They Told Me to Build Good Karma by Selling Side Dishes - Chapter 87

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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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87. Garland Chrysanthemum and Beef Stir-fry (1)

My confident declaration echoed through the shop like a resonant bell.

“A deal? What kind of deal?”

I cleared my throat with a slight cough and shrugged my shoulders.

“Our student Lim San-bi is a third-year student, you see.”
“You two are third-year students as well.”

Song Ae-rim continued, brushing aside my words.

“But the thing about Lim San-bi is, you see.”

Only then did Lim San-bi step forward. Her hands were folded neatly in front of her stomach.

‘What’s this about?’

I frowned and listened to Song Ae-rim’s words.

“She’s an exceptional student.”
“…?”
“But this student has found herself in a difficult situation.”
“A difficult situation?”

As I echoed her words in confusion, Lim San-bi took a breath and spoke.

“I… you see.”
“Hmm?”
“I… have quite a few foods I don’t eat.”
“Quite a few?”
“Yes….”

‘So she’s a picky eater.’

But the way she was dancing around the subject made it clear she was embarrassed about her picky eating.

“That’s why I fill my stomach with school meals. Obviously! We absolutely adore the lunch ladies who prepare them!”

She really does love them that much….

“But whenever I eat school meals, my stomach hurts.”
“Your stomach? That’s….”

Song Ae-rim interjected at this point.

“All the other students are perfectly fine!”
“That’s right!”

Lim San-bi hastily chimed in as well.

“What about home-cooked meals?”

Home cooking should be different, shouldn’t it?

“My parents are busy, so I don’t really eat much at home.”
“Is that so? Wait. What do you usually eat then?”

I had a rough idea of what kind of food she was eating, and when I asked, Lim San-bi seemed to know it too, hesitating awkwardly.

“…Convenience Store food.”
“What kind?”

Had I sounded like I was interrogating her?

“…Spicy instant ramen.”
“…?”
“With cheese added… and sausages….”

It was food that put a strain on the stomach. But what could I do about it? If she ate properly most of the time, food like that wouldn’t bother her.

“Wouldn’t triangle kimbap or a packed lunch be better?”
“…If I keep eating only those, I get tired of them.”
“You want something to stimulate your palate.”

So you’re not someone who eats stubbornly with just one thing.

There are people who originally eat just one thing stubbornly. Those who think as long as their stomach is full, it doesn’t matter how it tastes.

“Whenever I get stressed from studying, I end up eating spicy ramen.”
“That’s not good for you.”
“I know it’s not good, I know I’ll be dead tomorrow anyway… but if I don’t eat it, the stress doesn’t go away.”

Right. How could students who only go between school and the Academy, or school and home, possibly have any stress relief?

“But when I was a first-year in high school, the symptoms weren’t this severe. Even when I ate, my stomach stayed calm….”

Lim San-bi spoke in a small voice, like a drunk child.

“But now that I’m a third-year, I just want to focus in class and not have my stomach hurt…!”
“Have you been to the Hospital?”

Lim San-bi nodded carefully.

“The Doctor said it’s gastritis. They said just taking medicine won’t help. They said if I just eat well and take care of myself, it’ll be fine….”

So that’s why she came here.

“Isn’t that difficult for you?”
“It is difficult….”
“Have you told your parents?”
“Yes, but they don’t really understand….”
“They think you’ll get better just by eating well and sleeping well?”
“Yes. That’s right.”

…It was something you wouldn’t understand unless you experienced it yourself.

“The child was originally in the top ranks of the entire school!”
“…I dropped out of the top rankings starting from second year.”

That’s somewhat concerning. The fact that she came all this way speaks volumes.

“This is serious.”

I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes.

“So what’s the way I can help?”
“Well….”

Lim San-bi’s face flushed crimson with embarrassment.

“You know those lunch boxes you gave to Ae-rim?”
“I occasionally brought some from our Side Dish Shop.”

When attending the Academy, meal times become irregular. Eventually, she ends up eating only Convenience Store food. That’s why I told her to pack a lunch box before going to the Academy.

“So you took them often?”

Song Ae-rim smiled brightly.

“…There was a time when Ae-rim said she was full and gave me the lunch box.”
“Really? How was the taste?”
“It was delicious! And!”

I urged her forward silently with a glance.

“My stomach felt fine!”
“Truly?”
“Originally, whenever I ate just rice, my stomach would hurt and things like that…. It would flare up again too….”

At least that was fortunate.

“Was there something distinctive about it?”
“Yes. It was the seasoned vegetables.”

Our lunch boxes were primarily seasoned vegetables, so they placed no burden on the stomach.

“The lunch box was very delicious.”
“That’s gratifying to hear.”
“And since my stomach didn’t hurt, I didn’t have to go to the Bathroom as often!”
“Before that, you went to the Bathroom frequently?”

Lim San-bi nodded without hesitation.

“That’s why I keep losing weight.”
“Because I can’t eat.”
“If I keep up these poor eating habits while trying to study….”
“That must be quite difficult.”

It pained me that someone so young could have their entire day disrupted over a single meal. What’s harder to endure than hunger itself is the uncertainty of when that discomfort might strike, isn’t it?

“So you want to make a deal with me for a lunch box?”
“Ah, no.”

Lim San-bi shook her head slightly, keeping it bowed. Her gaze remained fixed on the ground.

“Then what?”
“Side dishes!”

A request for side dishes, then.

“I’ll accept the deal.”

In that instant, [More Details] appeared above Lim San-bi’s head. A window I hadn’t seen in quite some time. I pressed it quietly in my mind.

‘More details.’

[Customer Status – More Details]
Name: Lim San-bi
Recommendation: Gentle food for the stomach
Status: Wants to study comfortably…. ( ˃⍨˂̥̥ )
Reward: Good Karma ‘1’ Point

At those words, Lim San-bi’s face lit up. Almost simultaneously, Song Ae-rim lifted her head as well, and the two of them cried out and embraced each other.

‘They’re that happy about it.’

I let out a small cough and laughed quietly to myself. But since I’d called it a deal and not a favor, it was only fair.

“However.”

The children turned their heads to look at me.

“There has to be something in it for me too, right? It’s a deal, after all.”

I folded my arms and lifted my chin slightly.

“Oh… a deal!”
“So what are you going to give me?

‘I mean, I can’t just mess with little kids for nothing.’

The joy that had lit up their faces hardened in an instant.

‘That sounded kind of villainous.’

“S-something beneficial, you… you mean…?”

Lim San-bi’s voice grew quieter.

“Yeah. Nothing’s free.”

Song Ae-rim blinked rapidly, murmuring to herself.

“A deal… a deal… a deal….”

She’d only spoken the words aloud. She clearly hadn’t thought it through.

Lim San-bi clenched her fists tightly, while Song Ae-rim nervously tugged at her bag strap.

“M-money! We can give you money!”
“Money? How much can you give me?”

‘Let me hear them out first.’

I had no intention of actually taking it.

“I have a piggy bank I’ve been saving since elementary school! I’ll empty it out for you!”
“Right, right! I have a piggy bank too! I don’t have any savings accounts or anything, but I’ll give you my monthly allowance from Grandmother!”
“How much?”

Both of them swallowed hard at the same time.

“I-I have it too! If you include Song Ae-hyuk’s money!”
“Mm.”
“Maybe around fifty thousand won?”

Pocket money of twenty-five thousand won?

“I-I have about a hundred thousand won or so….”

Wasn’t the gap between them far too wide?

‘It feels like I’m extorting them.’

I adopted a cautious demeanor and rubbed my mask with my hand.

“All of it.”
“We’ll give you everything!”
“That’s right!”

I turned my attention back to the children.

“That’s enough.”

Taking it wouldn’t make much difference anyway.

“Pardon?”
“Yes…?”

I didn’t really want anything in particular. I had no intention of imposing grand conditions.

“What I want is simple. Be honest about the food I give you.”
“…Pardon?”

Lim San-bi blinked her eyes.

“It’s like a review of sorts. Like a blog review or an SNS review? That said, I’m not asking for only positive reviews.”
“You need negative feedback too?”
“That’s even more important.”

This was a showcase, after all—negative reviews were necessary.

“You pick things up quickly because you’re at the top of the school.”
“Great!”

I chuckled softly and extended my hand.

“Deal’s made.”
“Yes!”

Lim San-bi’s small hand grasped mine and shook it vigorously up and down. Just then, urgent knocking echoed from the shop door.

Knock knock.
Knock knock knock knock knock knock.

Outside the door, Song Ae-hyuk and Jung Cheon-ru were shivering violently in the cold.

“When did those two go out?”

Song Ae-rim hurriedly opened the shop door.

“I never imagined this is what would happen if we froze to death out there… Ugh. It’s freezing.”
“…Right.”

Jung Cheon-ru practically slid inside and removed his coat.

“I never knew a heater could be this precious!”
“…We actually survived.”

Song Ae-hyuk nodded, catching his breath with the tip of his nose flushed red.

“Why did you two go out?”
“Even friends have secrets they can’t tell each other!”
“…You two just met for the first time.”

Song Ae-hyuk pointed out bluntly.

“We can still be friends anyway!”

Looking at the two of them, I let out a snort of amusement.

“San-bi, so which greens do you like best?”
“Me?”

Lim San-bi responded.

***

‘Which meal matters most—breakfast, lunch, or dinner?’
‘I need breakfast!’
‘Breakfast?’
‘If I eat well in the morning, I’m fine throughout class…!’
‘Then play with the other kids and come by in the evening. I’ll have it ready for you.’
‘Yes!’

Lim San-bi’s face still glowed with that spirited energy as she answered. I told her to come by in the evening, then turned toward the Pocket Dimension Garden.

I crouched down before the garden beds. The winter soil, when pressed with my fingers, felt moist and yielding—as though it had absorbed the moisture from fallen snow.

“The crown daisy….”
“Cut it in the middle, that’s the way.”

Hae-tae pointed with a foreleg at the middle of the crown daisy stem.

“Cut from here?”
“That way the growth point becomes the standard, and the crown daisy spreads out to the sides.”
“With scissors?”
“That’s right!”

Following Hae-tae’s guidance, I snipped the stem cleanly.

[Crown Daisy, Fundamentals Mastered (B)]

“This way, tender new shoots come in nicely.”
“How do you know all this?”

Hae-tae let out a scoffing laugh.

“Divine wisdom.”

I lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile as I harvested enough garland chrysanthemum for breakfast.

[Ordinary Quality Garland Chrysanthemum (B)]
[Slightly Wilted Garland Chrysanthemum (C)]
[Garland Chrysanthemum with Distinctive Aroma (A)]

I pushed my hand deep into the shadowed corner where sunlight didn’t reach. Beneath it, a single garland chrysanthemum gleamed with an unusual radiance.

Snap.

The garland chrysanthemum I clutched in my palm emitted a brilliant glow.

[Garland Chrysanthemum Inheriting Forbidden Will (S)]

“What is this?”
“What popped out?”
“Uh… yes. Something appeared.”

The unfamiliar name left me bewildered. Such a strange designation. I’d pulled S-rank ingredients countless times, but never anything like this.

As I held the S-rank garland chrysanthemum high toward the sky, the leaf that had shimmered before became even more vivid.

‘Tip!’

I called out for a tip to check the garland chrysanthemum’s details.

[Ingredient Tip!]
Target Species: Human or Werebear
Consumption Method: Main dish containing garland chrysanthemum
Effect: 100% effectiveness in relaxing tense nerves throughout the body and inducing a calm, settled state

“…Why is the effect description so long?”

My words naturally drew out in bewilderment.

“What!”
“Just a moment.”
“Speak quickly!”
“Understood, calm down.”

Hae-tae tapped my calf with his front paw, urging me forward.

“No… well, see, this one’s showing up as ‘mugwort leaves that inherit the will of abstinence’…”
“Meow?”
“The effects are insane, though?”
“Read it, meow.”

I blinked and read it again.

“Relaxes the sensitive nerves throughout the body and produces a calming, settling effect…?”

Naturally, I lowered my gaze to look at Hae-tae. Silence stretched between us.

“This effect…”

I waved the mugwort leaves and spoke softly.

“This would actually be perfect for San-bi, wouldn’t it?”

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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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