I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 60

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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 60. Unwanted Yet Desperately Needed (4)
The castella had baked to absolute perfection.
The fluffy texture, the soft mouthfeel, the subtle bittersweet notes mingling with sweetness—all of it approached flawlessness.
But that wasn’t all.
The exterior gleamed a deep golden brown, while the interior revealed a delicate pale green.
The contrast of those colors created a visual harmony that was a pleasure to behold.
“But what is this about?”
Yet the problem emerged from an unexpected direction.
“Grandmother isn’t the intended recipient?”
The Witch’s Cottage glimpses fate and reveals only the direction that is truly necessary.
Which meant this bread was indeed needed, but not for Grandmother.
“Then who on earth is it for? And what is this effect supposed to be?”
Genuine emotional empathy with a single person.
Did it mean I could perfectly understand someone’s true feelings, like in some movie I’d seen?
I was clicking my tongue at this cryptic explanation that I couldn’t quite grasp when—
“Owner. Might we taste it now?”
“I did bake quite a lot…”
“Meow!”
“Fine. Let’s eat.”
With Noir already staring at the bread with gleaming eyes, and now Chohong doing the same, what choice did I have?
We decided to set aside the Quest for now and enjoy tasting what I’d made.
“Owner! Why do you hesitate when I speak, but immediately agree when Chohong says something? This is blatant discrimination! Meow!”
“Look at yourself carefully. Then you’ll understand it’s not discrimination at all.”
“Meooooow!”
Of course, it was just our usual banter.
Both Noir and Chohong were precious connections to me.
I removed the castella from the mold, portioned it into appropriate sizes, and arranged them on plates.
Ideally, for the best flavor, you’d seal it and let it sit for a day.
That way, the moisture that would otherwise escape with the heat gets trapped and reabsorbed, creating that perfect moistness.
“But we’re just going to eat it now.”
“What is your reasoning?”
“Could you wait a day with this sitting in front of you?”
“…Indeed, Owner is wise.”
With everyone’s agreement secured, I picked up a fork and placed a slice of castella in front of each of us.
As the fork pierced through with a soft sound, there were no crumbs falling apart as I’d expected.
Instead, it had that chewy, cake-like texture that matched its name.
Yet I could feel it.
With just a bit more pressure, this piece would crumble away softly and delicately.
“Then…”
“Mmm.”
“Kyuuuung!”
And then, as I took my first bite.
“Oh!”
“Aaaoooong!”
“Kyuuut!”
One person, one creature, and one fairy—though calling her a creature felt wrong—all gasped in delight.
“What is this! Owner! This flavor!”
I had no time to answer Noir’s exclamation.
I was too busy marveling myself.
The moment it entered my mouth, I felt a chewy texture.
That creature gave a springy sensation as it touched my tongue and palate.
But the instant it met my saliva, it melted away smoothly, revealing a new dimension….
“Bitter yet sweet! There’s something mysterious about it!”
The subtle bitterness of the silver-spined mugwort wrapped around my mouth, and then the fantastic ensemble created by butter, egg, and milk revealed itself.
In between, sugar introduced itself, settling into the gaps between my teeth.
Bitter yet sweet.
But that wasn’t bad at all.
Rather, it felt like they complemented each other, advancing toward a perfect taste.
“This really is delicious….”
“Hasn’t your skill improved even more during this time?”
“True. I’ve been continuously researching and putting in effort.”
“Kyuuuu!”
“Right. It’s thanks to the mugwort Chohong grew for me.”
It was possible because the quality of the mugwort was exceptional.
If I’d used different mugwort, it would have been difficult to create this kind of emotion.
“But it’s a shame I can’t know the effect.”
Bread and beverages made by a Witch have tremendous effects on others.
Like the baguette that creates skills that Gyu-ri ate, which caused ripples great enough to shake the existing order, or like the pumpernickel that Miracle ate, which brings good fortune.
But none of that applies to the Witch herself.
I’m not sure if it’s because it’s ‘something I made myself,’ or because it’s ‘made by a Witch.’
“And since Noir and Chohong belong to me as well, I can’t know what effect it has.”
“That’s right, Owner. It’s simply delicious.”
“Kyuuuu.”
“In the end, I still don’t know who I should give this delicious bread to.”
I sighed deeply and checked the Quest window again.
Still an empty question mark.
There had been times before when I discovered the bread first and later learned who would receive it.
But the situation is a bit different now.
Back then, the person destined to come was already determined, but now it’s a destiny created because I intervened.
“So it’s definitely someone connected to Grandmother, but….”
“What do you think about developing the Witch’s Cottage further? Wasn’t that your original plan anyway, Owner?”
“I did think about it, but suddenly now? That had nothing to do with what we were discussing.”
“No, it has everything to do with it. This is also the Witch’s Cottage expressing its will, isn’t it?”
Noir spoke while wiping his face clean, his entire beard dusted with castella crumbs from eating with his nose buried in the cake.
Beside him, Chohong tilted her head in confusion.
He was right.
For me, unlike other Hunters, Quests are the process of the Witch’s Cottage expressing its will.
So to understand the information hidden behind that question mark, I need to know its true intentions.
“If we were to rank the Witch’s Cottage by stages right now, you could think of it as a child.”
“There are growth stages?”
“Doesn’t the Owner commonly call that an upgrade?”
Summarizing Noir’s words after he shook his head and brushed away the last crumbs, it went like this:
BP—Bake Point, spelled out.
This is a form of energy that the Witch’s Cottage quantifies and converts from the value of the fate I’ve changed.
And the Witch’s Cottage can grow by consuming this.
“Why does it need to grow?”
“I don’t know. Even as a caretaker, I didn’t oversee all generations of the Witch. In any case, the more it grows, the broader the scope of what the Witch’s Cottage can do becomes.”
However, since each Witch emits a different type of energy, the Witch’s Cottage resets its growth for each generation of Witch and shows different results.
The reason the Witch’s Cottage currently takes the form of bread and pastries is because of that.
“You said it had this form before too?”
“Back then, the Witch also enjoyed baking. More precisely, she loved desserts. There are subtle differences.”
“Sure. So upgrading makes the Quest window’s descriptions friendlier?”
“It could be that, or it might reveal all the information from the start.”
The latter is quite an appealing prospect.
The former is too, really.
I was planning to grow it anyway, so there’s no reason to hesitate.
“I have plenty of BP left anyway.”
[BP: 94,750]
Enough BP to soon approach the hundred-thousand mark.
The number of customers has increased thanks to Ye-seul’s continued success as a mukbang YouTuber, and the collaboration with Nuri on the witch food project has expanded its foothold.
“Wasn’t it called the H&G Guild? I packed separate portions for everyone because of the Quest, but I’m not seeing a completion notification.”
“They might not have eaten it yet, or perhaps the payment hasn’t been settled?”
“Well, I’ll think about that when the time comes.”
For now, what’s necessary is growing the Witch’s Cottage.
Checking only the status of what I need right now, excluding lengthy explanations, it was this:
[Witch’s Cottage: Lv. 1 → Lv. 2 (1,000BP)]
[Garden: Lv. 1 → Lv. 2 (1,000BP)]
[Oven: Lv. 2 → Lv. 3 (1,000BP)]
[Cauldron: Lv. 2 → Lv. 3 (1,000BP)]
“Truly, never upgrading the Witch’s Cottage even once was too much, Owner.”
“It wasn’t really that important of a situation anyway. You didn’t even explain things properly back then.”
“Meow.”
The moment unfavorable talk came up, the cat went back to grooming itself.
I moved my hand, thinking that modern conveniences were far too dangerous for a cat.
“Since you say it’s necessary, should I upgrade the cottage first?”
I had nearly 90,000 BP anyway, so I pressed the status window without hesitation….
[The Witch’s Cottage grows.]
[Be careful of the backlash from growth!]
“Back… lash?”
“How could you decide so suddenly! Owner!”
“But when I upgraded the Oven and the cauldron, there were no problems at all….”
Rummmmmble!
A tremendous tremor swept through the cottage in one violent wave.
A fierce rumbling as if an earthquake had struck.
“Those were just tools! This is the cottage itself! The Witch’s Cottage as a whole is transforming!”
“You should have warned me beforehand!”
I’d thought there would be no problem since things usually just flashed with light before changing, but what in the world was happening now?
Yet the cottage’s transformation didn’t wait for me to understand.
The candy decorations on the walls twisted and creaked.
Breads that had hardened and shriveled crumbled away with a crackling sound.
But destruction wasn’t all that was occurring.
“New bread is… being baked?”
Like fresh flesh sprouting from a wound, golden and delicious-looking breads rose as if baking themselves.
Far more refined than before, with the aroma of glossy butter blending in.
The window frames were layered with perfectly baked breadsticks stacked in tiers, and between them, sugar crafted thin as glass formed the windowpanes.
“Keep your balance, Owner! Meow!”
“Squeak! Squeak! Squeak squeak!”
How long had it been since the hard breads that formed the floor tore open with a ripping sound and new ones bloomed from within?
As I stared blankly at the completely transformed interior of the cottage, the trembling finally subsided and a notification appeared.
Ding!
[The Witch’s Cottage has grown to Lv. 2.]
The status window contained only simple text, but the reality was different.
“This isn’t just an upgrade….”
I’d only thought the interior would change a bit and become more impressive.
Thinking further, I’d expected only the same design with perhaps some expansion.
“It’s become a completely different cottage.”
The previous Witch’s Cottage could hardly be called anything but a hut.
It had sections dividing the kitchen and living room, but that was all.
But what about now?
“It’s become a two-story house.”
The first floor still held the living room and kitchen as before.
Of course, various breads and pastries now adorned the shelves, making it appear more luxurious, but functionally, there wasn’t much difference.
However, the staircase that had formed along the wall changed my perspective.
“What’s on the second floor?”
“Check it yourself, Owner. The Witch’s Cottage grows in ways that fulfill the Witch’s desires. Meow.”
Climbing the spiraling staircase, the second floor came into view.
In the center was a space prepared for enjoying tea time, and rooms lined the corridor in neat rows.
Each room had a nameplate attached to it….
“They’re still empty?”
“If there’s something you desire, the rooms will fill accordingly. Previously, there was a training hall.”
“Why on earth would a training hall be necessary?”
“The Previous Witch was proficient in both sword and magic….”
“Never mind, I get it.”
So those rooms would fill up whenever I needed something new, then.
At the end of the corridor was another door, and opening it revealed a terrace.
“I’m glad I upgraded.”
“I trust you haven’t forgotten your purpose, Owner.”
“Of course not.”
All of this is for the Quest.
Not simply to satisfy curiosity about how the house would change after upgrading.
When I checked the Quest window again, I couldn’t help but be astonished.
“This… this is….”
[For the Wounded Soul]
▷ Bread is a necessity for everyone, from the lowly to the high. And now, a deeply wounded soul, endlessly sinking, desperately awaits your touch. Though they themselves may not know it.
▷ Deliver ‘Silver Thorn Mugwort Castella’ to ??? 0/1
▷ Reward: 1,000 BP
▷ Tip! You might be able to turn one room into a space of prophecy?
It was recommending a function far more befitting a Witch than simply making bread or beverages.

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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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