Chapter 146 - The Adventurers Guild
That afternoon, a little after tea time, Dahlia had visited the Adventurers Guild together with Ivano.
It was for two purposes—greeting the guild and receiving the bicorn materials.
The Adventurers Guild, a splendid five-story structure of vivid red brick, was newer than the Merchant Guild.
The building was divided into two wings. The entrance on the left was for adventurers taking on quests or selling materials, while the entrance on the right was for visitors coming to receive materials or for business-related matters.
The adventurers’ entrance was clearly the busier one, filled with people and lively chatter.
Though tempted to catch a glimpse of the adventurers inside, Dahlia quietly chose to enter through the visitors’ door.
“Oh, Lady Dahlia. What a surprise to meet you here.”
The moment they stepped in, a familiar voice reached her ears.
Turning toward the sound, she saw a silver-haired man wearing silver-rimmed glasses. Behind him stood his wife, Elmelinda.
After exchanging greetings, Ozwald lifted a sheet of red parchment—used for material collection—for her to see.
“I’m here to collect bicorn materials. Could it be you’re here for the same reason, Lady Dahlia?”
“Yes. I received word that the processing had been completed.”
It seemed they were both here for the same thing.
She had heard that the monster subjugation force had taken down multiple bicorn variants.
Other magical toolmakers waiting for this material might also be visiting today.
“Perhaps we should use the bicorn in one of our lessons sometime?”
“I would be delighted.”
A bicorn variant—such a rare material, one she had never used before.
She could hardly contain her excitement at imagining which parts might yield what effects, and what kind of magical tools they could create.
While she was still drifting in the sea of her own imagination, Ozwald placed his right hand horizontally before his chest and offered an elegant bow.
“Though belated—congratulations, Chairwoman Rossetti, on becoming the supplier and adviser to the Monster Subjugation Force. And in addition, on the news that you are to be granted the title of baron. I offer my heartfelt felicitations.”
“Ah, um, Ozwald-san, as for being an adviser, it’s nothing formal, and the title hasn’t actually been decided yet...”
Flustered, Dahlia scrambled for words, overwhelmed by the sudden address of Chairwoman and the overly formal congratulations.
“Chairman Zola, we thank you for your kind words. We deeply appreciate it as the fruit of your guidance. As our company is still in its infancy, we hope you will continue to lend us your wisdom.”
Ivano had stepped up beside her and returned the greeting with a smooth, practiced reply.
“...Ivano passes. Dahlia, you need remedial lessons.”
While Dahlia was frozen by Ozwald’s low murmur, a black-haired woman gently tugged at Ozwald’s jacket sleeve.
“Husband, it’s time for your appointment.”
“Ah, yes, let’s be off then. Lady Dahlia, Ivano, I shall see you in our next lesson.”
Returning to his usual calm demeanor, Ozwald ascended to the second floor with Elmelinda at his side.
Only after watching them disappear from sight did Dahlia finally remember to breathe.
It seemed Ozwald-sensei intended to train her not only as a magical toolmaker, but also as a chairwoman.
And by the looks of it, he was going to be quite strict. She was already dreading the next lesson.
“Chairwoman, I think you can expect more situations like this from now on... Let’s do our best.”
At her subordinate’s voice from behind, Dahlia could only gaze off into the distance.
After that, she somehow managed to collect herself and headed for the reception desk. Once she greeted the staff, she was immediately guided to the top floor.
The main purpose of today’s visit was to greet Augusto, the vice guildmaster of the Adventurers Guild.
On the day she had given her presentation to the finance department at the royal castle, a letter of recommendation for her company had arrived from Augusto. Dahlia had only learned of this a few days ago, when Grato, captain of the Monster Subjugation Force, mentioned it to her.
In a hurry, she had penned a letter of thanks to Augusto and arranged for today’s meeting.
Since there was also the matter of slime breeding, she had thought to greet the guildmaster as well. However, she learned that the Adventurers Guild’s guildmaster returned to the royal capital only once or twice a year, constantly traveling among the branch offices.
He was, it seemed, still an active adventurer, personally hunting rare-material monsters.
From Volf, she had heard that, in practice, Vice Guildmaster Augusto was essentially the one running the guild.
After the customary greetings in a lavish reception room, she took a seat on a deep-brown sofa offered to her.
It appeared Augusto’s schedule was packed today, and he apologized at the outset for needing to limit their time. Most likely, he had gone out of his way to fit this meeting in.
Dahlia quickly expressed her gratitude, and had Ivano hand over two compact magic stoves and two packages containing Auratello scarves.
“So this is the famous Auratello, is it?”
When he saw the package, Augusto’s reddish-brown eyes narrowed in clear delight.
Dahlia found his reaction a little curious—perhaps, like others at royal castle meetings, he found the heat just as unbearable.
“My wives have been pestering me for the fabric, so this is a great help.”
Her ears caught on the word wives. It seemed Augusto had more than one.
“Scarlatti-sama, forgive me if this is too forward for a mere merchant to ask, but—are there two wives? And... any daughters?”
“...Two wives, and two daughters,” Augusto answered, face completely serious, unfazed by Ivano’s sudden inquiry.
“Then please accept these as well.”
“My thanks for your thoughtfulness.”
From his bag, Ivano produced two more Auratello bundles, which Augusto accepted with a formal, almost ceremonial gesture.
Dahlia simply watched the exchange in silence.
“In the future, we plan to focus particularly on breeding green slimes. Should anything come up, please feel free to contact me directly.”
They exchanged farewells to his cheerful smile and left the reception room.
“Ivano, you brought spare Auratello with you?”
Once they were out in the hallway, she asked, and he replied with a grin.
“Yes. I knew about the two wives, but not the details on his daughters... As a fellow father, I thought it might be nice to ‘show a good side’ of myself.”
“Does just giving Auratello count as showing a good side?”
After all, they were plain light-green gauze scarves, with no dye, pattern, or ornament—rather underwhelming as noble accessories.
“They could cut it and wear it under their clothes, for one. And right now, just owning one seems to be a bit of a status symbol.”
“Auratello... as a status symbol?”
In her mind’s eye, a green slime popped up and bounced once.
No matter how she looked at it, the words Auratello and status symbol just didn’t match.
“Fort-sama told me this—apparently, a lady wore one as a choker, and when the wind blew her hair back, it was incredibly elegant. Another gentleman sewed it to the wrist of his sleeve, and when he danced, the lady he held stayed cool. Seems there are all sorts of stories. Since all noble sales go through Fort-sama, I suspect he’s the one behind it.”
Dahlia wondered whether this was the sort of thing to be speaking of here, but then noticed Ivano’s cufflinks glowing red. He had apparently kept an anti-eavesdropper running the whole time.
“Nobles tend to want to be at the forefront of fashion. Especially women.”
“Is that so...?”
Though she was a woman herself, Dahlia was hopeless with clothing trends.
Before her broken engagement, her outfits had once been flatly described by Lucia as two generations out of date.
Recently, she was told she’d reached the acceptable range, but even now, she was occasionally corrected. Shoes, the color of her long stockings—everything was subject to scrutiny.
When it came to magical tools, she could keep up with the latest models and trends. Clothing, however, she preferred to follow her own taste. Still, as a chairwoman and someone who entered the royal castle, she needed to be careful to maintain trust.
She also couldn’t very well stand beside Volf looking utterly unfashionable—so she tried to take as much of Lucia’s advice as she could.
“My, is it this late already? Sorry, Chairwoman, I need to return to the Merchant Guild for a meeting. I’ll come back for you as soon as we’re done.”
“It’s fine, Ivano. Once the materials are loaded, I’ll return to the tower by carriage.”
Even so, he looked at her with deep concern in those indigo eyes.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to be there when you meet Department Head Tasso? I could reschedule if needed...”
“No. This is an apology from both my father and myself—on behalf of the Rossetti family.”
Though still looking worried, Ivano silently handed her a package.
It was the gift of apology for Jean, which he had been holding onto for her until now.
Dahlia took a single deep breath, then headed toward the room where Jean awaited.
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