They Told Me to Build Good Karma by Selling Side Dishes - Chapter 31

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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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31. Daylily Seasoned Vegetables (1)

I stepped backward and shook my head. Perhaps I’d been tormented by Evil Spirits for so long that strange apparitions like this no longer fazed me.

‘But….’

Now that this suspicious Maltese had appeared….

Beep beep beep beep beep!—

The signal from the side dish order form blared loudly from the bottom of the Kitchen Refrigerator. I stepped into the Side Dish Shop and stood before the Refrigerator.

Nothing surprised me anymore.

“You’ve arrived.”

I yanked open the Refrigerator door. A single sheet of paper slid out from inside.

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[Side Dish Order]
Requester: Spirit Being
Requested Side Dish: Daylily Seasoned Vegetables
Reason: I want to meet someone I’ve been wanting to see with this!
Required Conditions: 1) I’d love it if you made a lot, regardless of grade! 2) Please give me plenty!
Reward: Karma Points ‘2’
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“…Requester, a Spirit Being?”

Not a Divine Being, not an Evil Spirit, but a Spirit Being? In that instant, the suspicious Maltese came to mind.

“Is that you?”
“It’s me!”
“Aaaahhhhh!”

I clutched at my wildly pounding heart, letting out a shriek that echoed through the shop. I turned my head.

“I’m here to order side dishes!”

It was that Maltese.

‘Phew.’

My heart had been racing wildly, then suddenly plummeted. I shook my head and blinked several more times.

“…You’re that supernatural creature, aren’t you?”

Maltese gazed up at me calmly with his round eyes.

“That’s right!”

This time, he puffed out his chest proudly and declared it with vigor.

“So all that matters is the quantity, just like what’s written on the order form?”
“Woof woof!”

His white fur gleamed under the fluorescent light, and he carried himself with the bearing of a warrior rather than a dog.

‘After seeing only that adorable cat, now that I’m looking at a dog, it’s cute too….’

Though it is frightening when a dog talks.

That was when it happened.

“Meow!”
“Aaaah!”

Hae-tae’s thunderous cry erupted right beside my ear. I staggered backward, nearly falling over.

‘…Do these creatures have absolutely no regard for human hearts?’

I wiped my chest with my palm several times before my breathing finally steadied.

“I finished up the urgent business and came right over.”

Hae-tae was sitting in the middle of the Kitchen, though I couldn’t say when he’d arrived. He carried himself as if he owned the place.

“So you’re the one who placed this side dish order?”
“That’s right!”

Maltese puffed out his chest and wagged his tail with spirited confidence. Watching the standoff between cat and dog, I found myself squinting slightly.

‘How adorable.’

Double the cuteness, really. Utterly precious.

“But Hae-tae… this small, precious, adorable Maltese is a spirit?”
“When animals die, they become spirits.”

So that’s how it works.

“Then why did you order side dishes? Because you wanted to eat them?”

Maltese straightened his chest and declared confidently.

“No. I wanted to meet someone! My sibling!”
“Your sibling…?”

I tilted my head in confusion.

‘Is Maltese’s Sibling an animal or human?’

Maltese was already brimming with excitement at the mere prospect of meeting them.

“That’s why I came—I was told I could meet them right away if I placed a side dish order!”
“Uh…”

What do I do about this?

“That’s going to be a bit difficult right now.”

The moment my words finished, Maltese’s small, soft ears drooped sadly.

“Why, though?”
“Because I need to make the side dishes…?”
“Oh, so that’s what it was….”
“Yeah, that must be it.”

Maltese’s eyes visibly wavered. I could see his anticipation deflating before my eyes.

‘Hmm. What do I do?’

I understood his eagerness to meet soon, but….

Just then, Hae-tae, who had been listening beside us, calmly groomed his fur while explaining.

“You should be grateful, you know.”
“?”
“Your sibling was able to meet you because they ate Grandmother Hyang-suk’s side dishes.”
“…Oh, so that’s how it was!”

Maltese nodded his head rapidly.

“Then hurry and make them! I can wait!”
“Really?”
“Yes! I’ve been waiting all this time, longing to meet them every day! I’m confident I can wait!”

He was adorable. So earnest too. My fingertips tingled with the urge. I couldn’t resist any longer, and my hands moved of their own accord.

“I can’t help myself!”

In an instant, I scooped Maltese into my arms. His fluffy fur brushed softly against my palms. The more I stroked him, the softer he felt.

‘I made the right choice touching him!’

“Why, why are you doing this!”

Maltese squirmed, but I paid no mind and continued petting him.

“So this is what a dog’s fur feels like…. It’s different from a cat’s….”

Hae-tae, who had been diligently grooming his fur, stopped and glanced at me sideways.

“Sigh, meow.”
“Are you jealous?”
“…Meow?”

Hae-tae clicked his tongue as if utterly exasperated. Ignoring that pointed gaze with ease, I clenched my fist and spoke with determination.

“Alright! Maltese! I’ll dig up some daylily shoots and make you the most delicious seasoned greens!”

The frantic squirming I’d felt in my hands moments ago stopped as if it had been a lie. Maltese’s eyes gleamed with a brilliant light.

“Human! I’m counting on your skills!”

I set Maltese down on the ground and thrust my fist upward.

“Trust me!”

Maltese’s tail wagged furiously. Watching that sight, I grabbed my basket and headed toward the Dimensional Space.

***

Daylily shoots were a vegetable that absolutely required toxin removal. Otherwise, one could die.

That’s why they had to be blanched in boiling water first, then soaked in cold water for one to two hours before you could safely eat them.

Since daylilies were so common throughout the mountains and fields of our country, many people didn’t know they were toxic.

“Are there really people eating perennial herbs from the lily family these days…?”

I muttered while gazing down at the daylily shoots.

True, before the flower buds formed, daylilies looked like nothing more than green grass.

But because people were so accustomed to seeing them as ornamental plants, many didn’t know about the hidden toxins within.

“Really, who would think to eat such beautiful flowers?”

At my murmur, Hae-tae struck my calf sharply with his front paw.

“Even humans eat poisonous plants like that, meow.”
“Not humans in general—people from our country, specifically.”

I lifted the corners of my mouth slightly as I added my point.

“Codonopsis is used as a precious medicine in other countries, but here we slather it with red chili paste and roast it. As long as it tastes good, that’s all that matters.”
“Originally, many humans died eating it as-is, meow.”
“Really?”
“Later, they realized Codonopsis had toxins and removed them, meow.”

I rubbed my tingling calves and gazed at the Hemerocallis. Yellow petals shimmered in the moonlight as the stems swayed gently in the breeze.

That was when it happened.

“I’ll dig it up!”

Maltese’s tail spun like a propeller before he launched himself directly over the Hemerocallis stems. His short, thick front paws dug at the ground with such ferocious speed that dirt sprayed in all directions.

“Ugh! Wait! The dirt—it’s flying everywhere!”

I instinctively shielded my face with my arms, blocking the shower of soil.

“I can’t meet my sibling without this kind of resolve!”

In the end, a single Hemerocallis root was helplessly uprooted and launched into the air. It traced an arc and landed squarely on Maltese’s head.

Instantly caked in dirt, Maltese shook his head vigorously side to side. Small clumps of earth tumbled down.

“See? Perfect technique!”

…Perfect technique was hardly the right phrase. The disheveled mess was far from perfection.

“That’s technique? That’s just dog instinct, meow!”

Hae-tae looked down at the fur clinging to his own coat and scoffed dismissively. Maltese snarled and bared his teeth in retaliation.

“Instinct is part of training!”
“You’re a dog, meow?”
“I’ve always been a dog!”

I tapped silently on the edge of the basket.

“Kids, daylilies take a while because we need to remove the toxins, so let’s dig them up quickly and go.”

At my words about digging up quickly, Maltese’s face brightened.

“Perfect! I’ll do whatever it takes for my sibling!”
“But!”

I gently set the basket down in front of Maltese.

“Watch this for me, okay? You can do that, right?”

Maltese’s mahogany eyes sparkled.

“Mission accepted!”

Guarding suited him far better than digging in the soil alongside me.

‘Time to start digging.’

I knelt down and gently scraped the Vegetable Garden soil with my fingertips. The crumbly earth scattered softly. The damp scent of soil tickled my nostrils.

I grasped the stem of a daylily with glossy leaves and pulled with force, but the root end was firmly embedded in the soil.

“Hmm, the ground is quite firm.”

Soft on the surface but hard underneath. I pulled out a small transplanting spade from my apron pocket and carefully dug around the daylily’s roots. As the blade sank into the soil, one root came into view.

[Distinctly Fragrant Daylily (A)]

The root gleamed golden in the sunlight, like a small glimmering crystal.

“Got one. And it’s Grade A, no less.”
“How many servings can we make from just one?”

Hae-tae poked his head out slightly.

“Well, as a side dish… about one plate?”

I brushed the soil from my hands and began pulling up the remaining daylilies. The leaves looked tender enough to have a pleasant texture when chewed.

“Our Maltese here keeps his promises well.”
“I keep my promises faithfully!”

Maltese puffed out his chest and declared proudly. With each daylily that dropped into the basket, his tail spun like a helicopter rotor.

“At this rate, we’re almost done harvesting.”
“Yeah, looks like it.”

Before I knew it, the basket was overflowing from my frenzied picking.

“This is the last one.”

I reached out my hand. The moment the daylily touched my fingertips, a warm pulse transmitted through me.

“This is….”

It felt like a faint heartbeat emanating from deep within the earth! I carefully grasped the stem and pulled. In that instant, my eyes widened involuntarily. The source of that subtle pulse was—

[Radiant Daylily Crowned in Crystal (S)]

An S-rank daylily.

A deep golden radiance burst forth from the soil. The light enveloped my hand for a moment before slowly fading away.

“Jackpot!”

Its mere existence transformed the air around us. Only one S-rank specimen had appeared.

“…Look at this.”

Hae-tae squinted and nodded in acknowledgment.

“You’ve harvested something special.”
“With this….”

I glanced at Maltese, who stood guard over the basket, and continued speaking.

“It’ll taste delicious if we make it into a daylily side dish!”

Maltese spun his tail in a wide circle, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

“My help was crucial!”
“Well…!”

That wasn’t quite right, but I held back.

“I’m the best!”

At the prospect of delicious daylily side dish emerging this time, the corners of my mouth twitched upward.

“Let’s go! To the Kitchen!”

Hae-tae and Maltese both lifted their pink front paws as if to follow.

***

I headed to the Kitchen with Hae-tae and Maltese. The gleaming daylilies shimmered inside the colander, seeming to urge me to cook them quickly.

“Hmm….”

As soon as I placed the colander on the counter, I touched the daylily stem with my fingertips. It was still warm, as if it were alive.

I rinsed it thoroughly under running water, shaking off the dirt and stones, and rhythmically peeled away only the inner leaves of the day lily. You’d think there would be some brown-tinged damaged leaves, but…

“There’s nothing left to dig up from the Vegetable Garden.”

As the water droplets popped and sizzled in the boiling pot and steam rose up, I sprinkled a pinch of salt.

“Are you blanching it to remove the toxins?”

Hae-tae asked me when I had come up, while she was baking toast.

“Yeah. You need to soak it in cold water later and let it sit for about an hour to completely remove the toxins.”

As soon as the water began to boil, I added the washed daylilies. Hot steam rose up, and the Kitchen filled with a fragrant, grassy aroma. I transferred the lightly blanched daylilies to cold water.

“Maltese.”
“That’s me!”

Maltese wagged his tail in response. I pointed at the daylily with my finger and asked.

“You said you wanted to see your sibling. Where are you planning to meet?”

At the mention of his sibling, Maltese’s face was radiant with joy.

“My sibling is working!”
“Working where?”
“As a teacher at the School!”

Maltese proclaimed proudly.

“They were always studying and wouldn’t even play with me! But the moment they passed the exam and walked through the door with such a joyful expression—I’ll never forget that!”

The playful gleam in his eyes from moments before had transformed into longing.

“They embraced me so tightly. I was so happy….”
“Is that so?”
“After I became a supernatural being, I heard they became a teacher. I want to see that. My sibling as a teacher must be amazing!”

I watched the daylily stem gently unfurl in the water. Maltese’s voice seemed to dissolve into the steam rising from it.

“I miss that smile. I want to hear it. So much!”

Hae-tae rested his chin on his front paw and spoke gently.

“That’s a good reason, meow.”

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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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