I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 31

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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 31. A Druid? (2)
“Are you alright?”
“Huff… huff…. Y-yes… I’m… fine….”
“This guy doesn’t look fine at all.”
Noir, lounging lazily, had made a surprisingly accurate observation with that casual remark.
Park Jun-hyeong’s appearance was indeed far more haggard than it had been moments before.
“No, really, I’m fine. The latte made the pain disappear instantly.”
“That’s precisely why I suggested you drink it….”
“And while there is a spicy kick to it, the bread was so delicious that I couldn’t resist taking another bite. How on earth did you… wait, hold on… if that’s really the case….”
Park Jun-hyeong stared at me with eyes full of bewilderment.
Then, as if remembering something, he murmured softly and fell into thought.
Since it wasn’t the right moment to interrupt, I quietly approached Noir, who was scratching his belly, and spoke to him.
“What do you think?”
“What do you mean?”
“He said it was delicious?”
“Is that what you call delicious? Either everyone in this place is insane, or that guy is definitely insane.”
“But it really is tasty, isn’t it?”
“That… is true. Meow.”
Until just moments ago, I’d considered reducing the amount of Taegohua, but seeing such a reaction, I felt this recipe would work as is.
Noir too, despite expressing his negative stance, hadn’t changed his opinion that it tasted good.
If that was the case, then this recipe would be sufficient to give to Ye-seul.
“But I never expected the baker to be that person. Will it really be okay if the right sincerity wasn’t put into it?”
“What exactly do you mean by sincerity? Owner?”
“Well, I wanted Ye-seul’s YouTube channel to do well.”
“What exactly was that sincerity? That’s too broad an answer. Owner.”
To be more precise, I wanted Ye-seul’s YouTube channel to grow through my bread.
And to be even more precise, I wanted it to receive more attention.
Wait? Then could it be?
“Is that person’s goal also to gain more attention?”
“I haven’t heard what their actual goal is, but the probability is high. Otherwise, the Witch’s Cottage wouldn’t have responded. Meow.”
“What kind of attention could it possibly be….”
A spicy bread video uploaded to YouTube could certainly become the center of attention.
Just like how a video of a foreigner doing the burning hot chicken ramen challenge once garnered tens of millions of views.
But that person is a Hunter.
What would a Hunter do with something like that?
It was then, as my head began to ache from this incomprehensible situation.
“Yeon-gi! Could I possibly purchase this bread! This bread in large quantities!”
“This one?”
“Yes! If possible, I’d like to order as much as I can!”
“I only have this much in stock right now, so it might take some time, but is that….”
“It’s no problem! I’ll wait! And… the payment…”
Seung-hyun spat out an answer as forceful as a battle cry, then rummaged inside his robe and pulled something out smoothly.
He handled it as though it were something precious, then extended it toward me.
And it was none other than…
“A stone?”
“Meow! Owner! This isn’t just any stone! It’s been so long since a human agreed to trade first. I like this one.”
“So it’s not just a stone—it’s a shiny stone?”
“My owner has become foolish again…”
Noir let out a long sigh, took the stone on my behalf, and spoke while caressing it the same way.
“This is a Spirit Stone.”
“A Spirit Stone? Is that different from a Mana Stone?”
“Completely different. A Mana Stone is simply concentrated mana, but a Spirit Stone is essentially an egg of a spirit.”
Though both took the form of ore and thus shared the character for “stone,” according to Noir, they were fundamentally different from their very origins.
A Mana Stone was a mineral whose properties changed as high concentrations of mana gathered within it, while a Spirit Stone was the accumulated power of a spirit that had hardened like stone.
“The condensed spiritual power within completes its preparation to be born as a new spirit. So it truly is like an egg.”
“So a spirit awakens from it?”
“It doesn’t simply awaken. A catalyst is necessary.”
It was Seung-hyun who answered my question.
His claim of working as a Druid seemed genuine, as he provided more detailed explanations.
“Each spirit possesses its own characteristics. And those characteristics are not bestowed from the beginning.”
It seemed a spirit’s characteristics were determined by the influences it received while still a Spirit Stone before birth.
However, I felt no particular excitement about this.
To be precise, my feeling was closer to “so what?”
This wasn’t an ingredient, so it wouldn’t help me make bread or beverages.
I didn’t even have time to understand what a spirit could do.
As I stared blankly at the Spirit Stone without interest, Noir continued speaking instead.
“The trade is now complete. Human. You’ve paid a fair price, so your wish shall be fulfilled.”
“Thank you.”
“No, Noir. You can’t just decide things on your own like this…”
“Meow! My owner will have reason to thank me! Now bake some bread!”
What could I do?
Though I was technically the owner, I was a novice Witch, while she was an experienced Familier who had served dozens of Witches before.
After making large quantities of Taegohua Cheese Bread and lattes, packaging them, and handing them to Seung-hyun, a Quest Complete notification appeared.
[Quest Complete!]
Based on my experience so far, this was the timing when a special Halapino Cheese Bread recipe would be granted.
But what happened differed from my expectations.
[An issue has occurred with reward acquisition.]
[No special recipe for this bread exists in Witch history.]
[Reward is being adjusted.]
[Reward: This recipe obtains the title of “Special” and is saved.]
[Reward: You have obtained 1,000 BP.]
“Wow.”
Since it had never existed in the long history of the Witch, it appeared to have been registered as a new recipe.
My feelings were entirely fresh.
Until now, I had always hoped for a special recipe to emerge, but now my own creation had become that special recipe.
And 1,000 BP on top of that!
Wasn’t this amount something I could only earn by serving two hundred customers?
“I’m very pleased.”
“I’m glad you’re satisfied.”
Seung-hyun, who had not yet left the Witch’s Cottage, bowed his head in gratitude.
In truth, I still couldn’t understand why he was expressing thanks.
I only knew that what he desired aligned with the sincerity I had poured into my work.
There was no need to press him for details.
“I’m relieved that you’ve obtained what you wanted.”
“It was truly a great fortune. Would it be acceptable for me to visit like this again in the future?”
“If it’s possible.”
At my words, Seung-hyun nodded with a smile befitting his age, his face bright and open.
Though the places we connected would always differ, if fate and destiny aligned, we would surely meet again.
After exchanging a handshake as a final farewell, Seung-hyun stepped out through the door with a face full of anticipation.
Then he stopped abruptly and turned back as if to say something, but….
“Ah. It’s closed.”
The door closed quietly and swiftly, as if to say our connected fate ended here.
At the same time, the landscape beyond the window transformed from the towering rocky mountain into a vast plain.
An endless expanse of flatland, and beyond that horizon, a beautiful night sky where stars sparkled.
“He must have returned safely, yes?”
“Haven’t you always wished for the happiness of those who ate your bread? You should remember that the Witch’s Cottage exists for the Witch’s desires.”
“Then it should be fine.”
I could set aside my worries about Seung-hyun.
Then what remained for me was one thing.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
The spirit stone that Seung-hyun had paid with instead of money while purchasing large quantities of bread and lattes.
He had mentioned something about needing a catalyst and other such things, but I couldn’t understand any of it.
That was why.
After tilting my head in confusion for a moment, I carefully placed it in a corner of the cupboard.
“Let me prepare for tomorrow’s business.”
“Can I eat a few loaves? Owner?”
“Even if I said no, you’d eat them anyway, wouldn’t you?”
“That’s true. Let’s bake bread.”
And just as countless self-employed proprietors do, I diligently baked bread for tomorrow’s business.
I did not know it at this time.
The fact that what I had placed on the shelf was not merely the spirit stone.
Beside that spirit stone lay the Bread Maker of Life I had received as a reward before.
* * *
“Looking back, it was gone….”
I had stepped out of the Confectionery House and tried to offer my thanks once more, but the building had already vanished.
Like a fleeting dream, like smoke, the house had simply evaporated.
Yet I did not perceive this as a dream.
“The bread and coffee remain.”
The bread bag and latte held full in both my hands.
That’s right—this was never a test from the beginning.
She had already known what I desired.
Otherwise, how could she have given me items so perfectly suited to my current situation?
“I never believed in fate. But now I have no choice but to believe.”
I muttered the words aloud and continued forward.
Soon, arriving at a flat plain covered with finely packed sand—unlike the rocky terrain surrounding it—I cried out while stamping the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Come out! You damned worm bastards!”
The earth trembled beneath my heavy, forceful kicks.
It was a faint vibration, certainly, but not to the ‘damned worms’ I had summoned.
And indeed.
Fwooooaaah~
【Shrieeeeeeek!】
“Finally, you show yourselves.”
A massive cylindrical maw burst through the sand, shaking the very earth.
Teeth packed densely within it moved in all directions, threatening me.
No, that was not a threat.
Merely a predator savoring the sight of its prey.
A carnivorous worm ten meters in size, protected by thick, steel-hard exoskeleton.
That was the Death Worm, bearing an A-rank danger rating.
“Do you have any idea how much effort I’ve put into capturing you creatures?”
【Shrieeeeeeek!】
“Huh. You understand? What is it?”
A faint smirk escaped me.
All the efforts I had made to reform the Death Worm flashed through my mind.
I had beaten it, trampled it, tried loud noises, even blasted it with light.
Yet none of it could pierce the creature’s impossibly hard exoskeleton.
All of this was because my skill ‘Reform’ required the target’s consent to activate.
A monster would never willingly seek reformation by a human, so I had no choice but to resort to force.
“But now things are different.”
Standing before the colossal worm creature, I calmly set down the bread bag I had been holding.
I pulled out an appetizing loaf of bread.
“Shhh. Gulp.”
I smacked my lips.
It was unavoidable.
Once I’d tasted that flavor, how could I not crave it?
But I had to resist.
This wasn’t meant for me to eat.
“Hey! Are you dying to eat me?”
【Kiiieeeek!】
“You answer well. Then…”
I hurled the bread I was holding straight into the creature’s mouth.
“Eat this instead! The taste will blow your mind!”
Compared to the Death Worm’s massive body, the tiny bread lodged perfectly between its teeth like a grain of sand.
From its perspective, it barely registered as an attack.
Yet for the creature, it would prove to be a catastrophe.
“Hraah! Haaaaah!”
I continued pulling bread from the bag and flinging it with precision between its teeth.
How long did this go on?
【Kiiiek?】
The creature sensed something wrong and writhed.
Something—something immense and terrifying was beginning to arrive.
Humanity called it…
【Kiiieeeeeeeeeek!】
Pain.
“How is it? Exquisite agony, right?”
【Kiiieeeeeeeeeek!】
“Ah. You can’t answer. What a shame.”
Had it swallowed, the volatile heat of the Taegohua would have dissipated quickly, but lodged between its teeth, the spice accumulated relentlessly, layer upon layer.
When the creature, experiencing pain for the first time in its existence, finally collapsed in utter exhaustion.
Only then did I grin wickedly and stand atop its head.
“Is it spicy?”
【Kiiiek…】
“I could make the pain go away.”
【Kiiiek?】
What emerged from the bag was a cup of latte.
“With this, your suffering would vanish.”
【Kiiiiek!】
“No. But I won’t give it to you.”
【Kiiieeeeeek!】
“Only if you make me one promise. [Empathy] activated.”
Waves of power surged from Seung-hyun’s body.
The Death Worm tried to resist, but there was no escape.
It had already exhausted all its strength thrashing about.
And if it could just be freed from this agony akin to death, anything would suffice.
“From now on, you’re going to be my friend. Understand? And while we’re at it, you’ll perform a little for the camera too.”
That was the last thing the Death Worm heard while maintaining its sense of self.
* * *
Several days later, when A-rank Hunter Park Jun-hyeong, who bore the alias “Druid,” emerged from the Gate, he was riding atop a colossal Death Worm.
His lips were curved in a thoroughly satisfied smile.
And a certain cat who witnessed this sight—Noir, to be precise—spoke.
“So he was an attention seeker after all.”
“Well, his sincerity must have gotten through.”
Who would have thought that was what he truly wanted?
Shaking my head in disbelief, I retrieved the freshly baked bread.
“In any case, now it’s time for the real owner of this to arrive, wouldn’t you say?”
Ding~
“Owner! I’m here!”
It was right after that when Ye-seul, the true owner of the Taegohua Cheese Bread, appeared through the bakery door.

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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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