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

While Wolfe picked flowers, Dahlia went to get glasses and sparkling water.

She mixed Wolff a glass of wine with sparkling water.

When they raised their glasses to taste again, the sweet fragrance of flowers and the aroma of wine spread in their mouths again.

After taking a sip, my mouth was filled with sweetness, but my throat felt warm. The distinct warmth that lingered after the drink confirmed that this was indeed a strong liquor.

"This wine has a gentle on the palate, but it's actually quite strong... I really feel it more with the sparkling water."

"Because it's so sweet, you don't really notice how strong it is when you drink it straight."

Despite saying the drink was strong, Wolfe poured more into her glass.

Although she tried not to get drunk, the sweet taste made her drink one cup after another unconsciously.

As Dahlia looked out the window, she felt that the starry sky seemed particularly beautiful tonight. Just as she was about to drink her third cup, Wolff spoke:

"Um, sorry about the suddenness... My brother wanted to meet you. He might be a little concerned about me being the guarantor of the Chamber of Commerce."

"I'm not familiar with the etiquette of the nobility. Would this be disrespectful?"

"It's okay. He invited you to tea at our mansion, just him, and I'll be there. Of course, you can decline if you don't want to."

Hearing his somewhat concerned tone, Dalia immediately replied:

"I wanted to visit and express my gratitude. I received a lot of help when I explained the expedition furnace to the Finance Department, and you, Wolf, also helped me a lot."

"No, I should be the one who's been bothering you..."

"No, I don't think so... But, speaking of this, I think we're going to start giving each other the thumbs-down again, right?"

"Indeed, it feels like that."

They had had similar conversations before.

Both sides insisted they had received more help, and it ended up becoming an endless argument.

"Wolf, shouldn't we also pursue 'coexistence and co-prosperity' like this wine?"

"Coexistence and prosperity with Dalia... sounds good."

Seeing Wolf nod, Dahlia felt inexplicably happy.

My body felt light and warm, probably because I was a little drunk, which was rare.

Dahlia boldly extended her arm and brought her glass closer to the glass in Wolf's hand.

Their fingers touched lightly at first, and then the wine glasses finally made a soft "ding" sound.

Satisfied with the crisp sound of the toast, Dalia smiled and said:

"May we two prosper together for a long time—"

Although Wolff had a good alcohol tolerance, he seemed to be a little tipsy tonight, just like himself.

Dalia stared at his face closely and saw a slight blush on his cheeks.

"I hope I can stay with Dalia forever and grow together..."

Only the sweet mead could hear the softly whispered prayers between lips covered by the glass.

(Illustration 007)

Volume 5: Married Man's Scorpion Wine

It was almost dusk when John headed to the stables from the Adventurer's Guild.

He finished his work earlier than usual and boarded a carriage that came to meet him. Inside the carriage sat a woman who claimed to be her guide.

This woman is none other than Oswald's third wife, Amelinda.

Although both parties were married, John was puzzled and felt a little awkward as to why Oswald would let his wife ride in a carriage alone with a male guest.

After the usual pleasantries, the tall, dark-haired beauty stared at him quietly from the seat opposite. Her lovely green eyes reminded him of someone.

"Instructor John, aren't you going to say anything?"

"Could it be... you are 'Chop Ai'?"

After hearing her stifled laughter, John made a sound that even stunned himself.

"Did you finally remember? 'Chopped' was just my nickname when I first debuted. Isn't it a bit strange that you only remembered that? I also have cooler nicknames like 'Bladewind Ai'er' and 'Black Gale'."

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect Ai to become Mrs. Zora... I thought you had returned home."

This reminded John of what happened during the novice training at the Adventurer's Guild more than ten years ago.

Novice training is a voluntary program for newly registered Adventurer's Guild members. It covers topics such as navigating grasslands and forests, and learning about monsters. It lasts four days and is usually conducted in the field.

Due to a shortage of lecturers at the time, John was forced to attend the seminar.

Perhaps because he dealt with documents every day in the guild, August, who was in charge of personnel at the time and is now the vice-president of the guild, took special care of him and brought him in to be a lecturer.

During that novice training session, two individuals stood out. Despite being beginners, they possessed astonishing abilities. However, they shared a common flaw: they frequently damaged materials. One was a red-haired boy who wielded fire magic and possessed considerable firepower, while the other was a black-haired girl who wielded dual swords with ease and possessed physical enhancements.

Because they often burned monsters to a crisp or chopped them into pieces, John had to shout at them many times to warn them not to do so. In the end, the two were nicknamed "Blackburn" and "Chop" respectively.

After the training, this pair of adventurers performed very well and were quickly promoted to high-level adventurers.

However, their strength has always been in annihilating monsters, not extracting materials.

Because of this, the duo is still privately referred to as "Blackburn" and "Chopped" in the materials department. After all, they can turn a material worth a gold coin into a mere copper coin, which makes people want to complain.

However, as far as John could remember, the pair had retired from the adventurer ranks a few years ago, and they hadn't met since then.

In fact, John did meet Amelinda a few times in the Adventurer's Guild, but he never imagined that she would be "Chopped El".

"I really don't want to return to the village where that person is gone. My husband took me in while I was hesitating. Also, Instructor John, your polite words are making me feel a little itchy, so please be more relaxed in the carriage."

"Thank you. I'll do that for now. However, you've become so beautiful that I almost couldn't recognize you. And... your name has changed too."

"Thank you for the compliment. I never thought I'd hear Instructor John say that one day. I changed my name from Elle to Amelinda because I was adopted by a noble family and then married."

Her once short hair had grown long and shiny, her once tanned skin had become fair and smooth, and her clothing had changed from her previous easy-to-walk linen top and light armor to a black silk gown that looked extremely high-end.

The most important thing is that her temperament, which was like a young boy with the wind in his eyes back then, has now transformed into the style of a wife exuding mature charm.

"As long as you're doing well... No, I'm sorry."

John couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as he uttered these words.

However, as someone who knew the reason why she quit her adventurer career, this shouldn't be said lightly.

"No, thank you. I'm fine now. I couldn't stop that man from losing control, but at least I was with him until the end. Now I have my husband by my side."

“…I see.”

Amelinda said this without hesitation, and her determination made John feel a little dizzy.

John remembered a man with red hair and a slightly shorter stature.

The man often asked the tall John if there was any way to grow taller. Although he was a top-notch high-level fire mage with extraordinary strength, he was troubled by being a few centimeters shorter than Elle.

"As an adventurer, I won't take it lightly." He always said this. During his novice training, he always wore black leather gloves and never took off the protective gear around his neck.

If only I had noticed it at the time.

He hid his identity as an "enchanter" in order to increase the power of his magic.

In the end, he was burned to death due to his excessive magic power in a battle with a powerful monster. Elle, who was present at the time, was also seriously injured. After the severe burns, she quit the adventure and returned home - John always thought so.

When adventurers defeat monsters, if they smash the magic core and absorb the powerful magic power within, or accept the protection formed by the monster's resentment or thoughts, such people are called "enchanters".

While the exact mechanism isn't fully understood, it typically results in a significant increase in a person's physical or magical strength.

However, becoming a "Possessed" means that the human body becomes closer to that of a demon. Regardless of the degree, there are certain costs.

These costs may include the inability to properly control strength or magic, serious injury from magic exceeding one's ability to withstand, or even sensory changes such as changes in smell or temperature perception - all of which make it difficult for the possessed person to live a normal life.

Although rare, if an "Possessed" loses control of their power and becomes uncontrolled, they may be considered a "monster" and become a target of destruction.

Therefore, for those who are seriously possessed, even if the cost of removing the curse is high, they can seek help from the temple and change the cost into installments or repay it with alternative labor.

However, very few people reach this stage, so these situations are not generally known.

"Instructor John doesn't actually need to bear any responsibility regarding that person."

Amelinda's sudden whisper made John look up. Her lovely green eyes looked at him with a hint of confusion.

It seemed that a look of regret appeared on his face.

"I'm not burdened with anything, I'm just thinking about the past. Those rare materials were burnt or cut into pieces, and the appraisers always sighed about it. Myself included."

"I'm deeply sorry—but our expedition was short-handed and rushed, so a quick resolution was necessary. Anyway, don't you have better memories or more interesting things?"

Looking at Amelinda's wry smile, John recalled the past again.

Amelinda and her group's beginner training is in late summer, a little later in the season than now.

At the beginning of the training, John scolded the newbies who had too much luggage in front of the Adventurer's Guild.

"I remember, during our training, that guy turned the cheese on the black bread into charcoal. Another time, after finally capturing a wild boar and drawing its blood, he roasted it half-cooked. Then he said he wanted to make soup and poured a lot of wine into the pot. Another time, I asked him to boil some water, but he burned the pot so badly that it was completely unusable."

"That's true. Thanks to going on expeditions with him, my fire-making skills have improved a lot."

"In a situation that serious, it could be life-threatening. Oh, and there's another thing. At the party after training, he mixed milk with his wine to make himself taller, and ended up getting a stomachache..."

"This is the first time I've heard of this..."

John didn't quite understand what kind of happy memory this was, but Amelinda smiled anyway.

But her smile is no longer as bright as it used to be, showing off her entire row of teeth. Now, her beautiful light red nails and white fingers gently cover the corners of her mouth.

John could not recall the smile of the man who was always by Amelinda's side.

"It makes me miss him so much. I haven't talked about him in a long time."

"That person... I really miss him."

Did Amelinda not mention the name because she still had feelings for him, or because she was concerned about her current husband, Oswald?

John also chose not to mention the man's name, but only mentioned it vaguely.

However, Amelinda seemed to mistake this for a question, and the corners of her mouth trembled slightly, looking a little sad.

"Yes, I can no longer call him by his name. I can only call him 'that person'. This is because I signed a contract at the temple, asking them to help me suppress these emotions."

"This is—isn't President Zora Guild too selfish?"

As soon as the words fell, a cold chill instantly passed across John's forehead.

He immediately took a defensive stance, and Amelinda exhaled softly before putting on a proper smile again. Her momentary surge of magic power quietly dissipated.

"It seems I misunderstood you. This was my own request."

"Why did you ask to do this yourself?"

"I'm fine now, but a wife crying out another man's name in a nightmare—isn't that just another nightmare for her husband?"

John was speechless and unable to respond to her words.

*

When the carriage arrived at Oswald's mansion, John couldn't help but stare wide-eyed.

Although the mansion was hidden by a towering gray wall, it clearly exceeded the standards of a baron's mansion. Both the floor area and the quality of the building were comparable to those of a viscount.

As the material management director of the Adventurer's Guild, John often visited the nobles' mansions to discuss or deliver materials, which made him make comparisons.

Under Amelinda's guidance, he was taken deeper into the mansion.

They entered a smaller guest room, which, despite its small size, was exquisitely furnished. It was a calm room with ivory and dark brown as its main colors.

"Welcome, Minister Tasso. Excuse me, but may I address you as 'Mr. John' today?"

"Of course. Thank you very much for inviting me today, President Zora Merchants."

"You can also just call me 'Oswald'. Please relax."

Oswald was already waiting across the table.

He had a softer smile than usual, perhaps because this was his own home.

As soon as John sat down in the seat opposite, the maid immediately brought him drinks and food.

Unlike the aristocratic tradition of serving dishes one by one, the dishes were placed all over the table at once.

"Excuse me, we're going with a simple reception today. I don't want the waiter to be interrupted by someone walking around; that would be a shame. By the way, today's meal was chosen by Elle."