The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

Daria’s words were so absurd, they sounded almost like the delusions of someone deeply immersed in conspiracy theories. If she hadn’t been a secret envoy directly sent by the Archbishop of the Holy Kingdom, Tirving would have surely scoffed and kicked her out of the mansion without even listening to half of what she said.

However, Daria’s position, and subsequently the old notebook Kurt presented as evidence to back her testimony, forced Tirving to accept reality.

Reality, at times, was more nonsensical than the ramblings of a lunatic.

In the end, even Tirving, who had been uncooperative with the Holy Kingdom, couldn’t remain indifferent to the Empire’s conspiracy to annihilate all humanoid races other than humans and beastkin.

Thus, Tirving decided to fully cooperate with the Resistance organization to prevent the construction of the Dimensional Gate.

Seeing Daria and Tirving join hands, the group let out a sigh of relief, as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

“A lot has happened, but in the end, most of the problems seem to have been resolved.”

“Yeah. Even though Kurt got attacked, he didn’t suffer any fatal wounds, and we managed to secure a promise with the Emperor and gain the Resistance’s support. Life is unpredictable.”

“Since we’ve mostly handled the important issues, let’s head back to our rooms and rest. Kurt’s a patient, after all. How long are you going to let him catch a cold?”

With that, the group prepared to return to their rooms, and Kurt, for once, didn’t object.

However, Kurt only agreed to the idea of returning to the mansion.

“Alright. It’s time to head back to the mansion. But there’s one thing that still bothers me.”

“Don’t tell me there’s still something left?”

“Yeah. It’s good that we’ve secured the Resistance’s cooperation, but seeing how wary they are of the Holy Kingdom, it’s hard to feel completely at ease leaving things to them.”

Kurt’s words gave off a strange sense of déjà vu.

Mari, feeling uneasy, looked at Kurt.

“…Huh? Don’t tell me… No way?”

“But there’s no need to worry. I know the solution needed for situations like this.”

“Kurt! You’re a patient right now! What are you talking about?”

From the outside, it seemed like Kurt was the one always compromising for the group. And in most situations, that was true.

Most of the time, Kurt didn’t have the opportunity to take charge, so it didn’t stand out. But when it came to the topic of cooking, Kurt was a man of near-insane stubbornness, someone no one in the group could stop.

And in those cases, the group had no choice but to go along with Kurt.

In the end, Kurt was also a member of Kurt’s party.

“Don’t worry. Cooperation with the Resistance is a crucial part of our future plans. We can’t leave such a potential risk unresolved. Even though I just fought the Empire’s Master, I’m not about to rest comfortably and take it easy.”

“No! You should be resting comfortably!”

Mari stomped her foot in frustration at Kurt’s sudden stubbornness, but she couldn’t change his mind.

“Don’t underestimate a Lizardman’s vitality. These wounds will heal quickly.”

“No matter how much of a Lizardman you are, wounds don’t heal that fast!”

Oddly enough, Kurt’s wounds seemed slightly smaller than they had been after the battle.

Even Kurt himself didn’t know this, but when a Lizardman reaches the level of a Master, their healing abilities also rise to Master-level.

—

The group gathered again in the evening after resting back at the mansion.

It had been a day filled with sudden, overwhelming thoughts, but time had passed, and dinner had to be eaten.

However, the group didn’t gather in the usual parlor but in the dining room.

Normally, the dining room was used by Tirving, and the group ate in the parlor to avoid him. But since they had decided to cooperate with the Resistance, there was no need to eat separately.

However, the atmosphere between Kurt’s group and Tirving’s elf maid—who was actually a disguised Resistance member—was far from pleasant.

While they had no choice but to cooperate in the face of the Empire’s great threat, the Resistance suspected that the Holy Kingdom might abandon them again at any moment. Kurt’s group, in turn, couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with the Resistance’s wariness.

A vicious cycle of distrust, where each side’s distrust only fueled the other’s.

At least Tirving, the de facto leader of the Resistance, seemed more relaxed than during the negotiations, but that didn’t mean he trusted Kurt’s group.

After all, he was a seasoned strategist and actor who had led the Resistance for decades, evading the Empire’s eyes.

‘Since we’ve formed an alliance, openly showing distrust is a poor strategy. If you’re suspicious, do it where the other side can’t see. I wonder, do they have the strength to trust and join our plans… Hmm?’

“…I don’t see your Master. Were the injuries from the earlier battle that severe?”

The answer came from Mari.

“Ah, no. Kurt is in the kitchen cooking…”

“…Cooking? I see.”

Mari answered in a somewhat uneasy, crawling voice. It seemed like Karina and Serena both bowed their heads at the same time.

But Tirving, unfazed, nodded calmly.

However, despite his calm exterior, his mind was racing to decipher the true meaning of her words.

‘Cooking? Cooking? The man who just fought a Master a few hours ago is cooking? Moreover, he’s a Lizardman. A wounded Lizardman cooking? That can’t be. So what does “cooking” mean? Is it some kind of code?’

Tirving couldn’t possibly imagine that the Lizardman, who had just fought for his life and was battered, would go into the kitchen himself, leaving his perfectly healthy companions behind.

From a common-sense perspective, Tirving’s thoughts were perfectly reasonable.

‘Then perhaps the word “kitchen” isn’t literal but a metaphor for something else… But why use such an obvious code in this situation? A simple mistake? No way.

Then perhaps this conversation is being monitored by the Empire? The mansion’s eavesdropping magic!? If so, using the code was a warning to me not to reveal my identity as a Resistance member carelessly. No, more importantly, what does the code mean? There’s too little to go on to decipher the code’s content, but if I can guess the intent behind using the code, I might be able to infer its meaning. The reason for using the code in this situation… The current whereabouts of the Lizardman Master are important enough to warrant a code. Could it be that his injuries are worse than expected, and he can’t show himself!?’

Having finished his rational deduction, Tirving’s face stiffened at the logically derived conclusion.

‘With the meeting with the Emperor just over a week away, the injury of our core Master… This is definitely critical. Not good.’

“Um… I’m sorry. Kurt insisted on cooking…”

Seeing Tirving’s stiff expression, Mari apologized with an even more embarrassed look.

“No, there’s no need to apologize. Hah… No, if he wants to cook, let him cook. No need to ask for permission. After all, you’re guests in this mansion. Feel free to use the kitchen as you please.”

‘Hmph. Right after I suspected eavesdropping, she uses the sentence about a Lizardman who absolutely shouldn’t be cooking being in the kitchen to subtly convey that she’s using a code, reminding me of the eavesdropping risk. That elf girl. I liked her first impression, but the more I see, the more I like her. I don’t know whose daughter she is, but she’s clearly well-educated. As expected of someone with the skill to travel with a Master.’

“Are you really okay with this!?”

“Huh? Of course it’s fine. He’s our strongest core asset, isn’t he?”

“What does being strong have to do with this?”

“?”

“?”

Tirving’s words left Mari, Karina, and Serena visibly startled.

Their reaction only made Tirving more puzzled.

Just as the conversation seemed to be going off the rails, the dining room door opened, and Kurt and the elf maids entered, carrying loads of food.

Kurt, carrying the largest plate, set it down on the table with a satisfied smile.

“Here. Dinner’s ready. Eat to your heart’s content. There’s more if you need it.”

“…Why are you coming out of there?”

“Why am I here? Mari, didn’t you tell them I went to the kitchen to cook?”

“No, I just told them.”

“?”

“?”

“?”

“…Wait, when you said he went to the kitchen to cook, did you mean he actually went to the kitchen to cook?”

“…Was there any other meaning to that?”

Tirving exclaimed in disbelief.

“He’s a patient! How could you let a Master who needs rest right now cook, leaving perfectly healthy people to do nothing! What on earth were you thinking!”

It was an irrefutable, perfect argument.

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