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

In her left hand, she held a glass of Dong wine, while in her right, she grilled a green squid on a skewer. The squid sizzled softly over the fire, gradually shrinking and emitting an enticing aroma.

Wolfe didn't use a knife and fork, but bit directly into the grilled green squid.

"So that's how you eat it..."

Good looked at his brother and began to imitate him even though it was a bit indecent.

He took too small a bite and didn't know how hard to bite, so he couldn't bite the squid off. The squid's legs were stretched so long that he had to rip them off.

If Countess Scafalot, Goode's mother, saw this, she would probably faint and then spend two hours scolding him.

Even so, Jonas was still happy to see Guyd smiling happily with a brotherly expression.

Since reconciling with his brother Wolf a few days ago, Guid seems to have regained some of his old self.

Whenever he spoke to Wolff, his blue eyes brightened, his voice quickened a little, and his laugh was louder than usual.

Although his increased childish behavior was a bit of a headache, Jonas still wanted to secretly celebrate for him because the burden on his shoulders seemed to have been lifted a little.

Jonas finally finished grilling the green squid and put it in his mouth. Unexpectedly, the squid was soft and had a slightly salty taste, which surprised him to find that he could enjoy it normally.

He also found that he couldn't bite off the squid's legs in one bite, causing the squid's legs to stretch slightly around his mouth.

He stumbled across the table, watching Dalia bite the legs of a green squid. Jonas had expected her to pull them apart, but Dalia deftly chopped off the legs with her canine teeth, carving each bite into perfectly sized pieces.

Although it was difficult to judge whether this was the proper way to eat, Jonas admired her dexterity.

After chewing, Dalia drank the wine in one gulp, her white and slender neck moving up and down as she swallowed.

Seeing her satisfied look, Jonas was also attracted and picked up the Dong wine that he didn't usually drink.

He anticipated that drinking alcohol after eating squid might add a slight fishy smell, so he prepared himself mentally.

But when the turbid wine entered his mouth, he found that there was no fishy smell at all.

The aroma of this wine is different from that of grape wine, and the heavy taste of this wine is also different from that of distilled wine.

The slightly spicy wine only gently washed Jonas's red-coated tongue and calmed his thirst for blood.

The other three were busy roasting various vegetables like green peppers, boiled carrots, etc., while Jonas just cycled back and forth between the green squid and the Dongjiu.

"Well, please try this next. It's a great side dish with alcohol, and it keeps well."

"This appearance is quite unique..."

Good stared at the string of food with great suspicion.

Jonas couldn't help but carefully examine the dry goods in his hand.

This is the dried leg of a kraken—though I've never seen it before, it's a light reddish-brown color and appears incredibly hard. It feels both crisp and firm to the touch, a distinct difference from the texture of typical dried meat, making it quite unique.

He suddenly remembered the Kraken tape used by the magic army. The texture of this dry stuff was almost the same.

He really wanted to ask seriously, is this really food? Will it cause digestive problems?

"Well, although it may not look very pretty, after being grilled, people who like it will think it tastes good."

Jonas wondered if this also meant that people who didn't like it would find it awful. But seeing Dalia's serious expression, he chose to remain silent.

You never know until you try it. Even if the taste makes you want to vomit, just swallow it.

Jonas began to roast the dried Kraken's foot on the small magic furnace.

The dried food in front of me gradually curled up in the heat. Although it exuded a good aroma, it was obviously becoming harder.

“This is really strange…”

A dry laugh appeared on Good's face, while Dalia opposite him was happily flipping her legs.

Even though it must have been hot, she picked it up and put it down again and again with her fingers, deftly tearing the meat into small pieces. She put the small pieces of meat into her mouth and began to chew them non-stop.

Next to her, Wolfe also put a large piece of dried foot into his mouth and chewed it silently.

Seeing the two people's similar movements, Jonas almost laughed out loud and it was difficult to hold back his laughter.

Jonas also mustered up the courage and put the roasted kraken's foot into his mouth. At first, he felt like he was chewing a rope, but after a few bites, he was surprised.

The flavor is slightly different from squid and octopus, with an unexpectedly delicate texture and a salty aroma from the ocean.

Every time he chewed, he could recall the taste of seafood he had tasted in the past. This was indeed a taste of the sea that he had not tasted in a long time.

"I didn't expect it to be so good, really surprising..."

While chewing on the Kraken's dried feet, Good looked at the remaining dried goods thoughtfully.

Afterwards, the scene became a little strange. Everyone was silent, just concentrating on chewing the Kraken's dried feet and taking a sip of Dong wine from time to time.

"Mr. Jonas, another one please."

"Thanks."

Jonas took the additional Kraken's foot, and Guid looked at him with a puzzled look.

"Jonas?"

"……tasty."

The truth came out inadvertently.

The hot, fragrant dried feet had no bloody or fishy smell, and the texture was delightfully firm. Most importantly, it wasn't bloody meat, yet he could still taste it. It gave him a long-missed taste of "normal human food."

"Jonas, don't force yourself... Oh, sorry, Jonas has a special sense of taste."

As Goode explained to Wolfe and the others, a hint of gloom crossed his eyes.

He was always worried about Jonas's taste, and Jonas wondered how many times he had to say, "That doesn't bother me" before he understood.

"There's nothing to hide. People possessed by demons usually have different senses of taste. I can't really taste tea or vegetables."

"Then, wouldn't it be troublesome to eat like this?"

"Although this makes me a bit picky about food, it's just a matter of my constitution, nothing special. I can still generally distinguish the flavors of wine and meat. And this time, the dried feet and wine are absolutely delicious."

In fact, the only things Jonas could clearly identify as food were strong wine and bloody meat.

However, from today on, dry goods and Dong wine were added to his food list.

This is not bad for relieving loneliness or hunger in your mouth - no, I should say, it tastes quite delicious.

"Mr. Jonas, please be sure to take this small magic furnace back with you. It will be very convenient for a late-night snack. I will also prepare some dry goods and wine for you."

"Thank you very much for your thoughtfulness."

"Wolver, could you prepare one for me as well?"

"Okay, of course, brother."

Jonas couldn't help but smile at the brothers' happy interaction, but then he gently reminded them:

"Master Wolfe, please let me keep these for you. I'm a little worried about Master Guid's health."

"Brother, are you feeling unwell?"

Hearing his brother's worried voice, Guyid looked at Jonas with a slightly cold look.

"Just a little lack of exercise, that's all. It's nothing, just find an old friend for a 'slightly more intense workout' and that'll be all."

"...Lord Guid?"

Jonas felt as if he had drawn a large snake out of the bushes.

When Jonas finished his drink, the red-haired woman quietly placed a new bottle in front of him. He thanked her and started the conversation with some social grace.

"Ms. Rossetti, do you often see monsters?"

"Yes, I often see them as materials. But living monsters are rare... Ah, I visited a slime farm the other day."

"I heard it's outside the royal capital. How about the slime farm?"

"There are many kinds of slimes there, it's very interesting."

Dalia sounded genuinely pleased when she spoke of the slime, and her clear green eyes showed no trace of unease or disgust.

Even though there was a living "half-demon" standing before her, she didn't seem to be afraid.

"Ms. Rossetti seems to be very interested in monsters. Master Guid, is this possible?"

“…Yeah, no problem.”

"As a topic of conversation, would you like to see the 'magic-possessed' arm?"

After getting Guid's permission, Jonas asked Dahlia for confirmation.

"Are you sure you can do this? Um, doesn't it need to be kept secret?"

"There's nothing particularly secretive about it. Those close to me already know, and I haven't hidden anything. Besides, Lord Wolf has already seen it."

Jonas took off his coat, rolled up his shirt sleeve on his right arm, and removed the copper bracelet.

As the bracelet that hindered cognitive functions was removed, the dense red scales on his right arm were revealed.

Dahlia, sitting across the table, stared at Jonas's arm.

Even though he rolled up his sleeves, revealing part of his upper arm, Dahlia only stared with wide eyes, neither stepping back nor screaming. Her calm reaction surprised Jonas.

"...The color and shape are very similar to the scales of a fire dragon."

Jonas was slightly surprised by Dahlia's accurate observation.

"Ms. Rosetti, have you ever seen a fire dragon?"

"No, I've only seen it in the illustrated guide. But speaking of scales, the back of this bracelet is crafted with fire dragon scales..."

As she spoke, Dalia took off the golden bracelet on her left wrist and pointed to the red stone inlaid on the back.

The flowing magic seemed to resonate with Jonas's right arm. Jonas looked at the stone with interest.

"It seems yours is a larger one. Mine is just a juvenile."

"Have you ever defeated a fire dragon?"

"It was just a chance encounter with a dying fire dragon. It was Master Good who subdued it. I was only responsible for beheading it."

"Even so, you two are amazing!"

Dahlia's eyes sparkled as she spoke, making Jonas feel uneasy. Wolf, standing nearby, had a gleam in his eyes, which made Jonas feel a little uneasy.

"Brother, this is the first time I've heard of you being called a dragon slayer?"

"No, it was just a chance encounter with a dying dragon. Furthermore, members of the royal family were present at the time. As subjects, how could we possibly seize this title? Therefore, we chose to remain silent."

"I see……"

"Well, I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you very much."

Wolfe looked a little regretful, while Dahlia offered reassurance with a worried tone.

Goode deftly resolved the situation, but from his brother's respectful look, it could be seen that he was actually very happy in his heart.

"Brother, I've never seen a fire dragon in the monster-suppression force. Does this creature really exist in Odine?"

"I've heard that small fire dragons occasionally appear on the southern islands. However, they usually avoid humans."

Seeing that Wolfe looked ready to go hunting fire dragons at any time, Guid lowered his voice slightly.

"Can fire dragon scales be bought at an auction?"

"There's a chance to buy them once or twice a year, so if you want, you should be able to buy them. However, these scales are usually picked up from nests, not directly from dragons, so the magic power they contain is relatively weak. Do you want to use them as materials?"

"Yes. I want to make a bracelet like the one Dalia is wearing now, so I'm looking for this material."

Dahlia wore a golden bracelet on her slender wrist, which exuded magical power and was obviously a very high-end item.

If it were endowed with such a solid magic, it would be worth about thirty-five gold coins, perhaps even more.

It seemed Wolfe had put a lot of effort into this. I wondered if he was going to make a matching bracelet, or if Dalia, as a magic tool maker, would give him a matching one in return.

Since they were so close, why not just inlay gemstones of each other's colors on the outside of the bracelet? Just as Jonas was daydreaming, Guyd suddenly spoke to him.

"What are you going to do, Jonas?"

"Although they're only the size of a child, how about these scales? I'm half human after all, so I'm not sure if they'll be useful as material. However, if you need them, I can give you some."

"No, thanks. It must be painful to remove it from your arm."

Dalia immediately shook her head and refused.