I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 71

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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 71. The Girl Holds a Needle (1)
Yeom Da-yeon.
Her distinctive surname made her easy to remember.
I also recalled that she always wore the same clothes.
I’d been curious about why she only wore those, but I never bothered to ask.
“It’s already been five years since then.”
“….”
“She’s grown so much. Well, that makes sense.”
Looking at the high school girl sitting before me, I couldn’t help but think that way.
The Da-yeon in my memories was a small, boyish fourth-grader who was always giggling and running around everywhere.
But what about now?
‘She could pass for a celebrity.’
There’s a saying about it, isn’t there?
When you see someone truly beautiful and magnificent, your breath catches at some moment and you feel awe.
That was exactly Da-yeon.
She clearly belonged to the same human species, yet how could she possess such beauty?
“Genetics really are fascinating….”
“Meow.”
“I know, Noir. I’ll focus.”
Noir meowed, protesting that I should stop making strange sounds with a person present.
I gently stroked the head of the creature nestled inside the carrier, quietly observing the situation.
We were currently at a café near where I lived.
Originally, I had planned to visit her, but Da-yeon politely declined.
In the end, I had no choice but to send her my address.
“The cat….”
“Hmm?”
“Is your name… Noir?”
“Meow. Meow meow.”
If I were to interpret Noir’s words, it would be something like, ‘Indeed. That is this one’s name, human.’
Though it wasn’t particularly important information right now.
Not even about Noir’s name.
Perhaps because I’d been caught up in various incidents despite being an ordinary bakery owner.
I could tell without looking closely.
The outer jacket she hadn’t removed even after coming inside.
The reason was likely that the sleeves extended long to her fingertips.
Short hair.
But it didn’t appear well-maintained. Those were traces left from either something clinging to her hair or from forcibly cutting away sections when it was damaged.
At this point, it would be strange not to notice.
“Want to touch him?”
“Meow?”
“Is… is that okay?”
“Of course. Here we go, Noir. Come here… oops. Don’t be upset.”
Noir seemed to understand the situation too, flailing his paws—claws retracted—as if asking what I was doing.
But there was no helping it.
Until now, this was merely my speculation.
And stepping forward recklessly here wouldn’t solve anything anyway.
Besides, there were even more reasons why I shouldn’t push further right now.
“Waah… it’s so warm….”
Noir, who had been making a fuss, settled down the moment he was cradled in Dayeon’s arms, squirming into a comfortable position as if he’d never complained at all.
The creature gazed at me with a yawn, seemingly content.
As if asking what I planned to do next.
What did I plan to do? Well, I had a plan.
“It’s been such a long time. I’m not sure how you’ve been, but your teacher….”
“I… I saw…. The bakery…. You said you were opening one….”
“Right. We’re in the middle of renovations right now, so I couldn’t bring anything finished, but… here’s this!”
I pulled out the bread I’d prepared from my bag.
There was quite a bit of it.
In order: chestnut butter cream bread, steel berry castella, and….
“This is….”
“Cute, right? I’m thinking of making it our bakery’s mascot. Hehe.”
“Meow!”
“Looks just like him, doesn’t it?”
The last one was none other than a Gingerbread Cookie—or rather, a Gingerbread Cat.
Of course, it contained mandrake instead of ginger, and its appearance resembled Noir rather than a human.
But if it tasted good and looked pretty, that was enough.
“It’s so cute….”
“Try it. I asked on the way in, and they said it’s fine to eat things brought from outside here.”
“Oh… then just a little….”
“Start with this one first. It tastes better if you eat them in the right order.”
The first thing I offered was the chestnut butter cream bread.
I unwrapped it and split it cleanly in half, and the chestnut butter came cascading out.
Dayeon stared at the magnificent sight, mesmerized, before leaning in and taking a bite.
“Mmm!”
She exclaimed with cream smeared all over both cheeks.
The way she munched through the bread with her small mouth, enchanted by the taste, made her look rather like a squirrel.
In the blink of an eye, Dayeon had finished the bread, so I handed her the next one.
“How is it?”
“It’s really delicious!”
“This one will be delicious too.”
Having tasted one, Dayeon reached for the next bread without hesitation.
How long had I been savoring the soft texture of Steel Berry Castella spreading throughout my mouth?
“Mm…”
“Does it taste good?”
“It tastes good… but I’m so full…”
Watching her tap her belly while catching her breath confirmed my suspicions.
Well, could I even call it a suspicion at this point?
Honestly, those breads were baked larger than ordinary pastries.
“Then take the remaining Cookies with you.”
“Ah. Yes, I should.”
Dayeon carefully placed the Cookies into her bag so they wouldn’t break.
With this, my plan had been fully executed.
“What kind of help are you asking for?”
“Ah… well…”
If someone had endured it for a long time, it was only natural they couldn’t mount proper resistance.
Rather, it was remarkable that Dayeon had even tried to ask someone for help.
Then all I could do was wait.
While observing thoroughly.
“This is my personal phone number.”
“This…”
“If anything happens, contact me right away. You can come to the shop too. You know where it is, right?”
“Ah. Yes… thank you so much.”
She bowed her head in gratitude.
Without me saying anything, Dayeon stood up, apologizing for the trouble she’d caused.
And she left without looking back.
“Do you think she dislikes me?”
“However, that young woman did not request any help from the Owner.”
“It couldn’t be helped. If my assumptions are correct.”
“And the Owner has done what needed to be done. Starting from baking fresh bread for that woman.”
After receiving Dayeon’s contact, I didn’t come here without thought.
She was a student with a prior connection to me.
And she wasn’t the type to make such desperate requests without reason.
Then there had to be a reason.
“The fact that she was digging through Byeolsuta, something she doesn’t usually do, wasn’t that the reason?”
“That’s right.”
I answered while sipping the Americano, its ice still unmelted.
An age—adolescence—where excessive curiosity about oneself led to bizarrely high SNS engagement.
It was only a matter of time before I uncovered Dayeon’s circumstances.
“School violence…”
“Groups have always been violent and foolish. That doesn’t change just because they’re young, Owner.”
That was true.
I don’t harbor the naive notion that all people are inherently good simply because of their age.
But even accounting for that…
“Tormenting someone for over three years transcends the concepts of good and evil—it’s something else entirely.”
“Are you saying it’s abnormal?”
“That’s what I mean.”
Dayeon wasn’t being tormented by just one or two people.
I don’t know how it started or why they do such things, but what matters is that they’re doing it now.
The sins they commit through words and actions have long exceeded all bounds.
“Actually, I think I understand the reason. It’s because she has no parents.”
“Is that really such a significant problem?”
“The problem is that many humans think it is.”
Gates and Monsters—these otherworldly entities appeared, bringing with them another natural disaster: Gate Breaks.
Countless people suffered and lost their lives because of it.
Naturally, children who lost their parents prematurely became inevitable.
The Harang Sisters working part-time at the bakery experienced this, and so did I.
“And Dayeon is one of them.”
For the sole reason of losing her parents and growing up in an orphanage, Dayeon had to endure all that suffering.
“The karma was so severe it literally clung to her skin.”
Because of what happened before, I baked fresh ones and brought them along—it was the right choice.
There wasn’t a single spot on Dayeon’s body that wasn’t stained black.
Fortunately, it all disappeared as if she’d washed it away after eating the cream bread.
Next came the Castella.
True to its etymology of “fortress wall,” it’s a bread that increases defense by 500% while inside a Gate.
Since Dayeon would have no reason to enter a Gate, I baked it anew with genuine sincerity.
▷ Effect: Defense increases by 500% for one week after consumption.
“You put far too much sincerity into it, Owner.”
“But you can’t expect the Gingerbread Cat I included to protect her either.”
“Ugh… couldn’t you have just used a human-shaped cookie cutter?”
“I couldn’t. It was a gift Siwoo sent.”
Siwoo said that as soon as he arrived at the botanical garden where Nuri was, he searched for something to do.
Then he recalled the words I’d mentioned while trying to persuade him.
And what he made and sent right away was none other than a cookie cutter.
‘What is this?’
‘It’s a dinosaur-shaped cookie cutter. Siwoo said the Witch needed one?’
‘Oh…’
‘He also added a cat-shaped one because he thought it would look pretty if Siwoo made it.’
‘… Thank you…’
Since things turned out this way, I decided to treat it as our bakery’s mascot Noir and created the Gingerbread Cat menu.
Gora helped me make this.
In other words…
“That Cookie can report on Dayeon’s situation.”
“Quite an unusual summoned creature. You said its senses are connected?”
“That’s my understanding of it.”
I didn’t translate the summoned creature’s words with perfect accuracy, but based on what I understood, that’s what it meant.
So now I’m going to wait and see.
How far these creatures can go.
And…
“I need to resolve this before Dayeon causes any trouble.”
“It was certainly… dangerous, wasn’t it…”
Whatever she was thinking, I needed to protect Dayeon, whose karma flowed like tears even after eating the cream bun.
And to prevent the red thread extending from her chest from becoming tainted.
* * *
– So it looks like I’ll need to focus on this matter for a while.
“Well… if that’s the case, then so be it. I’ll start with the paperwork first.”
– Thank you. Then.
After ending the call, Nuri slipped the phone into his pocket.
Doo-sik, who always stayed by his side, panted and asked what was going on, so I patted his head.
“Right. Go play over there.”
“Woof! Woof!”
The creature bolted out through the front gate at my command.
He probably intended to patrol around the botanical garden.
Though there’s no need for that anymore.
“Oh my. This guy. Doo-sik! Watch out!”
“Kahahaha! He’s sturdy, so it should be fine, right?”
“Pil-seong. No matter what, he’s our Hunter? A dog like this would be in big trouble if we collided, you know?”
“What dog are you talking about? He’s an excellent hunting hound. Ahahaha! Hey! Nuri! We brought soju and makgeolli, so let’s have a drink!”
Han Yul and Pil-seong, who had just returned from their patrol.
In one hand, they carried black plastic bags full of soju and makgeolli—it seemed they planned to drink their fill again today.
“I don’t know what you two are thinking, but if I drink like that, I can’t do any work the next day because of the hangover!”
“But you drank yesterday too, didn’t you?”
“That’s right! Nuri!”
“That’s why my whole body aches today and I’m tired as lead!”
When they first arrived, they seemed like the reliable type who would protect this place well, but why did they increasingly feel like neighborhood older and younger brothers as time went on?
What else could it be?
They pestered me every day after work to drink, so that must be it.
Despite this, since they were Hunters, they didn’t actually get drunk.
In the end, only Nuri got drunk and suffered from hangovers the next day.
“This is really unfair!”
“Kahahaha! That’s why I keep telling you to exercise, little brother?”
“Pil-seong is right! Nuri! If you exercise, your liver gets stronger and there’s no hangover!”
“If your liver hardens up like a stone, that’s cirrhosis, not some death sentence! Stop spouting nonsense that’ll scare people!”
On top of that, he was seriously lacking in common sense.
I was grateful that Siwoo and Hye-won, siblings despite their youth, had come to help.
The two of them were sharp even at their age, so communication with them flowed naturally.
“Anyway, I just took a call—was it the Witch?”
“Yeah. She said there’s a student who needs help, so for now we should take a breather and quietly continue with what we were doing.”
“A student who needs help? Is there a Hunter among the students?”
“There are quite a few, Pil-seong. But the Witch is really something else. She’s always helping someone like that. Even if I had that kind of power, I don’t think I could quietly go around helping others like she does.”
Han Yul opened his mouth as he laid out the bottles he’d brought.
“Well, that’s only natural. The Witch is….”
Nuri shrugged his shoulders in response to him.
“She’s always been that way from the beginning.”

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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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