Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start With Magical Tools Volume 9 (eBook)

Hisaya Amagishi (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025
250 Seiten
J-Novel Heart (Verlag)
9781718381148 (ISBN)

Infos

When Dahlia and Jonas visit the headquarters of the Order of Beast Hunter to check on the condition of the impact absorption material, they get a double surprise-official advisor robes from the Order, and a notice that they will both receive baronies in the spring. However, Dahlia learns she must attend an unveiling ceremony in the form of a ball beforehand, and it's decided that Volf will accompany her in the place of her noble guarantor, Guido-but could this arrangement just be an attempt to give Volf the push he needs? In the meantime, Dahlia is invited to tour the castle's magical tool production department, where she's given the opportunity to try her hand at enchanting a special type of magical lantern. Her visit proves to be a valuable experience that contributes to her growing potential as a magical toolmaker.

Textauszug

Chicken Meatball and Jumbo Leek Soup

“I think it needs just a little bit more time.”

“All right.”

Across from the golden-eyed young man, who was staring intently at the pot, she gently sipped estervino from a polished tin cup. The cloudy white drink had a sweet aroma but a crisp, medium-dry flavor.

The first time she’d had this drink, she’d found it similar to the Japanese sake her father from her previous life had been fond of. She occasionally compared her previous life to this one in that way because she had in fact been reincarnated into this world.

Her name in this life was Dahlia Rossetti, though she couldn’t recall her name in her former life. She had been born and raised in the country of Japan and had worked at a company that produced household appliances. She had wanted to work on the production side, but her life had ended abruptly before she could realize that goal. Perhaps because of that, she had been born into this world with a magical toolmaker for a father, and she herself had followed in his footsteps.

A magical toolmaker was an artisan who used their own magic, magic crystals containing elements such as fire and water, or monster materials to create tools that utilized that magic. Dahlia focused her efforts on creating magical tools rooted in everyday life, such as hot water dispensers, refrigerators, and freezers powered by magical crystals, as well as waterproof cloth with magically applied powdered slime, among others.

In front of her now, in her home, the Green Tower, was a heated low table, reminiscent of what she’d known as a kotatsu in her previous life, and resting on top of that was a compact magical stove with its gently simmering pot. They were both tools she had made with her own magic.

“I’ll go ahead and slice some cheese.”

The young man who held a knife with a practiced hand was Volfred Scalfarotto. He was a royal knight of the Kingdom of Ordine’s Order of Beast Hunters as well as the fourth son of an earldom.

In contrast to Dahlia—who had vivid red hair and bright green eyes but an otherwise plain appearance—Volf was a handsome young man, and he made heads turn everywhere he went. From his tall, toned physique to his ebony hair and flawless pale skin to his perfectly balanced facial features—most striking of which were his golden, almond-shaped eyes—his beauty was unforgettable after witnessing it even once. Even a gorgeous portrait would pale in comparison when placed next to him—and no, that was not an exaggeration.

His appearance meant he was quite popular, but after all the jealousy and misunderstandings, as well as a string of extreme attempts women had made to approach him, romance had become a sore point for Volf.

However, Dahlia was similar in that regard. She’d had hardly any relationships in her past life, and although her father in this world had picked her a fiancé, their engagement had ended just before they were to be married. It seemed that she had no luck in love, either before or after her rebirth.

Volf and Dahlia had become fast friends after their chance second encounter and had even become business colleagues.

“Thank you. You’re pretty good at that, aren’t you, Volf?”

With smooth movements, Volf sliced the flat, round, orange cheese with a silver knife. This particular cheese was fairly hard, but he cut the slices as thin as fish flakes and piled them all onto a small plate.

The freshly sliced cheese, with its pleasant, salty aroma, made for a great accompaniment to their drinks. Although it was ill-mannered to do so, they picked up the slices of cheese, slightly curved at the edges, with their fingers and ate them like that.

Volf sliced two small plates’ worth of cheese and then placed the bottle of white wine he’d brought on the table. As he gathered a pair of glasses, the white steam began to take on a pleasant aroma.

“I think it may be about done. Could you remove the lid?”

“Sure thing.”

Volf placed a hand on the lid of the pot, his expression serious. After he carefully lifted the lid, white steam filled with the scent of cooked chicken wafted up gently. Simmering in the broth-filled pot were thick chicken meatballs and chopped leeks.

Today, at the recommendation of the neighborhood grocer, he had ended up buying a whole box of large leeks. Called jumbo leeks, they were incredibly juicy and delicious.

The chicken meatballs, which were too big to be eaten in one bite, were a mixture of chicken meat, grated ginger, salt, and the green parts of the leeks, finely minced. Although the only seasoning was salt, the chicken and ginger flavors were strong enough to be sufficient in themselves. Volf inhaled deeply of the steam, letting his golden eyes gently roll back.

“The smell alone is delicious...”

“Don’t satisfy yourself with just the smell, please.”

He hadn’t even taken a bite yet, after all. Dahlia filled a bowl with an ample serving of the chicken meatballs and leeks, then placed it in front of Volf. Once she filled her own bowl, they made a toast.

“Cheers, to good fortune and health, and to great-smelling soup!”

“Cheers, to good fortune and health.”

Apparently Volf really enjoyed the scent of the chicken meatballs. He only took one sip of his wine before bringing his spoon to the bowl. As she watched him, Dahlia tilted her glass of white. The medium-dry wine had a clean flavor and went down smoothly. After the sensation of the alcohol warming her throat was gone, the mild sweetness lingered. Before the aftertaste disappeared, she took a bite of the sliced cheese so she could fully enjoy its rich, slightly salty flavor. She could never tire of this combination.

As Dahlia alternated between tasting the wine and the sliced cheese, Volf, seated across from her, was chewing his food with full concentration. He seemed to be enjoying the flavor of the chicken meatballs too, as his bowl was already half empty. Perhaps noticing her gaze on him, he gulped down a piping hot meatball and looked at Dahlia.

“It tastes even better than it smells...”

“I’m glad you think it’s tasty.”

Dahlia thought it was a little odd just how much he was fixated on the smell.

“I think a good smell is part of the flavor. But with this dish, the flavor is better than the smell. This combination of chicken, ginger, and leek is—how should I put this?—like a beautiful love triangle.”

What an unsettling compliment. But although Dahlia didn’t think there was such a thing as a good love triangle when it came to romance, perhaps it was an acceptable way to describe flavor.

“Jumbo leeks and chicken meatballs really are the perfect combination, aren’t they?”

“Spicy scallion shoots also go well with them.”

“Oh, really?”

“You can fill even smaller chicken meatballs with loads of spicy scallion shoots. They can be cooked in a pot like this, or you can eat them boiled and dressed with soy sauce or lemon juice.”

“Spicy scallion shoots... Are they sold at the market?”

“I don’t think so, but they should have them next summer. Jumbo leeks won’t be available then, though.”

“Got it. Then, in order for us to compare the two next year, let’s fill a box with ice crystals and freeze the leeks!”

“Volf, foods should be eaten in season...”

And so the two of them continued to satisfy their ravenous appetites for both food and conversation.

Once they had finished their meal, they switched out their white wine for red and continued talking. Their topic of conversation turned to Volf’s home.

“The other day, the gardener dug up the flower bed at the villa and planted some bulbs. I was a little surprised. I thought bulbs were only planted in the spring.”

Remembering that some flower bulbs needed a certain level of cold in the winter in order to bloom the following year, she asked, “Are they flowers that don’t bloom unless they endure a cold winter?”

Volf nodded. “Yeah, that’s what the gardener said. They asked if they could plant more types of flowers, so I left it up to them. Until now it was mostly filled with my mother’s favorite white flowers, but the gardener thought they seemed a little lonely on their own and wanted to plant some red flowers too.”

“I’m sure the garden will look gorgeous next year, then.”

“Yeah. We can see it together once the flowers bloom.”

Volf’s villa was the location of the Rossetti Trading Company’s headquarters and the Scalfarottos’ magical tool workshop, so Dahlia visited it regularly. She was excited to see what kind of flowers would bloom.

“But I’m not great at describing the garden. They say understanding gardens is part of being a noble, but I can barely tell flowers apart. I thought ranunculuses were roses for the longest time, and I even mixed up lotuses and water lilies while out on expedition.”

“Those look similar, so I don’t think you can blame yourself for that. My father taught me that while both have round leaves, a lotus doesn’t have a notch in its leaf, while a water lily does.”

“Knowing that would have made it easy enough even for me to tell them apart. When I asked Randolph about the difference, he said lotuses are...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 31.3.2025
• Reihe/Serie: Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools
• Illustrationen: Hisaya Amagishi
• Übersetzer: Hisaya Amagishi
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: business • Fantasy • female protagonist • Isekai • Light Novel • Magic • Reincarnation
• ISBN-13: 9781718381148 / 9781718381148