The Reincarnated Lizardman Wants a Hamburger

The Safe House was in complete disarray.

It looked as if a storm had swept through, leaving behind a horrifying scene.

No, actually, a storm had indeed passed through.

Except that storm had taken the form of a person.

Berman stared at the wrecked Safe House with a hollow expression.

“Huh, huhuhu……”

“Ahem…! My apologies. I tried to subdue them as quietly and swiftly as possible, but since they were all somewhat skilled, it was difficult to take them down without destroying the hut.”

Seeing Berman’s hollow expression, Kurt, thinking he was upset about the Safe House being ruined, avoided eye contact and made a rare apologetic face as he tried to explain.

However, hearing Kurt’s non-apology, Berman could only look utterly baffled.

‘Somewhat skilled…? Including Rufus, the underlings he brought were all leaders and executives of the crime syndicate that once ruled Omerta’s streets. Given that they were figures from an era dominated by blood and violence, their high positions were a direct reflection of their combat prowess. And yet, their level is just “somewhat skilled”…?’

Even more baffling was that Rufus and his underlings, now lying on the ground like old rags, were all in a pitiful state, but not a single one had lost their life.

In fact, Berman hadn’t even fought properly.

While running the Capenna Family, Berman had never felt pride in the criminal organization itself, but he had never felt as hollow about running a crime syndicate as he did today.

‘The ruler of the streets, the emperor of the back alleys… in the end, is it all just this futile……?’

“Ha, hahaha……. Hahahaha!”

At that thought, the hollowness Berman felt suddenly turned into something lighter.

“Uh, what do we do? I think we broke the hut so badly that he’s lost his mind!”

“First, apologize! Come on, Serena, hurry up and apologize!”

“Why just me……. Ah, fine! Who said I wouldn’t apologize? Sorry! We went too far, didn’t we?”

“We’re sooorry!”

Seeing this, Kurt and his group all bowed their heads and apologized.

In truth, most of the damage to the hut was caused not by Kurt but by his companions.

Hearing the sounds of Rufus’s group fighting—or more accurately, the sounds of Kurt beating them like dogs—Kurt’s companions, being skilled adventurers, quickly prepared for battle and joined Kurt outside the room.

Unlike Kurt, who had a rough idea of what was happening in front of the hut’s owner, the others, who had just woken up and couldn’t fully grasp the situation, joined in without controlling their strength, causing the hut to rapidly and dramatically transform into ruins.

Especially in the latter half of the battle, when Rufus, completely losing his advantage, tried to rush at Liche, who had been casting magic from the rear due to her frail body, to take her hostage. At that moment, the armored knight, who had only been participating in the battle out of obligation, went berserk.

As a result, by the time the battle ended, the hut, which had been 70% intact and 30% ruined before the knight went berserk, had instantly become 70% ruins and 30% hut.

But despite the Safe House being reduced to tatters, Berman smiled refreshingly and said,

“No need to apologize. Thanks to you all, my life was saved. Compared to that, losing one hut is like getting change back.”

Hearing this, Kurt’s group let out a sigh of relief.

And so, Berman and Kurt’s group began cleaning up the hut, which now looked decades older, while tying up Rufus and his underlings, who were somewhere between rags and people.

And since the group had woken up somewhat early in the morning and were complaining of hunger, Kurt asked Berman for permission to bake some apple pies, which they then shared.

Though there were twists and turns, the storm-like events of the night eventually passed as if they were just a fleeting incident.

By now, the seemingly endless rain and thunder had stopped, and the dark night sky was giving way to the light of morning.

“Are you sure you don’t need help cleaning up?”

“It’s fine. A Safe House only has value when it’s hidden. Once its location is exposed, it’s worthless. So don’t worry about it and go on your way. Didn’t you say your journey is quite busy? With your skills, you won’t be in danger, but since you’ve gotten involved in the Capenna Family’s internal strife, staying in Omerta any longer will just drag you into more trouble.”

“If you say so, we’ll go……. Still, I feel like we’ve caused you some trouble.”

Kurt’s group showed signs of guilt, but Berman insisted they had no reason to apologize and urged them to leave.

And so, as the morning sun rose, Kurt’s group prepared to set off on their journey once more.

Just as they were about to leave, a group of people arrived at the Safe House.

“Boss!!”

“Boss Berman!!”

The ones who came rushing to the Safe House calling for Berman were none other than the members of the Capenna Family.

They had discovered Rufus’s rebellion in the morning and had searched all of Omerta to rescue Berman. Thanks to the loud battle Kurt’s group had fought while turning the hut into a rag, they had managed to find the hidden Safe House.

Upon finding Berman, covered in wounds, the Capenna Family members all rushed over with worried expressions.

“Boss!! Are you alright!”

“Those Rufus bastards…!!”

Their concern wasn’t just superficial loyalty to the boss of the organization—it was genuine.

Their expressions were like those of a real family, even if they weren’t related by blood.

“…You have them too. A family to share apple pie with.”

“…Yes, I do.”

Seeing this, Kurt smiled at Berman, and Berman, somewhat embarrassed, smiled back.

“Ahem! Alright, don’t just stand there. Go on your way. If the family members see you, they’ll start asking annoying questions.”

Berman coughed awkwardly and waved his hand, urging Kurt’s group to leave before the family members noticed them.

“You’ve got people to take care of you, so it’s fine to leave. That’s a relief.”

“Yeah.”

Seeing this, Kurt finally boarded the carriage with a lighter heart, and the rest of the group followed one by one.

Just as they were all boarding the carriage, and Lakia was about to get on, something else caught her eye.

The future, the past, the present. What had happened, what would happen, and what wouldn’t happen—all jumbled together in a chaotic mix of possibilities.

It was Prognostication.

Prognostication was something that couldn’t be controlled, and it came suddenly without warning.

‘I thought my Prognostication was weakening after seeing the future of the Empire…….’

So, for a moment, Lakia froze, but she quickly regained her composure and focused on the Prognostication.

What she saw was Berman.

Specifically, the Berman of the past—or perhaps, the Berman that could have been.

Prognostication was most useful for seeing the future, so those without the ability often mistakenly thought it was solely about foreseeing what was to come.

But the essence of Prognostication wasn’t about seeing the future—it was about seeing the possibilities of the world.

Most Prognostication involved seeing the future, but sometimes it showed the past, or even the present in faraway places, like clairvoyance.

And occasionally, it showed possibilities that had never come to pass, possibilities that had been erased.

The Prognostication before Lakia’s eyes was one such erased possibility.

In it, Berman refused Kurt’s apple pie and went alone to confront Rufus and his underlings.

Soon, Berman and Rufus’s group engaged in a bloody battle, and in the end, Berman managed to kill Rufus and all his underlings alone.

But everything came at a price, and that price had to be paid perfectly. That was the law of the Family.

And Berman paid that price according to the Family’s law.

Omerta’s streets gained peace, and the price was one man’s life.

As a result, Omerta’s streets were prevented from reverting to the past, but the Capenna Family lost its father and couldn’t move forward into the future.

But the moment Berman chose to eat Kurt’s apple pie, that possibility was erased, and a new one opened.

Berman didn’t go to confront Rufus’s group; instead, Rufus’s group came to him.

As a result, Kurt intervened in their bloody battle, allowing Berman to survive without dying.

And when morning came, the Family members, having discovered Rufus’s betrayal, rescued Berman, and he received treatment in time.

Thus, Berman maintained peace in Omerta’s streets without paying the price.

The Prognostication then moved further ahead, showing not the past or present, but the future.

With the help of the Family members, Berman survived without major aftereffects and returned to the Capenna Family, deciding to reform it.

‘I will reform the Family and bring it into the light. Therefore, all organizations tied to the Family’s crimes will be dissolved.’

‘The Family? Our Capenna Family just conquered Omerta’s streets…! Why!’

‘My childhood dream was to eliminate all crime organizations from Omerta’s streets.’

‘That’s why we wiped out all the crime organizations in Omerta!’

‘No. There’s still one left, isn’t there? The last crime organization that needs to disappear from Omerta’s streets is the Capenna Family. But even if the Capenna Family disappears, the bonds between people won’t. Regardless of the Capenna Family’s existence, we will all still be family.’

‘…If that’s your will, Boss, we will follow. But what will we do if the Capenna Family is reformed? Most of us have spent our lives in crime. A few with skills might survive in the light, but not everyone can.’

‘That…….’

The Berman in the Prognostication, who had been confidently declaring his ideals, paused for the first time.

Then, as if remembering someone, he wore a faint expression.

‘…Suddenly, I feel like eating apple pie.’

‘Boss?’

‘No, it’s nothing. Our Capenna Family will reform and become a sub-guild of the Adventurer Guild. As former criminals, we’ll be more efficient at dealing with other criminals.’

And so, Berman quickly reorganized the Capenna Family. Those among the Family members who wanted to move into the light found new lives, while those who didn’t stayed and became adventurers, forming a guild that specialized in tackling man-made dungeons or hunting down bounty targets.

This guild, which educated adventurers in the knowledge and techniques needed to deal with criminals, would later be known as the Thief Guild, growing into a worldwide sub-organization of the Adventurer Guild……

Having read this far into the future, Lakia smiled faintly, knowing that Berman’s story ended happily.

It was a story only she knew, and perhaps one that might never come to pass.

But even if it was just a possibility, that was enough.

Satisfied with the Prognostication’s outcome, Lakia suddenly wondered,

‘But why did the future’s possibility change?’

The most likely possibility was that he would refuse the apple pie and die fighting……

At that moment, the faint remnants of the Prognostication created a blurry vision of a person beside Berman.

It was another Prognostication.

They appeared to be young people in their 20s or 30s, all looking at Berman with kind eyes.

‘Is this also a future possibility…?’

As the Prognostication grew fainter, it was hard to make out, but after focusing intensely, Lakia realized that the vision wasn’t of the future.

‘No, those people aren’t from the future, they’re from the past…….’

At that moment, the blurry visions disappeared like a mirage.

As the Prognostication ended, so did the visions.

But Lakia felt she understood why Berman’s future had changed.

Berman didn’t pay the price because someone else had already paid it.

“Hey, Lakia. Aren’t you getting in the carriage?”

Having analyzed the Prognostication up to this point, Lakia finally snapped out of it at Kurt’s call.

“Mmm. I’ll be right there.”

“Honestly, sometimes I can’t tell what you’re thinking. What were you thinking about?”

“Oh, nothing much.”

“How boring.”

At Kurt’s words, she smiled mysteriously—or perhaps carefreely—as she always did.

And soon, the carriage set off.

Somewhere, the smell of baking bread and old paper lingered, and the sky was clear.

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