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Chapter 10
When I opened my eyes, I was back in my familiar home.
Did I really return? Just like that? So suddenly?
“…I even brought the clothes back.”
I should have returned this combat suit.
I opened the system window again, but entry to the gate was completely blocked. A message stated that material collection had been completed.
“What is this?! I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye!”
“As long as the objective was completed, that’s all that matters, nya.”
Hunter Lee Hyun-woo must have been completely dumbfounded. The moment he pulled up the herb, I had suddenly disappeared.
And I’d even taken the clothes he lent me with me…
But there was nothing I could do. I didn’t even have his contact information.
I’ll have to find him later somehow.
I hung the combat suit carefully on a hanger and stored it away.
I shouldn’t risk washing it and damaging it.
“Well then, should I try synthesizing the special effect now?”
I sat on my bed and opened my status window.
Shop Name: Sky’s
→ Menu List
- Red Bean Bungeoppang
- Custard Cream Bungeoppang (NEW)
- Locked
…
When I selected the Custard Cream Bungeoppang with the blinking NEW icon, a message appeared saying that special effect synthesis was available.
Required Material: 20 Drowsy Grass
I’d already gathered everything.
“Alright. Synthesize!”
The moment I pressed Synthesize, a cute ding-ding! sound effect played and a loading message appeared.
A short while later, fireworks exploded across my vision with a notification announcing completion.
I immediately clicked on the Custard Cream Bungeoppang entry.
“Oh, there’s a new description now.”
Custard Cream Bungeoppang
A fish-shaped pastry filled with smooth, rich custard cream.
Special Effect: Sweet Drowsiness (Fatigue -50%)
Fatigue reduced by 50%?
So it wasn’t just supposed to make people sleepy?
Grinning at the status window, I said,
“A new effect appeared. There’s no way I’m not testing it.”
Perfect timing, too.
I’d just returned from my first gate and fatigue had piled up on top of fatigue.
“Oil first~ Pour in the batter~ Add the custard cream~”
I hummed while baking.
Unlike red bean paste, custard cream was much thinner, so precise temperature control was essential.
But that wasn’t a problem for me.
I’d already baked over five hundred bungeoppang by now.
Perfect as always!
I nodded in satisfaction at the beautifully golden-brown pastries.
After cooling one down with a few gentle blows, I carefully took a bite.
Sweet, smooth custard spread throughout my mouth.
“Mmm! This is so good!”
Fireworks shaped like bungeoppang exploded inside my head.
How could something taste this amazing?
“Me too! I want some too, nya!”
“You want some, Hanyang?”
Hanyang stuck close to my side and opened his mouth wide.
I tore off a small piece and popped it into his mouth.
His black pupils instantly expanded.
“Is it that good?”
“It’s the taste of heaven, nya!!!”
I scratched under Hanyang’s chin as he purred contentedly.
After we’d devoured several pastries…
“Yawn… I’m getting sleepy. Is this a sugar crash?”
“No way. It’s the special effect, nya.”
It was only eight in the evening.
A little early for bed.
Yet my eyelids felt strangely heavy.
Was this really the bungeoppang’s effect?
“Well, I did go through a gate today. Yawn… I should just sleep early.”
Half-asleep, I rubbed my eyes and crawled under the blanket.
But wasn’t it supposed to reduce fatigue? Why am I so sleepy…?
Before I could finish the thought, I closed my eyes.
And instantly fell into a deep sleep as though my consciousness had been switched off.
The next morning, I experienced just how incredible the effect really was.
“It doesn’t hurt! Not at all!”
I twisted my neck from side to side.
No cracking sounds.
Then I rolled my shoulders.
They felt light.
The muscle soreness I’d developed from baking endless batches of bungeoppang had completely disappeared.
Every last bit of it.
“It feels like the condition of a newborn body, nya.”
Hanyang stretched his legs with a satisfied expression.
I felt reborn.
“…This is definitely going to be a hit.”
A grin spread across my face as I thought about the custard cream bungeoppang.
The effect was perfect.
Now all I had to do was give one to Hunter Ria and clear the mission.
Heart pounding, I eagerly waited for Monday and the shop’s reopening.
* * *
“Hunter Ria! You’re finally here!”
“Ah, yes… You’re certainly happy to see me.”
Ria Hunter awkwardly avoided my gaze at my enthusiastic greeting.
Whether she was embarrassed or not didn’t matter.
There was only one thing on my mind.
Give her the custard cream bungeoppang!
I was dying to know how someone who had suffered from insomnia ever since awakening would react.
“I mentioned it last time, right? That I prepared a special bungeoppang.”
“Ah… the one that’s supposed to help you sleep?”
“Ta-da! The Sleepy-Time Custard Cream Bungeoppang!”
She accepted it almost automatically, looking skeptical.
Which was understandable.
It looked completely ordinary.
“It looks normal…”
“It contains an incredibly rare ingredient that was really hard to obtain. Please give it a try!”
I eagerly gestured for her to eat it.
“…I don’t know if it’ll really work.”
After letting out a small sigh, she took a bite from the tail.
The bright yellow custard filling was exposed.
Looking down at it, she said,
“It tastes good, but I still don’t notice any special eff—”
Her body slowly toppled sideways.
What?!
“Hunter Ria?!”
The surrounding hunters immediately rushed over.
Wait!
She just collapsed?!
Was it because of my bungeoppang?!
“T-This wasn’t supposed to happen!”
I ripped off my apron and hurried over.
“Hunter! Are you okay?!”
“…Just a moment.”
One of the hunters examining her slowly looked up at me.
“I think she’s just asleep.”
“…What?”
“As in sleeping. A really deep sleep.”
I looked down at Ria.
She looked completely peaceful.
Her chest rose and fell steadily.
Soft breathing escaped her lips.
Her expression was utterly relaxed.
Anyone could tell she was deeply asleep.
“The effect is really this strong?”
She’d only taken one bite.
Not even an entire pastry.
Just one bite.
Not long afterward, doctors from the Medical Bureau arrived and confirmed that she had simply fallen asleep.
They prepared to move her to the ward.
The gathered hunters exchanged looks.
“Ria Hunter fell asleep after eating a single bungeoppang?”
“This effect is insane…”
And then the shop descended into complete chaos.
“Boss! One custard cream bungeoppang, please!”
“Wait! I was first!”
“I’ll take a custard one too!”
I barely had time to check on Ria before rushing back behind the counter and putting my apron back on.
“Aaaah! Please form a line! I’ll serve everyone in order!”
Custard cream here.
Custard cream there.
No matter how many I baked, more orders kept pouring in.
Without my Stamina Skill, I’d have died already.
I was frantically handling the nonstop orders when—
The noise around the shop abruptly vanished.
I looked up.
“…Hunter Lee Hyun-woo?”
No wonder things had suddenly gone quiet.
A familiar beauty stood in front of the shop.
It was Hunter Lee Hyun-woo, the person I’d been separated from in the gate without even saying goodbye.
“Hunter Lee Hyun-woo! Perfect timing! I made a new bungeoppang—”
“How could you disappear without saying a word?”
“Huh?”
He was wearing exactly the same outfit he’d had inside the gate.
Don’t tell me…
Had he stayed there this whole time?
Even after I left?
Only then did I realize how serious the situation looked.
I immediately bowed my head.
“I’m sorry. I was surprised too—it wasn’t something I expected…”
How was I supposed to know I’d be forcibly returned the moment material collection ended?
Still, vanishing without a word was rude.
“I wanted to contact you, but I didn’t have your number… You must’ve been worried. I’m sorry.”
“Haa… Forget it.”
He shook his head tiredly.
It seemed he’d come to check whether I was safe after the gate was cleared.
I really should have found some way to contact him.
I felt terrible.
Apparently finished with his business, he turned around.
As he started walking away, I hurriedly called out,
“Ah! I’ll return the clothes next time!”
“It’s fine. Just keep them.”
“What? But they looked really expensive…”
Without another word, he headed toward the Management Bureau.
I stared blankly after him.
Then I noticed the strange looks from the customers around me.
“Were you two together over the weekend?”
“You have to return his clothes? What exactly happened?”
“W-What are you talking about?!”
I frantically waved my hands.
But I couldn’t exactly explain that I’d secretly entered a gate alone.
As a result, the misunderstanding only grew stranger—and deeper.
To be continued…
