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

It seems that Wolf was followed on his way to the Green Tower the day after he defeated the Harpy.

He was so immersed in the excitement of meeting Dahlia that he didn't notice it at all.

"Thank you for your kindness. I will make good use of the horses. However, I hope you will not disturb me while I am with the president of the Roseti Merchants Guild..."

"I'm so sorry..."

Wolff's flat voice made the atmosphere a little awkward.

After a moment of silence, Guid coughed lightly.

"I have something else to give you."

The servant standing by opened the black leather box, took out a roll of parchment, and gently placed it on the table in front of Wolf.

"This is the background check report for the president of the Roseti Chamber of Commerce."

"Have you investigated Dalia?"

"Yes, to ensure your safety."

Guid said decisively, staring at Wolf with his father's blue eyes.

"She is truly a serious and research-oriented lady with no scandals in her past."

"Of course, Dahlia—"

"Until I start dating you right after I break up with you."

Wolff could imagine what people were saying, and he knew he was to blame, but he was still angry about the slander against Dahlia.

"Dalia is my friend. All the bad comments are my fault. She is not wrong."

He looked directly into his brother's eyes and said this, and for some reason the other smiled slightly and nodded.

"She's a capable magical tool maker, passionate about research, and serious. She's a valuable friend of yours. That's how I understand it."

"……Thanks."

"Would you like to take this document back with you?"

"I don't need to. If there's anything I want to know, I'll ask her."

"I knew you'd say that. Just take this."

Guid handed him a folded piece of paper.

"A lot of it is from when I was in college. I don't know if it's still accurate now. But it should be useful as a reference."

"Favorite colors: white, aqua blue... Favorite dessert: baked cheesecake..."

The note listed Dalia's favorite foods, her dislikes, the meals she often ate in the restaurant, etc.

The person who knew this information must be very familiar with Dahlia. He was very concerned about where this information came from.

"Brother, where did this come from?"

"...I asked the Intelligence Department to investigate."

"What?"

This unexpected answer left Wolff's mouth open for several seconds.

He understood that his brother wanted to ascertain Dalia's identity to ensure his own safety, and that this information must have been obtained during the investigation. But how could he ask the country's intelligence department to investigate such a matter?

He was also concerned about how much his brother had spent, or what price he had paid.

"Brother, what did you do?"

"Nothing. I have an acquaintance in the Intelligence Department, and they made an exception and helped me with this. I didn't use any force."

“There’s no need to do this…”

"No, I think it's better to know a girl's preferences beforehand. If she forces herself to be happy and eats something she doesn't like, or you give her a room full of flowers that turn out to be a taste she doesn't like, you'll definitely regret it later."

"elder brother……"

"...I hope you can make good use of my brother's experience."

"Guide said this quietly," Wolff said, bowing his head in thanks and putting the note in his coat pocket.

"Also, I've already bought the 'Fairy Crystal' you requested and will have it delivered tomorrow. If someone else collects it next time, I'll buy it for you."

"Thank you, I'll pay you later."

"No, please give me some face. I haven't done anything for you in the past ten years."

"...Thank you. I'll be at your service then."

Wolf felt that he had already received a great favor today, but at his brother's sincere request, he bowed his head again to express his gratitude.

He wanted to give his brother a gift in return, but he couldn't think of what to give him, nor did he know what his brother liked, so he decided to ask him directly.

"Although there are many things I can't afford, is there anything you would like to buy, brother?"

"I want... I have an idea. If you'd like, I'd like to call you 'Wolver' like before."

"What?"

The unexpected words surprised Wolff so much that his voice broke.

His brother did call him that when he was a child, but when his brother suddenly said he wanted to change back to that name, he was still a little shy.

"Um... you can call me that, no need to ask for my opinion..."

"Okay, you can call me Good 'Gege' like before."

“Please spare me…”

Seeing Wolfe's frown, his brother laughed.

"By the way, you said you wanted to be demoted to a civilian in the future. Are you serious about that?"

"Yes, I will do that one day."

"This is going to be a bit harsh, but I hope you'll listen carefully. This matter won't be that simple for you."

His brother suddenly changed his tone, and Wolff also became serious.

"There are already many people pursuing you. If you lose the aura of the Scafarot family, more people may want to take advantage of this opportunity to pursue you or take action against you."

“I don’t think I’m that valuable anymore after I leave home.”

"Even though you haven't done anything yet, aren't there still people who are pursuing you unilaterally or harboring resentment towards you?"

"this……"

This was indeed Wolff's personal experience, and he didn't know how to respond.

"Once you become a commoner, these kinds of things will happen more and more often, and they might even attack your future family or important people. If you don't have enough strength by then, you won't be able to protect those important to you."

"strength……"

He had thought that everything was over after he left the Scafalots' house.

If one day I really want to live among the common people, as long as I have the fairy crystal glasses, there will be no problem. It depends on whether I want to continue to be a knight or find a job. In short, as long as I have a certain amount of savings, I can live.

He never thought that after he abandoned his noble status, there might still be people who would pursue him relentlessly, and even affect those close to him and important people.

Wolff realized how naive and shallow his thoughts were and was speechless.

"It would be safer if we could have the president of the Roseti Merchants Guild become our relative's adopted daughter, or marry you..."

"Dalia and I don't have that kind of relationship. She's a magic tool maker and the head of the Roseti Guild. She won't change her name or her profession. I don't want her to."

He tried his best to deny his brother's misunderstanding of them, but Good did not give in.

"You're both still young, and things might change. Perhaps one day, you'll want to spend the rest of your life with the president of the Roseti Chamber of Commerce."

"I do want to stay by her side as a friend and support her in her work at the Chamber of Commerce. But we've already agreed to be friends."

As he spoke, he felt a heavy pain in his chest.

Ever since the day they agreed to be friends, he and Dalia had become much closer.

If he were to become a commoner now, it would definitely get her into trouble. He didn't have enough strength to stop the damage.

"Wolf, I'm not saying you can't live among the people. I just hope you'll consider this matter carefully for your own safety."

"Thank you. I was just being too naive. I'll keep this in mind."

"No, that's also because my father and I never gave you any advice. If you have any troubles or confusion, feel free to talk to me."

"Okay, I'll discuss this with you if I need anything."

After Wolfe finished speaking, Guyd smiled like an older brother and nodded.

Volume 3 ◆ Interlude: The Coward's Atonement

It was late at night, and Good gave the carriage to Wolff who was going back to the barracks, and stayed in the store himself.

He had just been drinking at his brother's pace, and it seemed he had drunk a bit too much. But he hadn't felt this comfortable feeling of being tipsy in a long time.

The younger brother who said goodbye with a smile had grown taller than him.

He searched his memory but still couldn't remember when he was chased, and his chest ached slightly.

Gouyd, the eldest son of the Scafalot family, has three younger brothers.

The second son of the second wife, Fabio.

His third son, Elud, has the same mother as him.

and the third wife's son, the fourth son, Walfred.

Even though they have a big age gap and live with a different mother, the four brothers still have a good relationship.

The mothers also have a good relationship. The sons are closer to their three mothers than to their father, who is busy with work and rarely at home.

When his father Renato was about to marry his third wife, Guide was studying in elementary college.

He wasn't particularly surprised to hear the news. Rumors had already spread that his family would ascend from earldom to marquisate in his generation. He assumed his father was trying to establish a relationship with a high-ranking noble.

However, he was surprised when he first met the third wife Vanessa.

Her father was a baron of one generation only, but she herself was a commoner and a young female knight.

She had lustrous ebony hair, snow-white skin, mysterious black eyes, and a doll-like, well-proportioned face. Despite her stunning beauty, her family background didn't match that of the Scafarot family. She wasn't even the adopted daughter of any high-ranking noble.

Good was stunned by the way his father carefully escorted Vanessa. He never expected that his father would fall in love at such an old age.

He later heard that Vanessa was the guard knight of Duchess Atya Gastoni, and that she was not only proficient in ice magic, but could also conjure up ice swords. He was somewhat relieved.

However, the second son, Fabio, still couldn't accept it.

Phobio actually wants to be a knight, not a mage, and is upset about his father marrying a new wife.

After Vanessa moved into their home, Fabio once said to her, "If you are truly a knight, challenge me."

Good also half-jokingly said, "I've always wanted to have a mock battle with the Magic Knight."

Elud was involved in the incident without saying anything because he happened to be with his two brothers. He later complained about it to his brothers, and they had to use their pocket money to buy him a magic book.

"I don't know who to fight first, because it could be over in one round."

After hearing Fabio's sarcastic request, Vanessa nodded, smiled beautifully, and said:

"So, you three should come together."

The three brothers were still little boys. Born into the Scafalot family, they had been trained in magic since they were old enough to understand, and were somewhat confident in their water magic abilities.

Phobio even started learning swordsmanship at a young age and has reached a certain level.

They thought they couldn't lose if they attacked together, so they rushed forward aggressively. Unexpectedly, Vanessa defeated them all at once in the backyard, without mercy, and completely defeated them.

The sight of such a miserable defeat was hilarious.

Vanessa dodged the brothers' swords and water magic, stepped on the ice they conjured, leaped into the air, and unexpectedly brought down her fists on their heads. She fought with her bare hands, not even with her model sword.

After just a few minutes, all three of them huddled on the ground with their heads in their hands.

Later, she lectured them lightly: "As a boy from the Scafalot family, how can you be so low?" Guid felt very unwilling, but he also felt from the bottom of his heart that she was a really beautiful woman.

The three brothers were dragged out for training early the next morning, which was too much for him.

Vanessa asked them to run to build up their strength, explaining that since they were Scafalot boys, they needed to start with the basics of combat. Thus began a life of daily muscle aches, and Goode felt a bit resentful towards his father for allowing this.

The two mothers just watched them practice with a smile on their faces.