Chapter 10 ESPER
"I thought Professor Levi wasn't someone who made friends easily," Lea said. She seemed to doubt Nami's claim.
"B-but we are friends, Levi said so. Although to me, Levi is like a parent."
"Do you consider him your parent?"
"Yes, I grew up in an orphanage. I didn't have parents, and I didn't even know who my parents were. When I was 10, most of my peers in the orphanage were adopted, and some were moved to boarding schools. They had guardians who would cover all their living and school expenses. So I was the only one left, along with children much younger than me and new babies. I met Levi when he had just returned from out of town after completing his PhD at the age of 15."
"Graduating a PhD at 15? I don't think he's an ordinary person, do you, Lea?" Sydney, who always acted innocent, finally acted normal.
"Yes, I've read articles about him. I think it's natural, considering Professor Sanders is the person with the highest IQ in the world, his IQ even reaching 400."
"But Lea, since when have you idolized Levi? And why?"
"Because Professor Levi is a genius and also very handsome, right, Lea?"
"I first met Professor Levi when I won a bronze medal in the junior high math olympiad. He was the one who put the gold medal on me. I was surprised because he was so young at the time. Before the olympiad, I didn't know much about him. After the olympiad, I tried to find information about him in newspapers and online articles, and that's how I really admired him."
"Yes, Lea, I've always been attracted to genius men."
"Rather than you being stuck in a toxic relationship with your useless ex-boyfriend!"
"Lea is evil, why do you talk like that?"
"Who cares? You're just stupid!"
"Do you two know the people gathered in the second-floor living room?" Nami asked. She was again curious about the group of espers she encountered while searching for her room.
"Do you know the names of any of them?"
"George, Mariah, Bella, and—"
"Oh, are they bothering you?" Lea asked, panicking.
"No, they didn't do anything. They just seem like espers."
"They are!" Lea said.
"George and Mariah were in Lea's high school class."
"Really?"
"Yes, I was in the same class as them in high school. But we weren't close. After graduating from high school, they were unemployed and entered the Yeager Academy six months ago."
"Are you on bad terms with them?"
"We weren't close, even though we were in the same class, but you couldn't say our relationship was bad either. It's just that when we were at school, there were rumors circulating that George had bullied and killed several people by using his powers irresponsibly, and he never received any punishment for his actions."
"Why wasn't he punished? Was it because he was an esper that he was immune to the law?"
"That's a strong factor, but it's also due to his parents' political influence. George's father is a left-wing politician who led a political party that was the prime minister-elect's eternal rival."
"Theodore Homer," Nami muttered. She knew who Prime Minister Darius Stefanius' rival was: Theodore Homer, the terrifying man who had disturbed the Sanders laboratory, led by Levi, three months earlier.
The man had even hired assassins to kill Levi, but his attempt failed after Nami caught them red-handed.
She never expected to meet the son of the man she hated so much.
"You know Mr. Theodore Homer, Nami?"
"How so? I've met him a few times, haha..."
"R-really?" Lea and Sydney were shocked, as if Nami's words were hard to believe.
“Yeah, he has a pretty bad relationship with Levi. So I was there when Theodore’s men tried to attack Levi.
"As the rumors have been circulating, Theodore is a very dangerous person and the type of person who will do anything to bring down his political opponents," Lea said. Nami and Sydney fell silent for a moment, trying to think of the potential consequences of dealing with Theodore and his son.
"So, the conclusion is that we should avoid dealing with George Homer, the son of the very dangerous man, Theodore Homer, as much as possible?" Sydney quickly concluded that they should distance themselves from George, even though Lea had been constantly teasing her, calling her a senile girl who had trouble remembering things properly.
Lea expressed amazement at Sydney's conclusion. She was beginning to acknowledge Sydney's prowess.
"Amazing, Syd. You're truly amazing, being able to deduce things so quickly."
"You're the only one who always underestimates me!"
"Yes, but you could say you're right. We should avoid getting involved with George's group as much as possible. Besides being Espers, their parents also have significant political influence."
"But I'm surprised that espers would dare to show their powers in public. I thought espers usually kept their powers a secret to avoid ERI surveillance?" Nami asked. She was still amazed by what she saw, how a group of people with superpowers could be together in one place.
"I think they're deliberately revealing their true selves. I don't think the era of espers hiding their abilities to intimidate and bully others is over. Wouldn't it be better if they just showed their powers openly?"