I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 43

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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 43. Gate Botanical Garden (3)
“So you’re making fresh fruit juice after all, Owner?”
“That was the plan initially.”
“Meow?”
“But I’ve changed my mind now.”
Certainly, this flavor possessed such a refreshing quality that it would be sinful not to make it as fresh fruit juice.
However, after hearing about Nuri’s situation, I couldn’t afford to think only of that.
“I could make Moisture Sprout fresh fruit juice using the Witch’s power, but Nuri wouldn’t be able to.”
“Can’t you just supply all those Moisture Sprouts?”
“That’s impossible. No matter how well our bakery does, we can’t handle that volume.”
Thanks to various connections and support, my sales were rising exponentially, but handling that quantity of Moisture Sprouts was beyond my capacity.
Besides, true to its name, Moisture Sprout contained so much moisture that it wasn’t easy to store.
“So I’m planning to make a syrup instead.”
“Meow? How does fresh fruit juice turn into syrup? They’re completely different things, aren’t they?”
“To be precise, think of it as making an essence.”
I would create a syrup close to jam by using heat reduction to condense the Moisture Sprout’s flavor to its absolute limit.
That way, when diluted with water later, if I got the concentration right and added appropriate acidity, it could deliver a performance similar to fresh fruit juice.
“And with that, Nuri would be able to make beverages easily too.”
“Listening to this, it seems you’re expanding the bakery’s scope, Owner.”
“That’s right. There’s that reason too. Honestly, I’ve always felt something was lacking.”
My abilities would be more helpful to hunters than to ordinary people.
While it’s good that regular customers find happiness in bread, the truth is that the ones who could efficiently use the proper effects were the hunters entering the Gates.
“And I heard there’s actually a plan to make hunters’ Gate conquests easier using Moisture Sprout.”
“Meow? Are you aiming to expand your market to hunters using that?”
“Exactly.”
At Trèfle de bonheur, I’d sell bread and beverages, and at the new business location—still unnamed—I’d help Nuri sell bread and beverages for hunters.
That’s what I’d call the plan for now.
“I roughly understand, Owner. But I’m still not sure if a beverage made from syrup could taste that good. Isn’t syrup meant to be spread on things?”
“You’ll know once you see it.”
“I still don’t get it… I think I’d need to taste it directly to know.”
“Isn’t that just because you want to eat it?”
“Meow! Owner! What kind of image do you have of me!”
What kind of image, indeed.
I see you as a cat who can’t resist food.
And if you’re going to say things like that, maybe wipe the drool dripping from your mouth first, Noir.
“I shouldn’t say mean things like that, should I?”
“I don’t know what you mean, but I feel like I’ve been insulted somehow…”
“Let’s just make it first.”
What I wanted to create here was a Moisture Sprout essence that tasted good whether eaten as jam or diluted in water.
It would be easier to think of it as making a jam with thin consistency and visible fruit pulp.
So if I lean too far in one direction, things will become problematic.
“That’s why I’ll minimize the use of heat.”
“Why is that?”
“If I use heat for too long and focus on heating, the flesh will become completely mushy, the acidity will disappear entirely from the taste, and when diluted in water, it’ll taste like plain sweet sugar water.”
For the same reason, I also plan to use less sugar than the typical 1:1 ratio.
That should be fine regardless.
Thinking about the taste of the Moisture Sprout flesh I just sampled—sweet and salty—if I just maintain the flavor, it should be delicious enough.
“Then I should start by pickling the Moisture Sprout first.”
I fed purified salt to the extra Moisture Sprouts I’d brought along to get them in good condition, then harvested the fruit.
Then I sliced them with a crisp sound and mixed them with an appropriate amount of sugar.
This way, through osmotic pressure, the fruit juice that seeps out from the flesh will help maintain the concentration while preserving the flesh itself.
“Even though it resembles a watermelon, I’m grateful the flesh has that chewy quality.”
“Chewy flesh? That sounds like you’re talking about bread.”
“It doesn’t crumble like a watermelon would. Anyway, that’s good.”
Normally it would take two to three hours to pickle, but with the help of the Witch’s cauldron, I could shorten the time.
So I should move on to the next step right away.
“Next, I need to reduce the moisture.”
“You’re reducing moisture from a Moisture Sprout?”
“Given the nature of Moisture Sprouts, they have the effect of quenching thirst.”
Wasn’t that something I could see through the status window?
Regardless of the amount of moisture, the Moisture Sprout itself has the effect to quench thirst.
“First, I’ll simmer it over high heat….”
Then, watching the state, once it seemed to reach the right sticky consistency, I gradually reduced the heat to medium, then low.
“I mustn’t forget to put my sincerity into this.”
“I’m used to that now.”
Checking through the Quest, the target for this bread was, unsurprisingly, Kim Nu-ri.
What could she want?
A structure that could rapidly consume Moisture Sprouts, and moreover, create profit from Moisture Sprouts—wasn’t that it?
“It would be nice if she simply wanted to earn money, but right now she probably wants the efficacy of Moisture Sprouts to become well-known.”
“A wise judgment, Owner.”
Did Noir share my opinion?
The cauldron also accepted my sincerity without complaint.
A jam made just as I’d envisioned.
After letting it cool for a moment, I finished by adding a touch of lemon juice at the end so the pectin component that causes coagulation wouldn’t do its job.
Ding~
[Subunseo Cheong]
▷ A syrup made by actively utilizing Moisture Sprouts. It seems filled with the desire to have people consume Moisture Sprouts.
▷ Effects: Replenishes body moisture, counteracts excessive heat
“Heat counteraction? The effects really are similar to watermelon.”
“Why do you say that, Owner?”
“The Moisture Sprout produced effects identical to the watermelon described in the Donguibogam.”
The effects of watermelon, recorded in the Donguibogam under the name Seogwa, were as follows.
Its nature is cool, its flavor sweet, it eliminates heat and thirst, and reduces fever in the heart and small intestine.
I never expected similar effects to manifest.
“And the direction seems correct too.”
[Deliver ‘Subunseo Cheong’ to ‘Kim Nu-ri’ 0/1]
The quest now displayed the name of the syrup I’d just created instead of a question mark.
All that remained was the practical test.
“Let’s try spreading it on bread first.”
“Meow….”
I spread the syrup onto pre-baked white bread.
The Subunseo Cheong spread thinly and smoothly since it wasn’t thick.
Though not quite jam, it had a unique texture, yet remained spreadable enough.
The pulp of the Moisture Sprout scattered throughout looked appetizing too.
“Ready to try it?”
“Meow meow! Don’t keep me waiting!”
The moment I took a bite of the bread.
“Ah!”
Despite eating bread, a pleasant refreshment and coolness flooded through me.
Sweet yet tangy, and with a subtle saltiness that prevented any cloying aftertaste.
Who said bread alone leaves your throat parched?
With this Subunseo Cheong spread, such complaints would vanish entirely.
“Success.”
“Munch munch… not complete success yet. We need to verify it works well as a beverage too, don’t we?”
“That’s simple enough.”
All I had to do was dissolve a spoonful of syrup in cold water.
Despite the water being cold, the syrup dissolved smoothly and evenly as I stirred.
“Here, Noir. Have a glass too.”
“You weren’t planning to withhold it? Owner?”
“Should I have not given you any?”
“That’s too cruel! Owner!”
After teasing Noir for a moment, I drank from the cup.
“This is….”
“Wow wow wow! It’s delicious! What flavor is this!”
“It’s similar to Taengmobban? No, it’s like drinking an incredibly delicious Taengmobban.”
Taengmobban, Thailand’s watermelon juice.
True to its name—a juice made by grinding watermelon (taengmo) (ban)—it was a beverage pursuing extreme sweetness and refreshment.
First, verified sweet watermelon is frozen to maximize the trapped sugars.
Then a touch of salt, lemon juice, and agave syrup are added to heighten the flavor.
This creates the perfect Taengmobban where watermelon’s essence and sweetness never fade until the last sip.
“Come to think of it, this Subunseo Cheong doesn’t need that process at all, does it?”
“True, it already had a hint of saltiness. And the aftertaste carried a subtle tartness.”
In other words, Subunseo was actually better suited for making Taengmobban than watermelon.
With its own refreshing coolness and crisp quality, there was no need to freeze it either.
So despite mixing it with Cheong, a juice with flavor that surpassed it seemed to have been born.
“Perfect. This is flawless.”
Since the Cheong itself had effects infused into it, whether spread and eaten or consumed as juice, the effects came out identically.
For Hunters who would struggle Inside the Gate with heat exhaustion and dehydration, this was exactly what they needed.
“If it were summer, regular customers would have absolutely loved this too. I should show Nuri the taste soon.”
“Indeed. Owner. With this, everyone would surely be satisfied… wait, hold on.”
Noir, who had been happily munching on bread and juice, suddenly lifted his head and began glancing around nervously.
As if something troublesome had just occurred.
“What’s wrong? What’s the matter?”
“I’m sensing an unusual flow of energy. There are two sources.”
“Flow of energy? Are you talking about mana?”
“One of them is nearby.”
Noir suddenly leaped down from beside me and bolted off somewhere with rapid patter of paws.
Following that creature, I arrived at none other than the cupboard nestled in the corner of the kitchen ceiling.
“I’m sensing something from here. Owner.”
“What do you mean you’re sensing something?”
“Unfortunately, I cannot discern what it is. However, this doesn’t seem to be anything bad, so don’t worry and open it.”
“Open it? Me?”
“Then should I open it? With these front paws, I cannot open anything!”
With those words, Noir held up his plump jelly-like paws and clicked his teeth in frustration.
Honestly, if I had applied the effort I spent unlocking patterns to watch YouTube videos here instead, I could certainly manage it.
“Sigh. They say everyone who owns a cat becomes their servant…”
“Meow! I am not a cat! Owner!”
“Alright. I’ll just call you a cat-like creature then.”
“Meooooow!”
Leaving the enraged Noir behind, I quietly opened the cupboard door.
And what revealed itself inside was not something grandiose like torrents or flows of mana…
What was inside was…
“A butterfly?”
“Meow? Did you say butterfly?”
It was a single butterfly radiating a lush green fragrance of fresh bread.
Or more precisely, it was a fairy with butterfly wings.
Each time it fluttered its wings, scattering pastel-toned fragrant powder, the creature looked at me and tilted its head with a cry.
“Chirp?”
“And it even… makes sounds?”
“Chirrup!”
Moreover, it came rushing straight toward my embrace.
In that moment of bewilderment, my status window materialized, and I finally could discern this creature’s true identity.
[A fairy egg has hatched!]
[Under the influence of the ‘Bread Maker of Life’, a ‘Fairy of Life’ has been born.]
“A Fairy of Life?”
“Kyuuung!”
From the fairy egg that Seung-hyun had given me, something entirely unexpected had come into being.
A Fairy of Life, no less.
I had never seen a fairy before, so what in the world was a Fairy of Life supposed to be?
“What is this? What’s happening?”
“Meow. Master. But something else is far more important. That aura was not bad, but the remaining one aura is terribly sinister.”
“Sinister? In what way?”
“Something….”
Noir, unusually grave, gazed out the window and spoke.
“It’s a familiar aura, yet… it shouldn’t be… that kind of aura.”
“Explain it so I can understand.”
“It’s the aura of a Witch, but something… something is twisted.”
And in that instant.
Crack!
A massive fissure tore open across the sky beyond the window.
And what appeared beyond that fissure was none other than….
“The Research Complex?”
It was the princess’s Research Complex we had seen just moments ago.

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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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