The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

In dreams, there exists such a dream.

A dream where, the moment you dream, you realize, “Ah, this is a dream.”

That dream was also such a dream.

A room with walls not made of wood or brick, but properly plastered cement walls covered with wallpaper.

All too familiar, and dearly missed, stainless steel utensils.

A gas stove that exists only in memories, no longer obtainable now.

Such a scene.

If it weren’t a dream, I would never see it again.

But for a dream, it’s quite detailed.

If I hadn’t realized it was a dream, I might have thought it was real.

It feels like I’ve returned to those days.

The cityscape visible through the window.

The dazzlingly bright sun in the sky.

The warmth that makes me feel drowsy if I close my eyes quietly.

Continuing to bask in the sunlight, I feel strangely hazy.

It’s already a dream, yet feeling hazy is strange.

But since it’s a rare lucid dream, it’s a pity to just idly bask in the sunlight.

Thinking so, as I looked around the room, soon the doorbell rang.

Ding-dong.

Ah.

Right.

Today, Siu was supposed to come.

Wait.

But was ○○○’s name originally Siu?

Why do I think of ○○○ as Siu?

Ding-dong.

But my thoughts were quickly scattered by the ringing doorbell again.

“Alright. Coming. Coming.”

Beep.

Click.

Opening the electronic door lock, ○○○ appeared outside the door.

“Oh. You’re early. The others are still a long way from coming.”

Greeting ○○○, my mouth moved naturally.

Right. Today was the day when not just ○○○ but others were also gathering.

I don’t know why I know this, but since it’s a dream, there’s no need to worry about it.

Come to think of it, ○○○’s appearance is completely different from what I remember from my past life.

“I’m not early; the others are late.”

“That Minho guy is always late. He’s the one who suggested gathering, yet…”

“Hahaha. True. How come that hasn’t changed even after decades?”

Starting with lightly teasing the two who were late, ○○○ and I began to talk.

Meeting ○○○ after a long time, it seemed both completely different and unchanged from my past life.

Even after a long time, we had no shortage of topics and chatted about various things.

Well, close friends can spend time with trivial conversations even without any particular issues, so it’s natural.

Now, knowing all this is a dream, it still feels like returning to the past, evoking a nostalgic and longing feeling.

“So, □□… Ah, your name now is Kurt, right? How have you been lately?”

As we talked, the conversation naturally flowed into updates.

Since it’s been decades since we last met, it’s natural to be curious about each other’s lives.

“I’m the same as always.”

“What? So you’re still cooking around? In that Lizardman form?”

○○○ looked at me with a disgusted expression.

Ha! What’s wrong with being a Lizardman?

I’ll let that slide since it’s a dream, but in my world, that’s discriminatory speech.

…Wait. Thinking about it, I didn’t really get any strange looks in reality either.

“Right. Old habits die hard. I used to do some hunting, but eventually, I couldn’t give up cooking.”

“Pfft…! Well, that’s so you.”

“Ha! So, what have you been up to lately?”

“You know wuxia, right? The novel genre. The world I reincarnated into had that vibe.”

○○○ explained the world he reincarnated into at length.

Now that I think about it, with his long hair tied up and wearing oriental-style clothes, he does look like a wuxia character.

“Oh? So, did you learn any martial arts?”

Startled.

“Ah, no. Hahaha. I was too busy making a living to have time for that…”

“Really? That’s unexpected. I thought you’d definitely try to learn martial arts by any means once you knew you reincarnated into a wuxia world.”

Startled.

“Eh, hey. Even I wouldn’t go that far. I have a family business to take care of.”

○○○ waved his hands, startled by my words.

Looks like he tried to learn martial arts in a frenzy but didn’t succeed.

Maybe I should teach him how to handle mana if needed.

Though it might be different from wuxia martial arts.

But it seems he still can’t lie even after death.

“Hmm? So, if you didn’t learn martial arts, what have you been doing?”

At my words, ○○○ puffed up with pride.

“Have you heard of Tianxia Zhengpai?”

“What? What Zhengpai?”

“I made a TCG game. It became a huge hit in the Central Plains. So, I’ve been busy with expansion packs, national tournaments, and events.”

○○○ talked about his experiences in the Central Plains.

Like being kidnapped by the Blood Cult for a dark duel,

Or the chaos caused by a fake treasure map claiming to have the world’s only rare card, attracting martial artists from all sects,

Or breaking the Shaolin monks’ 108-duel formation and gaining the abbot’s recognition,

Or the formal agreement between the Demon Sect and the Central Plains to compete in martial arts and Zhengpai skills every ten years.

“Hmm. I see.”

Listening quietly, I nodded silently.

This is absurd.

Even for a dream, this is too much.

Mixing wuxia with cards and making it popular? Is that even possible?

Until now, knowing it was a dream, it felt strangely realistic and immersive, but ○○○’s outrageous story suddenly broke the immersion.

Dreams are just dreams, after all.

Feeling disheartened, I thought about waking up, but considering it, meeting a friend from a past life after so long was a pleasant experience, so I changed my mind and continued the conversation.

“So, when I died, did you get caught up and die too?”

“Sort of. Probably not just me, but the other two as well? I can’t be sure since I was right after you.”

“Ah… That’s a bit shocking. I thought the others would survive… That’s regrettable.”

“The first to die has no right to complain. Hehe.”

“Heehee. True.”

Knowing it’s a dream, it’s still enjoyable to chat with an old friend after so long.

As ○○○ and I were chatting about various things.

“But what was that before we died? That sky…”

Growl.

“…What? Are you hungry?”

“Ah. Now that you mention it, I was up late last night planning a new expansion pack and forgot to eat dinner… Hahaha.”

○○○ scratched his head, embarrassed by my question.

Glancing out the window, the sun was nearing noon, filling the room with dazzling white light.

Was it always noon, or did time pass to noon?

Can you feel hunger in a dream?

Or is it my desire to cook even in a dream?

Well, either way, it doesn’t matter.

If this is a dream, I can do as I please.

“Alright? Should I make something simple then?”

“Huh? Is that okay? The others will be here soon…”

“That’s their fault for being late. We can cook again when they arrive.”

Growl.

“W-well, alright.”

○○○, hesitant about eating before the others arrived, eventually nodded, unable to resist his hunger.

“So, what do you want to eat?”

○○○ thought for a moment, then made a sheepish expression.

“…How about noodles and dumplings?”

“Noodles? Ah, you mean somen?”

This guy, reincarnated into a wuxia world, even talks like it.

“But is that enough? We haven’t met in so long, don’t you want something more elaborate? I’m not sure if there are ingredients in the fridge…”

“No, it’s fine. I just want to eat the noodles you make after so long.”

○○○, embarrassed, averted his gaze.

Watching him, I chuckled and stood up.

“Alright. Noodles won’t take long, so wait a bit.”

Then I opened the fridge.

The cold air from the fridge, cooling the early summer heat, greeted me along with all-too-familiar ingredients.

Luckily, there’s no shortage of ingredients.

It would be quite embarrassing, even in a dream, to declare I’d cook only to find the fridge empty.

So, after checking the ingredients, I started cooking right away.

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