The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

“Is this dish really this delicious? Is the combo of rice and soy sauce-seasoned beef invincible!?”

Camila was so enthralled that she kept scooping up the gyudon.

I thought beef stir-fry alone was amazing, but having it with rice made me regret only picking at the beef stir-fry a moment ago, without the rice.

Up until now, my eyes had only been on the beef stir-fry, but now that I’ve opened my eyes to the harmony with rice, I noticed other ingredients.

Those include stir-fried vegetables like onion and bok choy.

Crunch!

Popping those crunchy veggies into my mouth filled a void that beef and rice couldn’t.

“Marvelous…! How is this so excellent…!”

Bok choy isn’t particularly strong in flavor or aroma.

Especially when cooked with a robust soy sauce, it becomes even less noticeable.

However, the role of bok choy in this gyudon isn’t about taste or aroma.

Even after being stir-fried in soy sauce seasoning, the bok choy retains its crunchiness and lively texture.

As I chew the glistening bok choy coated in oily soy sauce, the crisp sound and vibrant texture made the meal all the more enjoyable.

The gyudon, while not lacking in flavor, had a somewhat average texture.

The bok choy completely filled that average spot, providing not just physical fullness but also mental satisfaction.

Plus, the onion that came along contributed similarly, doubling the crunchiness.

It was beyond crunch; it was more like a delightful crackle.

With each bite, the subtle juice that emerged from the onion and bok choy was a pleasure.

As I happily continued eating, I quickly noticed another ingredient lurking in my bowl aside from the beef, rice, and vegetables.

“Hmm…? What is this oval-shaped round thing?”

To be precise, it looked more like a halved heart shape in an ivory color.

“I’ve definitely seen this shape somewhere before…”

It felt so familiar that if I thought a bit more, I might recall what it was…

“Well, it’s not like they’d put something I can’t eat in this dish. I’ll remember it once I try it.”

But the important thing for her was not figuring out the identity of that ingredient, but fully savoring the meal.

So she stopped thinking and popped that beige ingredient—garlic—into her mouth.

And then…

…!? This flavor…!

Camila realized she stepped on a landmine the moment she bit into the garlic, her eyes widening in shock.

The explosion of the rich garlic flavor mingling with the soy sauce-infused beef formed a taste that was far more robust, flooding her entire being.

She widened her eyes in horror at the brutal combination of garlic and soy sauce, devoid of mercy.

“This is madness! How can something be this delicious!? And how did they know I love garlic!?”

Because, it was unbelievably tasty.

As always, mealtime rushes by in bliss.

Even though Camila completely forgot her noble demeanor halfway through and was mindlessly devouring her food, by the end of the meal, she returned to her mysterious, dignified self as if nothing had happened.

“Phew. Thank you so much. It’s been ages since I had such delicious food. If we hadn’t met like this, I would want to travel together just to have meals like today.”

“Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I thought you might not like it since it’s continental cuisine.”

Kurt replied with a beaming smile, happy to finally cook after a long while.

The other traveling companions were also kind and friendly toward her.

As they treated her warmly, Camila felt her heart waver.

‘Just a bit more nudging and the hypnosis will be complete… but well, it’s fine. I don’t necessarily have to use hypnosis.’

She didn’t want to resort to hypnosis on those who offered her delightful food and kindness.

Besides, some of her reasons for hypnosis had already vanished.

Here, it seemed more appropriate for a noble to return goodwill with goodwill.

Resolved, Camila sighed lightly and lifted her head.

“No way. There can’t be anyone who’d find such a marvelous meal unappetizing. Since I’ve received such incredible food, I should offer something in return…”

Though her eyes were still red, they no longer sparkled ominously.

“A return? That’s too grand a gesture. I was just happy to finally have a reason to cook again… No, I was just glad to assist someone in need.”

Kurt waved his hands, refusing the compliments.

However, Camila’s mind was already made up. She slipped her hand into her nun’s robe and soon pulled out a small object to hand to Kurt’s group.

“Here, take this. I don’t really have anything particularly precious, so it’s all I can offer.”

“…? What is this?”

What she handed was an old insignia no bigger than the palm of her hand.

It looked quite worn out, certainly an ancient object, but it seemed to have been treated with care; it was a symbol representing the Holy Kingdom.

“I don’t know when you might visit, but if you ever happen to stop by the Holy Kingdom, please show this insignia to the people there.”

“What on earth is this…?”

“Then I’ll take my leave now that I’ve returned your favor. Have a great journey…”

“Wait! You need to explain this!”

“Yeah! And if your route is similar to ours, we could share a carriage…”

Camila lightly bowed her head as if that was the end of her business and walked away without hesitation, while Kurt’s group tried to stop her, but she had already vanished, leaving only thick fog that obscured even a step ahead.

…

In their search for the suddenly vanished Camila, Kurt’s group explored the surroundings, yet they could never find her.

In the end, they had no choice but to resume their journey.

As they rode along the path for quite some time…

“We passed through relatively safely considering this is an area rumored to have undead around.”

“True. If the undead had shown up in this dense fog, it would have been exceptionally troublesome.”

“Exactly… Huh? Wait a second?”

Suddenly, they realized the fog had lifted.

“The fog… has vanished?”

“Just a moment ago, it was so thick we couldn’t see ahead…”

It was an unnatural, instantaneous brightening of the weather.

Whether the fog had disappeared in an instant or gradually faded without them noticing was unclear.

The important thing was the phrase “we realized too late.”

While they could think normally amidst the fog, when thinking of something crucial, their minds felt clouded and hazy; now that they were out of the fog, their thoughts became increasingly clear.

And with their clarity came memories of meeting Camila.

Despite how suspicious she had seemed, for some reason, they had never once thought there was anything off about her.

As those memories surfaced, Kurt’s group turned pale with dread.

“Yikes… why didn’t we think something was off when we met her?”

“That’s right. It’s too strange that we came here looking for someone in a place with no people for decades.”

“And considering how dense the fog was, it’s absurd that we couldn’t find her!”

“W-wait a second! That fog itself was way too suspicious…”

As they recounted their conversation and actions with her in shock…

…

But amidst their horror, one member stood out with an especially pale face, trembling in fear.

“A-Aila? What’s wrong with you?”

It was Aila.

Her expression resembled someone who’d seen a ghost, completely drained of color as she trembled like a reed.

While it was undeniable that meeting Camila had been shocking, the other women, concerned at Aila’s excessive fear, were about to put their own shock aside and check on her when she stammered out.

“I… I just remembered…”

“What did you remember?”

“I don’t know why it didn’t come to mind sooner, but it’s about the nun’s robe she was wearing.”

“The nun’s robe…? What’s so weird about that? Sure, it was somewhat different from the ones you and Daria used to wear, but it was still a nun’s robe from the Holy Kingdom, right?”

“…That robe is one that hasn’t been used in the Holy Kingdom for decades, having been changed long ago.”

“…What?”

“…And I just remembered another thing. The reason this area is marked as a prohibited zone on the map… is that this area experienced a surge of undead decades ago, leading to the annihilation of its people, and even the adventurers sent to subdue them were wiped out repeatedly. The Holy Kingdom dispatched a special saint to resolve the issue. But when that special saint was overpowered by the mass of undead, the Kingdom deemed that the chance of any survivors remaining was non-existent and the difficulty of rescue was too high, thereby declaring this area off-limits… How could I have forgotten such important information while in the fog!?”

With a pale face, Aila finished her sentence.

“W-wait…”

“Then that means… the identity of the person we just met is…”

“Could it be the one dispatched to exterminate the undead decades ago…?”

“A ghost…!”

Now, it was their turn to turn pale.

Looking at each other, they all spontaneously…

““AAAHHHHHH!!””

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