I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 59

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 59. Unwanted Yet Desperate (3)
All that remained at the end of a life from a son who never once looked back was this pittance.
I tried calling, but all that came back was an automated voice devoid of any emotion.
A dim room where not a single ray of moonlight entered.
The pale glow from an old cathode-ray television, its aging frame crackling with age, cast a pathetic light across Man-ok’s face.
I’d been told to get my act together.
To consider myself as having no son at all.
“If it were that easy to do, I wouldn’t be like this….”
When I closed my eyes, all I could hear was my son crying that he was hungry.
The neighbor’s boy gets to eat pizza, he’d say, wanting some too.
Everything I heard, everything I felt was nothing but that sensation.
I opened my eyes.
Since I possessed the ability to repay the debts before me, the work proceeded quickly and smoothly.
All it took was crushing and tearing out a corner of my heart.
“Worthless bastard….”
Holding a photograph I couldn’t bring myself to discard, Man-ok murmured while gazing at the faded face worn pale from constant handling.
It wasn’t something meant for anyone to hear.
After all, I had no way of knowing where that son was or what he was doing with his life.
Yet she would never know.
That on this dark night, there was a cat hanging from the window frame, listening intently to those words.
And perched above its head was a fairy scattering soft green light.
* * *
“So you’re not signing the contract?”
The owner of the neighboring building arrived as the day’s work was wrapping up, making demands as if he’d left something in my care.
I gazed at the countless black threads rippling across his entire face—his karmic debts—before speaking.
“Yes. For now, I’d like to wait and see.”
“Tsk. For such a young owner, you certainly lack ambition. And you have plenty of money too.”
I sent the old man away as he grumbled and swept his gaze over me with disdain.
Haeryang’s words were precise.
After analyzing the surroundings and investigating the situation from multiple angles, I could tell there weren’t just one or two victims.
Moreover, I discovered he was currently using the businesses he’d created to rake in money.
“People really are cruel, aren’t they?”
“Humans have always been this way since ancient times. For their own gain, they’ve never hesitated to use any means or method. Among those exists the extortion of others’ possessions, Owner.”
“The way you put it makes it sound like all humans are like that.”
“Isn’t that old woman you call the building owner’s son also no different?”
I had nothing to say.
That man was one thing, but my building owner, Grandmother Man-ok’s son, was equally wicked.
Stabbing strangers in the back versus stabbing the parents who raised you with love.
I’m not sure if there’s any point in comparing which is worse.
“So what will you do, Owner?”
“What?”
“Isn’t the Witch’s Cottage’s intention clear? And it will definitely be in a direction that benefits the Owner.”
“I know that already. I was thinking of baking bread anyway.”
After flipping the shop’s sign to ‘Closed’, I entered the Witch’s Cottage with Noir.
Without hesitation, I headed straight to the Kitchen Garden where Chohong was.
“Chirp chirp? Chirp!”
“Have you been doing well, Chohong?”
“Chirp chirp!”
Chohong, who had been enjoying the pleasures of labor beneath the warm sun, fluttered her iridescent wings and approached me, rubbing her face against mine.
I stroked her head and took a moment to survey the Kitchen Garden.
“This is impressive.”
“It does seem that way, Owner.”
“Chirp chirp!”
I couldn’t bring myself to say it was nothing remarkable, even out of politeness.
If Nuri had provided various information to help the crops grow in the Kitchen Garden, then Chohong had directly influenced it through her presence in the garden itself.
The crops grew far sturdier and healthier simply from the vital energy she scattered while flying about, and because she herself seemed to love this environment, watching her tend to it with such care was a joy to behold.
As a result, my Kitchen Garden could now cultivate a wider variety of crops than most Gate farms.
“If Gate plant researchers ever saw this place, their eyes would pop right out of their heads.”
“That doesn’t matter now, does it, Owner? But why did you come here?”
“Ah, I need something. Chohong, could you gather some leaves that look like this for me?”
“Chirp chirp? Chirp!”
Chohong tilted her head in thought for a moment, but then her eyes widened with understanding, and she fluttered off purposefully.
She returned carrying a generous armful of leaves.
Though her small body meant it was only a handful of leaves in reality.
“Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!”
“Thank you.”
“Could this possibly be… mugwort, Owner?”
Leaves with irregular serrated edges and a feathery appearance.
With a deep green color on the front but a distinctive silvery-white fuzz densely covering the back—it could only be mugwort.
“Yes, it’s mugwort.”
“A poisonous plant! I once saw the Previous Witches use it to make poison! Are you planning to punish the wicked, Owner!”
I expected this reaction.
In my country, mugwort is widely used as a medicinal herb or vegetable side dish, but that wasn’t the case in European regions.
For instance…
Bitter wormwood, used as an ingredient in absinthe.
There were stories of it causing hallucinations, and it was even forbidden for a time because of this.
“All of that is just rumor.”
“Meow? But it’s true. I’ve seen far too many people meet their end from consuming it, Owner.”
“Of course, there are those kinds of mugwort too.”
We call it mugwort easily enough, but in truth, there are many different varieties.
Among these, mugwort that grows naturally in East Asia typically contains no toxic components, and even if it does, they disappear when exposed to heat like blanching.
In contrast, some European mugwort possesses potent toxic compounds.
In fact, it’s said to have earned the epithet “the Witch’s herb” for precisely that reason.
“But this one is edible.”
[Silver-Spine Mugwort]
▷ A thorny mugwort that bloomed after drinking deeply of the earth’s essence. Be careful of the sharp spines that appear when it reaches full maturity! They say spines always pierce the most painful places.
“The spines are certainly formidable.”
“It would hurt terribly if pricked.”
“That’s why I only picked the young leaves. They don’t hurt that way.”
I brushed my hand across the spines, but felt no pain.
Instead, it was warm, like caressing soft fur.
Since it hadn’t fully matured yet, the spines lacked their characteristic harshness.
“And it smells wonderful.”
Mugwort is among those plants that drink deeply of the earth’s essence.
Because of this, it possesses remarkable vitality—it’s commonly said that after wars, only mugwort flourishes abundantly.
And for that very reason, it’s a plant you can spot without difficulty along roadsides.
“That doesn’t mean you should eat it.”
“I never said I would.”
“You just said it—that it drinks in the earth’s essence. That means it absorbs all the undesirable components too.”
Unless you wanted to consume mugwort saturated and concentrated with heavy metals.
But this place is my Kitchen Garden.
It’s the farthest removed from contamination in this world, and the mugwort blessed by Chohong’s touch—the fairy of life—exhaled a sweet, earthy fragrance.
If I use this, I can certainly create delicious bread.
“Since you’re advanced in years and your teeth may not be the best, I should make something soft.”
“Are you making desserts?”
“That works too. I have something in mind already, so let’s make it quickly. Will you come help, Chohong?”
“Chirp?”
“I need your help.”
“Chirp chirp!”
Chohong flew over and perched atop my head, with Noir following behind as I entered the kitchen.
I set down the mugwort I’d brought and began retrieving the necessary ingredients and tools.
“So what exactly are you planning to make, Owner?”
“I’m going to make castella.”
Castella.
This bread, named after Castilla, the ancient Spanish kingdom, means “castle” in Latin.
Introduced in the 16th century through Portuguese missionaries who came to Japan, this bread eventually spread throughout the world.
“Despite its name, it’s a bread with an exquisitely tender taste.”
“Even I know that much.”
Being a type of sponge cake, it possesses a soft, moist, and fluffy appeal.
Though many say it’s dry on the throat, truly well-made castella possesses an almost magical power—it goes down smoothly without needing water or milk.
“And it’s perfect for Grandmother to enjoy too. Besides, I noticed before that she seemed to have a lot on her mind when she saw cream bread.”
“Then wouldn’t it be simple to just give her cream bread?”
“Both were made with difficult-to-obtain ingredients back then, so they were hard to come by.”
Cream bread and castella cake—during Grandmother’s time, both milk and eggs would have been expensive.
So naturally, breads made with those as primary ingredients would have been difficult to find.
“Then let’s make it now.”
The first thing to do is whip the eggs into foam.
Here too, the key is not using the whole egg at once, but first separating just the whites.
“This technique is called the separate method.”
“Is there a special reason for it?”
“This way, you get much more elasticity while simultaneously achieving a softer taste.”
When you whip meringue using just the whites, far more air pockets form compared to when the yolks are mixed in.
This is what creates that soft, fluffy texture.
Beyond that, it also removes any off-flavors that might come from the yolks mixed in later.
“After whipping the foam separately like this, you mix the prepared ingredients in order.”
I mixed in the reserved yolks one at a time, then gradually drizzled in milk, honey, and oil while stirring.
I added sweet rice flour and wheat flour, sifting them through twice before incorporating.
The basic rule is to never let the foam collapse during this process.
Then I picked up the mugwort I’d prepared earlier.
“Now I’ll use this.”
“You just add it in?”
“That would have no flavor. I’ll dry it and make it into powder.”
I’d already experienced before that the Witch’s Oven could bake things other than bread.
I placed the silver-thorned mugwort in the oven, dried it thoroughly, then sifted it in as well.
Then I lined a castella mold with parchment paper, poured in the batter, and placed it straight into the oven.
“And you can’t forget this step.”
“A bowl of water?”
“Yes. This bread is made by baking it like steaming.”
When you add a bit of moisture to the oven, the batter cooks with more of a steaming sensation than a dry baking feeling.
This is how you create castella’s signature soft texture.
Normally, this would require a much more complex adjustment process, but….
[The Witch’s Oven reads the baker’s sincere heart.]
By now, nothing could stop me—I’d grown accustomed to using the oven.
The castella came out perfectly baked.
As I removed it from the mold, the bread revealed its dignified form—soft with an elastic quality like pudding.
“What if I place one more mugwort sprig on top?”
Decorating with a carefully trimmed silver-thorned mugwort completed it.
[Silver-Thorned Mugwort Sponge Castella]
▷ A soft castella infused generously with silver-thorned mugwort, blending bitterness and sweetness. To someone, the sharpness of the silver-thorned mugwort will surely be felt.
▷ Effect: Genuine emotional empathy with the recipient
[For the Wounded Soul]
▷ Bread is a necessity for everyone, from the lowest to the highest. And now, a wounded soul sinking endlessly awaits your touch with desperate longing. Though you may not realize it yourself.
▷ Deliver ‘Silver Thorn Mugwort Castella’ to ??? 0/1
▷ Reward: 1,500 BP
“Hmm? Why wasn’t the target registered as Grandmother?”
But the Witch’s Cottage refused to complete the quest.
It said there was still more for me to consider.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————