Chapter 24 Misunderstanding
"That Levi, why is he so shy? I miss him so much!"
"It seems Professor Levi isn't the type to video call, huh?" Lea remarked after overhearing Nami and Levi's phone call.
"He never even calls me first. He also rarely replies to my messages, just reads them. When he does, his responses are just a short "Yes" or "No," right?"
"Maybe it's because he's a shy guy," Sydney said, concluding herself.
"Hey, Syd, don't say nonsense!" Lea immediately stopped Sydney from jumping to conclusions.
"I'm telling the truth. It's obvious that Professor Levi is a shy guy. He's known Nami for so long, yet he still won't video call? What else could he be if not shy?"
"Don't jump to conclusions! People who don't want to video call aren't necessarily shy! It's because they don't feel it's necessary!" Lea said, growing increasingly irritated by Sydney's comments. Meanwhile, Nami listened to their argument, not knowing who to follow.
"That's what shyness is! If you weren't shy, you'd want a video call. Especially with someone you already know, right? What other reason would there be if he wasn't shy?"
"That's right!" Nami said, starting to be influenced by Sydney's words.
"Hey, Nami, don't be influenced by him! It's precisely because the professor knows you so well that he doesn't feel the need for a video call. Besides, why is it such a big deal?" Lea was losing control of her emotions; she was the calm but easily carried away type.
"Nami, don't listen to this angry, antisocial nerd. Professor Levi is a shy man, so you need to be more aggressive in approaching him!"
"Should I be more aggressive?"
"Yes, you need to understand his character. Maybe he's actually in love with you, but because he's too shy, he doesn't have the courage to tell me!"
"Levi's in love with me? Is that possible?" She didn't know where this conviction came from, but she was quickly influenced by Sydney's words, and she began to believe that Levi had romantic feelings for her.
"Syd, you better stop that nonsense before Nami actually believes that she is romantically loved!"
"Hey, come on, I just—"
"Look at her!" Lea said, asking Sydney to look at Nami.
Nami was lost in thought, her cheeks flushed red, a sign that she was completely under the influence.
"Hey, Nami, wake up! You shouldn't be so easily influenced, especially by what Sydney said!" Lea tried to reassure her, but it didn't seem like it would work now.
"Nami seems to be getting carried away!"
"This is all your fault! Why are you talking like that?"
"Hehehe...sorry!"
"You're always looking for trouble. Oh yeah, have you two heard the announcement?"
"What announcement?"
"That starting tomorrow morning, our phones must be handed over to the authorities. We're not allowed to use them until the weekend!"
"Really?" Nami was shocked that she'd missed this important announcement. Not being able to use her phone meant she couldn't contact Levi until the weekend.
Levi had actually only bought this phone three months ago, after his previous one broke, leaving him without one for four months. This made it difficult to contact him. Levi threatened not to buy him another phone if the one he had this time broke or lost again.
"Sob..."
"Are you crying?"
"If this phone is confiscated, that means I can't contact Levi until the weekend, right?" Seeing her sad expression shocked Sydney and Lea a little. They suspected Nami was melancholic and easily carried away by her emotions. That made them wonder why she was here.
"Syd, can you come out for a moment?"
"Okay!"
Without further question, Sydney immediately agreed to Lea's request, as she was also thinking the same thing. They walked out of the room, leaving Nami alone, looking very upset about not being able to hold her phone until the weekend.
"What should I do?" Lea asked. Now she was more worried about Nami than herself.
"I don't know either. What if Nami can't even take care of herself? How can she kill monsters?"
"I think she'll be the first to die."
They were silent for five seconds before finally sighing together. They didn't know Nami very well; they'd only known her for two days, and that didn't answer any of their questions.
"He said the reason he entered Yeager Academy was because he wanted to get delicious free meals three times a day, right?"
"Yes, she said she was homeless after being forced to leave the orphanage and work as a night security guard at Professor Levi's laboratory."
"Syd, has she told you that much?"
"Yes, we talked until three in the morning when you were asleep. But I don't think it's strange that she was asked to be a security guard at the laboratory? Isn't that a pretty dangerous and responsible job for a young woman to do?"
"You're right, but maybe she wasn't working alone. Maybe there were one or two strong men working with her, or maybe she was just asked to monitor the CCTV monitors."
"Nami said she initially worked with two male colleagues, but something happened that made them quit, and she ended up working alone."
"That's strange. Isn't it too risky to let Nami oversee such a large laboratory alone?"
"I don't know, I don't understand either. Is it possible that Nami is actually strong enough to be trusted with such a big responsibility?"
"If she were strong, she would have fought back when Mariah attacked her, wouldn't she? He couldn't possibly just stand there being strangled so tightly."