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

"Wolf, you're actually with such a 'horrible woman'."

"We're just friends. As for being scary... she's quite scary when she gets angry."

If you interrupt her in a playful manner, she will get angry; during her last fight with Marcella, she also cursed at both of them.

Come to think of it, I seem to have caused her a lot of trouble so far.

"Even you find her scary. It seems she unexpectedly lives up to the name 'Lion'."

Griselda teased, and Wolf looked at Dahlia again after hearing that.

The awe she had shown during her report was gone. She tried to flip the pike over, but the net got stuck with it, and she frantically tried to peel it off. Her beautiful red hair gleamed in the sun.

Wolfe smiled sincerely and replied to the vice-captain:

"No, Dalia is just like her name, a 'summer flower'."

The Stubborn Man Who Was Conquered During the Interlude of Volume 4

After the dinner between the Monster Suppression Force and the Finance Department ended, Gulat went straight to the Finance Minister's office.

He first sent away the servants of both sides, then took out a stack of letters from a red leather folder.

And placed the four letters of recommendation on the shiny black desk.

"This is a letter recommending a trade between the Roseti Merchants Guild and the Royal City. It comes from Duke Gastoni, the head of the Merchant Guild, the head of the Clothing Guild, and the vice-head of the Adventurer's Guild—you don't want to fight these people, do you?"

The letter of recommendation closest to Gildor was from Duke Gastoni. It wasn't signed by the former Duchess Atya, but by her son, the current Duke.

"Why didn't you take these things out before the briefing?"

Gildor stopped using honorifics and asked Gulat with a blank expression.

"If they bring it out, they'll probably force me to resign on the spot... Never mind, I'll apologize to the people involved. After all, I've heard some of the stories."

The man sitting across from him made no secret of his irritation, unwilling to even look Gulat in the eye. Seeing his former friend distance himself, Gulat gritted his teeth. Then, with determination, he stood up and bowed his head deeply.

"Gildo, I'm truly sorry for not protecting your brother. I never expect to earn your forgiveness in my lifetime."

"You've already written an apology. Probably some time after the funeral."

"I'm also very sorry for not being able to attend the funeral."

"Stop talking and sit down. You didn't come to my brother's funeral. Are you afraid that I will blame you?"

The other party finished speaking in a flat voice, and Gulat sat back in his chair and turned his eyes to the wall.

After a moment of silence, Gulat changed his mind and opened his closed mouth again.

"...The day I returned to the capital, I was ordered to quarantine in the suburbs. I didn't leave until eight days later."

"Are you sick? Why haven't I heard anyone mention it?"

"I was poisoned by the monster's slow-acting venom, which damaged my internal organs. Several other members of our team experienced the same symptoms. The royal court suspected it was an infectious disease and isolated us. They also issued a gag order to prevent chaos in the capital."

"Why didn't you tell me after the gag order was lifted?"

"On the eighth day, I wrote to say I wanted to come and apologize... but your mother refused. She wrote, 'I understand he died in the line of duty, but please wait until I write to let you know everything is settled before you meet with my family.' So, that was our agreement."

"I haven't heard of this either. My mother fell ill shortly afterwards, and that's how..."

The man paused mid-sentence and pressed his lips together.

Gulart has not yet obtained Gildor's mother's permission and will never get it in the future.

"Yes, I have been avoiding it until today."

"You idiot, you must be mistakenly thinking that doing this means 'keeping your promise to my mother', right?! You've been like this since you were a student, always causing misunderstandings due to your poor communication skills, Grat...!"

Hearing the man forcefully calling out his name, Gulart nodded deeply in agreement.

Completely irrefutable.

"That's right. If you hadn't helped me study for the exams, I wouldn't have even graduated. I haven't changed at all."

He said this, finally looking directly at the other person.

His once dazzling blond hair was now streaked with white, and his amber eyes had darkened. The wrinkles on his face made his once cheerful face appear a bit nervous.

The same changes were also imprinted on Gulat's body.

"It's true that my brother joined the monster-suppression force out of admiration for you. But he's also a capable knight within the Royal City Knights, and he went into battle fully prepared. He doesn't need your apology or sympathy."

The tone was not that of a civil servant, but more like that of a knight, which reminded Gulart of his school days when he sparred with model swords.

Gildo was a serious and upright person, so he was recommended to become the finance minister of the royal city.

Because of this, Gurat could not understand what was happening this time.

"I want to ask you something. It's fine if you rejected the budget, but why drag Rossetti into this? That's not like you."

"The budget was rejected purely because the price was too high. I've researched the market price of small magic reactors, and if there's room for price reduction, we should bargain ruthlessly. That's the job of the Finance Department. And I didn't drag her into this... I just wanted to warn her before I left."

"Warn her before you leave?"

"It's almost time for me to step down as Finance Minister, and this is a good opportunity."

"How old are you? It's too early. And what's the warning?"

"Tall, red hair, fair skin, and a nice waist—all to your liking, right?"

"Wait, what are you talking about..."

Gulat's vision became erratic.

Although he did not deny it, this was definitely not something he should say in this situation.

"Dalia Rossetti—a young woman without a title, the president of a new guild—has suddenly begun to frequent the royal city. The youngest son of the Scafarot family, nicknamed the 'Girl Killer,' is very close to her and even serves as the guild's guarantor. The captain of the monster-suppression corps, a marquis, has specially ordered snacks for the royal family and Eastern pottery for guests just for this woman. He summoned her to the captain's office, even though she was only there to submit documents, and then blocked her afternoon schedule, making her stay in the office—the maid from your building came to our department and raved about this to a close maid."

This unexpected statement gave Gulat a headache. It turned out that everything was caused by him.

"...I'm wrong. You guys in the Finance Department are even paying attention to conversations between maids?"

"Of course. If our department is careless, we could really get our heads chopped off. Of course, we have spies planted there. That maid repeatedly leaked the Scafarot family's affairs to the maid in our department and forced her to buy dinner. If that were all...Gulart, you'd better thoroughly investigate the staff and maids in your building. It's not just the words and deeds of the team members that can affect the overall evaluation of the unit."

"I'm sorry, it's my mismanagement."

Every staff member and maid in the Monster Suppression Force building had their identities checked and had someone guarantee them before they could enter. Gulat trusted them without a second thought.

This time, he was only focused on thanking Dahlia, not caring about what others might think. He was also careless inside the Monster Suppression Unit building.

He never imagined that the maid in charge of reception would leak information about the guests and team members to people in other departments.

"Rather than letting the rumor spread, it's better to pretend I'm the one who started it. That way, the fire will be put out more easily. So, I ordered the maid to soil President Rossetti's clothes. If she did so, I wouldn't pursue the charge of leaking secrets, nor would I confiscate her severance pay. If she didn't, I would arrest her on the spot for leaking intelligence."

"Why did you dirty Rosette's clothes?"

"I thought that if I warned Rosette about this 'malicious rumor,' she would distance herself from you to avoid damaging her business interests. Even if she protested to me through the Monster Suppression Force, or even if she had some backing, I could simply step down and the matter would be resolved. I never expected her to accept the challenge head-on."

The man smiled for some reason as he said, "Accept the challenge head-on." Goulart stared at him.

"So you were the one who put out the fire before the news spread... Why would you go to such lengths for me? Even if my reputation gets ruined, it won't affect you, right?"

"...It's not just for you. The Monster Suppression Corps is a vital part of national defense. If the captain is criticized and loses his position, it will cause problems with the budget. As the Finance Minister, I'm already used to being hated, so one or two more people hating me won't hurt. Besides, we had a connection when we were young."

"Why make it so complicated? Can't you just remind me directly?"

“It’s because I can’t speak!”

Gildor yelled back, and this was the most similar sentence to his school days so far.

Looking back, this man has always been stubborn.

He must be as distressed as I am because I can't speak.

"Who taught you to always do things that can be misunderstood?"

As if the mask he had been wearing had fallen off, Gildor's face showed irritation and displeasure.

"Today, in front of so many people, you're so openly trying to win over Rossetti... Please don't do anything that would upset Dalila."

"What nonsense! Don't you think about how old I am?"

Hearing him suddenly mention "Dalila", Gulat couldn't help but speak loudly.

"Last time I invited her into the office, it was purely out of gratitude for her help. This time, I'm trying to win her over because those guys in your finance department are eyeing her! And, do you still think my wife is the childhood sweetheart who needed your protection?"

"What do you mean I thought? Dalilah is my cousin and childhood sweetheart, so of course I'm worried about her. After all, I saw all your fancy friendships at the academy."

“That was so long ago…”

The more Gulat spoke, the more guilty he felt, because the situation at that time was exactly as the other party described.

He could no longer control his expression and couldn't help but hold his forehead with his hand.

Gildor and Gulat's wife, Dalila, were cousins. They were as close as siblings, and Gildor was even a little overprotective of her.

It was this man who had said before they got married, "If you dare to make Dalilah cry, I'll chop you down."

I didn't expect that this kind of thing would be mentioned now.

"You don't have the ability anyway, Gulat. You can't handle Rosette."

"That's harsh. Are you still holding a grudge against her for asking you to retract your words?"

"No, I originally wanted to resign to show my responsibility, but she refused with a smile."

"Wait, what are you doing? I should have taken out these letters of recommendation before the meeting..."

Gulat accidentally revealed his inner thoughts, and Gildor snorted.

"Rosetti is willing to pretend this 'never happened'. She wants me to increase the budget for the army, saying I'm still young and want me to continue as finance minister. She also wants to sit down with you and have a good talk. When I asked her what benefits she hopes for, she just said she hopes the monster-suppression troops can eat well, sleep well, and return safely. She's really good at talking. I'm really impressed by that woman. I can't read her mind at all."

"Gildo, it's impossible to read Rossetti's mind..."

"Yes, not only do I owe her a favor, but she also subjugated me, cutting off my escape route. Who is behind her?"

"I don't really want to say..."

Gulart sighed mysteriously.

The other person narrowed his amber eyes and stared at him, then suddenly looked away.

"At this point, I don't want to resist anymore. But when I think about having to apologize everywhere and the possible attacks I'll face, it gives me a headache. It would be easier to just quit this job..."

Gildor clasped his hands on the table and leaned his head on them. It seemed he really had a headache.

Even Marquis Gildo found it difficult to deal with Duke Gastoni and the guild leaders.

"I feel the same way, but they've already told us to pretend this never happened. This was caused by me, so I'll go with you to apologize."

"I need a good reason. So who is the big shot who won me over? Is it Duke Gastoni, or is it someone else?"

"'Subjugated'? You said that yourself, Gildor."

"Yes, I can sign the temple contract."

The man said in self-abandonment without even looking up.

"Dalia Rosetti didn't rely on anyone."

"……What?"

Gildo finally raised his head, and after a second he uttered a stunned questioning sound.

He usually thinks very quickly, but now he is unable to figure things out simply because he doesn't want to understand.

"Rosetti has no backing. If we have to say who's helping her, it's only Wolffred, who's by her side, and the guilds that work with her through the Chamber of Commerce. When I told you not to quit, to keep working hard, and to hope your teammates are safe, I think they were sincere, without any consideration for personal gain. As for asking you to have a serious discussion with me... it's a bit embarrassing to be told this by a girl who could be my own daughter."

"This woman is so incomprehensible..."

"Didn't you just say you were conquered by her, Gildor?"

Seeing Gulat's evil grin, the man clicked his tongue loudly.

"Well, it's better than being subjugated by a foolish man. You and the vice-captain quickly submit Rossetti's letter of recommendation for the peerage. The deputy director and I will also jointly recommend him. When we go to apologize to Duke Gastoni later, we'll also obtain the letter of recommendation."

"You're really quick..."

"Stop rambling. It's you, Gulat, who's been slow. Since I've willingly surrendered to her, I must grant her a title."

"...You're still as stubborn as ever."

Gulat murmured with a smile, but the other party ignored his words.

I thought the two of them had gotten a little closer, but maybe they still couldn't be like before.

After entering the primary school, Gulart was always dull and could not concentrate on his studies. It was Gildo who came to his aid.