They Told Me to Build Good Karma by Selling Side Dishes - Chapter 64

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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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64. Delivery Person (1)

A silhouette materialized across from the counter—one that had no business being there.

Who on earth…?

The shop door had never opened.
No bell had chimed.

Yet the silhouette occupied its space with the naturalness of something that had always belonged there.

My body tensed instinctively. I calculated distances in my mind with meticulous precision—the route to escape, the angle needed to slip through the Back Door.

There was only one possibility.

This could only be an Evil Spirit.

“Who are you?”
“Well, who could I be?”

The response came slowly, deliberately.

“I need to know who you are before I can greet you properly.”
“You’d know if you looked at me, wouldn’t you? Can’t you tell?!”

Only then did I truly see them. Black hair cascaded to their shoulders, swaying softly with a half-tied knot that danced despite the stillness of the indoor air. Above sharp brows, a long scar cut a striking line across their features.

Their gaze locked onto me with absolute precision. No evasion, no wandering—just an unwavering stare that held me from beginning to end.

That was why.

An Evil Spirit…?

I recognized instantly that this was no human. No matter how perfectly they mimicked human form, they could never achieve that completeness…

But then….

“I have no idea who you are…?”

I tilted my head in confusion. I truly had no clue who this person was.

“Really? Truly?”

He laughed while holding a leaf between his teeth.

“I thought I showed you my personality sometimes, but I guess not~.”

I couldn’t make sense of what he was saying at all.

‘What is he….’

He took a step closer. The space beneath his feet wavered slightly, as if caving in. Gradually, the form of a sack became visible.

“A sack?”
“Ingredients~! Your delivery has arrived?”

He was mimicking a human with a drawn-out tone.

“Recently, someone applied physical force to the GS Company, and the lower refrigerator entrance stopped working properly, so I came to make the delivery~? Or did you forget who I am? In just three days.”
“…Three days?”
“Yes. Three. Days. Now, do you remember?”

He deliberately spoke each syllable with precision.

“Wait… no way. You’re not….”

The delivery person I’d been exchanging notes with at the lower refrigerator entrance all this time? I covered my mouth with my hand, my eyes widening.

“That guy?”

His eyes narrowed slightly. He rolled the leaf in his mouth once, then shrugged.

“You’re only just realizing?”
“No. It’s not that….”

Countless images flashed through my mind.

“I never expected you to be so… handsome.”
“Handsome?”

He lifted the corner of his mouth slightly.

“Yes, handsome!”

I’d assumed his entire appearance—from face to limbs—would resemble that of other Evil Spirits. Yet here he was, looking perfectly human and attractive…

“So my appearance pleases you? Surprised I’m more handsome than expected? Boss.”

Extremely.

“As a chef, I place great importance on aesthetics.”

It might sound like an excuse, but it was the truth. One rarely tastes food without first seeing it. His eyes blinked slowly, as if in disbelief.

“You place importance on aesthetics?”
“Yes. I’m that way. You have no idea how shocked I’ve been every time I’ve seen an Evil Spirit…”

He fell silent, then looked down at me.

“I didn’t expect you to be so blunt about it.”
“Blunt?”

‘Cooking without visual appeal is difficult.’

No matter how delicious something tastes, if it looks unappealing, no one will touch it. It was an instinct I possessed as a chef.

“Then… you see, boss?”

He spoke slowly.

“Whether I look human or like an Evil Spirit must matter quite a bit to you…?”
“…I suppose it does.”

If he’d looked like an Evil Spirit, I never would have approached him. It was frightening, after all…

“Why are you smiling like that?”

The corners of his mouth curved upward ever so slightly, and his eyes narrowed.

“Because it’s fun? Want to check the ingredients now?”

I pressed my hand down on the sack he’d brought, gripping it firmly. As I pulled open the mouth of the bag, the fabric parted smoothly, and a cool chill rose from within.

“The sack is giving off cold air?”
“If these came straight from a refrigerator, we wouldn’t need this kind of chill. Since I brought them myself, it’s more like… magic that the Divine Being’s side uses for storage, you could say~?”

Inside the sack lay all the ingredients I’d written down in my notes, stacked neatly. I was simply curious how these ingredients existed in this space, much like in the Pocket Dimension Garden.

“The GS Company said to give only the highest-grade S-rank materials as an apology, so my influence came in handy.”
“Really?”
“Look.”

Following his words, I peered back into the sack.

[Delicious 1++ Beef Special Skirt Steak (S)]
[1++ Beef Special Chuck Tender (S)]
[Perilla Leaf Oil Blessed by the Divine (S)]
[Sesame Oil Infused with Purification Energy (S)]
[Soy Sauce Imbued with Earth’s Essence (S)]

Every single ingredient gleamed as if holding light within it. The perilla leaf oil and sesame oil in particular rippled slowly, as though tiny stars had been suspended inside them.

“They’re all… S-rank, aren’t they.”

Side dishes made with S-rank ingredients had a depth of flavor that was entirely different from the start.

“Want to know something?”
“What?”

He pointed at the perilla leaf oil and sesame oil with his finger and added on.

“I’ve heard that perilla leaf oil and sesame oil can originally be extracted and made from the Pocket Dimension Garden.”
“Huh?”
“Ask Divine Being about it later.”

Extracting sesame oil and perilla oil was quite a meticulous task. From seed selection to roasting and pressing, every single step demanded considerable labor.

“Later on… if I start making sesame oil and perilla oil myself, that won’t mean you’ll stop delivering ingredients or anything like that, right?”
“Ha ha.”

He laughed lightly.

“It’s too much work, so we provide the ingredients for you.”
“Right? Otherwise it’d be too exhausting.”

Seasoned vegetables, stir-fried dishes, mixed vegetables—there wasn’t a single dish that didn’t use it. Without it, the flavor fell short.

“Boss, you’re relieved, aren’t you?”

He bent at the waist and thrust his face forward, and the distance between us suddenly vanished. I held my breath. His eyes looked down at me from mere inches away.

“…Yeah, relieved?”

He straightened back up and lifted his gaze, slowly surveying the interior of the shop.

“That Divine Being doesn’t come by?”
“Hae-tae doesn’t come in the mornings after eating. He’s busy.”
“I thought he’d be here since he’s always glued to your side, but I guess not…”

Did Hae-tae have some business with him? I watched suspiciously as I carried the sack of ingredients into the Kitchen.

“Did you make the kimchi for the season?”
“Just finished it yesterday.”
“Give me some.”

For a moment, I doubted my ears. He casually pulled out a chair at the table and sat down, adding to his request.

“I got hungry moving the ingredients around.”

His movements were so natural that I assumed he was a regular customer who visited the shop frequently.

‘He doesn’t look hungry though?’

I set down the sack in the Kitchen and tilted my head in puzzlement.

“I could give you a review from Wal-wal too.”
“…That’s true, actually.”

He was indeed the delivery driver who had been supplying me with ingredients every time. His nickname was a secret only the two of us knew.

“You really want kimchi-making kimchi?”
“Yeah.”
“What if it doesn’t taste good?”

He rested his chin on the table and gazed at me with drowsy eyes.

“That’s impossible.”
“Mm…. Fine!”

My mood brightened.

“I’m giving it to you because you said it would be delicious.”

I wouldn’t have given it to him if he’d answered any other way. I was just about to reach into the Refrigerator for the kimchi-making kimchi.

“Where do you think you’re going.”

A dull footstep echoed from the Back Door.

“Hae… tae…?”

The fur on my back bristled, standing on end. I rubbed my eyes with my fingers.

‘Hae-tae?’

After all these years of seeing him in cat form, the oppressive, terrifying aura was unmistakable.

‘From that small body….’

Hae-tae was a Divine Being.

“What brings you here, Steel—the one who failed to become a dragon and fell to earth?”

Hae-tae naturally blocked my path forward, drawing a line that told him not to cross this spot. Hae-tae’s tail swept across the floor in one powerful arc.

“Who knows? Why else would I be here?”

He neither smiled nor showed surprise. Though it was only for a moment.

“I didn’t expect you to be so guarded. Did I hurt your feelings~? Mine too.”
“Of course I should be cautious, shouldn’t I?”
“The GS Company is already watching me anyway. So what’s the point in being cautious, right?”

The delivery person slowly raised both hands.

“See? I’ve got nothing in my hands. I only brought the bag, I’m telling you.”

Hae-tae didn’t take a single step back. His gaze remained fixed on the man.

“So you’re trying to lay your hands on Seon-eop’s food without permission?”
“Why shouldn’t I be allowed to touch Seon-eop’s food?”
“You might face the consequences you deserve.”

‘Consequences I deserve?’

I gently stroked Hae-tae’s soft fur and asked quietly.

“Do you two know each other?”

Hae-tae kept his gaze fixed on the delivery person, but his ears twitched slightly toward me.

“Know each other? Well, in your terms….”

His eyes shifted from red to yellow, narrowing into thin crescents.

“We’re the kind of acquaintances who know each other best~!”

Only then did Hae-tae open his mouth.

“Stop with the wordplay. Shin Yeop-baek.”

Finally, I learned his name. Shin Yeop-baek….

‘It suits him somehow.’

A light, sharp sensation.

“The reason you came here is really….”

Before Hae-tae could finish speaking, Shin Yeop-baek opened his mouth with a slightly serious tone.

“I really did come just to eat kimchi-making kimchi. I’ve been mooching off Ji-gu for it quite often, after all.”
“You’ve been mooching, meow?”

Hae-tae immediately turned to look at me.

“Sometimes… she asked for it?”
“…That’s right.”

That was the moment.

The striped patterns that had lingered on Hae-tae’s back like a hallucination blurred and faded like watercolor in water. The massive illusion that had divided the space between me and Shin Yeop-baek naturally dissolved.

The thick, elongated tail lost its form and returned to a cat’s small, supple tail. Finally, Hae-tae shook his body once.

“Do as you please now, meow.”

And he spoke in his usual voice.

“Thank you, Divine Being.”
“What nonsense, meow.”

I bent at the waist and pulled Hae-tae into an embrace, stroking his soft fur.

‘He’s back….’

This easily? Hae-tae’s breathing was slightly excited. He seemed tired.

“Still, there’s no helping it. Strange incidents keep occurring inside the GS Company, so ingredient deliveries to the lower refrigerator have stopped.”
“Meow?!”

Hae-tae looked furious, as if he might charge at Shin Yeop-baek’s face at any moment.

“Wait, wait.”

I quickly grabbed Hae-tae.

“You should listen to what people have to say until the end.”

Shin Yeop-baek continued speaking with composure.

“I’ve been coming here frequently.”
“Meoooowwww! This crazy cat!”

Hae-tae wailed out a piercing cry.

‘…Frequently?’

I held Hae-tae close and turned the words over in my mind. This was the Seon-eop Shop. Shouldn’t it be a place where human customers came and went? Why were only these creatures multiplying?

“Haha. So you’re happy I come often.”

Shin Yeop-baek laughed lightly, as if amused by the reaction.

“This one’s lost his mind, meow.”
“That’s possible.”

His answer was unfazed.

‘…I’ve never seen anyone treat Hae-tae that way before.’

When my gluttonous cat was wary, there was always a reason. I should be cautious too.

‘I’m on guard.’

I glared at Shin Yeop-baek. At that moment, he rose from his chair without hesitation, as if his business was complete.

“The delivery’s done, I’ve confirmed everything, and I don’t think I should ask for kimchi-making kimchi in the current situation~?”

He turned and added his words while grasping the door handle.

“Ah, I’ll come when Divine Being isn’t around. Don’t worry. I have no intention of touching the shop directly. I’m the type who follows the rules.”
“Get out, meowwww!”

Even as Shin Yeop-baek opened the door and left, the bell didn’t ring. He simply vanished as if he had never been there.

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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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