Genos stared up at the young man in front of him, only one thought echoing in his mind—
Overwhelmingly powerful.
Just like Sensei—an unreasonable kind of strength.
Beside him, Fubuki and Lily were equally stunned.
To take an attack like that head-on without a scratch... and with just one strike, knock out the newly minted S-Class hero Demon Cyborg?!
"I think your name’s Ron, right? You’re really strong,"
Saitama, holding two plastic grocery bags, walked over and looked at Ron with visible interest.
"Wanna fight me sometime?"
Ron withdrew his hand from Genos’s shoulder and gave a relaxed smile. "I’ll pass—maybe next time."
Saitama grinned. "Alright, it’s a deal then."
Saitama brought the heavily damaged Genos back home.
Ron, along with Fubuki and Lily, walked out of the abandoned zone and got into their car, heading back to downtown Z-City.
After dropping him off at his place—
Lily, driving toward F-City with Fubuki in the back seat, couldn’t hold back her curiosity.
"Lady Fubuki, who exactly is that man?"
Fubuki sat with her chin resting on her hand, gazing out the window. "But I’d really like to find out."
"Should we report this to the Hero Association?"
Meanwhile, at Hero Association HQ—
Golden Ball and Spring Mustachio reported everything they knew, but despite combing through every registered hero and known monster, the Association couldn’t find a single person who matched the description of the mystery man.
But the devastation on that street... that was no lie.
There was no denying it now—within Z-City lurked a mysterious powerhouse unknown to the Hero Association!
Even though Fubuki, Genos, and Saitama all knew exactly who it was, none of them submitted a report.
Fubuki kept silent because she’d made a promise to Ron.
Genos didn’t report it out of pure shame—he’d lost to Ron.
And Saitama... well, he just straight-up forgot about it.
And just like that... the incident faded from public memory.
Peaceful days continued for a while.
Ron, now having exchanged contact info with both Saitama and Genos, visited Saitama’s home in the ghost town a few more times over the following days.
Since he brought high-grade ingredients each time, Saitama grew increasingly fond of him.
Ron helped her out from the shadows, taking care of monsters that were beyond the capabilities of the Blizzard Group. The credit, of course, always went to Fubuki and her team.
Thanks to that, the Blizzard Group’s reputation in Z-City began to skyrocket.
Within the Association, voices calling for Hellish Blizzard’s promotion to A-Class grew louder and louder—but she turned them all down.
Ron received a text from Saitama.
"Ron-kun, Genos made a big pot of beef and potato stew. It’s super tasty. Wanna come over?"
Right after that, another text popped up—from Fubuki.
[I’m off today. At Grand Hotel Z right now. Wanna join me? I figured since you’ve helped me out so much lately, I’ll treat you this time. P.S. Their French cuisine is way better than ramen!]
Ron thought for a moment and replied to Fubuki’s message.
In a private suite at the Grand Hotel—
Fubuki, dressed in a stunning green evening gown, sipped on red wine with poise and elegance. Attendants stood silently at either side.
That elegant aura, however, was shattered the moment she read Ron’s reply.
"Not a big fan of French food. Saitama invited me over for some potato stew. Wanna come?"
Fubuki’s eyes widened. She slammed the table and stood up.
"What?! Potato stew?! You’re saying that thing can compete with high-class cuisine ?!"
"Unbelievable! I made this reservation a whole week in advance!"
When Ron arrived at Saitama’s front door, Fubuki was already there.
"W-Why are you looking at me like that? I just came to invite those two to join the Blizzard Group, that’s all!"
With a slight blush coloring her cheeks, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and turned away to avoid Ron’s gaze.
Saitama took one look at Fubuki standing beside Ron and frowned slightly.
"You again? Don’t tell me you’re here to recruit me into that Blizzard Group of yours? I’m telling you now—"
Fubuki raised the gift box in her hands and looked him dead in the eye.
"If you join the Blizzard Group today, I’ll give you twenty kilograms of premium-grade beef."
Saitama didn’t hesitate for even a second.
Inside Saitama’s small apartment—
Saitama, Genos, Ron, and Fubuki sat around a low table, enjoying steaming bowls of beef stew and grilled premium beef Fubuki brought along.
The TV in front of them played recent news on monster outbreaks and hero activity in various cities.
Genos glanced over at Saitama.
"Sensei, you haven’t been doing much hero work lately, have you?"
Saitama thought for a moment. "Hmm... I guess not." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
"There are only two days left in this week, Sensei."
Saitama sighed. "Yeah, but whenever I want to go find monsters, they’re nowhere to be found. It’s only when I’m not looking that they pop out one after another."
"You don’t have to worry anymore, Saitama. Now that you’ve joined the Blizzard Group, you won’t have that problem again."
Fubuki took a bite of meat and declared confidently, "As the leader of the Blizzard Group, I’ll help you out."
Genos blinked. "Sensei... you actually joined the Blizzard Group?"
Saitama scratched his bald head and chuckled awkwardly. "She said I’d get twenty kilos of premium beef if I joined... I couldn’t resist."
Ron took a sip of wine, his gaze drifting away from the gradually darkening sky outside the window, and landed back on Saitama with a slight smile.
"The monsters... are here."
All three of them froze.
The next second, the news anchor’s voice became urgent on the TV screen.
[We interrupt this broadcast for breaking news. A group of monsters calling themselves the Deep Sea Clan have made landfall in F-City, Z-City, and C-City. Heroes are already en route. Citizens are urged to head to the nearest evacuation zone immediately. I repeat—]
The screen shifted to footage of monstrous sea creatures rampaging through city streets, clashing with heroes.
Saitama stood up, cracked his knuckles, and a gleam of excitement flashed in his eyes.
"Finally—something fun!"