The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

And so, the Seasoned Chicken was completed.

But even though it’s done…

My feet won’t move easily.

How long has it been since I felt this nervous?

It must have been since the early days of entering the culinary world, when I was only allowed to handle vegetables, and then finally permitted to cook for the first time. I don’t think I’ve felt this shaky since then.

Who would have thought that even now, I’d be this nervous about cooking?

“Hoo…”

I took a deep breath to calm my trembling heart, then picked up the Seasoned Chicken and stepped out of the kitchen.

…

…

…

Startled!

As I walked out with the dish, the three of them flinched as if they were caught in the middle of a conversation they didn’t want me to hear.

They looked like kids who had picked up a stray pet and were now fretting over how to explain it to their parents.

Of course, that’s probably just my wishful thinking, trying to deny reality.

The reason they flinched was likely because they were still wary of me after the incident a few days ago.

“Ah, ah. You’re out early.”

“…Is there a problem with me coming out early?”

“No! Not at all!”

Mari waved her hands in surprise at my words, but her forced smile was already etched into my retinas.

My appetite soured.

“Um, Kurt. Actually, there’s something I want to talk about…”

“Something you want to talk about?”

“M-Mari! You’re not thinking of bringing that up now…!?”

“Wait! Isn’t this too sudden?”

Mari, who seemed to have made up her mind, wore a tense expression, while the other two couldn’t hide their panic at her attitude.

What are they so flustered about?

…Could it be?

Are they going to say they can’t party with me anymore because of what happened a few days ago?

Just as the worst-case scenario flashed through my mind, making my vision go dark…

Meow.

Suddenly, the sound of a cat reached my ears.

It was the same cat I had heard this morning.

And the sound was coming from behind Mari.

Wait?

Behind Mari?

When I noticed and looked at her, she gave an awkward laugh and said, “Ehehe.”

“Actually, I wasn’t trying to hide it…”

“Not trying to hide what? The cat?”

“Yes. I found it a few days ago, growing behind the Adventurer Guild. It was so young and alone, without its parents, so I couldn’t just leave it. I secretly gave it some fruit, and it started following us.”

…Come to think of it, this morning she said she didn’t have much appetite and only took a few fruits to her room.

Could it be that she was trying to sneak food to the cat without me noticing?

“Wait. So all this time, you were avoiding me because…?”

“Well, if you found out about this cat, you might have wanted to eat it…”

“What about the chocolate cream?”

“Huh? That was delicious! Will you make it again?”

“…No. Never mind.”

Hearing Mari’s confession, I felt the strength leave my body and sighed in defeat.

So all this time, the thing I was agonizing over was…?

“So, Kurt. Can we keep this cat and not eat it?”

“Right! It’s too cruel to eat a poor little thing that hasn’t even grown up yet!”

“We’ll feed it well and take it for walks often!”

“You idiots! No matter how much I love cooking, do you really think I’d eat a kitten!?”

What do they take me for, a Lizardman…?

As the tension left me, a wave of absurdity and mild anger rose.

At my outburst, the three of them flinched and replied.

“B-but, Kurt, you can’t resist rare monsters…”

“I’m a Hunter, not a poacher. Hunting rare monsters indiscriminately without any discretion makes you a poacher, not a Hunter. I don’t hunt just for the thrill unless it’s a monster that threatens my livelihood or others.”

“O-oh. That’s a relief…”

“So, does that mean we can keep it!?”

“Of course. It’s your freedom to raise whatever animal you want.”

“Really? You won’t take it back!?”

At my words, the three of them looked as happy as kids who had just gotten permission from their parents.

But wait.

A rare monster?

Just as I thought that, Mari pulled out the creature she had been hiding behind her back and introduced it.

“Let me introduce you. As you know, Kurt, this is a cat.”

What appeared before me, lying there peacefully, was none other than a tree.

“Meow.”

To be precise, it was a plant shaped like a small deer, made of intertwined branches, making cat-like sounds.

“…What is this?”

No, seriously, what is this?

“Didn’t you know?”

“This is the first time I’ve seen it!?”

“But you just called it a cat earlier!?”

“Well, it made a cat sound, so I called it a cat!”

But the only cat-like thing about it was the sound.

This plant, shaped like a deer made of branches, what on earth is it?

Even as a seasoned Hunter, this was the first time I’d seen a monster like this.

“…It doesn’t breathe fire, does it?”

“Pfft. A plant breathing fire? That’s not possible, right?”

It’s already meowing like a cat and shaped like a deer, but it’s actually a plant. That’s not exactly normal.

“Where did you even find this monster?”

“Behind the Adventurer Guild.”

“What? Behind the Adventurer Guild?”

Why would such a monster be there…?

Suddenly, something clicked in my mind, and all the pieces of the puzzle started falling into place.

This morning, after breakfast, when I asked about dinner requests, Mari had been acting strange.

At the time, I thought she was avoiding me, but now that I think about it, she only started acting strange when I mentioned the meat of the Fruit Tree Antlered Reindeer as an example.

And around this time last year, we had hunted a certain monster.

The Awakening Species, Fruit Tree Antlered Reindeer.

The single fruit we obtained from hunting that monster.

And the place where we planted that fruit was…

“So, the fruit we planted back then…?”

“Meow.”

Could it be that the fruit we planted, hoping it would grow into some rare tree, turned into this?

“But why does it make cat sounds?”

And its parent was a reindeer, so why does it look like a deer?

Not even a roe deer, but a deer.

“Who knows? Maybe it’s mimicking the sounds of stray cats?”

“Some monsters mimic the behaviors of other creatures.”

“Being a plant that looks like a deer isn’t exactly normal to begin with.”

The three of them answered my questions as if it were no big deal.

“Well, that’s true…”

There’s an old saying that you reap what you sow.

Who would have thought it would come back to me so literally?

Feeling a strange mix of emotions, I realized something else.

“Ah. So that gaze I felt near the Ancient Ruins must have been this thing.”

The monster named “Cat,” being a plant, had been hiding behind Mari without me noticing until I heard its meow.

At the time, the presence I sensed was only that of animals.

If this creature, which looks like an animal but is actually a plant, had a presence, it’s no wonder I didn’t notice.

I don’t usually check for the presence of plants in a forest full of them.

So, it was this thing that was watching me at the Ancient Ruins.

But Mari tilted her head in confusion at my words.

“Huh? That probably wasn’t it. The Cat was with us all day today.”

“…What?”

Then who was it…?

Just as I was about to think deeply about it, Mari cut off my thoughts with a voice full of anticipation and desire.

“By the way, Kurt. Can we eat now…?”

Mari, unable to wait any longer, kept glancing at the Seasoned Chicken I was holding.

Oh, right. I should focus on the dinner for now.

At this rate, I can’t tell who the pet is anymore.

“Ah, yes. Eat before it gets cold.”

“Yay! Fried food! Kurt, what’s the occasion? You made fried food today?”

“Well, that’s…”

Come to think of it, I made this dish to apologize for thinking Mari was avoiding me because of what happened a few days ago.

If I knew it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble.

Suddenly, I feel a bit wronged.

“What’s wrong?”

But seeing Mari’s eyes sparkling with pure anticipation for the chicken, my resentment melted away in an instant.

“No, it’s nothing. There’s plenty, so eat as much as you want.”

With that, I chuckled and placed the still-hot Seasoned Chicken on the table.

Soon, Mari cheered and eagerly reached for the fried chicken.

And so, dinner resumed.

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