The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

On the mountainside, neither too high nor too low, lies a small village.

Though not large, it is officially registered as a territory of the count, paying taxes diligently.

Not particularly wealthy or lively, but with enough production and manageable taxes, it was a peaceful village.

However, that delicate balance was shattered by a sudden calamity.

At first, they thought it was just another monster attack.

Monsters are dangerous, but in remote mountain villages, such threats are not uncommon.

Though it would take time, informing the lord would bring soldiers to exterminate the monsters.

If paying taxes is the duty of the villagers, ensuring their safety is the duty of the lord.

While some cruel lords exploit their peasants without fulfilling their duties, their lord was not such a villain.

Even if it took time, once the soldiers arrived, the danger would pass.

When the first group of soldiers sent by the lord was defeated by the monsters, there wasn’t much concern.

But when the second group also failed to exterminate the monsters…

And when even the third group of soldiers failed, the atmosphere changed drastically.

Their lord, though diligent and merciful, was not the type to sacrifice himself for his villagers.

The lord coldly weighed the value of the taxes from the small mountain village against the cost of exterminating the monsters and ultimately decided to abandon the village.

Out of some remaining conscience, a request to exterminate the monsters was posted at the Adventurer Guild…

But if even the count’s soldiers and knights couldn’t defeat the monsters, how could a small group of adventurers succeed?

Thus, the mission to exterminate the monsters in the mountain village became an avoided task, and the once peaceful village began to fall into despair and death.

Now, even adventurers avoided the village due to its notorious reputation…

Yet, a group of adventurers was heading there.

.

.

.

“Ugh… I’m tired… I can’t go any further.”

“It’s fine. We’ve already arrived at the village.”

“You’re exaggerating. With our physical abilities, climbing this mountain is nothing.”

“I’m talking about mental fatigue, not physical. Sob sob. I want to go back to Astram.”

At the village entrance appeared four adventurers.

Even if armed strangers entering the village were assumed to be adventurers, the villagers only glanced at them with hollow eyes.

Was it because they had given up hope that the monster problem could be solved, or did the adventurers not seem reliable?

But the adventurers, oblivious or indifferent to the villagers’ lack of expectation, began to stride into the village.

Soon, the adventurers rented the village’s only small inn and finally unpacked their belongings, sighing in relief.

The inn, worn down from lack of guests due to the monster problem, didn’t bother them as they rested from their climb.

The innkeeper handed them lukewarm cups of water, and one of the adventurers asked him a question.

“Hey, can I ask something? We took a bear hunting request at the Adventurer Guild. Do you know where we can get the details?”

“Ah, that zombie bear extermination request…? I’ll keep it short. I appreciate you coming all this way, but just give up and go back.”

“That’s a bit strange. Didn’t you post the request because the monster is dangerous? Why are you telling us to leave? What about the monster?”

“Of course, I want someone to defeat that terrifying zombie bear. But if even the count’s soldiers and knights couldn’t do it, how can four adventurers like you succeed?”

“Don’t worry about that. We’re actually quite skilled.”

The innkeeper sighed at the adventurer’s words.

“That’s the same. The count’s knights are more skilled than adventurers. Yet, even they searched the forest for three days and nights and couldn’t catch the zombie bear. Do you understand what that means?”

“It means the bear is clever.”

The innkeeper looked surprised at that.

“…You must be quite skilled. That’s right. The bear is not only fierce and strong but also terrifyingly cunning. It attacks defenseless villagers and travelers without hesitation but hides completely if it senses any danger.

So far, even skilled adventurers and the count’s knights have come several times but failed to hunt the monster, and weaker ones were ambushed and became victims.

This has happened repeatedly. So, if you’re not confident in your skills, don’t wander around and just leave.”

“If we leave, what will you do?”

“We’re planning to leave the village soon anyway. It’s not easy to abandon the village we were born in, but it’s better than staying and dying to the monster.”

The innkeeper spoke with a resigned, bitter voice.

“Sorry for wasting your time. It’s not my fault, but as an apology, I’ll give you free soup. Give up the hunt and leave early tomorrow.”

The innkeeper served them four bowls of thin soup and, without any enthusiasm, left for his room without even guarding the inn.

With the innkeeper gone, the adventurers were left alone in the old inn, silent for a while.

Then, the silence was broken by the elf woman in the group, whose hair color resembled freshly fried French fries.

“…Well, it’s a shame we came all this way for nothing, but what can we do? Should we leave early tomorrow morning as the innkeeper suggested?”

The half-elf woman, Mari, spoke with a bright smile, not seeming disappointed at all.

But Kurt, the adventurer who had been talking to the innkeeper, shook his head.

“No. We’ll proceed with the monster extermination as planned. The innkeeper said he’d cancel the request soon, but that means it’s still active. The monster may be cunning, but it can’t evade my senses. A few days of hard work, and we’ll catch it.”

“…Are you really going to continue?”

“Of course. We haven’t achieved our goal yet.”

“Hieeek….”

Mari asked Kurt in disbelief, but his answer was firm.

At his words, not only Mari but also Karina and Serena, who had been silent, looked despairing.

Considering their skills and stamina, a few days of searching wouldn’t be a big deal.

Yes, a few days.

The problem was that the forced march they had been on had already lasted three months.

The root of all this was Kurt.

Mari, with a tearful face, recalled how things had come to this.

Rewinding her memory to the day they finished an incident in the Spine Empire and were having a dinner party, asking Kurt what he wanted to eat was the trigger.

At that time, Kurt’s answer was a hamburger.

A hamburger itself wasn’t the problem.

A hamburger requires bread, fresh vegetables, and meat—ingredients that, while diverse, weren’t hard to find in the capital of the Spine Empire, the continent’s strongest nation.

But after completing the hamburger, Kurt realized something.

A hamburger isn’t complete without fries and a cola.

Making fries was easy.

In fact, it was incredibly simple.

But making cola was a different story.

Despite dedicating his time in the Spine Empire to making cola, he failed, and his cola-making challenge continued even after returning to the Kingdom of Eustia.

Back in Astram, Kurt tirelessly pursued making cola, but it was no easy task.

He could easily make luxurious, traditional French noble dishes.

But cola, despite being a common drink, contains the essence of modern science and technology, which doesn’t exist in this world. Without that knowledge, Kurt couldn’t recreate cola.

And so, three months passed.

Kurt slammed his fist on the table and shouted.

“I still haven’t made cola!!”

The other three looked at him with utterly exhausted eyes.

This is the story of a reincarnated Lizardman who just wanted to drink cola.

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