Seeing the silver-haired boy suffer such an obvious defeat, the red-haired girl instantly brightened with delight.
"Hmph," Wanda said proudly, crossing her arms. "Of course I should have more pocket money than you. Ethan said girls should have more money when they're young. That way when they grow up they won't get tricked by boys."
Pietro pouted unhappily. He glanced at Ethan, then muttered under his breath, "You've already been tricked anyway, and you still—"
"Pietro, what did you just say?!"
Wanda's cheeks turned red instantly as she glared at him.
"Don't call me Pietro," the silver-haired boy shot back stubbornly. "Call me big brother."
"Not a chance! You were born twelve minutes earlier than me and you think that makes you superior?"
Their argument immediately reignited.
The siblings went back and forth without the slightest intention of stopping. Their voices echoed through the living room as if they had completely forgotten Ethan was still standing there.
Watching the two of them start another endless debate, Ethan could only sigh helplessly.
He walked to the refrigerator, pulled out a cold can of soda, and sat down on the couch. Taking a slow sip, he quietly observed the familiar scene unfolding in front of him.
Before long, his thoughts drifted back into memory.
Wanda and Pietro.
He had met them five years ago.
At that time, Ethan was still serving in the military during a deployment in Sokovia.
The memory of that mission remained unusually vivid.
If he hadn't already injected the Perfect T-Virus Enhancement Serum, which pushed every function of his body to five times the human limit, he would never have heard the faint cries hidden beneath the rubble.
The battlefield had been chaotic. Buildings lay collapsed, smoke drifted through the ruined streets, and distant fires flickered across the shattered city.
Following the weak sound of crying, Ethan eventually found the source beneath the debris of a destroyed apartment building.
That was the first time he saw the two children.
Ten-year-old Wanda and Pietro were huddled tightly together under the broken concrete. Their faces were covered with tears, and their small bodies trembled uncontrollably as they looked at him with frightened eyes.
Fear.
Confusion.
And helpless panic.
Seeing them at that moment struck Ethan deeply.
Because he knew exactly why they were there.
The disaster around them had been caused by American military operations.
Before ground troops moved into an area, the standard procedure involved aerial bombardment meant to eliminate possible threats. It was a method known as "scrubbing."
Unfortunately, bombs didn't distinguish perfectly between enemies and civilians.
Next to the two children lay an unexploded shell.
Printed clearly on its metal casing was the Stark Industries logo.
That single detail explained everything.
After the mission ended, Ethan made a decision.
He applied for retirement from the military.
At the same time, he adopted the two children and brought them back with him.
Returning to the present, Ethan noticed the argument between the siblings was escalating again. Their voices had grown louder, and neither side showed any sign of surrender.
If he didn't step in now, they could easily continue fighting until sunrise.
"Alright, that's enough, both of you."
Ethan raised his voice slightly.
"It's already midnight. Go back to your rooms and get some sleep. You both have school tomorrow."
He paused briefly before adding another sentence.
"And if either of you ends up late for class, you'll be responsible for mowing the entire lawn this weekend."
Wanda and Pietro immediately fell silent.
They glanced at each other, both clearly imagining the massive lawn outside.
The property covered several acres.
Mowing it manually would take hours of exhausting work.
Without another word, the two siblings turned and headed upstairs toward their rooms.
Watching them leave, Ethan smiled faintly before standing up.
After a quick shower, he returned to his bedroom.
Although it was already very late, he had no intention of going to sleep yet.
Ever since injecting the Perfect T-Virus Enhancement Serum, Ethan had gained remarkable control over his own body. He could enter deep sleep almost instantly whenever he wanted.
Because of that, he only needed about two hours of rest each day.
Stretching out his right hand, Ethan focused his thoughts.
A small, palm-sized box instantly appeared in his hand.
The box looked exquisitely crafted, with delicate metallic patterns decorating its surface.
Super Ability Training Box.
It was a futuristic item from the world of Doraemon.
The device allowed its user to train three specific superpowers: telekinesis, x-ray vision, and teleportation.
However, mastering those abilities required discipline.
Each power demanded three hours of training per day, and the training had to continue consistently for three years before full mastery could be achieved.
Ethan had obtained the training box through a summon three years ago.
Since then, superpower training had become a fixed part of his daily routine.
To completely master all three abilities would require nine hours of training every single day.
That schedule would have been manageable for someone with unlimited free time.
Unfortunately, Ethan's position as Chief Agent of the FBI's Criminal Investigation Division left him extremely busy. Between investigations and other "private jobs," he simply didn't have nine spare hours each day.
The most he could realistically squeeze out of his schedule was six hours, often taken from his normal sleep time.
Because of that limitation, Ethan had carefully prioritized which abilities to train first.
Teleportation ranked at the top.
Since the day he obtained the training box, he had never missed a single day of teleportation practice.
At this point, only twelve days remained before the training would be fully complete.
Even though the training wasn't finished yet, Ethan could already use teleportation to some degree. The ability allowed him to instantly move to any location he had previously visited.
The only drawback was a one-second delay before the teleportation actually triggered.
Second on the priority list was telekinesis.
The Perfect T-Virus Enhancement Serum had already given Ethan a weak telekinetic ability, but at first he could only lift objects weighing thirty or forty kilograms.
In practical combat situations, that level of power was almost useless.
However, after three years of consistent training with the Super Ability Training Box, his telekinetic strength had grown dramatically.
According to his calculations, once the training finished in fifteen days, his telekinesis would be capable of lifting up to five hundred tons.
To put that into perspective, that was roughly the weight of three Boeing 747 aircraft combined.
The final ability, x-ray vision, ranked last in his priorities.
Its training progress was currently below fifty percent.
He could still use it, but every activation came with an annoying delay of nearly thirty seconds before the effect appeared.
Ethan placed the Super Ability Training Box carefully on the table.
He sat down and prepared to begin today's training session.
Using the device was surprisingly simple.
All he needed to do was stare at the box while focusing his mind on the specific ability he wanted to train. Once activated, the box automatically guided the training process for exactly three continuous hours.
The mysterious gadgets from Doraemon's world were truly outrageous inventions.
Just as Ethan focused his mind, a knock suddenly sounded at the door.
Knock. Knock.
He paused and stood up before walking over to open it.
When the door swung open, Wanda stood outside wearing red pajamas and holding a pillow in her arms.
The moment she saw him, her eyes lit up with relief.
Then her expression quickly shifted into a pitiful look.
"Ethan… I'm scared," she said softly. "I can't sleep alone tonight. Every time I close my eyes, I start remembering the night you saved Pietro and me."
Ethan looked at her with a helpless expression.
Over the past two years, Wanda had developed a habit of finding various excuses to sleep in his room.
At first Ethan believed it was simply lingering trauma from her childhood experiences. After everything she had gone through, it was natural for her to seek comfort and security.
But over time he began to realize something else.
The feelings Wanda showed toward him didn't seem to be purely familial anymore.
There was something more complicated hidden beneath them.
Ethan liked Wanda very much, of course.
But he wasn't a monster.
He reached out and gently rubbed the top of her head.
"Don't think I don't know what you're trying to do," he said with a sigh. "You're still too young. Go back to your room and sleep. You have school tomorrow."
Wanda's eyes suddenly brightened.
"Too young right now?" she asked eagerly. "Does that mean when I grow up it will be okay?"
Before Ethan could react, she continued quickly.
"Then when I grow up, I'll become your girlfriend."
Ethan paused.
For a moment he considered refusing outright. But he also knew that if he rejected her now, she would probably refuse to leave his room tonight.
That would completely ruin his training schedule.
Thinking briefly about what Wanda would look like in five or six years, Ethan shrugged.
"Alright," he said casually. "When you grow up, you can be my girlfriend."
Wanda's smile immediately became radiant.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Then I'm going back to sleep," she said happily. "You should get some rest too, Ethan."