Chapter 5

The Lizardman Village, located near the wetlands, is always shrouded in mist by dawn. This mist enveloping the village acts as a natural shield, protecting it from invaders. In the thick fog where even a step ahead is invisible, two Lizardmen stood facing each other.

“Are you really leaving the village…?” asked Kirsh, the Great Warrior, the highest-ranking warrior in the village. He and I had grown up together since the days when I couldn’t even shed my skin on my own and needed help from my parents. This conversation had repeated several times already. He probably didn’t want to accept that I was leaving. But my mind was already made up. Because I could no longer live in this village.

“Yes. I’m leaving this village.”

“Why! Why are you leaving our village…?”

Because…

“This village is full of people who don’t understand gourmet food.”

I’m tired of dealing with guys who just shout that anything tastes good as long as it goes into their mouths, whether the meat stinks or they’ve gathered rare seasonings from human merchants.

“Just for that reason?! Food is all the same once it’s in your mouth!”

“That’s exactly the problem!”

All Lizardmen are fools who can only distinguish between grilled meat and raw meat by texture! My thoughts became even more solidified after a meal I had with a human boy I met by chance recently. Yes. A true person should know how to enjoy delicious food, strive to eat even better food tomorrow, and eventually have their own idea of what the most delicious food is.

So, I will leave this village where I was born and raised. And I will explore the wide world and delve into the unknown realms of cuisine. Yes. I am destined to be a seeker of flavor!

“Dammit! If you leave now, the position of the village’s top hunter will be empty!”

“Just as the sun sets and rises again the next day, another hunter will take my place even if I’m gone.”

“Damn it…! But no other hunter can handle the Basilisk of the Verde Jungle! Only you can defeat that thing!”

“I already hunted it a few days ago.”

“What?!”

“Here’s a necklace made from its teeth. As the Great Warrior, you should wear something like this.”

When I handed him the necklace I had made overnight, he pushed my hand away, his pupils slitting vertically as he held back tears. Realizing I had already hunted the Basilisk, he must have felt there was no turning back.

“Damn it! What’s the point of being the Great Warrior?! It’s just an honor you got because you insisted on becoming a hunter!”

“But the Great Warrior is you, not me. Take it.”

I was never suited to be a warrior anyway. I chose the path of a hunter because it was the only job where I wouldn’t have to harm others directly. Even if I hadn’t become a hunter, I would never have become a warrior.

I handed the necklace to Kirsh again, and he reluctantly accepted it.

“Are you really leaving…?”

This was a question I had lost count of. But without showing any annoyance, I calmly replied.

“Yes. I’m going to see the world.”

And eat delicious food.

A lot.

“Tch… On the day you became a Transcendent, the whole village celebrated, but I had a feeling this day would come.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’m off. Give my regards to the villagers.”

If I told the villagers, they would surely try to stop me. Only Kirsh knows I’m leaving.

As I quietly prepared to leave the village…

“Kurt!”

“Lakia…! How did you get here?”

At that moment, Lakia, another childhood friend who had been with me since I couldn’t shed my skin on my own, had followed me. Just as Kirsh held the position of Great Warrior in the village, Lakia was an apprentice shaman, destined to inherit the role of the village’s only shaman.

“I did a divination and saw that one of the village’s pillars would disappear soon. So, I’ve been keeping an eye on you and Kirsh.”

“Tch. This is why shamans…”

I didn’t want to get caught, especially by Lakia. Lakia was a pink Lizardwoman with a round face that resembled an Upa-Lupa more than a lizard, making her adorable. Thanks to her cute looks, she was treated like an idol among the young Lizardmen. If she hadn’t become an apprentice shaman, there would have been fights over her, leaving scars that wouldn’t heal until shedding.

But that wasn’t why I avoided her. The problem was that she liked me. However, even though I had been reborn as a Lizardman, my soul had lived over 20 years as a human. No matter how cute she was, I couldn’t see a Lizardman as a romantic interest. Damn it. I never thought she was cute before, but recently, maybe because of the Lizardman’s sense of beauty, I started finding Lakia cute. Maybe that’s another reason I’m leaving.

“I’m leaving. Don’t stop me.”

“Okay. I won’t. The divination said you’d leave, so there’s no point in stopping you.”

“…I thought you’d cry and try to stop me.”

“If crying would stop you, I would have. But even if I did, you’d still leave, right?”

“….”

“So, I’ll send you off with a smile.”

Tch. This is why I didn’t want to get caught.

I turned my head so they couldn’t see my face.

“Kirsh. Don’t cry. You’re the Great Warrior.”

“What are you talking about? You’re the one who’s about to cry.”

“Lakia. Practice your shamanism diligently. You’re a bit slow, so you need to work twice as hard as others.”

“Okay. I know.”

“And in my hut, I’ve prepared a helmet made from the Basilisk’s skull for you. Take it.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“Then I’m off.”

With that, I left without looking back. That was my farewell to the hometown where I had spent my entire life since being reborn in this world.

.

.

.

“He’s gone.”

“Yeah. He’s gone.”

Kirsh, staring into the mist where his friend’s figure had disappeared, suddenly looked at Lakia.

“You let him go surprisingly easily.”

“The divination said he’d leave anyway. And…”

“And?”

“This isn’t a permanent goodbye. We’ll meet again soon.”

Lakia playfully stuck out her tongue, revealing a hidden divination she hadn’t told Kurt. Seeing this, Kirsh thought that despite always seeming slow, Lakia always managed to surprise him and Kurt at unexpected moments.

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Hoo. Although my goal was to leave the secretive Lizardman village hidden in the wetlands, now that I was actually on the road, I didn’t feel at ease. Until now, I had always thought of myself as human, but perhaps I had been influenced by the Lizardman’s way of life. But it’s too late now. Whether my identity is human or Lizardman, I can no longer stay in the Lizardman village.

“What should I do first when I get to the human world?”

Of course, I was confident in my combat skills, so I wasn’t worried about starving. Yes. Like the boy I met last time said, maybe I’ll become an adventurer. No, actually, adventurer is the only option. I can roam the world freely and eat whatever I want. Come to think of it, since being reborn in this body, I haven’t even seen seafood. Maybe I’ll head towards the sea first. Though I don’t even know which direction the sea is. Hahaha.

“Kyaaaah!!”

While walking and planning my future to clear my mind, I heard a woman’s scream from somewhere. Yes. Maybe it’s better to move my body and clear my head. In cases like this, it’s usually a cliché to save a noblewoman being attacked by bandits. Thinking this, I ran towards the source of the scream, and there,

An elf woman was being attacked by a fire-breathing plant.

What the???