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

"A big black dog... that's a night dog, right? Taking it for a walk seems a bit tiring."

Night Dog is a large dog with a completely black body, and its appearance is very similar to the German Shepherd in her previous life.

I heard that they are famous guard dogs, they are agile, have strong night vision, and are excellent in anti-theft performance.

However, large dogs require long walks and may not be easy to keep.

"There are also 'Guard Dogs' in the Royal City. Should we ask Lord Wolfred?"

"Okay, I'll do that."

That day, Oswald looked very happy as he nodded.

*

"It's still difficult even though my magic power has just increased..."

Dahlia finished giving the sea serpent lungs and gently placed the finished silver hand mirror on the table.

Oswald, who had just been explaining the lungs of sea serpents, had already left for the main building of the mansion because he received an urgent letter.

The hand mirror on the table gleamed in the sunlight, but a few bubbles on it stood out.

The mirror's base is made of thinly sliced ​​and polished crystal. On top is placed a powder of sea serpent lung, imbued with magical power to dissolve and evenly distribute it.

If all goes well, the surface will become even and mirror-like, reflecting everything in front of you.

The sea snake hand mirror made in this way is small but has a certain degree of buoyancy.

In this world after reincarnation, the ocean is a place full of dangers.

The sea serpent's hand mirror has many advantages and uses, such as being able to float when drowning and using the mirror's reflection to tell one's location when drifting on the sea.

Unfortunately, due to the use of rare materials such as sea snake lungs, it is not cheap.

It is said that nobles and wealthy businessmen often carried it as a talisman during their voyages. However, for common people, buoyancy bags made of kraken skin seemed to be more popular.

Because of maintaining the same posture for a long time and constantly injecting magic, Dahlia's shoulders were a little stiff.

She stood up and stretched, looking casually at the courtyard.

The red and white sage I saw a few days ago is now in full bloom.

Amidst the bright flowers swaying in the wind, stood a young man.

He had silver hair and silver eyes, and though his face still had a childish look, his features were very regular—one could tell at a glance that he was Oswald's son. I heard he had just entered a higher education college, so he must be around thirteen or fourteen.

The boy smiled innocently, picked some red sage and drank its nectar.

He repeated this action twice and suddenly looked over here.

"what……"

After both of them stood there for a few seconds, the boy showed an embarrassed expression as if he was about to cry.

Dahlia quickly stood up, opened the window, and shouted:

"Excuse me! Can you come over here for a moment?"

“…Is there something wrong?”

After shouting, Dalia realized something.

Even if she shouted like that, it was completely incapable of calming the boy down.

She thought in a panic, her eyes falling on the boy's feet.

"...Can you give me some of that sage?"

The boy honestly picked a sage at his feet and walked to the window.

His face flushed red, and he stretched out his arm to hand the red sage to Dahlia.

"Please, please accept this."

"Thank you."

Dalia took the sage, picked off the flower part, and sucked the nectar like the boy.

The sweet taste of nostalgia made her lips curl up.

"The nectar from this sage is so sweet. And the amount of nectar is even greater than the flowers I grow at home."

"That... seems to be a species my father specially found."

The boy seemed to no longer be nervous and showed a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Thank you for considering my feelings. I'm truly sorry that you, as a customer, had to witness my loss of composure. Um... if possible, I hope you can keep this a secret."

"I understand. Please keep it a secret for me."

Dahlia raised the sage the boy gave her and said.

After confirming that they were accomplices, the two looked at each other and smiled like children.

The boy said he was coming to see Dahlia and ran from the courtyard to the entrance of the building. Then he quickly passed through the open door of the workshop and went inside.

Ivano and Amelinda looked at them puzzledly outside the workshop door.

"I'm sorry, I didn't have time to introduce myself. I'm Ral'ere, the eldest son of Oswald Zora. Please call me 'Ral'."

"I'm Dalia Rossetti of the Rossetti Chamber of Commerce. Please just call me 'Dalia'."

The two men put on formal expressions and introduced themselves to each other. But during the introduction, Lal's silver eyes widened in surprise.

"Excuse me, Miss Dahlia, is your family the same Rossetti family that makes magic lamps?"

"Yes, the magic lamp is my grandfather's creation."

"The hair dryer and the tarp are also from Rossetti, right?"

"Yes."

"I'm so honored to see you here! I think the works are amazing!"

Lal said this with such excitement and joy that Dalia felt a little embarrassed. She thanked him, and they sat down in seats diagonally across from each other.

Lal stared at the two hand mirrors placed side by side on the table.

"What kind of magical tool is this?"

"It's a hand mirror of a sea serpent. This one was a demonstration piece by Mr. Oswald, and this one is mine. But the difference between the two is huge."

Dahlia looked at the bright mirror and sighed.

The hand mirror she made herself has four small bubbles.

In comparison, Oswald's hand mirror has no bubbles or haze, and its surface is much smoother and more shinier.

"Um... Ms. Dahlia, what kind of magic tool master do you think my father is?"

"From what I know, he's either the best or the second best magic tool master."

"Even if it's just a compliment, I'm glad to hear you say that. However, my father's magic power isn't very high, and... my mother's family is a viscount."

"I think they're two different things. Mr. Oswald's knowledge and skills are both exceptional. He even invented cooling and icing fans and supplied them to the royal city. He's truly a formidable magical tool maker."

Dalia felt that her respected teacher seemed to be misunderstood, and couldn't help but say this.

However, the young man in front of him was the teacher's son.

She realized she had said the wrong thing and looked up to see the boy staring at her with wide eyes. His silver eyes were exactly like Oswald's.

"I apologize for asking such a strange question of yours, my guest. Miss Dahlia, are you working with my father?"

"No, I'm currently receiving his guidance as a magic tool master."

"A magic tool master's guidance... So, will you marry my father in the future?"

"Absolutely not!"

Dalia couldn't help but respond loudly, and the boy immediately bowed his head and apologized.

"I'm sorry! I misunderstood..."

"No, I'm the one who should apologize. Speaking of guidance from a magic tool master, there's a chance that someone might misunderstand me..."

The people who are guided by magic tool masters are almost all apprentices or family members.

It is extremely rare for a magic tool maker to mentor another family, as these people can be said to be one's business competitors.

"My father passed away suddenly, leaving me lacking the knowledge and skills to be a magic tool master. That's why Mr. Oswald helped me and allowed me to learn from him as his student."

"I see. I'm so sorry."

"No, I should have explained it first. I'm sorry."

Just when the apology war finally came to an end, the protagonist of the topic, Oswald, returned.

He seemed a little surprised to see his son in the workshop, so he turned to look at the table, squinting his eyes with a look of doubt.

"Lal'Ere, is there something urgent you need from me? I'm currently receiving guests."

"No, I'm being rude. I'm leaving now."

“Well, I was the one who asked him to come over!”

Seeing the father and son talking in a cold tone, Dalia hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

"Miss Dahlia asked him to come over? What happened?"

"Well, I just asked him for the sage."

"Lal'Ere, isn't it a little too early to give red flowers to women now?"

"That's—"

"No! I asked him to give it to me!"

In order to help the embarrassed boy, Dalia answered on his behalf.

He was contradicting his father and probably didn't want him to know that he was drinking sage nectar.

Dahlia wants Oswald to think that she just asked Lal for some beautiful sage.

Oswald's silver gaze turned from his son to Dahlia.

"Ms. Dalia, do you wish to cultivate a closer relationship with our Laerre?"

"Uh, what do you mean—"

"If an unmarried woman of nobility receives a red flower from a noble man, it means 'desire to establish a further relationship.' However, sage represents 'respect' and is not a flower that symbolizes love."

"I'm sorry, I'll be more careful next time!"

Dahlia's face flushed red. She almost became a woman seducing young boys.

"So, can we continue with the lesson?"

"Okay. Um, would you like to come and sit in on the class, Ral? Sea serpent lungs are extremely rare. I've never seen one before, even in the academy's Magical Equipment Department."

The boy who was about to stand up stopped right where he was when he heard this.

Lal lowered his eyes first, then raised them and stared at Oswald.

"Father, if it won't disturb you, can I sit in on the class?"

"Yes, no problem. You can sit next to Miss Dahlia."

"Excuse me."

Lal moved to sit in the chair next to Dahlia.

Oswald's hand mirror of the sea serpent gleamed before them.

"When magic power is injected into the powder of the sea serpent's lungs, it creates a buoyant effect. However, if the magic power is insufficient, the powder will remain in its original shape; if the magic power is excessive, the powder will scatter. Therefore, a steady supply of magic power is required to maintain a uniform and flat surface."

Since Lal joined halfway, Oswald repeated what he had explained to Dahlia before.

Just as Dahlia was about to check the notes in her magic book, she noticed a shining gaze coming from the side.

The young Ral looked at her magic book, his eyes flashing with a deep yearning for the magic tool master.

She couldn't help but look at Oswald and found that he was slowly curling up the corners of his mouth.

"Lal'Ere, you should also take some notes."

Oswald took out a black box from the bottom of the desk.