_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Faced with Saitama and Genos's disgusted stares, Ethan coughed awkwardly. "Uh… about that…"
"Scumbag!"Both Saitama and Genos snapped at the same time, landing a double critical hit right on Ethan's pride.
"Cough—cough…" Ethan tried to hide his embarrassment with a fake cough. Okay, maybe that was a bit impulsive. That kind of thing should really be done when no one's watching…
"Mr. Saitama, Mr. Genos!"Little Sayuriko, standing primly beside Ethan, suddenly spoke up to defend him. "As my master's maid, anything my master does to me is only natural! Even if it's… even if it's something really, really H…"By the time she got to the last part, her face had turned bright red. She looked down shyly, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Sayuriko…" Ethani was moved. Now that's a real maid. The perfect maid!
"Scumbag!"Saitama and Genos shouted again in perfect sync.
"Get lost, you two! You're just jealous! Admit it—you're totally jealous!" Ethan glared furiously at them.
"Not even a little!""Absolutely not!"They answered, again, in unison.
Saitama suddenly exploded. "Look, I'll have you know, I'm not jealous! Even if my strength's nothing to sneeze at! Even if we both became heroes, and I'm stuck at C-class while you're B! Even if I have to run around every day just to scrape together missions so I don't lose my license! Even if you're famous and I'm not, and the only reputation I have is negative! Even if you have a cute, beautiful maid while I have to live with a male cyborg! I—am—not—jealous!!"
The room fell silent. Ethan, Genos, and Sayuriko all stared at Saitama with looks of pity. The guy was practically foaming at the mouth from sheer jealousy.
"Cough, anyway…" Ethan cleared his throat. "Sayuriko, you came back to me wanting to be my maid. Does that mean you've gotten stronger?"
"Master, I'm sorry!" Sayuriko bowed her head apologetically. "I've been training really hard, but… my strength hasn't really improved much."
"Oh? That's a problem." Ethan frowned. "You remember what I told you before, right? Because of my, uh, 'special' body constitution, I tend to attract a lot of trouble. Monsters, villains, you name it. So, to be my maid, you need to meet two requirements: one, you have to be a beautiful woman—check. Two, you need enough power to protect yourself and withstand monster attacks."
"Yes, Master! I understand completely!" Sayuriko nodded firmly. "And even though I haven't gained much physical strength, or speed, or any kind of offensive ability… I do have the qualifications to be your maid!"
"Huh?" Ethan blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Recently, I discovered I have a strange new ability!"
"A strange ability?" Ethan, Saitama, and Genos all leaned in, eyes lighting up. "You mean… psychic powers?"
"Yes!" Sayuriko nodded solemnly. "A very special kind of psychic power."
"What kind?" The three of them looked like kids waiting for storytime.
"It's called Sanctuary of the Home! I can create a fortress—strong, unbreakable, completely impervious to attack! No matter if it's monsters, missiles, or even nukes, as long as I'm inside, nothing can break through!"
"What?!"The three men gawked at her, eyes wide as dinner plates.
"Right now, Master's house has turned into an indestructible fortress!" Sayuriko announced proudly, throwing open the window.Outside, a hulking monster was pounding away at the wall with all its strength—but inside, the house didn't even shake.
"What the—?!" Ethan and the others were stunned. Sayuriko's ability wasn't offensive at all, but as a defense skill, it was ridiculous!
"I gotta test this!" Saitama grinned, leapt out the window, one-shotted the monster with a casual slap, and then turned his attention to the house.He threw a punch at the wall.
BOOM! The impact echoed through the air—but the wall didn't even crack.
"Whoa, this is seriously tough!" Saitama said, impressed. "Let's see what happens if I crank it up a bit!"
BOOOOM!
This time the house trembled violently—but after a few seconds, it settled, still standing tall.
"It even withstood Saitama's punch?!" Ethan's eyes sparkled. "Sayuriko, that's amazing! You're incredible!"
Just as he gave her a big thumbs-up—CRASH!A massive hole suddenly burst open in the wall, and Saitama's bald head popped through.
"Wow! I had to use about forty percent of my strength to break it! That's awesome!" Saitama said, genuinely impressed.
"GET OUT, YOU BALD BASTARD! FIX MY WALL RIGHT NOW!!" Ethan roared.
Though Sayuriko's Sanctuary of the Home had been smashed apart by Saitama, that didn't really count—he was a monster in human form.Even so, her ability was insanely powerful. Against most monsters, even dragon-level ones, it would hold up just fine.
"Excellent, Sayuriko!" Ethan gave her another thumbs-up. "From today on, you're officially my maid! A fully qualified one!"
"..."
________________________________________________________________________________________________________