The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

A week has passed since we completed the expedition request in Lakia and met the Empire’s Master.

Although encountering the Empire’s Master was a huge shock, fortunately, we were able to resolve the issue peacefully.

And so, time passed, and the usual days returned…

“Sigh…”

The usual days…

“Sigh… It’s all because of me.”

The days…

“I ruined everything…!”

“Mr. Kurt! Lisa has turned into someone like Marin!”

But it didn’t continue.

.

.

.

The story goes back a few days.

It was three days after the Empire’s Master suspiciously left Astram in a clean manner.

Although it was unsettling that someone sent directly by the Empire left Astram so easily, upon reflection, the opponent was Shail Delphine.

No matter how powerful the Empire is, they couldn’t treat the Master recklessly, and Shail Delphine is known to be a cruel and unpredictable figure. So, it wasn’t entirely strange if he suddenly decided to return to the Empire despite their orders.

Moreover, it was confirmed that he had indeed left Astram and headed in the direction of the Empire, which finally allowed Kurt and his party to relax.

The problem arose on the morning of the third day.

“Um, um… My necklace seems strange…”

“Miss Arisa, what do you mean?”

Arisa, unable to hide her unease, stammered as she spoke.

Her party members, Liche, Daria, and Aila, who were gathered in the Adventurer Guild hall, looked at her with puzzled expressions.

Under their gaze, Arisa shrank even more and struggled to speak.

“My necklace… I think it’s been swapped… At first, I thought it was just a strange feeling because it still functioned as an artifact that emits light and looked the same… But upon closer inspection, there are small differences, like scratches…”

“What, what did you say!?”

“Swapped!? Where did this happen?”

“Is that true?”

The three of them almost screamed in response to her words.

Soon after, Liche, who had some knowledge of ancient magic, analyzed the necklace in detail and confirmed that Arisa’s unease was justified.

The necklace looked exactly like the original and was crafted with such delicate skill that it seemed hundreds of years old, even emitting light. However, it was fundamentally different from the original necklace Arisa had been wearing.

The original necklace emitted light, but that light was actually encrypted information. The main purpose was to convert the light back into information by connecting it to a suitable output artifact.

But the light emitted by the swapped artifact was just ordinary light, not encrypted information.

After this revelation, the next day, Daria and Aila left Arisa’s party to report this incident to the Holy Kingdom.

.

.

.

“I’m so useless… I didn’t even notice my necklace was swapped… Because of me, two people left the party… Now I won’t be able to form a party with anyone…!”

And so, several days later.

Arisa quit her adventurer activities and spent her days drinking milk in the Adventurer Guild.

She looked like a complete wreck.

“Mr. Kurt, Lisa’s condition doesn’t seem normal!”

Mari asked me with a worried voice, looking at Arisa.

“Well, I did try to comfort her by saying it wasn’t her fault. But she just keeps blaming herself. What can we do in this situation?”

“But are we just supposed to watch Lisa drink milk like a wreck!?”

“Well, milk is good for the body.”

“Mr. Kurt!”

Mari shouted at me.

She seemed really worried about Arisa.

Indeed, Arisa seemed more shocked than I had anticipated, so it was understandable to be concerned.

Although the two of them had been in her party, their first impressions of each other weren’t great, so I didn’t expect her to be so affected by their departure.

Perhaps Arisa had grown more attached to them than I thought.

Moreover, the two left so abruptly for the Holy Kingdom that they didn’t even have a proper farewell.

Well, I was also bothered by not being able to prepare a farewell meal and sending them off on an empty stomach, so I can only imagine how she felt.

“But ultimately, the problem is that Daria and Aila left the party. What can we do about it?”

However, thinking about it, Daria and Aila were originally from the Holy Kingdom and had only temporarily joined Arisa’s party to apologize for initially targeting her.

They were destined to leave the party once their next orders came.

Additionally, they had to take the alchemist Seiri, who had delved too deeply into the secrets of the Ancient Empire, back to the Holy Kingdom. So, their departure from Astram was something that could have happened at any time.

“This was something that had to happen eventually. They couldn’t be adventurers forever. So, I hope Arisa can move past this and pull herself together.”

“But still…”

“Mari, I understand your concern, but this is a growing pain that every adventurer must face at some point. I know you’re close to Arisa, but you can’t take everything upon yourself…”

It’s sad to see Arisa grieving for days, but as an adventurer, she needs to learn to stand on her own.

Thinking this, I was about to advise Mari not to worry too much.

“But this case is a bit different. While it’s true that their joining the party was temporary, Lisa thinks that the reason they left earlier than planned is because she failed to take care of the necklace.”

Ouch.

“The, the necklace…”

“That’s right! If anyone’s at fault, it’s the Empire’s Master who stole the necklace! Who would have thought someone of his stature would resort to such petty tricks!”

“Well, you could say that.”

“Exactly! If the necklace hadn’t been swapped, Lisa wouldn’t be so sad! If only I had noticed the necklace being swapped, this wouldn’t have happened…!”

“Ahem, ahem…!”

But as Mari continued, I had no choice but to retract the words I had in mind.

What was there to hide?

In truth, I had witnessed Shail swapping the necklace Arisa was wearing with one from his pocket.

If a Transcendent decides to ambush, non-Transcendents have no choice but to fall for it.

But conversely, if you’re a Transcendent, you can see through it.

When I tried to protest, I locked eyes with Lakia, and even though she wasn’t a Transcendent, she somehow noticed Shail’s sleight of hand and quietly signaled me to let it go.

According to her, it was necessary for the “Prognostication.”

And so, I ended up silently allowing Shail to swap Arisa’s necklace.

“So, in the end, the responsibility for not managing the necklace properly lies not just with Arisa but with all of us!”

“…I see.”

It was as if Mari’s words were echoing the cries of my conscience.

Ah.

Suddenly, I feel a twisting sensation in my stomach…

“But Mr. Kurt, didn’t you have something to say earlier?”

“What do you mean…?”

“You just said, ‘I know I’m close to Lisa, but I can’t take everything upon myself…'”

“Ah. I was just saying that since we’re close to Arisa, we should naturally share her pain.”

“That’s right! I knew you’d say that, Mr. Kurt!”

I forced a smile, trying to ignore the twisting sensation in my stomach.

I had no choice but to succumb to the cries of my conscience.

“Well, there is one surefire way to cheer someone up.”

“I knew it, Mr. Kurt! I believed in you!”

“And that is sweet food.”

“…”

Mari looked at me coldly, as if to say, “Aren’t you just using this as an excuse to make expensive dessert dishes?”

“No, this isn’t about my selfish desire to cook! It’s actually an effective method!”

“…Is that so?”

Indeed, foods containing sugar and other sweeteners can alleviate depression and improve mood.

Of course, this is only a temporary effect, and long-term consumption can harm health, but what we need right now is an immediate mood boost, even if it’s short-lived.

Moreover, Arisa’s mental shock isn’t the kind that lasts long, so a temporary solution should suffice.

After my explanation, Mari, who was initially skeptical, nodded in understanding.

“Alright. Then what should I do?”

“Well, I’ll go to the market to buy ingredients for the dessert. In the meantime, you keep Arisa company.”

“Got it! Leave it to me!”

Mari’s affinity is practically on par with an honorary capybara beastkin.

Just having her around should have a calming effect.

As I was about to leave the Adventurer Guild to head to the market.

“Wait a moment.”

“…You are?”

“If you’re making food for Arisa, I’ll come with you.”

With a determined expression, Liche declared, holding an adventure request form.

Wait.

An adventure request form…?

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