I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 11. Fortune’s Flower (4)
Miracle’s cry of exultation came less than a day after he had returned to his private quarters at the Miracle Guild.
The fact that Shadowflower petals were used as materials was problematic enough, but Elixir was a potion that presented considerable difficulty in its creation.
However, for Maestro—hailed as the world’s greatest alchemist—and for Miracle, such obstacles posed no challenge whatsoever.
The moment he completed the Elixir, he rushed without hesitation to the Hospital where his wife lay.
“My love. I’m here.”
His wife lay motionless with a pallid complexion, offering no response to his voice.
Under ordinary circumstances, he would have wept amidst the beeping of the machines, but today was different.
“I… truly met a benefactor I’m grateful for…”
Miracle withdrew the Elixir he had brought in his pocket.
The Elixir contained in the small glass vial shimmered with a violet hue, as though it held starlight within.
Without hesitation, he opened the cap and let the Elixir flow into his wife’s mouth.
And then, a miracle occurred.
A faint tremor.
His wife’s fingers, which until now had remained as motionless as death itself, began to twitch.
But that was not all.
“Ahhh…”
Color gradually returned to her skin.
The twisted and tangled mana unraveled and coalesced; the blood that had pooled and festered was purified, finding its proper course to flow once more.
Slowly, her eyes opened.
“My love? Where am I…”
A surge of emotion.
He could not speak.
He simply wished to feel this moment—when despair transformed into hope.
As tears of joy and gratitude streamed down his face, Miracle made a renewed vow.
The benefactor he had met inside the Siheung Gate.
The one who had preserved his world on the brink of collapse, allowing him to save his beloved wife.
For that person, he would do anything.
‘Did they not say I could bring them anything they desired?’
Then, even if it were a dragon’s shinbone, he would have to procure it.
‘For that, I will need greater influence—for myself and for the Miracle Guild.’
The next day, Maestro, who had lived in seclusion and concealed his identity, revealed himself to the public.
Though he wore a white mask that concealed his entire face, his mere appearance captured the attention of Hunters across the globe.
And for good reason—he was essentially the founder of the very concept of potions that modern Hunters now employed.
But when he then produced the Elixir he had personally crafted.
– Is… is that really an Elixir?!
– It could be a forgery!
– Impossible! It is an Elixir!
– Those with appraisal skills have verified it! It is genuine! An Elixir!
The entire world trembled.
Hunters from all nations cried out Maestro’s name, desperate for elixir.
Were only the Hunters affected?
Celebrities from politics and business, nations themselves, and even criminal organizations hidden in the shadows all bowed their heads before him.
But Maestro’s answer remained the same.
“It will be as my benefactor wishes.”
The world trembled once more at these words.
Who could possibly be the benefactor of Maestro, an S-rank Hunter and the pinnacle of alchemy?
Yet no investigation could uncover the benefactor’s identity.
Only endless rumors swirled about this figure shrouded in mystery.
And the person at the center of it all, Seung-hyun, was…
“Now that I have the recipe, I should test it out.”
Just a baker excited about baking bread.
* * *
“The second special recipe.”
After sending Miracle off properly, I checked the Quest completion reward.
[You have acquired 50 BP.]
[Special Pumpernickel Recipe]
▷ Ingredients: Rye flour, whole grains, starlight moss fairy wing powder, water, salt, beet molasses, assorted nuts.
▷ Effect: Increased exercise effectiveness for 24 hours
The effect increases exercise effectiveness for 24 hours.
Since I had researched this as a wellness health bread for dieting purposes, there couldn’t be a better effect than this.
But as always, it required Gate byproducts without fail.
Starlight moss fairy wing powder, no less.
“It always demands strange things I’ve never even heard of.”
“Meow. That’s just because the owner is ignorant.”
“Can’t be helped. I never imagined I’d become a Hunter.”
But would I really not bake it?
My curiosity wouldn’t allow that.
I was curious what flavor this supposedly perfect pumpernickel would have.
“Should I check if it’s in the warehouse?”
“It’s not.”
“What?”
Noir scratched behind his ear and blurted it out matter-of-factly.
What was he saying?
The warehouse that had everything, even a dragon’s shinbone—there was something it didn’t have?
“Looking at me like that won’t make something appear out of nowhere, Owner.”
“No, it’s just amazing. From my perspective, that place felt like the Room of Requirement at the Wizarding School in England.”
“You’re the only witch who ever thought of the previous witches’ legacy that way. You should reflect on that.”
Hearing Noir’s words, which had reverted to cat-speak in his excitement, I did feel some remorse.
I had relied on the warehouse a bit too much, it seemed.
“Fairy wing powder is not only rare, but it’s also an ingredient that disappears extremely quickly. If you leave it alone, it scatters away on the wind in no time.”
“There’s wind in the warehouse?”
“That’s how fairies disappear.”
Fairies born from nature flutter about, shedding powder from their wings.
And this powder carries the mysterious natural power that each fairy possesses.
“But once fairy wing powder separates from the body, it rapidly consumes its natural power. Every fairy is the same in this regard.”
Because of this, the previous Witches also sourced fairy wing powder as needed whenever they required it.
This was an unexpected variable.
At this rate, it felt like the world itself was demanding I enter the Gate.
“Owner. So when are you going into the Gate?”
“I’m not going.”
“What? Then we can’t make the special pumpernickel!”
I wasn’t without regret either.
The taste of that special baguette I’d experienced before still lingered on my palate.
“But I can’t exactly risk my life and enter the Gate myself.”
The Gate is a place where even veteran Hunters can lose their lives in the blink of an eye if they let their guard down for a moment.
It’s not a space a baker like me should dare set foot in.
“So you’re giving up?”
“No.”
“Then what exactly are you planning to do?”
“I have this now.”
I waved the contract I’d pulled from the drawer toward Noir.
“Someone who can get it for me instead.”
This is how you use a deal, Noir.
* * *
‘Why… why am I here…?’
A hat pulled down tight, a thick outer coat wrapped around her entire body.
A woman wearing a mask and, as the finishing touch, sunglasses.
Anyone looking at her would think ‘Wow, is she a celebrity?’ or ‘Is she a famous Hunter?’, but the person in question didn’t think so.
‘I’m so nervous I think I’m going to die!’
An E-rank Hunter incapable of combat.
Or rather, Joo Gyu-ri, who had now become South Korea’s seventh S-rank Hunter in truth and name, trembled all over as she lifted her head high.
Still not believing it, she even lifted her sunglasses slightly to take in the building with her own eyes.
‘The Miracle Guild is this big…? Our party is just a shared office…’
The Miracle Guild, occupying an entire tall building in the heart of Gangnam, Seoul.
In front of it, Gyu-ri swallowed hard.
Some might say this.
‘What, she’s an S-rank Hunter too, so why is she trembling like that?’
But that’s something only those unfamiliar with Joo Gyu-ri’s E-rank Hunter history could say.
All she’d done since awakening as a Hunter was chase after other raid parties and collect byproducts.
Fortunately, my current party members treated me well enough, but after spending half my life as a porter, how could such a disposition change now?
‘And recently, they said he even developed an Elixir….’
The sole creator of an Elixir that was thought to be absolutely impossible for human hands to produce.
That was none other than Maestro, the Guild Leader of the Miracle Guild.
‘I think I’m going to throw up… ugh….’
Barely settling my churning stomach, I moved my feet into the Guild building.
The interior was decorated with a bright yet antique atmosphere.
As I headed toward the counter positioned at one side, a Receptionist in a black suit greeted me.
“What brings you here?”
“Ah. Um… I… that is….”
Unable to speak properly because of my pounding heart, I eventually pulled out my phone and showed the Receptionist the message I had received directly.
The Receptionist examined the text message carefully.
Soon after, she made a phone call somewhere.
‘What if it’s a prank message?’
It was a message that had arrived just yesterday when I returned home after being harassed by the media all day.
A person who introduced themselves as Maestro’s secretary with the name ‘Hee-woo Kim’.
‘It must have been a joke. I shouldn’t have come. There’s no way someone like that would be looking for me!’
“It’s been confirmed.”
“Huh?”
“The Guild Leader is on the top floor. I’ll guide you there.”
“Huh?”
The Receptionist took me, who was stammering in confusion, straight to the elevator.
After reaching the top floor.
Until I heard something like ‘You must go alone from here,’ walked in a daze, opened the massive door and entered, I couldn’t think of anything at all.
My broken sense of reality was only corrected when I saw a man sitting in the Guild Leader’s Office.
“I apologize for making you rush. I am Maestro.”
A man dressed in a white suit and wearing a white mask as well.
I could be certain that he was the Maestro of whom there were only rumors.
‘What mana density!’
The density of mana I hadn’t known about when I was E-rank.
Now that I had become S-rank, I could feel the aura of mana emanating from the man before me.
This is definitely S-rank.
“Ah… um… I’m Joo Gyu-ri….”
“It’s an honor to meet the ‘Flame Saint.'”
“Please just call me by my name. Please….”
“If the epithet is uncomfortable, I understand. Please, have a seat, Gyu-ri.”
Upon reaching S-rank, my epithet became ‘Flame Saint.’
It was said to have come from the fact that the shroud of ashes looked like a saint’s vestment, but no matter how many times I heard it, I couldn’t help but feel as though my face was burning.
“Here is some tea.”
“What would that be for me….”
“I see you prefer to get straight to the point. Very well.”
Gyu-ri found herself leading the conversation, her words tumbling out in a mixture of anxiety and confusion.
Perhaps this was what made S-rank Hunters different—their ability to read a situation so effortlessly.
Maestro opened his mouth without hesitation.
“I heard you had a peculiar experience inside the Gate.”
“No, it was probably just my imagination. Everyone experiences it. During re-awakening, mana resonance can sometimes cause hallucinations….”
“A pastry shop. Black smoke dressed as a baker. And you consumed the bread he offered.”
Gyu-ri’s eyes widened at Maestro’s words before quickly returning to normal.
She had always answered honestly when questioned about the reason for her re-awakening.
She had simply eaten bread made by an unknown entity and gained a skill.
She had spoken truthfully about the black smoke dressed as a baker inside the pastry shop within the Gate.
But all she received in return was disbelief.
‘Or they were just con artists piecing together my own words to deceive me, like now.’
As she recalled the thought that would have wounded her if the other person had heard it, Maestro continued.
“The door frame was made of salt bread. The windows were framed with stick pastries, then glazed with transparent sugar.”
“Pardon?”
“When you opened the door polished with chocolate and stepped inside, the interior was far more spacious than it appeared from outside, and you sat in a chair with a cushion made of castella cake and armrests decorated with lollipops.”
“What? What?!”
At this moment, Gyu-ri couldn’t help but spring to her feet.
Everything Maestro had just described matched perfectly with the pastry shop she remembered from inside the Gate.
“You don’t mean….”
“Yes, I’ve been there as well.”
This was the moment when two visitors to the pastry shop finally met.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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