Chapter 41 - Wine Glass Set
Yesterday afternoon, a messenger from Volf arrived at Dahlia's place.
Just like last time, Dahlia thought the messenger had come merely to deliver a sealed letter. However, at the gate, he cheerfully informed her, "Please check it, and if you find it agreeable, I would appreciate your response."
Panicking, Dahlia peeked inside the envelope. The message read: "I returned from the expedition and will have two days off starting tomorrow. If you are available, I would like to meet before noon on one of those days; if you're busy, we can arrange another time."
The messenger said it was fine to respond either verbally or in writing, and he had already prepared some stationery.
Feeling that a verbal reply might not be appropriate, Dahlia wrote directly on the wooden board provided to her. There, she penned, "I am relieved to hear of your safe return. I am available tomorrow," and signed her name.
She couldn’t help but feel that her handwriting looked awful on the high-quality stationery.
The messenger thanked her politely before leaving.
Today, Volf arrived at the tower in a delivery carriage.
When Dahlia greeted him, she was left speechless at the sight of the towering stack of large wooden crates being unloaded from the carriage.
One box contained meat and fish, another with vegetables and fruits, and a third had various cheeses and wine.
It was far more than one or two people could possibly consume.
"Uh... what’s all this?"
"The other day, I ended up eating a lot, so this is a thank-you. I’ve also included an ice magic stone; if you put it in the box, it should help the food last a bit longer."
"Thank you, but please, next time don't go out of your way."
It seemed Volf was still worried about the last meal.
Due to the weight, the wooden boxes had to be carried up to the second floor by Volf.
Upon entering the tower, Volf immediately removed his glasses and carefully placed them in his black leather case.
Watching him, Dahlia couldn’t help but smile.
It brought her immense joy to see the magical tool she had crafted being treated with such care.
"Is this a refrigerator?"
"Yes, it's still a prototype, but the upper section can freeze things too."
"Wow, it includes a freezer too! That’s amazing!"
Volf's eyes lit up as he gazed at the prototype refrigerator in the workshop.
The refrigerator she had made two days ago had finally thawed enough to be usable.
She planned to have Marcella transport it soon so she could try using it in the kitchen for a while.
"Has this already been assigned to someone?"
"No, I actually want to try using it first, so I plan to have it moved to the kitchen. Since it's heavy, I'm going to ask a friend in the Courier Guild to help."
"Then let me carry it now. It looks like we can fit the things I bought into it as well."
"But, it’s really heavy."
Though it seemed odd to say that to a man who was carrying three large wooden boxes, the silver refrigerator was probably even heavier. The metal sheets made it unavoidably heavy.
When it was delivered to the workshop, it took two men to carry it.
"Excuse me for a moment."
He placed the boxes on the ground, rolled up his sleeves slightly, and then placed his hands on the refrigerator.
He gently rocked it twice, as if testing where to hold it and checking its balance, then he easily tipped the refrigerator onto its side.
"It’s lighter than I thought. But it’s big, so I’ll need to be careful not to hit the door."
"Wow..."
Dahlia couldn’t help but voice her surprise as she watched the man walk effortlessly, without a hint of the refrigerator’s weight.
At this rate, Volf could probably join the Courier Guild at any time.
"Are you sure it’s not heavy?"
"Not at all. A red bear is much heavier."
"You carried a red bear?"
For a moment, an image of Volf carrying a red bear in a princess carry flashed in her mind, and she couldn't help but shake her head.
"No, when my sword got stuck and it came running towards me, I threw it. I had applied body reinforcement, but my wrist was messed up for a while."
This time, the image of a young man wrestling with a red bear appeared in her mind, so she shook the daydream off once again.
She opened the door to have the refrigerator brought in, and there was no problem at all with getting it through the doorway or carrying it up the stairs.
For Volf, it was as if he were carrying a shelf made of cardboard.
He gently placed the refrigerator where Dahlia had asked, then immediately returned downstairs to bring in the wooden boxes.
As always, his movements were swift.
Later, while Dahlia was carefully packing the groceries into the refrigerator like a puzzle, she found four decorated silver boxes inside the cheese and wine box.
"Those are the wine glasses I promised you—two for white wine and two for red."
"...Volf, why are the wine glasses each packed in a magic-sealing box?"
"Uh... because it’s stylish?"
Why was the intonation of his words slightly off?
Clearly, these were magic-sealing boxes for magical tools.
The boxes had a beautiful goddess etched on the outside, so they were probably purchased at the magical tool shop "Goddess' Right Eye."
Dahlia opened one of the boxes and gently lifted a transparent glass.
When she looked through it, occasional flashes of rainbow-colored light shimmered, like a prism.
She was impressed at how comfortably the glass fit in her hand, but then she felt a slight fluctuation of magic.
"I thought wine glasses were usually made of glass, but these ones seem to be made of magically enchanted crystals?"
"They were beautiful, and I thought it was better to get ones with durability enhancement."
"May I ask how much they cost?"
"Oh, no, I just wanted to make sure they wouldn’t break if we clinked them too hard. They weren’t too expensive."
"So how much were they?"
Dahlia asked again, and Volf averted his eyes downward.
"...Four gold coins."
"...I’ll pay half."
What kind of purchase was this?
Sure, they might not break, but that price was far beyond what Dahlia considered acceptable for everyday use.
A single glass cost about 100,000 yen, and the entire set, totaling 400,000 yen, was definitely beyond what she considered acceptable.
"No, it's fine. I bought these because I wanted them."
But the thing was, the glasses would be used by both Dahlia and Volf here.
It might not matter for Volf, but Dahlia was certain that if she broke one of them, she would be upset for days.
"Volf, when our circumstances are so different, I think there might be times when it’s difficult to match our sense of finances. I’m just concerned about receiving such expensive glasses as a gift."
"If you're going to say that, Dahlia, you gave me glasses enchanted with fairy crystal, calling it a prototype, and offered it to me for free."
When she thought about it, it was true, but there was a difference between something made from unused stock and something freshly bought.
"No, the prototype needs to be used so that I can identify areas for improvement."
"Even though it's a prototype, I've already been using it without any issues, so I think it should be treated as a finished product."
"…Understood. In that case, I'll only bring out these glasses when you come, Volf."
"I'd like you to use them regularly, Dahlia. And if they break, I can just buy more. It's not a burden for me, so don't worry about it."
He said it with a smile, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and Dahlia understood.
Volf was trying to "give" it to her as if it were the most natural thing.
And he had no intention of turning it into a loan or using it for his own benefit in the future.
However, he was unaware that this could affect their relationship in the future.
They were friends, not in a relationship where one gave assistance and the other received it.
At least for herself, she didn’t want things to turn out that way.
"I appreciate the gesture, but I want to avoid becoming just the one who 'receives' from a friend. For example, if you kept getting expensive things from wealthier friends, wouldn't you start to feel hesitant or inferior as your relationship continued?"
She searched for the right words to express herself, worried that she might offend him.
The man's golden eyes widened slightly before slowly lowering.
"...I'm sorry. I only just understood what you meant."
"No, I understand that you were being considerate, and I appreciate it. I believe that from your perspective, this glass is probably normal. As for the glasses, I'll treat it as a finished product, not a prototype. So, please let me allocate half of the cost of the wine glasses to the glasses. I'll make sure to properly make the next pair with the amount you've entrusted to me."
"I would like you to charge a proper craftsmanship fee and sell the glasses at the market price."
"I understand. I'll do that."
They nodded to each other and returned to the task of putting away the groceries.
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