C-Class, Rank 77

After getting Saitama's address and contact details, Baicang left the supermarket, satisfied.

But when he activated "Bargainer" at the checkout, the discount came in the form of a prize for being the ten-thousandth customer.

That really surprised him.

"Bargainer" was actually an ability that manipulated causality, yet it was so useless. That had to be one of a kind.

Still, Saitama's envious look when they parted left him very satisfied.

After all.

There wasn't much in this world that could make Saitama jealous.

(Apart from hair~)

"I'm home, Runo."

Back at his doorstep, Baicang pushed the front door open and called inside.

"Big brother!"

A white figure flew straight into his arms.

No longer surprised, he caught her with practiced ease and spun around a few times to absorb the impact before setting Runo down.

Then he couldn't resist ruffling her hair again.

Runo gave him a sweet smile.

She stepped forward and curiously rummaged through his shopping bags for the eel. Finding not even a hint of a fishy smell, she asked quietly, "Big brother, you... didn't fail the hero assessment, did you?"

Baicang froze as realization struck.

Oh, right! I was so busy talking to Saitama that I forgot to buy the eel!

Baicang smiled awkwardly. "I... I passed. As for the eel..."

"Hmm?"

Looking at the expectant gaze on Runo's adorable little face.

Baicang found himself in a bind.

No, I can't let Runo think I'm a jerk who forgets his promises to his little sister.

"A monster stole the eel! Yes, that's what happened."

You'll just have to do me one last favor, pig-head monster! Baicang cried inwardly.

Sure enough, Runo stopped asking about the eel. Instead, she asked anxiously, "What? Did you get hurt, big brother?"

Without even waiting for an answer, she began feeling him all over.

Noticing pedestrians stopping to watch the siblings tugging at each other, Baicang hurriedly pulled Runo inside before their looks could turn strange.

After shutting the door to block out the passersby's stares, Baicang quickly pulled Runo's little hands away from his body.

"I'm fine. Don't worry, Runo. Your big brother is strong. Last time was just an accident."

"This time, I blew the monster apart with one punch!"

With that, he struck a bodybuilder's pose.

Seeing that he could still pose in front of her, and finding no wounds on him, Runo finally relaxed.

She said nothing, simply wrapping both arms tightly around her big brother.

The sudden hug.

Made Baicang pause for a moment. Once he recovered, he stopped showing off his biceps and gently hugged Runo back.

Holding the soft, warm Runo, Baicang failed to notice the cold glint in the girl's eyes.

A long time passed.

Only when Runo's cheeks grew unbearably hot did she quietly let go of Baicang.

Feeling her brother's gaze still on her.

Runo suddenly shouted, "I... I'm going to take a bath!"

Then she ran off without looking back.

"A bath this early?"

Watching Runo suddenly flee as if for her life, Baicang found it rather strange.

Helplessly, he carried the ingredients into the kitchen.

"I really am doomed to a life of toil~"

The Hero Association's City M branch.

In a room on the top floor of the building, a group of people were discussing the attack on A City.

One man in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses asked the "child" seated on the bench in front of him, puzzled, "Are we really going to rate him C-Class, Lady Tatsumaki?"

"Hmph! He should count himself lucky that all we did was demote him to C-Class."

On the bench, a petite girl with curly green hair pouted as she spoke angrily.

"Headquarters even sent me here to take a look. A fraud like him shouldn't have passed at all!"

Disgust spread across her delicate, adorable face.

"But he really does have B-Class..."

Apparently tired of talking, the little girl's pupils glowed green as she said slowly, "Are you questioning me?"

"No! Absolutely not!"

Sensing trouble, the bespectacled man answered hastily, breaking into a cold sweat.

"Hmph!"

Everyone around them trembled too.

Ding...

Baicang was eating at the dining table when he heard a notification from his phone.

"Could that be your girlfriend, big brother?"

Runo set down her bowl and leaned over curiously.

Baicang pressed a finger against Runo's nose, pushing her back into her seat, and said irritably, "Don't worry. Your brother has no money. No woman would be interested in me."

Then he opened his phone to check the message he had just received.

Oh, it was a message from the Hero Association.

Congratulations on passing the hero assessment. Your total score is 75 points, with 30 points on the written exam and 45 points on the physical test. Based on your results:

Your hero class is C-Class, and your current rank is 77.

"What?! C-Class?!" Baicang cried in disbelief.

That makes no sense. Based on what I know about myself...

Those three interviewers must have done this on purpose. So my psychic power is a little weird. Did they really have to dock points for that?

Baicang scowled, inwardly cursing the three interviewers.

Seeing that her brother was in a bad mood.

Runo tried to comfort him. "It's okay. C-Class is still higher than D-Class."

"C-Class is the lowest..." Baicang muttered.

The smile on Runo's face instantly froze.

"Don't worry. C-Class assignments are much safer than B-Class ones. That's a good thing too."

Baicang laughed, turning around to comfort Runo instead.

He also told her to be extra careful on her way to school over the next few days, and to head straight to a shelter whenever she heard an emergency broadcast.

Because only after watching the follow-up news reports had Baicang realized.

The footage of the devastation in A City looked exactly like Vaccine Man's attack in the anime's first episode.

That meant the anime's plot had already begun.

More Dragon-level monsters would appear soon, and the cities would become more dangerous.

"I need to hurry," Baicang said, troubled.

Runo watched her brother's expression change yet again, her little eyes filled with enormous confusion.

For several days after that, nothing major happened.

But Baicang ran into a very frustrating problem.

He... was out of money.

To become a full-time hero, he had quit his job as a supermarket cashier, thinking that as a B-Class hero, he could collect a salary and earn bonuses by dealing with monster incidents.

Who knew he would be assigned to C-Class? The monthly salary was far too low, and the C-Class jobs assigned by the Hero Association were all trivial errands that barely paid anything. He couldn't accept higher-level assignments, either.

At this rate, he wouldn't be able to support Runo anymore!

His steadily growing appetite was partly to blame too...

"Forget it. I'll go out and find work myself. If that doesn't work, I'll borrow a monster's miserable life to pad my record."

With his plan decided, Baicang soon set off.

Downtown City M.

"Honk, honk, honk!"

"Do you even know how to drive?" "Are you talking to me?!"

"An electric scooter suddenly appeared right in front of my car and scared the hell out of me!"

"Not my fucking problem! I @*% you!"

"I # you..."

Drivers' curses and blaring horns rose and fell along the road.

A little pink electric scooter covered in heart-shaped glitter stickers sped away from the scene.

The culprit, Baicang, pulled his cap lower and muttered, "This little scooter is really hard to ride."

He had originally bought the pink scooter for Runo so she could make a quick escape if she ran into danger on her way to school. He had even planned to surprise her with it.

Who could have known.

Runo, who had been thrilled ever since hearing he had a surprise for her, fell silent the moment she saw it.

She told Baicang she wouldn't be caught dead riding such an embarrassing scooter.

With no other choice, he had turned it into his own battle steed...

Don't girls all like this kind of pink, sparkly stuff? Baicang wondered in confusion.

Then he rode his battle steed off again and began patrolling the streets.