They Told Me to Build Good Karma by Selling Side Dishes - Chapter 98

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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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98. Seasoned Burdock Root Greens (3)

It felt as though I’d finally unlocked an answer I’d been grasping at for far too long.

“Why sweet and sour sauce?”
“The sauce I gave you was basically soy sauce.”
“That’s true.”
“That was my mistake.”

A thin sauce….

Not the kind of flavor that ends after a single dip.

I dissolved the cornstarch slurry smoothly, without lumps. Each time I lifted and lowered my fingers, the liquid flowed in seamless waves.

As I poured the cornstarch mixture in an agonizingly slow stream over the simmering sauce, my hand never ceased stirring.

‘Haste ruins everything.’

Not the thick, heavy sweet and sour sauce of some ordinary Chinese restaurant.
A bright, delicate sauce infused with lemon juice and yuzu marmalade—tangy and sweet, yet gentle enough to honor the subtle fragrance of spring greens.

“This should do.”

I turned off the flame and moved the pot away, letting the cold air seeping through the Back Door cool the sauce.

“Sweet and sour sauce keeps well in the refrigerator, staying fresh for days. How could I have forgotten such a versatile sauce?”

Had my vision become so narrow?

I’d been staring at the leaves clinging to a single branch, blind to the entire Forest.

‘I was too fixated on soy sauce.’

Because soy sauce pairs beautifully with fried dishes.

“I forgot to add the sweet and sour sauce.”
“Give it to me, meow.”

Hae-tae was already seated at the table, gesturing with her front paws.

“Got it. I need to give some to Grandmother outside too.”
“That fox cub?”

…The word “cub” bothered me.

“The phrasing is a bit…?”

I frowned.

“Even if she looks like that….”

I swept my left hand up and down across my face.

“Her appearance is still our Grandmother’s, isn’t it?”
“Meow?”
“It sounds like an insult to our Grandmother.”

It was a bit ambiguous to hear.

“I won’t call her a cub anymore, meow.”
“Good.”

I picked out a crispy fried spring vegetable, dipped it in the sweet and sour sauce, and held it out to Hae-tae.

“Ah. The sauce is hot, so be careful.”
“Meow!”

Hae-tae put it in her mouth without hesitation.

“I said it’s hot.”
“Meow-ow-ow-ow…!”
“No spitting it out even if it tastes bad.”

Startled by the scalding heat in her mouth, Hae-tae shook her head frantically before looking at me.

“Why? How is it?”
“It’s the best, meow!”
“The best?!”

I chuckled at Hae-tae’s satisfied assessment. This time, I picked up a skewer of fried wild chives and headed toward the backyard.

“Grandmother.”

Fake Grandmother still stood in the same spot, cradling the bowl I’d given her in both hands without moving a single step.

“Try this.”
“Ji-gu, try this?”
“Yes. Try it.”

Fake Grandmother’s gaze flickered between the skewer of wild chives and the sauce. Her hesitation lasted longer than I expected.

“It’s okay to eat.”

Once I gave permission, Fake Grandmother placed it in her mouth. She chewed very slowly.

“Ji-gu, this is it.”
“This is it?”
“Ji-gu, this is it.”

I embraced Fake Grandmother gently, pouring gratitude into the gesture. Her body temperature was cold.

“Thank you, Grandmother.”
“Ji-gu. It’s okay.”

I released my arms and looked at Fake Grandmother’s face again. It was different from before. Her smile seemed far more natural. Something about her…

‘She looks more human?’

“Ji-gu is happy.”
“Yes, that’s enough then.”

Fake Grandmother didn’t avoid my gaze and tilted her head slightly.

“Ji-gu, is there more?”
“There is. Want some more?”
“Ji-gu, is there more?”
“Alright. I’ll give you some. I’ll give you some.”

I nodded and headed into the kitchen, returning with a generous portion of fried spring vegetables.

“Eat all of this~.”

Fake Grandmother glanced from the bowl to my hands.

“Ji-gu, be careful.”
“Hm? Oh, my hands.”

From all the frying, burn marks had appeared on my skin.

“It’s fine.”

Fake Grandmother picked up a skewer again, dipped it thoroughly into the sweet and sour sauce, and bit into it with relish. The crisp sound echoed satisfyingly. How delightful.

“Ji-gu, this is delicious.”
“Enjoy it.”

Then Fake Grandmother lifted her head while eating. She gazed up at the pale, overcast sky. The clouds hung low, their color suggesting snow would pour down any moment. Watching such a scene, I blinked.

“Grandmother, it’ll snow soon.”
“Ji-gu, it will snow.”
“Yes. It will snow.”

Standing beside her, gazing at the same sky, I smiled.

“When it snows, I’ll stay up there.”
“Ji-gu, aren’t you cold?”
“I’m fine. You’re the one who’ll be cold.”

Fake Grandmother lowered her head and ate her tail, as if the fried food I’d made mattered more than the cold.

“I’ll make you seasoned burdock root greens too, the kind Grandmother loves.”
“You’ll make it for me, Ji-gu?”
“Yes. I will.”

Seasoned burdock root greens were labor-intensive to prepare. I wanted to make them right then and there, but….

‘…I want to watch her a little longer.’

Fake Grandmother’s eyes softened further. She seemed delighted.

“Thank you, Ji-gu.”
“….”
“Thank you, Ji-gu.”

I found myself smiling at those words. Fake Grandmother didn’t mind the sweet and sour sauce clinging to her fingers. She seemed singularly focused on finishing every last bite of the food I’d given her.

“You don’t have to eat it all.”
“I’ll eat it all, Ji-gu.”
“Well… if you want to eat it all, I suppose there’s nothing I can do.”
“I’ll eat it all, Ji-gu.”
“All right, all right. Eat it all, Grandmother.”

Had she been any other Evil Spirit, I wouldn’t have cared. I rubbed the back of my neck and returned to the kitchen.

“I finished it all, meow!”
“You finished everything too?”
“The sweet and sour sauce is exquisite, meow!”

Hae-tae’s mouth glistened.

“Ugh. You’ve got it all over your face.”

I clicked my tongue and fetched a tissue, approaching Hae-tae to gently wipe away the sweet and sour sauce smeared around her mouth.

“The sauce sticks to my mouth so easily, meow. You’ll have to feed me directly next time, meow.”

Hae-tae grumbled softly.

“Hm? She’s not a child. She should be able to eat on her own.”
“What do you mean ‘child’ to a Divine Being?!”

Hae-tae growled but didn’t pull away from my hand. I seized the moment to wipe away every last trace of sauce.

“Hae-tae, wouldn’t your sweet and sour pork taste even better with vegetables in the sauce?”
“Meow! It would taste delicious, meow.”
“Exactly. Wouldn’t it?”

I wiped the sauce from her whiskers and lavished affection on her face.

‘Vegetables are essential.’

The crisp texture that would crunch within the sweet and tangy sauce mattered too. I gazed at the empty sauce bowl Hae-tae had left spotless.

‘Carrots and onions absolutely must go in.’

“Are you making it for dinner, meow?”
“For dinner?”

I shook my head from side to side.

“I need to make seasoned burdock root greens first.”

***

After lunch, I saw an announcement about the spring festival and asked Fake Grandmother about it.

“Are you really not going to come along?”
“Ji-gu, are you waiting?”
“No, but you can enter the Dimensional Space, can’t you?”

Fake Grandmother was adamantly refusing to enter the Dimensional Space. I tilted my head to the side.

“When she enters the Dimensional Space, her original face returns, so that’s why, meow.”
“Is that so?”
“Her face is important to her, meow.”

I nodded in understanding and approached Fake Grandmother with the scarf I’d brought that morning.

“Well, at least come inside. You’ll catch cold standing out here.”
“Ji-gu, are you cold?”
“Yes, I’m cold.”

I spoke matter-of-factly and wrapped a scarf around her neck. The face beneath the scarf was false, yet strangely… just a little…

“Ji-gu, are you warm now?”
“…Yes. I’ll be back soon.”

She reminded me so much of our grandmother that I had nothing to say.

“Hae-tae, let’s go.”
“Meow.”

I stepped toward the Dimensional Space to harvest tomorrow’s vegetable greens and burdock root vegetables.

“I’ll be right back!”

I crossed the threshold into the Dimensional Space, where black curtains swirled like a vortex.

One more step.

My vision had gone completely dark, consumed by the whirling shadows, when suddenly my wrist was seized.

“Huh…?”

The grip was strong. I reflexively turned my head back. Fake Grandmother was pulling me roughly, and I lost my balance as she dragged me back out of the Dimensional Space.

“What’s wrong?”
“Ji-gu. Don’t go.”

Fake Grandmother’s hand clamped down on my arm with stubborn determination, refusing to let go.

“Ji-gu, don’t go.”
“No.”

She had pulled me out completely. I stared at Fake Grandmother, at a loss for words.

“Ji-gu, it will be difficult if you go.”
“Difficult….”

This was exactly like our Grandmother Hyang-suk. Even back when she’d told me not to play in the Backyard, she’d reacted the same way.

“Grandmother.”
“Ji-gu, don’t go.”
“I’m fine. It won’t be difficult. I’m strong. Just….”

I held up three fingers to show her.

“Just wait thirty minutes.”
“Ji-gu will wait?”

Fake Grandmother’s gaze fixed upon my fingers.

“Yes. I’ll come back with all my limbs intact and smile for you.”

Only then did Fake Grandmother’s grip on my arm loosen ever so slightly.

“Ji-gu, promise me.”
“…Promise?”

Fake Grandmother pleaded with me.

“Ji-gu, promise me.”
“Yes, I promise.”

I smiled and even gave her a wink. Only then did her hand release me. I turned toward the Dimensional Space and took a step forward. This time, she didn’t grab me back.

‘…Something.’

I felt the same concern as someone leaving their grandmother at home. The black whirlwind slowly parted, opening a path as if inviting me inside. Just before I stepped through, I turned back once more and waved.

‘…She’s still waiting there.’

But Fake Grandmother’s face gradually faded from view. The distance that seemed close enough to touch vanished completely. I let out a short sigh and turned my head away.

“Are you ready now?”

Hae-tae sat on the ground as if she’d been waiting for me.

“You’re clinging to me.”
“A fake acting completely like the real thing, meow.”
“I know. That’s why I’m troubled, I suppose?”
“You said you shouldn’t be troubled by an Evil Spirit, meow.”
“I know, I know. Whose words were those again?”

Hae-tae’s tail struck the ground with force.

“You mustn’t get confused, meow.”
“I know. I feel the same way.”
“If you understand, then go toward the burdock root greens, meow.”

With those words, Hae-tae rose from the ground and made her way toward the Vegetable Garden.

“The burdock root greens have grown quite large, meow.”
“A lot?”
“Not just moderately large, meow.”

I followed Hae-tae and examined the Vegetable Garden beyond. Finding burdock root greens in this expansive garden would be…

“What is that?”

Easy.

“You see it, meow?”

Hae-tae came to a halt. Where her tail pointed, burdock root greens sprawled across a wide expanse. The stems were thick, and the leaves were excessively large. It felt as though they would grow even larger at the slightest touch.

“Why have they grown so enormous?”
“They absorbed a lot of nutrients this time and grew, meow.”

Nutrients? It wasn’t as if this were some oversized crop from a video game…

For a plant grown in a space that straddled reality and unreality, it had grown far too confidently.

“This is far too large.”

I approached the burdock root greens and compared our heights. A single leaf draped lightly over my shoulder. I placed my palm against the stem and measured carefully. Exactly ten times my size.

“I could actually use this as an umbrella.”
“Want me to make one for you, meow?”
“Why…?”

I looked at Hae-tae.

“Don’t tell me… this is S-rank?”

The burdock root greens’ leaf trembled once, as if in affirmation. The motion sent me swaying as well, as though I’d lost my footing.

“It must be S-rank from absorbing such abundant nutrients, meow.”
“…but that doesn’t mean I can—”

I gazed up at the burdock root greens again. There was no way I could harvest and carry away something that blocked out the sky.

“It’s a size you’ll never see again, meow!”

I wished it worked like in games, where swinging an axe would make multiple crops tumble down…

‘But that’s not how this works!’

“It’s identical to the burdock root greens, meow.”

Hae-tae’s answer was simple.

“So if I just swung an axe at it like in a game, lots wouldn’t come tumbling out, right?”
“Huh, meow?”

Hae-tae snorted as if amused.

“That’s a game, meow!”

Realistically, this would be difficult to manage. I withdrew my hand from the burdock root greens.

“Still…”

It’s just too massive! I retreated slightly as if fleeing, but with Hae-tae blocking my path, escape was impossible.

“Choose, meow.”
“…!”
“There’s probably no S-rank in any other seasoned burdock root greens, meow.”

Hae-tae stepped closer.

“Are you going to give up the side dish order, 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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