I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 16

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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 16. Delicious Diet (4)
It was a taste like a dream.
Unlike ordinary breads with their soft buttery texture, this possessed a remarkable flavor that surpassed it entirely.
“It tastes healthy, but… why is it so delicious?”
A healthy taste.
Usually, when people described a taste this way, they meant something bland and unappetizing.
Yet despite this, Pumpernickel maintained its wellness virtue while delivering an extraordinary flavor experience.
The exterior was crispy, the interior moist, and a rich, subtle sweetness enveloped my palate.
As the wholesome nuttiness swept across my gums without overwhelming them, the whole grain kernels tapped pleasantly against my teeth, creating a delightful sensation.
“This nutty floral fragrance! What is this!”
But without question, the most maddening element was the aroma itself.
Have you ever heard of a nutty floral fragrance?
At least in my twenty-two years, I had never heard of such a thing, let alone experienced it.
Not until I ate this bread today.
Whatever ingredients were used, the nutty aroma had stirred through my nostrils, and within that deeply carved space, the floral scent bloomed brilliantly.
“Wow… I’m losing my mind…”
Yet despite this perfect bread, there was one drawback.
“I’m losing my mind too…”
It was that I ended up binge-eating while my senses were overwhelmed by the deliciousness.
Staring blankly at the now-empty plate, I swallowed hard.
“Ugh… and I had just lost weight…”
By nature, I was cursed with a body type unsuitable for being an idol.
Of course, my figure was blessed—everything in its right place.
But my weight gained easily, didn’t shed readily, and muscles were difficult to build, so I always required stricter management.
“My Manager is definitely going to kill me…”
Usually stoic, but attentive to every detail and dependable—my Manager was reliable.
However, when it came to this kind of management, the Manager overseeing Favor was terrifying.
“For now, I’ll keep this secret…”
There was no reason for him to come into my home, but I was anxious enough to hide the bread in a corner.
Yet the unease wouldn’t fade, likely because of my increased weight.
“Right. I can’t help it. Now it’s really just exercise.”
Sighing deeply, I laid out the soundproof mat on the floor with the feeling of a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse.
After changing into workout clothes to begin my assigned exercise routine, I started with burpees.
“Ugh… I don’t want to…”
I know I have to, but knowing doesn’t make me want to do it.
Besides, burpees weren’t simple movements—they demanded quite intense cardiovascular and muscular endurance.
I began exercising with my face already twisted in anticipation of the coming pain.
One, two.
“Huh?”
Three, four.
“Huh… what?”
And up to the twenty-five I’d counted as one complete set.
“This is actually possible?”
Normally, even if I could manage it, I should be gasping for breath by now.
Besides, I’ve gained weight since then and lost muscle, so it should be even harder.
“Not difficult at all?”
Yet I wasn’t experiencing any discomfort whatsoever.
Not a single breath out of place—my body felt as fresh as if I’d never exercised at all.
“But the muscle stimulation actually feels better?”
A pleasant resonance was radiating through my muscles.
Normally, to feel this kind of sensation, I’d have to go through the whole routine of “I think I’m dying, instructor,” “No way, just one more?”, “Ahhhhhhh!” and similar banter.
“Huff… should I keep going?”
Once I started, the workout continued for a full three hours without stopping.
I didn’t tire easily, and the exercise felt even more effective than usual.
“Phew… then let me check my progress.”
After exercising two, no—three times more than usual, my gaze turned toward the InBody machine sitting in the corner.
The InBody device the company had provided when I declared a forced rest period.
Of course, I knew better.
One day of exercise wouldn’t change much, but that’s human nature, isn’t it?
Without much expectation, I stepped onto the InBody machine, and it didn’t take long before a scream escaped my lips.
“What? Wha-what?”
I’d lost weight.
From just one day of exercise.
And my muscle mass had actually increased.
“Does this even make sense?”
It shouldn’t be possible.
Yet it had actually happened.
Unable to comprehend what was going on, a thought suddenly struck me as I stood there dumbfounded.
“Could it be… really?”
‘Well, to be precise, this isn’t really a diet.’
‘Pardon? It’s wellness, isn’t it?’
‘It is wellness. The effects are better when you exercise. One a day should be enough.’
She’d said it with such a serious face, like some supplement salesman, that I hadn’t paid much attention—but it was actually true?
Staring blankly at the InBody results, I opened my mouth quietly.
“I should have bought thirty instead of ten…”
Then I could have eaten one a day for a month.
* * *
“Didn’t you say it wouldn’t take long? Owner?”
“A customer came by, so it got delayed. Can’t be helped.”
The cleanup had been postponed because a customer who’d placed a large order of Pumpernickel had stopped by.
So I hastily got dressed, closed the shop, and boarded a bus heading to the Hunter’s Association.
“Is it really okay to go at this late hour? Owner?”
“Awakenings can happen anytime, anywhere. The Hunter’s Association operates 24 hours a day.”
“Meow. Humans really do take on troublesome things.”
Noir poked her head out from the bag I’d packed to bring her along, muttering softly.
With the noise of the bus and its emptiness, no one would hear Noir’s voice, but just to be safe, I pushed her deeper into the bag.
Noir disappeared into the bag with only a meow left behind.
“Sigh. What am I supposed to say?”
The process of Hunter registration that I’d researched online beforehand was simple.
Write down your identity along with when your awakening occurred, record your awakening ability, and then take a test.
Then an appropriate rank would be assigned based on the nature of that ability.
“If I just openly state my ability, that would be problematic.”
This was where the real problem lay.
What if I honestly said, “I’m a Witch, and I can summon a Witch’s Cottage inside Gates, though it’s random, and I can bake bread that grants skills or buffs!”?
Even in a country indifferent to Hunters, I knew my ability was unusual.
“I’d definitely end up caught up in troublesome matters.”
I had no desire to become a Hunter.
All I wanted was to make bread and bring happiness to the customers who ate it.
“I’ll just say it’s body enhancement type.”
My awakening did make me slightly stronger than ordinary people.
At most, I could lift two 40kg bags of flour with one hand.
After making up my mind, I pulled out my phone and accessed YouTube.
“Noir, you really…”
I was sighing at the state of the algorithm, which had been destroyed by nationalist videos, wondering what she’d watched.
“Breaking news?”
Breaking news written in large red letters.
[Cheonryong Guild announces plan to conquer Gangneung S-rank Gate. Entry tomorrow.]
“What?”
Since it was a live YouTube broadcast by public broadcasting, it couldn’t be fake news.
Cheonryong—the undisputed strongest Guild in South Korea.
And the only S-rank Gate in South Korea, the Gangneung Gate.
With news mixing these two together, my gaze naturally focused on the screen.
With a clicking sound, a woman appeared on the podium.
“That person is…”
Her long, black hair shimmered.
Eyes as cold as if all the world’s chill had been concentrated in one place poured toward the audience.
A small-framed woman who appeared to be about 160 centimeters tall.
Her name was Yu Ha-neul.
That woman, not yet twenty-seven years old, was South Korea’s number one ranked Hunter.
A Hunter with the terrifying power to freeze everything she encountered, and the Guild Master leading Cheonryong, South Korea’s strongest Guild.
[Twenty years ago, when the Gate first appeared, the Gangneung Gate opened alongside it, claiming countless lives.]
A woman’s voice, low and captivating for her gender, flowed through the speaker.
The reporters swallowed hard even as they flashed their cameras.
For those living in the Republic of Korea, the Gangneung Gate was a Gate seared into memory as despair and terror incarnate.
[The attacks of the fallen giants that poured forth from that place forced the Republic of Korea to surrender all of Gangwon Province.]
And that wasn’t all?
These danger-rank A giants, with even the smallest individual standing ten meters tall, swept away all of North Korea.
Not a single survivor remained.
[Having determined that we can no longer ignore such threats to future generations, Cheongryong has decided to undertake the conquest of the Gangneung Gate.]
[Is it true that the conquest begins tomorrow!]
[It is true. Tomorrow morning at 6 AM. The conquest will commence. That is all.]
Having said only what needed to be said, she turned sharply and left the podium.
The reporters immediately bombarded her with countless questions, but Ha-neul, who had already left, could offer no answers.
[This stop is in front of the Hunter Association. Hunter Association stop.]
“Oh, driver! I’m getting off!”
I nearly missed it, too focused on the broadcast.
As I hurried off the bus, Noir unzipped the bag on his own and poked his head out to greet me.
“Is something big happening? Owner?”
“Big is putting it mildly.”
“Then we can’t bake bread?”
“That’s not the case.”
“Then we’re good. Let’s hurry and finish up, then go bake bread.”
This guy thinks about nothing but bread, day and night.
Well, I’m not much different, to be honest.
Since this is the conquest of an S-rank Gate, the world’s attention will be focused on it.
No matter how strong she is as a Hunter, her life will be in danger.
But what can I do about that?
“I’ll just have to cheer her on.”
Of course, for now I need to focus on completing my Hunter registration safely.
* * *
“It was less complicated than I thought.”
“You were just too nervous, Owner.”
Back home, what I held in my hand was none other than a Hunter registration certificate.
The certificate, stamped with E-rank and bearing my name, gleamed as it caught the light.
“This is actually real.”
Contrary to my nervousness, the process had been surprisingly simple.
From stating my ability as physical enhancement to completing the test took less than five minutes.
Receiving the registration certificate they casually produced took only three minutes.
“Can they really issue these so easily? Isn’t that how bad people get certificates and do strange things?”
“That’s not it. That strange object. They confirmed the mana clearly.”
Contrary to my worries, according to Noir, the Hunter Association’s measuring instruments were remarkably precise.
“The problem was they couldn’t compare to a Witch’s power. Meow. They failed to grasp the true nature of a Witch.”
“Oh. Then could it be that I….”
“Wake up. Owner. You’re still weak. That E-rank grade is probably correct. So bake more bread instead.”
After receiving even Noir’s confirmation, I simply let go of my expectations.
After all, I’d only obtained this Hunter registration certificate to avoid becoming a criminal.
Besides, with such a low E-rank grade, I wasn’t obligated to participate in Gate operations.
“Right. Let’s make bread.”
“Meow! What are we baking this time?”
The creature asked with eyes wide round, clearly excited.
Looking out the window that resembled a Pepero stick, I could see the environment of this Gate.
A desert with intense sunlight pouring down from above.
The ground gleamed, reflecting the light directly.
A vast salt desert stretching brilliantly.
“There’s a lot of salt.”
“Meow?”
“Maybe I’ll bake some salt bread.”
I heard that’s trendy these days anyway.
“Owner, I think you need to engage in something called deep thinking.”
I’ll ignore Noir’s comment this time too.

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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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