"It's getting quite hot here, isn't it, Kafka?...I guess that's what happens when you're in a natural hot spring that gets a bit more humid from ti to ti." Nina fanned herself like she found it really stuffy right now and used it as an excuse to change the topic since she couldn't handle such a dirty-sounding conversation with , which was making her face flush.
She then looked at the vending machine in the corner of the room that looked like it served a variety of chilled drinks and said while pointing at it, "Why don't we have a drink to cool ourselves down, Kafka?...I'll even treat you to however many drinks you want as a token of appreciation for helping out earlier."
Nina didn't even give a chance to respond; she got off the sofa on her own in a hurry and walked towards the dispenser while urging to follow behind.
I simply sighed when I saw her running away like a timid rabbit at the sight of danger, when she was acting like a feisty tigress before, and got up to receive the can of juice I was being treated to.
"What do you want to drink, Kafka?...No wait. Let guess...It's probably sothing like apple or orange juice, right... Don't kids your age love those types of drinks?" Nina smirked as she stood by the vending machine that looked fairly old and openly made fun of my age, treating as if I were a child. "Or is it that you want chocolate or strawberry milk?
We have those too...You can even get all of them if you want, since it's this old sister's treat."
"Haha...Very funny, Nina..." I said in a dry tone while looking at the options in front of , which made Nina's eyes shine with glee for successfully irritating . I then looked at her and asked, "...But before I choose whether I'm going to get strawberry milk or orange juice like the kid you think I am, can I know what you're going to get first?"
"What am I going to get?" Nina repeated, as she looked at all the juices in front of her and pointed at a specific juice that I hadn't heard before, that was brown in colour and ca in a glass bottle, and exclaid saying, "Of course it's the Sasfra juice!...There's nothing better than hitting a pint of that after a long day's work...It makes you feel refreshed in an instant!"
"Sasfra juice?" I asked, not knowing anything about this juice she had pointed out in an excited manner, as if it were her favourite drink that she loved to drink at whatever chance she got.
"Oh right...You co from the city, Kafka, so you wouldn't know about the traditional drinks that are produced locally on the country side." Nina explained to about this 'Sasfra juice' that she really liked, seeing as to how I knew nothing about it. "Sasfra juice isn't actually a drink that cos from a fruit or vegetable like usual.
Nor is it artificially made like the sodas you kids always drink these days and is actually a drink that's extracted using the juices inside the thick roots of the Safra tree."
She then continued speaking in a rather passionate manner, like she was really eager to teach more about this juice she really loved,
"Sasfra trees are dium-sized trees with wide spreading branches that are found around this area of the continent...Although most of the tree itself is useless because of how moist and soft the wood is, making it impossible to use for lumber, the roots of the tree contain juices that have a lot of dicinal properties that can alleviate several illnesses...They're also-"
Nina was explaining the origin of the drink in a rather detailed manner and looked to be a little excited to show off her knowledge about the culture of the place she lived in.
But when she looked up at and saw the blank look I had on my face, she realised that she was talking to a school kid who would normally have no interest in such boring things and stopped herself so that she didn't bore and embarrass herself any further.
"Oh, sorry, Kafka...I got a little too excited when I saw an opportunity to talk to soone about sothing that I really like and show off a little about the heritage of the people who live out here, that I forgot I was talking to soone as young as you who wouldn't be interested in such dry topics and not an old granny who'd happily listen to any nonsense I say." Nina scratched her head in an embarrassed manner, and she looked like she was telling to forget about this rant she went on and move on.
"Oh no, please go on, Nina...I'm actually quite interested in knowing more about what you were talking about and am really quite curious to know how exactly a juice is made from an actual root, since that's not sothing you see every day." I waved my hands and insisted on Nina to keep on talking because of my genuine curiosity about the sasfra juice she was talking about.
This stumped Nina, as she wasn't expecting soone as young as to be interested in such dull matters and wondered if I was simply playing along for her satisfaction.
"Really, Kafka?...You know that you don't have to say such things for my sake, and you can just honestly tell that you're not interested in sothing that I like, right?" Nina urged to be more honest with my thoughts so that I didn't think that spending ti with soone who was quite different from the usual people I talk to was quite tedious.
"We co from different places and are also quite far apart in age, so there will inevitably be certain things in which we may or may not be interested that the other person is keen about. So, I think it's better if we are more open about our thoughts and directly tell one another what we really feel."
"...I'm a lady who's experienced various aspects of life by running a business, so know that a little truth and criticism really won't hurt , Kafka."
Nina assured that I could be more honest with her, when in actuality she would honestly be a little sad that she wouldn't be able to share her love for sothing she really liked with soone she was fond of because they didn't hold the sa feelings towards it as her.
Nina was expecting to let out a sigh of relief and say that she should've said that sooner so that I didn't say such unnecessary words that led to a conversation I didn't care about. But to her surprise, I did the exact opposite and shook my head and said,
"Sure, Nina, I totally get what you're saying since it's impossible for us to agree on everything...But in this case, I really am interested in what you were saying since I'm getting to know more about the traditions and culture of this town that I've moved into, which I've wanted to learn more about ever since I moved here."
"...I'm not exactly soone who likes to know about everything and anything around him just for the sake of gaining knowledge...But I do find it quite shaful if I don't even try to learn about the heritage and customs of the place I'm going to be residing in for the next couple of years, as it would be showing my ignorance and laziness to learn sothing new...So, what you were saying was really helping get accustod to this place like I wish to, and I would love it if you continued about this strange root, which seems to be a commonly loved commodity in this town."
I said in a very thoughtful manner, as if I were soone who appreciated and respected the ways of life that were unfamiliar to , which deeply impressed Nina seeing as to how she was observing in a daze as if she were reevaluating my image in her head.
"W-Wow...That's actually rather gratifying to hear, Kafka, seeing as there's so people like you left who know how to appreciate soone else's culture and not disrespect it because of their ignorance."
Nina acknowledged my words and was surprised that I had such a mature mindset, that was making it harder by the second for her to treat like a child, which was sothing she didn't exactly want, seeing as she swore that she could never see as anything but a baby in this life and hoped that how she looked at didn't change any further for her sake.
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