated people, she wanted them to meet someone she actually trusted who might change their mind. It was fine for them to be cautious around adventurers, smart even, but it wasn't good for them to assume that all of them were bad, not when there were those like Elivyre among the bunch.

"Alright, well, just let me finish up what I'm doing here and then you can show me the way. I don't like to leave my shop unmanned for too long, but, since I'm the only employee, it isn't like anyone can stop me."

Elivyre finished off with a chuckle. She felt nervous about taking Violet up on her offer, but it wasn't because she thought the girl meant to harm her. Elivyre simply knew all too well just how dangerous dungeons could be. Since she had grown up in her father's alchemy shop, helping him out, she had heard plenty of stories from adventurers. There might be a big difference between Violet and other Dungeon Masters, but that didn't help her unease with the situation any.

Still, after putting her herbs into her bag, Elivyre stood up, dusted herself off, and gestured at Violet to lead the way. While she oftentimes went in the other direction, today she was in the garden meadow room, so the journey wasn't long, but it was a bit burdensome. Even with Violet calling off the slimes, the parkour room was hard to cross without getting wet. Luckily, Elivyre always stored her winter coat in her magic bag when she visited. While her other clothes would dry after some time in the artificial sun of the dungeon, her thick fur coat would have been more time-consuming to dry.

Elivyre had never really bothered with going this direction before because Violet had explained that the boss room was in this direction. She didn't want to battle the [Monsters] of this dungeon, she just wanted to collect herbs for her shop and talk with her friend, so it just wasn't something she would normally bother with. Even Diva, her pet raven, seemed uneasy as they entered the boss room. It made sounds of distress as it flew low in the sky, careful not to set off whatever boss [Monster] was in the room.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure I can tell my emperor rock slime not to attack. Theodore has come through with others before and didn't mention having any difficulties, so I assume the same should apply with me being the actual Dungeon Master."

Violet's words didn't help Elivyre's nerves any, but she decided to trust her friend. Even if something did happen, she knew the potions in her bag would be enough to ensure she wouldn't die. She'd just have to be cautious enough to avoid any truly fatal attacks. There was no healing herself if she died first.

Her concerns ended up being unnecessary. When they reached the giant blob of a creature, Elivyre watched as her friend went up to it and patted it in greeting. It was certainly interesting seeing the level of affection Violet held for her dungeon creatures. However, perhaps, that shouldn't have been surprising. Her friend was a bit too kind for her own good, even if Elivyre did prefer to be treated as a friend than an enemy. Maybe she just was lucky enough to get a unique perspective on the dungeon that most others did not. It wasn't like Elivyre had ever seen Violet around anyone else, it was always just the two of them when she visited.

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After making it past the first floor boss room, it was smooth sailing from then on. Elivyre did end up a bit surprised by the butterflies that swarmed out at her when they first entered the second floor. Violet giggled, thoroughly enjoying herself. She couldn't really blame her friend, she likely would have also found it funny if she had been on the other side of it. She did feel a bit embarrassed, though, since she had sensed the small creatures and had been warned about there being a jump scare [Trap], even if she hadn't known the specifics.

Elivyre watched in wonder as they walked through each of the rooms as Violet greeted each of her pixie [Monsters] by name. It was impressive that her friend could remember so many different names and faces.

"Hello, Miss Violet! Isn't it a bit early to be gathering everyone for tea? Oh! I almost didn't see you there. I'm Hawthorn and you are?"

Elivyre was surprised to be addressed, but quickly recovered as she replied

"I'm Elivyre. It's nice to meet you."

The elderly male pixie laughed as he reassured her

"I'm sorry if the younger ones have been giving you a difficult time. Many of them have spent their entire lives suffering at the hands of Humans. They can't help but feel prejudiced against other races as well since they've never had any positive association with others."

Elivyre smiled back in response, appreciating Hawthorn's words.

"Thanks, but it's alright, I understand. Violet invited me to join you all for tea, I hope that's alright?"

Aster, who was beside her husband as they continued to travel through the rooms, answered

"I'm sure the others will calm down in time, dear. We've actually heard a little about you from Violet. It's nice to know she had friends like you to rely on."

There were only a few more rooms to pass through before they arrived at the mad tea party challenge room. While the other rooms had mentioned what the challenge was, this was the first that didn't have a notification pop-up for Elivyre. The room appeared to be well-decorated, so it didn't seem like her friend was still working on it, but it was hardly as if she knew the specifics of such things. Even though Violet often talked about what she was working on in the dungeon, many of the concepts were hard to understand without actually experiencing them for oneself.

Violet pardoned herself to go gather some others, assuring her that she could start enjoying the tea while she was gone. The younger pixies who Violet had introduced, but whose names Elivyre had already begun to forget, seemed excited as they sat down to tea at a small table. They didn't bother her, even if they didn't seem to appreciate her presence in the dungeon. Meanwhile, others like Hawthorn, Aster, Chief Alder, and siblings in rather noble-looking attire chose to keep her company.

"Mmm! This one is quite good. Have you tried it yet, Elivyre?"

Holly exclaimed, holding up a piece of a petit four. Elivyre gestured to the tray as she explained

"I think I'd rather start with some of the savory [Items] first. Everything has been quite good, so far, though, so I'm sure everything will be delicious."

Willow nodded as he enthusiastically endorsed their Dungeon Master

"Yes, Miss Violet has shown us excellent hospitality and many of her ideas are quite good. We feel quite fortunate to have been assigned to this room. I only regret that we won't always have such wonderful company as yourself."

Violet had explained a little bit about the various challenge rooms as they walked through them too. It had been interesting to see how things had changed from the first to the second floor. The use of [Traps] was an obvious difference, but there were other ways that the danger-level had subtly increased from the first to second floor. Yet, her friend has still managed to put quite a bit of love and care into building the floor so that the pixies could live comfortable and happy lives here.

Elivyre's father might have been a Human merchant, but her mother had been an Elf through and through. Oftentimes, when she was growing up, she would hear stories about the sorts of creatures that lived in her mother's ancestral forest. Pixies oftentimes were said to get along with Elves with the two groups drawing up agreements that worked for everyone. Elves believed in a peaceful existence with almost all forms of life having their place in the forest's ecosystem. Still, many such creatures were something ELivyre could only dream about as she had never had the chance to see them for themselves.

Today was truly a unique chance as she highly doubted she'd ever get the chance to have tea with pixies if it weren't for the unique existence of Violet's dungeon. Elivyre even felt a bit guilty as the thought of what other things she might get to experience thanks to her friendship with the girl crossed her mind. However, while it was fine to accept her friend's hospitality when it was offered, she never wanted to take advantage of Violet. That just wasn't who she was.