The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

“Alright. It’s mealtime. We can chat later.”

Kurt smoothly placed a bowl of food on the table, almost as if cutting off Camila’s words with a swift hand.

Camila narrowed her eyes and gave a thin smile at Kurt’s action.

“…Mealtime, you say? I’ve been waiting for it.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Now, let’s eat before it gets cold.”

‘Tch. Interrupting me at the last moment… but I guess it doesn’t matter since I’m almost done anyway.’

Though Camila felt a slight discomfort at having her final preparations interrupted, any minor dissatisfaction disappeared the instant she laid eyes on the dish Kurt brought.

‘I just thought I’d get basic food like hard, dry bread or jerky…’

Even if it were well done, I expected nothing more than stew with jerky and long-lasting veggies like potatoes, but what Kurt actually brought was an impressive dish from the Eastern Continent.

Despite being a complete novice to Eastern cuisine, the dish looked mouthwatering enough to arise her appetite with its warm, inviting steam wafting in the air.

The sweet aroma of beef marinated in soy sauce stirred a sense of anticipation within her, far exceeding any feelings of unfamiliarity.

Gulp!

Growl!

In reality, Camila had approached Kurt and his group not solely for food, but with hidden intentions. However, the truth remained that she was genuinely hungry and feeling a bit faint.

Moreover, like most wandering travelers, she had been trekking for a long while, making her even more excited about the warm dish before her.

‘Well, I can always wrap up the mind control after the meal… for now, it’s best to eat first. It’d be rude to not enjoy the fresh food right after it’s been served…’

As she thought this, Camila picked up her fork and speared a piece of the meat from the dish.

‘Hmm… It definitely seems like beef…’

Unlike the thick beef steak she was used to, this was thin as paper and marinated in soy sauce.

It felt somewhat unfamiliar to her, who had been accustomed to Western-style foods her whole life.

Yet, the hunger from her empty stomach only amplified her appetite, turning that odd texture into hunger fuel.

‘Looking hesitant now wouldn’t be a noble’s behavior. If food is served, it’s proper to eat it elegantly, regardless of what’s on the menu.’

So, with an air of nobility befitting her status, Camila elegantly took a piece of the marinated beef and brought it to her mouth.

Munch munch!

“…What is this flavor!?”

The outcome, as expected, was the same thrill experienced by everyone who had ever tasted Kurt’s cooking.

“To think there’s this level of skill in a place without a proper kitchen…!”

When faced with overwhelmingly delicious flavors, the origins of the dish lose their significance.

If I had to sum up the taste of the beef, it would simply be sweet and salty.

But sometimes, the simplest flavors pack the most powerful punch.

The savory blend of soy sauce and sugar generated a sweet-and-salty cycle, ruthlessly ravaging her empty stomach.

‘Gah…! This spicy flavor of beef is killing me in my hungry state! It feels a bit too sweet and salty for my taste… but it’s still delicious! There’s no way I can resist this kind of dish!’

With that thought, Camila hastily speared another piece of beef with her fork and brought it to her mouth.

Nibble…!

The wave of savory, sweet seasoning that soaked into the beef continued its fantastic performance.

In ordinary outdoor conditions, it’s hard to secure sufficient heat to cook, and the limitations on cooking usually mean you can’t deeply infuse flavors unless the meat has marinated for a long time. However, Kurt had cut the beef so thin it made one wonder if it was shabu-shabu, allowing the seasonings to seep in quickly, even in a short amount of time.

Plus, cutting normal meat into such thin slices isn’t usually difficult. Still, the way Kurt did it ensured perfect uniformity and quality without any damage or width imbalances.

No matter what piece of meat you speared, it was neither too thin nor too thick, balancing flavor perfectly.

‘Hmm…! With this level of skill, I’d want to make him my personal chef!’

As she continued to gobble down the marinated beef, Camila soon discovered a new layer hidden beneath the sprinkled meat.

“What is this…?”

It was white rice.

To be precise, it wasn’t fully plain white rice since it had absorbed some of the beef’s soy sauce seasoning while she was eating, but it was surely rice.

This was expected.

The dish was not beef stir-fry but gyudon, or beef rice bowl, from the beginning.

However, oblivious to that fact, Camila felt both shocked and disappointed upon discovering the rice soaked in sauce beneath the layers of beef.

She had assumed everything on the plate was beef, only to find the beef made up only about half, while the other half was just rice.

Yet, she quickly collected herself inside.

‘Ah, no. I’m here enjoying a meal offered with kindness. Besides, I thought I’d be lucky to get just dry bread or jerky, didn’t I? Thinking this way, it’s no disappointment even if half of it is rice. Feeling unsatisfied while receiving kindness from others is a mindset a noble shouldn’t have!’

In hindsight, having a delicious dish served to someone who’d never met them before was already a tremendous show of goodwill.

With this thought, Camila controlled her mind and scooped up the soy sauce-infused white rice with her fork.

However, the rice had soaked up so much soy sauce that it was hard to lift with a fork, so she soon changed her strategy and used a spoon to scoop the rice into her mouth.

‘Hmm… It’s certainly not bad tasting… and could be considered a delicacy in its own right, but…’

Trying to hide her disappointment, the taste of the rice she put in her mouth was still insufficient to meet the heightened expectations built from devouring the exotic beef stir-fry.

Clearly, the rice itself seemed to be of high quality, not dry or lacking in richness. There were no off-putting smells, and even cooked it well, resulting in nice, fluffy grains despite the limited cooking appliances outdoors.

Moreover, the soy sauce seasoning permeating the rice offered a subtle savory sweetness, making it its unique treat.

‘As I chew, the nutty flavor and mild sweetness unfolds, with a hint of soy sauce dressing the rice’s flavor, but…’

The issue was simply that it was being compared to the previous dish of soy sauce-marinated beef stir-fry.

‘Still, compared to the beef on top, it feels like it lacks presence. The beef was a tad too salty, making the rice beneath feel too bland…’

As Camila tried to refrain from dwelling on those thoughts, it became increasingly difficult as one feels more drawn to something they are told to ignore, just like thinking about a pink elephant.

And just then, it hit her.

‘Wait a minute…! The beef is too salty, and the white rice too bland…? Could it be…!?

Suddenly, an idea sparked in her mind.

‘Maybe this dish is designed with the intention of eating the rice and beef together from the start!?’

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she eagerly used her spoon to scoop a hefty bite of rice and marinated beef together.

As she put it in her mouth and chewed,.

“Hmmm!?”

‘What was I eating until now!?’

What was delicious and spicy yet felt too salty for her palate when solo, and what was definitely not tasteless but could feel flat against the impact of the beef stir-fry, suddenly transformed when combined.

Gyudon finally came together.

‘Now I understand. The beef stir-fry I thought was so delicious until now was actually an unfinished dish without the rice. Only when paired with the rice does it reach its full potential…!’

While the star of the dish was clearly the soy sauce-marinated beef stir-fry, it wasn’t as though the rice was a mere accessory that didn’t matter.

If anything, it was the presence of the white rice that allowed the beef stir-fry’s aggressive taste and fragrance to shine even brighter.

Seemingly bland and unassuming, the rice thoroughly supported the beef stir-fry, leading to a beautiful harmony of flavors.

In cooking, sometimes harmony between ingredients comes from blending different personalities and tastes, complementing each other’s flaws, and elevating the dish. However, the harmony created by this gyudon was rather the opposite.

The starring element was the seasoned beef, while the rice devoted itself entirely to supporting that beef’s flavor.

The synergy achieved was explosive.

It was, quite simply…

‘A culinary noblesse oblige! Just like a loyal commoner swears allegiance and devoted service to the nobility, the white rice’s dedication allows the beef stir-fry to appear even more splendid! And just as a noble cannot exist alone in darkness, the beef stir-fry cannot achieve this intensity by itself! This is nothing less than food that becomes its most delicious self when commoners and nobles fulfill their roles! How could such a noble dish exist!?’

It was, without a doubt, a dish suiting her nobility perfectly.

Chomp chomp!

So Camila, captivated by the beauty of gyudon’s flavors.

And once again in awe of the harmony between the rice and beef.

She dove back into her meal, using the spoon to ravenously devour her gyudon, lost in a noble frenzy.

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