It had been a year ever since Krune and the two kids had arrived at the bandit den to live. They had enough supplies to live and no one to trouble them.
Or, to be more exact, there had been people knocking up the door of the bandit den multiple times ever since they noticed that the bandits had vanished. It made them suspect the likelihood that the bandits had either left the place or had been annihilated.
As for some daring ones that came to check up on the place and possibly obtain any spoils that had been left behind, Krune gave them a good scare.
Using the Cloud Whale to unleash an Air Needle that gently scrapped their cheeks was enough to scare the wits out of most. Repeat the same thing enough times, and a legend would be born to never set food near the bandit cave that was "haunted."
Once such rumors spread throughout the villages in the region, no one else tried to disturb them after that, allowing him to continue with his research.