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

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"Even students in elementary schools are holding hands now..."

After saying goodbye to Dalia and the others, Marcella walked away laughing.

They were both in their twenties, but to Marcella they looked like a teenage couple.

Dalia grasped the man's sleeve. Even with such a simple movement, she hesitated, using very gentle force, as if any greater movement would cause her grip to slip.

The man matched Dahlia's pace, walking ahead of her to avoid being jostled by the crowd. He kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead, wary of bumping into her. Even when Marcella spoke to them, the man's first step was to make sure it was safe.

The way the man carefully protected Dahlia was laughable, but Marcella had no intention of mocking him.

Marcella felt a little embarrassed when she thought about herself when she first started dating Irma.

"strangeness……?"

He suddenly discovered something.

He had often seen Tobias and Dahlia walking together, but he could not recall them holding hands.

They had been engaged for two years. I should have seen them holding hands, but no matter how hard I searched my memory, I couldn't recall it.

The only thing that came to his mind was Dahlia taking care of the drunk Tobias, and when a button on Tobias's shirt fell off, Dahlia was there to sew it up for him, with this look of caring for family members on her face.

Vice versa. As far as he could remember, Tobias had never looked at Dahlia with eager eyes, nor had he ever spoken warmly to her.

However, Tobias would not let Dahlia lift heavy objects, would secretly repair the damaged stairs and floors in her house, and would not let her meet customers who made strange requests when ordering magical tools.

The same thing happened when Marcella and Tobias were drinking alone.

Tobias never showed affection, only saying he was worried about Dahlia conducting dangerous trials or experiments, or that she was stuck in slime and it was nerve-wracking, or that a male client was walking her home and Tobias and Carlo were worried about her. Marcella, upon hearing this, couldn't help but retort, "Are you Dahlia's brother?"

Tobias and Dalia were indeed engaged, but that was only a step beyond brother and sister. There was no passion or blindness between them; they just wanted to be each other's family.

In fact, before they got married, Marcella also won the rock-paper-scissors game and became the "lucky mover."

They broke up before Marcella even asked them what they wanted, which was probably the luckiest thing that could have happened in some ways.

"...He seems like a nice guy."

Marcella thought back to the tall, dark-haired man standing next to Dahlia.

He had a calm face and a soft, resonant voice. Even through his light blue glasses, one could see the passion for Dalia in his eyes.

To be honest, Marcella didn't like aristocrats and wasn't used to being around them, but he hoped the man he saw was different from the other aristocrats.

It had only been a month since Dalia's engagement was broken off, and Marcella didn't want to see her get hurt again.

He really wanted to test for his friend whether walking on a dangerous road with this person would be a dangerous journey.

"Next time we drink, let's give it a try..."

The lucky porter carefully carried the wooden box and boarded the carriage.

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Dahlia and Wolf continued walking, browsing shops selling glassware and pottery.

Every store has a lot of beautiful utensils, but I still haven't found the right one.

They were looking for a sake cup that was larger than a pig's mouth. (Note: Both pig's mouth and a cup are sake cups, but the cup has a larger capacity.)

Even if I see a beautiful container, I still feel hesitant when I pick it up because it feels wrong.

The shopping street was long, but the further they went, the fewer people there were. Besides the shops, there were a few buildings that looked like warehouses or offices. It didn't take long for them to walk the entire street and reach the road leading to the port.

"This seems to be a wine shop."

They stopped in front of an old wooden shop flanked by warehouses.

The black sign on the exterior wall bore only the mottled white characters "Wine Vessels." The sliding door to the entrance was wide open, but there were no banners soliciting customers, no merchandise on display, and no staff to be seen.

"The store seems to be at the very back. Let's go in and take a look."

Dahlia followed Wolf through the dim corridor and into the softly lit store.

A thin white cloth was hung in front of the window, which moderately blocked the bright summer sun.

A gentle breeze blew through the small shop, making it surprisingly cool. Perhaps there was an ice magic stone somewhere, useful in conjunction with the cooling fan.

Although there are not many, there are still some wine vessels such as deli, swallow cups, and pig mouths on the black shelf by the wall. (Note: Deli is a Japanese sake jug)

"Welcome."

Inside, an old man sat cross-legged on the carpet in the wooden floorboard room. He must be the owner of this shop. He was wearing a loose dark blue robe, which is very rare in this country.

Judging from his completely white hair and beard, he must be quite old. His narrow black eyes looked like he hadn't gotten enough sleep.

"Hello there."

"We only sell wine vessels for Dongjiu. It's okay if you don't want to buy anything. Just take your time browsing."

The two men greeted him hesitantly, and he finished his speech leisurely, smiling at them with his wrinkled face. His speech had a slight accent.

"If you find a wine vessel you like, pick it up and take a look. Otherwise, you won't know if it fits your hand."

The boss didn't stand up and continued.

"We will."

Wolfe replied.

He gave his boss a slight nod and walked towards the shelf, with Dalia following behind him.

The shelves were mostly filled with simple-to-use wine vessels, nothing fancy or fancy. Dalia tried to pick up a few that she liked and examined them; each one felt fine in the hand.

The weather has been so hot lately that she can't help but be drawn to glass containers.

Her favorite is the clear glass swallowing cup with a few red lines, and there's also a similar cup with dark blue lines. It feels quite substantial and feels good against her fingertips.

Wolff beside him also picked up the swallowing cup to check the feel.

"This is so pretty, and so comfortable to hold."

"I like it too. Let's pick this one. Want to buy Deli?"

"Let me think about it. We drink a lot, so maybe we should get a bigger Deli."

"If you drink a lot, I also recommend using the 'Piankou'."

The boss had walked diagonally behind Wolf without him noticing.

"Kataguchi?"

"Yes, wine stored in a katagori releases its aroma. If you drink quickly, it's more pleasant to drink from a katagori than from a bottle."

The boss pointed to a slightly larger container similar to a glass and said.

Unlike a glass, the container has a spout on the edge for easy pouring, and the grip is subtly curved.

The slightly thick glass is dotted with opaque lines, forming a beautiful pattern.

The capacity is quite large and should be able to hold one and a half cups of tea.

Wolff drinks very quickly. He can use a deli, but he can also use the spout to diffuse the aroma of the wine, then pour it into a swallow cup to drink.

There is no fixed way to drink. In fact, you can pour the wine directly from the bottle into the drinking cup, or put the wine in a larger teacup.

However, the piece in front of me has a beautiful appearance and is very charming.

Fortunately, the total price of the three wine vessels was cheaper than their budget.

Just as Dahlia was about to ask the boss to settle the bill, Wolfe seemed attracted to the edge of the shelf.

"So Dongjiu also has metal drinking vessels."

"This should be tin, right?"

At the very edge of the shelf sits a soft yet unique silver container.

The round little swallowing cup looks like a silver moon on the inky cloth pad.

"Silver cups are not uncommon, but tin cups are quite special."

"I heard that storing wine in tin makes it taste mellower, but I've never used it."

This was the first time Dalia had seen a tin swallowing cup in her life.

Her parents in her previous life would use it for evening drinks.

She remembers her father usually drinking sake or whiskey, while her mother, who was not a big drinker, drank diluted plum wine.

"Pewter is also great for brewing sake."

"燇?"

"Heating the wine is called hot burning or warm burning, depending on the temperature."

"Oh? This lady seems to be even more of a drinker. Pewter can be heated in water. At this time of year, you can also put ice cubes under the pewter to cool it down and make cold wine. Brandy is also suitable for this country's liquor."

The boss explained slowly, waving his deeply wrinkled hands from time to time.

"But tin is very soft and will deform if squeezed. Also, don't overheat it when heating it, and don't try to cool it by freezing it, as this will cause it to deform. Just like treating a loved one, be gentle and attentive."

"...That sounds difficult."

"That's why it tastes so good. Wait a minute."

The old man walked towards the inner door and came back a moment later with a glass of deli.

He asked the two men to hold tin drinking cups and then slowly poured the transparent wine into their cups.

The sound of wine being poured came from the glass deli, and Dalia felt very nostalgic.

"Thank you... This kind of wine is transparent."

"This is sake from the Land of the East. Temperature control for this kind of sake is difficult, so it was finally officially imported across the ocean this year. There's not much on the market right now, but since it's from my home country, I wanted to promote it."

The boss turned out to be from the East.

The unique aroma of Dongjiu wafted over, and the coolness of the wine spread from the cup to the fingertips.

"Take a sip first, and wait a moment."

"Drink it and wait a moment?"

"Yes, wait until he sobers up. Just like the men in the East Country will wait silently by the side while women are shopping, changing clothes, or putting on makeup."

Hearing his boss's serious words, Wolff couldn't help but smile bitterly.

The two did as he said, taking a sip of the wine and savoring it carefully before swallowing it.

The spicy and strong taste hits the tongue directly. There's a bitter taste immediately after swallowing, and a noticeable burning sensation as it passes through the throat.

It's also delicious, but people who don't drink well might choke. It's a very strong drink.

"I think it tastes great this way..."

Wolff, who likes spicy wine, said this with some confusion.

"Really? But if you let it sit for a bit longer, it'll taste different. Ah, we can't leave a girl waiting. Miss, this is for you to eat."

"Thank you. Is this candy?"

"This is candy made from solidified sugar. It's too sweet for me, but my wife loves it and always buys some to keep at home. Hey, would you like to try some too?"

"It's okay, I don't really like sweet things."

Wolfe looked at the angular white candy and could imagine its taste.

Dalia put the sweet-looking candy into her mouth.

Although the candy was entirely white and less angular, its taste and texture were almost identical to the "konpeito" of my previous life. After drinking the spicy wine, the candy seemed even sweeter and more delicious.

As she savored the candy, Wolfer asked her boss.

"Are all the wine vessels here from the Kingdom of the East?"

"Yes, but I run this shop out of interest, so I don't stock anything too fancy. Oh, I do have one treasure."

The boss opened the bottom drawer of the shelf and took out a dark-colored cloth bag. Inside was a small wine glass with a black exterior and a red interior.

"This is made from cherry blossoms from the East Country. The outside is painted black, and the inside is painted with the blood of a fire fox."

"Firefox?"

Dahlia had read about it in a book before. It was a rare monster unique to the Eastern Kingdom, possessing fire magic.