The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

“Yawn…….”

Waking up from bed, I let out a big yawn and shook off the sleepiness.

It felt like I had slept normally, but somehow it seemed like a lot of time had passed.

Of course, the reason was probably the dream I had last night.

The content was strange, but it was a dream where I reunited with friends from my past life.

In the dream, I ate banquet noodles with Jung Siwoo, and by the time we finished the noodles, the other two people we were supposed to meet had also arrived at my house. We all made dumplings together, reminiscing about old times, and in the end, we grilled the dumplings we made and spent time playing games or watching movies.

That dream felt so real while I was dreaming that it was almost like reality.

Especially considering that the sweeter the dream, the greater the emptiness upon waking, this dream was truly peculiar because, even after waking up, I didn’t feel emptiness but rather a sense of fulfillment.

It felt as if I had really spent a fulfilling holiday with friends after a long time.

“But still, surviving in the martial world with cards is a bit much, don’t you think? And what’s with the gates?”

Thinking about it again after waking up, it was a really bizarre dream.

I chuckled and got up from my seat.

“Hoo. Should I make dumplings for lunch today……?”

It was clearly a nonsensical dream, but the mood wasn’t bad.

.

.

.

That day, Kurt seemed a bit off.

After finishing breakfast, he immediately started preparing lunch as if possessed.

Of course, it wasn’t unusual for Kurt to be engrossed in cooking all day, as it wasn’t a one or two-day thing.

However, the preparation for the meal seemed to be enough for about 20 servings, far more than the usual four servings for his party members.

Of course, even that wasn’t strange, as Kurt had a big appetite and couldn’t stand the idea of running out of food. He often invited Arisa’s group or Wendy, the receptionist, to join meals.

But what was unusual was Kurt happily humming a song while kneading flour, looking in high spirits.

I had seen Kurt looking happy while cooking before, but this time, he seemed exceptionally cheerful.

Even more so than when he got rare Awakening Species monster meat.

Of course, it’s possible to have such a good mood occasionally.

It was a mystery why he was so happy, especially since the day before had been completely ordinary, but it’s not impossible to have such a day.

But the real oddity came next.

“Alright. The dish you’ll help me with is dumplings. I’ll make the dumpling wrappers, and you’ll fill them with the filling I prepared, making sure the wrappers don’t tear. Then, brush them with egg wash and seal them. Easy, right?”

He had asked Mari, Karina, and Serena to help him cook.

That was truly strange.

At first glance, it might seem natural to ask for help when preparing a large meal, but for Kurt, it was an exception.

He usually refused their offers to help, only allowing them to set the table or do the dishes.

It was as if he had a strong pride in his domain and didn’t like others intruding into his territory, much like a stubborn craftsman.

Given his physical abilities as a Transcendent, preparing 20 servings wasn’t much different from preparing two, so there was no real need for him to ask for help.

Of course, he didn’t always cook alone, but that was usually when teaching someone or when the other person had a reason to cook themselves.

Cooking with complete novices like them without any special reason was truly unusual.

After entrusting the three with making the dumplings, Kurt happily hummed a tune while kneading the dough.

Seeing him hum, the three whispered suspiciously.

Since Kurt had always taken care of the cooking for them, the idea of helping him now was welcome, but they couldn’t understand why he suddenly wanted to cook with them or why he seemed so unusually happy today.

“Hmm……. Kurt seems to be in an especially good mood today.”

“That’s right. Ah, of course, it’s not a bad thing that Kurt is in a good mood……. But still, not knowing the reason is a bit unsettling.”

“Maybe he bought some rare ingredient at the market?”

At Serena’s hypothesis, Mari’s eyes sharpened for a moment.

Rare ingredients usually meant expensive ones.

But she quickly shook her head, dismissing the idea.

“That can’t be. Kurt seemed to be in a good mood even before going to the market.”

“Maybe he received a rare ingredient he had pre-ordered?”

“If that were the case, he would have been in a good mood since last night.”

In their memories, the previous day had been completely ordinary, with nothing particularly unpleasant or pleasant happening, so something must have occurred between last night and this morning.

But they couldn’t figure out what it was.

As they pondered over Kurt’s behavior while busily working, Kurt asked,

“How’s the dumpling-making going?”

“Ah, yes. Well, we’re working hard…….”

Mari answered, but she seemed to have something else on her mind.

Noticing her expression, Kurt tilted his head and asked,

“What’s wrong? Is there something you’re curious about?”

“Um……. It’s not about the cooking, but you seem to be in a particularly good mood today?”

“Do I? Maybe. I had a good dream.”

“A good dream?”

“Yeah. A dream where I met old friends. Friends I can’t meet anymore, but I met them in the dream.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I often miss my friends in the Elf village too.”

Mari nodded, thinking Kurt was talking about his Lizardman friends.

In reality, Kurt’s childhood friends were Lakia and Kirsh, both Lizardmen who were staying in Astram, so he had no reason to miss friends from the Lizardman village. But Mari, unaware of this, nodded in understanding.

Hearing this, Karina and Serena also nodded, their curiosity satisfied, and quietly focused on making the dumplings.

.

.

.

I had thought of making dumplings for lunch, but the idea of making them together with my party members was just a spur-of-the-moment decision.

After dreaming of making dumplings with friends from my past life, I ended up inviting them to cook with me.

Thinking about it, this might be the first time we’ve cooked together, aside from when I taught Karina the basics of cooking.

Back in the Lizardman village, I cooked and ate alone because of my race, and even after leaving the village, I’ve been handling the cooking alone due to the inferior culinary skills of this world compared to my past life.

It wasn’t a wrong decision, but perhaps I’ve still been putting up a wall between myself and this world.

Even though I’ve accepted myself as Kurt the Lizardman living in this world, part of me still separates the culinary world of my past life from this one.

Does cooking together now mean I’m finally fully accepting myself as Kurt the Lizardman living in this world?

Reaching that thought, I suddenly laughed, wondering if I was overanalyzing myself.

“Why are you laughing? Did something funny come to mind?”

“No, it’s nothing. Just a silly thought.”

“What thought?”

I hesitated for a moment at Karina’s question, then shook my head.

“No, you wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”

At my words, she pouted and went back to making dumplings.

“But aren’t we making too many?”

“Really? Then let’s invite some other people to eat with us.”

“Who would that be?”

“Just some people we know. Let’s invite Arisa’s group, Wendy, Kirsh, Lakia, Jungwoo, and Elsee.”

“Ah……. If we invite that many, won’t we run out of dumplings?”

“Then we’ll just make more.”

“Ugh…….”

I casually replied to Mari and continued humming the tune I had been humming earlier.

“If I go…….”

“Ah, by the way, what’s that song you’ve been humming? It’s a melody I’ve never heard before.”

“It’s a song that was popular in my hometown once. I suddenly remembered it after dreaming about the past.”

“Hmm. I see. It’s a nice melody.”

Serena quietly agreed with my words.

And so, the three of them quietly started making dumplings, and the Adventurer Guild’s kitchen was soon filled with the sound of my cheerful humming.

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