Chapter 19 Suspicion
"Wait, you said Sydney was also an esper, right?"
"Yes," Ethan replied curtly. Nami was stunned; this was quite an interesting fact for her to learn, considering she had already grown close to Sydney, aside from the fact that they were roommates.
"I-is that so? So what kind of powers does Sydney have?"
"Then you can ask her directly," he said as he left. Nami, meanwhile, remained motionless.
She hadn't suspected Sydney was an esper, even though she hadn't shown any signs or even mentioned that she belonged to a group of people with a very rare genetic mutation.
With mixed feelings, Nami decided to head to the hall, where Lea and Sydney were waiting for her. Upon seeing her enter, Lea and Sydney immediately waved.
"Nam...!" Sydney smiled brightly as usual. Although when Ethan asked her to speak alone, Sydney's expression had looked sad, but now she seemed fine.
"Sorry for making you two wait for me. I should have asked you not to wait!"
"It's okay, don't think about it. We're friends, right, Lea?" Sydney said. A sweet smile spread across her face, while Lea nodded in agreement.
Nami felt a warmth in her heart, a feeling she rarely felt—or rather, she had only felt this warmth three times in her life. The first was when Aiden was still with her. Aiden made several friends at the orphanage willing to play with her, and it was all thanks to Aide's patience. The second was when she met Levi and spent time with him; it was an irreplaceable joy. And finally, when the children at the orphanage, whom she considered her little brothers and sisters, waited for her and welcomed her every time she visited.
They always waited patiently for her and welcomed her arrival with joy. That was what made her work so hard to provide a decent life and the gifts they rarely received.
"Nami, what's wrong? Is something wrong? Did Ethan say something bad to you?" Sydney asked. Seeing Nami suddenly fall silent with a sad face made her worried.
"Tell me if he says anything bad or insults you, you greedy pig, again, and I won't hesitate to beat him up if necessary!" Lea said, looking furious.
"Ahahaha..." Seeing how worried they were about her, Nami couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"N-Nami, why are you laughing? Is that funny?"
"No, it's not like that. I'm just so happy because it's rare for someone to worry about me like this. Until now, only Levi has always cared and worried about me, even if he never said it. But now that I have friends who worry about me too, it makes me so happy. Thank you, Lea, Sydney?" Nami smiled. Lea and Sydney were stunned, admiration welling up in their hearts, and they unconsciously uttered the same words.
"So beautiful." This sincere compliment just slipped out of their mouths after they realized how beautiful the girl standing before them was.
"Okay, my spirits have tripled. I'm ready to kill the monsters and restore peace to humanity!" she declared enthusiastically. Her energy surge increased drastically whenever she received kindness from others.
Seeing her walking in the wrong direction, Lea and Sydney were forced to stop her. She was so excited she didn't know what to do.
"Nami, where are you going...?" Lea shouted at her before she could walk any further away from them. Hearing Lea's shout, Nami immediately stopped in her tracks and turned back, only to see them walking in the opposite direction.
"Hey, where are you two going?"
"Where are you going, Nami? You're going the wrong way! We have to get to Commander Pieter's classroom immediately...!" Lea exclaimed. Nami felt silly for being so excited.
"Wait for me...!" She immediately ran after them, forgetting to restrain herself. Unfortunately, Lea and Sydney noticed something strange.
"L-Lea, why are you here already? Why so fast?" Sydney asked. They were sure that five seconds ago, Nami was still at the other end, having gone in the wrong direction. But in less than three seconds, she was standing right next to them.
Lea, realizing the same thing, tried to analyze what was happening, but one conclusion she came to was that the speed of light was exactly the same as her movement.
Sensing their suspicion, Nami realized she had been careless. She couldn't show how strong and fast she was; no one should know for her own good, that's what Levi had said to avoid ERI's surveillance, which could make her a target. But even though she tried not to act rashly, her strength wasn't something she could control. Like a tiger forced to match strength with a deer; no matter how gently the tiger played with the deer, there was always the possibility of the deer being injured or even killed by the tiger's immense strength.
"I was the fastest runner in my school back then, so I'm used to running fast. Plus, this floor is slippery and makes my movements more agile, right? Hahaha..." Nami laughed awkwardly, trying desperately to explain to them that what just happened was nothing.
Lea and Sydney looked at each other for a moment, expressions of confusion that were hard to describe. They realized something was wrong, but they couldn't do anything about it.
"Okay, we understand. Then, let's get to class!" Lea said, and Sydney nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, let's go!" she said.
With a strange unease, Nami stared at the ceiling of the hall. She didn't know if she could survive without destroying anything here. Because, wherever she was, she was bound to cause some damage. Nami sighed, for some reason, her energy, which had been soaring just a few minutes ago, was now dropping. She faced a confusing dilemma: whether to be herself or to adhere to the standards set by humanity.
"Levi, I'm truly sorry. It seems difficult for me to keep my promise. But I'm sure you'll forgive me, right?" she thought. Although she knew Levi would always forgive her, facing his wrath was beyond her control.