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

Dahlia couldn't help but lean forward against the table and asked.

She had always wanted to go there and take a closer look at the slime breeding tanks if possible.

"Of course. Um, you seem quite interested in that place..."

"I'm sorry...but I've always wanted to go see it!"

Perhaps he found Dalia's childlike joy so amusing, John tried to suppress his laughter, but he finally laughed out loud.

He apologized, turned his head away, and tried to catch his breath until the snickers died down.

Thanks to this smile, the tension between them disappeared instantly.

"Regarding the visit to the slime farm, if you don't mind, would you like to invite Lord Scafalot to come along? Perhaps we can get his opinion and compare the slimes we saw during the expedition."

"Thank you. I'll ask him when he can spare some time."

It would have been more interesting to visit with Wolff.

Dahlia decided to write to him as soon as she returned to the Green Tower, hoping they would catch up.

"Well, let's talk about the ingredients. This is the Bicorn ingredients, from a purple mutant. It includes a horn, a magic core, skin, bones, and hooves."

John took out a rather large silver magic seal box from the cart behind him.

When he opened the lid, a viscous magical energy surged in. Perhaps due to some hallucination, Dahlia noticed that the space around the black horn of the two-horned beast seemed slightly distorted.

Dahlia felt it might be dangerous to touch it before asking Oswald what to do with it.

After confirming the contents, John carefully closed the lid of the magic seal box and tied it tightly with a rope.

"This magic seal box is a bit heavy. I'll ask the staff to help you move it to the carriage."

He finished speaking and was about to put the magic box back on the cart when his body suddenly swayed and he lost his balance. Although he quickly grasped the table to steady himself, he was obviously unable to move for a while.

"Mr. John! Are you okay?"

"...I'm fine, sorry. Just a little dizzy, that's all."

A closer look revealed John's face to be extremely pale, and veins were clearly visible on the back of his hand as it rested on the table.

"Well, I know it's not my place to say this, but please take care of yourself."

"Thank you for your concern. But I'm really fine. I've always been in good health and have never collapsed before."

But he had almost collapsed just now. And someone Dalia knew very well had said exactly the same thing to him.

Dalia felt as if her chest was being heavily pressed down, and she couldn't help but speak:

"My father once said the same thing..."

"What?"

"No matter how many times I reminded him to take care of his health, he always said, 'I'm in good health, I've never fallen ill,' and refused to change his lifestyle. He had never been ill before, but one day he suddenly collapsed at the Trade Guild and passed away that same day."

"This... please accept my condolences."

"No, that's not what I meant to say. Um... the families left behind will be deeply saddened, so please take care of yourself..."

Dahlia didn't know how to say it so that the other party would understand what she meant.

To John, who was not a friend or relative, this might have seemed nosy and annoying, but she couldn't help but say it.

"Thank you for your concern, Miss Dahlia. In my case, my family left home last week, so there won't be any problems. But this has nothing to do with the situation you're describing, so please don't worry. This is purely a personal issue for me."

"Um, Mr. John—"

"I thought I had done everything I could... but maybe I just lack the charm of a man."

John's whisper, which seemed to be spoken to himself, reminded Dahlia of the time when she was jilted.

She once thought that she had done everything she could to make the other person need her.

But those feelings were not conveyed to the other party, and in the end it was just a one-sided effort in vain.

She didn't know how many times she had thought that she might lack the charm of a woman.

No, maybe until now, she still thinks so in her heart.

"Sorry, I've gotten off topic. Actually, living alone is pretty good. My only worry is probably having no one to drink with. By the way, as for the black slime you're looking for, you'll have to wait a little longer. I'll go catch it myself, so don't worry, I was once a high-ranking adventurer myself."

"No, I'm not in a hurry. Please take care of yourself..."

Dahlia heard John quickly say a lot of words to change the subject, and suddenly remembered something.

There was someone like him, looking for a drinking companion. Perhaps this former adventurer, John, could handle that kind of liquor.

"Um, Mr. John, have you ever tried Scorpion Wine?"

Scorpion wine is a kind of strong liquor soaked with scorpions, and the taste reviews are also very polarized.

"Well, this is one of my favorite drinks."

It seems that this kind of wine is very much to John's liking. The corners of his mouth turned up noticeably.

"Mr. Oswald, no, President Zora seems to like this wine very much."

"President Zora likes scorpion wine? How surprising."

"He once said it was hard to find someone to drink scorpion wine with. If you'd like, I can introduce you two."

"That's great. Communicating with the Chamber of Commerce presidents is always beneficial."

John probably responded to Dahlia with polite words.

But Dahlia quickly walked to the door and asked the guard to help pass on the message, asking Oswald to come over and meet her if he was still in the guild.

When Dalia was jilted, she received help from many people around her.

If possible, she didn't want to let the man in front of her suffer alone.

Dalia heard that when Oswald's wife left home, he had talked to his father Carlo about his troubles.

If the person was Oswald, perhaps John would be able to confess his troubles to him.

Oswald is a teacher with rich life experience and a good understanding of human nature. I hope he can give John some good advice.

Although Dalia could not do anything herself and could only leave the matter to the teacher, she felt very sorry.

Soon after, under the guidance of the staff, Mr. and Mrs. Oswald came to the reception room.

When Dahlia mentioned scorpion wine, Oswald smiled.

"That's a delightful proposal. Well then, please allow me to greet you again. I'm Oswald Zora, president of the Zora Chamber of Commerce. While we've collaborated on several deals before, this is the first time we've met formally, Minister John Tasso."

"I'm honored that you still remember my name, President of the Zora Merchants Guild."

Perhaps because the two sides had met several times before, this greeting seemed particularly harmonious, which made Dalia feel relieved.

"Since it's the president of the Rossetti Merchants Guild who introduced us, let's put aside the formalities and let's have a taste of Scorpion Wine together, two men. I already have three kinds of Scorpion Wine at home: white, black, and red. I'm also looking forward to hearing Minister Tasso's stories from his time as an adventurer."

"Thank you. I'll gladly accept the invitation."

"Do you have any plans for the evenings?"

"I'm free for the next four days."

"Then let's schedule it for the day after tomorrow. I'll arrange for a carriage to pick you up at the guild gate after get off work."

As expected of Oswald, a man with many years of experience as Chamber of Commerce president and excellent social skills, he immediately arranged a time with John to have a drink together.

Afterwards, the two sides said goodbye to each other and Dalia left the reception room.

Dalia is preparing to return to the Green Tower, so she is heading to the stables.

Mr. and Mrs. Oswald were also preparing to go home, so the three of them decided to walk to the stables together.

Because the staff had already helped move the magic box onto the carriage, Dahlia was left with only a leather folder in her hand.

"Ms. Dahlia, thank you for introducing Minister Tasso to me. I always dreamed of being an adventurer when I was little, so I'm happy to hear him share his adventure stories."

"Mr. Oswald, did you ever want to be an adventurer when you were a child?"

They walked and talked, but when she heard this, Dalia almost stopped.

Oswald always gives people the impression of being calm and quiet, and the image of an adventurer is somewhat inconsistent with him.

He looked more like someone who had aspired to become a mage or a magic tool maker since childhood.

"Being an adventurer is an impossible dream for me... because I'm not quick enough to react."

Hearing Oswald's somewhat helpless tone, Dahlia didn't know whether she should laugh.

Just then, Amelinda interrupted their conversation.

"My husband loves to hear stories about adventurers. He's willing to listen even if I've told the same story several times."

"An adventurer's story?"

"Ah, I don't think I mentioned that yet. My wife, Amelinda, was once a high-ranking adventurer."

"A high-ranking adventurer...you're truly amazing, Madam Amelinda!"

Being a high-level adventurer means having the power to defeat powerful monsters.

Although it is hard to imagine from Amelinda's current elegant appearance like a lady, her strength should be very strong.

"Thank you. However, I used to take risks in battle."

Her cute green onion eyes drooped shyly.

After all, she was fighting against a powerful monster, so she would definitely need to force herself or take risks.

But now with a happy smile on her face, she still looks most suitable standing next to Oswald.

"Her fighting ability is much stronger than mine, so I can ask her to be my bodyguard when I go out. She's a beautiful and powerful wife."

Oswald said proudly, but his eyes narrowed slightly.

Although Dahlia felt a little puzzled, she still bowed gently to them and said goodbye, and both parties got on their carriages.

At the moment of separation, the man with a pair of silver eyes whispered:

"The only thing I won't do is argue with my wife."

Volume 5: Slime Farm and Nectar Wine

Two days after visiting the Adventurer's Guild, Dalia arrived at the slime farm.

The slime farm is located on the grassland east of the capital and can be seen just outside the city. Obviously, it is impossible to build such a farm in the capital.

The farm, surrounded by a towering black brick wall, covers a vast area, with a heavy iron gate at the entrance. The exterior suggests a high-security prison, but once inside, the area is mostly lush green grass, and the actual farming area is surprisingly small.

This time, Wolf and Ivano came to the slime farm with Dalia.

Dahlia had written to Wolff, inviting him to visit the slime farm, and he had replied immediately, agreeing. He had given her four available dates, so Dahlia sent someone to inquire with the Adventurer's Guild, and they had chosen the earliest date, today.

Although she wondered if the arrangement was too hasty, she figured the staff might have more time before the expansion, so she decided to accept the opportunity to visit with gratitude.

The reply from the Adventurer's Guild mentioned that they could increase the number of people traveling together, so she asked others as well.

Fortu, the head of the Costume Guild, replied, "I've been there three times."

When she asked Gabriela from the Commerce Guild, she immediately replied, "Too busy, no." However, just a few minutes ago, they were discussing having pancakes together after going to the cosmetics store, which made people puzzled.

When she invited Rukia, she immediately replied, "Even if you give me silver coins, I don't want to see a living slime."

She obviously loves breeze cloth so much, and if she were to visit the silkworms spinning silk, she would definitely go there happily. It's such a pity.

After passing through the gate of the slime farm, you can immediately see the horse farm, where a woman with sky blue hair is waiting.

"Thank you very much for coming to the Rosetti Chamber of Commerce. I am the research director of the Slime Farm, Itialina Nicoletti. Please call me Itia."

Judging from Idiya's appearance, Dalia originally thought that she was younger, but since she was the director, she might be about the same age as herself, or even older.

She was shorter than Dalia, wore glasses with dark blue frames, and had a soft face that was very impressive.

"Thank you for your invitation. I am Dalia Rosetti, the president of the Rosetti Chamber of Commerce. Please call me Dalia."

Then, Wolff introduced himself as the Chamber of Commerce's guarantor, and Ivano introduced himself as a member of the Chamber of Commerce.

It takes some walking to get from the horse farm to the breeding farm inside.

It is said that this arrangement is because many slimes are frightened by horses, and this is to prevent this.

The door to the farm was heavy, also made of iron. Itia used two keys to open it, and after everyone was inside, she locked it from the inside.

"I'm deeply sorry if this has caused any discomfort. We always have to lock it like this just in case."