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Chapter 52 - "Ethan's Nightmare Dinner"

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When Sayuriko opened the door and saw the apocalyptic scene outside, she jumped back in shock—then immediately looked relieved. Thankfully, she'd listened to Ethan earlier and gone straight home. With her "Guardian's Home" barrier active, she'd been completely safe.

The "Electronic Tentacle Monster" incident hadn't caused any deaths, but the situation was so grotesque that even S-Class heroes were left traumatized. The Hero Association officially rated it as a major disaster.

In the end, the monster had been taken down by Saitama. But, for various ridiculous reasons, the public somehow believed it was actually King who'd done it. Saitama, Genos, and Ethan—though all heroes—got written off as background extras. Their ranks only went up by one spot, and in Genos's case, not even that.

Not that any of them cared. Hero rankings were the least of their worries.Well—except Saitama. He actually did care. Even just moving up to B-Class would mean fewer weekly missions to meet quota.

"Hey, Ethan! Come on, hot pot's ready!" Saitama grinned, waving him over. "It's octopus hot pot—super good! You always feed me at your place, so this time it's my treat!"

Ethan blinked. He walked up, glanced into the pot—and his face immediately went pale.Those weren't octopus tentacles. Those were the tentacles from that monster.

Saitama, that lunatic, was eating them.

"Man, I spent all my meal money on that new game console," Saitama said cheerfully, tossing a tentacle into his mouth and crunching away like it was popcorn. "But hey, I got a ton of tentacles outta that fight! Should last us forever. Total win, right?"

The happier Saitama looked, the weirder Ethan's face got. Because if those really were the electronic tentacle monster's… tentacles, then who knew where they'd been?

For all he knew, Saitama was currently chewing on something that had just come out of—Oh, no. Nope. Ethan's stomach flipped violently. He gagged once, then bolted outside and threw up in the yard.

"Eh? Ethan? What's with you?" Saitama frowned, annoyed. "Come on, we're eating here! Don't just puke for no reason!"

"Sorry! I—uh—I need a minute!" Ethan stammered, sprinting out before his stomach completely revolted.That man's appetite was a genuine superpower.

When Ethan came back in, he froze at the sight of Saitama trying to feed Sayuriko.His sweet little maid was standing there, looking uncertain, while Saitama enthusiastically waved a chopstick full of tentacle in front of her.

"NO—Sayuriko, don't eat that!" Ethan shouted, leaping between them.

"Eh? What's wrong, Master?" she tilted her head innocently.

"Just—don't! Absolutely do not eat those things!"

"Um… Master doesn't like octopus? But it smells really good…"

"Stop—seriously, listen—" Ethan dragged her aside and whispered in her ear, explaining what those "tentacles" had done.Especially the part about them possibly having, uh, entered certain human cavities during the fight.

Sayuriko's expression twisted. She gasped, slapped a hand over her mouth, and went completely stiff.

Meanwhile, Saitama and Genos were sitting there with the world's most constipated expressions. Ethan's "whisper" wasn't exactly quiet—and both of them had heard everything.Clearly.

Saitama's eye twitched. "…Heh. I, uh, did rinse them with water first."

"Y-yeah," Genos muttered dryly. "Sterilized thoroughly…"

But when the two looked down at the bubbling pot—and the half-chewed tentacle still in their mouths—the color drained from their faces.They both gagged violently, spitting it out in sync before collapsing over the table and retching.

They threw up until there was nothing left but bile, clutching their stomachs and groaning. Even after that, the foul taste wouldn't leave their mouths.Then they glared daggers at Ethan, eyes saying, Why didn't you tell us sooner?!

"Hey—hey! It's not my fault!" Ethan said defensively, backing up a little. "You're the ones who cooked it! I didn't tell you to eat it! And I swear, none of those tentacles came anywhere near me! None! I promise!"

But as soon as he said it, both Saitama and Genos froze—then immediately imagined the scene in gruesome detail again.

Their stomachs turned.And once again—

"Blaaaargh!"

Ethan sighed, rubbing his nose awkwardly. He grabbed Sayuriko by the hand and quietly slipped out before the "two ticking bombs" went off again.

Yeah… best to stay far, far away from that disaster.No need to get caught in friendly fire.

Sayuriko understood the vibe perfectly. Her face still looked a bit haunted, but she obediently followed him back home and strengthened her "Guardian's Home" barrier even further—just in case.

"..."

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