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

"Wolfer, we come from different backgrounds and may have different perspectives on money. But it's really strange that you gave me such an expensive wine glass."

"If you're being honest, didn't you also say that those magical fairy crystal glasses were a prototype and you wanted to give them to me for free?"

He was right, but it was made from unused inventory and was nothing like what he had paid for.

"No, a prototype should be tested by others to see what needs improvement."

"It's just a prototype, but I have no problem using it. It can be considered a finished product."

"...Okay, then I'll only use this set of glasses when you're here."

"I hope you'll just use it regularly. And if the glass breaks, I can just buy a new one, okay? The price isn't too much for me, so don't worry about it."

Seeing Wolfe speaking with a smile as if it was a matter of course, Dalia understood one thing.

Wolff simply followed his inner desire to "give" the cup to Dahlia. He wasn't doing a favor, nor was he considering his own future interests.

However, he did not realize that this might affect their future relationship.

They are friends, not sponsors and sponsored.

At least that's not what Dahlia wants.

"I'm glad you're so thoughtful, but I don't want to just 'accept' gifts from friends. Because... imagine if a friend who's richer than you constantly buys you expensive things. If you were to spend a lot of time with that friend, you'd probably feel inferior or embarrassed, right?"

Although she knew it might upset the other person, she still chose her words carefully to convey her ideas.

The man's golden eyes widened slightly, and then he slowly lowered his gaze.

"...Sorry, I only understand now that you've said that."

"No, I know you put a lot of thought into it, and I'm grateful for that. This set of glasses probably doesn't seem that special to you. I'll also treat the glasses as merchandise, not just prototypes. I'll put half the price of the glasses toward the cost of the glasses. I'll take your gift and make a second pair."

"You have to include the technical fee and sell it to me at the market price."

"Okay, I'll do that."

They nodded to each other and continued putting the food into the refrigerator.

After collecting the food, it was already noon outside the window.

"What are you having for lunch? There are so many ingredients, it's better to cook it yourself. But I'm worried... my cooking won't suit your taste."

"The cheese pot you made last time was really delicious. I trust your cooking skills. If you want to grill the meat, I can help."

"Huh? Can you cook?"

She found it baffling that Wolfe trusted her cooking skills based solely on a cheese pot, but she was even more surprised that he could actually cook. He had also helped wash the dishes the last time he came. It seemed that the monster-suppression forces truly made no distinction between commoners and nobles during their expeditions.

"I only know how to cut and grill meat. We can hunt animals and monsters to eat during our expeditions, so I learned some basic techniques from the chef. The meat is not fully cooked, and if you grill it raw, it might even turn into charcoal, which will make your stomach very uncomfortable..."

The troops risked their lives to defeat monsters, so it would be pitiful if they had to eat unprocessed or charred meat. It would not be worth it if they ruined their health.

"Would it be better to grill the meat using a magic furnace?"

"Yeah, that way it won't burn."

"Let's try grilling meat using the small magic furnace at noon."

"Thank you for your help."

Barbecue has nothing to do with cooking skills, and Dalia breathed a sigh of relief.

The two divided the work in the kitchen, Wolf cut the meat, and Dahlia cut the vegetables and made a simple salad.

"Beef, pork, pickled kraken... I'll cut these up first."

The meat looked unusually large and shiny. Was it her imagination? The pickled kraken looked a lot like octopus. Slicing and grilling it would be fine.

Dahlia had never seen a whole kraken, but it was common to see it cooked. It could be grilled, boiled, salt-grilled, cooked in soup, or stir-fried.

Kraken Gan wasn't very popular, but her father, Carlo, used to bake it in a magic furnace and serve it as a side dish. However, he always liked to stand in the kitchen drinking, which was a bit of a nuisance.

Now that she had a small magic furnace, she could roast it on the dining table. Dahlia was thinking about her father while washing vegetables, when she suddenly caught a glimpse of the pork slices cut by Wolf, which were more than two centimeters thick.

"Wolver, isn't that too thick..."

"That's right. We're not using a bonfire today, so we should slice it thinner."

"I think it would be enough to cut it into a quarter of its current size."

"Isn't it too thin?"

Wolff ended up using several different cuts of meat, varying in thickness.

Dalia peeled and cleaned the two leafy vegetables, then placed them on a plate along with the cheese and bread. It didn't take much effort, but the high-quality ingredients made it look delicious.

She returned to the living room and set up two small magic furnaces on the table, using shallow pots and frying pans as baking trays. It was a bit shabby, but she hoped Wolfer wouldn't mind.

They also had to enchant the daggers in the afternoon, so they didn't drink alcohol at noon and drank juice instead.

Dahlia lightly oiled the pan and placed the meat on it to sear. Wolff imitated her movements.

"Here's salt, pepper, lemon, and sauce. The sauce is fish sauce-based with garlic, sesame seeds, and applesauce. You can pour it over the meat and try it."

The beef was grilled first. Dahlia sprinkled some salt on it and took a bite. It was unlike the beef she usually ate. It melted on her tongue, leaving a sweet, rich taste. She chewed it slowly, thinking that good meat tasted different.

The pork is grilled until fully cooked, then sprinkled with salt and pepper. It's chewier than beef, but the fat is sweeter and less overpowering. It seems like it would also be delicious boiled.

Wolff, sitting opposite him, chewed furiously, the corners of his mouth curled up, and he even closed his eyes.

"It's delicious... It's great to be able to grill it to your liking and eat it hot."

"Very good."

The young man finally returned to this world, but his eager gaze was still fixed on the barbecue.

"...Your small magic reactor is truly a sin."

"What?"

"If I had this during my previous expedition, I wouldn't have lost so many companions..."

The topic suddenly took a serious turn. Dalia believed the product she developed had no bearing on life or death, and she couldn't understand how Wolfer could connect the two issues. Had a team member died after eating the charred meat?

"Did anything unfortunate happen?"

"No, some people left the army because they were dissatisfied with the food, and some quit because they damaged their health. I was thinking that if there were small magic reactors, more people would stay, so I was careless..."

Food is the cornerstone of life. Even if you have to force yourself to eat unpalatable food for work, your tolerance has its limits.

Would the monster-suppression army be willing to buy a magic furnace for the expedition?

Dahlia will definitely try to give them the best deal.

To ease the heavy atmosphere, Dahlia grilled pickled kraken.

As the Kraken touched the pan, it began to hiss with a wailing sound that grew smaller and smaller.

"It's shrunk to half, I feel a little sad..."

Dalia really wanted to say, please don't stare at the pot sentimentally with those golden eyes.

It was the kind of look better suited to be cast upon a rose or a love letter than upon a salted slice of kraken.

"The same thing happens to octopus and squid. Cut them into larger pieces next time."

The pickled kraken was a bit salty, but still quite delicious.

This dish seems to go well with rice. Although the rice Wangdu imports from other places is all long-grain rice, she wants to try it with rice next time.

Dalia thought about it for a while, and suddenly found that there was a kind of vegetable that had not been touched at all.

"Wolver, why didn't you eat a single piece of the green pepper?"

"Actually, Green Pepper hates me..."

He turned away his golden gaze. Her relatives and children in her previous life had made the same excuse.

"I'd like to say you won't grow if you don't eat green peppers, but if you grow any taller you'll be too tall."

"There's someone in the Knights who's much taller than me. He said tall people often bump into door lintels. Hearing that, I don't want to grow any taller, so I don't eat green peppers."

"I see. There are a lot of 'kids' who hate green peppers."

Dahlia made a joke casually, but when she saw Wolf's serious expression, she immediately regretted it.

He looked at the green peppers and silently put them into the pot.

"Wolf, um, although I mentioned it first, everyone has different preferences. You don't have to force yourself to eat green peppers."

"No, this is a wall I must cross...!"

The way he stared at the pot was terrifying. But the green pepper was neither a wall nor a monster, nor an enemy.

Dalia hoped he would stop doing this to keep her at peace.

"...You can wait until it's grilled and eat it with the meat."

She offered some tentative advice, but there was a mysterious sense of tension at the scene.

Wolfe brought the roasted peppers and meat to his mouth, closed his eyes and ate them.

“…Huh?…I’m fine.”

"I heard that people's taste buds change as they grow older, so things you wouldn't dare eat as a child might seem delicious to you when you grow up."

"It's quite delicious... I'm starting to feel a bit bad not eating the green peppers."

If he tasted shredded pork with green peppers, he might even fall in love with it. Dalia hoped to make it for him one day.

They then cut up some more meat, and the barbecue lunch was finally complete.

Even with the windows open, the room was still filled with the unique smell of barbecue.

"I really want to bring this stove with me on the expedition, but if I eat it alone, I'll definitely be killed by my teammates..."

"The aroma of barbecue is so tempting..."

"Dalia, would you like to teach the monster-suppression team (us) how to use the magic reactor?"

"Hmm~ Okay, I'd like to help you improve your food, too."

The joke was told so seriously that Dalia couldn't help laughing.

Only a handful of chambers of commerce can enter the Royal City. They require letters of recommendation and guarantors, making the entry threshold very high.

The royal city was not a place that ordinary people could enter or leave, but Wolfe might not have realized this.

"Alright, let's clean up and start giving the dagger."

"I understand. Leave it to me."

Wolfe planned to pick up all the plates and magic furnaces at once, but was stopped by Dalia, and then they began to pack up slowly.

After cleaning up the living room, the two went to the workshop on the first floor and took out the dagger used for magic.

"Let's get started."

"I've been waiting for this moment..."

They spoke as if they were welcoming a magnificent destiny, but in fact, Dahlia's magic could only bestow a weak effect.

If she could successfully complete multiple empowerments on a single sword, she would tell Wolff the method and ask him to have it reforged by a magician or alchemist. She thought as she handed him her dark blue work clothes.

"This is for you to wear so you don't get your clothes dirty."

"Is this your father's?"

"No, my father's sleeves would probably be too short for you."

"I'll pay you later."

"Then you can help me with some manual labor. You just helped me move the refrigerator."

"I'm the one who benefits every time, right?"

"You're overthinking it. Once you're dressed, help me take the sword apart."

Wolfe was somewhat dissatisfied, but after being entrusted with dismantling the dagger, his expression returned to normal.

The dagger was immediately disassembled into four parts: blade, hilt, hilt, and scabbard.

"Should the sword blade be given enhanced hardness, or should it be made wear-resistant like a kitchen knife?"

"This short sword is quite thick and strong enough, so I'll give it the ability to resist wear."

After hearing Wolf's answer, Dahlia used her fingertips to imbue the lead-colored blade with the magic of non-sharpening. The feeling was almost the same as when she had imbued the kitchen knife, but perhaps due to the difference in thickness and material, the blade required more magic.