Shopping Spree

Seraphina was well aware that purchasing this list of items for Veronica wasn't going to fix things between them. However, she didn't particularly care that much about resolving the situation. Being overprotective of the dungeon masters she was in charge of wasn't always the best approach to take and it was hardly her way of doing things.

Theodore was her long-time friend and had shared many a tale of his own experiences managing dungeons. He had, somehow, managed to luck into getting a rather unique dungeon master. A human named Violet who had reincarnated into their world a decade or so ago. She was a complete sweetheart, but even she had been tested by time and had to make some adjustments to her approach to running her dungeon. What had started out as a rather carefree attitude had turned into a more cautious one.

The girl still insisted on keeping her first floor a rather peaceful one with no [Traps] and child-friendly puzzles and weak slime [Monsters]. She very easily could have gotten creative and made more dangerous versions of the creatures, even if they would always be considered a low-rank [Monster]. However, her first-floor boss room had an emperor rock slime that had easily slayed many an unprepared adventurer who had underestimated the threat that lay in store for them. Her choice to leave the rest of the floor as a rather unthreatening temptation had caused those unfamiliar with her dungeon to underestimate just how capable she was at creating dangerous boss [Monsters] and effective [Trap] combinations.

Theodore had chosen to give Violet only what she asked for. In this case, she wanted friends who would accept her for her. So, he always provided a shoulder to cry on and acted like an over-protective father who would happily give her the world on a platter. That had worked out for him because her unique dungeon set-up combined with her creativity had made for a rather successful dungeon. It was unlikely that would work for Seraphina, though, and she hardly wanted to watch Veronica suffer for her decisions the way Violet had suffered from Theodore's leniency.

"Ah, Lady Seraphina! It had been quite a while since I've seen you around these parts. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Master Blacksmith Rulvion said, his gruff voice carrying across the noisy workshop.

She smiled in greeting as she replied

"Well, you'll likely be seeing a good bit more of me. I'm actually in charge of the new dungeon instead of just helping out, this time."

The old dwarf raised his eyebrows in surprise. As Seraphina had elven features, she was often assigned to help the last dungeon diplomat assigned to the previous dungeon. All dungeon diplomats were shown a good bit of respect for their roles, even being addressed the same as an aristocrat might be, despite never being given official titles. However, being directly assigned to the area certainly came with a good bit more respect. However, Seraphina didn't have time for the pleasantries and continued

"I'm actually here to see if you have anything made with steel I can purchase from you. The new dungeon master sent me out to get a few materials she needs for some new, upcoming dungeon features."

Rulvion pointed behind him with his thumb as he said

"If you're looking for pre-mades, you'll need to check that side of the shop. One of the apprentices should be able to help you find what you need."

The dwarf was clearly disappointed she wasn't here to special order a weapon of some sort from him. Seraphina had never really been one for swords and spears, though. She much preferred a wooden staff and hand-to-hand combat as it was less likely to result in someone's death while still providing the extra leverage needed to do significant damage. Her supernatural strength from her dungeon diplomat race already made her quite dangerous without any special frills.

The cheapest option ended up being a small steel hunting knife. After quickly paying for her purchase, she moved on to the next stop. The list she had was a decent length, but Seraphina had the feeling that Veronica wasn't actually trying to take advantage of her offer so much as she didn't actually know what was available on the market.

It took a few hours to walk around the city, buying this and that, but, soon enough, Seraphina was once more returning to the dungeon. Veronica was excited when she saw the elven woman, but she also felt nervous as she asked

"Do you have access to the system? It's just that... Well, the rooms are meant to be paid for and checked into without my interference. A certain number of dungeon points are charged for each night for a room and the system handles the whole transaction process. I could, probably, manually unlock the door each time for you, but that would make it so you can only get in with my help..."

Seraphina rolled her eyes and immediately pivoted as she made a beeline for the inn side of the dungeon. Veronica followed behind, curious as to what she was up to. Soon enough the satchel full of items disappeared and the elven woman looked smug as she replied

"There, it's all taken care of now. I've got this room for 104 days and you get the tributes you wanted. I'll just have to stop by my village to get paid and pick up some new tributes for you when it comes time to pay up again."

Veronica's eyes widened in surprise as she took in the 1,045DP increase, which brought her total up to 1,773. That was partially thanks to the tributes she had received from three visiting adventurer parties. They had left napa cabbage, a tiger's eye stone, plum blossoms, 2x flint arrows, an empty potion vial with a cork stopper, daffodils, yuzu, and a coffee jelly dessert complete with whipped cream. The last one had been especially valuable according to the system.

"Woah! Thanks so much Seraphina! I'll make sure to get your room upgraded first so you can get an especially good night's rest tonight."

That was a bit of a lofty promise since she wasn't actually sure if she could edit a room once it was rented out. However, it ended up turning out that she could so long as she kept the items that were present when it was first rented out present. She could add to the room's value, but she couldn't take it away, nor could she edit the price while someone was renting it out. That was unfortunate since it would be more than a season that Seraphina was going to be renting the room out, but Veronica just settled with keeping the prices for the 9-meter by 9-meter rooms at 10DP per night. She could always make more luxurious rooms of a larger size if she wanted to make more off of her future customers.