Chapter 63 Hope
"Is that so? Okay, you can go to your room to rest!" Levi said. Hearing this made Nami frown because Levi's reaction remained as cold and stiff as ever.
"But I still want to hug you like this, Dad!"
"Dad?"
Violet, Jean, Adam, and the others shuddered at Nami calling Levi "Dad," a term that sounded inappropriate considering Levi was still too young to be a father to a young woman like her.
"Hey, Nami, stop that! That's ridiculous!" Violet protested. Although she was happy that Nami was no longer her love rival, seeing the closeness between Nami and Levi still made her jealous.
"What's wrong? I've wanted to call someone dad for a long time; it feels so good!" Nami became even more excited, tightened her hug.
"Nami, your hug is too tight!" Levi said, feeling suffocated by Nami's embrace. Realizing she might have accidentally hurt Levi, Nami immediately released her embrace. She was afraid that what happened to Mariah would happen again to Levi.
"I-I'm sorry, Levi! Are you sick? Are you hurt?" She asked frantically. She really didn't want anything bad to happen to Levi.
"I'm fine. Go to your room and rest! We'll talk later when you have time!"
"Okay." Nami relented after realizing that everyone in the lab was waiting for Levi to explain their shocking situation.
After Nami left the room, the atmosphere became awkward again. But none of them had the courage to ask her, especially since Levi and Nami's relationship was a private matter that shouldn't be intruded upon.
"Levi, excuse me for asking, but why did you adopt Nami as your daughter?" Professor Karen asked. Finally, someone spoke up after three minutes of awkward silence.
"I didn't mean to keep this a secret, I just didn't want ERI to find out when Nami was so young. You all know how strong Nami is, right? You're probably wondering if she's a normal human like us or an esper."
"So you mean you just want to protect him from the possibility of him being used as a research object by scientists, especially ERI?" Professor Karen asked again. But before Levi could answer her question, Professor Albert, the figure Levi had considered his teacher and mentor, suddenly entered the room, where they had all gathered to ask Levi for an explanation.
"What's going on? Why are you all gathered here?" Asked Professor Albert, the only person in the laboratory who didn't know what was happening.
"Albert, did you know that Nami Ziegler is Levi's adopted daughter?" Professor Karen immediately told him the shocking fact.
But to their surprise, Professor Albert appeared calm and showed no signs of surprise. A few seconds later, they were startled by his distinctive laugh.
"Hahaha..." The old man burst out laughing, seeing their confused expressions making him laugh foolishly.
"Albert...?" Professor Karen glared in annoyance because he was being completely serious.
"Hahaha...sorry, I just find your reactions funny. Come on, what's so surprising about Levi being the adoptive father of the troublesome Nami Ziegler?" He said jokingly. He really didn't think anything was too serious.
"Professor Albert already knows!" Levi said, making them even more shocked.
"Albert, did you know?" Professor Karen asked, growing increasingly annoyed because only Professor Albert knew, while Levi didn't tell her at all.
"Before deciding to adopt Nami, Levi asked for my advice."
"Really?"
"I know it sounds strange for a young man to adopt a girl less than six years his junior as a foster child. But it was the best choice at the time to save Nami."
"Why didn't you tell me, Albert?" Asked Professor Karen, looking annoyed at Professor Albert and Levi for keeping this a secret from her.
Professor Albert laughed awkwardly as he glanced at Levi, who remained calm, as if he hadn't done anything wrong. He felt that his decision to keep Nami's status as his adopted child a secret was his personal choice.
"I'm sorry, Karen! But Levi asked me to keep this a secret from everyone, considering that he was too young to adopt a child at the time. However, since Levi has privileges that not everyone has, adopting a child from an orphanage wasn't difficult."
"But Professor, out of all the children in the orphanage, what made you choose Nami? As far as I know, there are several special children suspected of being espers, and some of them may still be living in the orphanage because no foster parents are willing to adopt them. What made you choose Nami, who is clearly a troublemaker?" Adam asked, suppressing the irritation he had been trying to hide.
"I believe in her."
"What?"
"I believe she can save humanity. Her power is hope, and I believe in her."
They fell silent upon hearing Levi's words. Trust? The only reason he decided to make Nami his daughter was because of his immense trust in her.