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

On the day she was called "House Cat," Dahlia was concerned about the safety of the maid who had soiled her skirt, so she asked Wolff about it.

She didn't think Gildo would do anything to harm the maid, but it would be pitiful if the maid was exiled abroad because of this.

After Wolfe's investigation, he learned that the maid had voluntarily resigned and received the salary and severance pay she deserved. She has now returned to her home in the royal capital and is safe.

It seemed she had been overthinking things. She felt a little sorry for letting Wolf take the time to investigate.

Now is a good time to talk to Finance Minister Gildo.

Dahlia straightened her back and mustered up the courage to walk towards Gildor.

Ivano followed her at a distance. The Monster Suppression Team members were also in the same space.

Even if you can't make him take back his words, at least you should express your thoughts.

"Is there something you need from me, President of the Roseti Merchants Guild?"

Gildor deliberately sent his servants away and stayed alone at the table, as if waiting for Dahlia's arrival.

"Yes. You called me 'house cat' the other day. Please take that back."

"Okay, I take it back. President of the Rosetti Merchants Guild, please allow me to retract my remarks about 'house cats'."

"I accept your retraction."

Gildo agreed so readily that it made people feel a little overwhelmed.

She couldn't help but stare into those amber eyes. The other person raised his lips slightly, stood up and nodded gracefully to her in apology.

"After retracting my words, I must also apologize to you. I, Gildovan Diels, will apologize to President Dalia Rossetti of the Chamber of Commerce and resign from my position as Minister of Finance of the Royal City as a gesture of responsibility. Is this okay?"

"What?"

The man's sudden words made Dalia freeze.

"But besides my personal offense against you, there was also the maid incident. My official position alone doesn't seem to be enough to atone for it, right?"

“What are you talking about…?”

Gildor's malicious joke made Dahlia laugh.

It's just offending a commoner, it's impossible to shake the position of the Minister of Finance of the Royal City.

This man must have said this because he couldn't apologize honestly. He seemed unexpectedly stubborn.

Even if he was serious about resigning and taking responsibility, Dalia was not happy at all. Although she didn't know the details, it seemed that there was a complicated feud between Gulat, Gildor, and his brother who died on the expedition, and she was just implicated.

Since the other party has apologized solemnly, Dalia does not want to see him resign, but instead wants to ask him for a favor.

"Master Dills, there's no need to apologize. Simply pretend this never happened. Also, I kindly request that you allocate funds fairly to the Monster Suppression Force from now on."

"...You're not going to let me step down?"

"Yes, you are still young. Please continue to serve as Minister of Finance. I wish you a long and successful career. Also... this may be a bit rude, but I hope you can have a good talk with Captain Goulart."

Had he been willing to sit down and listen to Goulart describe the current state of the troops, future budgets might not have been rejected like this.

"……knew."

Gildor nodded sternly and sat back in his chair without saying a word.

The expedition furnace in front of him hadn't yet started, but no one was willing to come over to help. Dahlia noticed that everyone else was just watching from a distance, so she volunteered to open the furnace for him.

"what are you up to?"

Seeing Dalia start to roast the ingredients, he seemed confused and stared at her with suspicion.

"I'd like to introduce you to a new expedition meal. Um, this is the current meal."

Gildor took a piece of dry black bread from the silver tray and began to chew it silently.

The black bread was very hard to chew. The servants, worried that he would choke, rushed over with water and red wine.

At the same time, Dahlia increased the fire on the stove and roasted an ingredient.

As the ingredients began to emit an enticing aroma, she carefully placed them on a white plate.

"Please try it."

"This is?"

"Dried pike, perfect for short expeditions."

This is dried fish made from high-quality pike, with rich, tender flesh. It's already salted and can be eaten without seasoning.

Dried pike has no fishy smell. It is made with pike from late summer when the fat content is low, giving it a refreshing taste.

Even the noble Gildor would find it delicious.

"Dried pike..."

Gildo was a marquis, so he must have rarely seen roasted dried fish cut open.

He ate the dried fish with a knife and fork, his expression extremely serious. Even when faced with unfamiliar food, he still dared to try it, perhaps to save face for Dalia.

"...It's surprisingly delicious. It might go better with ale than wine."

"It is also recommended to pair it with Eastern sake."

Seeing the man's smile spread, Dahlia said subconsciously, "It seems Gildor is also a good drinker."

"That's right. Dongjiu seems particularly suitable. President of the Roseti Merchants Guild, if you serve this dish first and let everyone have a drink, perhaps we can sign the contract at the original price."

“So there’s this method…”

When giving a report, it is indeed important to put the eye-catching content first.

If that was the case, then why had she been working so hard to report it? Dahlia looked off into the distance helplessly.

And when answering Goulart, he even accidentally made a mistake. Although no one laughed at the time, the more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he became.

To be honest, she wanted to escape back to the Green Tower right now.

I wanted to chat with Wolff about today's events while grilling dried pike and sipping the spicy Dong wine.

"Just kidding... I'll compensate you for the difference in losses caused by this contract at my own expense."

"No, I'd rather have my name engraved on the stove. I was just wondering if it would be more convincing if I let everyone taste it before I give my report."

"No, that way everyone will focus on eating and won't be able to listen to what you say next."

"Is that so...wouldn't it be better if we placed the meals for the current and future expeditions, along with the briefing materials, on the table so everyone in the Finance Department could taste them while listening to the report?"

"Listening to the report while eating... No, I probably won't be able to understand it that way. We should separate the briefing session and the food tasting session. Oh, that chart just now was quite easy to understand—"

Before they knew it, they were chatting about reporting methods, how to present data and charts, while Gildo still elegantly ate his pike.

When I came to my senses, I found that Ivano had brought another plate of pike.

"Can this fish be kept for a long time?"

Gildor murmured as Dahlia grilled the second piece of pike.

"It can be kept at room temperature for two days. If placed in a bag enchanted with preservation magic and then filled with ice magic stones, it can be kept for about ten days. Um... some people don't like fish, so we don't need to prepare enough for everyone. But I hope there are other options besides jerky so that even if the team members are tired, they can still eat something."

"I see... I see you've heard about my brother, right?"

"Yes... I really don't know what to say. I'm so sorry."

"I also heard today about your father's sudden death, and your subsequent situation. I'm... so sorry, and I can imagine you've had a hard time."

Gildor didn't say who told him, but in his voice, Dahlia could sense the same sorrow she felt for the sudden loss of her family.

"President of the Roseti Chamber of Commerce, what are your future aspirations?"

"Hopes... I hope the monster-slaying troops eat well, sleep well, and return safely."

Gildor paused in sipping his wine.

He was asking if he needed to offer her some convenience, such as financial aid or a recommendation for a title, but Dahlia didn't hear it at all.

All she cared about now was when the pike in front of her would flip over.

Dahlia stared at the pike intently, her red hair fluttering in the wind against the blue sky.

“…I see. So you’re the ‘Summer Flower’ of the Monster Suppression Force.”

"No! That word doesn't apply to me!"

Suddenly hearing the other party say this, Dalia strongly denied it.

Summer flowers are often used to describe the beautiful women that everyone yearns for.

This word, which was so different from her own, made her feel very uncomfortable.

"Ah! I know there's a saying overseas: 'So busy you'd even want to borrow a cat's hand.' I was just helping out a little, so maybe calling me a cat would be more appropriate."

She thought of the word "house cat" again and said it quickly, but she froze after she finished speaking.

I finally managed to start a conversation with Gildo. Will he take this as sarcasm?

Dahlia looked at him worriedly, only to see him staring at her with wide eyes, then covering his mouth, and finally couldn't help laughing.

"Hahaha, well said... But you really don't look like a cat. You may look cute, but you're actually more like a 'lion' of the Guardian Corps."

"Eh, it's a 'Lion' again this time!?"

Dahlia's voice was almost indistinguishable from a scream.

The use of the word "lion" to describe a woman was not recorded in the aristocratic etiquette books. She had no way of knowing whether the man's words were a compliment, a criticism, or even a mockery.

Gildor laughed incessantly in front of Dahlia.

I laughed until tears welled up in my eyes and I couldn't stop laughing for a moment.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

"President Rossetti of the Chamber of Commerce has successfully persuaded the Minister of Finance to retract his words. He's quite capable."

"Not only that, but while grilling the pike, I also managed to subdue Master Gildor completely."

"I don't think that was her intention..."

Hearing the vice-captain and the middle-aged knight say this, Wolfe smiled wryly in response.

He had activated his physical strengthening just now and had been eavesdropping on the conversation between Dahlia and Gildor.

If possible, he would have liked to stay with Dahlia, but Ivanor was already standing behind her. The table behind Gildor had been occupied by Randolph from the beginning.

In addition, Gulat now moved to a nearby table and peeked at the situation there.

Wolff had just been moving among the young civil servants in the Finance Department, inviting them to taste the food and chatting with them as much as possible.

He asked his brother for tips on how to make friends and tried to follow his lead, but the process proved difficult. After introducing himself, he listened carefully to what the other person said, remembering their perspective and interests—making friends wasn't easy, and it couldn't be learned overnight. He even found it harder than fighting monsters.

Compared to him, his brother is much more thoughtful.

My brother wrote to Goulart, telling him that to avoid making the Roseti Chamber of Commerce president nervous, it would be best to increase the number of troops attending the meeting. He also contacted the Deputy Minister of Finance and suggested sending more young civilians to attend.

As for this venue, they had only just been able to borrow it this morning after his brother suddenly announced, "The lounge in the Central Building is vacant." Frankly, Wolff didn't think it was "vacant" at all, but rather that his brother had used his influence to make it "vacant."

It can be seen that he had anticipated that this report and the procurement of expedition furnaces would be approved smoothly.

However, Wolf still thought that everyone should try it out in practice so that they could understand the benefits of the expedition furnace, so he borrowed this venue.

The ingredients were obtained after consulting with Gulat. Since the existing expedition furnaces were insufficient, he borrowed some from those in the barracks who owned small magic furnaces. After Wolfe began using small magic furnaces, many of his comrades also purchased them at their own expense.

Now everyone is happily trying the food in the lounge, and the atmosphere is lively.

"President Rossetti wanted to carve his name on the back of the stove...that's quite sentimental."

The middle-aged knight murmured as he ate the smoked bacon in his hand.

"It's really sentimental. It might have been inspired by the custom of women escorting men to the battlefield when our country was first founded. The embroidery on the back means 'I'm here to support you as you fight.'"

"Yes. When my wife and I first started dating, she also embroidered her name in a tiny way on the back of my underwear before I left on an expedition."

"That's such a great relationship, I'm so envious."

Hearing this conversation, Wolf, who was roasting salted Kraken, stopped abruptly.

"Everyone in our monster-suppression team has received the 'support' of the Roseti Merchants Guild President this time. I'm truly grateful."

“…Just say it.”

Griselda said this cheerfully, and Wolf could only nod in agreement.

After a moment's silence, the older knight urged Wolf to drink some wine.