Chapter 72: Saitama: No one can stop me from having a big meal!
Because his own strength is so overwhelming, Saitama isn't very vigilant about the people around him. After Bane and Zoro produced a large bundle of cash, he enthusiastically invited them in.
He even asked if they had brought toiletries.
Saitama's apartment isn't large, and Bane, who stands over two meters tall, looks somewhat cramped in the space, while Zoro's height of 1.8 meters fits just right.
"I happen to have three bedrooms here. I can give you each your own room. You can live here comfortably and stay as long as you want. By the way, where are you from?" Saitama asked curiously while hosting Bane and Zoro.
"The other side of the sea," Bane responded, then introduced himself with a smile. "My name is Bane, and this is my junior brother, Roronoa Zoro. I heard that there are many masters and strong fighters on this side of the sea, so we two brothers traveled across the ocean to find powerful masters to learn from and improve our own strength."
"Hello, sorry to trouble you," Zoro greeted Saitama politely.
"I see. No wonder your junior brother's accent sounds a little strange," Saitama didn't suspect anything, then asked, "Are you two swordsmen?"
"I can't really call myself a swordsman," Bane shook his head modestly. "I can only say that I'm pursuing the way of the sword."
Looking at the swords hanging on Bane and Zoro's waists, Saitama didn't ask further questions and introduced himself: "My name is Saitama, and I'm a hero for fun."
"What does it mean to be a hero for fun?" Zoro asked curiously after being invited to sit down.
"Oh, this." Saitama pondered for a moment and explained, "Does it mean wanting to become a hero by beating monsters out of interest?"
This was the same as saying nothing, which made Zoro feel awkward. He couldn't help but look at Bane, who explained directly: "To put it simply, he's unemployed—a vagrant. Something like that."
Zoro's expression went blank.
Saitama's face twitched as he loudly protested: "Although I don't have a job and have to wander the streets every day, it's definitely not..."
But before he could finish his sentence, a gurgling sound interrupted him, and both he and Zoro looked at Bane's stomach.
Bane showed an embarrassed expression and said, "Sorry, I've been traveling these past few days and haven't eaten properly. By the way, do you have anything to eat?"
"I..." Saitama instinctively looked toward the refrigerator, which contained the discounted vegetables he'd bought at the supermarket.
But the quantity wasn't much, because today was Thursday, and there were only two days left until the supermarket sale on Saturday. He'd originally planned to make this food last until Saturday, then go to the sale to buy more. If he used it now to treat guests to dinner, he'd be in trouble.
But on second thought, Bane had just casually handed him a large amount of cash, so he wasn't really penniless anymore, and they were his guests. As a host, he should indeed entertain them.
"There are some," Saitama finally gritted his teeth and nodded, then stood up and walked to the refrigerator. He opened it and took out some ingredients that looked rather questionable, saying, "I'll cook something, if you don't mind..."
Looking at the poor-quality ingredients, Zoro was silent for a moment before saying, "Sorry, I'm afraid it won't be enough."
"Not enough?!" Saitama got agitated again, his face flushing. "You know, this is the food I had planned for two days—how could it not be enough? Even with three of us, it should at least last one meal!"
With a snap, Bane slapped a small piece of gold on the table and said, "I'm really sorry. My brother and I have big appetites, so I'll have to trouble you to take care of us during this period. This is our food allowance—is this okay? If it's not enough, I can add more."
Before Bane could finish his words, Zoro was suddenly startled, because he'd been watching Saitama, but in an instant, Saitama had disappeared from his sight—vanished at a speed he couldn't react to at all!
In the blink of an eye, Saitama had already grabbed the gold and said with a bright smile, "What else would you like to eat, my two distinguished guests? I'll arrange it right away!"
Perhaps it had been a long time since he'd eaten a big meal at a restaurant, so before Bane and Zoro could respond, Saitama took the initiative to say, "Besides, Bane, you're already very hungry. If we start cooking now, it might take a long time to prepare enough for your appetite. I know a restaurant that tastes pretty good. Shall we go eat there?"
At that moment, a nearby radio suddenly crackled to life, and simultaneously, Saitama's TV, which hadn't been turned off, began broadcasting emergency news.
"Emergency, emergency! Residents of City Z, please return home immediately and stay indoors. A large mosquito plague is approaching. Experts—"
"Mosquito plague?" Saitama frowned when he heard this and said, "I hate mosquitoes the most."
"Even mosquitoes can become a disaster?" Zoro was watching the TV with curiosity.
The TV then began broadcasting footage from the scene. A massive swarm of mosquitoes, like a dark cloud, swept out from the mountains, leaving nothing behind. All creatures with blood were drained by these mosquitoes and turned into mummies.
Judging from the aerial footage trajectory, the mosquito plague was sweeping toward City Z, and its path would take it directly across the uninhabited area where they were located.
Watching the news, Bane felt very relieved. Fortunately, he'd come directly to Saitama today. Otherwise, if he'd been delayed another two days, he would have really missed the House of Evolution.
The mosquito plague was obviously caused by Mosquito Girl, she was a product of the House of Evolution. The fateful meeting between Genos and Saitama also began because of this incident.
"It seems we can't go out to eat," Zoro said with some regret.
He really wanted to taste the fine wine in this world, but it was obvious that poor Saitama's house wouldn't have any good wine—not even beer!
The reason they couldn't go out to eat wasn't because Zoro was afraid of the mosquito plague, but mainly because the emergency broadcast had just told residents to take shelter quickly. If the restaurant people weren't stupid, they would have closed by now. Even if they went there, there would be nothing to eat!
"Don't underestimate the adaptability of the humans here. As long as the mosquito plague is resolved, the city will return to normal order in less than half an hour," Bane said with a smile.
That's right—although the Hero Association had only been established three years ago, the emergence of disasters such as monsters had existed for at least several decades, so humans had become accustomed to such occurrences. They might be at work or school one second, and the next second they'd all take shelter together. Then, when the disaster was over, those unaffected would resume their normal activities.
"That's right!" Saitama stood up and declared, "Let's go kill those mosquitoes now!"
It was no wonder he was so excited and urgent. The main reason was that he finally had a chance to have a big meal—how could it be interrupted by a bunch of damn mosquitoes?
At the same time, Mosquito Girl rushed into the city at unexpected speed, only to find that everyone had already taken shelter and the streets were empty, which made her unhappy. So she continued forward, preparing to find a large shelter to attack.
As it happened, as far as she knew, if she crossed the uninhabited area ahead, she would reach a shelter. So Mosquito Girl led her massive swarm of mosquitoes and rushed straight into the no-man's land.
Meanwhile, Genos also stepped into the uninhabited area. His radar system warned him that the mosquito plague reported on TV seemed to be heading directly toward him.
Genos is a young man with a strong sense of justice. Although he isn't a hero yet and the mosquito plague has nothing to do with him personally, there's no reason to ignore it now that he's encountered it.
***
30+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces