The Man Who Awakened [Saitama Fate]

Only then did the owner snap back to his senses, though he was still far from calm.

He had heard that Homelander liked duck leg rice, but he had never imagined Homelander would visit his little shop one day.

To serve Homelander duck leg rice he had made with his own hands—what an honor!

The owner pulled himself together and said sternly, "That's enough, Luke."

"Do you know who he is?" The owner looked at Homelander, his eyes full of admiration. "He's Homelander! A great hero of the Federation!"

Luke was baffled. Who exactly was this Homelander?

Homelander dipped his chin and forced a faint smile for the owner.

At the sight of Homelander smiling at him, the owner's knees went weak. He nearly dropped to the floor.

Homelander was a dazzling figure. Even a moment of eye contact with him left the owner feeling overwhelmed.

"Luke, apologize to Homelander. Now," he said sharply.

Then he turned to Homelander with a fawning smile. "That brat doesn't know who he's dealing with. I'll give him a proper talking-to later..."

"Why should I apologize?" Luke asked. "You eat a meal, you pay for it. Isn't that only right?"

Eat one bowl of duck leg rice, pay for one bowl. Eat two, pay for two.

Eat a bowl and try to leave without paying? Wasn't that taking advantage of an honest man?

The owner was furious. This kid was as stubborn as a rock at the bottom of a latrine.

"Luke!" He glared at him. "If you don't apologize to Homelander, don't bother coming to work tomorrow."

Luke had not expected the owner to side so firmly with Homelander. He searched his conscience and found he had done nothing wrong.

Why should I apologize when I haven't done anything wrong?

But if he refused, he would lose his job.

If I'm not wrong, is the world?

Luke thought for three seconds and made his decision.

Living without betraying what I believe in—that's what it means to truly live.

He walked up to Homelander and slowly held out a hand.

"Pay up. Fifteen bucks."

"I won't." Homelander's face twisted.

Red light flashed in his eyes once more.

Blazing red lasers shot from both eyes.

This was one of Homelander's Psychic Powers: Laser Eyes.

Lasers capable of piercing anything and destroying everything struck Luke square in the chest.

Yes, those searing beams could pierce anything.

But they still could not pierce Luke.

They burned through his clothes in an instant, yet went no farther. Sparks scattered across his chest.

Only then did Homelander realize the young man before him was no ordinary person.

Clearly, Luke had superpowers too.

Lit by the sparks, Luke's face was frighteningly grim.

He drew back his arm and punched Homelander.

Homelander instinctively raised his left arm to block.

His body was extraordinarily tough, but he had a powerful feeling that if he did not block this punch head-on, it would smash his skull.

His instinct was right.

Luke's fist slammed into Homelander's left arm. Pain tore through it, and the shock nearly numbed the entire left side of his body.

Even so, he could not fully absorb the terrifying force. His body pitched to the right, and his right knee crashed into the ground.

A huge hole opened in the floor. Half his shin sank into it as broken stone flew.

Homelander was aghast. This young man seemed to surpass him in both physical toughness and raw strength.

He had never faced such a terrifying opponent. Worse, he knew nothing about the exact nature of Luke's Psychic Powers.

Luke looked at Homelander, half-kneeling on the ground, and held out his hand again. "Pay up."

"I really don't have any money on me."

For the first time since becoming a superhero, Homelander's voice held a hint of concession.

Luke thought for a moment. If Homelander had no money on him, Luke could take something as collateral.

He looked Homelander over, stepped forward, grabbed his left hand, and pulled the watch off his wrist.

It was a limited-edition Versatile Jadeite worth hundreds of thousands.

Enough to buy tens of thousands of servings of duck leg rice.

Luke had no idea what the watch was worth. He did not even know what Versatile Jadeite was, but surely a watch was worth fifteen bucks.

"I'll take this watch as collateral for your meal," Luke said.

Homelander still could not move his arm. Shock and rage churned inside him, but he no longer dared to attack recklessly.

I can settle this later. Once Vought International's intelligence people find out what his Psychic Powers are and where his weakness lies, I'll come back for him.

Besides, it was only a Versatile Jadeite. Its price might be astronomical to an ordinary person, but to Homelander, it was nothing.

Luke tossed the watch to the owner. The owner stood frozen and forgot to catch it.

The watch hit the floor with a clack.

The owner came to his senses, dropped to his knees, and scrambled to pick it up.

This was Homelander's watch. If it broke, he could never answer for it.

His hands trembling, the owner examined it. Only when he saw it was undamaged did he look up at Homelander.

Homelander gave no response.

So the owner looked at Luke instead.

"Maybe you should hold on to it..." he said hesitantly.

Luke stepped forward and took the Versatile Jadeite, worth hundreds of thousands. Then he told Homelander, "I've quit, but I'll come back here tomorrow and wait for you. Bring the money and settle your bill, and I'll return your watch."

"Now get lost."

Homelander had suffered a terrible humiliation today. He gave Luke one last, lingering look.

He would remember this young man forever. Etch him into his bones.

I'm Homelander, and I'll never let you get away with this.

Homelander looked away.

The floor suddenly exploded, and Homelander vanished.

Luke turned to the owner, unsure what to say.

"Take care of yourself, boss." Luke patted him on the shoulder.

Then Luke remembered something important he still had to do.

He pulled out his phone and checked the time.

Eight twenty-three.

Thirty-seven minutes until the supermarket closed.

My discounted beef shoulder. My pork cutlet curry rice.

Luke bolted out the door, leaving the owner standing there in a daze.

Just then, the old man who had sat motionless in the corner the whole time raised his head.

His eyes were entirely black.

If the owner had met his gaze, he would have had the fright of his life.

The old man had no whites in his eyes, only endless darkness.

He looked toward the door. Luke was already gone.

The old man sighed softly. His eyes revealed nothing, but his feelings were clearly complicated.

"How enviable," he murmured.

"A man who awakened [Saitama Fate]."