Chapter 48 The Special Squad
Nami followed Ethan to the office of Corporal John Hugner, who would be the trainer who would train and educate them in a special group.
When they entered the room, Prince Jacob, George, four other men, and three other men were already inside, along with a young man in military uniform.
"Excuse me...!" Ethan said, opening the door wide.
"Ethan Kriuger?" the young man in military uniform asked.
"Yes, sir!"
"Please come in! The one with you is Nami Ziegler, right?"
"Yes, sir!" Nami replied. They all immediately turned to Nami and Ethan, who were standing in the doorway. When Nami and Prince Jacob's eyes met, it was clear that there was a hidden resentment and hostility between them.
Nami hated Jacob because he stole her first kiss, which she should have given to someone she loved. Meanwhile, Jacob hated Nami because she was so strong and difficult to conquer, but what made his hatred even greater was that she was the only woman who had ever hit him and humiliated him.
"Tch...!" they both said in unison. The hatred between them made the atmosphere in the room tense.
Realizing that Nami seemed to have a complicated relationship with Prince Jacob irritated George. He hated it when she thought of someone else while he was here.
George walked over to Nami and stopped right in front of her. He crossed his arms across his chest and gave Nami the look of an annoyed lover, who didn't know what she had done wrong this time. Since George had acted so arbitrarily by deciding that they were officially dating, Nami had become even more annoyed with him.
"What now?" Nami asked. She really hoped George wouldn't order her around anymore today after making her feel like a slave yesterday.
"Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!"
"Why are you looking for me? Don't pay attention to me!" she protested. Besides Prince Jacob, George was the person she avoided the most. But George was nothing if not selfish, arrogant, and pushy. He wasn't one to accept rejection.
"Starting tomorrow, you must stay in your classroom so I can pick you up, do you understand?" George emphasized his statement. But Nami chose to ignore him.
"Nami Ziegler, George Homer, you two can come over now. Let's start the meeting now!" Corporal John Hugner said. Nami and George stopped arguing and moved closer to join the group.
"Are all the names on the special cadet list here?" Corporal John asked. He was checking the list of the 12 new cadets who had been selected as special soldiers.
These 12 cadets possessed special abilities, which were crucial in the battle against the monsters.
Of the 12 cadets, Nami only knew Ethan, George, and Prince Jacob; the other eight were still strangers to her. However, their confident demeanor convinced her that they were strong individuals and not to be underestimated.
"Before I explain what Squad 86 is, does anyone have any questions?" Corporal John asked. A young girl with shoulder-length red hair raised her hand.
"Evelyn Kowalski, would you like to ask me something?"
"Yes, sir! I have a question!"
Nami grew up at the Everdeen Orphanage with her best friend, Aiden. However, Aiden was adopted by a high-ranking military officer when Nami was 10 years old.
Nami, lonely after Aiden's abandonment and constantly ostracized due to her immense and mysterious powers, tried to find friends outside the orphanage.
In the pouring rain, Nami, taking shelter under a tree, met Levi Sanders, a super-genius boy four years her senior. Levi held an umbrella for her and offered to walk her home. Levi's kindness touched her lonely soul, making her determined to follow him.
Nine years later, 19-year-old Nami ended up a failure in everything she pursued. She repeatedly failed auditions as an aspiring singer, failed castings as an actress, had her book rejected by publishers, and a series of other setbacks nearly shattered her dreams of fame.
In order to survive and help finance the Everdeen Orphanage which is almost closed because the local government plans to move the orphanage children to another place, Nami ends up as a manual laborer, driving a truck, a construction worker and even cleaning skyscraper windows. Her enormous physical strength makes people amazed and wonder, is it possible that Nami is one of the espers, namely superhumans who were born after the eclipse that made the world dark for almost three months that happened 30 years ago.
Some children born after the mysterious eclipse were born with strange genetic abnormalities, most with physical and mental disabilities, and a small number with superhuman abilities. This prompted the government to try to identify children with these rare conditions and subject them to research.
ERI, or the Esper Research Institute, was the name of a government-sponsored research institution with the approval of the king and prime minister. Although the research was considered cruel by most of the public, they could do nothing to oppose it.