I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 52

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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 52. The Witch and the Shipwreck (2)
“That is indeed the problem…”
The success of the Subunseo Cheong was virtually assured, but Nuri was currently in a precarious financial situation.
Still, I couldn’t simply abandon her as if she were a stranger.
Beyond just the hunter business, Nuri had helped me tremendously in many ways, and would continue to do so.
“I’m already providing her with the profits from the bakery, so it should be fine.”
“Do you really need to go that far?”
“She’s a good person. And Witchfood is absolutely essential for growing the Witch’s Cottage.”
Perhaps it was because she had a natural inclination toward cultivating plants.
She rarely grew angry over trivial matters, maintained a peaceful demeanor, and was meticulous to boot.
Not a single careless mistake marred her management of the business.
When I once praised her as remarkable, she laughed bashfully and said this.
“When you’re constantly scraping by and pinching pennies, everything tends to work out that way, Maestro.”
Her past was a story I could not hear without tears.
In any case, I was able to easily achieve my original goal of meeting Nuri.
Since she was an expert on Gate-born plants, she knew intimately about the crops I had let wither to death.
“Oh my! Isn’t this a Steel Berry? That’s quite a finicky thing for a beginner to grow. I’ve killed so many of these trying to cultivate them.”
“Is that so? What should I do?”
“It’s quite simple, really. While they call that outer shell steel, it’s actually chitin, you see. If you bury plenty of eggshells or bone scraps in the soil, it’ll grow right up on its own. But you won’t be able to crack this open yourself. Would you like me to use a nutcracker? This thing is harder than a diamond…”
“…”
I hadn’t thought that far ahead.
When I rummaged through the warehouse, I found a nutcracker that supposedly could crack dragon bones, and managed to extract the flesh inside.
In any case, the result of receiving such help was now unfolding before my eyes.
“This beautiful garden exists entirely thanks to Nuri.”
“You’re right—she’s certainly an indispensable farmer. Meow.”
The kitchen garden was overflowing with fresh, thriving crops.
It was impossible to imagine this was the same place that, not long ago, had been nothing but withered brown leaves of death.
“Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!”
“That’s why Chohong seems to love it the most.”
“Being a sprite of life, she naturally favors spaces brimming with vitality. The owner’s previous dwelling was hardly appealing.”
Chohong fluttered happily among the crops, her wings beating with joy.
Since she loved this garden so much, I had prepared a small house for her to live in.
How did I make such a small house, you ask?
“Miniatures are quite popular these days.”
“Wasn’t it a dollhouse? Owner?”
“Let’s just leave it at that.”
The size fit perfectly, at least.
“Which crop would she prefer today?”
“Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!”
“She says this berry looks good today, Owner.”
“Steel berries? Perfectly ripe.”
The smooth, rounded metallic sheen gleaming across their surface was the hallmark of a well-ripened steel berry.
Since Chohong, who had been flying about, carefully selected and brought me only the finest specimens, I patted her head before heading toward the kitchen.
“But do I really need to develop a new menu right now? Owner, don’t I already have plenty on my plate?”
“That’s true enough.”
If I were to list everything I needed to do, it looked like this.
Fundamentally, I operated Trèfle de bonheur—or Bonheur for convenience.
It sounded simple when put that way, but considering the bread sold at Bonheur, I couldn’t afford a single day of rest.
Second, I had to produce Subunseo Cheong for delivery to Witch Food.
Third, I also needed to bake bread for the hunters who frequently visited the Witch’s Cottage.
“Still, spring has arrived now. Even if not a new menu, I should have seasonal offerings.”
The reason I had stopped by the kitchen garden was none other than menu development.
With a richer variety of crops now available, I found myself wanting to develop new bread and beverage options.
And now that spring had truly arrived, I wanted to create seasonal specials as well.
“Plus these steel berries—they have this peculiar flavor mixing strawberry with banana, and they’re absolutely delicious.”
While the exterior was harder than steel itself, suitable for use as a weapon, the flesh inside was remarkably delectable—that was the steel berry.
It combined the sweet-tart flavor of strawberries with the mellow, warm sweetness of banana in perfect harmony.
“I think this would be perfect for making strawberry-banana bread.”
And if paired with new bread that captures the fresh essence of spring?
What greater happiness could there be?
“As for new attempts, the only thing I’ve made recently is bread that isn’t bread….”
“Bread that isn’t bread? Ah… you mean that? Owner?”
“Yeah, that.”
Hell Bread had become a forbidden word between Noir and me.
We’d both tasted it out of curiosity.
“I should be grateful that this body is a Familier and didn’t die.”
“Then what about me?”
“…That you didn’t die was divine providence.”
I’ll just say I thought my mouth was being torn off.
For those curious for more details, after eating an amount smaller than a pinky nail, both Noir and I spent the entire day rolling around clutching our stomachs.
“I need to make some proper bread. I’m a bakery owner, after all.”
“Meow. This one wants to eat too. Bread baked by your own hands, Owner.”
Right, first let me set aside my worries.
The bakery, the business, the expansion.
“What should I make?”
Just as I was pondering what delicious bread to create.
Knock, knock, knock.
A timid knocking sound.
Considering I was currently at the Witch’s Cottage, the source of that knock could only be an unknown hunter who had entered inside the Gate.
“But they’re knocking?”
“Knocking is basic courtesy, Owner.”
“No, think about it carefully, Noir. Has anyone actually knocked until now?”
From the Hunters’ perspective, this place was merely one variable existing Inside the Gate.
Because of that, there were virtually no Hunters who observed human etiquette.
Why would they reveal their presence when they didn’t know what lay within?
Whether Noir’s thoughts had reached that conclusion as well, she tilted her head and answered.
“Meow? That… that wasn’t the case….”
“Hm… who is it?”
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking reached my ears once more.
Just to be safe, I summoned Chohong and had her perch on my shoulder before opening the gate, and what appeared before me was….
“Wow! Waaah! Finally! Wow!”
A woman looking up at me with a radiant smile.
Behind her, dressed in a robe of ash that seemed sculpted from cinders itself, were the ashen remains of what had once been monsters.
“Ah. It’s been a while.”
“Huh! You remembered me?”
Of course I did.
She was the first person I met after obtaining the Witch’s power.
Gyu-ri, the Flame Saint who rustled her ashen robe, had a brilliant smile blooming across her face.
“I never thought you’d remember!”
“I do remember.”
“It’s just as it was! Oh! No, wait! It’s gotten bigger! Wow! It’s amazing!”
Gyu-ri wandered through the Witch’s Cottage with sparkling eyes.
Back then, she had been a much darker and more withdrawn person, but now she displayed an energy reminiscent of a beagle.
Yes, I’ll be honest.
From the perspective of someone who is naturally introverted, her liveliness was somewhat burdensome.
But like all the other E-ranks in the world, Gyu-ri approached me and struck up a conversation without hesitation.
“Did you move here?”
“You could say that. I don’t stay in one place for long.”
“I know that! Miracle told me!”
“You know Miracle?”
“Yes! Of course! I’m close with him!”
What kind of connection was this?
The two people who had met me and eaten my bread already knew each other.
Was this what they called a friend’s friend being a friend—that kind of fate that was difficult to even describe quickly?
“Actually, we became close through the occasion of eating bread together. Hehe.”
“Pardon?”
“We even have a gathering! A bread-eating club!”
“A what?”
Gyu-ri poured out words that my mind struggled to process, all while smiling brightly.
From what I gathered, it seemed all the people I knew had already joined that gathering.
With Miracle and Gyu-ri leading the way, even Sky and Seung-hyun had apparently joined.
“If I had to explain it, it’s a gathering to repay the favor since we received help!”
“We made a transaction.”
“Still! That’s too cold-hearted!”
Gyu-ri pouted her lips in displeasure at my use of the word “transaction.”
From my perspective, I had only meant to tell them not to feel burdened.
“It’s raining outside right now—are you sure that’s alright?”
“Oh, it is coming down quite heavily, but it’s fine now. Once I cast the skill, the flames dry everything up automatically. Hehe.”
It seemed that thanks to the new skill I had gained from eating the baguette, I could now use my abilities freely.
As a result, no matter how torrential the rain became, I could evaporate it before it touched me, or if it did make contact, I could dry it in an instant.
“So you were searching for me?”
“Yes! Of course, everyone had different methods. Seung-hyun and I made the rounds through the Gates, and Miracle said he was conducting research using letters I had sent, though I couldn’t understand what he was talking about….”
She chattered away while clutching her head.
True, even at a glance, Miracle gave off an academic air.
But I still couldn’t fathom how he came up with the idea of researching the letters I had sent.
“And he’s also been wondering if he could somehow obtain the cat fur you always send.”
“Futile endeavor, human. I am a Familier. I do not carelessly shed my fur anywhere.”
“Oh! So that cat was you! How adorable!”
“Meow! This human is insane! Owner!”
Noir began hissing at Gyu-ri’s reaction, knowing his true form, but there was nothing he could do.
Gyu-ri had already discovered his cute nature.
“By the way, Noir, you’re not telling me to throw them out?”
“I desperately wish to, Owner. However, those who can enter this place are bound by fate. It is not something this mere Familier can go against.”
The Gate where the Witch’s Cottage appears is random.
And the connections I make within it are also random.
We called this randomness fate.
According to that incomprehensible, strange law, my customers were determined.
Which meant….
“Gyu-ri came as a customer?”
“That is correct, Owner.”
“Me?”
Gyu-ri’s eyes widened in surprise as she pointed to herself.
I felt the same way.
“So someone who came once could come again?”
“The number of visits is irrelevant. What matters is whether fate guides them. Owner, do you never bake the same bread twice?”
“No, I do.”
“Then that is how it works, Owner.”
Noir’s words suggested that even if a fate and connection were formed once, a new and different fate could become intertwined.
Then what exactly determines how we become entangled?
Fundamentally, every Hunter who finds themselves drawn to this place without knowing why carries a single deficiency.
It might be material in nature, or it could be connected to life itself, or perhaps something like concepts and knowledge.
But one absolute truth never changes: there is always something they need.
Which means that if Gyu-ri needed a ‘Skill’ last time, she must need something else this time around.
“I… did I do something wrong?”
“Is there something you need?”
“No? Me? I don’t need anything?”
“Speak truthfully. Human.”
“I really don’t need anything! Truly I don….”
*Grrrrrrowwwl.*
What saved Gyu-ri from the relentless interrogation by one person and one creature was a loud, rumbling belly sound.
Yes, to be precise, I mean the stomach—not a burning ship, but the belly.
“Ugh… ughhhh….”
“Owner. I found what she needs.”
“I know that too, Noir. You don’t have to point out things like that.”
“Why not, Owner?”
Noir tilted his head in confusion, watching Gyu-ri’s face flush crimson red.
The more he questioned, the deeper she bowed her head.
Faced with their brilliant performance, there was only one thing I could do.
“I do have some bread….”
“If you would allow me….”
All I could offer was to suggest a meal.

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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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