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

After entering the city gate, we came to the place where the carriages were parked.

Ivano got out of the car and offered his hand to help Dalia out. But his hand was at a different height than Wolf's, which startled her for a moment. Thinking she was nervous, Ivano smiled and mouthed "Come on!" Dalia nodded, smiling.

Ivano could only accompany her to the front of the exit and then had to wait for her in the waiting room.

Dahlia walked along the walkway from where the carriages were parked toward the only exit. She passed several knights along the way, and each time she met one, she stopped and nodded.

After passing through the exit, there are two hallways. Men and women enter different rooms, where their identities are confirmed and their luggage is checked.

She showed the invitation letter from the captain of the monster subjugation team. The female knight in charge of the inspection seemed to have received the notice and only briefly checked her luggage before letting her go.

"The Monster Suppression Team will send someone to pick you up. Please wait here."

She had thought she'd have to walk in on her own, but she was told a carriage would be arriving to pick her up. Did she need a carriage even to get around the capital? Was it necessary to send someone to pick up a nobody like her? Her mind raced, but she kept a smile on her face as she waited as instructed.

She was taken to a small room with luxurious furniture, but her nervousness had not subsided. When she sat on the black leather sofa, she felt unstable because the sofa was too soft.

She took desperate, deep breaths and was beginning to experience over-oxygenation when she finally heard a knock on the door.

"The monster-slaying troops are here to greet us... Sorry, Dahlia, please get on the carriage first..."

The sentences sounded incoherent, but she was relieved to know it was Wolff.

The man whispered, picked up Dahlia's luggage, and offered her a hand to help her.

Dahlia had unknowingly grown accustomed to this height. She gave him her hand and boarded the carriage.

"I'm sorry, I only found out this morning that the captain wanted to see you. If I had known yesterday, I would have sent a messenger to find you first..."

After the carriage took the two men away, Wolff apologized again.

"Don't worry about it. By the way, do you know why I was asked to come to the city?"

"The captain just wanted to thank you for making the socks and insoles. He called the brothers who wrote the report and wanted to talk to you. He's a marquis, so he probably didn't think too much of it before calling you over."

Thinking about it, the captain of the monster-suppression corps is a marquis. If he has something to say or something to ask, it's normal for him to call the merchant into town. Perhaps he just wants to say hello to the merchant before receiving his first shipment of goods. Dahlia felt a little relieved after thinking this way.

"Now I feel relieved. I was wondering why he asked me to come..."

"It's okay. I didn't tell anyone about the shoe dryer, and I hid the bracelet well."

"Did yesterday's training go well? Was the bracelet difficult to use?"

"No, it's much smoother now than it was the day before yesterday. I don't even use half the strength I used in training, but I'm still having fun. Wearing the bracelet makes it easy to jump over my opponents, and it's given me a lot more tactics."

Wait, even though he only put in half the effort, what he did was quite amazing.

Do other people really not find it strange? Does it not cause any problems?

"Jumping over the opponent's head..."

"It's nothing. I've always been able to do this. I just do it more often."

"You could do it anyway... Didn't the other team members say anything when they saw you like that?"

“They laughed at me, saying, ‘Wolver, are you too strong?’, ‘Come on, monster!’, and ‘He’s jumping more than usual!’…”

It seemed that Dahlia's worries were in vain. Seeing the young man's displeasure, she couldn't help but laugh.

When the smile finally stopped, the carriage also stopped.

"Even though we're the only ones here, we'll still put on a show... Ms. Dalia, welcome to the Monster Suppression Force."

"Thank you, Lord Wolffred."

Wolfe extended his hand again, and Dalia smiled and put her hand over his.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

"Thank you for the invitation, Captain. I am Dalia Rosetty from the Rosetty Chamber of Commerce."

Dahlia was ushered into a grand reception room, spacious and crowded. Besides her, seven other knights sat around a polished black table.

After introducing herself, she gave a long bow, and the man with sparse dark gray hair smiled and nodded.

"I am Gulat Bartolone, Captain of the Monster Suppression Force of the Odine Kingdom Knights. President of the Rosetti Merchants Guild, thank you for taking the time to come."

"You are so kind. It is an honor to be invited to the royal city. I am not very familiar with the etiquette of the nobility, so please forgive me if I am impolite."

Dalia thought she'd be so nervous she'd stutter, and so she recited the polite phrases she'd learned yesterday, putting on a businesslike smile. At his invitation, she cautiously sat down in the leather chair and waited for Gulat to speak.

"Except for Wolffred, the other six people here have also tried the toe socks and insoles. We've all gathered here to thank the president of the Roseti Chamber of Commerce. We just want to chat and greet each other, so please relax."

"Thank you for your explanation. Thank you for taking the time to write this report."

After Dahlia thanked them, the knights briefly introduced themselves and nodded in greeting.

There was a slightly older knight, two middle-aged knights, and two knights of similar age to Wolff.

"These are the five-toed socks and insoles currently in mass production. Please accept them. The official products and gifts will be available later."

Dahlia took the white box at her feet and placed it on the table.

As Gabriella had suggested, she brought her newly made five-toed socks and insoles as gifts, to spark conversation. She brought twenty sets, enough for everyone present.

"Thanks."

"Great, now I have a replacement."

"I'm starting to look forward to the next expedition."

Gulat narrowed his red eyes and smiled, and the knights' expressions also relaxed.

Dahlia's nervousness subsided a little when the maids brought her some tea.

She picked up the white teacup with a silver rim, pretended to touch it with her lips, and continued to listen to them.

"Excuse me, this is the first time I've heard of the Roseti Chamber of Commerce... When was your chamber of commerce founded?"

“It was just established this year.”

"That's remarkable. Selling such a useful product in your first transaction! I'm really looking forward to the future development of your chamber of commerce."

"Thanks……"

Dahlia thanked the young knight for his praise, but broke out in a cold sweat.

She was fortunate enough to sell her goods to the royal city, but the first items she sold were five-toed socks and insoles.

If her father knew about this, he'd probably say the product was too common, or ask why she chose this path. If he were to appear in Dalia's dreams, she would definitely reply, "Because I'm down-to-earth."

"No, this isn't the first product Ms. Dahlia has made."

Dahlia was so nervous that she began to indulge in fantasy to escape reality, when Wolf, who was sitting next to her, suddenly spoke.

"Before the Roseti Chamber of Commerce was founded, Ms. Dahlia developed waterproof cloth during her student days. She is not only an outstanding guild president, but also a talented magical tool maker."

She wanted to scream, "Wait, Wolf," but she couldn't, so she opened her mouth and closed it again.

Is this a kid showing off his family? This description is too long! She wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Tarp! That's amazing. Thanks to the tarp, the tent is much lighter."

"The use of waterproof cloth on the carriage cover has reduced the problem of water leakage."

"So it was invented by the president of the Roseti Merchants Guild..."

After Wolfe finished his briefing, the knights praised him in unison.

However, Dalia just wanted to escape from here with all her might.

"I heard from Wolfe that he got a list of tips from you on preventing athlete's foot. Is that really effective?"

At this time, Gulat just changed the subject, and Dalia was happy to respond quickly.

As the team leader, he must have heard his teammates talk about this worry and wanted to find a solution.

"It's effective to a certain extent. If you follow the instructions carefully after recovery, you can prevent recurrence."

"It says, 'Wash the soles and toes thoroughly with soap when bathing.' Wouldn't washing twice be more effective?"

"If you wash thoroughly, just once is enough. Washing too many times is not good either... Please don't rub your feet too hard when washing them. Also, be sure to rinse the soap off your feet thoroughly."

The notes Wolff had written were somehow transcribed into a neat list, which everyone received.

They were clearly chatting, but the middle-aged knight beside the captain was taking notes in shorthand. This wasn't an important meeting, so there shouldn't be anything worth recording.

However, this might be the custom when people in the royal city talk to outsiders.

"Another point is, 'If you have athlete's foot, you should dry your feet thoroughly after bathing, apply special ointment, and keep them dry.' Do you have to do the same after bathing again after being treated at the temple?"

"After your treatment at the temple, remember to dry yourself after showering and keep yourself dry. Also, on the day of your treatment, to prevent a recurrence of tinea pedis, it's best to bring clean shoes and change into them immediately after your treatment. Tinea pedis bacteria may remain in your old shoes."

“There are germs left in shoes!”

"I went to the temple for treatment and returned home wearing the same shoes..."

"Me too. Oh my god, there are germs in shoes... No wonder I went there four times and still couldn't get cured."

The captain, the middle-aged man, and the young knight seemed to exude a heavy sense of tragedy. Perhaps she was just too nervous and exhausted to have such an illusion.

"President of the Roseti Merchants Guild, can I be infected if I share combat boots with someone else?"

"It's possible, so try to avoid it. I also mentioned in the precautions, 'When staying in your own room or dormitory, you can change into slippers to keep your feet ventilated,' and please don't share slippers."

"Should I wash my feet before putting on slippers?"

"If you're sweating from walking around outside, wash your feet when you get home, dry them, and then change into your indoor slippers. But washing too many times isn't good..."

"Would it be more effective to sleep in toe socks?"

"No, you might sweat while sleeping and make your athlete's foot worse. Please don't do that."

Questions kept coming in, and I had no idea how many team members suffered from tinea pedis. Even if the questioner didn't have the disease themselves, they might be worried about a friend who did, or worried about being infected themselves.

Dalia thought about it and added some explanation to the list.

"Also, please wash your shoes and dry them thoroughly. If you can't wash your shoes, you can try casting a purification spell on them."

"I see. So, we can just think of athlete's foot as an infectious disease, right?"

Several people nodded. Yes, tinea pedis is an infectious disease caused by dermatophytes.

Not only should you pay attention to your shoes, but if you don't eliminate all routes of infection, the infection will recur.

"But, President of the Roseti Merchants Guild, there are people who don't get athlete's foot, right?"

"Of course... but it's also possible that the person didn't realize they had athlete's foot."

"Doesn't athlete's foot usually cause blisters and itching? It's hard to miss, right?"

"Not only that, but in severe cases, it seems to cause bleeding, redness, and grayish-white nails."

Although the captain said "seemed", his gray eyebrows were tightly furrowed. Dahlia silently shifted her gaze away from him.

"Even though there are no blisters, the skin on my toes has become white and soft and hasn't healed, which is also an early symptom of tinea pedis."

"what?"

A crackled cry came from beside her.

Didn't Wolff say he didn't have tinea pedis? What was that exclamation?

Dahlia signaled with her eyes to question him further, and he responded with an awkward smile.

Many worries surfaced in her mind but she decided to put them aside.

"Tinker's foot can sometimes cause white, hardened patches on the heels or soles of the feet. This type of tinea pedis is less itchy."

"My heels and soles have become white and hard... and they don't itch much..."

The older knight inexplicably repeated her words in a deep voice.

Her father in her previous life had suffered from common tinea pedis and also keratotic tinea pedis, in which the heels would turn white.

Her father wore leather shoes to work every day and used a UV sterilizer to disinfect them. Unfortunately, she had never heard of UV technology in this life, so she could only rely on healing and purification magic and various herbs.

However, she was still worried about one thing. The knights in the royal city mostly worked in groups, and some lived in the barracks. If one person got sick, it could spread to the others.

Even though it was a bit rude, she mustered up the courage to tell them.

"Well, group living can easily spread athlete's foot, so it's best for everyone to fight athlete's foot together. Not only shoes, but also things that bare feet touch, such as bathhouse floor mats and shared towels, can carry bacteria."

"it turns out……!"

"What!"

Everyone's eyes turned to her, making her feel a little scared and she couldn't help but gasp.