BXBX NOVEL Chapter 58: Amelia's Reasons
"Oh it\'s nothing..." he said softly before making something up, "I was just wondering how different the Baroma Kingdom is compared to our Kazak Empire. Like... they\'re so orderly and follow so many rules that it feels like there is no importance given to freedom.
Every person\'s job is selected by the higher officials from the royal court, mothers give up their babies readily if the Kingdom passes the order. Businesses don\'t really exist either but somehow, in just two hundred years, they\'ve managed to surpass the Kazak empire in the domain of technological advancements.
It\'s both impressive and scary at the same time."
"So that\'s what you were thinking about. Well, better not to worry about it you know? We are affiliated with the Chuch, so they don\'t dare to touch us." she said as she looked up at him, only to see him nod and not say anything in return.
\'Yeah, even though they didn\'t touch any of the churches, the god of war went ahead and stirred the pot, wreaking havoc. After this war, this country would cease to exist and the only reason for this is the existence and growth of a new god.\' Keith mused, not intending to help or antagonise any party in the war as he lacked the means to do so.
Rather, his only goal was to reap as many benefits as possible so he could start preparing for the inevitable event; the fight that almost wiped out humanity.
Suddenly he felt a light smack at the back of his head and snapped out of his reverie before turning to look at Amelia who looked pissed.
"Are you even listening to me?"
"Of course." he lied instantly, "You were asking me how big my co-"
Before he could complete his sentence, the girl let her fist fly towards his gut without any intention of holding back.
"Krof! Damn..." Keith cursed as he bent forward, clutching his stomach with both his hands, "I as just joking, you witch!"
"...." Amelia didn\'t say anything and simply stared at him for a few seconds, "You... why do you only make dirty jokes in front of me? I\'m a woman and you\'re a man!"
Keith thought about it for a second before nodding, "Yeah, so?"
"What I mean to ask is, does it not bother you when you spout such jokes even though there\'s a high chance of making me angry?"
"Hmm..." he hummed, "You see, there\'s a difference between anger that comes from hatred, annoyance or frustration compared to the anger that comes from momentary embarrassment. I don\'t make these jokes to make you laugh, Amelia. It\'s to piss you off.
Making you angry gives me a sense of accomplishment and that\'s what true friendship is, isn\'t it? The fact that you try to hit me instead of deciding on ignoring my existence proves my point.
This is what friendship between true bros is. You and me? We\'re bros for life."
It was all bullshit and was meant to piss her off as the concept of "bros" didn\'t exist in this world. But surprisingly, her short fuse didn\'t go off and instead she just stood in place, lost in thought as she frowned.
"You\'re telling me that I\'m like a brother to you? Like... I\'m a man?!" she exclaimed after she digested the absurd words that Keith had just fed her.
"You... you... ugh! Dammit, I hate you! I shouldn\'t have tried to change Clara\'s mind again but I\'ll go fix it now. I\'ll tell her to stay away from your ass!" she growled and just as she was about to leave, Keith grabbed her arm.
As she tried to get herself free from him, he pulled her arm, forcing her to look at him.
"I was just messing around. If you don\'t like it, then I\'ll stop making jokes like these. But I want you to answer this question, does it really bother you that much? If it does, then okay. But if it\'s just because you think that my words would make you feel embarrassed in front of others, then that\'s a different matter. First tell me what the actually problem is."
For the first time, Amelia considered the question and thought about it before coming to a conclusion almost immediately.
\'It\'s not really embarrassing, not even if he makes these jokes in public... no, the main problem is that this bastard gets me flustered all the damn time! I don\'t know how to respond to his dumb jokes and it makes me my mind go blank. Chapter Experience:
It\'s like playing a mysterious game against a master while not knowing the rules of the said game. I\'ll always lose!\'
After realising the true problem, she clicked her tongue and glared at Keith, "Tch, do what you want but keep in mind that every time you make those dumb jokes of yours, I\'ll be cursing you and your ancestors in my heart."
"I want to say something but I\'d rather not." Keith commented as he kept his thoughts to himself before stuffing the last bit of bread into his mouth.
"Anyways, let\'s get back to the carriage."
She shook her head in response, "Brandon goes first. That horny dog just wants to get into my pants."
Keith turned to look at Brandon who was busy chatting with Edward and asked, "Would you have dated him if he had plans on making a family with you?"
"Nope. That\'s just one of the reasons... he\'s just not my type. He\'s strong and all that, but he\'s like a barbarian when it comes to women. He sees a chick, he goes behind that chick. He used to date a woman who was the daughter of a bakery owner but guess what he did?
He went ahead and began to flirt with her mother in front of her and her father. He didn\'t leave her sister nor the neighbor alone and I personally, wouldn\'t stand such disrespect."