Saitama was carrying several bags filled with high-end vegetables, meat, fruit, and snacks in both hands. In stark contrast, Rimuru had nothing in his hands... emmm... wait, no, he was holding an orange popsicle in his right hand, licking it with his little tongue, looking completely relaxed.
"I say, why aren't you carrying anything?!! Clearly, you're the one who ate everything." Saitama wanted to go on strike. On what grounds?!! Why was he the one doing all the hard work? He felt extremely unbalanced.
Hearing Saitama's words, Rimuru looked up at him and beckoned. Curious, Saitama lowered his head to hear what he had to say.
However, Rimuru didn't speak. Instead, he reached his empty little hand into the hoodie pocket over his belly, pulled out a stack of cash, and fanned it out, waving it in front of Saitama. After showing it off, he tucked the money back into his pocket.
Even though Rimuru didn't say a word, it felt to Saitama as if he had heard a thousand words, all of them calling him poor.
After finishing the gesture, Rimuru took the lead and walked off, licking his popsicle.
All that money had been taken out of the system space by Rimuru, and he put it back after showing it to Saitama. After all, nobody would normally walk around with such a stack of cash in their pocket; not only would it attract unwanted attention, but Rimuru was also a careless person—what if he lost it?
Saitama instantly deflated. He could only follow behind Rimuru carrying the pile of things. Listening to the sound of him eating the popsicle, he felt extremely unbalanced. Damn it, where did Rimuru get so much money?!!
Then, Saitama looked curiously at the small hoodie pocket on Rimuru's belly. How on earth did it fit so many things?? He had seen Rimuru pull various items out of it more than once.
Perhaps because of Saitama's outfit, or because Rimuru was too cute, passersby frequently glanced sideways at this peculiar pair: a bald man in a skintight suit who looked like a pervert, and a very cute Little Loli. Could it be that this bald guy kidnapped the Little Loli... Before one wave could settle, another rose. The ruins of City A, destroyed by Vaccine Man, hadn't even been cleared yet when a violent tremor began. People who had just emerged from shelters, ready to return to their daily lives, once again ran back toward the shelters.
Saitama and Rimuru stopped in their tracks to sense where the source of the vibration was coming from. Turning their heads, they saw a massive giant with bronze skin and no clothing, walking along.
Upon seeing the giant, the previously depressed Saitama was suddenly filled with joy. "Rimuru!! You can't snatch this one from me!!"
"Yeah, go ahead. He's too tall, I don't want to move." Rimuru waved his hand casually. He actually wanted to participate, but the giant was too tall and he was too lazy to run. Since Saitama had asked him not to interfere, that was even better.
"Then I'll leave the stuff here! I'm going to try!" Saitama's voice was full of uncontrollable excitement. He placed the bags at Rimuru's feet, bent his legs slightly, and leaped into the air.
The ground Saitama had been standing on cracked from the jump. Rimuru wrinkled his nose and waved his little hand in disgust to disperse the surrounding dust. It was lucky he had finished his popsicle; otherwise, it would have been covered in dust and inedible.
Rimuru looked around and found a park bench that had flown in from somewhere. He dragged the bench to where the shopping bags were and sat down, watching the towering giant in the distance as if he were watching a movie.
At some point, Rimuru's amber eyes turned peach-pink, revealing a Tenseigan with a white center. It was different from the known purple, yellow, and blue Tenseigan colors because this was the product of Great Sage analyzing the Byakugan of Otsutsuki Momoshiki, Kinshiki, and Urashiki after Rimuru had consumed them. This was a Tenseigan unique to him.
Undeniably, this colored Tenseigan made Rimuru look a bit more charming and cute, making him appear even more like a girl.
He reached into a shopping bag for a bag of potato chips, tore it open, and ate while watching Saitama standing on the shoulder of the King of Biceps, chatting with a somewhat scruffy scientist in a white lab coat named Fukegao.
Although Rimuru couldn't hear the voices, he could vaguely guess what they were talking about from the visuals.
At that moment, the King of Biceps suddenly raised his hand and slapped Fukegao, who was standing on his left shoulder, to death. Then he began to roar. Saitama, meanwhile, wore a carefree smile.
Seeing that smile, Rimuru couldn't help but burst out laughing.
After roaring, the King of Biceps grabbed Saitama and slammed him heavily into the ground, then began to pummel him. His punch speed was so fast that afterimages appeared. However, because that area was close to the district destroyed by Vaccine Man, there were almost no casualties besides the creation of a massive crater.
Seeing this, the corners of Rimuru's mouth curled up into a spectator's grin. In his mind, he silently dubbed the King of Biceps' movements: [Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora!!].
Seeing the giant's movements stop, he deactivated his peach-pink Tenseigan, letting his eyes return to amber. He finished the remaining chips in a few bites, threw the empty bag into a trash can, and waited for Saitama to kill the King of Biceps with a single punch.
The next moment, Saitama leaped out of the crater and punched the King of Biceps, twisting his face. Because of the immense force sustained in an instant, the neck muscles were torn apart, and the giant died instantly.
Truth be told, the guy's body was incredibly tough. Even so, his head remained attached to his neck, though it was stretched out.
But the King of Biceps, who should have fallen toward City B, suddenly began to fall toward City A. Rimuru quickly extended his right hand, and a small black tornado appeared in his palm.
In an instant, the black tornado that was only the size of a tennis ball in Rimuru's hand grew into a massive whirlwind that blotted out the sun. The tornado was laced with pure white flames and surrounded by equally black lightning.
The Black Flame Thunder engulfed the falling King of Biceps, incinerating him to ash in an instant. The entire city looked as if it had suffered a volcanic eruption, with ash everywhere.
Having finished, Rimuru picked up the shopping bags and left the area at extreme speed to avoid being noticed by the Hero Association, as he had no intention of joining.
As expected, the Hero Association began using the city's surveillance to find out who had released that tornado. Unfortunately, they found nothing.
However, the higher-ups had already ordered that the person who released the tornado must be found. They knew that someone capable of such a feat was at least at the level of the top ten S-class, perhaps even the top five. If they joined, the Hero Association would surely become stronger.
But Rimuru had specifically noted that the surveillance in that area had been caught in Vaccine Man's energy blast and was out of commission, which was why he had moved the bench there earlier.
"Stupid Old Baldy! Can't you pay a little more attention?! I have to clean up after you! If I hadn't been there and that guy destroyed City A, where would we go to buy meat, vegetables, and snacks!"
Rimuru had already met up with Saitama and stuffed all the items into Saitama's hands for him to carry. His little mouth never stopped attacking Saitama with 'beautiful' language.
Saitama hung his head, listening to Rimuru's scolding. After all, everything Rimuru said was true. Even if he didn't want to hear Rimuru call him Old Baldy, there was nothing he could do.
Actually, Saitama really wanted to say: "Hey, that was a battle, who would notice those things." However, he didn't dare. He had been scolded by Rimuru last time until he was traumatized; even now, he didn't want to recall that scene.
So it was better to just listen obediently. He mustn't think about talking back. If he didn't talk back, it was just listening to Rimuru nag on the road. But if he dared to talk back, oh boy, it would be over; he wouldn't have a moment's peace the entire night.
However, just when Rimuru thought no one had seen him release the Black Flame Thunder, a guy with yellow hair, a sleeveless shirt, dark blue jeans, and arms made entirely of black machinery watched Rimuru's back silently. His eyes had no whites and featured black and yellow pupils. After watching for a while, he turned and left to continue investigating the recent mosquito incident.
After arriving home, Rimuru threw himself onto the sofa. Just as he was about to say something to Saitama, he suddenly froze. Then, his tone became anxious and joyful. "Saitama, eat dinner by yourself first. I have something to do."
With that, he hurried back to his room and slammed the door shut. The sound of the door being locked from the inside could be clearly heard.
"What's wrong? Well, whatever, I'll eat something to fill my stomach first." Saitama poked his head out in confusion, a giant question mark practically drawn on his bald head.
Just as he was about to ask Rimuru what was wrong, his stomach began to protest, forcing Saitama to set Rimuru's matter aside and reward his internal organs, which had been hungry since noon.
Back in his room, Rimuru lay directly on the bed with his eyes closed, sinking his consciousness into his sea of knowledge.
As for why Rimuru did something so unusual as to skip a meal, the reason was that while on the sofa, he had heard that emotionless, mechanical female voice he hadn't heard in three years—the voice of the system.
"System No. 001 reactivated."