Chick 332
by Cristae332
“I already have an idea!”
Gru, as if she’d been waiting for this moment, pulled up her cart.
“…?”
While Wooju and Huyeon looked on curiously, Gru brought out a toy baking set for making pastries.
Holding two 9-slot walnut pastry molds in her hands, Gru grinned quietly.
“Filial Pastry mk.2!”
“What’s that?”
“Filial Pastry?”
“Yup, Fakeclaw made it for me. If you bake pastries with this, they get special effects.”
“Isn’t that amazing?!”
Huyeon’s jaw dropped.
Wooju, on the other hand, looked a little uneasy, glancing back and forth between Gru and the walnut pastry molds, as if wondering if this was against the rules.
Well, after all, the other kids couldn’t possibly sell items that gave stat bonuses.
‘But with this, we could make a fortune at the bazaar and donate it!’
Sell off the failed Filial Pastries, collect the S+-grade ones.
Sell the failed Filial Pastries and donate the proceeds to the bazaar. Gather the S+-grade ones and earn honor for Fakeclaw.
That was Gru’s plan!
‘Perfect!’
Gru stroked her chin, grinning to herself.
Bazaar Day.
As the event was scheduled to last four days and three nights, each child had set up their own little stall.
Gru, Wooju, and Huyeon were no exception.
Having set up a sign on their child-sized market stand, Gru straightened her back with pride.
[Chick Filial Pastry Shop]
Gru slipped inside the little booth and began squeezing out dough to bake pastries.
“Will this really work?”
Huyeon, still unable to let go of “Chick Labor,” seemed doubtful about the Filial Pastry Shop.
Wooju had no desire to open such a dishonorable business and patted Huyeon’s shoulder.
“It’ll go well.”
She’d make sure it did. She definitely didn’t want a switch back to “Chick Labor!”
Just then, their first customer approached the booth.
It was the teacher from the Chick Class, making her rounds.
“Hello, kids! You’re baking walnut pastries, I see. But how are you baking them without any heat?”
“They bake just like this.”
Gru demonstrated, and the teacher clapped her hands.
“It’s an item, isn’t it?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Then I should try one. What kinds do you have?”
At her question, Gru raised her index finger.
“Starting here, we have: Weight-Loss Filial Pastry, Grow-hair Filial Pastry, Moisture-Rich Filial Pastry for Beautiful Skin, Essential Concentration Filial Pastry for Students, Odor-Removing Filial Pastry, and Permanent Hair Removal Filial Pastry.”
“W-weight loss…?”
The teacher’s eyes trembled.
“Each one will burn up to 500 calories! And the grow-hair one makes five new hairs sprout.”
“How much is one?”
Gru spread her palm wide.
“Fifty thousand won!”
Are you really selling them for that much?
Wooju and Huyeon, watching from behind, had their eyes wide in shock.
But the teacher was already opening her wallet.
“Do you accept cards?”
“Oh, there’s a puppy at the shop! How cute.”
“Grrr…”
Yurian sat blankly in the shop, growling whenever a passerby tried to pet his head.
Beside him, Gru was busily baking Filial Pastries.
Even though the pastries were rough and misshapen, people flocked to buy them, forming a line so long that Wooju and Huyeon were overwhelmed with packaging and sales.
“Kyaa~ Look at those teeth! So cute!”
Despite Yurian’s gruff demeanor, there were still customers who doted on him. Gru lifted her head in confusion at their excitement.
But she understood when she saw the white ball of fur behind the customer.
“Grrrrrr…”
“Grrrrooowl…”
A showdown began between the Maltese dog the customer had brought and Yurian.
“Be nice, be friends now.”
After the customer picked up her own dog and Yurian curled back up on his cushion, the standoff between the two Maltese ended.
“These walnut pastries are supposed to be great for losing weight.”
“Really?”
“I heard they even help hair growth.”
“What?!”
“It’s true. My cousin’s friend’s acquaintance’s acquaintance ate these and got a thick head of hair.”
Whisper, whisper.
Judging by the murmurs around them, rumors were already swirling that the Chick Filial Pastry Shop sold magical walnut pastries for slimming down and hair growth.
As a result, the line of customers continued to grow longer.
Meanwhile, Gru’s plans were progressing steadily…
Two 9-slot pastry molds for Filial Pastries.
Gru squeezed dough into the molds, while Bailach and Mephisto filled each pastry with various fillings.
Then Lucifer shut each mold and pressed the stopwatch.
Gru then pressed the dial to infuse each pastry with a hefty dose of Filial Points.
Through this division of labor—
Heave-ho!
After baking them nice and golden on both sides—
[Weight-loss Filial Pastry mk.2 (F)]
[Full-and-Fluffy Filial Pastry mk.2 (F)]
[Concentration Filial Pastry mk.2 (F)]
[Filial Pastry mk.2 (S+)]
Complete!
“Gasp!”
Among the failed pastries, one glowing Filial Pastry stood out.
Gru picked the especially luminous pastry from the mold.
At last, among all the failed ones, a successful product!
A true S+!
And since the dough was not tainted by “The Outcast’s Fury” tears, there were no debuffs at all—pristine quality.
Gru wiped her nose.
Having obtained such a perfect success, Gru discreetly slipped the Filial Pastry into her bag.
‘Whew… No one saw that, did they?’
She nervously zipped up her bag and looked around—everyone seemed too busy to notice.
Now, she’d show this to Daddy and earn both praise and honor!
Just as she wiped the sweat from her brow and turned away—
Pant, pant!
Eyes gleaming!
She locked eyes with a pair of black eyes set in a white puff of fur.
Gru stealthily avoided Yurian’s gaze, but his persistent stare followed her everywhere.
The S+-grade Filial Pastry she’d been eating gave off a scent that was impossible to ignore.
Yurian regretted regaining consciousness.
After waking from a wretched dream, repeatedly collapsing and struggling to accept reality, he’d finally regained some composure.
Still, whenever he was treated like a pet, he wanted to bash his head against a wall.
Better to stay passed out than be the mascot of a kindergarten shop.
But the moment he witnessed the creation of an extraordinary Filial Pastry, all those feelings vanished.
Yet—
‘Why does that woman’s scent linger…?’
Yurian growled, lifting his head.
He smelled the scent of the woman who had experimented on him.
He twisted his expression, glancing around searchingly for red hair, but saw none.
‘What is this?’
Instead, there was a girl about Gru’s age standing in front of the shop.
Even Bailach, who had been stuffing the pastries, was sniffing at the air and eyeing the girl curiously.
‘Something’s strange.’
As Yurian and Bailach eyed her warily, the girl spoke, looking awkward.
“A-are you On Groo?”
“Hm?”
Gru, face smudged all over with dough, wiped her cheek with the back of her hand and asked,
“Yeah. Why?”
“W-well, Gru. T-the Director called for you. I was told to bring you there…”
“Okay? Why am I being called?”
“Something about the shop, I think?”
“The shop?”
Gru tilted her head, then gasped as something occurred to her.
Was this… were they going to make her pay taxes?
The nerves of a former little criminal, once on the run for illicit deals, began to jangle with anxiety.