The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

At the lord’s words, Daria frowned for a moment before cautiously asking again.

“Lunch? Are you hungry?”

“No, I’m talking about a code.”

“A code…?”

“?”

“?”

If there were someone who could see emotions with their eyes, a giant question mark would surely have appeared above everyone’s head in this room.

A strange situation where even though they were speaking the same language, they couldn’t understand each other.

“Ahahaha!”

In that bizarre standoff, Mari was the first to understand the flow of the conversation.

Since she often had strange thoughts, she quickly grasped this strange situation.

“W-why are you laughing now?”

“Ah. Sorry. It’s just that…”

Meanwhile, the lord, still unable to understand the situation, looked displeased, and Mari, barely stopping her laughter, apologized and explained the truth to him.

And then.

“…So you’re really talking about lunch?”

The lord asked again, as if he couldn’t believe it.

Cooking?

A Lizardman?

It would be more convincing if he used ingredients bought from a grocery store to make a bomb with some tribal magic passed down to the Lizardman tribe.

So, forgetting that it might be rude to the Lizardman master before him, the lord asked again, incredulous.

And the response was Kurt and his companions, who smiled wryly as if they were used to it.

“…Is it real?”

Only then did the lord realize they weren’t joking and asked again.

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.

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The lord only came to understand after Kurt, claiming to prove it was real, took the prepared ingredients and left for the kitchen.

Watching Kurt’s retreating figure, the lord soon coolly recalled a more important issue than Lizardman cooking.

‘A secret letter from the Holy Kingdom…’

A secret letter from the Holy Kingdom’s Archbishop directly to the Emperor.

And to send such a letter, using a master of national-level power as a mere escort.

Though he couldn’t imagine what it contained, it was clear that it held weighty content that could significantly alter the relationship between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom.

‘Better than the Resistance shouting for beastkin liberation, but the Holy Kingdom is still a virtual enemy of the Spine Empire, clashing over non-human rights issues. Surely, it’s not good news.’

Though the lord was a thorough military man ignorant of politics, he could make that much prediction.

So, the lord already felt the weight of what the Sister of the Holy Kingdom had to convey to the Emperor.

He wished he could interfere and prevent the secret letter from reaching the Emperor, but that was beyond his authority as a mere lord.

Rather, he had the duty to responsibly ensure the secret letter of the Holy Kingdom was safely delivered to the Emperor.

‘As a shield meant to protect the Empire, I must protect a secret letter that might bring chaos to the Empire. How ironic.’

The lord felt it hard to suppress a sigh.

If he were alone in his office, he would have surely let out a sigh.

‘It’s my duty to ensure the Archbishop’s message reaches the Emperor, and I must not interfere.’

But that didn’t mean he had to be kind to the Holy Kingdom’s envoys.

‘Hmph. Don’t mistake my delivering the Archbishop’s secret letter for kindness. I won’t let my guard down in front of you.’

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.

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Just as the lord was renewing his vigilance against Kurt and his companions.

Kurt, having finished cooking, appeared from the kitchen.

In his hands were plates filled with the completed dishes.

“…It’s really cooking.”

“I told you it was real.”

The lord expressed surprise again at Kurt’s impressively completed dishes.

But thinking about it, it felt somewhat expected.

It was certainly unusual for a Lizardman to cook, but this was no ordinary Lizardman; he was a master.

After all, being good at something and liking it are separate matters, so it’s possible he took up cooking as a hobby.

Even if he wasn’t good at it.

Who in their group could oppose a master wanting to cook?

The lord, looking at Kurt’s companions, realized that accompanying a master had its own hardships and looked at them with sympathetic eyes.

The dish Kurt brought was a large number of meatballs.

Meatballs.

A dish made by shaping minced meat into balls and then baking or frying them.

Certainly closer to cooking than a bloody steak dripping with blood, but that was about it.

Just a simple home-cooked meal or the kind of portable food hunters or soldiers might eat on expeditions.

No wonder meatball dishes exist across various cultures and nations; they’re simple, easy, and basic.

“Ahem. The dish looks very delicious.”

‘After all, a Lizardman is a Lizardman. Being a master doesn’t mean mastering cooking skills.’

The lord pretended to respect the Lizardman master before him, but it was just a facade.

Look at the size of those meatballs.

Despite being a noble, the lord prided himself on having considerable expertise in meatballs.

Though a noble, his nature was closer to a soldier, so he often trained with troops and ate meatballs as combat rations. He actually liked them.

That’s why he knew.

Generally, meatballs are best shaped to the size of one to two finger joints to cook through.

There are meatball dishes made large, like hamburger steaks, but they adjust the thickness to cook evenly.

But the meatball dish Kurt brought was nearly fist-sized and oval.

‘The outside is nicely cooked… but surely the inside is almost raw. This is just minced meat, no different from traditional Lizardman food.’

But the lord thought it was just as well and picked up his fork and knife.

‘Since I had no intention of being kind to the Holy Kingdom’s envoys, I’ll just pick at the messy dish and vent my frustration after the meal.’

The meal…

Just eat the well-cooked outside.

Thinking so, the lord moved his knife, cut a piece of the large meatball, and put it in his mouth.

And then.

.

.

.

Like a master barista blending coffee from various origins with his unique method.

Like a lifelong bartender shaking a cocktail, aspiring for the ultimate mix.

“…Huh!?”

The moment he chewed the meatball, the lord saw the luxurious hobbies of the Empire’s nobles.

“Why am I seeing such illusions…”

While eating a meatball, a simple home-cooked meal, portable food, he was reminded of the nobles’ delicacies.

The lord soon realized why.

The spices enhancing the meatball’s aroma.

The blend of meats determining the texture, meat flavor, and fat ratio.

The texture and flavor of vegetables supporting and highlighting the meat’s taste.

Each combination alone was enough to reach a masterful level, and together, they created an even greater harmony.

This was no mere cheap meatball B-grade dish.

This combination was no less in quality and depth than the Empire’s famous blended coffee or whiskey.

‘This is no ordinary meatball…’

It’s a masterpiece.

Like famous cocktails or blended coffee recipes called secrets, this meatball’s recipe deserved to be called a secret.

Despite being minced meat reshaped and cooked, the texture was clearer than most meats, with a rich, savory fat flavor.

Yet, the spicy and complex flavor of spices embedded in the meat, something you couldn’t get from untreated raw meat.

Though the lord wasn’t one for luxury, even he, in his position, had never experienced such a strong, appetite-stimulating aroma.

If not for the meat’s texture in his mouth, he might have believed he was eating the meatball through his nose, so intense was the spice’s aroma.

As a meatball expert, he was certain: revealing this recipe would permanently change the Spine Empire’s culinary world.

‘I was mistaken.’

These envoys from the Holy Kingdom weren’t humoring the master’s crude hobby to please him.

Quite the opposite.

This wasn’t them indulging the master’s forced hobby…

‘The master’s cooking skills are also masterful…!!’

But the secret of Kurt’s meatball didn’t end there.

Originally, its true name wasn’t meatball.

As the lord’s knife gradually approached the meatball’s core.

Kurt’s hidden ambush exploded from within the meatball.

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