Saitama Drops By for Dinner

Besides retaining his status as a professional hero, Bai Ye had also climbed a little in the rankings, rising from last place in C-Class to rank 351.

He hadn't risen very far because the Potato Monster was only an ordinary Wolf-Level Monster.

Hero rankings weren't based entirely on strength. They mainly depended on contributions to society and the association.

Contributions to society included defeating monsters, subduing criminals, and doing good deeds, while contributions to the association consisted of various special assignments arranged by the Hero Association...

In other words, how far Bai Ye rose in the rankings mainly depended on how much of a threat the monster he defeated posed to society, not how spectacularly he defeated it.

At least I'm not dead last anymore...

Bai Ye inwardly grumbled.

"I see your name, Bai Ye... Looks like you don't have a hero alias yet, but you'll get one after you've been active for a while."

Mumen Rider spoke.

"Yeah, hopefully it'll be something normal."

Bai Ye sighed.

Since the Hero Association's executives chose every newcomer's hero alias, they sometimes got rather careless and gave newcomers bizarre names, like Saitama's [Bald Cape-Man].

The worst off were the few who later formed the "Hero Name Victims Association": C-Class's [Drunkard], C-Class's [Closet Pervert Doctor], and B-Class's [Big Pervert]. Their hero aliases weren't just strange; they also easily invited ridicule and misunderstandings from the public.

Since Mumen Rider had come to the Hero Association to take care of some business, Bai Ye headed back first.

The sky was gradually growing dark, and Bai Ye figured it was time to buy some ingredients and go home to make dinner. He was already getting a little hungry.

At that thought, he rummaged through his pocket and discovered a bank card. Without a doubt, the system had supplied it too.

I wonder how much money is on it...

Bai Ye tried asking the system in his mind.

The system immediately answered.

[Ding! This bank card has a balance of 100,000 yen. Please budget your spending wisely, host!]

In the world of "One-Punch Man," the currency was indeed yen.

A hundred thousand yen wasn't a huge sum, but it wasn't small either. A rough conversion put it at around five thousand RMB.

Bai Ye then headed to a nearby supermarket to see whether any ingredients were on sale.

Once he finished shopping, Bai Ye planned to teleport straight home from the supermarket entrance.

He activated Kamui in his right eye, transporting himself into the Kamui Dimension.

The moment he entered, he saw the Potato Monster sitting there, seemingly questioning his entire existence.

He had probably tried all sorts of methods but failed to escape this strange space no matter what he did, leaving him questioning his life.

"Oh, right. You're still in the Kamui Dimension."

Bai Ye had nearly forgotten about the Potato Monster.

"You!"

Seeing Bai Ye suddenly appear, the Potato Monster sprang to his feet, ready to deliver a headbutt to this damned human.

But Bai Ye interrupted the Potato Monster before he could launch his attack. "You have two choices. Come with me to the Hero Association and turn yourself in, or stay trapped here for the rest of your life until you die."

In truth, he couldn't really keep the Potato Monster locked in the Kamui Dimension forever. For Bai Ye, who possessed Dual Kamui, having someone in the Kamui Dimension was equivalent to having someone at his back.

That was because one of dual Kamui's main abilities, "intangibility," worked by transferring his physical body into the Kamui Dimension, allowing him to ignore all attacks in the real world. At those moments, however, his physical body was completely defenseless inside the Kamui Dimension, so...

Of course, that was just an example. Bai Ye had no reason to keep the Potato Monster locked up here anyway. He could even kill him on the spot.

He simply shared Saitama's dislike of casually slaughtering monsters who hadn't harmed humans.

If nothing else, there really weren't many scenes in "One-Punch Man" where monsters actually killed humans, though perhaps they simply weren't shown on purpose.

In any case, Bai Ye was only using this to frighten the Potato Monster.

And the Potato Monster really was frightened. He still hadn't found any way out, so he believed Bai Ye truly could trap him here for the rest of his life.

"I... I'll go turn myself in with you. I don't want to be locked up here."

The Potato Monster immediately backed down.

Even being locked in the Hero Association's special monster prison would be far better than staying in this eerie, sunless Alternate Dimension filled with nothing but countless pillars.

At least everyone in prison was talented and knew how to make good conversation.

Seeing that, Bai Ye wasted no more time. He first dropped the Potato Monster off at the Hero Association, then went home himself.

When he reached his front door, Saitama happened to emerge from the stairwell.

The two exchanged a glance in the hallway.

Saitama was carrying a small bag of bean sprouts, probably bought because some convenience store had put them on sale that day.

The large bag of ingredients in Bai Ye's hand made for a stark contrast.

Saitama naturally noticed. Though he was a little envious, he couldn't bring himself to shamelessly ask for any, much less use his strength to take them by force.

Then Bai Ye spoke first. "Oh, Saitama! I happened to buy a bit too much food today. Want to come over for a while?"

"Sure."

Saitama readily agreed, his face once again sporting that guileless smile drawn in his powerful-hero style. "But all I've got is a bag of bean sprouts, if you don't mind."

"That's fine. I like bean sprouts too."

Bai Ye replied casually.

"Then I'll take you up on that."

Without the slightest awkwardness, Saitama stepped into Bai Ye's home as naturally as could be.

Bai Ye put the ingredients in the kitchen and prepared to get straight to work.

"Need any help?"

Saitama came over and asked.

"No, just sit over there and have some tea."

Bai Ye replied.

"Okay."

Saitama nodded.

Bai Ye then began cooking the rice and preparing the dishes.

Before transmigrating, he had spent years cooking for himself, so he already had a solid foundation. With his pair of Mangekyō Sharingan on top of that, his cooking skills reached a whole new level.

Fine tasks such as knife work, controlling the seasoning, and managing the heat were all easy under the Mangekyō Sharingan's extraordinary powers of perception.

Sitting in the living room, drinking tea and watching television, Saitama soon caught the aroma wafting out of the kitchen.

"That smells great. Looks like this new neighbor is a really good cook."

Saitama murmured to himself.

He'd been startled earlier that day when he discovered a new neighbor had suddenly moved in.

He hadn't expected to get a free dinner here too. This was quite a treat, and countless times better than the pitiful little bag of bean sprouts he'd bought himself.