Chapter 12 Chaos On The Dining Table
Nami, Sydney, and Lea walked together toward the dormitory dining hall. The students had gathered in the spacious room for dinner. Realizing they would run into George's group, Sydney and Lea felt uneasy.
Lea had a good reason to dislike George and his friends, as she had attended high school with them. Sydney, however, was afraid because she had run into Bella and Mariah the day before. They had stared at her as if they were displaying aggression toward other girls, always wanting to be superior to others. Meanwhile, Nami, more than afraid, disliked George because he reminded her of her evil father, Theodore Homer, who had once tried to kill Levi.
"We'll pass them. I don't like this!" Sydney said quietly. She hid behind Nami and Lea, who were walking ahead of her.
Since their table was assigned, they couldn't move without permission, and their table was right next to the one occupied by George and his five friends.
"What are you afraid of? Come on, let's just pass by and avoid making eye contact!" Lea, who had experienced this situation in high school, tried to reassure Sydney that everything would be okay.
"Even if you say that, I'm still scared. Those two girls gave me nasty looks yesterday in the restroom."
"You didn't say anything bad to them, did you?"
"Of course not! I was trying not to breathe!"
"You idiot! If you're scared of them, how can you face monsters that are far more terrifying?"
"That's different, Lea!"
"But Lea's right, Syd. I think those monsters are far more terrifying than them. Just look at their appearance; they're no different from us!"
Hearing Nami's words, Sydney was stunned. She already knew that monsters were far more terrifying because she'd seen them before. But somehow, facing espers who had the same appearance as ordinary humans presented a different set of difficulties.
"Nami's right, Syd! If they try to bother us, just deal with them. But we'll do our best not to cause trouble."
"Okay, I understand."
The three girls resumed their walk calmly, as if there was nothing to worry about. But it seems that trying to live a normal life in a military barracks is not an easy matter.
George and his friends realized that Nami, Lea, and Sydney were about to pass them to reach the table next to them, which was already occupied by three normal-looking men.
As Nami, who was in front of them, passed first, Mariah's extendable legs immediately prepared, attempting to trip Nami and make her fall. Nami, quickly realizing this, managed to dodge and pass safely in just a second. However, Sydney, who didn't have such quick reflexes, was caught in a trap and fell to the ground.
"Agh... ouch...!" Sydney winced in pain. Nami and Lea immediately tried to help her.
"Hahaha..." George and his friends burst out laughing, realizing that someone could still fall for this kind of trap.
"Tch, hey, what did you do? Did you do it on purpose?" Nami's temper flared whenever she encountered arrogant people who liked to bully others.
"N-Nami, never mind, I'm fine!"
"Hey Nami, what did you say?" Sydney and Lea tried to stop Nami, having agreed just a few minutes ago to avoid causing trouble for George's group.
Mariah, realizing that someone had dared to challenge her, immediately rose from her seat and strode arrogantly toward Nami.
"You talking to me?" she asked in an intimidating tone and gaze.
"Of course, who else? You're the rubber girl who stretched my legs like a snake, right?" Nami challenged her. She had never been afraid of anything in her life, considering how strong and fast she was.
They stared at each other, displaying equal aggression. But Mariah radiated a powerful aura, as if she were the strongest woman alive.
"What did you say? Say it again?"
"I didn't know snakes didn't have ears, so I had to hear the same sentence twice?" Nami's words further disturbed Mariah. She didn't care that they were in the dining room. She would retaliate against anyone who dared to oppose her.
"Are you challenging me? Okay, looks like you need to be taught a valuable lesson!"
Quickly, Mariah stretched out both her arms and grabbed Nami's neck. Nami let Mariah do it because she didn't want to use her powers to retaliate. She had promised Levi that she wouldn't cause trouble or destroy anything while in the dorm.
"Ugh...damn, what's this? Why did I challenge her? I can't possibly fight back here," she thought. She was suffocating as Mariah's grip grew tighter. This woman was truly elastic, she could flex her hands like rubber.
"S-stop, it was my fault! I'm sorry!" Sydney reacted after seeing how Nami was being strangled and no one dared to intervene and help her.
"That's right, Mariah, please stop! We—"
"Lea, huh? So you ended up joining forces with weaklings like this? Hahaha...so funny, and it would have been nice if you had listened to me back then, right?" Bella said, laughing sarcastically. Lea remained silent, as if afraid of something.
"I don't—"
"Ugh..." Nami's face grew even redder, and she was having more difficulty breathing.
"Nami...!"
"Hey, what's going on? Why are you guys fighting here?"