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

"I'll use the Water Magic Stone to give the tsuba a cleansing function, the Wind Magic Stone to enhance the hilt's speed, and the scabbard to make it lightweight. Is that okay?"

"Yes, thank you for your help."

"I'll give it a try."

She modified the hilt of the sword, embedding it with a small, processed water magic stone used for magical tools. She then cut the lower half of the red hilt and embedded a small wind magic stone in it. Finally, she injected magic power into these two parts to secure the magic stone.

So far so good, but when she wanted to use the Wind Demon Stone to lighten the scabbard, she encountered an obstacle.

Part of the reason was that Dalia wasn't good at lightweight magic. The magic power couldn't be poured in, as if it was being bounced off the scabbard.

"It's a bit difficult..."

"Forget about the scabbard. The other parts have already been gifted."

"That's one way, but I want to try it again."

She turned the scabbard around and poured magic power into the inner portion of the sheath where the blade was stored. This time, the magic power did go in, but it felt like being swallowed by a bottomless pit.

"Dalia, you seem to have spent a lot of magic on the scabbard?"

"I draw magic power from the Wind Magic Stone and give it to the scabbard. Embedding magic stones in the scabbard would be cumbersome... but the magic power would be weaker than embedding magic stones, so it would be very time-consuming. And I'm not good at lightweight magic either."

Her father was the master of lightweighting. She had seen him wield his fingertips, swirl colorful magic power around magical tools.

“Ah, maybe…”

She spun the scabbard, letting the magic wrap around it. The magic was like a ribbon, completely enveloping the brown scabbard.

"It turns out it's not poured in, it seems it has to be wrapped around the outside."

"I found it quite amusing to watch, but you must be very tired, right?"

"I'm fine. But assembling the dagger will take some effort, so please help me."

She used her magic to adjust it again and finally managed to make the scabbard lighter.

"The hilt and the hilt are attached with small magic stones, so they're a bit heavy. The scabbard isn't much lighter either..."

"This is just right. The original sword was too light for me."

Wolfer said, about to put the blade into the hilt, but tilted his head in confusion.

"Magic conferring shouldn't change the size of an object, right?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll just have to put in more effort."

The young man exerted more force, but the blade bounced onto the table and slid to the ground.

"Wolver! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just startled by the bouncing sword."

Wolfe picked up the blade and tried again, but the two still repelled each other, preventing them from reassembling. He then used his body to reinforce the blade, but gave up when he heard the hilt creak.

"I didn't expect it to be impossible to assemble..."

"If this wasn't an issue originally, it means there's some unknown reason behind it. It shows that multiple endowments aren't that simple."

Wolf was frustrated, but this was just an ordinary attempt in the process of making magic tools, and it couldn't even be called a failure.

"It's the same with magical tools. It could be that the magic they were given is incompatible, or it could be that there's something wrong with my magic power or the materials. I can only consider various possibilities and try patiently."

"Making both magical tools and magic swords is difficult. Our journey to becoming a magic sword has just begun..."

Wolff gives a story-like ending, and that is exactly what it is.

"This is a dagger that can be imbued with magic, so it shouldn't be a sword issue. As for the compatibility of magic... oh, could it be magical interference? I heard from the vice-captain that using body-strengthening magic makes it difficult to use water magic."

"The magic interference caused the parts to be ejected..."

If the problem is mana interference, then we can simply place mana-blocking materials between the components. This way, the mana can function independently without interfering with each other.

"By the way, you said black slime is resistant to fire, water, and wind magic, and is difficult to remove, right?"

“…I think I did.”

"I'm going to apply black slime powder to the parts to see if it can block the magic power."

"Dalia, give up that idea! Safety first!"

Wolff stood up suddenly to stop her.

"It's okay. I'll keep an eye on the gloves' durability, and with you here, I'm not worried."

"...Alright, if anything goes wrong, I'll definitely get you to the temple immediately."

Why assume something would happen to her? She even said she'd wear gloves. This man was clearly overly concerned.

Dalia donned her magically gifted gloves and stirred the black slime powder and liquid medicine with a glass rod. The young man's surveillance gaze troubled her, but she returned her attention to her work.

She poured the mixed black liquid into the silver tube, then soaked the blade, tsuba, hilt, and scabbard in it one by one, and then cast enchantment magic on them one by one.

"It's fixed. Try it. If it bounces back, stop it immediately."

Dahlia handed Wolf her father's work gloves and asked him to assemble the dagger.

"It seems like it will work this time..."

The dagger was assembled successfully.

The black blade is paired with a black scabbard, black hilt, and a red and black handle. It looks quite like a magic sword.

"Somehow... it does look like a demon sword in some ways."

"This is pretty cool, too. It looks a bit like the sword the Demon King's minions would wield."

He is a knight of the Kingdom of Audine. Is it really okay to call something like this cool?

Moreover, it is not the Demon King's subordinates who will use this sword, but himself.

Dahlia imagined him holding a black sword, wearing black armor, standing beside the devil in the story, laughing cunningly.

She didn't find it strange at all, and even thought it was very suitable, but it was not her fault.

"This sword is quite sharp and cleans itself. It wields with great speed, and the scabbard has become lighter. Every gift has been successful."

She watched Wolff skillfully wield the dagger and suddenly realized something was wrong. His palm was smoking slightly.

"...Wolf, place your dagger on this silver plate first. Let me see your gloves."

"Huh? Why are you getting hairy?"

"Your gloves are corroded, and your hands are practically melting. Wait, I'll get the remaining meat."

Dahlia took out a two-centimeter-thin slice of meat from the refrigerator and placed it on the black sword blade.

The raw meat sizzled and melted on the blade—the two men watched in silence for two minutes.

The meat eventually turned into a pool of thick red and black liquid.

They actually created such a terrible sword.

(Illustration 005)

"It really burns... I don't want this sword anymore. I'll try a new dagger next time."

"It's okay. You can just wear the powerful magic-imbued gloves and carry them in the magic-sealed box."

"That's too dangerous. What are you going to do with it?"

Could an artificial sword that could burn its master really be effective? Dalia couldn't imagine its use.

"Try to cut the monster."

Wolff answered without hesitation, smiling.

"...This is the first time I've felt so much sympathy for a monster."

The monster melted after being chopped, and just imagining it made me uncomfortable.

However, she has no right to criticize others for grinding slime into powder.

"Moving this sword is dangerous. I plan to put it in a magic box and ask a magician to remove the magic from the sword. Then I'll take it to a recycling company and melt it down."

"Is it okay for me to take him back to the royal city and have someone take care of him?"

"Wolf, people will think you're bringing the 'Cursed Demonic Sword' into the royal city. And you'll be stopped during baggage inspection at the city gate, right?"

"Yeah, that's right, this will definitely be stopped..."

He said this, but his eyes were still fixed on the black dagger, as if he wanted to use it to chop the monster.

"Dalia, um... I know this is a bit dangerous, but can you put it in the magic box and preserve it for a while?"

"Eh? This dagger?"

"Yes, this is our first magic sword. I want to keep it as a souvenir."

"Alright, but consider this your first demonic sword..."

The sword is indeed endowed with various magic powers, but calling it a magic sword is a bit strange.

While Dahlia was still thinking, Wolfe smiled like a teenager and said:

"Our first demonic sword is called 'The Demon King's Dagger'."

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

"Although we're still a long way from our goal of an artificial magic sword, we've at least found a way to grant multiple powers. Cheers!"

After returning to the second floor, Dalia happily prepared the wine glasses.

“This dish feels amazing.”

"Didn't you buy the ingredients?"

Two large plates of grilled croaker sat on the table, their tails sticking out. The fish was rich and tender, and should be quite satisfying.

Dahlia had just picked out a fish that couldn't be stored for a long time. She cut it open, added some wine and salt, and roasted it in the magic furnace in the kitchen.

It was too early for dinner, and they had barbecue for lunch, so she wanted something light, so she made this.

She divided the golden-grilled catfish into two plates, along with forks and chopsticks.

On the plate beside her were halved cucumbers. Since there was no miso, she'd used salt and store-bought mayonnaise. There was also leftover cheese from lunch, the ham Wolfe had brought, and a soda cracker.

She completely forgot to make a lovely and elaborate meal.

Because Wolf gave her rice wine.

That is the white, turbid rice wine exported by the Kingdom of the East, also known as the Eastern Kingdom.

Although the aroma is slightly different, it tastes very similar to the turbid sake of previous generations of Japanese sake.

She didn't find the bottle of wine until late, sitting in the corner of the wine box, but when she decided to grill the catfish, she was determined to pair it with this wine.

"This is the first time I've seen mackerel cooked like this..."

Wolfe stared at the angler. He called it "linefish," a name Dalia had never heard before.

"What kind of dishes are usually made with this kind of fish?"

"Slice and pan-fry. It's also often served with white sauce."

That preparation method is delicate and elegant, but if you want to pair it with Eastern wine, you should still use roasted ones.

"This dish goes really well with the eastern sake."

"So you like Dong wine too, that's great. Some of us on the team are afraid to drink it."

She poured half of the Dong wine into the small wine glass. The cloudy wine had a rich texture.

"Cheers to our first step in crafting a magic sword."

"I hope I can succeed next time. Cheers."

They were afraid of breaking the wine glasses, so they only touched them lightly and then brought the wine to their lips.

The aroma of rice fills your nose, and you can taste the mild flavor of wine and the unique touch of turbid wine, followed by the feeling of slightly stronger alcohol burning your throat.

Dalia felt that the taste was both nostalgic and delicious.

"Shall I go buy some glasses for the Toushi sake? A smaller glass would be better."

"Would you like to go shopping together? That way we can discuss which ones to buy."