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

"Who knows. But what's certain is that it was the first time he had that expression."

"But the president of the Roseti Chamber of Commerce was sitting next to him and acting perfectly normal."

"Don't tell him that..."

There are many words that can be used to describe Walfred.

He is the red armor of the monster-slaying force and a calm, trustworthy comrade.

This knight, nicknamed the "Black Death," bravely faces even powerful monsters.

His handsome face attracted the attention of women, but he ignored confessions and love letters.

He had a glamorous affair with the former Duchess and was rumored to be in and out of brothels with ease.

These are the people Wolff is known to his teammates.

However, Wolfe just now was as nervous as a young boy.

No one dared to laugh at him, perhaps because he was too abnormal or because his appearance reminded them of themselves as teenagers.

Goulart's measles, which had long since ended and was almost forgotten.

"First love is like measles. The later it comes, the more severe the illness, and the harder it is to recover—"

This is a line from the opera. Perhaps Wolff only caught the measles at this age.

"Don't tell anyone about this. It would be rude of you to tell anyone."

Gulart narrowed his red eyes and interrupted their conversation.

In his heart, he wished the young man who left the reception room first all the best.

Volume 2 ◆ Apology and Exposure Conference

After leaving the royal city, Dahlia first went to the clothing rental store to return the clothes, and then went to the Commercial Guild to report the situation to Ivano and Gabriela.

The two initially wore worried expressions, but the more they listened to what had happened in the royal city, the stranger their expressions grew. Dalia also felt that as she explained, her expression was as stiff as a Noh mask.

I thought I would feel better after saying everything, but instead I felt like I was pushing myself into a dead end.

They kept saying "thank you for your hard work" and "congratulations on climbing over a mountain". With their comfort, Dalia finally gathered herself together and returned to the Green Tower.

Don’t think about anything today and go to bed early - just as she was thinking this, the doorbell rang.

Somehow, she knew immediately it was Wolfe.

She hurried downstairs, opened the door, and saw the young man standing there with a haggard face.

He was still handsome, but his expression was very similar to the look on her dog's face in her previous life when it got into trouble and was scolded.

After seeing that expression, Dalia didn't want to blame him at all.

"I'm really sorry for what happened today! I'm reflecting on it..."

The young man lowered his head and handed over a bouquet of beautiful and lovely flowers.

Red roses, lily of the valley, and pink chrysanthemums are wrapped into round shapes.

Dalia took the bouquet tied with a red ribbon with both hands and smelled the faint scent of roses.

"Okay, forget it this time."

"Thanks……!"

"But if you get me into athlete's foot trouble again, I'll have to call you 'Lord Wolffred' even in the Green Tower."

"Don't do that, I won't dare to do it again next time..."

Wolfe's expression was so sorrowful that she couldn't help but laugh.

The young man breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her smile, and handed her the aqua blue box hidden behind his back.

"This is a puff, please have some."

"Thank you. That's great, I love cream puffs. Do you want to come in and eat with me?"

"Okay, thank you for the invitation."

They climbed up to the second floor and finally resumed their usual interaction.

Dahlia sat on the sofa and untied the blue ribbon on the aqua blue dessert box.

The box contains two of each flavor: fresh cream puffs, custard puffs, and custard puffs with a foreign liquor flavor.

The flat box below is filled with sugar in various shapes such as flowers and animals.

She made a pot of black tea with better leaves than usual and shared it with Wolff.

Dalia first chose the classic custard flavor.

Wolfe chose custard puffs with a foreign liquor flavor.

The puffs in this life are bigger and flatter than those in the previous life.

She carefully picked up the puff, her weight giving her a good feel for the filling's consistency. To prevent the filling from spilling out, she took a small bite from the edge, the sweetness of the custard and the aroma of vanilla filling her mouth.

The custard flavor of this puff was even stronger than any she'd ever had before, likely due to the quality of the milk and eggs used. While it was quite sweet, the saltiness of the puff skin added a touch of icing to the flavor.

She had originally planned to drink black tea while eating, but she completely forgot about it and ate the entire puff.

"This puff is delicious."

"As long as you like it."

Seeing Dalia's intoxicated smile, Wolf felt satisfied.

It was worth it that he waited in line for thirty minutes at the famous dessert shop on Noble Street wearing the fairy crystal glasses.

"Dalia, would you like another one?"

"You should be able to eat about three easily..."

"No, I can't eat too many sweets, so one is enough. But this puff is not big, so I should be able to eat two."

Dalia has been very concerned about her waistline recently, so she feels very hesitant.

Should I delay enjoying it until tomorrow?

However, they are still best when freshly made. Although puffs can be refrigerated or frozen, they are best eaten now.

When she hesitated, Wolfe smiled brightly and picked up the box and offered her food.

She ended up having the whipped cream puffs which were delicious.

"What kind of flowers do you like?"

Wolfe suddenly asked this while Dahlia was still enjoying the aftertaste of the cream puff.

"I like all kinds of flowers...especially fragrant ones like roses and gardenias."

"Your name comes from dahlia, right?"

"Yes, my father chose it. He chose the old pronunciation 'ya' instead of the more common 'a'. Because of the name, many people think I like dahlias, but dahlias don't have much fragrance."

"I see... then what kind of snacks do you like?"

"I like puffs and cheesecake, but I also like other desserts. What about you?"

"Salt butter cookies, shrimp crackers... and sabayon."

It’s very similar to the answer of a wine lover, these are almost all snacks to go with alcohol.

The last thing he mentioned was "sabayon," a dessert made by beating egg yolks and sugar until foamy and then adding white wine. He must have liked it because it was made with white wine.

After drinking her tea and taking a breath, Dalia recalled what happened when she left the royal city.

"I'm sorry, I also made a mistake today without knowing it, and almost caused you trouble."

"What's wrong?"

"Lord Randolph told me that I shouldn't walk directly behind a knight in the corridor. I should walk slightly closer to him diagonally behind him... There are so many rules I don't know. I'll ask other members of the guild for advice later."

“‘Randolph’…?”

It took Wolfe two months to change from calling him "Mr. Goodwin" to "Randolph." And it was only through constant interaction with the monster-slaying unit that this success was achieved.

Dahlia and Randolph had only walked from the military building to the parking lot, so why was she calling him "Randolph"? Wolff knew there was no need to dwell on such trivial matters, but he still cared.

"Yes, he said that some organizations in the Royal City are very particular about this kind of thing. As the president of the Chamber of Commerce, of course I have to understand the etiquette of the Royal City. And since you are the guarantor of the Chamber of Commerce, I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"As expected of Randolph... I didn't notice it at all."

"Is Lord Randolph also a noble?"

"He's the second son of Earl Goodwin. You should be more familiar with the term 'Earl of the Eastern Frontier'."

"He reminded me, 'This is for Wolff, and for my own protection.' He's a great friend."

"...Well, I'm very grateful to him."

Wolfe was embarrassed by his own fantasies. Dahlia and Randolph were only thinking of him.

He hadn't been able to find his rhythm today. It must be because so many unfamiliar things were happening.

"Toe socks and insoles will probably become popular in the capital. You might even be nominated for honorary baronhood like your father. Our captain is very likely to recommend you."

Becoming an honorary baron brings more advantages in terms of money and status.

However, Dalia said with a distressed look:

"I don't want to be recommended for baronship because of something like this..."

"Why? Becoming an honorary baron will also help your work as a magic tool master, right?"

"It certainly helps, but when a magician is knighted, they're usually nicknamed after the product they recommended, or the most famous magic tool of the time. My father, for example, was called the 'Water Heater Baron'."

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

It turns out that a magic tool master will have a nickname after becoming an honorary baron. He thinks this is quite cool.

"If I'm recommended, wouldn't I be called the 'Baron of Toe Socks' or the 'Baron of Insoles'?... But being called the 'Baron of Athlete's Foot' would be even worse. I don't want that."

"puff!"

For the second time today, Wolfe couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Seeing that he was laughing so hard that he had difficulty breathing, Dahlia narrowed her eyes into a line in displeasure.

"'Lord Wolfred'?"

"I'm sorry... Please don't call me that..."

The young man tried hard to suppress his laughter, and his shoulders kept shaking.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

After Wolfe finally calmed down, he took out three bottles of recovery potions from his bag.

"This is a thank you gift for the Sirius Bracelet."

"Didn't I say I only wanted two bottles?"

"Yeah, but I figured I'd keep an extra bottle in the workshop just in case. After all, I might slip while assembling the magic sword."

Dahlia wanted to ask him if this was just an excuse to send an extra potion, but then she thought better of it. If they were both injured at the same time, or if the injuries were widespread, an extra potion would be a safer bet.

She thanked him honestly and took the potion, intending to put it in a conspicuous place in the workshop.

It was still a little early for dinner, but it was already time for the restaurant to open.

Dahlia impulsively ate two large puffs and had little appetite for dinner.

She cut up some of the meat and vegetables she had in stock for Wolff, and as before, they grilled the meat and drank wine.

Even though it was a simple barbecue meal with no special ingredients, the young man still chewed it carefully and enjoyed it very much.

Dalia drank her wine and secretly admired his eating habits, creating an unprecedented dining table scene.

"This isn't a very traditional way of drinking it, but would you like to give it a try?"

Wolff sat on the sofa after dinner, and Dahlia handed him a bottle of white wine wrapped in a cloth. The white wine was too cold for her to hold with her bare hands.

"Is this a white wine bar?"

"Yes, this is 'chilled wine,' which is baijiu that's been chilled until it's almost frozen. To prevent the bottle from breaking while freezing, the cork must be removed first, but this will also diminish the aroma."

Common people in this country don't care much about the temperature of their wine.