LPSB 31

Only after I said it out loud did I realize.

It wasn’t because I had some grand purpose like salvation or a happy ending.

Ever since I started reading the novel—and ever since I ended up inside this body.

I just wanted to help you.

I didn’t know how or in what direction, but that was my true feeling. Saying the words that were firmly rooted deep inside me, I added,

“But sometimes, there are moments when you can’t do things the way you want.”

Isael looked at me without any change in his expression. For some reason, it felt like he was waiting for me to continue.

“I know this probably sounds unbelievable. I probably look crazy saying this.”

Like a tangled thread unraveling, everything inside me started spilling out.

Maybe because I thought I might never get another chance like this, I kept talking without structure, almost like I was making excuses.

“It’s not like I have any ulterior motives. I just…”

After trailing off for a moment, I added,

“I just don’t want to be a bystander who only watches.”

Only after finishing the sentence did regret wash over me like a tide.

Isael, who had remained silent the entire time I was rambling, blinked slowly.

“I still don’t understand you.”

Right. That was expected. I wasn’t particularly surprised or disappointed by his reaction.

If I were Isael, I would’ve reacted the same way.

A light breeze brushed past us. The scent of dried flowers faintly clung to it. From his lips, a quiet voice drifted out like that scent.

“So from now on, I will try to understand.”

“…What?”

“That is all you need to know.”

Isael spoke softly and gave a faint smile.

The smile that briefly softened his cold face disappeared like a mirage over desert sand.

He stood up from the bench and left without hesitation.

I remained frozen where I sat, as if I had just seen an illusion.

‘What… is wrong with him?’

“Seriously, what is he thinking?”

“Shushu. Wha did you say?”

“N-no, it’s nothing.”

I must have said my thoughts out loud again without realizing it.

The sun, which had been high in the sky, was slowly tilting downward. I was in the bakery making bread.

Bread meant for Isael.

As I kneaded the dough absentmindedly, useless thoughts kept surfacing.

“‘That is all you need to know.’”

That line Isael had said this morning in the garden kept replaying in my head.

What am I supposed to know? I don’t know anything!

If he was going to say something like that, he should at least tell me something first.

“Haah…”

I sighed and focused on kneading the dough to clear my head.

Aka was beside me, pressing the dough down with her little paws, helping. The tiny paw prints stamped across the dough were unbearably cute.

I was making raisin bread.

It was chosen specifically because I remembered Isael liked raisins.

When that fact was mentioned in the original novel, the comment section went wild.

• “With that personality, of course that taste fits him.”
• “He’s my favorite, but I can’t defend raisins.”
• “Raisins exist just to be picked out and thrown away. Why eat them?”
• “I want to eat with Isael. I’d give him all my raisins. Marry me instead.”
• “How did the conclusion become THAT?? lol”

People criticized Isael endlessly.

I once defended him in the comments and got attacked for it.

But after the side stories were released later, everyone ended up crying and deleting their comments.

The reason Isael liked raisins was revealed.

He had suffered countless hardships since childhood. There were many days he couldn’t even eat a single proper meal.

There were times he survived an entire week swallowing only water, unable to chew anything.

Eventually, he collapsed in an alley.

Someone passing by found him.

A kind man—but not kind enough to take responsibility—clicked his tongue and threw him a small pouch of dried rations before leaving.

The young Isael, breathing weakly on the ground, pulled something out of the pouch with trembling hands.

He didn’t even have the strength to look at what it was.

For the first time in a week, he was chewing something that wasn’t water.

The sensation in his teeth was dull and numb.

But the moment he bit into something small and slightly firm, a sweet taste filled his mouth.

It was raisins.

Since then, Isael had liked raisins.

• “He’s just quietly crying…”
• “Anyone who insulted Isael’s taste, step forward.”
• “From today, I will eat raisins in a cave for 100 days and repent.”
• “Even Satan: okay this is too much…”

After that, the word “raisins” became an emotional trigger for all readers.

I placed the risen dough into the oven.

The magical oven Hiser installed was truly the best.

Baking in an oven still took longer and required more effort than modern machines, but after I made some requests, Hiser created a magical oven with easy heat control.

Watching the soft, fluffy loaf rise exactly as I wanted, I smiled in satisfaction.

‘This oven doesn’t need any more adjustments.’

The bakery opening day was approaching.

According to Hiser, the dragons had recently been eagerly waiting for sunset every day.

It’s not like they were kids waiting for their mother to come home in ten days…

‘Dragons really do have cute sides.’

Most of the preparations were helped by the baby dragon and Hiser.

But there was one thing I had to do alone: planning the menu.

Until now, I had only baked for Hiser and the baby dragon.

Running a bakery was on a completely different level from casual baking.

Seasonal ingredients mattered, and each dragon likely had different tastes.

‘Of course, they won’t all come just because it tastes good.’

Most would come for the magical energy inside the bread.

Still, there were dragons who appreciated fine food.

As a baker, I needed to analyze customers’ preferences and adjust recipes accordingly.

I pulled out the menu I had carefully designed in my past life.

A warm, sweet aroma filled the bakery as I worked.

When I opened the oven, a perfectly baked brown loaf appeared.

Fresh bread was always a kind of art.

Satisfied with my creation, I placed it on a tray.

Aka tried to rush at it immediately, but I stopped her.

“This isn’t yours. I’ll bake yours later!”

“Kyuuung…”

She looked at me pitifully. My heart wavered, but I couldn’t give in.

“This one has raisins.”

“Raisins? Ew! I hate it!”

Aka backed away dramatically as if escaping something disgusting.

Even Aka, who loved everything I made, didn’t like raisin bread…

‘Well, as long as Isael eats it.’

As I cooled the bread, another worry came to me.

‘How am I supposed to get him to eat this?’

If I just told him I made it, he’d definitely refuse.

He might even stomp on it and accuse me of trying to poison him.

After much thought, I found a clear solution.

‘What if I just put it in his room without him knowing?’

A freshly baked loaf filled with raisins, placed right in the middle of his room.

I was certain of it.

Isael, who liked raisins, wouldn’t be able to resist.

The next morning.

While Isael was in sword training with Hiser, I sneaked into his room carrying the tray.

It was the first time I had ever entered his room, even though he had been staying in the mansion for a while.

The room was neat, neither too big nor too small.

Sunlight poured in through the window beside the bed.

As I looked around, something felt strange—it didn’t feel like a room someone lived in.

‘Is this even the right room?’

I checked the closet just in case.

The clothes I had bought for him were neatly hanging inside.

Relieved, I placed the tray on a visible table and adjusted it so it looked most appetizing.

Then I heard faint voices from the open door.

“Lunch is ready, young master Isael.”

“Understood.”

It was Isael speaking to a servant in the hallway.

‘Huh?! Is training already over?!’

Panicking, I hurried out of the room.

If I lingered any longer and got mistaken for a thief, I was done for.

I hid around the corner and listened carefully to his footsteps.

Isael reached his room and paused for a moment, looking at the open door.

Then he entered.

Exactly five minutes later—

Ding!

<<Quest conditions have been fulfilled!>>

<<Reward: 100 coins have been awarded.>>

<<Current coins: 200>>

I silently cheered and clenched my fist.

Isael had eaten my bread.