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

Some people watched from inside stores, some placed chairs or mats on the street to sit on, and some even climbed onto rooftops. There were all kinds of situations.

Everyone's purpose was to watch the fireworks display hosted by the Royal City.

There were fireworks in Dahlia's previous life, but in this life, the so-called fireworks in this world are of a different kind.

What shot up into the sky was not gunpowder, but fire magic cast by the magicians.

In a previous life without magic, this might be called a fantasy world.

But in this world, magic is taken for granted. Humans generally possess magical powers, though their strength varies. Some become mages, wielding magic, while others, like Dalia, are magical toolmakers, harnessing their magic to create everyday objects.

Furthermore, in this world, there are creatures with magical powers—monsters.

There are many types of monsters, including slimes, jacked rabbits, goblins, sea serpents, minotaurs, dragons, etc. These monsters will also have unique evolutions according to different regions and situations.

In a past life, these might have been mere fantasy creatures, but in this world, monsters are a very real threat.

When the living areas of humans and monsters overlap, monsters may destroy farmland and fruit trees, or even attack humans and livestock.

As for large monsters or monsters appearing in large numbers, it is no different from a disaster.

The nation's Monster Suppression Force protects people from these dangers and destroys monsters.

Wolff, a member of the unit, was listening carefully.

"It's almost time to start..."

As soon as the words fell, a small red light rose in the sky in the direction of the royal city.

There is some distance between this tower and the royal city, so the fireworks don't look very big.

Despite this, the red light is still brighter than the stars and adds color to the night sky.

I heard that it was a mage's fire magic, and the person who cast it must have quite powerful magic power.

Deep red, bright red, vermilion, orange, brick red—various shades of red light lasted for a while, followed by the interweaving of blue and green lights.

Sky blue, ivy blue, dew grass blue, light green to dark green - whether the magician uses magic to release these different colors of flames, or there is some special coloring mechanism, it is very curious.

Soon after, red, blue and green lights appeared and rose higher.

Each color split into six in the sky, and then each split into two, leaving long trails.

This chrysanthemum-like beauty is so captivating that even without sound, it reminds me of the sound of fireworks exploding in my past life.

Then, after a brief pause, red light flickered several times in the night sky, and the outline of a red dragon emerged. This was probably imitating a fire dragon.

(Illustration 005)

"That was cast by the high-ranking magicians of the magic corps. They were practicing in the royal city a while ago."

Wolfe explained in a low voice.

It's amazing how that giant dragon is depicted using fire magic.

You should be able to see a huge and beautiful dragon in the Royal City and the central district. From the tower in the west district, the shape looks a little distorted.

But the sheer size of the dragon dancing in the night sky was awe-inspiring, and cheers echoed from all around.

After the outline of the red dragon slowly disappeared, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

Everyone shut up, looked up at the sky, and waited. The four people on the top of the tower also straightened their backs silently.

After a slightly longer pause, a white ball of light slowly rose into the sky.

It rose higher and higher, as if there was no end, and finally flashed like a meteor in the center of the night sky, instantly dyeing the entire sky pure white.

Faced with the brightness like noon, Dalia couldn't help but close her eyes, and huge cheers came from all directions.

That dazzling light like a little sun is the king's magic.

The current King of Audine possesses the greatest magical power of any king in recent history and is known as "the one who can release the sun."

Although it is probably fire magic, how hot is the pure white flame and how strong is its firepower?

This king, reminiscent of a great magician from a fairy tale, is revered and worshipped by his people, but is said to be feared by other nations. Furthermore, it is said that the Kingdom of Odine itself possesses more powerful magicians than any other kingdom.

Although this country has never had a history of invading other countries, it is understandable that other countries are on guard against it.

Incidentally, there's a story in the Kingdom of Odine that the first king single-handedly eradicated the surrounding monsters and leveled the land of the capital. Some say it's just a fairy tale or legend, but seeing the little sun just now, it makes one wonder if it might be true.

Perhaps the current king has some similarities with the first king.

"I think about it every year. It's just like the sun. That white light is so blinding."

"Your Majesty is truly remarkable!"

Dalia listened to the conversation between Marcella and Irma, and nodded while lighting the magic lamp.

The brightness of the white light ball was so strong that it hurt the eyes. It was so dazzling.

Although Dahlia had never actually seen the king, she was told that he had golden hair that shone like the sun and eyes that were as dark as the night.

But beyond that, she didn't know much about the king's appearance.

This king, who is regarded as a good ruler, is very popular in the country.

It is even said that almost every household had a portrait of the king. Merchants retained the king's hair and eye color, depicting him as a handsome man of various types. These portraits circulated widely in the market, demonstrating the merchants' powerful marketing skills.

"Let's have a toast. Cheers to the Kingdom of Odine!"

"Cheers to King Odigne!"

The summer festival for Dalia and the others had only just begun. What followed was endless feasting and drinking.

She alternated between a dark ale and a white ale while picking up the pancakes she had bought from a vendor.

It was a thicker crepe filled with various ingredients and sauces and folded into a square. She and Wolff had eaten it before, and it was one of those snacks you can easily buy at street vendors.

She bought three flavors: ground pork with vegetables, cheese and ham, and seafood.

This year's pancakes were generously filled with various fillings, making them very filling. It seems I chose the right stall.

"Let me bake this."

On the grill of the small magic furnace were the grilled chicken skewers prepared by Dahlia.

Not only chicken thighs and breasts, but also Marcella's favorite chicken skin and cartilage, chicken hearts and gizzards.

The chicken skewers are generously marinated in a savory sauce made with salt, garlic, and scallion oil, and a sweeter one with fish sauce, wine, and honey.

When grilling chicken kebabs, the overpowering smell of burnt grease and sauce makes it really hard to cook indoors.

As long as you have a small magic furnace, you can easily cook on the rooftop or in the courtyard without worrying about the smell. This is a smaller version made by Dahlia, and she found it quite convenient after using it herself.

As she flipped the grilled chicken skewers one by one, the three people next to her began to get restless.

"Dalia, is it almost done? Do you need any help?"

"Marcella, please wait a moment. But, Dahlia, is there anything you can help me with?"

Seeing this husband and wife duo who acted in unison, Dahlia suppressed a smile and replied:

"It's almost done, let's chat for a while."

"Dalia, that's chicken cartilage, right?"

"Yes. Does Wolfe like chicken cartilage?"

This surprised her a bit. She had originally thought that nobles didn't eat offal dishes very much.

Do the restaurants Wolfe frequents also offer this kind of food?

"My favorite is still the chicken thigh. But the texture of chicken cartilage is interesting. I went there with Marcella before."

"We browsed the stalls in the downtown area and ended up at a standing bar."

"We tried all the wines we hadn't tried before."

"Is it delicious?"

"Hmm. But the taste of some kinds of wine is indescribable, or rather, hard to describe..."

Wolfe frowned and looked off into the distance.

What exactly does it taste like? Is it not to his noble taste, or is it really a very special wine? Just as she was thinking this, Marcella turned and looked at her.

"That's probably something they mix all the leftover alcohol with. The taste and color are different every time you drink it."

It was indeed a unique taste, but she didn't want to try it.

"However, some wines are packaged in sealed bottles. The most amazing one is the dark grey... what's it called?"

"'Drunkard's Regret'. That's horrible. It's not meant to be drunk, it's a liquor designed to get you drunk."

"Marcella rarely gets hungover, but that time he came back and said, 'Give me some medicine,' which scared me."

It looked like a very special wine, but she still didn't want to drink it.

Despite this, the two men seemed to enjoy their drinking party in the civilian area.

If I were a man, maybe I could drink with him like that.

Looking at the two people's carefree smiles, Dalia felt a little envious.

As she drank her white ale and flipped some grilled chicken skewers, the topic returned to the fireworks.

"Wolf, were all those fireworks set off by mages? Are there many mages who can use fire magic in the royal city?"

"Indeed, there are quite a few. There are many high-level mages in the royal city who can use complex magic, and even many knights can use magic."

"But the most powerful one is His Majesty. What's his magic power level?"

"Among my classmates at the academy, the highest magic point is seventeen, so I think the king is likely over twenty. However, I've never heard of the king's exact magic point."

In the academy, everyone said that if your magic power value exceeded nine, you could become a magician, and if it exceeded thirteen, you could become a high-level magician.

By the way, a magic power value of at least four is required to take the entrance exam for magic tool masters.

That's why some people say that those who cannot become magicians can only settle for becoming magic tool masters.

However, Dalia feels that a higher magic value is not necessarily better.

She recently had her magic power increased by one level, but this made it harder for her to control her magic and harder to apply the Kraken Tape.

Kraken tape is a packing material that requires a weak amount of magic to use. If the magic is too strong, the tape will become limp as soon as it is picked up, sticking to fingers and hands.

"Your Majesty, I'm sure you can't use Kraken Tape..."

She made this remark out of her imagination, and Irma nearly choked. Wolff and Marcella smiled wryly.

"It's certainly difficult for the King to use the Kraken Tape..."

"Why are you suddenly mentioning Kraken tape? Are you raising living slimes in the tower again?"

"Not now."

Dalia answered honestly, but Irma still stared at her with suspicion.

Irma is very afraid of slimes.

When she had slime all over her yard and house, Irma had put on a screaming show.

Slimes rarely attack people and are slow to move. Their translucent color, like jelly, is actually quite pretty, but Irma seems too afraid to even look at them.

"Whether I have magic or not, I feel like life is manageable. Sometimes even if I have magic, I might not use it."

"Honestly, even with so much magic power, I probably wouldn't know where to use it."

"...Can it be used for lighting during disasters, or to create magic stones?"

"Dalia, this may be a bit disrespectful..."

While they were chatting, the yakitori was cooked to perfection.

Everyone chose their favorite yakitori, placed it on a plate, and began to enjoy it while admiring the street view and the night sky.

Dalia first picked out the sweet sauce chicken drumsticks. Although they were a little burnt, they were still fragrant.

She bit off the large piece of meat at the front of the chicken skewer in a rather ungraceful bite.

The gravy bursts in your mouth, blending perfectly with the sweet sauce. It also has a hint of burnt aroma when you chew it, which is quite delicious.

As she was congratulating herself on her excellent grilling, she caught a glimpse of Wolfer chewing intently with his eyes closed. It seemed he had tasted the salt and sauce first.

The chicken cartilage and gizzards were also roasted, and she gently placed them on the plate in front of her.

"Dalia's yakitori is perfect with salt and sauce, paired with a dark ale. Oh, it's fantastic!"