I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 87

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

Chapter 87. A Delicious Meal (5)
“Th-this place…”
What spread before my eyes was a plain.
I didn’t know which plain it was or where it lay, but that hardly mattered.
Where Young-gu stood, grass swayed gently in the breeze, and clouds drifted serenely across the sky.
The clear, azure sky stretched high above, a stark contrast to the heaviness weighing on my heart.
“What is this grass…? Oh! It’s cold!”
I bent down and brushed my hand across the growing grass, startled by the sensation.
Frost scraped across my palm—it must have fallen during the night.
“But I was just eating bread a moment ago, wasn’t I?”
Yes.
Now I remembered.
I had been eating a scone just before this.
More precisely, I had taken it in hand and bitten into it.
But what was all of this supposed to be?
In the midst of this confusion, what I could sense was…
“Nutty…?”
For reasons I couldn’t explain, a nutty sensation rippled through my entire body.
The description itself seemed strange, but there was no other way to explain it.
This wasn’t the only peculiar thing.
“This is… astringency?”
Next came an astringent sensation.
Like that of green tea.
No, it felt different from green tea’s astringency.
More refreshing and crisp.
Yet flowing gracefully in one direction, neat and orderly.
Yes, I thought of it as an astringency like mist.
“And this texture.”
A pleasant, dry crispness like touching good soil.
It should have felt suffocating, but it didn’t at all.
Rather, it was a sensation of everything obstructing me simply vanishing.
“The greasiness… it’s gone?”
Only then could I realize it.
The nagging greasiness that had been bothering me all this time had vanished as if washed away.
From my mouth through my esophagus and into my stomach, a refreshing astringency spread.
Not a single jarring note was permitted to pierce through that sensation.
“Ha… haha!”
I finally understood.
This was an illusion.
A taste born from ultimate flavor—something akin to a vision!
Had my brain, which had never experienced cuisine of this caliber, finally awakened from its long slumber and begun to race wildly?
Already, countless thoughts were flooding in.
What dishes would pair well with a scone like this?
“We could use the green tea element to create a concept centered on rest in a garden. For the appetizer, we could serve scallop carpaccio with yuzu dressing, and for the main course, lamb chop steak with an herb crust….”
Using the green tea from this scone in the herbs would be excellent as well.
I absolutely had to ask where the distribution source was.
My hands itched to start cooking immediately.
“Ah. So that’s what it was.”
Young-gu realized it.
I hadn’t fallen into a slump.
I simply hadn’t known which direction to move toward.
To realize it only now.
“I… I will become a chef who gives customers this kind of emotion.”
The anxiety and distracting thoughts that had filled my mind dissipated.
As if the fog had lifted.
“Surely… surely I will….”
“Young-gu!”
“Huh!”
Startled by the loud voice from beside me, Young-gu snapped back to attention.
I felt the sensation of the chair against my buttocks.
Something I hadn’t felt until just moments ago.
Looking around, the landscape of the highland with its blue, towering sky had vanished.
All that remained was the interior of the bakery filled with the savory aroma of bread, with cast members filming alongside several staff members.
“Ah….”
“What’s wrong? What kind of taste made you zone out like that?”
“Zone out… you say?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Ha ha….”
Even knowing it was an illusion, the regret wouldn’t fade.
The green tea scone I’d been holding had long since disappeared.
As I smacked my lips in disappointment, I felt the faint taste of the scone lingering.
“So, what does it taste like?”
“Truly….”
“Truly?”
*Clack.*
Young-gu didn’t answer Ho-jeong’s question.
Instead, I stood up from my seat and walked steadily toward Seung-hyun, the owner of this place.
Soon, standing before him with a solemn expression, I cried out.
“Master! Please accept me as your disciple!”
And with that, I dropped to my knees.
Amidst everyone’s shock, Young-gu sincerely wished for it.
For this young master to guide him down the righteous path.
And to open a new world of cooking for him!
And then, Seung-hyun’s long-awaited mouth opened, and out came a single word.
“Pardon?”
The camera was recording all of those words.
* * *
“I never thought something like this would happen….”
“Well, if it’s a witch’s bread, isn’t it natural for humans to react that way?”
“I didn’t infuse it with a sincere wish for the taste to improve, you know? That was entirely my own skill.”
“Meow. I’ll take your word for it, Master.”
Noir answered with a sly tone while swishing her tail.
Then she turned away and muttered under her breath, “If the master says she’s capable, she’ll definitely slack off on her training!”
Did she think I couldn’t hear that?
Anyway, since she said it with me in mind, I’ll let it slide today.
“So, are you thinking of taking that chef as your disciple?”
“Are you insane? Do you know who Chef Han Yeong-gu is? The man who received Michelin stars?”
“Did he pluck stars from the sky? Is she also a witch? No, she’s not a woman…. Well, the master isn’t a woman either.”
“Not those stars! Sigh… never mind… anyway, it’s not happening.”
Of course I refused his request to take him as a disciple.
Who teaches whom here?
If you were to name the most famous chef in South Korea, Chef Han Yeong-gu would definitely be in the top three.
He had his own restaurant before he even turned thirty, and he’s an extraordinary figure who has maintained a Michelin two-star rating for five years.
In fact, his YouTube channel, which only covers recipes, has achieved one million subscribers, and there’s barely a cooking show he hasn’t appeared on.
“On top of that, he’s even known overseas, so he’s been praised as a champion of Korean culture.”
“I don’t know about all that. What matters is that he saw the witch’s power I wield, was moved to tears, and even knelt down begging to become my disciple, didn’t he?”
“That’s true, but….”
“I’m curious how it’ll turn out on the broadcast. Meow. He said two weeks!”
Noir bounced up excitedly, expressing her anticipation.
The PD had said the broadcast filmed back then would air three weeks later.
Noir was saying it was two weeks, wasn’t she?
That means a week has already passed.
“But he’s still out there doing that….”
“I shall take you as my master! Please, show this unworthy disciple a new world!”
Every single line he says sounds like a believer greeting some cult leader.
The only silver lining is that he comes by when business is winding down.
When I asked out of curiosity, this is the answer I got.
“Before opening for business, I must approach with a reverent heart, so I cannot disturb you!”
“Then what about when you’re doing business?”
“How could I approach someone whose heart is devoted solely to their customers!”
Let me stop dwelling on this.
“Honestly, I wish you’d stop coming by now….”
“Then couldn’t you just tell them not to come?”
“Of course I did! But what can I do when they keep showing up anyway!”
I’d even said it twice.
Once, I’d phrased it politely.
The other time, I’d been direct enough for anyone to understand.
But do you know what happened?
“I got rejected on all counts….”
“Meow? Master. I don’t understand. Wasn’t it you who was supposed to be doing the rejecting?”
“I got rejected for my rejection.”
Young-gu hadn’t failed to understand my words.
He’d understood everything perfectly and even nodded along in sympathy.
But….
‘Even so, I intend to serve you as my master!’
‘I said that won’t work!’
‘Then… if that’s the case, I’ll set everything aside and just let me learn work here… no! I’ll learn by watching over your shoulder, so please just let me work! Master!’
‘That’s exactly why I’m not your master!’
Let me say it once more.
Let me stop dwelling on this.
“Ugh. My head hurts.”
“When that happens, running away is also an option, Master.”
“How am I supposed to run? He’s just standing there planted right at the door.”
“Why can’t you escape?”
Noir tilted his head and pointed at the door.
“I’m the key, and there’s the door. Doesn’t that solve it?”
“The Witch’s Cottage?”
That’s a reasonable idea.
Actually, it’s more than just reasonable.
Isn’t it practically perfect?
Yes, that’s a good idea.
Since it’s come to this, I should go to the kitchen garden and find some healing watching the plants and Chohong.
While I’m at it, it would be nice to spend some time in the kitchen making various breads and doing some research.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
“Meow. Follow me, Master.”
Only after hopping over and settling into the familiar candy armchair inside the Witch’s Cottage could I finally find peace of mind.
“Phew… finally some peace….”
I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
Since I’m here anyway, I should check on Gora and Chohong first to see how they’re doing.
“Gora should be in the kitchen.”
The aroma of savory bread baking mingled with the crisp crackling sounds of the Cookies moving about—they were clearly hard at work.
It would be best not to disturb them while they labored.
Then I should head over to see Chohong first.
“Chohong will be in the Kitchen Garden, Owner.”
“Now you’re calling her by name?”
“M-meow!”
Ever since Gora’s arrival, the bond between Chohong and Noir had somehow deepened into something almost sticky.
I couldn’t say why, but living together had certainly fostered a connection between them—and that was a good thing, wasn’t it?
“Chirp chirp!”
“Meow meow!”
See that?
The moment I headed toward the Kitchen Garden, Chohong and Noir greeted each other.
A greeting between a tiny fairy radiating verdant light and a black cat—it was something else entirely.
It was truly like a scene from a fairy tale.
“You’ve been doing well, haven’t you?”
“Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!”
Chohong shook her head vigorously at my words.
But that was only natural, really.
“Hmm… I suppose… it does look that way…”
Looking around, what greeted my eyes was a desolate snowy expanse.
No, a snowy plain was what you called a plain blanketed in snow.
“This time it’s a snow mountain…”
The sky was nothing but darkness.
No sun, no moon, no stars—only bleak, barren darkness.
And through it all, a blizzard raged with relentless fury.
Mountains rose up as if carved from stone, their jagged peaks stretching endlessly into the distance.
A mountain range.
I stood in the heart of a mountain range where a lightless blizzard howled without mercy.
“Why would the Witch’s Cottage come to a place like this?”
“Isn’t one thing certain?”
Noir, who had approached my side while I played with Chohong, opened her mouth.
“Destiny exists in this place too. I don’t know who that destiny might be or how they’ll come to us, but…”
“That’s right. If that weren’t the case, the Witch’s Cottage would never have come here.”
A blizzard that seemed to flay the very flesh from bone.
Muttering as I gazed upon weather so vicious it would have shredded me to ribbons against sharpened ice had the Witch’s Cottage not shielded me, I spoke.
“Someone must be here.”
* * *
“Current location. Estimated to be below the North Face crevasse…”
Through the raging blizzard.
A woman lay wedged between cracks of ice, her lips moving with a pallid, ashen hue.
“Environmental conditions. Visibility less than 2 meters. Blizzard ongoing. External temperature estimated at minus 26 degrees. Wind chill factor… unmeasurable due to wind speed.”
A desperate situation catalogued one by one through emotionless eyes.
“Food reserves: none.”
Water reserves: none.
Thermal regulation equipment: destroyed, none available.
Mana remaining: 12%.
Predicted survival time at current mana consumption rate: approximately 110 minutes until mana depletion.
Thereafter, hypothermia onset leading to loss of consciousness within 40 minutes, cardiac arrest expected within an additional 15 minutes.
“Awaiting rescue from Blue Dragon Guild. Rescue probability: less than 0.01% in an area inaccessible to ground rescue teams.”
Internal bleeding progressing from simple fracture of right femur.
Pain signals continuously received.
Movement impossible.
Comprehensive situation assessment.
“All indicators exceed survival margins.”
Accordingly, primary objective revised from “environmental survey within the Snowy Mountain Gate” to “survival.”
“Exploration commencing.”
The woman rose, dragging her leg—blackened and dying from internal hemorrhage—behind her.
Mechanically, without a shred of hope in her emotionless gaze.

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