Chapter 8 Elastic Girl
"I-I didn't mean to bother you. I was just passing by and-"
"You think we'll bully you, Miss? You don't need to be afraid. We're heroes who defend truth and justice, right, friends?"
"Hahaha...really, Miss, do you want to be protected by George the hero?" The other three young men became even more enthusiastic in teasing her. Meanwhile, the two young women just laughed along.
"R-really?" Nami said, easily believing the narcissistic young man's one-sided confession.
"Hahaha...if you want to be protected, you should go home, wash your feet, and go to sleep. Don't be in a dangerous place like this!"
"Do monsters appear here too?" Nami innocently believed it and concluded that monsters would also appear in places like this.
The six young men and women fell silent for a moment after hearing her unexpected and incredibly innocent question. Nami was a little confused, not knowing what was so strange about her question about the possibility of monsters appearing in a place like this. She thought the monsters could appear from anywhere, regardless of location.
"Hahaha..." They burst out laughing after a 10-second silence.
"Oh my, you're so funny! Hey, where did you come from?" asked the elastic-bodied woman.
"M-me?"
"Yeah, I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you a new cadet?"
"Cadet?"
"Yes, a new cadet, a new student at the military academy!"
"Ah, that's right, you could say I'm a new cadet, yes, that's right, hahaha..." Nami laughed awkwardly. She hadn't even heard the term cadet. They looked at each other for a moment before glancing back at her.
"Okay, then what's your name?" George asked.
"Nami, Nami Ziegler."
"Nami?"
"Y-yes!"
"Okay, Nami, let me introduce myself. My name is George, that elastic girl is Mariah, and this beautiful girl is Bella, the boy sitting over there is Colin, and these two are Dean and Morgan."
"Nice to meet you!"
"So, Nami, why did you come to Yeager Academy? Do you know the reason it was founded?"
"To exterminate monsters." She answered only what she knew. She didn't know much about monsters or how terrifying they were. Although she had seen them on TV and the internet, she didn't know that in reality, they were far more terrifying.
"Yes, you're right. So you want to become a Yeager to exterminate monsters too?"
"Yes, I want to join in exterminating monsters too," he said confidently. She thought if she said that, maybe they would accept her and befriend her.
The elastic girl walked up to her and glared at her as if she had said something wrong.
Paaaakkk...
Without warning, she slapped Nami very hard. They were all shocked, not expecting Mariah to greet the new cadet with a slap.
"Mary, what are you doing?"
"I was just wondering if she's an esper too or just a normal human." This was a bit surprising because as far as she knew, espers would avoid getting hurt as much as possible and would act quickly to avoid triggers.
Nami touched her red, slightly sore cheek after receiving a slap from the elastic girl. She hadn't expected to be hit so suddenly.
"She didn't react or dodge it. I guess she's just a normal human."
"Yeah, I guess so."
They began to make wild assumptions about Nami's status. Nami didn't really understand whether humans should be classified based on their special abilities. She always thought that humans should be equal and accepted, whoever they are.
"This place is too harsh for you, Miss Ziegler. I think you should resign and go home before your first day of training. You won't be able to do it! Many people quit halfway through because they can't handle the rigorous training or watch monster simulation videos."
They thought they could scare her this way, but Nami was undeterred, there was nothing in this world she feared more than losing Levi.
"I'm fine, thank you for worrying about me!"
"Hey, we're not saying that because we're worried about you. We don't want you to be a burden if we ever become a team. I don't understand why these mere humans don't realize that their abilities and strength are limited. Even though the Yeager soldiers are equipped with super-sophisticated combat equipment, it's still possible that they might fail to use it properly and end up dying on their first mission.
"I'm fine! I'm just doing what I'm instructed to do, so I'll do my best to exterminate the monsters." "Excuse me, see you later?" She said as she left. She felt that interacting with them was uncomfortable and intimidating, just like when she interacted with the people in the laboratory.
"Hey, wait a minute! Where are you going? We're not ready to talk yet...!" George shouted after her. But Nami ignored her as best she could and returned to her original goal: finding her room.
"Room number 89, is this the room? Excuse me...?"
Knock...knock...knock...
She knocked three times, hoping her roommates were nice and friendly.
A few moments later, a beautiful young blonde woman opened the door with a calm expression and no overreaction.
"Are you Nami Ziegler?" The young woman asked.
"Ah, yes, I'm Nami Ziegler!" Nami said. She waited to see what other reactions and questions she would receive today, as she didn't seem very convincing to everyone.
"Okay, come in!"