The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

After Kurt and his companions decided on their course of action, several days passed.

During that time, Kurt’s group realized they were facing a problem far beyond their ability to handle.

Meanwhile, Daria and Aila prepared to meet with the Emperor of the Empire while secretly attempting to contact the Resistance.

Neither task turned out to be as easy as they had thought.

Meeting the Emperor was already a challenge due to the strained diplomatic relations between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom, and the possibility that the Empire might deliberately avoid the meeting to hide their schemes was within the realm of expectation.

However, what was unexpected was the difficulty they faced in contacting the Resistance.

Given that the relationship between the Holy Kingdom and the Resistance was relatively good, inversely proportional to the poor relations between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom, the delay in contacting the Resistance was somewhat baffling to Daria and Aila.

But considering the relationship between the Holy Kingdom and the Resistance, it was only a matter of time before contact was made, and it wasn’t a significant issue.

The real problem wasn’t on the side trying to thwart the Empire’s schemes.

“I’ve heard that Lizardmen can regrow their limbs if cut off. I’m curious, could you show me? I’ll pay you.”

“A Dwarf using magic? That’s quite interesting. If you ever commit a crime in the Empire and become a slave, contact me. I’ll buy you at a high price. Hahaha.”

“A Sister of the Holy Kingdom, huh? Spouting dreams of world peace and harmony between races, pretending to care for oppressed races while actually doing nothing but flaunting moral superiority. Hypocrites, aren’t they?”

It was Tyrving’s very existence.

Every time he encountered Kurt’s group in the mansion, he incessantly insulted them.

“Inviting beasts who aren’t even human as guests. I can’t understand my brother’s judgment. He used to be so wise, but has he lost his sharpness with age? Or has he caught some mental illness from dealing with those races beyond the border? Tsk tsk. What a pity.”

He even mocked Kurt’s group while dragging his own brother, the Margrave, into it.

The already disastrous first impression of Tyrving plummeted straight into the abyss.

At first, they thought they could endure his behavior by avoiding him as much as possible while staying in the mansion.

But after days of repeated insults, his intentions became clear.

He was deliberately following Kurt’s group around to humiliate them.

He was thoroughly and persistently provoking and insulting them, as if testing how far they could endure.

His insults grew more extreme by the day, and at some point, he began to provoke them not just with words but with actions.

When he swapped Kurt’s sugar and salt while Kurt was out, even the ever-calm Kurt momentarily lost his temper.

Thus, the patience of Kurt’s group was pushed closer to its limit with each passing day.

And finally, Tyrving crossed the line.

It was a day when everyone except me and Mari had left the mansion for their respective tasks.

Knowing that Tyrving had been targeting Mari, she had stayed in her room, but the endless confinement became too suffocating, and she finally stepped out into the garden with me to get some fresh air.

Then, as if he had sensed Mari’s presence, Tyrving appeared like a ghost.

“You there, Elf. As I mentioned before, how about becoming my maid? It’s a waste for a beautiful and noble woman like you to stay with those fools. From the moment I first saw you, I knew our meeting was fate, not coincidence. I promise, if you become my maid, I’ll cherish and pamper you.”

He didn’t even try to hide his lecherous intentions as he openly flirted with Mari.

My patience, which I had been holding onto, finally snapped.

I grabbed his hand as he reached to stroke Mari’s head and growled.

“If you dare to harass my companions any further, I won’t hold back. If you think your noble status will protect you, I’ll make sure you learn otherwise.”

I didn’t want to jeopardize our nearly completed journey over such trivial provocations, but I couldn’t tolerate his harassment of Mari.

Even though I knew rationally that my actions could ruin everything we had built, I couldn’t hold back and tightened my grip on his arm.

“Hahaha. Harassment? How unfair. I merely spoke to her because she reminds me of a daughter.”

But contrary to my expectation that this spoiled noble would either cower or lash out when threatened, he mocked me instead.

“Ha! A daughter, huh? Then I guess I’ll have to commit some patricide. Actually, I’m quite experienced in that.”

How long had it been since I felt this enraged?

“Ha! Are you saying you’ll lay a hand on me, a noble of the Empire? Go ahead. The moment you touch me, you’ll be exiled from the Empire!”

At his words, I genuinely considered breaking a few of his bones and raised my momentum. As I did, the Elf maids Tyrving had brought with him tensed up and began to shield him.

But fortunately, a clash between me and Tyrving didn’t occur.

It wasn’t because I finally held onto my patience and withdrew my hostility, nor because Tyrving belatedly realized his mistake and apologized.

It was simply because a bigger problem had found them.

“Hehehe. The intelligence was right after all. A noble has appeared in the imperial capital. It’s true.”

In an instant, my mind cooled as if doused in cold water.

I immediately pushed Tyrving aside and looked at the person who had suddenly interrupted our conversation.

He was leisurely strolling through the garden with his hands behind his back.

When had he approached?

I hadn’t noticed.

The one who had intervened in the standoff between me and Tyrving was a young noble.

No, his appearance was young, but my instincts told me his actual age far exceeded his looks.

No matter how distracted I was, his ability to approach so close without me noticing, and his actual age not matching his youthful appearance.

It was Tyrving who recognized him.

“D-Duke Nyugoros…!”

A name I knew. Unfortunately.

The Duke, at the pinnacle of the Empire’s power, and one of the Empire’s seven Masters. A living, breathing force of asymmetry.

Duke Nyugoros.

…And he mentioned intelligence?

Where had information about us leaked?

Could it be that Tyrving, who had figured out our identities, had reported us?

I kept my guard up against the suddenly appearing Duke Nyugoros while glancing at Tyrving, but the sudden appearance of a Master seemed to have stunned him as well, as he merely glared at the Duke with a stiff expression.

Judging by his reaction, he hadn’t called the Master.

In fact, he seemed to be hostile toward Duke Nyugoros.

“What brings you here, Duke? This is the Margrave’s territory. Even for a Duke, visiting without prior notice is inappropriate.”

“Hehehe. I heard a rare noble had appeared in the Empire. How could this old man stay idle at home?”

The sight of this man, who appeared to be in his twenties, acting like an eighty-year-old was quite bizarre.

“But…”

“Oh dear. Do I need the permission of a spoiled brat from the Margrave’s family?”

With those words, Duke Nyugoros unleashed a terrifying pressure toward Tyrving.

“Guh, guh! Huk…!”

Tyrving, who had been talking back to Nyugoros, immediately fell to his knees, gasping for breath like a fish out of water, while the Elves around him panicked and tried to support him.

Duke Nyugoros smiled contentedly as he watched Tyrving struggle to breathe, then turned his gaze to me.

“So, what business does the Empire’s Master have with me? If you’re here to deliver a message from the Emperor…”

“Ah, how unfortunate. To have reached Masterhood at such a young age… If you had been born human, you could have become a great noble of the Empire. If there’s a next life, I hope you’re born without scales.”

The ominous undertone in his words.

It wasn’t just the human supremacist ideology typical of Empire nobles.

“…What are you getting at?”

“Hehehe. Young one. You already understand, yet you turn away from the truth? You will die here today.”

“Is that the Emperor’s will?”

“It’s this old man’s will.”

As the conversation reached this point, Mari, who had been unable to follow the discussion, finally seemed to grasp the context and interjected loudly between us.

“W-wait! You’re going to kill Kurt? Kurt is an envoy of the Holy Kingdom! Aren’t you afraid of worsening diplomatic relations with the Holy Kingdom?”

“Hehehe. You seem to be mistaken. I intend to shatter those diplomatic relations.”

Mari tried to argue further, but I pushed her back and stepped forward, shielding her.

“Draw your weapon. Even for a beast, I won’t cut down an unarmed opponent.”

He drew his sword and raised his momentum.

In this tense, explosive situation, I quietly thought to myself.

The plan to meet the Emperor seemed to have gone wrong from the very first step.

It was a sudden turn of events, but it seemed a battle was unavoidable.

I drew my spear and took my stance, and soon, two Masters clashed.

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