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

"Indeed. She is no longer just a flower in the sky, but a star in the sky."

They were talking about the former Duchess, Atya Gastoni.

The women said she used her power and wealth to force Wolff into serving her; the men said he voluntarily submitted to her power and beauty.

She was the princess's sister-in-law, a high-ranking noble, her husband died young, and she had a handsome lover—rumors about her were endless.

"It's so cruel to have to face my own feelings in this situation..."

"Let's get drunk when we get back to the capital..."

"Okay, today we'll just drink and have fun. Don't think about anything else and just fall asleep."

Gloomy sighs rose one after another.

Some people didn't say who they saw, but just sighed silently.

"Looks like you'll have to start by finding out the maid's name."

"She's so cute, she must have a boyfriend..."

"Don't give up so easily. Just ask and you'll know. A man should be determined to fight to the death."

"I don't want to be torn to pieces... What about you, Dolino?"

Dolino, who encouraged others to pursue love, looked into the distance and smiled weakly.

"Fabiola is popular even among the nobility, so how could he possibly be interested in me? Of course I'll just go home and drink alone, annoying~"

"Being funny at a time like this would just seem empty, Dolino."

"That's a lot of noise, Randolph. Who did you see?"

“…I won’t tell you.”

"No, you've heard what we said, you have to say it yourself."

It seems that these people don't need alcohol to chat about love topics enthusiastically.

Although they didn't drink any alcohol, they were already talking as if they were at a banquet.

Despite the commotion behind him, Wolff didn't look back and took off his armor.

He picked up the water magic stone and poured water directly on his head. His whole body was covered in blood and smelled of blood.

As he was washing his hair again, a knight with blue-gray hair came to his side.

"You're not hurt, are you, Wolf?"

"I'm fine. Where's Astorga-senpai?"

"I used too much force just now, and part of the sword was damaged."

The man said this with a smile, and began to wash his hair and face with the Water Magic Stone.

The drops of water sliding down his face looked like tears, which made Wolff a little concerned.

"Senpai's swordplay just now was truly impressive... May I ask whose phantom you saw?"

"It's rare for you to ask such a question... I saw my wife, whom I divorced two years ago. I was away on expeditions so often that she felt like she had no husband."

The two rarely talked in the past, and the other person answered in a calm voice.

"I'm sorry for asking such a rude question."

"It's nothing. Since I was able to chop it down, it means I've let it go. I'll try to go on the blind date that someone arranged for me later. Where's Wolffred?"

Wolff hesitated for a moment whether to tell him the truth, then said:

"...I saw an important friend. Both the Bicorn and myself are making me want to vomit."

"No matter who it is, don't overthink it. A phantom might not be someone you like, but someone you value. Before I saw my ex-wife, I saw my younger brother who died young. I remember being furious."

"Brother..."

"Yes. Some people also see their children or deceased relatives. The purple bicorn may show us 'someone we want to protect' or 'someone we once wanted to protect'."

What he saw was "someone he wanted to protect" - this statement untied Wolf's knot.

The words "the person I once wanted to protect" reminded him of his mother Vanessa.

The image of a cold body lying on the ground, never to move again, flashed through his mind. The black hair, stained with mud, suddenly turned red, and he was so frightened that his heart froze.

He hadn't been able to protect the people who were important to him, and he cried with regret for his weakness. He didn't want to experience that feeling again.

"We all need to become stronger. We can't let the monsters take advantage of us."

"Yes, I need to become stronger."

After Wolfe answered, he finally showed his usual smile.

Volume 3 Interlude Senior Craftsmen and Interest

Fermo Gandolfi was the workshop manager of the Gandolfi Workshop and a small item craftsman.

His job is to make bottles, pumps, sprayers, tubes, boxes and other items using metal or monster materials according to customer needs.

His father was also a small craftsman, but in order to learn a wider range of skills, he went to other workshops for further training from the age of fifteen to twenty-one.

Later, I returned to my own workshop and inherited my father's legacy. It has been more than 20 years since then, and I have a certain confidence in this job.

People have always said that he is stubborn and inflexible, and he knows that he is.

When he was young, he loved to quarrel with others. As long as others concealed something, he would hold on to it.

It doesn’t matter how you make it, just sell it to me cheaply—he was angry at the customer who said this.

You can use materials of inferior quality than those in the announcement - he protested to the agency.

Seeing that the Chamber of Commerce was taking advantage of others' misfortune and offering unreasonable prices, he refused to do business with them.

But he still gets work today, all because he has regular customers who trust his craft and continue to work with him, because his wife is diligent in her work, and because colleagues in the industry often refer work to him.

However, recently, Changke's business was taken over by the next generation, and his wife fell ill, so his workshop began to decline.

Although he could ask his colleagues for help, they didn't look too good either, so Fermo couldn't speak.

A craftsman cannot survive if he cannot make anything, lacks customers or channels to connect with customers.

Last month, when he went to the Commerce Guild at Gabriela's request, he secretly made up his mind to absolutely protect his wife and apprentice, to stop being stubborn, and to bow his head no matter who the other party was.

"I'm Dalia from the Roseti Chamber of Commerce. Please give me your guidance."

A young woman with bright red hair and green eyes appeared at the meeting. Fermo was surprised to find that this young woman, still looking childish, was the president of the Roseti Chamber of Commerce.

What surprised him even more was that she was also a craftsman.

Gabriella's letter described her as an "excellent magic tool master," and that was true.

Seeing the bubble bottle on the table spitting out fine white foam, Fermo was extremely curious about its working principle.

He took the bottle into another room and shaved. He wondered if he could understand the principle without opening the bottle, but he couldn't.

Later he opened the bottle and was suddenly enlightened and impressed.

From the perspective of the small object craftsman, there are some areas that could be improved. The corners of the bottle aren't rounded enough, and the center of gravity should be moved down a bit to make the bottle more stable. Despite this, he remains drawn to the function and structure of the sparkling bottle.

However, when Fermo heard Dalia's suggestion to register the interest contract for the sparkling bottle under a "joint name", he was very angry.

His workshop was in decline. He thought Gabriella had sent Dalia to do this to help his workshop get back on its feet. He didn't want to accept this sympathy.

But he was wrong.

Dalia just wanted to improve the sparkling bottle and work with Fermo to create a finished product.

After realizing this, Fermo really wanted to find a hole to crawl into or have someone pour a bucket of water on his head.

When Fermo was worrying about this little thing, Dalia looked at him and said:

"You can definitely improve it or make a different version, right?"

Gandolfi Workshop was neither a manufacturer favored by the nobility nor was it acquainted with any powerful chamber of commerce.

Fermo simply took apart, assembled, and studied the structure of the sparkling bottle in front of her.

Dahlia only observed his hand movements, but based on this alone, she had complete confidence in his craftsmanship and gave him the task of improving and developing derivative products, saying that he "definitely" could do it.

If a craftsman still had no motivation at this point, he would definitely sneer at him.

"I can."

After hearing what he said, Dalia smiled brightly and looked very happy.

Hearing Fermo's various suggestions, her green eyes sparkled, her voice became higher in excitement, and she leaned forward. Fermo was influenced by her and spoke more excitedly, not caring that it was their first meeting and even forgetting to use honorifics.

However, the bubbling bottle was Dahlia's invention. He still felt bad about signing the benefit contract in their "joint names" and was about to refuse.

This time it was Dalia who misunderstood his thoughts and showed an extremely frustrated expression.

"You don't want your name listed alongside a newcomer like me in the contract, right?"

Wait, I didn’t say that at all. I didn’t even think about it.

And it's strange that a skilled craftsman like you calls himself a newcomer. We've been colleagues on equal terms for a long time—Firmo suppressed the urge to say this and surrendered in his heart.

Then I agreed to the co-developer's proposal.

He was helpless against this younger craftsman in every aspect, but he still had the backbone of a senior craftsman.

So Fermo said to her:

"I will work hard to come up with a good product and produce it step by step. One day, I will make you a lot of money."

"What kind of person is the president of the Roseti Merchants Guild?"

That day, he returned home from the Chamber of Commerce and immediately answered his wife's question:

"He's a craftsman very similar to me."

"That's troublesome. But it's also a good thing."

Barbara, his wife, said with a smile. Just by doing this, they understood each other.

"That person is both the head of the Chamber of Commerce and a craftsman?"

The disciples looked at each other in confusion.

Fermo simply replied "yes" and changed into his work clothes, wanting to get to work as soon as possible.

Yes, she is a craftsman.

Dahlia Rossetti was undoubtedly a craftsman.

She generously explains the structure of her products, prioritizing their feasibility, practicality, durability, and versatility over profit. To create a superior product, she mobilizes all her resources, even if it means sacrificing her own profits. She unhesitatingly invites other artisans to collaborate on the project, listing them as developers alongside her—she is the artisan known as the Magical Tool Master.

He is also a serious craftsman who voluntarily plunges into the deep quagmire of creation, forgetting everything and dedicating his soul to his work.

Fermo smelled the scent of his own kind in her and began to work with joy.

Some time later, Fermo was invited to the Green Tower where Dahlia lived.

There, he listened to the merchant Ivano talk about Dahlia's situation. Although he found the situation very difficult and tiring, he had no intention of sympathizing with the other party.

This was too rude of a statement, and he didn't dare say it to Dahlia's face, but he felt in his heart that breaking off the engagement was a good opportunity for her.

Being able to do whatever you want and expand the scope of your work is the happiness of a craftsman.

And from this perspective, it seems that the woman's happiness is not far away, and there will be a happy ending in the end - but Fermo is not so idle as to interfere with other people's love affairs and willingly let himself be trampled to death by an eight-legged horse. (Note: This comes from the Japanese proverb "Those who interfere with other people's love affairs will be kicked by horses").

The Roseti Chamber of Commerce was her safe haven.

There is the knight Wolf who protects her safety and the merchant Ivano who helps her with business.

Fermo wanted to stand beside them as a senior craftsman.

He wanted to be a senior who could give Dalia advice. Even if he might ask her for advice in the future, he still wanted to help Dalia.

"It's already so late..."

Fermo looked up and found that the moon outside the workshop window had moved a long distance.

He repeatedly molded the metal in his hands into different shapes, and his work gloves were soaked with sweat.

The table is piled high with specifications and prototype materials, so many that it's a bit daunting to sort them out.

He had only known Dalia for a few days, and not only had the workshop's business improved, it was also so busy that it was short-staffed and even had insufficient warehouse space, so it had to rent an empty house nearby.

The Merchants Guild had already placed a large order for sparkling bottles from them. Fermo's entire time was consumed by production and delivery alone, and his apprentices were so exhausted these days that they fell asleep as soon as their shift was over.