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

Short answer: they could simply pop open each oyster.

Honestly, it could be as simple as that. But at the same time, Luca didn’t think it would be the smartest thing to do when it would likely result in the death of the oyster.

Now, it wouldn’t have been a problem had the Guide not known that there were ways to do it without harming the oysters they didn’t intend to use for food. Unfortunately, he was aware that such a method existed, and now he was facing a severe bout of cognitive dissonance.

”Luca, what’s the problem?”

The concerned husband finally came over because his little wife’s face had suddenly scrunched up. Just seconds ago, Luca had looked almost elated.

”Is something wrong?” Xavier repeated when Luca didn’t answer.

”Well...” Luca hesitated. ”I’m not sure if it would be right to open them now.”

”Huh? Why?”

”Because I just realized I don’t really know how to do it properly.”

”...Properly?”

”Yes! See, pearls aren’t exactly an original part of an oyster. They’re actually produced when the oyster activates its defense mechanism against irritants. It covers the intruder with minerals, and after months to several years, it develops into a pearl.”

That right there.

Months.

Years.

Mostly years.

Luca hadn’t even learned this from school. He learned it at the market.

There had been a popular vendor with a shop that was frequently visited by a very specific group of customers.

Tourists.

He still remembered the first time he saw the store and the long line outside it. At the time, he didn’t understand what they were doing.

He couldn’t get particularly close because there were so many people, and he didn’t want to cause anyone problems with his defect. But eventually, he learned that the store allowed customers to pick live oysters like a treasure hunt.

For the same price, they would get all the pearls inside the oyster they chose.

If they were lucky and the oyster had several pearls, they would get all of them for the price they already paid. But if the oyster had nothing, then they simply had to bear that loss.

However, that wasn’t the part Luca found interesting.

It was the old man who owned the shop.

Apparently, unlike most places that allowed customers the honor of opening their own oyster, that old grandpa didn’t allow it at all. Only he was permitted to open them.

And the reason was simple.

He wanted the oysters to stay alive.

Luca remembered watching the arguments that would break out when customers insisted on opening the oysters themselves. The old man would stubbornly refuse every time.

Then his son would come later, collect the oysters that had already released their pearls, and return them to their farm so they could grow more.

That memory had left a deep impression on him.

Because the young Luca had really liked that concept.

”But the thing is,” Luca said, finishing the story with a troubled look, ”I forgot that the owner was the only one allowed to do it, not because he wanted to, but because apparently, it was such a delicate process that if they made a mistake, they could hurt the pearl-producing oysters that took years to grow.”

”But then what people could really see was him propping the shell open just a little before using prongs to take the pearl out.”

Luca grimaced. Even those who were close enough wouldn’t have been able to see exactly how the old owner took out the pearls because, with how the oyster was opened, one would have had to squint to see anything!

So what more for him who could only stay far away or pass by?

Sigh.

”The good thing is we can tell where the pearls are because D-29 said the scans are picking them up. We just need to figure out where and how they could be harvested.”

”So you’re saying you know exactly where it is?” Xavier asked for clarification.

Luca nodded earnestly in response.

”Okay,” Xavier said calmly. ”Then if that’s the case, I should be able to do it.”

”Maybe we can—”

”Huh?”

Luca blinked in confusion, thinking that maybe he had heard wrong.

But then his extremely handsome husband added:

”I’ll take them out with my ability.”

”!”

”!!!”

__

Honestly, it was the most unusual case.

And one Kyle Nox had to look at his boss and then at his boss’s wife about two more times because he just couldn’t believe this was happening.

For one, how ironic was it that Luca, of all people, the same guy who had just operated on Prince Elior, was concerned about operating on oysters?

Uh-huh.

In fact, the contemplative adjutant wasn’t even sure if Luca had shown the same level of worry when he treated Xavier, his father, the Marshal, or the Elven siblings.

And more importantly, just how were those people faring after the golden-eyed heir announced his concerns?

”...”

”...”

Well.

It wasn’t like Luca didn’t worry about them.

He absolutely did.

But for said people, there was always the revive pill.

What about the oyster?

How exactly were the oysters supposed to revive themselves without being able to eat the pill?

Really, it was a perfectly valid reason for a crash-out.

Then again, it probably wouldn’t have mattered even if Luca hadn’t given them a reason at all.

Because either way, one Imperial Crown Prince, whose clear main role was being a devoted husband, would have still used a coveted bloodline ability for such a purpose.

Like what Xavier was doing right now.

Using spatial manipulation to carefully retrieve pearls from inside the oysters.

While others across the Empire would have killed to possess such an ability for things like assassinations, infiltration, or espionage, one prince was calmly using it to port out what Luca proudly referred to as pearls without even opening those oysters. Forget about incisions, because they were aware of the location; he was quite literally taking them out like that.

It was almost ridiculous.

And yet.

When Xavier finally managed to retrieve the first one—

Kyle, along with several others nearby, nearly dove forward in reflex.

Because what in Solaris was that?

They had been completely caught off guard.

The pearl floated gently above Xavier’s palm, glimmering faintly.

And the moment it appeared, a wave of spiritual energy rolled outward.

It was so concentrated that even the elders instinctively grabbed their thankfully attached heads, making sure everything remained firmly in place.

Meanwhile, Luca remained completely oblivious to the collective shock spreading through the group.

His eyes sparkled with pure delight as he pointed proudly at the pearl.

”Pretty, right!”

Right.

That was pretty alright.

Also, a great reason to start an intergalactic war.