In the Hero Association headquarters in City A,
the lights were still on in the top floor, even though it was close to midnight.
In a huge conference room, only a small number of people sat around a large round table.
The president couldn't invite many people to this meeting… because the topic was related to Emperor.
Everyone present was high-ranking, calm, and had reached an important position in the Association or among the main sponsors.
The meeting began.
Some of the lights were turned off, and the big screen at the front of the room turned on.
The video Genos had sent started playing:
Emperor's challenge against Saitama.
Because Genos had cut out everything that shouldn't be shown, the video wasn't long.
They watched all of it in a short time.
After it ended…
A heavy silence fell over the room.
Shocked faces.
Hearts trembling… but excited at the same time.
So this is Emperor's power… it's the first time I see it for real…
He's terrifyingly strong…
Luckily, he's on our side…
And that bald guy… he has this kind of crazy power too?!
"Ahem!"
The president broke the silence with a formal tone:
"The bald man in the video… his name is Saitama.
We already sent someone to investigate more details about him, but that's not the important part right now."
He paused for a moment, then continued:
"The important thing is that this person received recommendations from three S-Class heroes:
Mr. Emperor… Miss Tatsumaki… and Genos, who was promoted recently."
"The video proves that he has terrifying strength. And his fight with the Emperor was a challenge that Emperor himself proposed after discovering his power."
"It seems a mistake happened in the last evaluation test, where this person was only given C-Class rank.
Our job today… is to re-evaluate this man and give him the proper rank."
When the people in the room heard that Saitama was already a hero registered with the Association, wide smiles appeared on many of the executives' and sponsors' faces.
"A man this strong… being one of us is amazing!" one of them said.
"Yes, if someone this powerful officially joins us, and with Emperor already on our side, I think the government will be very nervous trying to limit our influence," another added with a laugh.
"Hahaha, I really want to see the ugly faces of those government officials when they try."
Jokes and laughter spread around the table, mixed with greedy looks for more power for the Association.
But the president didn't let them forget the main issue. He raised his hand slightly and said:
"Having someone this powerful in the Hero Association… is of course very good for us.
However!!"
Everyone fell silent and turned their eyes toward him.
"Now there is a very difficult problem we have to solve."
One of them couldn't help asking:
"And what is the problem?"
The president answered slowly, looking at the frozen image of Saitama on the screen:
"The question is… what evaluation level should we give someone this strong?"
Everyone suddenly came back to their senses.
They realized the matter wasn't simple at all.
If they gave him a rank that was too high, heroes below him would complain.
If they gave him a rank that was too low, they would insult Emperor, Tatsumaki, and Genos at the same time.
They exchanged looks.
Too high? Other S-Class heroes might feel it's unfair.
Too low? The Association would look dishonest or cowardly in front of the ones who recommended him.
After a moment of thinking, one of them said:
"It's clear that Mr. Saitama's strength is close to the Emperor's strength.
To treat such a man properly, we should be honest and show him the highest respect."
Another replied, partly disagreeing:
"Even so, this Mr. Saitama has not made any real contributions to the Association yet.
If we treat him with top-level respect from the beginning without clear achievements… the other heroes might be unhappy."
Then a third person spoke:
"But we already gave him the wrong rank before: C-Class.
If someone this strong feels that our sincerity is not enough, and refuses to stay with the Association, it will also be an insult to the heroes who recommended him."
The debate continued for a while, back and forth, until the president raised his hand again and ended the argument:
"In the end… we are not heroes.
We can't truly understand a hero's feelings the way they do."
"So, how about we leave the decision to Mr. Emperor?"
He paused, then added:
"As the strongest hero, no one will object to his judgment."
No clear objection came.
Some faces still looked worried… but most of them seemed to agree.
*** *** ***
A few days later.
In a private room in a restaurant inside the Association building…
Louis, Saitama, Tatsumaki, and Genos were sitting around a table, eating together.
The Association had officially invited them… to decide Saitama's new rank.
The atmosphere in the room was fairly calm, but Louis couldn't ignore something annoying:
Tatsumaki wasn't saying anything… but she kept glancing at him from time to time with sharp, repeating looks.
Inside, Louis felt a bit irritated:
' Are you trying to drill a hole in my head with your eyes?'
Before things got more awkward, the door to the room opened.
The president walked in with a few officials behind him. They gave a small respectful bow and then approached the table.
The president spoke with a diplomatic smile:
"Ladies and gentlemen… thank you for coming."
Then he continued in a clear, formal voice:
"We have watched the video of the challenge between Mr. Emperor and Mr. Saitama.
After discussing it… we unfortunately couldn't reach a single united decision."
"So, we decided to leave the question of Mr. Saitama's rank… in your hands, Mr. Emperor, since you know his strength better than anyone else."
Louis blinked, surprised:
"Me?"
For a moment, he felt like they had just thrown a burning ball into his hands while smiling politely.
Before he could respond, Tatsumaki cut in with a cold, mocking tone:
"Hmph… just as I expected from you people."
She looked at the president and the officials with open contempt:
"You're too afraid to take responsibility, so you throw it all onto Emperor, right?"
Some of their faces tensed, and the president's smile turned stiff.
An awkward silence filled the room.
Louis cleared his throat softly and decided to end this uncomfortable moment.
He spoke calmly:
"There's no need to make things complicated."
He looked at the president, then at Saitama:
"Since you previously gave him C-Class by mistake…
the simple and natural solution is to give him S-Class as a special case now."
One of the officials raised his head uncertainly:
"S-Class… directly?"
Louis added in a firm tone:
"Yes. And if any S-Class hero is unhappy with this decision…
let them watch the full video of the fight between me and Saitama."
He paused for a second, then continued:
"After that… if they still have complaints, they can come talk to me personally."
Another silence filled the room… but this time, it wasn't fear.
It was a kind of quiet agreement:
This is Emperor.
The president looked around and saw that most of them had nothing more to say.
He finally nodded:
"Very well… since this is the Emperor's decision, Mr. Saitama will be given S-Class rank as a special case."
He turned to Saitama with an official smile:
"From today on, you are the 18th S-Class hero of the Association…
Welcome back to the Hero Association."
Saitama tilted his head slightly, then said simply:
"Oh… that sounds nice."
"At last, my master's strength has been recognized," Genos said with some excitement.
"Congratulations, Sensei."
"I think this is worth celebrating," Louis suggested with a small smile.
"How about we have a little party at Saitama's place?"
Both Saitama and Genos agreed almost at the same time.
"I'm coming too!!" Tatsumaki suddenly declared.
Everyone in the room turned to look at her, as if seeing her for the first time.
"Why are you all looking at me like that??" Tatsumaki snapped.