Magical Device Craftsman Dahlia Won't Hang Her Head Down Anymore

“Dahl, do you like magic devices and the like?”

“I love them . They’re also a part of my job, after all . ”

I answered without thinking, but it seemed like it was a pleasing thing for Wolf . He looked at Dahlia with a twinkle in his beautiful golden eyes .

“Then, let me ask you something . I’ve never seen it before, but could there be a sword among the civilian magical devices?”

“I don’t think there’d be a sword . If you’re talking about magical devices, there’s a knife . Swords are made by blacksmiths and if one was to enchant them, one would have to be either a mage or an alchemist . ”

In this world, among people who could enchant devices, Dahlia knew three major types .

First were mages . From Dahlia’s knowledge, concerning magicians, they excelled in external magic such as offensive or recovery magic . Those who were especially good at offensive magic were active in the country’s magic division or were adventurers . Those who specialized in recovery magic worked at temples, with knights or as adventurers . Depending on the person, some made magical devices and called themselves magical device craftsmen too .

Next were alchemists . Alchemists were dedicated to creating various things with creation magic and created things like potions, rare metals, and golems . Many specialized in this type of enchantment, and these were also called magical device craftsmen .

Finally, magical device craftsmen . Magical device craftsmen used materials, techniques, and in some cases, enchantment magic to create magical devices . There were many among those who couldn’t use offensive or recovery magic or had little magic power . Unfortunately, they were looked down upon as being a step below alchemists and mages .

However, other than those, some people make devices as a hobby or for academic purposes . In this world, making magical devices wasn’t a special thing .

“What magic do you give to a knife?”

“The most popular one is rust-prevention, and there’s everlasting sharpness, that said, it’s usually one of the two . ”

“Everlasting sharpness and rust-prevention . Sounds useful for a sword . ”

“Which enchantment does Sir Wolf’s sword have?” 1

“The swords given to the squad members are usually hardened . It still broke though . ”

“Speaking of which, you had a sword?”

Dahlia became worried that he might have lost it in the forest .  2

“It broke off at the handle when I stabbed the wyvern, so I left it behind . ”

“It was a wyvern subjugation this time?”

Wyverns, a tough sub-species of dragon, were monsters with giant wings and sharp talons .

Dahlia recalled the wound on Wolf’s shoulder . That was probably an injury left by the wyvern’s talons .

“Yeah, it was a red wyvern . We defeated one and another came up . When we were too much for it to handle, it caught me with its talon as it fled . With me up there, the mages couldn’t use magic and the knights couldn’t fire arrows, and once I return to the castle I’ll probably be severely rebuked…”

“Wow… But to be caught by it’s talon, you did well to escape in one piece…”

“Not at all, I stabbed it from the bottom, and it was an easy escape . I was more scared of falling . I had fortified my body and used the trees to cushion my fall, so it wasn’t much . ”

“As I thought, it was dangerous . ”

“No, if you fortify your body, you won’t be seriously injured, plus there are people who are good at recovery magic too, so people don’t usually die . ”

‘Usually’, Dahlia understood that though it was rare, the number of deaths was still not zero .

“Returning to the topic, has Dahl ever seen a ‘Magical Sword’?”

“I’ve seen the ‘Magical Sword of Fire’ in the commercial guild . No one can draw it out though, so I’ve only seen the exterior . ”

One of the items that made this world feel surreal was Magical Swords . Spirits, holy spirits, and faeries could inhabit a weapon or equipment, and such equipment would possess special properties far greater than normal equipment .

Some time ago, the item that came into the commercial guild to be sold was the ‘Magical Sword of Fire’ . The sheath, crosspiece, and hilt were all red and decorated with luxurious patterns of gold . Unfortunately, as n.o.body could draw it from its sheath, Dahlia couldn’t see it’s blade .

After that, she remembered the sword being sold in an auction with the starting bid being at an amazingly high one hundred gold coins . She heard that, after an intensely heated auction, the winner was a well-known adventurer .

“A Magical Sword of Fire, I would like to see it……”

“Do you get to see a lot of magical swords, Sir?”3

“The one I see most is the sword of the captain of the subjugation squad . It’s called the ‘Ash-hand4’; when using it to stab, it immediately burns the cut part to ashes . It’s a hereditary sword that’s been in the captain’s family for generations, so it’s famous within the country . No one else can draw it and if someone tries, it burns their hand . ”

That sword… isn’t it a stronger version of the Magical Sword of Fire? And, most likely, the man in front of her is one of the people who have burnt their hands on the Ash-Hand .

“There are two more master-less famous magical swords in the castle, but no one is able to draw them, so they are just as unused . After joining the knights, I tried my hand at them too, but I couldn’t draw them either . ”

“Is it the compatibility of mana after all? Or some sort of special qualifications?”

“The magical swords at the castle are said to take a look at one’s integrity and sense of purpose . I have none of either, so it’s kind of obvious I couldn’t draw them . ”

Wolf laughed refreshingly after having said so .

“I’ve never seen them, but apparently there’s something called ‘Speaking Magic Swords’ in other nations . ”

“A ‘Speaking Magic Sword’ sounds convenient for people traveling alone or even people who don’t have friends . ” 5

“Dahl, isn’t that rather cruel?”

“It would be really useful if it could give directions and the sort too . ”

Dahlia recalled the navigation system in cars and smartphones from her previous life and let the words out without thinking .

“That, wouldn’t that be a ‘Speaking Map’ instead of a magical sword?”

That’s probably true . Wolf might, surprisingly, be suited to be a magical device craftsman . With half-interest, Dahlia listened to him regarding other things too .

“What about a talking shield or a talking armor?”

“I’ve never heard of a talking shield, but someone might be keeping one hidden . As far as talking armor goes, that would feel a lot like a Dullahan, wouldn’t it? As expected, I wouldn’t want to wear that . ”

“Have you ever seen a Dullahan, Sir?” 6

Headless armor, Dullahan . It’s a creature of fantasy . Dahlia wouldn’t like to encounter one, but she’d like to study one if she could safely . She wondered how it could work and moved .

“There was this one time during a subjugation that we encountered one in a cave . We were warned ‘Go bACK iF YOu vALUe YOur liFE’, the Dullahan was quite powerful, but we were accompanied by the great priest, so the purification ended at once in five minutes”

“That’s a little sad . What’d the Dullahan look like?? How’d it look on the inside?”

“It had a long sword with big black armor without a helmet . Both seemed like good pieces of equipment . And the inside was empty . After the priest purified the Dullahan, the castle’s mage took it back carefully, but he was disappointed as he couldn’t find any tricks in neither in the armor nor the sword . ”

“Is that so……”

Dahlia understood what that mage felt . One would want to understand the trick and mechanisms of it . Was the Dullahan powered by some spirit, or was it something that was purely made of magic and inevitably developed a “headless armor” persona? Even if it became just a simple armor and sword, Dahlia would like to disa.s.semble everything and examine it all over . She would like to check the materials in detail if possible .

“I wish I was in a position to show Dahl the armor…”

Because Dahlia was pondering about it, it looked like she troubled Wolf . She shook her head at what was her second blunder .

“No, it’s really interesting just talking about it, thank you . It will become source material for my work”7

He was relieved there . Dahlia was into the story, but considering Wolf ’s eyes, she thought that it was better to see a doctor fast .

“Let’s move soon . It will take quite a while to get to the capital from here . ”

“Sorry, I was infatuated by your story”

“I’m sorry for getting too into it as well . ”

After extinguishing the bonfire completely, she covered it in soil . They returned it to the same state as when they came to these grounds and returned the luggage she had taken out of the carriage . Wolf’s clothes were still semi-dry, so he decided to hang them on the carriage for the time being and put the armor behind the carriage box .

When the two got on the coach seat, Wolf widely stretched . He hadn’t been sleeping well . He was sure to be quite sleepy .

“Since it’ll be a while, just sleep until we’ve made it to the capital . I’ll wake you up when we’re near the capital’s wall . You can change your clothes there . ”

“It’s okay . Thanks to the potion, I’m not so sleepy . Can we talk a little more if you don’t mind?”

“Of course . ”

When she regripped the reins, Dahlia remembered the white wine she was drinking when she came . She opened the bag, and it was foaming a little due to the carriage moving . She regretted that it was her last portion because she handed all the red wine to Wolf .

“Is something wrong?”

“I left out the white wine I was drinking . I forgot about it completely”

“Can I have a sip?”

She did hand her water and red wine to Wolf, but he hadn’t eaten or drank anything for two days . It might be that he was still thirsty .

“Sorry I already drank some! If you’re thirsty, you can drink the rest . ”

“I’m sorry I’m sponging off of you too! Actually … White wine is my weakness”

He said it with a serious face as Dahlia burst into laughter at the man who started drinking wine from the bottle .

After that, the two continued talking about magical devices and magic swords . Dahlia talked about magical devices that were sold in the market for the commoners in the capital, and Wolf talked about magical swords and magical devices in the royal castle . While they chatted excitedly about interesting things they didn’t know, time pa.s.sed by quickly .

When the gate of the capital was near, Dahlia stopped the carriage and had Wolf change his clothes in the carriage box . Unfortunately, the clothes were still semi-dry . Because he looked cold, she let him wear the coat as it was .

In the end, Wolf didn’t sleep . As expected of a knight, even as they were talking happily, he was being cautious about their surroundings . Dahlia understood that .

Inside the gate was a building where soldiers were stationed . It seemed like Wolf would go there first, and after he got confirmation, he would go to the castle . It was time to part ways here because there was no way he could head to the royal castle in a plain-looking carriage .

When Dahlia stopped the carriage in front of the building, it suddenly began to rain . Wolf rushed down from the coach seat and tried to take off the coat, Dahlia stopped him with haste .

“It would be bad if you catch a cold, so just wear it . It’s from a sand lizard, so it won’t get wet from the rain”

“I’m sorry, I’ll borrow it . Thank you for today . I was really saved . Tell me your address, I’ll pay you back . ”

“I said it’s okay . I’m already indebted to you from you subjugating the monsters, so think of it as support from an insignificant person . ”

“At least let me treat you to a drink”

Was this an invitation to build a friendship? Talking with Wolf had been a lot of fun . Dahlia wanted to meet him and talk again if possible . However, it was impolite of her to pretend to be a man for whatever reason . It was unfortunate, but their interaction should end like this .

“If you see me in the city, call out to me . And then, I will let myself be treated to a drink . ”

She intentionally said it brightly . The possibility of a reunion in the wide royal city with the aristocratic knight Wolf and the commoner her was extremely low .

The rain started pouring down harder . Wolf said something, but Dahlia couldn’t hear it . At that time, a carriage came from behind .

“We’re blocking the road, so see you then!”

She felt sorry for Wolf, but because of the carriage they had to cut their talk short and she made the Sleipnir go forward .

“… See you, Dahl!”

She heard the voice of Wolf shouting at her clearly . Wolf’s beautiful smile was unforgettable for some reason .

It was a meaningful day for Dahlia .