I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 38

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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 38. Suppressed Feelings (2)
Sim Gyu-hwan—once a hero who saved South Korea from the crisis of being swallowed by a Gate.
The Secretary bit her lip as she watched the Sword Saint’s eyes, which had mercilessly cut down monsters in a single stroke.
‘Of course, I knew he would react this way.’
It wasn’t something I hadn’t anticipated.
I had shown the same reaction when I first received the report myself.
Because of that, one of the capable subordinates in the secretarial office couldn’t hide her grievance and burst into tears.
This time, it was simply my turn.
The only difference was that I had come fully prepared, knowing this would happen.
“Let’s start by looking at this data.”
“Hmm….”
Gyu-hwan accepted the documents with a dissatisfied expression.
He pulled out his glasses from his front pocket and began reading carefully, word by word, his expression shifting moment by moment.
At first, it was filled with doubt, then surprise, then disappointment, and finally….
“Is this really true?”
“According to our secretarial investigation, it is undoubtedly fact.”
“No, why are these people so obsessed with bread?”
What was written in the documents was that all members of the H&G Guild—whatever that abbreviation stood for—were searching for bread.
Joo Gyu-ri, who bore the epithet of the Flame Saint, was understandable.
After her re-awakening where she gained new skills, she had even stated in an interview that she became that way after eating bread, showing just how much she loved it.
Given that she was receiving bread-related advertisements even now, that said everything.
“Why are these two like this? What could they possibly be lacking?”
Maestro, the Guild Master of the Miracle Guild, and Yu Ha-neul, the Guild Master of the Blue Dragon Guild.
Hearing that even these two were searching for bread, Gyu-hwan’s mind became hazy.
At first glance, they seemed like mad people.
They were buying up bread from across the nation—no, beyond that, from all over the world.
“There was testimony from one of the Guild Members of the Miracle Guild. Lately, bread has been coming out endlessly from the guild cafeteria, and they’ve grown tired of it.”
“From the guild cafeteria?”
“It seems they’ve been processing it that way, as more bread is coming in than the amount they personally consume. The same phenomenon is occurring in the Blue Dragon Guild as well, but it’s strange that there’s no noise about it….”
This wasn’t like a ghost of someone who died from not eating bread possessing them.
Why on earth were they so obsessed with bread?
Of course, this behavior stemmed from what had been said within H&G.
Seung-hyun had said that the person they encountered in the pastry shop might actually be a Hunter in hiding.
From that point on, everyone had been searching through bakeries everywhere, trying to find the taste of the bread they had eaten.
But how could outsiders know about such background details?
Because of that, as Gyu-hwan recalled these people acting in ways that defied common sense, as if they had been caught up in something incomprehensible at a Gate, he muttered.
“Something’s off, but it’s vaguely off.”
“That’s right. It really is.”
“And vague cases have always been a sign that something big is about to happen.”
If it were anyone else, they would have simply dismissed it as ‘I’ve seen all kinds of crazy people,’ but Gyu-hwan could not.
During the time he was active, the Republic of Korea had nearly collapsed due to these vague and inexplicable anomalies.
Suddenly, clouds twisted into ambiguous shapes?
In that instant, flying monsters spawned en masse in the sky, pecking at citizens’ heads.
Strange trees that began growing in bizarre forms?
Trees warped grotesquely by the Gate’s influence into monsters weren’t rare—they’d skewer Hunters like they were meat on a stick.
This accumulated experiential paranoia gave Gyu-hwan one answer.
“It could be the Gate’s doing.”
“The Gate, sir?”
“More precisely, there’s a possibility that monsters inside the Gate have bewitched them. If so, everything makes sense.”
Just look at Joo Gyu-ri’s official press conference statement.
Could she really have become that way just from eating bread?
And it’s not as if she’d lie just because she liked bread that much.
But what if she genuinely ‘believed’ that eating bread caused her transformation?
And what if that ability actually originated from a powerful monster inside the Gate?
“Is that possible?”
“We can’t rule out the possibility of a monster wearing human skin and acting among us. Or it could be a parasitic monster that reveals its true nature at any moment. Those creatures are unpredictable.”
The same applies to Maestro.
Before his sudden strange behavior, he developed the elixir—a miraculous drug credited with changing the course of human history.
If that’s the case, it’s possible a monster inside a Gate was involved in that too.
All the Blue Dragon Guild Members who cleared the Gangneung Gate with its 99.9% fatality rate living on bread alone would make sense under this theory.
“Is that really the case?”
“I hope not. I genuinely think it isn’t. But if it is….”
It would mean this mysterious monster has made three S-rank Hunters of South Korea its puppets.
Even if the possibility is slim, it’s something we can’t ignore.
Gyu-hwan had to make a decision.
“Seeing that they keep purchasing bread and consuming unnecessary bread themselves, I believe they’re only after a specific type of bread.”
“Why on earth would they need bread?”
“I once saw a monster that wanted a pure, seventeen-year-old Dutch girl who’d never been in a relationship. This is far more realistic than that. Anyway, if they’re searching for such bread on Earth, it means the human making that bread has a high probability of being a specific monster’s minion.”
“What should we do then?”
Gyu-hwan opens his mouth with an expression of utmost gravity.
“We purchase the bread.”
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you hear? Before H&G Guild does, we find them. We need to locate them and confirm the situation. As a national institution, we have the information advantage.”
“I’ll have all bread from every bakery registered in the business database collected immediately.”
“Good. Thank you for your effort.”
Thus, the conversation held in the most secretive place of the Hunter Association’s highest echelon concluded with South Korea hoarding all its bread.
* * *
I visited my Grandmother again the very next day after baking bread.
Fortunately, Haeryang understood my situation and promised to run the shop alone.
In exchange, she made one request.
‘I have a favor to ask instead!’
‘What kind of favor?’
‘I… would it be okay if I took today off? I have something serious I need to discuss with my sister…’
After working diligently for two days, wasn’t it too much to deny even a single day of rest?
Without hesitation, I agreed and immediately headed to the nursing home.
“Grandmother. I’m here.”
“Oh my. Has my puppy arrived?”
Only a day had passed, yet my Grandmother’s condition seemed to have deteriorated further.
No, this must be my imagination.
If it were truly the case, the hospital would have contacted me immediately.
“Grandmother said she wanted to try my bread, so I made some for you.”
“Bread? You heard me say I wanted to try bread and brought that? Tsk tsk tsk. I’m sorry, my dear. It won’t do. Seung-hyun.”
“Yes?”
My Grandmother waved her hand, stopping me from pulling out the bread.
Wondering what was wrong, I tilted my head in confusion, but it was the Nurse who had guided me here who answered instead.
“Your Grandmother needs dietary management right now. To be safe and prevent any complications, we’re managing her nutrition with only hospital meals.”
“You heard that? So you’ll share that bread with the people here and leave it behind.”
“But… that’s not…”
“This old woman is already full just knowing her grandson could bake such bread. Now I have something to brag about to my Doctor. Tsk tsk tsk.”
How frustrating.
This bread was meant for my Grandmother to eat.
Of course, if others ate this bread, they would feel happiness, and they would even experience its beneficial effects.
But the sincerity I poured into it was for my Grandmother.
Thinking that way, my emotions naturally grew turbulent.
“But! This is…”
“Shush! You creature! What kind of place is this to raise your voice! Come here. Do you need a good knock on the head?”
As my Grandmother, with nothing but skeletal arms, gestured for me to come closer, even that emotion melted away.
Barely suppressing my sadness, I drew near, and my Grandmother whispered into my ear.
“My puppy. Do you remember? I used to show you magic tricks all the time.”
“Ah.”
Hearing those words, I remembered.
The magic tricks my Grandmother used to show me.
Since childhood, my Grandmother would often perform amazing tricks, saying she’d show me fun magic.
Coins that were clearly in her hand would disappear without fail, and scraps of cloth would slip out from behind my ear.
The most shocking was when she spat out bread she had clearly chewed and swallowed, completely intact without a trace of saliva.
Back then, I thought it was magic, but now I know.
My Grandmother was simply a master of quick hands and precise technique.
“So don’t worry and go on. This old woman has her ways, you see? Tsk tsk tsk!”
“Understood. But you really must try it?”
“You silly thing! People might think you’re trying to eat the bread yourself! Now go share it!”
“Of course.”
I handed the envelope I’d brought to the Nurse beside me, my worries eased.
“I’ll visit again soon.”
“Good. Come by often.”
“Yes, I will.”
I barely held back the tears that welled up at those final words as I left the room with the Nurse.
As I walked to the reception desk, other Nurses approached me.
“How is Geum-rye Grandmother doing?”
“She seems to be doing well, thankfully.”
“We’ll take great care of her. Please don’t worry too much!”
Every one of them expressed concern for my Grandmother and me.
The horror stories about unscrupulous care facilities that circulated online hadn’t materialized here.
Rather, I should be grateful to have met such kind people.
“I’ve baked some bread.”
“Wow! I’ve been wanting to go to Trèfle de bonheur!”
“Trèfle de bonheur?”
“Trèfle de bonheur! It’s become incredibly famous lately, right? It’s that bakery where people line up to eat!”
The Nurse began enthusiastically praising my bakery.
This too was something to be grateful for.
It was all made possible by the many connections that had come together.
“Please have some. I baked plenty.”
“Wow! That’s a lot! How many?”
“Fifteen.”
I said I’d baked bread for my Grandmother, but I had no intention of neglecting those who had helped.
So I’d baked generously.
“Huh? But this is a bread I haven’t seen before?”
“It’s a new bread I’ve been developing.”
“Wow! So we’re the first to try it?”
“That’s right.”
“I’m so excited!”
They were delighted at the prospect of being the first to taste the new bread.
Each taking a chestnut butter cream bun in hand, they brought it to their mouths in no time.
The thick chestnut butter cream oozed out from the corners of their mouths as soon as they bit in.
The moment they tasted the slightly golden-brown, rich cream, everyone let out exclamations of delight.
“Wow… it melts so smoothly….”
“It tastes like luxurious chestnut jelly… so delicious….”
“Fool. This is Mont Blanc flavor.”
“The bread is so chewy too!”
Everyone savored the chestnut butter cream buns with pure happiness.
Soon, as the Nurses finished their individual buns, they began counting to divide up the remaining bread.
“One, two, three… Huh? One is missing?”
“Didn’t you eat two and lie about it, Unni?”
“I didn’t! You said there were 15…”
“You must have miscounted.”
As the conversation went back and forth, a cheerful notification reached my ears.
Ding!
[Quest Complete!]
At that sound, I offered a satisfied smile and spoke.
“Ah, I must have been mistaken. There were 14.”
A truly satisfied smile.
* * *
“Well made indeed.”
Geum-rye picked up the bread and murmured to herself.
She could feel it was good bread.
It wasn’t merely the glossy sheen or the generous amount of cream threatening to burst forth.
Even with just her eyes, she could tell that ‘sincerity’ had been poured into it.
“Truly excellent bread…”
One couldn’t call bread good without tasting it first.
The moment she took a bite, a whirlwind of flavors erupted.
The texture of bread that was chewy yet tore with a crisp snap.
The appearance of crunchy sugar granules layered over the nutty flavor, and simultaneously, the moist sweetness of cream flowing forth.
“Mmm… chestnuts, I see.”
It was sincerity, pure sincerity.
What else could you call it but sincerity to finely chop chestnuts that had been simmered by hand and place them within the cream?
And furthermore…
“How do you expect to run a business putting in such fine ingredients… tsk tsk.”
As she rolled up her sleeve, dark spots became visible on her thin arm.
Spots that would be invisible to others began to fade away gradually.
Without such exceptional ingredients, such a thing would never have been possible.
“You’re making steady progress, it seems. But Seung-hyun…”
With vitality returning to her expression, Geum-rye placed the last piece of bread into her mouth and thought.
‘That’ should not be trusted too much.

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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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