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

"You owe my father a favor?"

Dalia asked in surprise.

She didn't remember her father ever helping Gabriela with anything.

"He introduced me to my husband, so we both owe him one."

"This is the first time I've heard of..."

"Carlo wouldn't let us tell anyone. He said it would be terrible if everyone wanted to marry into a wealthy family and kept asking him for matchmaking. So he told us not to tell anyone until he died."

Gabriella's husband, Viscount Jedda, was a nobleman. Dalia's father, an honorary baron, might have interacted with him on certain occasions.

"Another reason is because he said, 'If Dahlia has any problems that are unique to magic tool makers or women, please give her some advice. If not, please keep it a secret for me until I die.'"

"My father said that..."

"You don't seem troubled, but since you've severed ties with Orlando and are going into business on your own, it would be best if you could establish a trade association. To run a trade association, you'd need to be a living face. Furthermore, with the support of a noble, you'd be less likely to be targeted by bad guys, which is why I forced my husband's name onto the list of guarantors."

"thank you……"

"You're welcome. I just wanted to repay a favor. Dalia, you don't have to worry about others anymore. There will be more and more jobs and men coming your way. You have to look carefully before making your choice and move forward in the direction you want."

"……OK."

It took all of Dalia's strength just to nod in response.

"Carlo often chats with people privately about their concerns, and everyone trusts him."

She didn't know there was this side to her father.

For a while, her father often came home late, and she thought he was going out to drink, but now she thinks he might be going out to chat with someone.

"By the way, Dalia, do you know what Carlo's interests are?"

"Besides the magical tools... the only thing left is wine, right?"

"Yes, he's a heavy drinker. But his biggest interest must be..."

The ivory-haired woman stared at Dahlia seriously.

"Help others without letting anyone know."

They both laughed at the same time and began to talk about Carlo's past.

Volume 1 Reunion with the Knight

The sky is really beautifully blue.

The open street view that was still clearly visible after taking off her glasses made Dalia feel deeply happy.

She even saw clearly the subtle beauty of the color combination of her olive green trousers and white lily sweater.

Dahlia took a stagecoach to the temple early this morning. Now that her sight has returned, she's trying to figure out whether she can stop wearing glasses.

The temple was located northeast of the capital, very close to the royal city. Its exterior resembled the kind of churches with squares she had seen in her previous life, but it was constructed with a material similar to white crystal, reflecting the sunlight beautifully.

Treatment was not performed in the temple, but in a building next door called the "Healing Center." It was a white, rectangular building resembling a hospital, and patients were treated in different areas of the building, depending on the type and severity of their injuries and illnesses.

As for the fee, Dahlia heard at the beginning that it would cost one gold coin to heal both eyes, so she paid one gold coin and several silver coins.

She was nervous at first, but the receptionist at the treatment center smiled and said it would be easy to restore clear vision.

The waiting time was two and a half hours, but the priest's diagnosis took only five minutes.

From then on, her vision was as clear as when she was a child.

On her return trip, she did not take the public carriage, but chose to walk leisurely back to the central area to enjoy the scenery.

Dalia decided to go out alone to eat delicious food and celebrate the establishment of the Chamber of Commerce.

In the past few days, she was jilted, met a knight covered in blood, and established her own chamber of commerce. Her peaceful life was completely disrupted.

After finishing her meal, she planned to buy some interesting books on magical tools and some sweet red wine before returning home. Then, she'd take a long bath, lazily enjoy some reading time, and then devote all her energy to crafting magical tools tomorrow—this was the perfect plan she had in mind.

Dalia hesitated for a moment and chose an atmospheric restaurant on the main road that she and Gabriela had talked about yesterday.

She was a little nervous as it was her first time entering such a store, but she still mustered up the courage to go in.

The waiter greeted her loudly and then smiled as he led her to an outdoor seat.

Large linen-colored parasols stand next to the outdoor seating tables.

The parasol softens the afternoon sun, and it is very pleasant to sit under it and enjoy the cool breeze of early summer.

She looked at the menu handed to her by the waiter with pleasure, and while she was hesitating about what to order, she suddenly had a strange feeling.

The guests who were a little further away from her looked towards the other side of the road as if attracted, and the other people present also raised their heads one by one.

She looked towards the road curiously and happened to meet the eyes of a tall young man walking towards her.

"……ah!"

How low is the probability of such a coincidence happening!

Dahlia thought the other party must not have recognized her, so she quickly looked away to avoid being rude.

However, the black-haired young man walked straight up to her without hesitation.

His still handsome and striking appearance looked perfect with the smooth silk white shirt and black suit pants.

"I'm sorry to disturb you. Are you Mr. Dali's family... no... are you him?"

"……Yes."

It was Wolff, whom she had met in the forest a few days before. He looked at her with his golden eyes narrowed in delight.

"Great, it's you. My vision was blurry and I couldn't see your face clearly."

"I'm sorry, but it's a bit dangerous for a woman to go into the forest alone, so I dressed like that."

"No, I'm sorry for causing you trouble. Thank you so much for that day."

Not only was Wolf not angry about Dalia hiding her gender, he also bowed his head and thanked her solemnly.

"Excuse me...did you realize I was a woman in the forest?"

"I didn't notice because you sounded like a man. But on the carriage ride back I thought you smelled like a woman."

Smell—Dalia was curious if the body-strengthening magic could also enhance her sense of smell, but she refrained from asking.

"I was using a magic voice-changing device. You were still able to recognize me. That's amazing."

"When we looked at each other, you looked away awkwardly. Then there was your eye color and your aura. I vaguely saw that you had emerald eyes, and your aura was very similar to Dali's. When I got closer to confirm, I found that the smell was the same, so I guessed you were him."

"You have a great sense of smell..."

She didn't wear perfume and showered every day, so was the smell really that strong? Dalia began to worry seriously about this.

"Fortunately, Miss Daly is a woman."

"How to say?"

"When I saw you like that, I thought it was kind of cute. I thought my life was about to take a turn."

"What direction are you turning!"

Dahlia couldn't help but complain about Wolf, and he responded with a bright smile.

"It's not nice to talk while standing. Can I sit with you? But if you have an appointment with your lover, we can meet another time."

The gazes from the women around her no longer felt like needles, but more like stabbing her with knives. She worried that people she knew would see this and gossip about her, but when she thought about it, she realized she was in trouble the moment she became the focus of attention.

"...Please take a seat. I came here alone."

Dahlia nodded helplessly.

"Thank you. I was on my way to the Merchant Guild and ran into you here."

"Going shopping for the Knights?"

"No, I'll find you there."

"Looking for me?"

"I wanted to go to the Merchant Guild to inquire about you. I really wanted to thank you and return the money for the potion and the coat I borrowed, so I asked the captain to write me a letter of introduction."

so close.

If the guild knew, they would probably scold her for going to the forest alone and ask why she used a pseudonym. The female staff would also probably pester her with questions about Wolff.

"Let me treat you to a meal as a thank you, and I'll also pay you back for the potion."

"Well……"

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to flirt. You're the one who said, 'If you see me on the street one day, stop me and I'll treat you.' I wanted to thank you and, if possible, chat with you about magic swords and magical tools, like before."

"...Okay, then I'll let you treat me."

"Well, let me treat you."

Dahlia thought the knight might be afraid of owing favors because of his work, so she chose seafood noodles and cold tomato soup.

Wolff ordered roast chicken with herb breadcrumbs, a cheese and ham platter, cold potato soup, and two glasses of slightly more expensive white wine.

"How about some white wine? If you don't like it, I can add some red wine."

"It's okay, I like white wine too."

She was thankful that the capital had such a rich culinary culture.

Other countries call it the "Food Capital", which shows that the food here is considered quite good in the world.

The main grain here is wheat, and the cuisine is similar to Western cuisine from her previous life. While there's no Japanese cuisine, there are similar dishes. Monster meat also finds its way to the market, so there are many dishes that Dalia is unfamiliar with.

She and her father would dine out twice a month, a hobby she had enjoyed since childhood. They would try new dishes together, and if they didn't like the food, they would go home for another meal.

Now that she thinks about it, she didn't feel like eating out much after her father passed away, and she stopped looking for new restaurants.

Today might be a good opportunity.

She decided to stop worrying about other people and explore new restaurants, eat good food, and drink good wine.

"When we met in the forest, I didn't expect you to be so beautiful."

"Thank you for the compliment before our first conversation. I was wearing no makeup that day, but I'm wearing makeup today."

Her father was a baron, and she had heard this kind of politeness many times. In principle, noble men would compliment women they had just met before they started a formal conversation.

By the way, her father often suffered from stomachaches before and after attending aristocratic gatherings and had to take stomach medicine.

"... Is Miss Dali also a noble?"

"No, I'm a commoner. But my father is an honorary baron, so I've heard these polite words before. It's really hard to compliment a woman you don't know well before a conversation."

"That's right. If you forget to give a compliment or give a poor compliment, it can be very troublesome."

Seeing Wolfe's somewhat melancholy expression, Dahlia could imagine how troublesome it would be.

He is so handsome that he must have been misunderstood or misinterpreted at least a dozen or twenty times.

Just as she was about to change the subject, white wine and a cheese and ham platter were brought to the table.

"Let's have a toast first. We'll share this plate of cheese."

Wolf poured her wine, and the white wine that came out was a light golden color.

"First, let's celebrate our reunion."

"Celebrating the reunion."

They clinked their glasses together.

In the past, when toasting with wine, the glasses could not be clinked together, but here clinking glasses has the meaning of "exorcising demons", and people must clink glasses regardless of whether they are drinking wine, ale or other alcohol.

When a person drinks, he clinks the glass against the bottle.

Dahlia seriously thought this was a marketing strategy of the glass industry, but she heard that farmers' wooden cups and nobles' silver cups also did the same thing.

"how?"

"It's delicious."

Although the liquor was a bit spicy, it wasn't astringent and had a rich grape aroma, just the flavor Dalia liked.

"That's great. When we were drinking in the forest, I always thought you preferred red wine."

"I usually drink red wine, and I like sweeter wines."