The Bald Demon King Appeared!

"All A-Class Heroes currently at the branch, please head out to provide support immediately!"

"What? The disaster level is Demon-level!"

After hearing the announcement, the stubbled middle-aged man forgot all about Baicang's astonishing superpower. He said a few words into the microphone on the desk, then launched into a heated discussion with his colleagues.

A short while later.

The young woman in uniform came over again and said apologetically to Baicang, "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Baicang."

"An emergency has come up. I'll escort you out first, and we'll send you the results of your ranking assessment shortly."

"Oh, don't worry about it."

Happy to escape the awkward atmosphere from earlier, Baicang briskly followed the young woman out of the room.

Once he was downstairs outside the building.

Amid the clamor all around him, cars drove out of the tunnel beneath the branch building one after another. Nearby, staff were lining up and checking their equipment, ready to leave at any moment.

It looked like this disaster was pretty serious.

But Baicang knew that once they reached the scene, all they could do was help the injured and deal with the aftermath.

Only the Hero Association's S-Class Heroes and a handful of A-Class Heroes could fight, or even resolve, a Demon-level disaster.

At that thought, he could only shake his head helplessly.

"What a brutal gap in strength..."

Baicang didn't dwell on it. City M was far from A City anyway, so this place wouldn't be affected. He didn't have that much time to worry about whether other people lived or died.

His priority now was to buy eel at the supermarket. He remembered that Runo liked eel rice too.

Though, come to think of it, Runo said she liked everything he cooked.

He took out his phone.

Baicang headed toward a nearby supermarket that was running a sale, planning to test how "Bargainer" worked along the way.

As he passed an intersection, he noticed pedestrians stopping to watch the giant screen in the middle of the road, where an emergency news bulletin was airing.

On-screen, a reporter wearing a yellow hard hat was reporting from the disaster site.

"As you can see, there have been massive explosions. The destruction caused by this monster is unprecedented."

"And the scale of the destruction continues to grow. The Hero Association currently estimates the disaster level at... bzzzt..."

The camera shook, screams rang out, and the picture on the screen vanished in an instant.

"Oh my God, how could this happen?"

"A City! Oh no, my friend works there!"

After the broadcast cut out, the people watching on the street began talking among themselves. Some were frightened of the monster, while others worried about their friends.

But every last one of them was anxious about their own future.

After praying for the brave reporter for a few seconds, Baicang continued toward the supermarket on his phone's navigation app.

The tall buildings around him gradually gave way to small, two-story buildings, and the broad roads turned into narrow alleys.

Baicang arrived at a shopping street.

Although a few shops on either side were still open, most were closed, and there were very few people around.

"This area is so deserted. Is there really a supermarket here?"

Just as Baicang was about to refresh his phone's network connection, a passerby beside him suddenly screamed in terror, stumbled backward onto the ground, then scrambled up and fled.

Whoosh!

A chill ran down Baicang's back. Sensing danger, he performed a combat roll and narrowly evaded the attack from behind.

Bam!

An enormous fist grazed Baicang's hair and slammed into the alley wall with a thunderous crash.

Seeing half the wall collapse outright, Baicang broke out in a cold sweat.

That was close. Runo almost lost me.

"Oink, oink, oink!"

The figure that had attacked Baicang let out a strange squeal. He was a monster over three meters tall and three meters wide, with a human lower body and a pig's upper body.

"You actually dodged it! You bastard, you're really hard to kill!"

The Pig-Headed Monster roared furiously.

Looking at that familiar pig's head, Baicang remembered that this monster, the "Handsome Butcher," had ambushed and seriously injured him, putting him in the hospital last time.

"So it was you! You had the nerve to ambush me last time. Today, you're dead!" Baicang said through gritted teeth.

Baicang had never gotten over that attack.

The reason he had dared to go to Z City to look for Saitama was that he believed his current strength was enough to handle ordinary monsters, as long as he was careful.

Who would have guessed that this Pig-Headed Monster would shamelessly ambush him from behind on his way home that night?

It had frightened Runo so badly that she had nearly done something foolish.

Even after he recovered, Runo lectured him every day, forcing him to shelve his plans to find Saitama.

"Got the guts to fight me head-on?!" Baicang taunted.

Just as he was about to charge in and fight, a bald man in a yellow combat suit appeared at the mouth of the alley, holding a flyer.

"What are you doing?"

Seeing Baicang and the Pig-Headed Monster blocking the middle of the road and "gazing affectionately at each other," the bald man scratched his head in confusion.

Baicang, meanwhile, was so shocked his eyes nearly popped out.

"S-Saitama-sensei!!"

Saitama looked at Baicang in confusion and asked, "Huh? Who are you? Why are you calling me sensei?"

"Get lost, you idiot!"

Enraged that Saitama's sudden appearance had interrupted his hunt, the Pig-Headed Monster leaped above him and swung a fist straight down.

Saitama simply raised his head slowly and lightly swung a fist at the Pig-Headed Monster overhead.

Bam!

Before Baicang's eyes, the Pig-Headed Monster exploded into pieces in midair, chunks raining down all over the place.

"Oh no! Was he your friend?"

Thinking the Pig-Headed Monster and Baicang had been friends chatting on the street, Saitama suddenly looked nervous.

Baicang hurriedly explained, "No! It's fine. He was here to kill me."

"Oh, really? That's a relief."

Saitama let out a relieved breath, then turned to leave.

"Please wait! Thank you for saving me. I want to repay you!"

Of course, Baicang couldn't just let Saitama leave like that. He hurried over and blocked his path.

"Huh? No need."

Seeing that Saitama had no intention of staying, Baicang grew anxious. Then he noticed the flyer Saitama had been holding the whole time.

Daimaru Supermarket's first anniversary celebration-huge discounts on all products!

"I'm a VVIP at Daimaru Supermarket. I can get double discounts," Baicang hurriedly said.

"Yes, please!"

After Saitama heard about the double discounts...

Daimaru Supermarket.

"Oh, so you're a hero too."

"Yep. I just decided to become one today."

In the end, the lure of double discounts won Saitama over, and he accepted Baicang's offer.

While shopping, Baicang took the opportunity to chat with Saitama, who was a little surprised to learn that he had only become a hero that day.

Putting some sushi marked twenty percent off into the cart, Saitama asked Baicang curiously, "Why did you call me sensei when you saw me?"

Uh, because I've heard Genos say it too often?

"Because, Saitama, one look at you tells me you're a powerful, experienced hero who's been famous for ages!"

"I couldn't help admiring you. I wanted to learn from you and become your disciple, so it just slipped out."

Baicang lied shamelessly, all for the sake of deepening his relationship with Saitama.

This was an invincible being in this world. A little more sucking up could never hurt.

"Huh?"

Saitama had been pretty pleased with the first half, but by the second half, he was simply bewildered.

"Please, Saitama-sensei. I want to protect my little sister, so I need to get stronger."

Before Saitama could speak.

Clutching a large green onion, Baicang said sorrowfully, "My little sister and I are both orphans. We've depended on each other since childhood, but monsters are too strong. Right now, I'm simply not capable of keeping her safe."

"So I'd like to ask you, Saitama-sensei, to teach me how to become stronger."

But taking on a disciple sounds like such a hassle. I've never been a teacher either. What should I do? Saitama thought in distress.

Unsure how to answer for the moment, he looked this way and that, avoiding Baicang's earnest gaze.

Baicang knew that Saitama hated troublesome things, so he wasn't in a rush to succeed on his first attempt.

He ventured, "I know this is an unreasonable request, so I'll prove my determination through my actions, sensei!"

"Well... um..."

"Could you give me your address and contact information? I'd like to ask your advice on how to become a great hero."

"..."

"Please."