Chapter 219: Baked Fish

Words : 1431 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

Chapter 219: Baked Fish With the disastrous fishing expedition behind them, the group stood gathered in the expansive kitchen. The countertops gleamed, now occupied by an absurdly large pile of fish. Salmon, bass, catfish—all still intact, wide-eyed, and undoubtedly in need of a good cleaning. And that was precisely the first lesson. Cleaning the fish. Luca, with his sleeves rolled up, stood at the center. His hands hovered over a particularly massive salmon, which sprawled across the wooden counter like it owned the place. Hopefully, this was actually a salmon because, admittedly, it looked a little too big. "Alright," he began while trying to stay calm. He also wasn’t good at this, but between all of them, he likely had the most experience. His knowledge only came from the wet markets, which he visited to look for the cheapest possible food. There, he saw the vendors cleaning the fish. And Luca, a poor boy, could only wait for those fish that couldn’t be sold. Like those with popped guts. Although for many of the other things he was going to teach them, most of it actually came from the cookbooks he bought. "First, we’re going to clean these. That means removing the scales, gutting them, and then rinsing." He scanned the room. And everyone, including the Elders, looked back at him with a mixture of fascination and mild apprehension. Then, with surprisingly deft hands, he demonstrated the process from the beginning. But the funny part is that he’d likely be better at this if he used his spiritual tendrils instead. For after making that biomecha, he felt like his fingers and tendrils were more agile. The act was methodical— scrape, cut, rinse —and while Luca wasn’t an expert, he managed well enough. "The key," Luca continued, "is to be efficient and careful. And most importantly—don’t destroy the fish." "And the gallbladder!" Definitely not that! He didn’t want them to taste their first fish like that, especially not when their fish was kind of free already. "I’ll try." The Duke coughed awkwardly, which got him a pointed look from Butler Gary. "For scaling, you don’t need to apply too much pressure. You just have to scrape." The sound of metal against scales echoed through the room as Luca ran the blunt edge of the knife from the tail to the head. Silver flakes burst off like glitter, fluttering down onto the table. "See?" He held the fish up, showing the now scale-free patch. "You want to get rid of all of this. Otherwise, the skin’s unpleasant to eat." The Elders nodded sagely, remembering how the fishes back in their world had scales as tough as rocks which would certainly be unpleasant to eat! "Next, we’ll clean out the insides." The Duke’s brows furrowed, and even Kyle, with all his battle experience, shifted uncomfortably. A ripple of unease swept through the room. "Uhm...Everyone, this isn’t going to be pretty, but it’s really necessary, and this is where we need to be really careful." He flipped the salmon over, positioning it belly-up. With a precise stroke, he inserted his hand by the gills to grab onto the fish as the blade slid smoothly, parting the fish from the belly to the head. "This is how we can make an incision," Luca explained. "You want to go shallow so you don’t puncture any organs. Just follow the line back." The fish opened neatly, exposing the dark crimson innards. Ollie slightly trembled and paled at the sight, but Luca remained unfazed. "Now we remove the guts." He slipped his fingers inside and carefully pulled the organs free, depositing them into a nearby waste bin. "Just grab from near the head, give it a firm pull, and most of it comes out clean." Now, to the little chef who was so concentrated, this was probably routine, but for those watching, this looked like surgery! And to think they haven’t even known this kind of surgery since medical pods normally healed injuries without this ancient technique. Luca looked like a reaper. A very awe-inspiring one. "But don’t forget this part." He pointed to a film-like material that hid gunk that had to be cleaned out as well. Luca used the tip of his knife to scrape it away, rinsing the fish clean with water from a large basin. The pinkish flesh gleamed, pristine and ready. "There," Luca said with a sense of satisfaction. "That’s one fish cleaned." I think. "Now it’s your turn." The group exchanged nervous glances. Duke Leander was the first to step up, gripping a knife that seemed almost too small for his massive hands. "I’ve fought beasts," he muttered. "How hard can this be?" Famous last words. *Scrape, scrape, scrape.* His knife grated fiercely against the fish, sending a shower of scales across the kitchen like an explosion of silver confetti. "Papa, lighter strokes, please. You may be a little too strong for the fish." reminded the son, who realized that everyone should not imitate his moves because they were probably physically stronger. "Right." The determined father adjusted, though the fish now resembled a patchy mess. And with this, everyone else started with their attempts at cleaning the star of the show. Surprisingly, Ollie had the most nimble and least angry hands and managed to produce a nice, unbattered-looking fish. "Ta-da!" Said the mop, who looked absolutely proud, and rightfully so, since the others clearly weren’t as polished as his. And Xavier became the most efficient the moment the Crown Prince decided to drop the knife and instead created ice blades that were sharp enough and bent according to his will. It was unfair. And the others also wanted one, especially the Duke, whose abilities had no help in cleaning fish! But when his son praised him for managing to finish one entire fish without mishap, the Duke was satisfied and forgot about his grievances. And as the last fish was gutted and filleted, Luca stood back, proud of their collective accomplishment. "Well done," he said, though it was clear some fish were worse for wear. But for first-timers, Luca was only glad that they even had fish to cook! And a relatively ’clean’ kitchen! "The next step is cooking." And it was unbelievable. It was this day that marked Jax’s obsession with a few plants. When Luca finished removing the fins of the cleaned fish, they were surprised that he only took out a few items for cooking. Sliced Garlic. Sliced Lemons. And leaves that were apparently called parsley. Then he stuffed all of them in the cleaned stomach area of the fish, which stunned all the aspiring cooks. "Brother, just like that?" Ollie asked, wondering if it was supposed to be that easy. "Well, brother, that’s what the book says. It’s this, then using salt and pepper after tying up the fish so the stuffings don’t go out." Luca illustrated the cookbook with images depicting exactly what he was doing, and the people couldn’t believe how doable that was! If the book was right, then all they were missing was the oil for both sides of the fish and this garlic butter dill sauce. But it says to make it after the fish is done cooking in the oven. Luca’s fish was the experiment, and he placed it inside the large oven with a few prayers. Twenty minutes. And in that time, the rest have started imitating the procedures Luca showed them. It was just that they had to stop because the room started smelling too great! "Son, son! That smell, is it really from that dubious fish?" Asked the Duke, who almost camped by the oven. It was certainly undignified for a Duke to do this, but if the Imperial Crown Prince was practically guarding the oven, could the good heir even say anything? "Ah yes, Papa. Ideally, I just need to pour on this sauce we made from butter, garlic, and dill, and we should be good to go!" Chirped the little chef, who seemed more confident now, considering the wonderful smell. And when it came out, everyone gathered around, trying to hold in their saliva as Luca poured on the sauce. And if it smelled great earlier, right about now, it was a smell that could likely wake up the dead. "This—this, was this really the same fish that we caught earlier?" Asked Jax, whose face was inching closer to the hard-caught fish. "Yes, it seems like we got something edible!" commented Luca before handing people a few forks. And they dug in. And it was life-changing.

Chapter 219: Baked Fish

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