I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 34

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

Chapter 34. An Unexpected Turn of Events (1)
Lee Geum-rye.
My Grandmother, bearing that name, had devoted her entire life to me.
She had taken me in and raised me when I was young, stepping in after my parents passed away in the Gate accident.
Moreover, she was the one who protected and believed in my childhood dream of becoming a baker, right until the very end.
This bakery itself wouldn’t have opened without her financial support.
“I… I….”
So it was only natural that my mind went blank the moment I received that text message.
My Grandmother, whose mobility had become difficult since last winter, had checked into a nursing home despite my insistence on caring for her myself.
I thought she was gradually recovering, always greeting me warmly as “my little one” whenever I visited.
I never expected such a sudden text to arrive.
“There… there should have been a call?”
When a nursing home reports a patient’s condition to their guardian, the protocol is to call first.
That rule doesn’t change, even if it’s late at night or early morning.
Sure enough.
My phone, which I’d been too busy to check, showed three missed calls.
“I… should call first…. No….”
With so many customers here, I had no idea what to do.
My Grandmother?
I need to call right away?
But what about the bakery?
The customers?
What about Haeryang, who works with me?
No, but still….
“Owner. Get a grip.”
“Ah.”
A familiar voice reached my ear.
It was Noir, who had leaped onto my shoulder and was whispering directly into my ear so no one else could hear.
Only then did my vision widen and the surrounding sounds begin to register.
“Oh my! Is that a cat you’re raising?”
“I saw that one in Roro’s videos! Its name is Noir!”
“It climbs on your shoulder like that—it’s totally a dog-cat! A dog-cat!”
These were words that would have horrified Noir if she’d heard them, but instead, she maintained a solemn expression, her whiskers twitching as she continued to whisper.
“I don’t know what happened, but you can’t operate the shop right now, can you?”
“My Grandmother… she’s not doing well….”
“Then go.”
“But if I do, the shop….”
“Owner, are you an idiot?”
Noir continued quietly, but with absolute certainty.
“A Witch’s power and a Witch’s Cottage can only exist with the Witch present. To be more precise, they require the Witch’s will.”
“But what?”
“This generation’s Witch—my will is to make people happy. To do that, I must first be happy myself. Without that, I can’t properly learn or use a Witch’s power. That’s why right now, I need to make myself happy first. The bakery comes after that.”
Listening to Noir’s words, the anxiety that had surged within me gradually subsided.
Yes, he’s right.
How could I possibly make bread when I myself am in such a broken state?
I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, then opened them again.
As my mind cleared, a sense of what needed to be done came swiftly into focus.
“I’ll go speak with Haeryang for a moment.”
“Yes. Now that’s what an owner should do.”
Leaving Noir, who bounded off my shoulder in satisfaction, I headed toward the counter.
“That’s 14,000 won total. Do you need a cash receipt? Ah, yes. I’ll dispose of the receipt for you! Thank you! Please come again!”
Haeryang was handling customers far more skillfully than before.
Yes, if that’s the case, things should be fine.
“Haeryang.”
“Have a good day! Yes? What is it? Owner?”
“Something urgent has come up, and I was wondering if you could manage the bakery for the rest of today?”
“Me? Really?”
She covered her mouth in surprise, startled.
She must have judged that her lack of experience would make it difficult to navigate this challenge.
“Don’t worry. There are far fewer customers than before, and I’ve marked where the line should form with tape on the floor. When the bread runs out, just tell people it’s sold out, and you only need to lock the door.”
“That’s… well, but…”
“And Noir will be here too, so it should be fine.”
I meant this sincerely.
To others’ eyes, he was just an adorable cat, but his true nature was a Familier.
Even if something serious happened, Noir could handle it.
I’d thrown out the remark half as a joke, thinking Haeryang, unaware of that fact, would take it that way.
“You know, having Noir here does seem like it would help a bit.”
“Really?”
“Yes. If you look outside right now, Noir is working hard out there, isn’t he?”
“That?”
To my eyes, it just looked like he was tolerating his annoyance, dodging people’s hands, and hissing at them.
But Haeryang saw it differently.
“Look—wherever Noir goes, people’s attention follows, so the line stays organized? The pace slows down, and everything becomes more orderly.”
Now that she mentioned it, it did seem that way.
He’d been hissing intently in one spot, then looked around before suddenly pouncing into where people were clustered and settling down.
Then he licked his paw.
Those simple actions drew everyone’s gaze, and as a result, he was actually helping maintain the entire line’s order.
“Every time I see it, I’m amazed at how smart this cat is. Hehe.”
“That’s… certainly true.”
After a brief moment, it was Haeryang who spoke first.
“It’s a family matter, isn’t it?”
“How did you know? Did I mention it?”
“No. I just thought I’d make the same expression if something happened to my sister. Go quickly.”
“You might be late, so feel free to close up when it’s time.”
“I’ll wait for you.”
Haeryang answered with a bright smile.
“I’m a staff member of this bakery too, aren’t I?”
There was only one answer I could give to that.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Then I’ll get back to serving customers!”
I bowed my head in gratitude, then went to the kitchen and packed the potions Miracle had given me into my bag.
I didn’t forget to grab the elixir I’d stored in the cupboard either.
“I’ll be back soon!”
“See you soon!”
“Meow~”
* * *
I untied my apron and hurriedly hailed a taxi nearby.
After telling the driver my destination and immediately calling the hospital, a voice came through.
– Yes. This is Seonghee Care Hospital.
“This is Han Seung-hyun, guardian of Lee Geum-rye. I left right after seeing the text. How is my grandmother’s condition?”
– Ah, Seung-hyun! We finally reached you. She suddenly developed a high fever this morning. So…
The nurse immediately informed me of my grandmother’s condition upon hearing my name.
She said the fever started around the time I opened the shop and was greeting customers.
Thanks to the quick judgment of the care hospital nurses, emergency treatment was administered promptly.
“Thank you. So right now, my grandmother is…”
“She’s stabilized now. However, since the fever is of unknown origin, the doctor thinks it would be best for you to come in person for a consultation.”
“I understand. Can I visit my grandmother?”
“She’s still sleeping, but it should be possible once she wakes up.”
“Yes. I’ll let you know when I arrive.”
How long had it been since I hung up and tried to suppress my anxiety by wiping my face?
“We’re here, student.”
“Ah. Thank you.”
I greeted the driver who still called me student despite my age, and got out of the taxi.
Seonghee Care Hospital, located on a mountainside with clean water and fresh air, befitting its name.
It was the kind of location my grandmother had chosen herself, refusing my offer to move in with me when she became less mobile.
As I entered through the main gate and into the lobby, the nurses recognized me and welcomed me warmly.
“Ah! Hello!”
“Hello. Is my grandmother still…”
“She’s still sleeping. Would you like to see the doctor first?”
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
“This way, please.”
Following the nurse’s guidance into the room, I came face to face with the doctor, who was seated while reviewing a chart.
After exchanging the usual pleasantries and greetings, we moved on to the main discussion.
“First, we haven’t been able to identify the underlying cause of Lee Geum-rye’s mobility issues. Of course, we understand the direct mechanism triggering the symptoms, but we don’t know what precipitated it in the first place.”
It was something I’d heard far too many times already.
My grandmother had suddenly lost the ability to use her legs one day, without any warning signs whatsoever.
No matter which hospital we visited, no one could find the cause.
The paralysis that had started in one leg gradually spread throughout her entire body, until eventually she could no longer walk at all.
“For now, we can only proceed with conservative treatment until we identify the cause.”
“But you said another problem has developed…”
“Yes. Intermittent fever symptoms have appeared.”
I’d thought it might be due to an infection, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
In the end, another symptom of unknown origin had simply been added to the list.
Yet despite all this, there were only so many words I could say.
“Please do your best, Doctor.”
“I’ll do my best, but…”
The silence that descended whenever he trailed off like that was quite cruel.
It was only after a brief pause that I could finally open my mouth again.
“I’d like to visit my grandmother before I go.”
“Of course. Understood.”
After finishing our conversation, I headed toward the hospital room where my grandmother was staying.
The nameplate reading “Lee Geum-rye” affixed beside the door as it creaked open.
Sunlight pouring through the window.
And a familiar gaze staring blankly out at the world beyond—but now noticeably more gaunt than before.
“Grandmother. I’m here.”
At my words, my grandmother slowly turned her head.
Wrinkles formed around her eyes as she smiled.
“Oh my. My little puppy has come to visit?”
“I should visit more often anyway.”
“How’s business? Isn’t today a business day?”
She worried about me before letting me worry about her.
I struggled to suppress the surge of emotion welling up inside me.
“Oh, business has been good lately, so don’t worry. Here, drink this.”
“What is this?”
“Just a beverage. A drink.”
It was a lie.
What my grandmother had received from me was an elixir created by Miracle.
After tilting her head in confusion for a moment, my grandmother opened the cap and drank the elixir.
If the system had judged it potent enough to revive even the dead, surely it could cure my grandmother’s illness.
But my hopes crumbled in the very next moment.
[This condition is a natural state brought about by fate, so the Elixir’s effects do not apply.]
“Ah.”
A disease that even the Elixir couldn’t cure?
Then how could any hospital or doctor possibly discover its nature?
The moment darkness began creeping back into my vision.
“What’s the matter?”
“Oh… well… it’s nothing, really. Ah, the bakery’s been doing well lately. And with the staff helping out, things are running smoothly.”
I barely managed to suppress my emotions and changed the subject.
There was no need to show Grandmother such dark feelings.
Fortunately, Grandmother seemed to have plenty she wanted to say as well.
“I heard about it from my doctor.”
“Really? How?”
“Every time he visits, he mentions it! He says my grandson’s bakery is packed with customers. He even showed me some video—there were so many people crowding the place. But you’re raising a cat too?”
“Oh, well… it just happened that way.”
It seemed the doctor I’d just met had shown Grandmother my bakery’s social media posts.
She knew that Haeryang worked as my staff, and she even knew about Noir settling in there.
Until now, it must have been difficult for her to keep up with even the basics while I was away in Paris.
She truly was a wonderful person.
“That cat is quite adorable.”
After saying that, Grandmother fell silent for a moment.
She seemed to be pondering something deeply.
“Don’t worry too much, Seung-hyun.”
“How can I not worry?”
“I’m someone who survived a war. And all the people here are good folks too…”
A resilient woman who had lived through war, raised my parents with difficulty, and raised me despite the pain of their departure.
What weight might such words carry when spoken almost like a lament?
“I wish I could eat my grandson’s bread to my heart’s content. Ever since coming here, food has lost its taste.”
“Grandmother.”
“Hmm?”
Her words sank deep into my mind and heart.
“I’ll make it for you.”
“Make what?”
To fulfill Grandmother’s wish, and perhaps even achieve that faint hope alongside it.
“Bread. I’ll make it for you.”

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