I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 91

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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 91. What to Gain and Lose (1)
The Room of Prophecy on the second floor remained in its usual place.
The occult artifacts that filled the space with their distinctive aura were unchanged, as were the closed-eyed statue and the crystal sphere.
Now accustomed to this, I placed my hand on the crystal sphere without hesitation, and a status window materialized before me.
[Two prophecies are available for listening.]
[Burning Desire: 10,000 BP]
[???: 100,000,000 BP]
“Will there ever come a day when I can see that prophecy filled with question marks?”
A prophecy that required an absurd investment of 100 million BP just to view.
It was certain to hold some tremendous secret, but I couldn’t access it right now.
Still, perhaps one day it would be possible.
“The Bakery is running smoothly… and Witch Food is thriving thanks to Nuri’s efforts.”
Though the Castella I’d sent as a recipe hadn’t been commercialized yet, Witch Food was generating profits beyond my expectations.
Once hunters had tasted Subunseo Cheong, none would abandon its convenience and return to the old ways.
The Castella launching soon would likely bring a similar wave of success.
“They said it would be released soon…”
And what I earned here wasn’t merely money.
The BP that hunters unknowingly generated while consuming and using these products also became my income.
Of course, accumulating BP bit by bit like this only meant I’d spend it all at once like I always did.
“Anyway, what matters now is this.”
Burning Desire.
A prophecy’s name that gave no hint of its contents.
To be honest, I was anxious about it.
The word “desire” tended to appear in negative contexts.
“There are plenty of old tales about meeting ruin through greed.”
But I had to listen regardless.
There was no other way to fill in the question marks in my Quest window.
After spending 10,000 BP, energy spread outward and the statue’s mouth opened.
– If you seek to gain one, you shall lose two.
– If you seek to gain two, you shall gain one.
– If you do not desire, you shall surely lose.
Soon the energy faded and the objects floating in the air fell helplessly back to their places.
I gazed quietly at the room’s landscape, which pretended nothing had happened, then stepped outside.
Noir, Chohong, and Gora followed behind me.
Noir was the first among the three to speak.
“Do you understand what it means, Owner?”
“Meow?”
“Gora gora?”
“Meow! Don’t doubt! The Owner surely understands! You may seem foolish normally, but in moments like these you display brilliant wit and insight!”
I was truly sorry, but Noir’s expectations were far from reality.
No ideas whatsoever came to mind.
To gain one is to lose two, they say.
Where in the world would such a curse-like statement exist?
The strange part was the next sentence too.
“If you seek to gain two, isn’t it not bad to gain one?”
I thought I’d misheard.
I strived to gain two, yet I’d only obtain one.
This was also a curse of sorts.
And then came the long-awaited final sentence.
“If you do not desire… you shall surely lose….”
If desire meant wanting something, then I too possessed desire.
Right now, that would be recovering the Witch’s fragment.
If I want this, I’ll lose two things.
What could I possibly lose?
But thinking of two things I wanted was equally difficult.
What else should I wish for besides recovering the Witch’s fragment?
“Meow!”
“Now you recognize it! Your Owner must be thinking of something magnificent right now! Meow!”
“Gora!”
Was this saying that being greedy actually makes things go well?
No, it couldn’t be that simple.
From what I’d seen so far, prophecies always conveyed things ambiguously.
“I wish you’d just say it clearly.”
“Meow. That is what a prophecy is. Information must be conveyed in a way that does not twist fate, Owner.”
“It’s complicated. Really.”
As I scratched my head in frustration, Noir, Chohong, and Gora—who had been chattering among themselves until moments ago—fell silent.
Even as they did, I continued to think relentlessly.
“The first sentence is about losing what you have, and the second is about failing to achieve your goal completely.”
At first glance, both seem negative, but when you grasp the meaning, they become entirely different statements.
But so what?
What was the point of this wordplay?
“Let me look at the Quest window once more.”
[For the Extreme]
▷ The Mage’s purpose differs from the Witch’s—to advance toward the end of magic. How about providing help to one who runs forward looking only ahead, so they can observe their surroundings? Of course, that help will determine the opponent’s fate.
▷ Deliver ‘Witch’s Fondant au Chocolat’ or ‘???’ to ‘Park Su-min’ 0/1
▷ Reward: 15,000 BP
Only then could I understand.
“This… isn’t talking about my desire.”
There was nothing about the Witch’s fragment anywhere in the Quest window.
Only information about the Mage was written there.
If that’s the case, I can’t dismiss the possibility that the “desire” mentioned in the prophecy refers to what Soo-min wants.
“What’s certain is that she wants to catch that wolf containing the Witch’s fragment.”
This is something Soo-min told me herself, so it’s definite.
Thinking about it that way, I could understand why the bread in the first option was Fondant au Chocolat.
But…
“If it’s like this, then there’s definitely going to be a problem, right?”
If that’s the case, then unfortunately, the better-made Fondant au Chocolat isn’t the answer.
The mysterious bread still hidden behind a question mark must be the answer.
“To do that, I need another remaining desire…”
The Quest window was already telling me that.
The end of magic, the extreme.
What all Mages desire.
Since Soo-min is a Hunter who awakened magic skills, she would fall into the category of Mage.
If that’s the case, then my next task was already decided.
“It bothers me that I’m obtaining one, but…”
“Have you found the answer?”
“I’ll only know if I try. Let’s head to the Kitchen first.”
“What are you planning to make, Owner?”
“Cold.”
I answered while heading toward the Kitchen.
“I’m going to make bread that can perfectly overcome the cold.”
That’s the only way Park Su-min can pursue the desire she wants.
* * *
Well then, here’s the problem.
What exactly is bread that can perfectly overcome the cold?
Does bread that suits the word “cold” even exist in the first place?
“There are so many of them.”
“Meow? Really?”
“Yes.”
There’s a saying that humanity’s history has walked alongside bread, so the world overflows with all kinds of breads.
For instance, there’s Germany’s Stollen.
It’s a traditional German bread eaten throughout winter while waiting for Christmas, characterized by fruits soaked in rum and nuts, then coated thickly with sugar.
Because of this, the thick sugar coating acts as a preservative, allowing it to be kept for several weeks, and even a single slice replenishes enormous calories and helps endure the bitter cold.
“England’s Saffron Bun is the same.”
“Saffron? Isn’t that the spice humans price so expensively?”
“Right. It was also used as a medicinal ingredient that warms the body and aids blood circulation.”
Expanding the range of bread a bit here, there’s also Russia’s dumpling-like food, Pirozhki.
It’s bread dough stuffed and baked with meat, potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms, and the like, and it’s so popular in Russia that they call it the national bread.
“Well, I’ve never actually been there, so I don’t know. But I’ve heard it feels similar to a large dumpling.”
“Meow. So this time you’re making that Pirozhki thing?”
“No. And the name is wrong too.”
And not in a good direction at that.
Anyway, there are many breads to overcome the cold, but among them, I had a specific one in mind.
“I’m going to make a Cardamom Roll.”
“Cardamom? You mean a spice?”
“Not just any spice, but the Queen of Spices herself.”
I’m not joking.
Cardamom, the seed of a plant in the ginger family, is literally called the Queen of Spices.
That’s how diverse its flavor profile is.
“A seed with the tartness of lemon, the coolness of mint, the warm aroma of eucalyptus, and subtle floral notes—there’s no way it could be just an ordinary spice.”
That’s not all.
Since ancient times, it’s been used as medicine for its properties of driving out cold from the body and warming it from within.
No matter how you look at it, it’s the perfect spice for this situation.
“A roll baked using this is precisely what a Cardamom Roll is.”
“But I’ve never heard of a Cardamom Roll before. Owner. I know about Cinnamon Rolls, though.”
“Cinnamon is more commonly used, after all.”
The Cinnamon Roll, which pursues a rich and sweet taste, and the Cardamom Roll, which pursues complex flavors alongside delicate floral notes, could be called cousins among breads.
Both are commonly found in Swedish bakeries.
To such an extent that Swedish bakeries often ask, “Cinnamon or Cardamom?”
“They’re breads that have grown alongside the Fika coffee culture.”
“Then wouldn’t it be better to make the more familiar Cinnamon Roll?”
“Even if they’re similar, there are clear differences. In texture and depth of flavor, for instance.”
A Cinnamon Roll typically has the shape of a tightly rolled spiral, but a Cardamom Roll is made by cutting the dough into long strips and twisting them intricately like tying knots.
The purpose is to create more layers of crispy exterior and chewy interior, giving it a better texture when chewed.
While a Cinnamon Roll focuses on the sweetness of sugar and Cinnamon, a Cardamom Roll uses coarsely ground cardamom particles generously in both the dough and topping.
So with each bite, the cardamom seeds burst, releasing their complex flavors.
“What does that have to do with now? I don’t understand, Owner.”
“When making the knot shape, I’m going to reference this.”
What I pulled up on my phone and showed to Noir was Knot Magic, one of the spells that Hunters with magical skills were researching.
Well, it wasn’t some ancient ritual magic where you’d tie knots while harboring wishes.
According to the description, it involved twisting mana to form knot patterns and dramatically amplify magical effects.
“I don’t know about all that, but anyway, I’m going to try applying this to the knot shape. Look here. It says this doubles the magical performance. Who knows? Maybe the bread’s effects will double too?”
“… What exactly do you understand?”
“Making it roughly similar should work fine, right?”
Actually, this wasn’t really the important part.
It was just something I hoped might work.
The real reason I chose the Cardamom Roll was different.
“Wait a moment.”
“Meow? Why are you suddenly putting on gloves, Owner?”
Well, if I don’t put on gloves, something bad will happen.
I slipped on the heat-resistant gloves from the warehouse—the ones that could safely touch magma—and picked up the item I’d prepared.
“That’s exactly what I’m going to use.”
“Meoow! Wait… Don’t tell me that’s—!”
Heat-resistant gloves that supposedly felt no heat even when touching magma.
Yet through my hands, I could feel the warmth radiating from within.
If I held it just a moment longer, the sensation would shift from warmth to scorching heat.
Its true identity was….
[Hwadugu]
▷ A seed pouch of a plant that sprouts only from freshly erupted lava. With a flavor and aroma unmatched by any spice, it is called the tyrant of spices. However, it contains excessive heat that requires special refinement. If not properly treated….
“Why not use this instead of Cardamom?”
The seed pouch glowed crimson, spewing flames.

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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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