"Kafka, are you okay?...Does your hand hurt, or did it make any weird breaking sound when it got hit?"
Nina asked in a hurry, as even though she knew that I was tough enough to send a man flying with a single kick, she doubted if I could take a kick myself because of how sickly and weak I looked because of my pale skin, which made me look like I belonged in a hospital.
"It's fine, Nina. I'm alright." I said as I got up and moved my hand around to show that it didn't really hurt.
But Nina still didn't seem to believe me, thinking that I was trying to hide the pain, so I added in a joke to ease the mood, saying, "You really don't have to worry about it, Nina, as like you mentioned earlier, I'm one of those perverts who gets turned on by any pain inflicted on me...So that might kick of yours only felt like a whip of pleasure to me, that sent tantalising shivers throughout my body."
Nina took a step back when she heard that I was a masochist, like she didn't want to be anywhere near such a horrible pervert, and she looked at me with a dreary look on her face, like she was regretting even asking if I was fine.
"But leaving my hand aside for a moment, Nina, can you first tell me why you tried to kick the vending machine like it was your sworn enemy?" I said as I looked at the poor, old vending machine that surely would've had a dent on it if I hadn't stopped her. "Is it that you have some kind of grudge against it, or are you possibly using it as some kind of sparring equipment to practice your kicks on?"
"Of course not, Kafka...Why would I use a fragile vending machine to practice my kicks and punches when I've already got a strong tree in the backyard that's wrapped in bandages for exactly that purpose?" The smile on my face froze when I heard that she was actually practicing her kicks and punches in such a crude manner, as if she were a shaolin monk.
She then continued, saying, "I was just going to give the machine a light kick to get it working again, since this isn't actually the first time this problem has occurred and it has happened quite frequently because of how old this machine is."
Her over-the-top reaction to something so simple puzzled me, so I asked her,
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"What's wrong, Nina? Why do you look so surprised?...You look even more impressed than when I handled those guys earlier and are looking at me as if I'm performing a miracle, even though it's only a little fix up...Is knowing how to repair this thing really that amazing in your eyes?"
"Is it not, Kafka?...Is it not so amazing that you can fix something so complicated and act like it's nothing at all?"
Nina asked in an enthusiastic manner, while looking at me with an absurd look on her face, like she was wondering how I didn't know how extraordinary I actually was.
She then explained her reasoning as to why she thought I looked so cool in her eyes right now by saying,
"Don't you understand, Kafka? Anyone can destroy anything, just like I was on the verge of breaking the machine to fix my problem...But to have the skills and knowledge to actually fix or mend something...Isn't that something that's so damn admirable?!"
Nina jumped up and down in excitement and looked all giddy like she was meeting her idol, which made me wonder if a technician or electrician in this world was actually a really prestigious position.