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

"I'm relieved to hear you say that."

Dolino's expression was much more relaxed. His relaxed look made him seem more reassuring and trustworthy.

And hearing that he was Wolf's friend, Dalia was a little happy.

Dorino might be one of the "few friends on the team" he mentioned.

"You are Red Armor, so besides Wolf, you also work with Lord Randolph, right?"

"...Wolf and Randolph, sir?"

Dalia started the conversation with a smile, but Dolino inexplicably lowered his voice and narrowed his deep blue eyes.

"...They both fell for it... Ugh, that was quick."

Dahlia didn't understand what he was saying, she only saw him looking at her with cold eyes.

"She's not as delicate as other girls. She seems easy to talk to. There's definitely no one like her around Wolf. But I didn't expect Randolph to fall for her too."

"what?"

"Even Wolf has lost his guard against you, which shows how good you are at taming men."

"What do you mean by taming? Wolf and I are friends..."

The man in front of him was also Wolf's friend.

She tried desperately to clear up the misunderstanding, but she couldn't find any other words to describe her relationship with Wolff except "friends."

"The Roseti Merchants' products are indeed very helpful to the monster-slaying forces, and I am grateful for that. But please—don't let them cry."

Dolino lowered his head deeply and said this, then walked forward without waiting for her answer.

There were other people walking in the corridor, so Dahlia said nothing.

They did not speak again until they boarded the carriage.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Nearing evening, Wolfe changed his clothes in his room in the barracks and was about to leave the room.

He heard a knock on the door and opened it, seeing Randolph and Dolino standing behind him.

"Wolver, we're going out for dinner and drinks, how about you?"

"I'll go with you."

"Looking for Kirk?"

"No, Kirk went home. He has tomorrow off."

Usually it was Dolino who knocked on the door, but today he stood behind Randolph in silence.

"Dolino, what's wrong with you?"

"fine……"

Although he said this, he was tapping the ground with his heels, a strange rhythm, a habit he had when he was in a bad mood.

"Wait a minute, I'll get my glasses and wallet."

Wolfe left the door open and returned to the room.

On the wall hung a black coat made of sand lizard and dragon skin. A few days ago, when it suddenly started raining when he returned from the Green Tower, he borrowed it from Dahlia again. Dolino saw the coat from the doorway and stared at it with narrowed blue eyes.

"That coat is still there... By the way, did you find the merchant who helped you when you were kidnapped by the flying dragon? You kept clamoring to find him at first, but why didn't you mention it later?"

Wolfe's eyes wandered.

In fact, he has not yet revealed the true identity of "Mr. Daly" to anyone on the team.

He always found it difficult to speak up. No, it should be said that he didn't want to tell anyone.

“Um… Actually, the man who helped me in the forest after being captured by the flying dragon, ‘Dali’, was actually Dalia…”

"What? Aren't merchants men? The president of the Roseti Merchants Guild is a woman."

He answered as he walked out of the room, and Dolino couldn't help but raise his voice.

"Dalia pretended to be a man in the forest to make me feel more comfortable. I wanted to thank her, so I found her... and we started chatting."

"He offered a stranger a ride in his carriage, provided him with potions and food, lent him a coat, and even considerately pretended to be a man before leaving without even telling his address... He was truly manly."

"Randolph, you're using the wrong word. 'Manliness' is something you only apply to men."

Randolph's mother was from a neighboring country, and he himself studied there for a long time. Therefore, the language of that country is more like his native tongue. Even now, some of the terms and expressions used are not very precise.

"Really? So we should talk about 'womanliness'?"

"There's no word for 'feminine', so maybe we could say 'cool woman'...? Or maybe we could change 'manly' to 'feminine'? That doesn't seem quite right either... What's a better word?"

Wolff and Randolph were confused and began to discuss in the neighboring language.

The silent Dolino's face gradually turned blue, and finally he covered his face with his hands and bent down.

“… Uwaaa! I’m such a jerk!”

"Dolino, what are you doing?"

"What's wrong, Dolino?"

Seeing their friend's sudden strange reaction, they both spoke to him at the same time.

"I did something stupid to the president of the Rosetti Chamber of Commerce. I owe her an apology..."

"What's so stupid?"

"Um... I misunderstood her and said some harsh and sarcastic things to her..."

Wolfe took a few steps and stood before Dolino. For some reason, his heartbeat was so loud that his head was buzzing.

"Tell me, Dolino, what did you say to her?"

"...I'm reflecting on this. I'll write her a letter to apologize. Next time we meet, I'll kneel down and admit my mistake."

"What did you say to Dahlia?"

He unconsciously exuded a cold and intimidating aura as he questioned Dolino.

Dolino froze and forced out a sound.

"Even Wolf has lost his guard against you, which shows how good you are at taming men."

In an instant, his hand reached for Dolino's collar.

He grabbed his friend with his left hand, not feeling any weight at all.

He pressed his friend against the wall, shocked and angry, unable to speak.

He couldn't understand why Dolino would say that to Dalia, why his friend would say that.

"Wolf, stop!"

Randolph tried to stop him from behind. Wolfe swung his right hand lightly, but heard the sound of something heavy hitting the wall.

"Wal... I'm... sorry, I will... apologize..."

Dolino, who was being held by his left hand, blushed and spoke incoherently. Wolfe finally came to his senses and let go of his hand. Dolino fell to the corridor floor, coughing violently. Looking back, Randolph behind him had not yet been able to stand up.

Wolf looked at his clenched left hand and finally adjusted his breathing.

"…I'm sorry, Dolino. I'm so angry."

"No, this is all my fault. I should be the one apologizing."

"Randolph, I'm sorry. Are you hurt?"

"It's okay, don't worry about it."

The three of them exchanged a few awkward words when someone from a nearby room came out and asked them why they had made such a loud noise. Dolino replied that he had been playing too hard and had accidentally fallen.

"Dolino, let's go apologize to her now."

"Now? Wouldn't it be rude to go to someone's house at this time?"

"I want you to apologize immediately. Dahlia must be feeling terrible if this continues."

"Understood. Sorry, Wolfe, I'll trouble you to lead the way and mediate."

Dolino bowed his head deeply before him.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

When the carriage hurriedly arrived at the Green Tower, the sun was already setting.

Wolfe touched the door lightly with one hand, opened it, and rang the doorbell of the green tower.

Familiar footsteps sounded, and Dahlia poked her head out of the door. She was wearing an apron and might be making dinner.

"Wolver, what's wrong?"

"Sorry for coming so suddenly. Um... I brought Dolino here to apologize to you for what happened today. Randolph is here with us too."

From the day his carriage was attacked as a young boy until today, Wolff had never been seriously angry with anyone.

Thinking back on his actions in the barracks today, he was still a little worried that Dolino would go crazy after hearing his apology. That was why he asked Randolph to come along. But he had just lost control and even knocked Randolph away, so he could only remind himself to stay calm.

"Uh, if we talk here, passersby will see us. Do you want to go inside and talk?"

"Can we go inside the tower? We can talk in the backyard, too. Would you feel uncomfortable talking to Dolino?"

"It's okay as long as you're here."

Dahlia smiled back, and it made him feel a pang of pain.

She showed no displeasure at the mention of Dolino's name, and Wolfe couldn't help but worry that she was being stubborn.

Wolfe called the two people outside the door in, and the four of them went into the workshop on the first floor together.

Dolino then knelt on his left knee in front of Dalia.

"President of the Rosetti Merchants Guild, today, I spoke harshly to you due to a misunderstanding. Please allow me to retract my words and apologize. I am truly sorry!"

He lowered his head deeply and did not raise it for a long time.

The Cavaliers took a knee and bowed their heads, a gesture of strong apology and reflection, something they don't do often.

"Uh, please stand up and hold your head up, Mr. Barty!"

Wolf stood beside the panicked Dahlia and asked in a low voice:

"Dolino, please explain why you have such a misunderstanding."

"...Because she not only addressed you by your name, but also Randolph's, and even smiled at me. Furthermore, she was so close to you, I thought she was the guild's 'seductress'..."

"What is 'Charm Girl'?"

Dalia asked in confusion, and Dolino quietly turned his eyes away.

"Some merchant guilds use women to create fake romantic relationships in order to get the city's residents to buy their wares first or to drive up prices. Such cases are surprisingly common in the city. Not just 'seductive women', but 'seductive men' as well..."

"Wait, Dolino. You misunderstood her just because she smiled at you and was nice to me?"

"That's unusual, isn't it? When I introduce myself as coming from the commoner area in the royal city, few young women, aside from the 'seductive woman', smile at me..."

Dolino finished speaking with a sigh, and Wolf tilted his head.

"Don't you have girls talking to you and maids handing you love letters?"

"Almost everyone who approached me wanted to meet you, and the love letters were all addressed to you and Randolph. I told them to hand them over to the respective parties and returned them all."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You'll care if I tell you. Even if you don't care, you'll still find it annoying."

Wolff was a little confused by the fact he had never realized before, but he continued to ask.

"Even so, Dahlia can't be the 'Enchantress', right?"

"It's hard to say... The Chamber of Commerce sometimes sends innocent girls who don't look like 'seductresses' at all, or girls with elegant temperaments to seduce their targets. There were also seniors on our team who fell for them and were expelled. To be honest, I almost fell for them after joining the team for a while. So... I have a bad association."

"It seems to be a misunderstanding based on personal experience."

Randolph, who had been silent, spoke for the first time.

"Dolino, I asked Miss Dalia to call me Randolph because she's Wolfe's friend, and there are many people with the last name 'Goodwin' in the royal city."

"It took over two months after we met before you allowed me to call you 'Randolph'. How many times have you met the president of the Roseti Merchants Guild? That's too fast."