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

Unexpectedly, Wolfe smiled and nodded vigorously.

"I see, so if you just flip the toast directly onto the plate, you can save yourself the trouble of plating it!"

"Well……"

She felt sad that she couldn't honestly deny it.

"This way you don't have to handle hot toast with your bare hands, and you can eat it while it's still hot, which is great for winter. You can also move it with the plate, so you can toast one slice as you finish, so it might be suitable for restaurants with a lot of people."

"Too……"

A toaster that flips toast directly onto a plate without having to arrange it—this function seemed even better. Wolf's positive suggestion deeply attracted Dalia.

If this is the goal, the magic tools created may be more useful.

“But instead of calling it a ‘pop-up toaster,’ it would be more appropriate to call it a ‘flying toaster!’”

"……Too……"

The image of a flying toaster flapping its wings and soaring appeared in Dahlia's mind.

The names Wolff chose are so accurate that they make you want to cry.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

After they moved from the workshop to the living room on the second floor, Dalia immediately turned on the fan.

It's only May now, but the wind blowing in from the window is a bit stuffy, which shows that this summer will be very hot.

Dahlia served Wolfe some sparkling water and chilled orange slices, then went into the kitchen.

She cut the toast she had just baked in the workshop into small slices, and randomly put cheese, ham and tomatoes on it to make an appetizer.

As for the cut toast edges, she plans to soak them in egg mixture mixed with sugar to make bread pudding. Although eating them might make her fat, she doesn't want to waste the ingredients.

"This is made with the toast from earlier. Please use it if you don't mind."

She returned to the living room, sat in a chair diagonally across from Wolff, and offered him some appetizers, and the two of them started talking again.

"We're going on another expedition tomorrow to defeat the harpy."

"I see. Harpies can fly... so defeating them must be difficult."

Dahlia almost expressed her unnecessary worry, but quickly changed her words and said, "It's very hard."

For monster-slaying troops, dangerous expeditions are commonplace.

Furthermore, Wolf was the first to attack, and was in the most dangerous position on the team.

"Yeah, but I have this, so it'll be fine."

Wolfe smiled and raised his left hand slightly, on which was a bracelet with a silver background and golden light.

That was a magical tool that Dahlia had created using the fangs of the Sirius Skoll.

The Sirius Bracelet can activate wind magic to assist in actions such as jumping or running.

Although its effect is amazing, the holder will be thrown away if even a little bit of external magic energy flows in, making it useless.

Wolff, however, has no external magic.

Dalia made a "red blood setting" for him that only he could use, making the bracelet his exclusive property.

The bracelet was incredibly powerful. Dahlia had just witnessed him perfectly manipulate its wind magic a few days earlier, leaping to the roof of the Green Tower in one breath.

"Even if I use the bracelet to assist my jumps, I still can't fly like a harpy."

Even with increased jumping distance, it is still difficult to catch up with the birds soaring in the sky.

"But I'm quite confident. Dahlia, will you ever create a magical device that allows people to fly freely in the air?"

"There are no plans for that at the moment."

She laughed at Wolff's joke.

She had never heard of a magical tool that could allow a person to fly freely.

Moreover, even when she bestowed the Sirius Fang on the bracelet, her magic power was exhausted.

If there truly were a magical tool capable of allowing free flight, while the required materials were unknown, it would undoubtedly require a considerable amount of magical power. Only a powerful magical tool maker or mage could create it.

However, she thinks this thing is very desirable and would like to try it if she has the chance.

"Actually, the most active ones this time should be the Archers."

"Does the Archer use a 'Longbow'?"

Dalia asked this question, remembering the longbows used by forest hunters that she and her father had seen before.

The bow was about two-thirds the hunter's height, which was impressive to look at. It was also very difficult to draw, and her father borrowed it to try and pull it, but the bow barely moved at all.

"No, they use a more powerful 'bow'. It's massive and has such a strong tension that it requires physical strength to draw. It can even penetrate the skin of a wyvern."

"A bow stronger than a longbow..."

As expected of a bow used by monster-slaying troops. Even a dragon's hide pales in comparison; its power is truly formidable.

"If only someone had saved you with a bow when you were captured by a flying dragon."

Dalia couldn't help but say this when she thought of him covered in blood in the forest when they first met.

Wolf was captured by a flying dragon during his expedition. Although he defeated the dragon halfway, he fell to the foot of a mountain far away from the capital. He was seriously injured and ran through the forest for two days without food or water before finally reaching the main road.

If he hadn't met Dahlia driving her carriage along the main road—she felt a little scared at the thought.

But Wolff, holding a glass of sparkling water, smiled brightly.

"No, I think it's better to be saved by you."

The golden eyes seemed a little dazzling.

Volume 3 ◆ Craftsmen and Craftsmen

Under the bright summer sun, Dahlia got off the carriage at a corner of Artisan Street.

She was wearing a dark blue summer dress and a thin linen jacket, but she still felt very hot.

Before her was a building with a green roof. After confirming the silver metal doorplate with "Gandolfi Workshop" engraved on it, she rang the doorbell.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Gandolfi."

"Welcome, President Rosette."

Fermo, the gadget maker and head of Gandolfi's workshop, appeared to have been waiting for a long time. He came out immediately after hearing the doorbell. His brown hair was a little gray, but his back was straight. He was wearing a dark gray smock, probably a work uniform.

Dahlia had met with Fermo at the Commerce Guild a few days ago, asking him to try making a mass-produced sparkling bottle. Since then, they've both been busy, and they didn't have time to meet until today.

"Please come in. It's a little small here, please don't mind."

Dalia walked into the workshop, a wooden bungalow with a slightly high ceiling.

Fermo said it was small, but the space was actually about the same size as the Green Tower's workshop.

On the shelves that fill an entire wall, a large number of bottles, springs, tubes and sprinkler parts are neatly arranged.

After Fermo asked Dalia to sit down on the chair in the middle of the workshop, he placed three bottles of bubbly on the table and handed one to Dalia.

"This is a mass-produced bottle. If there's anything wrong with it, please let me know."

Dahlia took the bottle, turned it around, and then opened it to examine it.

The pressure head on the lid, the lid, the pump under the lid, the bottle body - each component is simpler and neater than Dalia's, and moves more stably.

She tried pressing the bottle of soapy water and was delighted to see the fine white foam rising on the plate.

"It's very well made. The bottle is much lighter and easier to press."

"Yes, I streamlined the center section where the pump connects to the lid, and evenly distributed the pressure downward to maintain durability. All three bottles have passed a thousand-press test. If this design works, I'll test them another five thousand times."

"Who did you ask to do the compression test?"

"Students from the nearby junior college are happy to earn this kind of extra money."

In this country, no matter if you are a noble or a commoner, you can enter the academy by passing the exam. Although the tuition is covered by the government, there are still various expenses such as school supplies and internships. Therefore, many commoners choose to work part-time while studying.

"I think that will do. Please continue, Mr. Gandolfi."

"Okay, then I'll have my students test it as soon as possible and submit the specifications to the Trade Guild. Also, you can just call me 'Firmo'. Everyone in our workshop has the last name Gandolfi, so calling me that would be confusing."

“Alright, please call me ‘Dalia’ too. I’m not used to being called ‘President’…”

"Then I'll call you Miss Dalia. Honestly, when I hear 'Workshop Manager Gandolfi' now, I still think of my dad."

Fermo said this with a smile, and took out a large basket and placed it on the table.

"These are some prototypes of different types. I made them on a whim. I'd love to hear your honest opinions."

He took out ten sparkling bottles from the basket and lined them up in a row, each in a different shape.

"many!"

"I was so engrossed in what I was doing that before I knew it..."

The man looked away, a look Dahlia had seen before.

When she and her father were trying to make magic tools, whenever they felt like it, they would unconsciously add other functions to the original version and make different versions of the prototype.

Even though a lot of useless things were made, the fun of trying things out lies in exploring various possibilities.

As a craftsman, there is nothing better than being able to enjoy your work.

"I'll start with this one. This is a foaming bottle for shaving. It's wider to fit a man's hand, and it contains more soapy water because men usually find it troublesome to refill lotion."

"Right."

Dalia hadn't expected this. Filling the tank with soapy water was indeed a crucial step.

"These next two are large square bottles. I made the bottoms heavier and wider to prevent them from tipping over. Some restaurants have multiple chefs, and they need bottles that don't tip over when washing hands."

"Yes, it's also suitable for bathrooms with a large family."

"This bottle has a latch at the bottom to secure it. If a matching latch is installed on the countertop, anyone unaware of the mechanism will be unable to remove the bottle. It's useful for children and patients with trembling hands, as there's no need to worry about the bottle tipping over. Also, while it's unpleasant to imagine, the latch can also be used to prevent shoplifters from harassing businesses and prevent drunks from stealing bottles from restaurants and bars."

"That makes sense. Considering safety, it's better to have a fixed device."

While Dahlia had considered the children and the elderly, she hadn't considered the possibility of the store's sparkling bottles being stolen. While the capital's security was good, drunken troublemakers still occurred, and some areas still needed to be secured.

As expected of a small item craftsman, he can pay attention to such details.

"These four are designed specifically for the nobility. Some are made of colored glass, while others have simple glasswork added to the surface. Perhaps some metal decorations could also be added. However, nobles of higher rank would probably order custom-made sparkling bottles."

Clear glass with subtle floral prints, translucent blues and bright reds, opaque milky whites—each bottle is eye-catchingly beautiful.

"These colored glass and decorations are beautiful, and would be perfect as gifts for girls. I think we could make the bottles uniform and add glass or metal covers..."

"Yeah, that's right. We can make separate cases, so we don't have to make different designs for each bottle. This way, customers can choose the glass color and case they want, which is like semi-customization."

"If it breaks or you get tired of it, you can always get a new one."

Fermo nodded vigorously and began to write down the notes on the paper at hand. Dahlia also wrote down the discussion in her notebook.

Various colored glass covers are paired with patterned covers. It seems like it would be a good idea to have someone paint the covers.

This allows for a lot of different designs, which is great.

"These two are for portable use. Nominally, they're for washing hands when out and about... but I was actually just testing how small a bubbler bottle could get."

"I get it! I'm curious about the minimum and maximum values, too..."

"You too! I think about this when I make things, and I'd love to test it out if I get a chance!"

It’s a craftsman, ah, it’s a craftsman, this is a craftsman.

Dalia recalled the feeling when her father and daughter talked about magical tools when they were still alive.

She was very excited about it.

"Mr. Fermo, do you also damage items when you perform extreme tests?"

"Of course! I want to know what happens to the items once they reach the hands of the customers, and the test results can serve as a reference for future use. After these bottles have been tested with 10,000 compressions, I will continue testing them until they break. Is this also the case when you make magical tools?"

"I would do that, but some magic tool masters wouldn't."

Fermo nodded and listened to Dahlia's words without criticism.

But in fact, both of them are a little different from ordinary people.

The durability of most magical tools is much higher than that of ordinary items, so when a magic tool maker says that he will test the magic tools "until they break", he will probably be regarded as a weirdo.