The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

The man who appeared before Jungwoo was the merchant she had met in the market a year ago.

Outwardly, he seemed like an ordinary merchant, but in reality, he was a criminal who used the guise of a merchant to wander around and commit various crimes.

A year ago, sensing it was time to leave Astram, he happened to meet Jungwoo, who had no guardian, in the market. He decided to kidnap her to make a big profit and leave Astram.

However, he failed and ended up in prison.

But it seemed the heavens hadn’t abandoned him.

A few days ago, a prison break occurred in Astram.

Rumor had it that it was caused by notorious bounty hunters who hunted beastkin and secretly sold them to places like the Empire.

But that wasn’t the important part.

The important part was that he managed to escape the prison amidst the chaos.

Finally free after a year, he stepped outside, breathed in the fresh air of freedom, and thought:

‘Being locked up for the past year was all because of that damn brat. I’ll get my revenge.’

Of course, it was absurd and shameless to blame a child for his imprisonment, given that he was the one who committed the crime. But then again, a normal person wouldn’t plot to kidnap a child in the first place.

Moreover, the fact that his target for revenge wasn’t the Lizardman who caught him but the child he tried to kidnap showed just how low his humanity had sunk.

Thus, he had been wandering Astram for the past few days, searching for Jungwoo, the cause of his imprisonment. And today, he finally found her in a remote, deserted area.

He had been wondering how to lure her to such a place, but she came here on her own.

The heavens hadn’t abandoned him yet.

With that thought, he smirked creepily at Jungwoo.

“Kehehe. Long time no see, little girl.”

“Ah, mister… You were in prison…”

“Prison? Yeah, I was in prison. All because of someone who sold me out to the guards!!”

“Kyaaah!”

With that, he lunged at Jungwoo to vent his anger.

But at that moment.

“Guards! Over here! There’s a suspicious person here!!”

“…!! Of all times!!”

The voice of a child urgently calling for the guards.

“After finally escaping, to go back to prison because of this…! No way!”

The man glanced between Jungwoo and the direction of the voice, then reluctantly fled, promising to return another time.

As the man disappeared, the boy who had called the guards rushed over to Jungwoo.

“Jungwoo!”

“Elsee oppa!”

The boy was Elsee.

He had followed Jungwoo out of guilt after she ran off crying, wanting to apologize.

After searching for her, he found Jungwoo and the suspicious man trying to attack her.

Having saved Jungwoo in her moment of crisis, Elsee hugged her and asked with concern.

“Are you okay!? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Uhh… I’m fine. But what about the guards?”

“That was a lie to scare off the suspicious man.”

Elsee awkwardly smiled and answered Jungwoo’s question.

Then, he bowed his head and apologized to her.

“More importantly, I’m sorry. Earlier, I lied to you about lying.”

“Heehee. It’s okay. You told a good lie to save me this time, so I’ll let it slide.”

At Elsee’s apology, Jungwoo, who had been crying and scared just moments ago, smiled brightly and hugged him.

The two reconciled and happily headed home.

“Oh ho. So that’s how it was.”

But the story didn’t end with a simple happy ending.

“Y-you didn’t run away!?”

“Ah. Thinking about it, it was strange. I had checked this area multiple times before starting my operation, and there were no guards. But suddenly, guards appeared the moment I started.”

It was the merchant who had fled earlier upon hearing Elsee’s shout.

“T-that’s…”

“You damn brat, daring to mess with an adult!?”

Furious at being tricked by a child, the merchant, veins bulging on his forehead, approached the two.

Thud!

“Kyaaak!”

Elsee desperately blocked the merchant’s ruthless kick with both hands.

Though not as trained as a knight or adventurer, the merchant’s kick, fueled by his sturdy build, was enough to send the not-yet-ten-year-old Elsee flying.

The two tried desperately to escape the merchant’s grasp, but with their limited stamina, it was impossible. There was no way for the children to resist the merchant’s indiscriminate violence.

Thus, they endured several blows as the merchant vented his anger.

To be precise, Elsee took all the blows to protect Jungwoo.

“Hmph. Trying to act tough in front of a girl, huh? Well, fine. Hurting a girl would just lower her value.”

Thud!

“Kuek…!”

Having kicked the fallen Elsee once more, the merchant sighed as if his anger had subsided.

“Actually, this works out. Kidnapping two is more profitable than kidnapping one. She might not be as valuable as a girl with Eastern blood, but as a side income, it’s not bad.”

With that, the merchant finished beating Elsee and began pondering how to smuggle the two out of Astram.

Originally, he had only planned to escape with Jungwoo, so he needed to rethink his escape route.

As the merchant’s attention shifted away, Elsee, battered and bruised, desperately crawled toward Jungwoo.

“Sniff… Elsee oppa. A-are you okay? It’s all my fault you’re…”

“I’m… ugh! I’m fine. More importantly, Jungwoo, listen carefully.”

Nods

“I’ll hold onto that man. You run away in the meantime.”

At those words, Jungwoo’s eyes widened as she looked at Elsee.

“What!? But then what about you!?”

“I’ll be fine. If you escape and call for help, it’ll be okay, right?”

“But what if something happens to you…!”

“I’ll be fine.”

“But… why? You got hurt because of me…”

“Why is it your fault? Ugh…! That man is the bad one.”

“O-oppa, you don’t hate me?”

Jungwoo looked at Elsee with tearful eyes.

The bad man tried to kidnap her because she went to a remote place despite being told not to.

Elsee got beaten up because his lie to protect her was exposed.

Even while being beaten by the angry merchant, Elsee took the blows meant for both of them to protect Jungwoo.

And yet, instead of blaming her, he was willing to risk himself to save her…

At those words, Elsee, despite the pain from his injuries, forced a smile and said.

“Silly. Why would I hate you? You’re my precious…”

“Precious…?”

“Yeah, precious…”

But those words couldn’t be finished.

“Ha! You two plotting while I was distracted?”

The merchant, having noticed the two whispering, approached them.

“I’ve changed my mind. I’ll stick to the original plan and take only that damn brat. As for you, I don’t need you, so I’ll deal with you here.”

With that, the merchant pulled out a knife and pointed it at Elsee.

“N-no!”

“Kid, move aside. If I accidentally stab you, your value will drop.”

“No!”

Sensing something ominous, Jungwoo immediately shielded the battered Elsee with her body, and the merchant tried to forcefully separate them.

“Meow~.”

A cat’s cry echoed through the back alley.

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