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

"Not Master, but Dad? Why?"

"We are commoners. We don't have any mage bloodline, and our family has never produced a magic tool maker. If you encounter any problems at work, no one in our family can help you. Dad thinks that Dalia can help you by being by your side and can discuss problems with you."

"How could this be... Then... why did Master?"

His vision wavered and his temples throbbed.

"Carlo had his own plans. He knew that after his death, Dahlia would be left alone, with no powerful relatives, and she was a woman. She excelled at her work as a magic tool maker, making her vulnerable to attack. Working with you would be seen as a joint effort, drawing less attention. After marriage, our Chamber of Commerce would also protect you and Dahlia. It's a shame Dad didn't explain these details to Mom."

“I’ve never heard of these things!”

He heard his own voice like a scream.

The sound of blood flowing like waves in his ears made him breathless.

"Then I'll just become a 'shield' for the magician Dahlia!"

"That's true in a way. But Carlo really admires your dedication. You came from a merchant family and became a magic tool master through your own hard work. He thinks highly of you and says that if you keep working hard, you'll surpass him. He hopes that you and Dahlia won't discriminate between abilities, but instead support each other in becoming great magic tool masters."

"Why didn't anyone tell me... Dad and Master didn't say anything...!"

His black eyes flickered in distress.

"You're so stubborn. You probably won't marry Dahlia after you find out, right?"

He knew his brother was right.

If he knew about this, he would definitely refuse because he believed he didn't need his family's help on his path to becoming a magic tool master, and he didn't want to be Dalia's shield.

Then he remembered something.

Carlo always told him with a calm smile.

A magician's quality cannot be judged by whether or not they have registered magic tools. Even if they make cheap magic tools, a magician must consider the user and complete them well.

Dahlia is Dahlia, Tobias is Tobias, and every magic tool master has his or her own characteristics.

Dahlia is imaginative, adaptable, and capable of experimenting. Tobias is meticulous and considerate of the user's safety.

Carlo says both traits are important.

So we need them to complement each other in their work and grow individually.

Tobias unknowingly forgot Carlo's praise for him, and only felt inferior to the fact that his senior brother was not as good as Dahlia.

He was always eager to invent new things and couldn't focus on the task at hand, so making magic tools gradually became less interesting to him.

The anxious man tested Dalia many times during their engagement due to jealousy and willfulness.

In the end, he left Dalia, who didn't love him, and chose Emilia, who fell in love with him.

Even after realizing these mistakes, it was too late.

All he could do now was curl up and hold back the strong emotions that were about to roar out loud.

"I objected to Dad's idea. Dad and I are businessmen, but you and Dalia are magic tool makers, so it wasn't worth it. But Dad felt his health deteriorating, and after repeated requests from Carlo, he was convinced. I'm also the one who couldn't stop this, so I share the responsibility for breaking your promise."

Irenaeus handed Tobias a white handkerchief, and he realized that he was crying.

He buried his handkerchief in his face, trying to stifle his sobs of shame.

But I couldn't stop crying.

"...I won't let anyone in. Just stay here until you calm down. Once you've figured it out, we can discuss the future."

His brother said behind him as he left the room.

The voice sounded very much like my father's.

Volume 1 ◆ Magical Tool Master Dahlia

After leaving the Green Tower, Wolf returned to the Royal City in the early morning.

He spent a moment inside the door identifying and registering the glasses.

The appraiser there said that some people had recently begun researching glasses that impair cognition and had achieved good results, so he didn't ask where the glasses were purchased.

Incredibly, the "temperament-changing" effect of the glasses only applies to Wolff.

The appraiser put on the glasses for examination. Only the color of the eyes changed slightly due to the tinted lenses, but the facial features remained unchanged. The appraiser simply said, "After all, our eyes are naturally very different."

The soldier next to him even said, "These glasses are probably for handsome men," and the conversation ended with a laugh.

Wolff originally wanted to rest in his room, but he only slept for a while and woke up soon.

He took a shower in the bathhouse, changed his clothes, put on his glasses and went to the city.

He left the royal city and headed towards the crowded central area.

Now is the busiest time in the market.

Some storefronts had mountains of vegetables and grains piled high in front of them, others had platforms filled with ice piled high with fish and meat, flowers so plentiful you could hold them in your arms, and spices so intense they were almost violent. The roadside was filled with these sights, and even though it was still early in the morning, the sheer number of people was suffocating.

The sounds of hawking, bargaining, greetings and chatting were like a flood.

Wolfe pushed up his glasses and walked in quickly.

He passed many people in the crowd, but no one stared at him.

Occasionally someone would glance at him because they thought he was tall or his colored lenses were peculiar, but their attention would quickly be drawn away by other things.

There were none of those heated, heavy, insolent glances that had fixed upon him before.

Ordinary streets, ordinary people, the feeling of being hidden in the crowd is very fresh.

The scene was perfectly natural, yet he never quite fit in.

He felt that he had finally become a part of the royal capital and continued walking.

After walking for a while, he came to the Central District Park he had visited yesterday.

There were some people preparing to set up stalls on the roadside, but there was no one in the park yet.

Wolfe, feeling the fragrance of flowers and plants in the park, walked towards the bench where he and Dalia had sat yesterday.

He leaned against the bench and looked up at the sky.

The sky is clear today, without a single cloud.

The sky looks even bluer through the slightly blue lens.

The blue was so dazzling that Wolfe couldn't help but shed a tear.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Since he was a child, he has been able to do everything with ease except magic.

The Countess of Scafalot had low expectations for their fourth son. Whether in academics, swordsmanship, or etiquette, he easily met his family's expectations. As the son of the untitled third wife, he could not surpass his brothers in any aspect, and lived by this standard.

His mother, as the third wife of the Earl, had no inconvenience in life, but she often looked out the window with her glass-like eyes.

She was originally the Duchess's bodyguard, and at the Earl's strong request, her family agreed to the marriage.

Everyone around her thought that she had become a phoenix, but she herself wanted to continue being a knight.

She is good at water magic and can also conjure up ice swords to fight enemies.

She also has shiny black hair and snow-white skin, and is as beautiful as a fairy.

I thought she could give birth to a son with stronger magic power and better at water magic, or a daughter with ordinary magic power but beautiful appearance, so that she could at least marry a high-ranking noble.

This was his father's original expectation.

Unexpectedly, the child born did not have the five elements of magic that were essential for nobles. Although she had outstanding appearance, she was not a daughter, but a son.

His father had no interest in him and never chatted with him.

"You can use your body to strengthen it, so you can become a knight in the future."

Because his mother said so, he began to learn swordsmanship.

For the young Wolff, his mother's guidance was quite strict, but no matter how strong his swordsmanship became, he would never surpass his brothers who aimed to become magicians. Therefore, he could put aside his thoughts and concentrate on practicing swordsmanship.

In order to encourage him, his mother often read to him books with knights as the protagonists.

He was deeply fascinated by the magic sword that appeared in the story.

Even if you don't know magic, you can still control the magic sword.

This way he could become stronger and surpass his mother, a magic swordsman.

"Becoming a powerful knight who can't lose to anyone" became his dream.

Unexpectedly, this dream was shattered so early.

When he was in elementary school, he once went to the territory with the Earl's wife, her son (his eldest brother), and his mother. There were enough carriages and guards, so it should be safe.

However, they were attacked by a large number of thieves near the royal capital.

His mother hid him under the carriage seat and rushed out.

He heard the men shouting, the explosions of fire magic, the clash of swords - the sounds suddenly became quieter, and he peeked out of the window and saw his mother, stabbed in the shoulder, in front of the carriage where the eldest lady was riding.

There was a long sword for self-defense on the wall of the carriage. He gritted his teeth, picked up the sword with trembling hands and rushed out, but his mother had already fallen to the ground and been cut in half.

He couldn't remember whether the sound coming from his throat was a roar, a roar, or a cry.

This memory is blank.

Wolfe swung his sword at the men, his vision stained red before turning pitch black.

He woke up in a hospital bed in the temple.

Both hands and right foot look like new.

His father, who was beside him, told him that his mother had died, but his eldest wife and brother were safe. Then he said, "You've fought hard," and hugged him so hard that it hurt.

This was the only hug his father gave him in his memory.

If I had gotten off the carriage earlier, would my mother have not died?

If I were stronger, would my mother not have died?

If he had the magic sword, could he save his mother even though he couldn't use magic?

He and his maidservant cried for several days in the temple, and when he returned home he was already a changed man.

The second wife's biological father died of illness, and her second brother fell off his horse and died while riding a horse. In order to mourn the loss of her father and son, the second wife entered a convent.

Even though he was young, he still knew what was going on.

He understood that people were scarier than swords, and his father was also scary.

As he grew up with unstable emotions, the women and some of the men around him also began to change.

The passionate gazes, the clinging voices, the blatant temptations all made him feel very irritated.

The next thing to change was the men.

He was increasingly often the target of envy or slander, and the friends he had finally made were often cut off because of women, leading to misunderstandings among those around him.

He was too lazy to make new friends and resolve misunderstandings, so he buried himself in sword training.

When he joined the Knights, he chose the Monster Slayer unit, one that placed the least emphasis on family background. He chose the Red Armor because he felt it was the position best suited for him. Even if he were gone, no one would be bothered.

He mingled freely with his teammates, enjoyed fine wine and delicious food, and immersed himself in training.

I thought I would live this life forever until I died fighting a monster or resigned as a knight.

However, whether it was a curse or a blessing, he would occasionally think of that wish.

He wanted his own magic sword.

With the magic sword, perhaps I can defeat my mother, who is a magic swordsman.

Maybe he could save the mother whom he had failed to save even once in his dream.

But he also knew that it was an impossible dream.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Wolff took off his glasses and put them back on.

Whenever he saw this pair of glasses, the image of a magic tool maker would appear in his mind.

He fell with Feilong, and on the day he walked out of the forest, he was rescued by a young man who called himself Dali.

They had a very pleasant conversation, and Wolff had a strong desire to see Dalí again.