Chapter 108: Hero Association Meeting
Hero Association Headquarters building.
Inside a conference room with a long metal high-tech table.
Metal Bat unhappily propped his legs up on the table, leaning his bat against the side of his chair.
"You sent the message a day in advance, and now you're making us wait? I was supposed to take my cat to get vaccinated!"
"And why are only a few of us here? Doesn't the Association have a lot of heroes?"
"I know why," Puri-Puri Prisoner said, raising his hand.
"I've been keeping an eye on the boys in the Association, and those present now are the ones with the most brilliant performances in hero activities."
"I noticed that too." Superalloy Darkshine nodded, flashing a bright smile.
"Everyone's muscles are excellent, but the best are still mine!"
Watchdog Man sat crouched on his chair, having no intention of speaking.
His nose twitched slightly, and his two black bean-like eyes turned toward Puri-Puri Prisoner.
—The scent of Lubricant.
As for the other two, he had smelled them during the recruitment test, and nothing had changed since then.
Only the four of them had arrived in the conference room so far.
During the wait, a staff member entered to ask if they needed any service.
Metal Bat questioned them unhappily again.
"I'm sorry, there are still a few heroes on their way," the staff member said apologetically.
"How many more?" Metal Bat raised an eyebrow.
Puri-Puri Prisoner interjected, "It must be Aokiji-Chan and old man Bang, right? Both of them have to come from Z City, which is quite far."
"Yes, but there's also..." the staff member tried to add.
Just then, there was a metallic clatter from the door behind them.
A somewhat cold voice rang out:
"Step aside. The internal layout of the Association is still so irrational. Go tell your higher-ups again, the price for me to renovate it won't go down."
Everyone's eyes turned toward the door.
A tall metal robot stood silently at the entrance.
After the staff member hurriedly moved out of the way, the robot bent down and walked into the conference room.
"Dr. Bofoi, you..." the staff member stammered.
There was no chair prepared for a robot!
He wondered if the spare chair prepared for Mr. Darkshine would be enough for it to sit on.
"According to the Association's rules, you should call me by my hero name—Metal Knight."
With a hero name identical to the unit's codename, Metal Knight walked toward the long table with heavy steps.
Then it stood there, remaining motionless.
The others curiously sized up the tall machine.
Regarding Dr. Bofoi, also known as Metal Knight, there wasn't much discussion about him on the internet.
However, his name was very familiar among Pro Heroes.
This was because the Association frequently sent out upgrade notices regarding various city branch offices, informing heroes that the Association's training facilities had been upgraded again.
And in every such message, the name Metal Knight would appear.
However, among those present, only Superalloy Darkshine would actually go there to train.
So, after watching for a moment, they looked away.
The subsequent wait didn't last long.
The conference room door opened again, and four people walked in.
"Aokiji-Chan, long time no see!" Puri-Puri Prisoner was the first to speak in welcome.
"Yo, Aokiji. That trick you taught me last time about wrapping Aura around myself is really useful, thanks." Metal Bat put his legs down.
"I've seen the video; the muscles in that dragon-man form are absolutely perfect!" Superalloy Darkshine praised with a look of seeing a kindred spirit.
Watchdog Man tilted his head slightly as a greeting.
Metal Knight silently recorded everyone's reactions, noting that he maintained good friendly relations with the other heroes... Aokiji pulled over a chair and sat down.
"Looks like everyone's here."
Saitama and Bang, who came in with him, also took seats nearby.
Saitama: "Is there any tea?"
Bang looked toward Puri-Puri Prisoner and expressed his thanks.
His unruly eldest Disciple had been released from prison early due to his contributions in fighting Monsters. Since his return, his personality had quieted down significantly, and his strength had also improved.
Suddenly, the previously quiet conference room became noisy.
Most of the conversation revolved around Aokiji.
Following Saitama's request, the staff member hurriedly prepared tea.
Bang and Puri-Puri Prisoner began a discussion regarding the education of adolescent boys.
Sitch, who had entered with Aokiji and the others, felt his head throbbing.
"Everyone... Everyone?! Please listen to me!!"
Everyone's eyes focused on Sitch.
Aokiji took a sip of tea. Seeing the participants of the meeting, he roughly knew what the topic of today's discussion would be.
Sure enough, Sitch spoke up and asked:
"What are your thoughts on the Association's current hero ranking and Rank evaluation?"
"Ha—thoughts?!" Metal Bat slammed the table. "It's garbage! Why the hell am I only C-Rank!"
"I haven't really paid attention. Being able to arrest cute criminal boys is enough for me~" Puri-Puri Prisoner said, resting his chin on his hand.
"I haven't paid much attention either. What's always been the center of attention is my muscles!" Superalloy Darkshine flexed his arm to show off his muscle mass.
"I only care about protecting Q City. I don't care about hero rankings," Watchdog Man said, which was rare for him.
Metal Knight remained silent, continuing to observe everyone's performance.
"Rankings, huh? I wonder what my B-Rank position is now... I have to manage the Dojo, so my progress has been quite slow," Bang said.
"Hero rankings and all that don't matter, but can the hero name be changed!" Saitama gripped his teacup, looking a bit agitated.
"What does 'dead fish eyes caped hero' even mean?! Is it some kind of dark cuisine name?!"
"Sitch, just say what you have to say," Aokiji offered a sincere suggestion.
"It'll be more efficient that way."
In any case, few of these guys could be communicated with normally.
Besides, there was still a bunch of problematic heroes who wouldn't listen to reason and hadn't joined yet.
It would only get more chaotic then.
Sitch had no choice but to accept Aokiji's suggestion.
Sigh, are all powerful people this eccentric?!
Taking a deep breath, Sitch abandoned his original prepared speech.
"Through the evaluation of the heroes' performances, the Association has discovered a fact!"
"This world is divided into ordinary people and those who exceed common sense. This is even more true in the hero world."
"And all of you here are even more exaggerated than the latter; you are powerful existences that 'far exceed common sense'!"
These words caused the fourteen-year-old Metal Bat to unconsciously curl the corners of his mouth.
However, after noticing out of the corner of his eye that no one else reacted, he quickly straightened his expression.
"A Monster of 'Demon Level' disaster can completely paralyze a city on its own. It's a terrifying threat."
"And every single person here! At the very least, has a record of defeating a Demon Level Monster alone!"
Sitch leaned his hands on the table, his expression solemn.
"To put it bluntly, you all are the hope of humanity!"
The leader of the Monster Association silently spat the tea leaves he had taken into his mouth back into the cup.
After flattering them for a bit, Sitch finally mentioned the main content:
"The current hero ranking evaluation was a set of rules established without considering the existence of such powerful forces as yourselves."
"You may act purely out of justice and not care about rankings, but—" Sitch's tone grew high-pitched.
"That way of thinking is wrong!"
"It's not just that society needs a symbol of hope representing great power!"
"The Association's selection of personnel for Monster attacks, the assignment of missions, the mobilization of resources..."
"If we continue to plan according to the existing rankings, it will undoubtedly be a massive waste of your combat power!"