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

He lowered his head slightly to take the water bag, as if he felt that even the time to breathe was precious, and drank all the water in the bag in one breath.

“…I’m alive…Thank you…”

He fell to the ground as he finished speaking.

Only the chest armor remained intact, as the shoulders and back had been torn. His clothes were also tattered, and there were many sunken wounds from his left shoulder to his upper arm, and his whole body was covered in blood.

"Are you okay?"

"It's okay... This is mostly monster blood... I got separated from my teammates... We ran through the mountains for two days before we got here..."

The man stretched out his hand with some difficulty, pointing to a snow-capped mountain. It was truly remarkable that he had made it all the way from that mountain to here alive.

He said he got separated from his teammates and that he might be an adventurer.

"Wait for me."

Dahlia returned to the carriage, took out a recovery potion from her luggage, and poured the whole bottle into a wooden cup.

"Please drink."

"Thanks……"

The man took the wooden cup and took a sip, his eyes widening in surprise.

“Is this a recovery potion…?!”

"Yes, it's already opened. Please finish it."

Once the potion is opened, it cannot be preserved.

Dahlia guessed that the man might be embarrassed to drink her potion, so she poured it into the cup. It seemed that this was the right thing to do.

A bottle of recovery potion costs five large silver coins, which is about 50,000 yen according to Dahlia.

This potion is a bit expensive, but it can effectively heal wounds. After all, life is more important.

"Sorry... I'll pay when we get back to the capital."

The man bowed his head in thanks, drank the rest of the potion, and took a few deep breaths.

The injury to his upper arm healed as if time had flown back, which was incredible.

"Thank you, I feel much better now."

The man's voice became more energetic, but his face was still covered in blood and it was unclear whether his complexion had improved.

"I'm sorry for introducing myself so late. My name is Wolffred, and I'm a member of the Knights' Monster Suppression Unit. I'm the youngest son of a low-ranking noble, so please feel free to call me Wolf."

The man was a knight of his country's monster-suppression unit.

There are monsters everywhere in this world.

Monsters are usually hunted by adventurers, whose skin, flesh, and bones are sold to the market through the Adventurer's Guild.

However, when monsters invade human activities and cause harm, or when there are too many monsters or powerful monsters appear, the country's monster suppression force will be dispatched.

The threat posed by large numbers of monsters is no different from a natural disaster to the people of this world.

The members of the Monster Suppression Team have to fight these monsters, so they are all strong.

"I'm Citizen Dali, and I do many things."

Dalia deliberately changed her name to be more masculine.

Today she was wearing her father's loose coat, a black hat that covered all her hair, black-framed glasses, a neck collar that lowered her voice, and a silk scarf around her throat.

A woman walking alone in the forest might be harassed, so this is just in case.

Noble men usually avoided riding in carriages alone with single women, and she decided not to reveal her identity as a woman.

The most urgent task was to take the knight in front of him back to the capital as soon as possible in a carriage.

"Mr. Dali, I'm so sorry. If you're going to the capital, could you give me a ride? I'll pay you once we get back to the city."

"Of course, please get in the car."

"Thank you for your help."

Wolff blinked his bright brown eyes and rubbed them with his hands. A closer look revealed that the whites of his eyes were bloodshot.

"Do your eyes hurt?"

"The monster's blood seeping into my eyes makes me feel a little uncomfortable..."

If the potion didn't heal him, it meant his eyes weren't injured, but rather poisoned or had an eye disease. Or perhaps the blood on his face had flowed back into his eyes.

"Some monster blood can cause blindness, so it's best to clean it up quickly."

"It costs twelve gold coins to go to the temple for treatment... I don't want to spend that money."

Although there are doctors in this world, if you are seriously injured, you will usually go to the temple to be treated by the priests.

Treatment costs money, and the more serious the injury, the higher the cost. Fortunately, most injuries can be cured.

"There's a river nearby. Do you want to go there and wash?"

"Thank you for your help."

Wolff stood up, and Dahlia realized that he was very tall. Perhaps because he was nearly 190cm tall, he looked quite slender.

"I'm sorry to ask you to sit on the rickshaw stand. Please sit next to me."

Dahlia gave up half of the seats on the coachman's platform.

"No, that would dirty the carriage. I'll just walk."

"There's a tarp underneath, so it won't get dirty."

"Really? Then I'll be polite."

Wolff sat down on the edge, avoiding touching Dahlia's clothes, but she was immediately struck by the strong smell of blood and a hint of decay.

He should have washed himself earlier. If only he had brought a water magic stone with him, but unfortunately, today she only had some drinking water in a preservative leather bag.

"This tarp is very convenient."

"Do you think so?"

Wolfe might have just said it casually to chat, but Dahlia was very happy to hear it.

The waterproof cloth is a magical tool developed by Dahlia when she was studying at the academy.

There's no plastic in this world. Dalia was looking for waterproof fabric to make a raincoat for her father, and after many attempts, she developed this waterproof fabric.

She ground blue slime into powder, mixed it with medicine, applied it to one side of the cloth, and then cast adhesion magic on it.

So for a while she dried all kinds of slimes on the roof and in the yard, and the ground was also filled with bottles of powder.

When waterproof cloth became popular rapidly, it also triggered a trend of adventurers indiscriminately hunting blue slimes.

If the blue slime had self-awareness, it would probably hate Dahlia.

"When I first joined the Order, camping tents and rain cloaks all needed a layer of wax. Waxing was a newbie's job, and it was quite tiring. If there were any missed spots, water would seep in... To apply the wax properly, we had to use thicker fabric, which was difficult to carry. Later, we switched to waterproof fabric, which not only made it lighter but also saved a lot of trouble."

"I see. That's really convenient."

"Raincoats are great, too. Ah, they're those sleeved capes made of waterproof cloth. Since we switched to raincoats, we've had fewer prickly heat rash cases in the army. Before, we even had to wear leather capes in the summer rain..."

"Do you have prickly heat?"

Although waterproof cloth was invented by Dahlia, she didn't think too much about it.

"Yes, we can't scratch while wearing armor, and showers aren't always possible in the campground. Once we start to itch, we lose our focus, not only during the march but even in battle. It's a serious problem."

Dalia hadn't expected such a pressing question.

After listening to actual users, she knew what needed improvement. She wanted to develop a more breathable fabric while maintaining its waterproof properties, and she also wanted to make the fabric lighter.

"It would be much more convenient if the tarpaulin could be made lighter and more breathable."

"It would be nice if we had it. But we also have to consider durability, so it would probably be difficult."

Maintaining durability? This would require a lot of experiments and trying new materials. Dahlia couldn't help but ponder, and Wolff spoke again.

"Excuse me for talking so much about our team. Did Mr. Dali come to this area to collect?"

"Yes, I came here for a walk."

"I'm so sorry to interrupt your work."

"No, I'm just here to take a look today."

After the two exchanged some polite words, the riverside came into view.

This place was originally planned as a resting place during the journey, so it is both flat and wide.

They parked the carriage on a flat surface and got out together.

Wolff walked to the shallows of the river and immediately washed his eyes and face. However, the dried blood seemed difficult to wash away. After repeatedly splashing water on his face and head for a while, he finally raised his head.

Dalia handed him the towel in her hand.

"A towel, please."

"Thanks."

He dried his face and turned to Dahlia.

Dalia was speechless as she looked at his face.

The messy short hair that was covered with blood and dust just now turned out to be a bright ebony color.

He has fair skin without any dullness, extremely regular facial features, a high nose bridge, and beautifully shaped thin lips.

Beneath her long eyelashes were slender eyes that looked like works of art. Her pupils were like strong whiskey reflecting the sunlight, a shining golden color, with pupils as black as the night in the center.

He can be said to be one of the most handsome young men in Dahlia's past and present lives.

Dahlia wouldn't want to associate with him, but a portrait of him might be nice for decoration.

"Animals might be attracted by the smell of blood. I'm going to take a shower and wash my clothes."

After saying this, Wolf took off his armor and walked towards the center of the river.

The sound of splashing water was heard, and Dalia quickly turned her back.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Dahlia walked towards the carriage and prepared water and purple grapes for the eight-legged horse.

The octopus eats both vegetables and meat. Dalia heard that it only needs water at noon, but it works harder if it is given a snack.

Dalia asked the inn what snacks to give to Eight-legged Horse, and the answer she got was "This child especially likes purple grapes", so she bought some more from the store.

As soon as the purple grapes were taken out, the eight-legged horse immediately opened its black eyes wide and stared at the grapes, looking very cute.

Today, in addition to protecting Dalia, it also saved a person. Dalia decided to give it all the purple grapes.

Seeing the water and grapes in front of it, the eight-legged horse neighed happily.

Dahlia unloaded the luggage from the carriage and built a bonfire by the river.

She had already piled up the wood and prepared the magic tools for making the fire, so it didn't take too long.

After checking the wind direction, she arranged seats for herself and Wolff by the campfire, sitting at an angle.

Then, he went to the opposite side, a little further away from the campfire, stuck two wooden sticks into the ground, and pulled up the rope. This made it a simple clothes drying rack for Wolf to dry his clothes.

Dalia listened to the sound of the river and the birds singing and began to prepare lunch.

She sliced ​​the hard bread she had brought, put some goat cheese on it, and placed it next to the fire. She also skewered some ready-to-eat sausages on sticks and placed them near the fire.

She had no extra containers, so she picked up a few large leaves from around and used them to put the dried fruits and nuts in the leather bag.

Fortunately, she brought some extra food and wine to share with Wolf.

She made her portion appear to be piled high, but in reality she was giving Wolff as much of the food as possible.

Although it was spring, it was still very cold to bathe in the wild. Taking this into consideration, Dahlia added a little honey to the red wine and heated it in a small pot.

When the red wine began to bubble, Wolfe just came ashore from the river.

Dahlia deduced his movements from his voice and said without turning her head:

"Please hang your clothes on the branches. Wear the coat over there until they dry. That's my father's coat, but it might be a little small for you."

There was a sound of clothes rubbing behind him, and then Wolff, wearing a black coat, sat down by the campfire.