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

This man speaks softly and appears to be offering help, but in reality he is secretly weaving a web of control.

He presented the glittering gold coins in his right hand, while with his left hand he placed the cold sharp blade lightly against his neck.

Ivano had never seen a man with such a noble aura and such a formidable air.

It turns out that this is the future Marquis of Scafarot.

As a civilian businessman, it is an honor to be taken seriously enough to be worthy of being threatened.

A few days ago, in the Monster Suppression Force building in the royal city, he had unexpectedly experienced the "intimidating aura" emanating from several active members. In comparison, the threat he felt now, while like falling into an icy cave, lacked that heaviness.

As a businessman, he has become mature enough under Gabriela.

This level of fear was not enough to make him kneel down and bow his head.

Ivano gritted his teeth and, relying on his willpower and resilience, forced himself to raise his eyes.

When he looked directly into those blue eyes, the corners of Guid's mouth slowly rose, revealing a smile.

Facing that calm face, Ivano secretly vowed in his heart to remember this moment.

One day, he would compete with this man in a fair fight.

"...Please don't worry. I have already signed the contract in the temple."

He completely suppressed the trembling in his heart with his willpower and put on the smile of a professional businessman.

"Until the last moment of my life, I will be Ivano Mercadanti of the Rosetti Chamber of Commerce."

The fifth volume of the Monster Encyclopedia and the fifth creation of the artificial magic sword - The Destruction Magic Sword -

In the carriage on the way to the bookstore, Dahlia gently spread a light blue handkerchief on her legs.

"Can I really take in so many scales...?"

On the handkerchief lay six shiny red scales.

The sizes vary slightly, but each one has the unique streamlined shape of a dragon scale, and is about four to five centimeters in length.

The touch is more like carefully polished obsidian or pottery than fish scales.

The scales themselves were cold and hard, but the magic they emanated was delicate and warm.

At the base of the scales, which gradient from deep red to light red, Jonas's blood had not yet completely dried.

"Since it was given to you by Mr. Jonas himself, I think it should be fine."

"But I still feel like I should thank you properly. It looks like it hurts a lot, both in the process of tearing off the scales and in the places where they're missing..."

Although Dahlia understood that what Wolfe said made sense, she still felt worried.

Jonas himself said that he was insensitive to pain, and he did not show any pain at all at the time.

However, bright red blood did seep from his arm. And he ripped off not just one scale, but six in a row. Whenever she recalled that deep, wet tearing sound, Dahlia couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Blood oozes from the holes left by the scales being torn off, and it looks extremely painful.

Dahlia couldn't help but seriously wonder if Jonas was just holding on, and this worry made her extremely anxious.

"Speaking of thank-you gifts—I was originally planning to give him a small magic furnace and some dry goods. However, I can ask him if there's anything else he'd like."

"Then I'll leave it to you. If it's something we can prepare, I'd love to give it to him as a thank-you gift," Dalia responded.

Even though these scales come from the magical Jonas, they are still raw materials in themselves.

Dahlia felt that she should find out the value of these scales and prepare corresponding gifts of thanks.

Considering Jonas's injuries, she thought the thank-you gift should be worth more than the scales themselves, but she had no idea how much these scales cost.

"Wolver, can I give these scales to someone else for identification or to use in crafting? I think Mr. Oswald should be able to identify them..."

"No problem. However, please conceal the names of my brother and Mr. Jonas."

"I see. Ah, I didn't greet you properly just now—I don't know Mr. Jonas's full name yet."

She should have asked clearly then. She was so flustered that she only heard Wolff and Guid call his name, and she almost couldn't finish writing the thank-you letter today.

"Jonas Goodwin. He said he and Randolph are distant relatives. However, Jonas comes from a viscount family, and he thinks Randolph might not be aware of this relationship."

"I heard the surname Goodwin is very common among the nobility. So they are from the same family."

"It's said that there were three brothers in the Goodwin family who served the first king together. This might be the reason."

Only then did Dalia realize that the Goodwin family was an ancient family that had existed since the founding of the country.

"Dalia, now we have all the materials needed to make the bracelet, right?"

"No, we still haven't found the heart of the forest snake..."

Just as Dahlia was about to explain Wolf's confirmation, he replied with a pleasant smile.

"That's already there. The heart of the forest serpent has been sent to the Adventurer's Guild for processing. It should be finished next week."

"Wolver, are you really going to capture the forest snake? That would be very dangerous!"

"No, I didn't go there alone. My team happened to come across it while on a mission to eliminate the Thorngrass Demon, so we all took care of it together."

His tone was like someone picking a few weeds while taking a walk, which was hard for Dahlia to accept.

"If I remember correctly, the Forest Serpent is a rare material, the chance of encountering it is very low, and it is also a very powerful monster, right?"

"Yeah. But monster-suppression teams occasionally encounter it. We've already encountered it twice this season. And we're pretty strong."

It seems that since the monster-suppression forces are constantly on the move, they do have more chances of encountering this type of monster.

Most people are terrified of forest serpents, but Wolf, a member of the monster-slaying corps, seems completely unthreatening. Recalling the description of the forest serpent in the monster encyclopedia, Dahlia senses a significant disparity between the two.

"From Wolfer, I can tell that everyone in the team is strong...but actually, what does the Forest Serpent look like?"

"It tastes a bit like fatty chicken. It's surprisingly tender and delicious."

"What?"

"It tastes delicious with the sauce you gave me."

"Well……?"

Wait, I'm talking about the giant forest snakes that travelers and merchants fear on the road. Not the rabbits or deer running around in the forest.

"Um, do you guys on your team usually eat giant forest snakes? Or was that one particularly small?"

"This is my first time eating a large forest snake. The one I encountered this time wasn't very big. It was about three meters long when its neck was raised. It must be a younger specimen."

Please wait a moment. Dalia couldn't imagine exactly what size it was.

Even if you look up, it's less than three meters tall, so how long is it in total? Just imagining the process of knocking it down or dismembering it is extremely terrifying.

"It was coated with sweet sauce and grilled in an expedition oven. The fat was removed perfectly and the taste was amazing. Everyone was very happy."

Wolf said with a smile, but a sense of unease welled up in Dahlia's heart.

She began to wonder if it was because of the Roseti Chamber of Commerce's expedition furnace that they ate the flesh of the forest snake.

"Wolf, could it be that because you bought an expedition stove, your dining budget is insufficient or your food supply has been reduced, so you're forced to eat the forest snake? If so, please don't hide it and tell me the truth."

"No, that's not it! There's really no need to worry about that. The budget and food are sufficient. I just heard that the meat of the forest snake can help with fatigue, so I decided to give it a try."

"Can the flesh of a forest snake really help with fatigue?"

"Well, I felt a lot more relaxed than usual when I returned to the capital."

When it comes to forest snakes, Dahlia's impression has always been of materials such as teeth and leather, but she didn't expect that its meat is also quite useful and can even help recover from fatigue.

Now that it has the approval of the monster-slaying army, perhaps the meat of the forest snake will become quite popular in the royal city soon.

"Back to the point. Regarding the heart of the forest snake, should I pay for the team's expenses?"

"The captain said they're giving it to the advisors of our monster-slaying unit, so there's no need to pay for it. They just want you to use it for development."

"No, even if it's an offering, I don't think I can easily accept it..."

"Because you're the advisor, you're like a family member or a teacher to the team. If you feel embarrassed to accept it, just think of it as your sauce fee."

"No, the heart of a forest snake as a sauce fee, isn't that a huge extortion?"

It's simply evil business practices.

Originally, the sweet sauce was sent as a sample along with the additional expedition furnaces.

She just hoped that they would try it with meat when testing the magic furnace, but she didn't expect them to bring it with them on the expedition.

"Well, next time, I'll give you a bucket of sweet sauce and let you pay with 'sauce'. That sauce is really popular."

"'Pay for the sauce'... I understand. I'll think about it..."

Dahlia decided to ask the Adventurer's Guild for the price later.

She really wanted the heart of the forest serpent.

She would certainly appreciate it if she could get it, but she felt that she should be offered a sauce of equal value in return.

The sweet sauce alone probably wouldn't be enough for the price; perhaps salt and basil sauces should be added. You could even consider adding herb salt or a spice mix.

However, the quantity would become very large, and she was troubled about where to allocate it.

This no longer felt like the work of a magic tool maker, but more like the work of a spice shop owner or a chef.

Perhaps as a magic tool maker, I should prioritize designing magic tools that are more suitable for expeditions?

Just as she was lost in these repetitive thoughts, Wolfe asked.

"I have some dried meat from a forest snake. Do you want some, Dalia?"

"Jerky...?" Dalia was a little surprised.

"Yes. The captain took the lead in turning the remaining forest snakes into jerky."

Lately, Wolfe has been really into dry goods.

However, Dalia did not expect that even Captain Gulart was addicted to this practice.

Perhaps there's a growing craze for useful information among the monster-slaying forces.

"Is the dried meat of the forest snake delicious?"

"It's okay. I personally prefer the ones that aren't dried. But everyone's really interested in the jerky. Some roast it and eat it, some grind it into powder and drink it, and some take it home and add spices to make soup. I heard that dried meat is more effective in relieving fatigue."

"Really? Then why not try roasting it in the tower next time, or making it into soup?"

"No...it's better not to give it to me...it doesn't seem to suit me."

Wolfe bit his lip lightly.

He decided to hide the fact that he had a nosebleed during the food tasting at all costs.

On the night they returned from the expedition, as an experiment, the interested team members roasted the dried meat of a forest snake in the barracks restaurant.

Most of the seniors who ate with me had no problems and chatted while drinking, making the whole night very lively.

The ones suffering from nosebleeds were Wolfe, Randolph, and several other young players. It looked like they had simply eaten too much.

As for Dolino, who seemed to know how to eat in moderation, he calmly hid half of the jerky in his arms before roasting it.

Kirk and another young team member, who were called the "Bloody Massacre", were lying on the floor covered with blankets, looking somewhat pitiful.

"It's a little late to apologize, but I apologize for saying something disrespectful, brother."

"It's okay. I think he's just worried about you. I don't mind."

"He didn't say anything to make you uncomfortable, did he?"

"It's really okay, Wolfe."

Goode's pointed questions to Dahlia were only the beginning of the conversation.

He apologized immediately afterwards, and Dahlia knew he was worried about Wolf, so she could understand.

"I don't plan to cut off contact or keep my distance from you in the future."

Wolfe's sudden low voice made Dahlia hold her breath.

She raised her gaze and met his golden eyes, staring straight at her.

Just when she felt extremely happy, Guyd's words came to her mind.

"You might become Wolf's weakness." - This might be true.

If the man in front of him wanted to protect his friend, he would probably be ready to fight without hesitation, just like when he showed his intimidation just now.