I'm Turning Into Gacha Characters?!

Chapter 527: Turned Into Gacha?! - 527

"It’s probably none of our business..."

Saitama muttered a reply. He had never been the type to meddle in other people’s affairs.

Just as he always said, he was only a hero for fun. Unless a villain popped up right before his eyes, he rarely felt any strong wave of emotion.

Yet, looking at King’s visibly panicked state, he couldn’t just leave him high and dry.

"Oh, whatever. Let’s just go ask."

Just as Saitama reached that conclusion, an unnatural, vibrating rumble suddenly echoed from inside King.

A heavy, yet piercingly clear tremor spread outward at a frightening speed, forcing everyone nearby to notice that something was amiss.

M-City was the very place King lived in and protected. His title as the "Strongest Man on Earth" kept the crime rate here incredibly low; ever since King had made a name for himself, monsters rarely came around to stir up trouble.

Just as citizens of any city took immense pride in their own local hero, King enjoyed massive popularity in M-City. Even though he hadn’t shown up during the recent Tiger-level monster incident, his fame hadn’t dwindled in the slightest.

After all, no one would ever suspect King of backing down from a fight—they merely assumed he had been held up elsewhere by some other formidable foe.

That sheer popularity was exactly why the crowd gradually quieted down the moment they caught the sound of the "King Engine," their eyes irresistibly drawing toward the source.

"Is that Mr. King?"

"What is Mr. King doing here?"

The bustling noise of the crowd began to simmer down. The tall, fierce-looking man stood right at the very back of the crowd.

His completely expressionless face, paired with the relentless, thumping beat of his engine, sent a wave of tension washing over everyone.

"That’s the King Engine! The tone that only sounds when King confronts an enemy! Has something happened?!"

"That’s the sound he makes when he enters battle mode!"

"King Engine?" Saitama tilted his head. It sounded pretty cool.

Did all S-Class heroes have their own special battle effects? Genos always fought amidst a flurry of lightning and fire, and Alice was constantly blasting her blue beams.

Did this King guy just come with built-in sound effects?

Whispers rippled through the crowd, and up on the stage, Alice noticed the commotion down below. Her eyes locked onto King standing at the back of the gathering.

"Mr. King?" Alice’s bewildered voice carried over the crowd and reached King’s ears. "Is Mr. King here to check out the convention too? Do you want to play a game with Alice?"

I want to! I really want to! But now is absolutely not the time!

Teaming up with a beautiful girl to play video games was something an old-school anime otaku like King would naturally jump at.

More importantly, he was actually a fan of Alice; he had noticed her the very first time she was trending on social media!

He had come today hoping they might cross paths and chat... but now was really not the time!

"There is no time left."

Despite the sheer terror gripping his heart, King’s body had stiffened so intensely from fear that he couldn’t explain the situation properly.

His muscles felt frozen solid, allowing him to utter only a few words with a chillingly stern expression.

"No time left?"

"So something really did happen?!"

"Is there a monster around?!"

"What’s there to be afraid of? King will protect us! Besides, the Hero is right here too!"

King’s words instantly threw the crowd into another frenzy of chatter.

Even though they all figured some kind of danger had arisen... just as a few pointed out, no matter how dangerous it was... this was M-City. King was here, Alice was here—what could possibly go wrong?

As a result, far from panicking, they were more than happy to stay right where they were to enjoy the drama.

The crowd’s gossip only made King’s expression grow progressively more severe.

Unlike everyone else, Alice actually knew that King was all bark and no bite. Seeing him like this, she knew he wasn’t being calm and collected; he was actually scared out of his wits.

Without a second thought, Alice hopped right off the stage. Stepping through the path the crowd willingly parted for her, she ran up to King.

Noticing that Saitama and Genos were also present, she gave them a bright smile and a wave before turning her attention back to King.

"Mr. King, what do you mean there’s no time left? What’s going on right now? Alice will help!"

The girl’s simple and direct way of speaking made King breathe a massive sigh of relief. For her to so bluntly offer her assistance was a genuine lifesaver!

As expected of the idol I stan!

"On my way here to the convention," King began, recounting the situation word by word, "I ran into a monster... He said he wanted to fight a powerful hero. So, I told him to wait where he was."

Ran into a monster looking to fight a powerful hero? Is it that robot? Did he show up this early this time? Boros hasn’t even arrived yet.

Though the situation was a bit unexpected, Alice didn’t dwell on it too much. Since a monster had shown up, it was only natural for her to handle it.

"Looking for a powerful hero? Doesn’t that mean he was looking for Mr. King?"

"Why didn’t Mr. King just finish off that monster himself?"

King’s voice wasn’t particularly loud, but because the venue had quieted down, it was clear enough to carry to those nearby.

Consequently, quite a few people standing closer to him wore looks of utter confusion.

However, there was no shortage of self-proclaimed experts in the crowd.

"I see! Last time, the Hero helped protect the city while King was out, so King wants to offer this monster to her as a return favor!"

"Exactly! King isn’t the type of hero who craves glory. He never brags about his achievements to the public. If it weren’t for eyewitnesses, the rest of the world would never know!"

"Is that really how it is?!"

"Not just that! King just said it himself—the monster was looking for a ’powerful hero,’ not an ’invincible hero’! If King were to step in, that monster wouldn’t even stand a fighting chance before being obliterated!"

"What?! It carries that kind of meaning too?!"

"Not only is he providing a windfall of achievements for his junior, but he’s also preserving the monster’s pride and dignity in the process? To have that much room to spare... Sasuga, King! You’re incredible!"

The experts’ commentary quickly enlightened the crowd to the "truth" of the matter. This deeply hidden kindness was something they never would have noticed if it weren’t for these analytical onlookers.

As expected of you! The Strongest Man on Earth!

Off to the side, Saitama—who had originally wanted to negotiate with Alice to see if he could take the monster for himself—abandoned the idea upon hearing this.

After all, King had specifically left this for Alice. It wouldn’t be right for him to snatch away a gift meant for someone else; he wasn’t that thick-skinned.

King: ...

Please, I beg you all, stop talking... What if little Alice hears this and decides to be polite, refusing to deal with the monster? What am I supposed to do then? Will I have to face it alone?

If that happens, I am literally going to die!

The roar of the King Engine grew louder and louder. That thundering resonance, dripping with combat intent, made everyone all the more certain of the onlookers’ theories.

With a fighting spirit that roaring, anyone would believe King was desperately suppressing his urge to do battle.

Fortunately for King, his agonizing tension didn’t last much longer.

The young girl looked up at the man with a solemn expression, as though she had just accepted a glorious mission.

"Alice will absolutely not let Mr. King’s kind intentions go to waste! Leave the monster to Alice to handle!"

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T/N: If you want advance Chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL