I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 40

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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 40. Intertwined Fate (2)
“I apologize for dropping by unannounced, but I came to express my gratitude. Thank you for taking care of my younger sister.”
“Ah, yes. Hello. I’m Han Seung-hyun, running a small bakery.”
I grasped the calloused white hand extended toward me and replied.
Unfortunately, I already knew who this person was.
Not merely because she was the guild master of the renowned Blue Dragon Guild.
She was the very person I had conversed with directly and handed bread to.
The same person who had even attacked me directly.
Fortunately, now she seemed to treat me as someone who had helped her, rather than viewing me with hostility and suspicion.
“But… a younger sister, you say…”
“Ah. You didn’t know? Hae-rang is my biological younger sister.”
The moment when a prediction I hadn’t wanted to believe became reality.
Yu Ha-neul, the guild master of the Blue Dragon Guild, was the biological older sister of Yu Hae-rang, our bakery’s part-time employee.
“Meow?!”
Look at that.
Even Noir, who had been managing the customer queue outside, was startled enough to jump—that’s how shocking this fact was.
“Whoa! Yu Ha-neul the Hunter!”
And the large customer who had decided to purchase a bulk order of bread was also surprised.
But why was she surprised?
Ah, she said she worked at the Hunter Management Bureau.
“Aren’t you Team Lead Kim Ri-a? What brings you here?”
“Ah… well… that is…”
“You mentioned buying bread for your team members. We were just about to finalize a bulk purchase order.”
“Y-yes! That’s right! That’s it!”
She was so flustered she couldn’t even explain why she was here, so I helped her out.
At my words, Ha-neul’s expression softened slightly, then she nodded.
“It seems to be quite a famous place. Actually, I came here thinking I’d purchase some bread while delivering this.”
“Ah. I see… Well then, I should be going! Owner! Wishing you prosperity! I’ll really get going now!”
“Goodbye… she’s already gone…”
The moment Ha-neul finished speaking, Ri-a spilled out everything she had to say and vanished at wind-like speed.
I stood there blankly, watching her retreating figure.
“As a token of gratitude to the benefactor who helped my younger sister, I hope you’ll accept this.”
A paper bag was suddenly thrust forward.
As I accepted it somewhat bewilderingly, Ha-neul’s explanation continued.
“It’s salt I obtained by chance. I prepared it because I heard salt is important in bread-making.”
“Ah. Thank you.”
Peeking inside, the paper bag contained none other than purified salt.
Though she called it a chance encounter, it must have come from the Gangneung Gate where I had met her.
Since I hadn’t brought all of it with me.
Doing my best not to show it, I carefully broached the subject.
“Salt is absolutely essential in baking. Thank you for such a generous gift.”
“I only recently learned that salt goes into bread… so it’s really true.”
“Ah… yes. Haha…”
After letting out a nervous laugh, Sky glanced around the bakery, picked up a few loaves, paid, and left with unhurried grace.
Not before leaving words of encouragement to her younger sister Hae-rang, wishing her well.
She departed, leaving behind an icy sensation right to the very end.
As a celebrity, one might have expected customers in the shop to request her autograph, but her distinctive aura was so commanding that not a single person stepped forward.
“Is she really Hunter Yu Ha-neul?”
“I’m telling you she is. Don’t you know I go around taking photos of hunters?”
“Then why didn’t you ask for an autograph?”
“Hey. Was that kind of atmosphere even possible? Anyway, this place must be really famous. Hunter Yu Ha-neul came here? Wow…”
Well, thanks to her visit, good word-of-mouth seemed destined to help the bakery’s business.
“I’m sorry, Owner…”
“Oh no. I just didn’t realize your sister was Hunter Yu Ha-neul.”
“I usually get that kind of reaction, so I don’t usually mention it… Oh! You look busy—can I help?”
“What? You said you were taking today off. Since things have come to this, why don’t you rest properly?”
“Ah… well…”
Hae-rang hesitated, clearly having plenty to say but struggling to find the words.
Eventually, she let out a long sigh and opened her mouth.
“Owner, do you understand what it’s like to know everything but be unable to say anything?”
“Suddenly? Well… I suppose I do?”
Before opening the bakery, I’d had to scrape together funds from various sources.
It was then that I happened to become an instructor at a cultural center.
Just watching the students’ dough, I’d think, “That bread is going to fail,” but I’d learned back then that I couldn’t say such things outright.
“It’s frustrating, isn’t it? But it’s necessary.”
“Yes, that’s exactly where I am right now.”
“Is it because of your abilities?”
“Well… there’s that too… But more precisely… Owner, what do you think you’d be like if you had money and power?”
This was yet another abrupt question.
Suddenly discussing money and power like this.
It was a topic I’d never been interested in or thought about before, but I didn’t hesitate to answer.
“They’re important. But I don’t think you’d need that much. Just… a reasonable amount? Enough to get along well with the people around you—wouldn’t that be just right?”
“That’s exactly why.”
“Why what?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Anyway, I’ll help. Your sister and I worked things out today, and she said she has things to do. You look busy too, Owner.”
“Then I’m grateful.”
I was already struggling to handle this many customers on my own.
Noir’s whiskers were trembling with excitement too.
“Meow! Meow!”
“Noir says she’s happy too.”
“So you’re paying me my daily wage today, right, Owner?”
Hae-rang, already wearing her apron, asked playfully, and her expression was noticeably brighter than when I first met her.
Could I say I had succeeded in placing happiness on one person’s face?
I composed myself, blending the pride and warmth swelling in my chest, and replied.
“Of course. I’ll give you some salt bread too.”
I thought the days would simply pass without incident like this.
Right up until that moment.
* * *
“Noir. What’s wrong with this?”
“How would I know? Owner.”
“No, you’re the one who knows the Witch well.”
“You’re the one who planted it, so why are you asking me? Meow.”
Noir answered as if exasperated.
Of course, she was right.
It was I who had planted crops in the Witch’s garden.
I had planted all sorts of things, brimming with anticipation.
Among them were herbs, but I had also planted several types of fruit.
If this venture succeeded, I thought I could sell fresh fruit juice in addition to coffee.
But the result was catastrophic.
“They’ve all dried up and died. What on earth happened….”
It was as if a tempest had swept through and left devastation in its wake.
Or rather, since they had withered, should I call it a drought?
The crops, dried out as if they’d been run through a dehydrator, were now crawling across the ground—a sight of utter ruin.
To explain how such a thing came to pass, I needed to rewind time a bit.
Let me start from about a week after I discovered that Hae-rang’s older sister was named Sky.
‘Owner, now that I think about it, didn’t you plant crops in the garden?’
‘Oh. Right.’
‘Meow. If this weren’t the Witch’s garden that automatically waters and fertilizes everything, they’d all be dead by now. Get your act together, Owner!’
‘I know. I can just check on it now.’
After that exchange, I went to check on the garden—or rather, the kitchen garden—that had been neglected for so long, and what I found was exactly what I just described.
“You said it manages everything?”
“It does.”
“Then why is it like this?”
“Meow! Owner, you have absolutely no talent for nurturing things! Did you think that just managing things solves everything?!”
Noir suddenly grew angry and frustrated, pounding her chest indignantly.
What she was saying was this:
“Growing crops requires considerable effort. While the Witch’s Cottage handles most of that management, there are inevitably things it cannot do.”
“Such as?”
“You might have planted them incorrectly from the start. The Previous Witch always knew the exact depth and humidity each seed desired and planted them with meticulous care.”
Noir explained that just as different crops prefer different temperatures, humidity, and sunlight, seeds are the same way.
How would I know such things unless I’d actually farmed before?
Right, I should think positively about this.
I can say I learned a lot from this failure.
Next time, I’ll do better.
“But how would you even figure that out? These aren’t ordinary seeds, so searching the internet won’t help.”
“You have a tendency to ask me questions about things I couldn’t possibly know, Owner.”
“Wait, didn’t you just say the Previous Witch wanted to understand that?”
“Of course. The Previous Witch possessed the ability to communicate with plants. Couldn’t she simply ask them directly?”
For a moment, I barely suppressed the anger that surged up within me.
But seeing Noir tilt her head with such an obvious expression—as if asking something perfectly natural—drained all my irritation away.
I exhaled deeply and fell into thought.
The kitchen garden was going to be a vital resource for my future business.
It could bring change to the current deformed system where I depended entirely on Miracle for potions and Gate products.
Of course, Miracle still says things like “I’ll bring you anything you desire!” but I can’t rely on him forever.
“Eventually, I might need materials that even Miracle can’t obtain.”
“So, what are you planning to do?”
“If I don’t know much, I’ll have to find an expert who does.”
I answered while carefully collecting the remains of the dead crops and burying them in the soil.
Of course, they would all become fertilizer.
According to Noir, the Previous Witch did the same thing.
As I brushed the rich soil from my hands and headed toward the shop, Noir asked me something.
“So, do you have any expert acquaintances?”
“Of course not.”
“Meow? Then where are you going to find an expert? There are plenty of people who farm, but true experts are rare, Owner.”
Unlike her sullen tone from before, she offered genuine concern.
And rightfully so.
Throughout all those long years she’d lived, humans were more likely to engage in agriculture than to develop industry and technology.
Naturally, there would be many who “did” farming, but few who did it “well.”
And this wasn’t even ordinary farming—it was cultivating crops that the Witch had tended, crops from within the Gate.
I couldn’t get advice from ordinary farmers.
“It’s the twenty-first century, after all.”
“Meow?”
“Even if they’re not professional farmers, I can find information from people who are knowledgeable about this sort of thing one way or another.”
Through the internet, that is.
I pulled out my phone and searched, and information about Gate-produced crops came pouring in.
Of course, there wasn’t nearly as much information as there was about ordinary crops.
“Even though we call them crops, they’re essentially monsters that exist within the Gate.”
“True. Owner. Some plants are so dangerous that if you eat the fruit carelessly, it’ll bore through your stomach from the inside.”
“What? That’s terrifying.”
All cultivation and research of Gate-produced crops was conducted under government authorization.
A certain portion of the harvest was unconditionally sent to the state and the association for research, and selecting sales targets was equally demanding.
Moreover, Gate-sourced fruits supposedly cost over ten million won per kilogram.
Naturally, I decided to exclude such places.
I didn’t need Gate-sourced crops right now anyway.
What I needed was knowledge on how to cultivate crops.
With that in mind, I managed to find the perfect place.
“Ah, this should work nicely.”
A small botanical garden I discovered while scrolling.
“Noir.”
“What is it, Owner?”
“Want to take a walk?”
“Meow?”
Of course, it was somewhat far.
Our destination was Gongju City, after all.

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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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