Chapter 37 - Can’t Quit Being a Magical Toolmaker
Shortly after noon, while Dahlia was inspecting the waterproof cloth in her workshop, the bell at the gate rang.
Thinking it might be Irma, she went out to check, only to find Volf, who had just returned home earlier that morning.
He was wearing his fairy crystal glasses firmly on his face.
"Sorry for dropping by unannounced. I wanted to pay for the glasses from yesterday and deliver this quickly."
Volf’s tone was unusually brisk.
He handed her a leather pouch, presumably containing gold coins for payment, and a black leather document case.
Please don’t hand things over with that eager, dog-who-just-retrieved-a-ball expression, she thought.
Tilting her head at his apparent joy over the glasses, he responded with a bright smile.
"I thought about it carefully and had this properly notarized. I don’t want to trouble an important friend."
"Wait, no way..."
Dahlia opened the document with a sinking feeling of dread. Inside, it read, 'Dahlia Rossetti is an equal friend, allowed freedom of speech without any fear of disrespect.' What followed was an excessively long, supplemental explanation.
Worse, there wasn’t just one sheet of parchment but two. The thought of reading through it all was genuinely terrifying.
He went and did it, she thought, her words internally coarse but honest.
A glance at the notary public’s signature revealed it to be none other than Dominic from the Merchant Guild.
How on earth would she face Dominic the next time they met? How would she explain this situation?
Dahlia felt an overwhelming urge to crawl under her bed and hide.
"You actually went through with this... but why use the Merchant Guild?"
"I figured a royal or noble notary public might make it overly complicated. When I explained to the Merchant Guild that I wanted a way for a magical toolmaker to freely discuss ideas with me, Dominic-san offered his help."
"So that’s how it happened..."
If it was presented that way, perhaps Dominic found it acceptable. She sincerely hoped so.
"Also, Dominic-san suggested something. Would you let me invest in the Rossetti Company? Through the Merchant Guild, of course.”
"Huh?"
Dahlia couldn’t comprehend why Dominic the notary public would encourage Volf to invest.
She already had enough investors, and she wasn’t looking to raise additional funds. The Rossetti Company existed primarily to support her material procurement.
"It’s not so that you would give priority to new waterproof cloth or enhanced swords. If something incredible, like these glasses, could be created, I want to support that. Besides, I have savings I’m not using. Dominic-san said having more noble names among the investors might open up more opportunities to access all sorts of materials."
His explanation made total sense.
In Dominic's point of view, Volf and Dahlia were like children.
It was likely that he wanted to include the noble name "Scalfarotto" among the investors in order to expand her chances of finding materials.
In this case, she’d gladly make use of the opportunity to expand her options.
As far as materials were concerned, Volf had already become something like a mole in the same hole, or at least one in the neighboring hole.
"All right. I appreciate your offer to invest in the Rossetti Company. I’ll accept it as a business matter and work hard to repay it through my work."
"Thank you for agreeing despite my selfish request. I’ll proceed with it. And if you ever run into trouble—whether it’s related to me or not—don’t hesitate to let me know. My contact information, including for both the barracks and my home, is in the contract. With my status as a royal knight and the Scalfarotto name, I might be able to help.”
"Wait, didn’t you say you’d become a commoner someday? Wouldn’t that count as an abuse of power?"
"It’s not abuse. I’m just making good use of my resources while I’m still at my current home.”
Handsome he may be, but his personality was utterly chaotic.
He had a kindness that showed he cared for me, yet he also likes to tease others, like a mischievous child. At times, he was as obedient as a dog, other times carefree and almost commoner-like, and even had a faint, aristocratic darkness about him. This man was impossible to read.
She decided it was best for her mental well-being to give up trying to understand him and simply think of him as Volf, all in one.
"Dahlia, truly, thank you."
Volf suddenly bowed deeply.
Ever since yesterday, Volf, a noble, had been bowing his head to her, a commoner, at every turn. Before she could protest, he straightened up and flashed her a boyish smile.
"I’m really happy. Wearing these glasses, I can walk freely. No one calls out to me, no one stares, no men say anything, and no women ask for my name. Today, I made it from the castle to here without a single person stopping me."
"...That’s wonderful."
At this point, just listening to him made her feel pity. She wanted him to enjoy walking the streets as a regular person with those glasses.
"Sorry, but could you make a spare for me, just in case these break? Of course, I know how hard they were to make, so I’m not asking for it immediately. Whenever you can, and I’ll pay any price."
"Understood. I’ll look for more fairy crystals and calculate the cost. What about the color? The current ones are a light blue-gray, but I can use other colors too."
The current glasses combined blue-gray glass with a fairy crystal, giving his eyes their green hue. Experimenting with a different glass color or a new image for the crystals could be interesting.
The biggest challenge, however, was deciding whose eyes to model them after.
"I’d like the same as these. I realized while wearing them that this eye color looks a bit like yours, Dahlia."
"...Let’s change the color of the glasses to something completely different! A completely different color!"
"No, that’s not it! Wait, I want the same color as this!"
Feeling embarrassed, she made the suggestion, but Volf hastily protested, looking like a child desperately defending his choice. His earnestness made her laugh despite herself.
"I was joking. Lots of people have green eyes, so don’t worry about it."
"Oh, alright."
"Would you like some tea?"
"No, judging by your clothes, you’re currently working, right? I don’t want to interrupt. I’ll come again another time. I’ll check when I’m free and send someone to inform you, so let’s meet if our schedules match."
"All right. Next time, let’s work on the dagger enchantment."
"I’m really looking forward to it."
The next appointment already felt like a given, and it was strange how eagerly they were looking forward to it.
They had only met three times before, and today was the fourth, yet it felt as if they had known each other for much longer.
"Then, see you next time."
"I’ll be waiting."
Removing his glasses once, Volf gazed at her with his golden eyes.
With a gaze that seemed to be directed at someone truly important, for a moment, she almost felt like it was an illusion.
As expected, he was a strikingly handsome man.
"Thank you so much. I’m going to walk through the town alone now, with the glasses on."
He slowly put the glasses back on and, with a smile, turned around to head back the way he came.
She watched him leave with light steps, then turned and went back to the workshop.
She planned to finish the waterproof cloth today and spend the evening sipping red wine while brainstorming new magical tool designs.
This was who she was: a magical toolmaker.
People would sometimes mock her, saying magical toolmakers ranked far below mages and alchemists.
She couldn’t cast flashy attack magic like mages or heal injuries.
Nor could she brew potions or produce rare metals like alchemists.
Even when she created something she thought was great as a magical tool, people dismissed it, asking what use it had.
There were also times when complaints would come in, saying that the item was useless or hard to understand even though they hadn’t even bothered to read the instruction manual.
Because of the price and profit contracts, there were times when ordinary people would call her a money-hungry person.
Development was a process of trial and error, with failures outnumbering successes. There were countless times she felt discouraged by the mountain of failed prototypes.
No matter how carefully she enchanted something, materials—sometimes expensive ones—often ended up wasted.
And yet, there were many times when she felt glad to be a magical toolmaker.
Seeing her creations make someone’s life easier or bring a smile to their face was rewarding.
Knowing that her tools could contribute to someone’s happiness, even in a small way, was an addictive pleasure.
There were days when she thought to herself, This is why I can’t quit being a magical toolmaker.
Today was one of those days.
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