Chapter 52 Guilty
"What took you so long?" Lea protested as soon as she saw Nami and Ethan walking towards the dining table where they usually gathered for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Sydney waved happily, while Robin and Jensen looked sluggish, struggling to eat together. However, as Nami passed the dining table where George and his group were eating, she realized that Mariah was indeed gone. Usually, Mariah would throw her a scornful look whenever she passed. Although Mariah's gaze made her uncomfortable, she still felt guilty for what had happened to Mariah.
"Don't feel so guilty! You did the right thing!" Said Ethan, standing right behind her. Hearing Ethan's words, she could only lower her head and try to suppress her guilt, because no matter what, she was always afraid of hurting others.
"Nami, what's wrong?" Sydney asked with a worried expression, reminding her of Dayana and Viviene's words. They had asked her to be careful with Sydney, even though she was sure she didn't need to be, considering Sydney had always been kind to her and even always been on her side.
"Ah...no, nothing!" She said with a sad smile.
"How was the discussion? Did it go well?"
"You can ask me about that later, Syd! Let's eat first, I'm so hungry!" Lea complained.
"That's right, can you eat now?"
"I'm starving, I feel like dying after all this hard training!" Robin and Jensen joined in the protest after waiting patiently.
"Why haven't you guys eaten yet?"
"Sydney told us not to touch the food on the table until you and Ethan arrived!" Robin said.
Nami and Ethan looked at each other, not expecting their arrival to be so anticipated.
Ethan walked to his seat, wordlessly and without guilt. While they all stared at him blankly.
"What are you all looking at? Aren't you all really hungry?" Ethan, annoyed by their stares, immediately expressed his discomfort honestly.
They all immediately took their positions and prepared to eat the food served on the table. As usual, Nami ate very quickly and voraciously, like a starving person, drawing everyone's attention. Ethan, sitting directly across from her, could only stare blankly, completely in disbelief. The girl whose smile had once captivated him was eating like a farmed pig.
"This greedy pig! Hey pig, eat quietly! No one will—"
He instinctively pulled his hand away when Nami's fork nearly stabbed him as they both reached for the same food. He was shocked that Nami could be this aggressive about food.
"E-Ethan, are you okay?" Sydney asked, having thought Ethan's hand was injured.
"Yes, I'm fine," he replied with a look of shock. He never imagined that a competition at the dinner table could put his life at risk.
"Nami's possessed.. !" Robin shuddered in horror. He began to think that Nami might eat them if he starved any longer.
"She's completely gone mad!" Jensen blurted out. He thrust all the food nearby at Nami's feet, hoping she would spare him.
"N-Nami, please take all this food, but don't kill me. I still want to live...!" He said in frustration. Meanwhile, Nami was still devouring the food in front of her.
"What are you talking about?" Lea said, annoyed by Jensen's useless nonsense.
"Did you see her? She's possessed! She'll definitely eat us after this!"
"That's impossible, you idiot!"
"You saw it yourself, didn't you? Look at her!"
"Nami, calm down! If you're really hungry, you can eat mine, but I'm not that hungry today, so this is for you!" Sydney said, handing Nami some pasta with carbonara sauce. Accepting Sydney's kindness and gentleness made Nami, who had initially gone into gluttony mode when she saw delicious food, return to her calm state.
"Sydney?" She said, moved. In his eyes, Sydney looked like a beautiful angel in her white dress and wings.
"Eat a lot, you're really hungry, aren't you?" Sydney said as she put more food on Nami's plate. Nami cried, moved by Sydney's sincerity. She increasingly couldn't believe Dayana and Viviene's words that Sydney was dangerous and should be avoided.
"Thank you, Sydney. You're a very good friend!" Nami said, crying with emotion. Her tears mixed with her snot, but she still chewed her food greedily.
"Nami, your snot!" Lea said, handing her a tissue.
"Sob...thank you, guys!" Nami wiped her nose with a tissue. Ethan, sitting across from her, fell silent and immediately lost his appetite.
"This greedy pig, stop crying and eat properly! Your tears are mixed with your snot!"
"Hiks...I'm sorry!"
"Stop crying, you damn pig!"
Seeing how Ethan scolded and rebuked Nami by calling her a greedy pig made Lea, Sydney, Jensen and Robin believe that Ethan had actually accepted Nami as his friend and someone he cared about now.
"Ethan!" Sydney called out to Ethan, and when Ethan looked at her, she smiled softly.
"What?"
"Nami's really cute, isn't she? You think so too, don't you?"
Ethan hesitated to answer, thinking it was a silly and unnecessary question.
"What's clear is that she's really stupid."