I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 51

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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 51. The Witch and the Shipwreck (1)
There were three reasons I’d been postponing the expansion until now.
One was confidence in myself.
There was no guarantee that customers would keep coming even after expanding—what was the point of expansion then?
But that’s no longer the case.
I’ve gained confidence that customers seeking my bread will continue to arrive.
“The second reason was money.”
But that will be resolved soon.
I’d already planned to discuss business expansion targeting Hunters with Nuri after today’s sales ended.
“And the final issue is speed….”
Only I can wield the Witch’s power.
So even if I expand the bakery and broaden the business, all product preparation must pass through my hands.
Thanks to the Witch’s Oven working diligently, I produce bread at a speed others couldn’t even imagine, but that doesn’t mean it can create an infinite amount of bread.
“Still, I should think about it.”
In a more positive light.
Well, of course, right now….
“Owner! We’re completely out of Salt Bread!”
“Coming right up! I’ll bring it immediately!”
I need to work.
* * *
“You need to be careful. You understand, right?”
“It’s not even a Gate right now, so why are you saying that?”
“Still. I was really worried.”
As the day’s hard work ended and closing time arrived, Haeryang murmured before leaving.
She really had been worried.
She must have known well enough that I was safe with the skills I possessed, yet she kept asking if I was okay.
“Really, don’t worry. Take this with you when you go in. I packed plenty, so share it with your sister too.”
“Understood… See you tomorrow!”
Ding.
With the sound of the door opening, Haeryang hurried away into the distance.
Watching her retreating figure, I stretched out my stiff, rigid lower back.
“Ugh. My back’s sore.”
“Meow. This body’s back is sore too.”
“What did you even do?”
“Mrow! Didn’t I deal with humans all day long! This is practically torture! The fact that I’m enduring it at my level should tell you something! Master!”
Noir stretched dramatically while saying something that would’ve made every self-employed person in the country scoff.
Then she hopped onto the counter, curled her body into a ball, and poked only her head out.
“So when is that farmer coming?”
“She said she’d be here in just a moment.”
“Meow. You should make your position clear, Master.”
“Hmm. It is something I’m troubled about.”
I couldn’t hide my identity completely forever.
Nuri was different from Haeryang, who already knew my identity roughly.
Unless he was a fool, it would be difficult to just let it slide.
“Or should I just write up a contract right now?”
“That’s also a good idea, Owner.”
“Let me think about it for a moment….”
Ding~
I didn’t have that kind of leisure.
Because the person who opened the bakery door was none other than Nuri.
“Oh my. This bakery is quite pretty.”
“Ah, welcome. Since I’m in the position of running a business… thank you for going through the trouble to come. Please, have a seat first.”
“Ay, compared to when I went right up to the threshold of the underworld last time, this was just a short stroll!”
Nuri sat down in the chair I indicated while joking around, rubbing his cold hands together.
Before him, I placed the bread spread with Subunseo Cheong that I had prepared in advance, and a Subunseo Aide.
“Since you’re busy, I thought it best to tell you quickly. This is the solution to the Subunseo issue I mentioned before.”
“That’s right! I can’t let our Pretties go hungry, so I need to hurry back. But… the thing is….”
Nuri’s words trailed off as he looked at the food placed before him.
His eyes rolled about in apparent bewilderment, but then he seemed to make a decision, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth.
“It might sound strange, but actually, back then a Hunter who called herself a Witch forcibly made me eat something. And strangely enough, it tasted exactly like delicious Subunseo….”
“Ah, well….”
“It seems the technique for making Subunseo taste good has already been monopolized elsewhere. I feel terrible for putting our Maestro through so much trouble for nothing… So now I’m going to let go of my attachment and stop. Instead, I’ll pass on all the farming techniques I’ve painstakingly mastered without holding back.”
“Nuri.”
I spoke to him, who was listless and drooping, not even thinking of tasting the food I offered.
“Try it first.”
“But….”
“Just try it first, then we can talk.”
“Well….”
Only after hearing my words did Nuri reluctantly reach out and grasp the cup.
The moment he poured the Subunseo Aide into his mouth, his expression changed.
“Huh?”
He tilted his head in confusion, then immediately grabbed the cup with both hands and began gulping down the large amount of aide down his throat.
Soon after, he set down the now-empty cup with a clatter and exclaimed.
“This… this doesn’t make any sense at all? It’s definitely the exact same taste as what that Witch Hunter gave me back then… How is the same taste coming from here? Owner, this really doesn’t make sense!”
“Well, of course it does. It’s made by the same person.”
“Huh….”
Nuri’s body froze at my bombshell revelation.
It was a conclusion I had reached after much deliberation.
Nuri was someone who would continue working with me going forward.
If that were the case, there was no need to hide it and maintain an unstable relationship.
In the meantime, Nuri regained consciousness and asked hesitantly.
“Um… well then. May I ask just one thing, Maestro?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Why are you a Witch? Maestro, were you… a woman?”
Ah, so that’s what she was curious about first.
“I’m not a woman. It’s just that when I awakened as a Hunter, the ability I received was being a Witch.”
Explaining the current situation to Nuri in a way she could understand required considerable detail.
“So… when you awakened as a Hunter, you got an ability called Witch? And that’s an ability that works really effectively when making food, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“So you used that ability to make food with Moisture Sprout?”
“To be precise, I made Subunseo Cheong from the Moisture Sprout.”
As for things like Black Smoke, I explained them vaguely.
I used explanations like methods of use, not wanting my identity to be exposed.
I didn’t mention Chohong or Noir either.
Ordinary Hunters don’t usually carry around cats and fairies.
“My goodness, then Maestro, you’re my lifesaver. Thank you so much.”
“No. I had my own reasons too. For now, please get up…”
There was an issue with Nuri’s deep bow upon learning my identity, but I brushed past that as well.
Now was the time to talk about business.
“So, do you think this will sell?”
“Of course! The Hunters will search for it with eyes blazing! Finding fresh, cool water inside the Gate isn’t easy at all! It’s truly difficult!”
“Then would you like to start a business?”
“A business?”
“Yes. A Moisture Sprout beverage business targeting Hunters.”
Using the new Moisture Sprout cultivation method I taught her, Nuri would produce the Moisture Sprout, and I would use it to make Subunseo Cheong.
Then I would dilute it to make an ade and sell it to Hunters.
That would be the most basic framework of this business.
Once it catches on with Hunters, the structure would be to expand the business by adding other items.
“And I’d like you to take charge of this, Nuri.”
“Me? But then you wouldn’t gain anything, Maestro. I’d sell the Moisture Sprout and earn more money, so it’s good for me… but what about you? You need to get something out of it too!”
“We can split the profits together. And I can benefit in other ways as well.”
Money was one thing, but what I was really after now was BP.
The BP I earned from selling bread couldn’t keep up with the requirement that increased tenfold with each upgrade, so I needed more sources of supply.
As I was thinking about this, Nuri spoke to me.
“Maestro, how much do you trust me? We haven’t known each other that long…”
“I can learn farming techniques from you. If there’s anything I don’t know, I’ll ask you frequently.”
Just as Nuri was worried, I couldn’t completely trust him.
The only thing I trusted was one simple fact.
This business wouldn’t run at all without me.
I’m the only one who has the Purification Salt, the ingredient needed to cultivate delicious Moisture Sprout, and I’m the only one who can process it into an effective Cheong.
“So you’ll do it, then?”
“I don’t see a single reason why I wouldn’t.”
“Then let’s do this together. Welcome.”
“Maestro, I promise I’ll give it my absolute best.”
I grasped Nuri’s hand, calloused and hardened from years of grueling farmwork, and we shared a firm handshake.
“Then first, let’s set up a business, get an internet site running….”
“Oh, but we need to pass inspection first.”
“How much volume per day… What? That much? Really that much?”
“It’s sufficient. Don’t worry.”
Our conversation with Nuri continued late into the night.
The words we shared on that winter’s night bloomed and bore fruit when spring arrived—when the fallen snow melted and new shoots sprouted at the tips of branches.
A company bearing the name ‘Witch Food’ had launched its first product.
– It’s up! Teacher! It just went live!
“Yes. I just confirmed it too.”
This was the moment when ‘Moisture Sprout Aide,’ the inaugural product of Witch Food—a company that would become the preferred choice of all Hunters for pre-Gate entry provisions within just a few years—revealed itself to the world.
* * *
As expected, there weren’t many purchases from the start.
– This thing really isn’t selling like I thought it would.
“It’s because it’s new. I’ll talk to some Hunters I know too.”
– Understood.
After ending the call with Nuri, I rubbed my forehead.
The Moisture Sprout Aide wasn’t selling as well as I’d hoped.
A few places had purchased it initially, but now there was only silence.
“I kind of expected this from the start.”
“What do you mean, Owner?”
“Hunters are quite conservative.”
People speak of Hunters casually enough, but in reality, it’s a profession that demands risking one’s life.
Given that, if efficacy isn’t properly proven, it’s difficult for them to easily attempt something new.
Those initial purchases were likely made by various guilds to analyze the composition and effects.
But I had confidence.
“Look who made it.”
There couldn’t possibly be even a speck of a problem with Moisture Sprout Aide made with a Witch’s power.
Besides, it was being sold with approval from the Hunter Management Bureau.
“Time will sort it out.”
“But what if the farmer starves to death before then?”

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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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