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"…And that's the situation. Because of my special constitution, I tend to attract monsters. Staying by my side means you could be attacked by one at any moment. So, to keep you safe, I can't let you become my maid."
Ethan said this with a serious face, having just finished explaining everything to Sayuriko in full detail.
"So that's why… Master's been pushing Sayuriko away—not because you hate me, but because you're afraid I'll get hurt?" Her cheeks flushed pink, but her eyes were firm. "It's fine! Really! Even if I might get attacked by monsters at any time, even if I could die… as long as I can stay by your side, I'm completely willing!"
"Uh…" Ethan stared at her, speechless. He'd already spelled everything out clearly—how could she still be this stubborn?
"You might be willing, but I'm not!" he said sharply. "I'm not the kind of guy who lets his maid get killed! So give it up, Sayuriko. I won't accept you as my maid—unless you can get as strong as Genos. Otherwise, it's not happening. Now go on, get out of here."
He waved his hand impatiently, signaling for her to leave.
"Yeah, Sayuriko, he's right," Saitama chimed in. "If you don't have real strength, sticking around Ethan would just get you killed. You should go."
"Sayuriko," Genos added thoughtfully, "maybe you could train. If you can reach a high enough level, you can come back and serve Mr. Ethan then."Of course, he didn't actually believe it was possible, but at least it gave her something to aim for.
"Training…? Yes, Master!" Sayuriko knelt deeply before Ethan. "I'll go train right now! I'll become so strong—so powerful—that I can return and serve you properly! Please forgive me for being unable to serve you for a while, but Sayuriko will definitely come back soon!"
With that, she rose, bowed again, and ran off.
Ethan stared after her, at a loss for words.Seriously, what a stubborn girl.Reaching Genos' level? For a normal person like her, that was basically impossible. But… if she did somehow reach that kind of power, well—having a maid like that wouldn't be bad at all.
"Genos, nice job," Ethan said, nodding approvingly. "If she never gets that strong, she'll stop bothering me. And if she does—then she's earned the right to be my maid. Win-win!"
"I merely made a suggestion, sir. You praise me too highly," Genos replied stiffly.
After a couple of days, Ethan had already forgotten all about Sayuriko. Just a normal girl—how could someone like her ever gain real power? It was impossible.
But somewhere far away, the would-be maid he'd brushed off was throwing herself into grueling training. Every day she ran, did push-ups, sit-ups, squats, even practiced boxing at the local dojo. Thanks to the large check Ethan had given her before, she could at least afford proper nutrition to keep going despite the punishing regimen.
Meanwhile, Ethan's life went on as usual. After the meteor incident, his hero ranking suddenly jumped—up to fifteenth in B-Class. Genos, Bang, and Metal Knight also each moved up a spot; since they were already S-Class, that was no small feat.
As for Saitama, his rank rose too—from dead last in C-Class to fifteenth.
Officially, the Hero Association credited the meteor incident to the S-Class heroes leading the effort—Genos and the others. Ethan and Saitama were just listed as support. Still, since they'd participated, it made sense that their rankings improved.
Truth was, every other hero involved owed their lives to Ethan. Without his help, they wouldn't have stood a chance against the meteor.And if the world ever learned what Saitama had really done that day—well, every person alive would probably want to kill him… though, realistically, they'd all be the ones getting killed instead.
Despite their rank increases, nothing much changed for either of them. Ethan kept spending most of his days lazily holed up at home, like a hopeless shut-in.Saitama, on the other hand, still ran around taking every small-time job he could find. His popularity didn't increase at all—if anything, it got worse. Rumors spread that he was just leeching off Genos' fame as an S-Class hero, and people started looking down on him even more.
Ethan didn't escape unscathed either—he caught some of that slander himself.But he couldn't care less. Fame, reputation—none of it mattered to him.
Still, his situation was different from Saitama's. Saitama had zero fans. Ethan, on the other hand, had plenty—a huge crowd of overzealous admirers.So when the rumors about him first started, his fanbase immediately struck back online. The backlash turned into a small-scale media storm.
But instead of ruining him, the exposure only made things worse for his critics. Ethan's strikingly handsome face and that lazy, effortlessly cool demeanor drew in even more fans.The smear campaign backfired completely—like trying to steal a chicken and losing your rice instead.
"..."
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