Sure enough, that brat suddenly erupted with the aura of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist.
His footwork blurred into a phantom, and in the blink of an eye, he had descended halfway down the mountain stairs.
“…” Bang took a deep breath.
With his hands behind his back, he turned and walked expressionlessly back into the dojo.
…
Slurp!
Upon returning home, Kenji cooked himself two packets of instant noodles.
To add some nutrition, he threw in some braised beef, vegetables, and five eggs.
A large pot of noodles was ready.
Kenji picked up some noodles to take a bite, but his phone suddenly rang in his pocket.
“Hello, this is Kenji.” “Kenji, it’s Saitama.” “Oh, Saitama.
What’s up?” Evening, at a phone booth.
Saitama glanced back at the group of monsters and wanted criminals tied up in a circle behind him.
“It’s like this: I caught a bunch of bad guys, and one of them is a monster.
Thinking that you’re a police officer, I’m calling you to report the incident.” “A bunch of bad guys and a monster?” The amount of information in those keywords left Kenji a bit bewildered.
Moreover, the normal procedure for reporting a crime wasn’t to call a police friend’s personal phone!
However, remembering Saitama’s unique thought process, he expressed understanding.
“Alright, got it.
Where are you living?
I’ll head over right now.” “I live at…” Using his telekinesis to grab a pen and paper, Kenji jotted down the address Saitama provided.
He then picked up his pot and practically inhaled his noodles in a few bites.
The scalding food tumbled into his stomach, turning into energy to replenish his hunger-depleted body after the special training.
Fully fed, Kenji made two phone calls.
Then, opening the balcony door, azure telekinetic energy enveloped his body, and he shot into the sky.
Ten minutes later.
Receiving Kenji’s intel, the police department immediately dispatched a SWAT team.
Led by armored vehicles, they roared all the way to the building where Saitama lived—a row of simple, two-story rental apartments.
Due to its remote location and cheap rent, the tenants there were a mixed bag.
It had long developed into a criminal den, known in urban legends as the “Crime Department Store.” Only someone as dense as Saitama could live there for so long before noticing anything wrong.
Of course, with his financial situation, he didn’t have any better options.
A group of heavily armed SWAT officers poured out of the police cars and quickly controlled the situation.
At the same time, the Hero Association, having received the news, rushed over under Lani’s leadership.
The two sides ran into each other right at the scene.
Meanwhile, Kenji was pulling Saitama aside to ask for the details.
It turned out that when Saitama went to pick up his clothes, he learned that the tailor shop owner had borrowed money from an underground loan shark due to cash flow problems and was forced to use the shop as collateral.
Driven by his sense of justice, Saitama decided to help the owner solve this problem.
Who would have known that the underground loan shark was operating right next door to his rented apartment?
What’s more, the loan shark boss transformed into a dark Goldfish Monster right in front of him.
Although it wasn’t strong, it was disgusting.
And it caused his freshly mended tracksuit to tear open once again.
“An underground loan shark, an underwear thief, a counterfeit money operation…
I never imagined mending clothes could stir up so much trouble.
Anyway great job” “Eh?
Is that a compliment?
It feels somewhat off.” “Just take it as a compliment,” Kenji said, pulling Saitama over to where the police and the Hero Association were arguing over jurisdiction.
“Come on, repeat what you just told me.” “Ah?
I have to say it again?
That’s so troublesome!” “Yare yare, so you do know what troublesome means?
Cut the crap and hurry up!” …
“As for the rest, the Association will coordinate directly with the police department.” “Thank you, Mr.
Kenji.
The Association is currently preparing to build the world’s most advanced monster prison.
I will persuade the police to hand that Goldfish Monster over to us!” Lani puffed out her chest, her face full of gratitude.
“Please be sure to contact us if you make another catch like this!” “Yeah, yeah, sure.” Kenji remembered Saitama, who was currently giving his statement because he was afraid of trouble.
“By the way, that monster was defeated by Saitama alone, and he’s also the one who beat the Frog Man last time.
Do you want to meet him?” “Oh, is he your friend, Mr.
Kenji?
Of course.
When I go back, I can even apply for a bonus from the Association to reward an enthusiastic citizen like him.” “Ah?
This isn’t about a bonus…” Seeing that Lani had absolutely no intention of recruiting Saitama, Kenji could only drop the matter.
As a friend, he didn’t want his relationship with Saitama to turn into some vulgar financial transaction.
By the time everything was sorted out, it was already late at night.
After seeing off the large group of police officers, Saitama felt like he was forgetting something, but he just couldn’t remember what it was.
Saitama habitually filtered out trivial matters in life, to the point where he forgot the news mentioning that bounties could be claimed for wanted criminals.
And so, a certain hair-losing man plagued by bad luck missed out on another pile of easily accessible cash.
“Kenji, want to come up and sit for a bit?
My place isn’t big, but I do have some tea.” “Sure.
After tossing and turning for half the night, a cup of tea sounds nice.” Kenji stretched.
“I’ll intrude then.” The two of them walked upstairs and entered Saitama’s room.
As he said, the place was very small, with clutter piled up from the entryway all the way to the living room.
“Sorry for the mess…” A drop of cold sweat appeared on Saitama’s forehead.
He didn’t notice it when he was alone, but with a guest over, he realized his place was a complete disaster!
After a flurry of activity, Saitama managed to clear a spot for someone to sit.
He turned on the TV and then busied himself boiling water and making tea.
Kenji, knowing Saitama’s financial situation, didn’t mind at all and sat down cross-legged.
Before his seat could even get warm, a sudden knock came from the door.
Knock, knock, knock!
The knocking was quite loud.
“Who could it be this late?” Seeing Saitama pouring water, Kenji got up to answer the door.
“Coming.” Opening the door, Kenji saw a gloomy-faced old woman standing outside.
Seeing that the person opening the door was Kenji, and recognizing him as one of the police officers who had just dealt with the criminals, her originally aggressive demeanor instantly vanished.
“…Eh?
Isn’t it that guy?” “Are you looking for Saitama?” Seeing the old woman nod, Kenji called out to the room, “Saitama, someone’s here for you!” “Eh, coming…” Saitama finished pouring the tea.
Walking over and seeing the visitor, he instantly wanted to shut the door.
Seeing Saitama, the old woman’s face darkened, and the murderous aura from when she was knocking resurfaced.
“You there!
Come out and talk to me!” “Ah, I have to go out?
So troublesome!” Saitama’s face stiffened, and he reluctantly walked out.
“Um, Kenji, you sit for a bit.
The tea is poured.
I’ll be right back.” “Take your time.” Bang!
The door was slammed shut by the old woman.
Faint, shrill shouting could be heard from outside.
Kenji picked up the teacup and comfortably took a sip.
The tea was mediocre, but he wasn’t picky; he just enjoyed the process of relaxing.
Bang!
Bang!
Another sound of a door closing.
Kenji turned around to see Saitama.
His expression revealed calmness, helplessness, awkwardness, and bewilderment.
It was quite complex.
“So, who was that old woman?” “That old hag?
She’s the landlady,” Saitama sat down opposite Kenji, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.
“Since I’m three months behind on rent, she told me to move out by tomorrow.” …By tomorrow?
“Ah…
but didn’t you help her deal with all those problematic tenants?
Why won’t she give you any leeway?” “That’s exactly why!
Because the police arrested all her tenants, there’s no one left to pay rent.
So the old hag told me to get out.” “…” Kenji’s apartment.
Slurp!
x2 Since Saitama hadn’t had time to eat dinner, Kenji, who helped him pack, had gotten hungry as well.
So, the first thing they did upon arriving was cook.
For convenience and speed, the top choice was naturally Kenji’s special, loaded version of instant noodles.
Thus, the sound of slurping noodles on the balcony multiplied into two.
“Good thing you were there, Kenji.
Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t have found a place to stay today.
You’re a lifesaver,” Saitama chewed on large chunks of braised beef.
“But don’t worry, I’ll move out as soon as possible.
Sorry for the trouble.” A “Limiter Fragment” card materialized from the hair falling off the back of Saitama’s head.
Kenji caught it with quick reflexes.
“It’s fine.
The guest room here is always empty anyway.
It’s no problem even if you want to stay long-term.” Feeling a breeze behind his head, Saitama turned around but saw nothing.
Confused but not thinking too much of it, he turned back and continued inhaling his noodles.
The next day.
Kenji went to the police station, showed his face to his superiors, handled a few backlogged reports, and then hopped onto his scooter to patrol.
Even though he had privileges, he couldn’t always skip work.
After honestly completing his day’s work, Kenji returned to his apartment building, only to see Saitama walking down the stairs with a large box in each hand.
“Hm?
What’s going on, Saitama?
Did you already find a place?” “Yeah,” Saitama placed the cardboard boxes on an old handcart he had found somewhere and wiped his sweat.
“The owner of the tailor shop told me that a certain area in City Z turned into a ghost town at some point, but the water and electricity haven’t been cut off.
I figured I’d go check it out and see if I can find an empty house to stay in.” Kenji realized that Saitama was moving into the abandoned apartment in the ghost town this early.
“Oh, that works too.
Let me help you.” “Sorry for the trouble.” With their combined efforts, Saitama’s meager belongings were quickly organized and piled onto the handcart.
Saitama was just about to say that he could handle the rest alone, when he saw Kenji reach out toward the fully loaded cart.
With a faint flash of blue light, the handcart vanished from the spot, as if erased by an eraser.
Saitama: “…” [Fantasy Card: Scrap Handcart] [Card Type: Item Card] [Rarity: N] [Introduction: A handcart full of scrap.
Upon closer inspection, many items are still usable.] [Effect 1: Mobile Dormitory] [Wherever it’s pushed, that’s where home is.] [Effect 2: Scrap Recycling] [Selling it to a scrapyard might yield some profit.] Kenji: “…” The moment the card was created, neither of them could maintain their composure.
Saitama: ‘Psychic powers really are so convenient!’ Kenji: ‘I’m really lucky to have a reliable job!’ “Let’s go upstairs and check one more time.
Did you forget anything?” _____ T/N: