The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

Spring has arrived.

The time of patience created by the cold winter has passed, and the season where new sprouts bloom and bring life.

A season where new life is born, or a ticklish season where new relationships are pursued.

When spring comes, marking the end of the year’s cycle and the start of a new one, people seek new changes in their lives, as if starting a fresh year.

Thus, people sometimes show their charm to someone they wouldn’t normally notice or cling to them more than usual.

That’s the magic of spring.

Of course, Mari’s situation was different.

“Kyaa! Ku, Kurt…!”

“There’s no need to scream at the sight of a Lizardman.”

“Y, yeah. Ahaha…”

Mari laughed awkwardly.

A few days after the DIY crepe party to cheer up Arisa.

Mari seemed deeply embarrassed by her actions that day, as she still flinched and acted awkwardly whenever she saw me, even though quite some time had passed.

I thought Mari would quickly brush off such a mishap and act warmly as usual, but…

Maybe I was too naive.

But still, the reason Mari was acting so timid was because of me.

It was because I had forcefully pushed food on her to spread the true taste of chocolate cream, so I couldn’t blame anyone.

No, honestly, it was my fault.

Even if I wanted her to taste delicious food, I went too far.

“Well, it’s breakfast time…”

“Ah… breakfast? Um… I don’t have much appetite today, so I’ll just grab some fruit and eat separately.”

With that, Mari awkwardly avoided me and returned to her room.

Left alone in the hallway, I stood there blankly, lost in thought.

Was I still awkward?

Or had she lost affection for me?

No, that couldn’t be…

Even Yuri, who had clung to me just like Mari, only avoided me for a day before acting normally again…

But Mari…

“…”

I realized I was more shocked by her avoidance than I had thought.

If this continues, I might fall into a slump like Arisa did.

This won’t do.

I need to apologize to Mari and do something to restore our relationship…

And of course, what I can do is cook.

After all, Arisa also regained her energy through cooking, and cooking has the power to make people feel good.

Having decided that, I stopped standing blankly in the hallway and quickly went downstairs to finish breakfast and focus on preparing a meal for Mari.

.

.

.

And so, we had breakfast with Karina and Serena, without Mari.

“By the way, Kurt, do you have any plans after breakfast? Serena and I don’t have anything special.”

“Well, I haven’t decided yet, but I plan to go out.”

“Ah. Do you need our help?”

“No. I’m just going to get ingredients for dinner. It’s a rare day off, so you two rest. I often stay at the guild while you two go on quests, so this time, stay at the guild.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“…”

“…..”

“…”

And then the conversation died.

Clatter.

Clatter.

Even though only one person was missing, Mari’s absence made the breakfast table feel several times quieter than usual.

Somehow, Karina and Serena also seemed distracted.

The clattering of dishes was unusually noticeable during breakfast.

Normally, I would have paid attention to whether they were enjoying the meal, but today I didn’t have the leisure.

Because I was also lost in thought while eating.

I had decided to cook to restore my relationship with Mari, but the problem was what to cook.

Dessert was out of the question since it was the root of the problem.

Then perhaps her favorite fried dish.

Based on past experience, the dish that received the most positive feedback was fried chicken.

But choosing fried chicken might be too predictable.

The fact that it received the most positive feedback also means it was eaten frequently, which might reduce its specialness.

Then maybe pork cutlet…

No, pork cutlet, while not as frequent as fried chicken, has also been made several times, so it might lack specialness.

Then perhaps a twist, like making it Japanese-style tonkatsu.

Hmm… Is there something more special?

Thus, my mind wandered elsewhere during breakfast, and I went back to Mari’s room.

Knock knock.

“It’s me. I need to talk to you for a moment.”

Creak.

“Kurt… What is it…?”

Mari opened the door, clearly on guard.

Her cautious attitude, which she wouldn’t normally show, made me feel heavy-hearted, knowing it was my fault.

“You said you didn’t have an appetite, so I thought I’d make your favorite fried dish for dinner.”

“F, fried dish?”

“So, if possible, I’d like to make something you like. Any requests?”

“Fried dish… Fried dish… Hmm. What would be good? Fried chicken is… No, we’ve had that often… Shrimp tempura… But shrimp is hard to get in Astram…”

Fortunately, her interest in fried dishes seemed to outweigh her wariness of me.

She soon dropped her guard and began murmuring the names of various dishes with a happy expression.

If this is the case, it might be easier to resolve than I thought…

“How about pork cutlet or beef cutlet? Ah, last year around this time, we had Fruit Tree Antlered Reindeer meat, which was delicious. Maybe we can check the quest board to see if there’s a hunting request this year…”

Startled.

Meow~

Just then, a cat’s cry was heard from somewhere in the Adventurer Guild, and Mari jumped, looking as if she had been splashed with cold water.

“Wa, wah! A cat’s cry. Must be a stray. I should go see the cat! You decide the dinner menu, Kurt. I’ll be going now!”

With that, Mari rushed downstairs as if afraid I might stop her.

Oh no. I thought the mood was improving.

But then the cat’s cry…

….

Wait, did Mari get startled before the cat’s cry?

.

.

.

In the end, unable to hear Mari’s request, I had to go back downstairs to the Adventurer Guild.

But the bad news awaiting me downstairs wasn’t just that.

“Well, I think Mari will be fine if we leave her alone.”

“Yeah, Mari probably forgot about it by now. Ahem!”

“But her attitude suggests otherwise…”

Meow~

“Oh, a cat’s cry. There’s been a stray cat around the Adventurer Guild lately.”

“Indeed. It must be the spring, making the cat’s cry lively!”

The two were clearly trying to change the subject.

I wanted to consult Karina and Serena about apologizing to Mari, but they also seemed to find it difficult to talk to me.

Their suspicious attitude seemed like they were hiding something.

Perhaps, even though they hadn’t directly suffered from the chocolate cream incident, they might have felt something after seeing Mari’s breakdown.

Their attitude made me realize the situation might be more serious than I thought.

Even they are finding it hard to deal with me.

This won’t do.

If this continues, my image will be distorted into that of a suspicious Goblin merchant from the western continent using strange drugs to forcibly excite women and a Lizardman who enjoys it.

This is a party crisis.

Feeling the urgency, I ignored Liche’s gaze, which seemed to say, “You’re just realizing this now?” and rushed out of the Adventurer Guild.

“Ah, Kurt. Take care.”

With Wendy seeing me off, I made a resolution.

I must make amends.

Absolutely.

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