Magical Tool Master Dahlia Never Compromises ~ Starting Today: Life as a Freelancer ~

"Yeah, a little bit. Because it's so much fun to tease young people."

"If you tease me too much, you might get mad at me."

"Being hated by the most beautiful young man in the capital... I couldn't ask for more. As your husband, I should at least have this ability."

"Master, you really are... like a child."

This time it was Oswald who was amused.

He had no objection even though his wife, who was more than 20 years younger than him, treated him like a child.

"But...if the 'Green Tower Princess' falls in love with you, Master, what will you do?"

"I'll seriously consider it, but it's absolutely impossible."

Wolfe's fairy crystal glasses and Sirius bracelet.

How could Dalia, who lacked both magical power and skills, create these two magical tools? The reason is self-evident.

Even so, the young man still had no sense of being loved, and Oswald couldn't help but want to kick him in the back. It would be much more interesting to stay by Dalia's side and observe them with a smile on his face.

"Master, what you said about 'impossible' doesn't seem to be credible."

"Who told you that? Katharina or Fiore?"

"They both said so. You always said you couldn't marry a third wife, yet you took me in anyway."

"That's because you're so charming. How could I take you in? I'm offering you my love and solemnly marrying you."

"Thank you. But if the master wants to marry another wife, I don't mind."

Unlike Dalia, those unwavering green onion eyes were filled with love for her husband, a love that was irreplaceable. The same was true of Katharina's emerald green eyes and Fiore's leaf-colored eyes.

Only fools would want more.

"No. Right now, loving or being loved is enough for me."

"Is that so... I still feel it's far from enough."

Seeing the woman's bewitching smile, Oswald responded with a genuine smile.

"I will do my best with all my heart."

Volume 4: Minced Meat Dumplings, Relatives, and the Witch's House

Wolf and Dalia were the only two people left in the carriage returning to the Green Tower.

On the way back from the magic tool shop "Goddess's Right Eye", he would pass by Ivano's house, so he got off first.

He originally wanted to "go back to the Commerce Guild to work overtime," but Dalia strongly stopped him.

"Wolver, do you have any other plans?"

"No. I wanted to invite you to dinner, but I forgot my change of clothes at the barracks."

"Excuse me for bothering you with this trip during your duty day..."

He looked like he had just finished team training and rushed in. Normally, he would have been having dinner at this time.

"Would you like to come over to my house and try out the expedition stove? Mr. Fermo and I switched to a different material, so the stove is a little lighter. I have some dishes I made before."

"Thank you so much every time. I'm happy to do it."

Perhaps because of the mention of the expedition furnace, Wolf, who was always afraid of disturbing her, agreed today.

Dahlia breathed a sigh of relief and began to think about dinner.

After returning to the Green Tower, she lit the magic lamp at the door and walked towards the second floor.

She climbed the stone steps cautiously, and Wolf held up the magic lantern for her, so that the light illuminated her feet from a higher vantage point than usual.

Ever since she made the "Crawling Magic Sword," she'd become a bit afraid of the dark, so Wolfe's actions made her somewhat happy.

Arriving at the second-floor living room, Dahlia lit two magic lamps, brightening the room considerably. However, even with the windows open and the fan on, the oppressive summer heat lingered.

She offered Wolff a wet towel and some white wine, then returned to her room and quickly changed into her house clothes. She couldn't cook in her work clothes, especially not for the dish she was making today.

Dahlia suddenly remembered something, groped in the depths of the closet for a while, and then returned to the second floor.

"Wolver, can't you get your shirt dirty?"

"There are replacements, so it's okay."

Although he had taken off his knight's uniform, his shirt was white, a silky white that would make the cleaners weep if it got food stains on it.

"If you don't mind, this is for you. No one has ever worn it before."

“Whose is this…?”

She handed Wolff a black summer T-shirt, perhaps a size larger than his own.

Seeing him staring at the clothes in confusion, Dalia had no choice but to explain.

"...Mine. It's very cold when I sleep in it. Ah, but I haven't worn that one yet! I bought it as a spare."

"Thank you. Honestly, I'm sweating profusely..."

Wolff raised a hand slightly and could see large sweat stains on his clothes. The suit was not designed for summer wear, so of course it would be hot.

"It would be nice if there were summer knight uniforms."

"But we only wear it a few times in the summer. Whenever we have a ceremony on a hot day, we put a towel on our backs and compete with our colleagues to see who can be the calmest."

"Is this some kind of practice?"

"Maybe it helps with keeping a calm mind and strengthening your spirit. Afterward, whoever loses control of their expression or sweats the most gets to buy everyone a drink. We all had a pretty good time."

"So it also includes the drinking part afterwards."

"Yes, I can't hold on if I don't do this."

From his exhausted expression, she could see how hard it was for him to attend the ceremony under the scorching sun wearing the same knight's uniform that he wore year-round. Wouldn't he get heatstroke wearing that kind of clothing? She couldn't help but worry.

"I really wish there were some magical tools that could beat the heat."

"Yes. I heard that a senior once fixed an ice magic stone on his back, causing frostbite on his back."

"...Luckily, he himself didn't freeze."

It seems some people get carried away and take extreme measures.

The Ice Demon Stone has high output power and short duration, so it is not suitable to be used alone.

The last time she made the magic sword, the dagger and Wolf's hand froze together, and she reflected deeply on this.

"The monster subjugation force has a limited budget, right?"

"It's probably still a lot, but every unit in the world is subject to budget cuts. The higher-ups probably think it's better to use the money for weapons or expedition expenses than to spend it on uniforms that are rarely worn."

"I will work hard to design an economical furnace for the expedition."

"It's up to you to improve the quality of dining on the expedition."

The two of them deliberately spoke in a work-related tone and couldn't help laughing.

Dahlia asked Wolf to change his clothes first and went to the kitchen.

She pulled out two modified expedition stoves and the trays she'd stored in the refrigerator, then drained the lightly pickled, chilled cabbage and radishes and placed them on the plates.

Just as she was getting the ale from the refrigerator, Wolfe came back after changing his clothes, and she asked him to take the things to the living room.

"Is this ravioli? What a unique shape."

"Well, it's more like a 'ground meat dumpling relative'. The wrapper is made of flour, and the inside is filled with a mixture of ground pork and vegetables."

She used the term "ground meat-filled yijiao relatives" to describe the items on the tray, but they were actually "dumplings" from her previous life. However, since there are no Japanese pan-fried dumplings in this world, using the similar yijiao is easier to understand.

There are many kinds of dumplings in the royal capital.

Besides the basic options with ground meat, vegetables, and cheese, there are also healthy options with just seafood and vegetables, and snack options with fruit and jam. There are also many sauces to choose from, from tomato and cheese to basil, chili sauce, and sweet dips.

Food stores also sell bottled sauces and dried dumpling wrappers, which can be said to be quite common dishes.

But dumplings are dumplings.

Dalia happened to have some free time this afternoon, so she mixed high-gluten and low-gluten flours in a 1:1 ratio and began kneading the dough with great enthusiasm. She then formed the dough into round shapes and rolled them into thin sheets to make dumpling wrappers.

Dumplings are one of her father's favorite dishes, so Dalia is used to making them.

If Wolff came tonight, she would fry it and eat it, and if he didn't, she would freeze it for storage. With this in mind, she prepared two fillings: a classic one with ground meat, leeks, and cabbage, and another with shrimp, onions, and cabbage.

Then she kept making dumplings until she put them on the tray and realized she had too many to put them all in the freezer. If Wolfer hadn't come, she would have had to eat dumplings all the time.

Fortunately, he came today.

"Gan Gyoza with minced meat... they sound delicious."

Wolfe was obviously full of expectations, and Dahlia was a little worried about him.

Putting this worry aside, she placed two modified expedition stoves on the table.

The pot part is now a little bigger than what I discussed with Fermo and the others before, but the whole thing is much smaller and lighter than the small magic furnace.

The day after the discussion, Dahlia began making a pot with magic steel slag and made it into a retractable accordion shape.

As for the pan that doubles as a lid, she created several variations. After having Fermo refine the surface, she experimented in her kitchen. Finally, she achieved a perfectly smooth pan that seared meat and easily made beautiful omelets. She also had Fermo's wife try it out, and she heard she was delighted.

The stove itself looks the same, but she has made further improvements.

She lowered the stove's center of gravity to prevent it from tipping over, and glued eight gummy bear feet—a non-slip material made from fruit similar to gummy bears—to the stove to make it more stable. This way, even if placed on a slightly slanted surface, the stove wouldn't easily slide over.

Then there was the reflective material used in the Fire Demon Stone. Although the design was already considered safe, she still added some. This was a lesson learned from accidentally freezing Wolf's hand while making the "Frozen Demon Sword".

She took into account the potential dangers of users applying too much force or flammable materials underneath. She also enhanced the safety lock function so that accidental triggering of a fire while moving the device is not a problem.

This is arguably the best product that can be produced at this stage.

"Then let's start cooking."

She placed the dumplings in the pot and lit the fire. After the temperature gradually rose, she added half a cup of water and covered the pot with the pan that served as a lid.

"Is this little bit of water enough?"

"Yes, it needs to be kept still for about five minutes."

Wolf cast an eager eye on the pot as Dahlia poured red ale into his glass.

"How about a toast while we wait?"

"Okay, it's your turn today."

"Let me think about it. I hope I can successfully memorize the etiquette of the royal city. Pray for good luck tomorrow. Cheers."

"Pray for the prosperity of the Roseti Chamber of Commerce and good fortune tomorrow. Cheers."

After clinking glasses, she tasted a lipstick bottle of Aier. It was sour and rich. After the refreshing bubbles that hit her throat faded, a hint of sourness, like fruit, remained on the tip of her tongue.

Maybe because it has been frozen for too long, I can't smell any aroma.

But it's just the right temperature for a thirsty drink. It's okay to wait until the second or third glass has warmed up a bit before sniffing the aroma. Maybe it's because I love drinking so much that I think this way.

After a few drinks, it was almost time. Dalia carefully lifted the lid, made sure the dumplings were steamed to perfection, and continued to wait.

"Wait a little longer so the bottom gets charred."

While waiting for the soup to dry up and the skin to become golden and crispy, Wolfe showed a complicated expression.

"Uh, Dalia..."

"Don't worry, this thing is just like this."

The whole pot of dumplings stuck together, the skin gradually turned brown, and the crispy rice crust spread around - if it were considered a dumpling by the standards of dumplings, it was undoubtedly a big failure.

Dahlia placed the finally colored dumplings on a plate and placed the seasoning in front of Wolf.

She didn't have time to make the sauce, so she just put salt, pepper, vinegar, chili oil, fish sauce, tomato sauce, and cheese powder on the table. Dumplings aren't common here, so it's best to have all the seasonings available for customers to choose from.

"The food is already seasoned, but you can add more if you like."

“Okay, okay…”

Seeing that Wolf was nervous, Dalia decided to start first.

After using chopsticks to separate any sticky dumplings, soak half of the dumpling in a dish of vinegar, chili oil, and fish sauce.

I picked up the dumpling and took a bite of half, and the aroma of steamed pork and vegetables spread in my mouth along with the heat.

As you chew, you can taste the soft outer layer, the charred bottom, and the crispy rice crust. The varied textures make it a never-ending favorite. Although the outer layer is a bit thick, today's dumplings are not a side dish but a main course, so the thickness is just right.