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

"Blue slime is still the most used, and the use of green slime will increase in the future."

"Do you need to use other slimes in the magic tools you plan to develop?"

"I don't know yet, but I want to try yellow slime and red slime later. Ah... I remember, I still have a small amount of black slime."

“…Black Slime.”

John's expression had just returned to normal when he frowned again. His birch eyes stared at Dahlia in confusion.

"Black slimes can't be farmed... They're a level one target, and they'll dissolve the farming tank."

"Is that so... Then how about using the Magic Sealing Crystal as a breeding tank?"

"It might work, but I don't know how much it would cost..."

"Is it not possible to make the breeding tank smaller, only raise a few at a time, and only use the magic sealing crystal on the inside?"

"That doesn't sound impossible..."

"Ms. Dahlia, let's discuss the black slime issue next time."

Dahlia enthusiastically offered advice to John, but was stopped by Wolf with a businesslike smile.

He was right. This question should be discussed later, when the black slime is used. Dahlia ended the conversation.

"Then, we will do our utmost to establish a rapid mass production system for these two products. We will also attempt to improve the areas mentioned in the report and find stronger threads."

"However, it still takes some time to make five-toed socks..."

Gabriella finished speaking with a sigh, and Dahlia suddenly had an idea.

"Ah... maybe we can just make socks out of 'cloth'."

"cloth?"

"Yes, Rukia. We can use stretchable fabric... like one mixed with unicorn or bicorn fur. Then we can just sew the seams, right?"

"It's really just a matter of sewing it up. Dahlia, that's a great idea! ...Ah, sorry."

Rukia accidentally forgot her limits and apologized with her sky-colored eyes wandering.

"Unicorns and bicorns... Both are rare monsters, and you hardly ever encounter them..."

John lowered his head, his shoulders shaking.

"President of the Rosette Merchants Guild, no, Mr. Rosette, please make a list of the materials you desire and the materials that will be used in the magical tools you intend to develop... No, you need to clearly state it to me right now!"

"John, calm down!"

August asked John to be nicer and use a louder voice to cover up the words "explain it to me clearly".

As he spoke, he patted John's back loudly several times.

"My subordinate was rude. His passion for the material has been aroused. I will discuss the fabric issue with Deputy Workshop Manager Fano later."

“…I’m really sorry.”

Whether it was August defending his subordinate or John bowing his head in apology, everyone fell silent. However, everyone's curious gazes were not directed at John or Lucia, but at Dahlia.

"I'm sorry, Mr. John. I'll do my best to give you a list after the meeting..."

“…Excuse me…”

So, after the meeting, Dahlia had to scramble to write a list.

The meeting officially ended and everyone sat waiting for the minutes and contract to be produced.

Everyone started chatting while drinking the black tea that had just been served. Dalia looked at the notebook she carried with her and finally finished writing the list.

Later, she went to the dressing room to catch her breath, and Rukia quickly followed her.

"Daliyah!"

As soon as she entered the dressing room, Rukia called her name in a unique voice.

Her usually cheerful and gentle dew-grass-colored eyes seemed particularly sharp.

"Rukia..."

"What's going on? The Clothing Guild sent an envoy to our workshop. My dad was horrified when he saw them. My mom said I made the five-toed socks and called me to a meeting. She immediately appointed me deputy workshop manager! There were only five of us in that workshop, so we didn't need a deputy workshop manager! I packed up and came over!"

There was no one else in the dressing room, but they couldn't speak loudly. Rukia leaned over to Dalia's ear and spoke excitedly.

"I'm sorry... I gave the toe socks to a member of the Knights, and I didn't expect it to turn out like this."

"I didn't expect that. I worked so hard on it to please Mr. Carlo, but I never expected it to be noticed by the Knights. Uh, I heard you dumped Mr. Tobias because of work. Is that true?"

"We have agreed to cancel our engagement..."

"You really can't lie. What's the truth...?"

They had known each other for a long time, both as colleagues and friends, and Rukia relentlessly pressed her on what she was trying to hide. Seeing no escape, Dalia had no choice but to speak honestly.

"Mr. Orlando broke off the engagement because he met someone new. I'm completely devoted to magical tools, and I thought now I could do whatever I wanted. To avoid any work friction, we announced a mutual cancellation of the engagement."

"Mr. Tobias actually had an affair... It's a shame he's not with you."

Dalia didn't see any reason to regret it. Perhaps it was disrespectful to her ex-fiancé, but that feeling was a distant memory.

"If he married you, they could both take over this job. And you've suddenly become more beautiful. Mr. Tobias must be regretting this now, right?"

"I don't think so."

"But I'm really surprised. He was so careful to protect you, so careful that it was a bit annoying."

"Have it?"

"When you contact a cooperating workshop, as long as the workshop manager is male, he will go there himself. One time, it was raining and my brother took you home. He was also very worried, and Mr. Carlo laughed at him."

“I don’t even know…”

"Of course. He won't tell you, maybe because he's trying to save face or look cool."

Dahlia hadn't known about this side of Tobias and was a little surprised to hear about it, but hearing about it now wouldn't change anything.

"You don't seem to mind too much, so I can only say you two are not meant to be. Then what is your relationship with the super handsome man next to you, Scafarot-sama?"

"Friends who interacted because of magical tools."

"Magical tools, huh? That's just your style. What a shame. But he's definitely a bit out of my league if I want to date him."

The topic naturally shifted from Tobias to Wolff, which made Dahlia more nervous.

The words "out of my reach" made her feel stung.

"It seems I'll have to run around the Clothing Guild and the workshop more often lately. Could you please rent a freight wagon to bring the raincoat cloth I requested to our workshop? We'll pay for it once we arrive."

"it is good."

"I want to use that fabric to make a cute raincoat, but I don't know when I can..."

"I'm sorry, it's so hard for you to do what you want."

"No, I'm super happy to hear I can make a lot of money. If I work hard, I can afford to repair the workshop and buy new fabrics! Maybe I can even save for my workshop fund! It may take a long time to realize it, but it's better to have big dreams."

Rukia quickly touched up her red lipstick and patted her cheeks gently.

Her dream is to open a workshop that makes cute clothes.

Her family's workshop mainly made socks and gloves, so she worked hard to save money, hoping to open her own workshop one day. This has not changed since they met, and Dalia and her work together is a pleasure.

"See you later. It's a bit weird to walk together, so I'll be out first."

"Okay, see you later."

After watching her leave with light steps, Dalia also put on some lipstick.

The self in the mirror looks a little tired.

"President of the Roseti Merchants Guild."

When she was walking across the corridor to return to the meeting room, August, the Vice President of the Adventurer's Guild, suddenly called her and saluted her on the spot.

"I'm truly sorry that my subordinate offended you just now."

"No, I didn't expect us to cause him so much trouble."

"John... he has his own difficulties. We will find another day to formally apologize to you—"

"It's okay, no need, I don't mind."

John was angry because he and his daughter hadn't considered their material inventory and had simply started making magic tools without a plan. Managing inventory was likely a significant burden on John. Even if he accidentally blurted out a rude remark, Dahlia couldn't bring herself to rebuke him.

"August, could you please clarify what you mean by 'many difficulties'? He was extremely disrespectful to the president of the Roseti Merchants Guild just now."

Wolff had come to her side at some point, and his tone was cold as he asked the question, his voice two notches lower than usual.

"Wolfred... well, let me tell you. This is John's personal matter... After his marriage, he went from being a high-ranking adventurer to a member of the Adventurer's Guild. His first job was to hunt Kraken at sea, which took him a whole month. His first wife ran away because of it..."

August looked hesitant, perhaps he was choosing his words carefully or simply found such things difficult to say.

"John had just remarried and spent two weeks hunting sand lizards. Around the time his child was born, he spent every night at the guild managing the blue slimes. This, combined with other issues, meant his wife had to take the child back to her parents' home several times... Now, things are finally back to normal..."

"...Thank you for your explanation. We will definitely not tell anyone."

Wolff's anger disappeared and turned into sympathy.

Dahlia wanted to apologize to John desperately, and perhaps she should also go to her father's grave to report the incident.

John had every right to resent the Rossettis. She felt sorry for his family, too.

"I asked him to delegate the work to his subordinates, but he's doing everything himself... It's all my fault for the poor management. I'm truly sorry for upsetting the president of the Roseti Merchants Guild. I'll find a way to resolve the material management issue and warn him not to do this again."

"No, it's me who should apologize to Mr. John..."

They apologized to each other for a long time before returning to the meeting room.

Dahlia thought seriously that she must take the quantity of materials into consideration when making magical tools in the future.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Everyone said goodbye to each other. Dalia watched the carriages of the Clothing Guild and the Adventurer's Guild leave, and she was finally able to slow down her breathing.

Gabriella and Ivano had something to discuss and went to the office, while Dahlia and Wolff remained in the meeting room, under the pretext of examining the Knights' Contract. The streets were now crowded with people returning home, so they decided to avoid that time and call a carriage later.

“…I’m so tired.”

"Really, but thankfully it ended smoothly."

"Is this going well? I feel really sorry for Mr. John..."

"indeed……"

A miserable silence fell over the two of them.

After they both sighed, Wolff clasped his hands together on the table.

"Well, I mean no harm. I hope you'll listen to me calmly. You might have to talk to the nobles again later, so there are some things you shouldn't say, so it's best for you to know."

"Did I say anything rude?"

The way he spoke in the meeting, his overly excited conversation with Rukia—there were so many things that seemed rude that she didn't know which one Wolfe was referring to.

"You said, 'I trust Mr. Fortunato, and I leave everything to you.'"

"what?"

"If a single noble woman says this to a noble man, it means he is worthy of being her knight, and it's a sign of respect and affection."

“How could this be…”

Dahlia's intention was to say, "I trust you, so there's no need for oversight. All guild operations will be handled by you." She didn't understand why it was interpreted that way.

"Mr. Fortunato...the Luini family has produced many knights, but he chose not to become a knight, but to pursue a career in finery. He probably thought you mistook him for a knight, and was startled."

"No, that's not what I meant."

"It's okay. It was just a moment. He should understand you didn't mean it. He knows you're not a noble, and he's married. If anything goes wrong, I'll take care of it for you. Don't worry."

"I'm sorry, I accidentally said something so rude..."

Dalia held her head in frustration. She hadn't expected to make such a blunder. She desperately hoped she wouldn't see him again.

"There was an opera in the past where, at the climax of the finale, the heroine said to the knight, 'I trust Mr. Orfeo, and I leave everything to you.' It was very popular to imitate this line at the time."

"Is it because this way of expressing respect and affection is so cool?"

"No, people at that time combined the original expression with the climax of the story."