The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] novel Chapter 965

Chapter 965: A Taste of the Sea

Then again, by the end of their time in the dungeon space, most of them would probably want to cling to Luca’s thighs in gratitude.

And surprisingly, it wasn’t just because of the pearls that still had everyone reeling and had certain families quietly reconsidering the kind of security they might need moving forward.

No.

It was because of something else entirely.

One more life-changing thing they were finally introduced to.

Dried seaweed.

Faced with stacks of thin sheets that looked and felt like ancient parchment paper, most of them couldn’t imagine that these were supposed to turn into the snacks Luca had been talking about earlier.

Honestly, they looked suspicious.

Flat, dry, and just a little brittle.

But then their great demonstrator stepped forward.

"First, a little oil," Luca explained.

He picked up one of the seaweed sheets carefully and laid it flat before brushing oil across the surface with practiced ease.

Not too much. Just enough.

The oil spread into a thin, glistening sheen.

"If you add too much, it’ll turn greasy," Luca warned while working earnestly. "So just a little like this."

Then came the salt.

Just a light sprinkle, nothing excessive.

"Okay, the important part is the heat," he continued.

Several people leaned closer.

"Because of the oil, if the heat is too high, it’ll burn immediately," Luca said. "So remember to use low heat."

He placed the sheet carefully over the flame.

"Then you turn it slowly so it roasts evenly."

The surface tightened slightly as the oil warmed, and the dark sheet began to shimmer faintly.

"See?" Luca said as he lifted one edge slightly.

"When it becomes a little transparent like this when you pull it up, that means it’s ready."

The whole process had taken only a few seconds.

And yet, everyone watching him had already smelled it.

That nutty, toasty aroma that had been haunting their lives since they got to know Luca now carried a new meaning.

A faint scent of saltwater that was rather intoxicating.

But before anyone could recover from the smell alone, Luca did something unexpected.

He lifted the roasted sheet and quickly sliced it into thin strips.

"Try tasting one first," he said brightly. "Before roasting your own stacks."

The strips were passed around.

Most people approached the strange snack cautiously.

There was a lot of sniffing.

A lot of careful inspection.

But one blonde who had been waiting hours for this moment had no such hesitation.

Ollie simply grabbed one and stuffed it straight into his mouth.

Frankly, he was probably the easiest person in the universe to poison if the food came from his good brother.

Because Ollie Mylor had absolute faith.

And honestly?

That faith was well placed.

The moment he bit down—

Crack.

Not a big crack, but more like a crinkle that was so light it needed to be written in subscript.

The thin, delicate sheet shattered with a light crunch before dissolving almost instantly on his tongue.

And the flavor exploded.

Savory.

Deep.

Salty.

It was as if the taste of the sea itself had been condensed into a fragile, crispy sheet.

Ollie froze.

Then his eyes widened.

In his mind, he was no longer Ollie Mylor.

He was a blonde fish swimming freely through endless waters.

Hallucination upon hallucination filled his mind.

To think he hadn’t even tasted it with rice yet.

Yes.

Rice.

Meanwhile, his good brother, the culprit of his mindboggling state, continued explaining enthusiastically.

"There are actually a lot of ways to eat this," he said.

"We can snack on it by itself, shred it and use it as garnish for other dishes, eat it together with rice, or like I mentioned earlier..."

He held up a sheet.

"...we can use it as a really great wrap for so many different things."

Luca kept talking.

But most of the others weren’t really listening anymore.

They were still absorbed in the strips they had just eaten, and in the mental calculations they were suddenly performing while staring at the stacks of seaweed sitting in front of them.

Because if they thought they had produced a good amount earlier when they removed them from the molds, then right about now they were realizing the devastating truth.

They didn’t have nearly enough. With each bite disappearing like air, how could that be enough?

And then—

The seaweed rice roll appeared.

Which only made their already grave situation far worse.

__

"Alright," Luca said once everyone had finished marveling at the roasted seaweed. "Now I’ll show you a really simple way to use it."

Everyone leaned closer.

Because if the snack version had already been that good, then whatever came next clearly had the potential to change lives.

"There are actually a lot of ways to prepare this," Luca continued while arranging the ingredients in front of him. "People usually experiment once they figure out their favorites, but for now we’ll keep things simple."

He gestured toward the tray.

"We’ll use cucumber, carrots, pickled radish, eggs, and ham. In reality, you can even opt to use less ingredients if you’d prefer that, but for now this is what I’ll be demonstrating."

The ingredients had already been prepared earlier, and now Luca began cooking them one by one.

"Some people even use crab sticks," he added while placing the ham strips onto the pan. The meat sizzled softly as it heated. "But that’s a bit more complicated. If we ever figure out how to make them, maybe we can try it next time."

Several people nodded with frightening seriousness.

Because if Luca mentioned it, then clearly it was something worth pursuing.

Meanwhile the ham continued to grill, releasing a rich savory aroma as the thin strips curled slightly at the edges. Once they were ready, Luca moved on to the carrots, tossing the thin slices into the pan and stir-frying them lightly until they softened.

Then came the eggs.

He poured the beaten mixture onto the heated surface, letting it spread into a thin golden layer before carefully flipping it and slicing the finished sheet into long strips.

As if. He just didn’t want the immense responsibility, dammit!

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