The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL]-Chapter 831: Mangoes and Revelations

But just as everything was intensifying for the fortunate few inside, right outside by the minimart, a different yet strangely connected moment was unfolding.

"Are you sure you saw it right?" a concerned friend muttered, leaning in close.

"Wait. Shhh!" another woman hissed, hands trembling as she stared at the list she had jotted down. She mouthed the words again, carefully, like a chant she dared not mess up.

Ripe mangoes.

All-purpose cream.

Condensed milk.

Graham crackers.

Evaporated milk.

She repeated it once more. Then a third time. Only when her heart finally stopped racing quite so violently did she step forward and face the young blonde cadet manning the minimart.

"Excuse me, my lord," she said carefully. "I would like to use my five-item allocation. I think I’ve decided what I want to buy."

The line went quiet.

Onlookers froze. Winners paused. Losers leaned in. Ears practically grew larger as curiosity spread through the crowd.

What could she have finally chosen?

"Sure!" the cadet said brightly. "I’d be glad to help you, my lady. What will you be having?"

For a brief moment, the woman thought she saw his eyes glint.

"Well," she began hesitantly, "I was hoping to buy ripe mangoes, all-purpose cream, condensed milk, graham crackers, and evaporated milk."

"..."

"..."

The gasps came a beat late. Then all at once.

"!!!"

Wasn’t that the exact list Lord Luca had just introduced?

Sure enough, it was.

The blond cadet broke into a wide grin. "Oh! Wow! Are you planning to make your own mango float too? That’s a really good choice!"

He even clapped his hands together, visibly delighted.

Something shifted in the air.

People straightened. Eyes widened. A collective realization rippled through the line like lightning.

"Then, my lord," the woman asked quickly, almost afraid the moment would vanish, "would I really be allowed to buy these ingredients?" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

It was an idea that came to her as she enviously watched the live stream where Luca Kyros had begun telling everyone about preparing the ingredients and measuring out the amount needed in advance so there would be less room for error.

Then she realized there were only five ingredients.

Five.

And as someone who had been agonizing over what to do with her five-item allocation, wasn’t that perfect?

Still, she momentarily hesitated. These were the same ingredients even the Imperials were using. Would the same thing really be available to those who didn’t get to go inside?

Apparently, yes.

"Of course you can buy them," the cadet said easily. "Though, as you probably heard my good brother mention, you’ll want access to a refrigeration device to really enjoy it. There are substitutes for hand tools, but not for proper chilling."

He paused, thoughtful.

"Hmm... but since you’ll be making it at home and have plenty of time, you might actually want to skip the evaporated milk."

"?!"

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"Y-yes! I do have a refrigerator!" she said quickly. "And can I really opt out of that ingredient?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded. "If you have time, the crackers will soften naturally. You can use the slot to buy something else instead."

"!!!"

"Oh my!" she clasped her hands together. "Thank you so much, my lord! I’ll follow your advice!"

The blond cadet nodded sagely. As someone who had eaten every possible version of mango float at least ten times in the past week alone, he was very confident in that recommendation.

"Congratulations," he added cheerfully. "And for best results, please listen closely to my brother’s instructions."

His voice carried.

Even the members of other guilds from nearby booths, who had been pretending not to eavesdrop while slowly dying of envy, all heard it.

Of course everyone would listen.

In fact, everyone wanted to listen.

If they could, they would have rushed inside just to stand there and learn.

But alas, they were merely unfortunate souls. Watching from the outside. Clutching receipts. Dreaming of mangoes.

While others, blessed by fate and timing, were already elbow deep in cream and crackers.

__

Or face deep.

Well, for Princess Nina, she was at least nose deep.

The little girl was exercising absolute focus, brows knit together in fierce concentration, completely unaware that a small dot of cream had landed right on the tip of her nose. It stayed there. Unbothered. Proud.

And honestly, what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

There were far more important things to think about.

Ingredients.

Kitchen tools.

And most importantly, using her hands properly.

As someone who had watched her brother chipmunk cook complicated dishes with far too many steps to count, Princess Nina slowly realized something amazing.

They were being taught from the very beginning.

And it didn’t feel scary at all.

There was no open flame. No loud sizzling. No mysterious powders that required pinching just right. No seasoning that could ruin everything if you added too much.

Wow.

Even she could do this.

She realized it fully when they were shown a picture of the final dessert they were aiming for. And again when they were told to get familiar with the mangoes placed neatly in front of them.

That part had happened only moments ago, but it already felt like she had conquered something enormous.

See, Princess Nina had always believed she and mangoes had a friendly relationship. They were sweet. She liked them. End of story.

But apparently, mangoes had secrets.

Many secrets. She just didn’t know about them because normally they would arrive in front of her peacefully and ready to eat.

So imagine her mortification upon realizing there were more things to the beautiful mango?!

They were taught to check for the color, for the smell, and the feel as a way to tell if the mango was ripe.

Whoa.

But more importantly, they learned about the parts.

Everyone reacted when her Brother Chipmunk lifted one up and calmly began explaining it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"This is the peel," Luca said gently, pointing. "Inside is the pulp, which is generally the part we can eat. And in the middle is the pit. While it can technically be edible, this part is usually very hard, so we don’t need it for now."

The children leaned forward. Even the adults stopped breathing.

"One way to prepare a mango," he continued, "is to peel it first and then cut it into three parts. That works just fine. You can even use it to practice your peeling skills."

He paused.

"But I prefer a different way."

Luca placed the mango down and carefully sliced along one side, estimating where the pit would be. His movements were calm and confident.

"If you feel something hard," he said as the knife slowed, "don’t force it. Just change the angle a bit and continue."

The blade slid smoothly.

Then again on the other side.

Three pieces.

Just like that.

Gasps rippled through the room.

"As for the pulp around the pit," Luca added cheerfully, lifting the middle piece, "we can deal with that later too."

He picked up one mango cheek and scored it neatly, creating a grid. Then he pushed the skin from underneath.

The mango popped outward.

"!!!"

Bright yellow cubes stood proudly, like they were showing off.

People’s eyes nearly fell out.

"You can eat it like this if you want it as a snack," Luca said happily.

Several adults looked like they were fighting demons.

Then he calmly pushed the mango pulp back in, took a spoon, and scraped the cubes free.

Perfect little pieces fell into a bowl.

Applause broke out.

Luca blinked, then smiled, a little bashful.

"But," he said gently, "since we’re using it for our dessert, we can’t just eat it straight."

That earned several quiet whimpers.

He picked up another mango cheek.

And then, to everyone’s absolute shock, he grabbed a glass.

A glass.

He pressed the edge against the mango and slid it down. The peel separated cleanly, left behind by the rim.

The pulp dropped neatly into the cup.

"?!"

"?!"

"?!"

Spines straightened.

Luca then took the peeled mango and sliced it thinly, the pieces falling into even strips.

It looked so easy.

So doable.

Princess Nina stared at her own mango, then at her hands.

She could do this.

Everyone could.

And yet, somewhere in the back, the participants were suddenly faced with a tragic realization.

They were, unfortunately, a little too strong for their own good.

And mangoes were, apparently, much softer than expected.