They Told Me to Build Good Karma by Selling Side Dishes - Chapter 39

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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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39. Acorn Jelly Lunch Boxes (1)

No, I’m certain of this. My vision is nearly 1.9, close to 2.0, and I saw nine streaks of faint light scatter and fade behind the actor.

‘…This could be an Evil Spirit.’

Even as I regarded him with suspicious eyes, the actor’s lips still curved with a serene smile.

“This used to be Grandmother Hyang-suk’s shop, didn’t it?”
“Yes. It was my grandmother’s shop.”
“Then… I found the right place.”
“You did.”

Kang Seo-young’s voice spread through my ears like butter melting smoothly over freshly baked bread.

“So the granddaughter runs it now?”
“I’m the one running it.”
“May I ask something else?”
“What is it?”

Kang Seo-young smiled with her eyes and spoke casually.

“Does that old taste still linger?”

I swallowed unconsciously.

“I’m not sure if it does.”
“That’s fine. It’s not for me to eat anyway.”
“Then…?”
“Would it be possible to order group lunch boxes?”
“Group lunch boxes?”
“I’d like to buy delicious lunch boxes for my staff….”

Kang Seo-young trailed off and tilted her head slightly.

“…How many people?”
“How many was it again? About a hundred servings?”
“And the timeframe?”
“Two days should be enough, shouldn’t it?”

A hundred servings? Two days was cutting it close.

Kang Seo-young brushed her hair back with delicate fingers, as if she were selecting a beverage at a café.

“And I’d like to make a suggestion, if I may….”

Kang Seo-young’s gaze drifted casually across the bulgogi lunch boxes displayed on the shelf.

“Could you prepare the lunch boxes with acorn jelly as the main component?”
“Acorn jelly? Jelly, you say….”
“Yes. I’m quite fond of it. Grandmother Hyang-suk made it for me before, actually. Homemade.”

At the word “homemade,” the back of my neck stiffened.

‘So she really did make it herself….’

Kang Seo-young rose from her seat very slowly. Behind her shadow, nine faint tail-like silhouettes moved in tandem.

‘…It was real, wasn’t it?’

She vanished as if melting into the floor. I blinked hard. When I looked again, she stood there quietly.

“I’d love to help with anything, but I need to get back to filming. I’ll come by again this evening.”

Kang Seo-young winked and put her sunglasses back on.

“Yes, I’ll see you this evening. Please take c—care?”

‘This evening?’

What evening was she talking about? Tonight? Tomorrow evening?

“B-boss! You’re really learning to cook!”
“That’s right. I’m picking it up….”
“Isn’t that good?”
“It is good, but it feels strange.”

I still couldn’t believe that an actor might actually be an Evil Spirit.

Lee Hae-ra was already more delighted than I was, and I caught her fingers slyly reaching toward her card wallet in that moment.

“Lee Hae-ra. Where do you think you’re going?”

I burst out laughing at those nimble hands, seizing the gap in the market and pulling a card from her wallet with such practiced efficiency.

“Just take a lunch box. It’s no trouble to give you one.”
“But I should still accept your card….”
“Come on, between us. What card? I completed the delivery safely thanks to you, Lee Hae-ra.”

I pressed the lunch box wrapped in the envelope firmly into Lee Hae-ra’s hands as if driving a wedge.

“All I want is for you to enjoy it. That’s all I need.”
“Oh, yes…. Y-you should enjoy your dinner too, boss.”

Lee Hae-ra pretended to be helpless, took the envelope, gave a slight nod, and stepped out of the shop.

I crossed my arms and watched her figure disappear, then slowly turned around. At that same moment, the sound of the Refrigerator opening broke the silence.

Knock knock knock knock knock knock!—

The side dish order arrived right on schedule. I headed to the Kitchen to check the order, only to find an uninvited guest already settled in.

Hae-tae sat with his front paws neatly arranged, solemnly gazing down at the order form.

“This order is peculiar, meow.”
“What’s so difficult about it?”
“Since when! Since when did a nine-tailed fox become a Divine Being, meow?”
“A Divine Being?”
“The world’s coming to an end, meow. The end times, meow.”

I picked up Hae-tae, who was clicking his tongue in disapproval, and checked the side dish order.

===========
[Side Dish Order]
Requester: Divine Being
Ordered Side Dish: Acorn Jelly – 100 servings
Reason: I want to share delicious food with the people I love.^^~
Requirements: 1) Any quality grade is acceptable. 2) I’d like to eat acorn jelly made ‘by hand’.^^
Reward: Virtue Points ‘2’
===========

I quickly scanned the reason and requirements with my eyes.

“The grade doesn’t matter, then.”

In that case, it would be ideal to make acorn jelly in bulk and sell it as a side dish. Of course, the real challenge was sourcing the materials.

“Hae-tae, Hae-tae. I’m curious about something—can I get acorns from the Dimensional Space?”
“You can get them, meow.”
“Really, you can actually get them!?”

An unexpected discovery. The Dimensional Space held more than just the Vegetable Garden. Hae-tae curled his tail into a circle and tilted his head slightly.

“But can you do it, meow?”
“Me? I’ve never made acorn jelly before, but I know the theory inside and out….”
“That’s not what I’m asking, meow.”

Hae-tae tapped beneath my eyes with his front paw.

“Your eyes look hollow, meow.”

Hollow?

I walked to the mirror and peered at my reflection. My skin looked dull and parched. A good night’s sleep should fix that.

“Even so, my stamina is pretty solid.”
“You might end up with a nosebleed without realizing it, meow.”
“If my nose bleeds, I’ll just stop it.”
“That’s not how it works, meow!”

Hae-tae clicked his tongue as if to say that wasn’t the point, then suddenly lifted his head.

That was when it happened.

“She’s coming.”
“Who?”
“Who else?”

An unfamiliar voice reached me from nearby.

“Aaaahhh! No! No!”

The scream tore through the air, and I instinctively clutched Hae-tae tightly to my chest, desperate to survive. My heart thundered so violently I could hear it pounding in my ears.

“You’re really startled when I show up like this?”

Kang Seo-young, who had said she’d come in the evening, sat down with a laugh and crossed her legs. She removed her sunglasses with an unhurried gesture, and her irises gleamed with an otherworldly light.

“Of course people get startled when you appear like that. Your heart gets startled too. You clearly said you’d come in the evening earlier….”
“It is evening right now.”

I was left speechless by Kang Seo-young’s confident retort. What standard was she using? Could I even curse at her?

“There was a human around earlier, so I just made something up on the spot.”
“…I see.”

Now it made sense. With a human present, she couldn’t have openly placed an order for side dishes. Kang Seo-young, watching my reaction, continued while wiggling her fingers lightly.

“The Divine Beings said they’d like it if I showed up like that.”
“They must be insane?”

The words tumbled out faster than my will could control them. She covered her mouth with her fingertips and laughed heartily.

“All Divine Beings are insane. That’s the only way they can mimic humans.”

I set Hae-tae down from my embrace and brushed myself off as I stood. Hae-tae frowned and asked.

“But why is a nine-tailed fox a Divine Beast?”
“Oh, me? I never ate human livers.”
“So you live as a Divine Beast because of that? That’s ridiculous.”

Kang Seo-young’s lips curved upward slowly.

“Why do you dislike it?”
“I cannot accept it, meow.”
“You’re so rigid.”
“What did you say, meow?”
“You’re a fossil.”
“Meow!”

I barely restrained Hae-tae, whose claws were now bared, and asked Kang Seo-young the question I hadn’t gotten to earlier.

“Why acorn jelly specifically?”

Kang Seo-young traced her chin slowly with her fingertip before answering.

“Because it resembles liver?”
“Where… are you going with this?”
“The soft, gelatinous texture is subtly similar, don’t you think?”

In that instant, Kang Seo-young’s pupils split vertically before returning to human eyes. A chill raced down my spine.

“So I eat it often. I must sustain myself as a divine being.”

Even the gentle hum of the refrigerator seemed to pause. I covered my liver area with both hands—a reflex defense.

“Then… you were feeding that to the staff….”
“They’re staff members I’m very fond of, so I wanted to feed them.”

Kang Seo-young shrugged. Beneath the subtle fragrance of perfume drifted a thick, bestial scent.

“I suppose you could call this my final schedule.”
“Once the schedule ends….”

Kang Seo-young cut me off and answered.

“No. I’m approaching death.”
“Cough, cough!”

My throat tightened and I sputtered. Hae-tae asked without concern.

“Has it already come to that?”
“Yes. Already.”

What were these two talking about?

“Because I’ve reached the final destination of my life.”

Kang Seo-young continued softly.

“How wonderful is it? Death approaches, and I meet my life. So I thought of it as a festival and came to order side dishes.”
“…A, a festival.”

It was unreasonable to ask someone who had met their final destination for more time to prepare one hundred servings of acorn jelly.

There’s no helping it! They’ll surely help if I explain!

“Instead, Kang Seo-young! Please help me.”
“Help you with what?”

Kang Seo-young looked at me and blinked her eyes innocently.

“We need to gather acorns, don’t we?”
“Acorns? Why would I do that? Oh, so that’s how I can get the acorn jelly faster?”
“Yes.”
“It’s been a long time since someone put me to work.”

She understood quickly. My simple answer spoke volumes more than any lengthy explanation could have.

***

“Follow me.”

Hae-tae, who had been still, wagged his tail lightly before slipping into the Dimensional Space.

I hurried after him. The scent of earth beneath my feet had changed.

“It’s dawn here.”

Hae-tae crossed the Vegetable Garden and stopped at the edge of the Forest. He halted in the shadows where even moonlight could not reach.

“Here it is, meow.”

Hae-tae led the way to a towering ancient tree standing at the very edge of the lush Forest. Hae-tae raised a small front paw and tapped the rough bark. The tree bark fluttered like butterfly wings with each breath.

“What is this?”
“An Acorn Oak Grove, meow.”
“An Acorn Oak Grove? That’s just an acorn tree.”
“But the acorns we cultivate in our Dimensional Space are different, meow.”
“How are they different?”
“The moment they leave the Dimensional Space, they dry out, meow.”
“So you can extract just the acorn kernels? Making acorn jelly would be so easy.”

Hae-tae nodded briefly, looking satisfied.

“…How fascinating.”

I had been so absorbed in admiring the massive Acorn Oak Grove that I’d forgotten about Kang Seo-young’s presence. When I looked up, nine tails swayed gently behind her human form.

“…Your tails are still showing?”
“Should I change into a white hanbok like the Joseon era or something?”
“No. I like it as it is.”

Kang Seo-young’s lips curled up in satisfaction. I quickly redirected the conversation to Hae-tae.

“But do we have acorns right now?”
“Of course we do, meow. The ones managing this tree are doing a fine job, meow.”

Hae-tae simply tapped the base of the Acorn Oak Grove with a front paw.

Whoooosh—

A shower of acorns cascaded down from the tree like falling leaves. They struck the ground in a steady, rhythmic percussion that continued without pause.

I watched the spectacular sight with wide eyes.

“Wow…”

I let out a soft exclamation and bent down to pick up a single acorn.

[Astringency-Free Special Acorn (S)]

Moonlight reflected softly across the polished shell. The acorn in my palm felt substantial and unyielding—unmistakably different from the crops that grew in my Vegetable Garden.

“Stop marveling and start gathering, will you? Otherwise we’ll be collecting all night long.”

Hae-tae swished his tail and pointed his front paw at the base of the tree.

“Yes, yes, I know.”

I bent at the waist and began gathering the acorns methodically. Hae-tae pretended to help for a moment before rolling one playfully with his paw. Kang Seo-young, assisting beside me, finally spoke up.

“This is more labor-intensive than I expected.”

I was grateful she’d lent her hands to the task.

“Is this why you asked for my help?”
“A secondary benefit, really.”
“A secondary benefit?”
“Building a memory together—that’s worthwhile, don’t you think?”

Her fingertips stilled ever so slightly.

“Humans truly are a fascinating species.”

Hae-tae, who had inserted himself into the conversation, thrust his snout forward meaningfully.

“Again! Again! At this rate you’ll be collecting acorns all night!”
“Stop nagging.”
“It’s not nagging. I’m simply stating reality.”

He had a point.

I still needed to gather them quickly, transport them to the Kitchen, wash them, boil them, and peel away the shells.

I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand and picked up another acorn.

“They shine like jewels.”
“That’s because they’re delicious acorns.”

Hae-tae let out a hollow laugh as he looked at me.

“This is hardly the time to indulge in romance, meow.”

Romance? Labor and romance are separated by the thinnest of lines.

“Hmm?”

Why was the acorn so enormous?

I tilted my head, staring at the acorn—nearly as round as a baseball—in bewilderment.

“What is this?”
“What do you mean, meow?”
“No, I…”

When I held up the acorn in my palm to show Hae-tae, he spoke.

“That’s a Squirrel, meow.”
“A Squirrel?!”

The Squirrel, which had been curled into a ball, unfurled itself and looked up at me with its mouth stuffed full of acorns.

“That one manages the Forest, 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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