"We arrived."
Alexa takes Caelia to Asteria's shopping district, a place she intended to visit today but was unable to due to the recent events. Because of it, there were also few people visiting the stores, which to Alexa seemed to be the perfect time (although not entirely safe). She stops in front of a store with several clothes behind a showcase and a few people coming and going.
"What is this place?"
"A clothing store. Let's change your look."
"What? But these are my divine clothes!"
"The way you're dressed you'd be recognized anywhere for miles. We'll make you feel more comfortable in the crowd."
For Alexa, that plan was perfect, but Mark knew that this wasn't a good idea at all.
"Wait, Alexa! If you take her to a busy place like this, it won't be long before this place is full of people!"
What Mark said was true. Some people on the street were already stopping to see what was going on.
"I know, but what do you want me to do? Want me to hide her in a manhole? Besides, she'll have to do this at one time or another!"
"(I would prefer you to stop getting involved in this ...)"
"Come on!"
As is her custom, Alexa pushes Caelia inside. She passes through the store quickly, ignoring all the racks and shelves, and throws the goddess into the dressing room in order to get as little attention as possible.
"Wait!"
"Stay there! Let me take care of everything!"
"But what do I do?"
"Take your clothes off."
"W-What ?! I can't take my clothes off in public!"
"Come on, hurry up and do it! Nobody is going in there!"
"But..."
Alexa closes the sliding door abruptly.
"Mark, keep an eye on her."
"W-What?"
Before he could say anything, she disappears. Mark looks at the room where Caelia was confined. Even though he was unable to see behind the door, he knew she was ashamed. Annoyed by the whole situation, Mark scratches his head.
A while later, Alexa returns with a luggage of clothes.
"Look what I found! This is gonna be perfect!"
Unable to give an opinion, Mark has no choice but to observe. Alexa rushes inside the room and forces Caelia dress the clothes she chose one by one, making a big fuss.
"Wait, Alexa! What are you doing?!"
"Come on, don't be shy!"
"But I can't wear this thing! I'm not used to..."
"Oh, shut up and do it!"
After trying several ones, she finally finds an ideal outfit. Caelia leaves the dressing room wearing a beige cardigan over a white blouse and a black skirt. The sight of Caelia in casual clothes impressed even Mark, she looked like a well succeeded businesswoman. Alexa was very proud.
"Oh, it really suits you! You're so beautiful!"
"You think so? I feel weird wearing this... it's so much clothing sticking to my skin."
"Don't worry! You look like a model. I know you're going to attract everyone's eyes with this."
Yes, she was beautiful. Too beautiful. The kind of beauty that would catch the public's eye. Mark could already see how Alexa's plan would backfire.
"Hey, wasn't that supposed to make her disappear?"
"Oh, that's right!"
Truth be told, Alexa was so concerned with making Caelia look different that she had forgotten her real goal.
"But it's difficult when she has this showy appearance."
"So what's the purpose of this operation?"
"Well, at least she looks like people now."
Not regular people, Mark thought.
"Now, we need to do something about your feet."
Alexa points to Caelia's bare feet.
"What's wrong with my feet?!"
"Oh no, that's nothing wrong! But now we need to find a nice pair of footwear for them."
"Why do I need footwear?"
"Because now you look like a businesswoman who just got fired and lost her heels after drowning in grief by spending the night drinking."
"W-Why is this so specific?"
Alexa puts her hand on her chin looks Caelia up and down.
"Now let's see, what would look good on you... maybe heels... actually, a nice pair of sandals could be better... hmm, let's think about it later."
Alexa pays for the clothes with Caelia's money and leaves that place. As soon as she steps out of the store, she is surprised by a huge crowd which were screaming and taking pictures of the now renewed goddess.
"Gweh?!"
Faced with all the flashes and screams, Alexa becomes bewildered.
"Is that the goddess?"
"So it's true! She was buying clothes!"
"She looks so beautiful! She looks like a model!"
"Goddess, look here! Let me take a picture with you!"
"Give me an autograph!"
Mark facepalms. It was as if all of his concerns had come to pass.
"I knew this was going to happen..."
"Ehehe... Excuse me, excuse me..."
Alexa pierces the barrier of people taking Caelia by her hand and, as soon as she gets some air, she runs rapidly to escape the crowd. The people, dissatisfied, chases them.
"What's up with them?!"
"Why are we running? They don't seem to be hostile."
"Believe me, they're very hostile!"
"Really? In this case..."
Caelia stops and turns back to the crowd.
"Let's eliminate them."
"No!"
Before Caelia accumulates enough power, Alexa pushes her, making her fall to the ground. Some sparks of energy could still be seen.
"Why did you do this? Which side are you on?"
"Please, no matter what, don't hurt anyone!"
"Didn't you say they were hostile?"
"Have you heard of proportionality?"
Caelia responds with a confused look. Meanwhile, the stampede was approaching.
"We don't have time for this! Let's just get out of here!"
"If you insist..."
Caelia takes Alexa by the hand and in a sudden flash the two disappear.
They reappear in an isolated place in the city, the same where they were before. The new experience makes Alexa shiver.
"Whoa... what was that?"
"It seems that this is all I can do at the moment... what a shame."
"No, that was amazing! That was second-class teleportation, wasn't it? Only skilled angels can do this!"
"Off course. They're my inheritance, after all."
"What else can you do?"
"Right now, not much."
Alexa was so obsessed with the goddess's powers that it took a while before she realize that she had forgotten something important along the way.
"Wait, where's Mark?"
Her cell phone vibrates. She receives a message from Mark.
"Where the heck did you go?!"
In a fraction of a second, the entire population of that store was gone. Mark was the only one there.
"Well, it seems we'll have to wait for him now."
For the second time, Alexa and Caelia were alone. The wind was stronger this time and the sun was reaching its peak, indicating that noon was approaching.
"So, goddess... why don't you tell me about yourself?"
"Myself?"
"Yeah... what was it like, four thousand years ago?"
"It was... different. Not just the places and the technology... the people too. They seem more lively now."
"What were they like before?"
"They were scared. I mean, the first ones I can remember. Anything could trigger a war, any wrong outcome of their lives could lead to their death. The life was very unstable. It was my role to guide them on the right path. But as they grew up, they gained confidence. I thought it was good but the other goddesses thought it was toxic. Turns out they were right and, eventually, what happened happened. I blamed myself for many years for this. But suddenly I end up here and find that they are more confident than ever, and unlike before, it doesn't seem like a bad thing. My heart is so confused, I don't know what to do."
Alexa stays in silence. She expected a fun and interesting story from Caelia's past, but it seems that this was not the case. That goddess needed more help than she imagined.
In the meantime, Mark was already getting to where they were. Alexa waves her hand to him.
"Hey, Mark!"
"I'm surprised that you're still in the same place. How many times have we done this in this weekend?"
"Hehehe, sorry."
"So, it's already noon. We should go back for lunch. I know you like to wander around, but if we disappear from everyone's sight, the teachers will be worried."
"Teachers? I bet they don't even remember that we exist."
"That's because we're two delinquents. It's all your fault."
"How is it my fault?!"
Caelia watched them both getting along. The fact that they didn't abandon her this time made her happy. She approaches them with an embarrassed posture.
"Um… thanks."
Alexa looks at Caelia, now with her new look. Despite the recent setback, she feels it was worth it. At this moment, the other students are probably visiting places that she wasn't able to see todey, but for her this was no substitute for a walk with the goddess through the city.
"No problem. It was fun."
Knowing they were about to leave, Mark turns to Caelia.
"What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know... I don't have a place to go."
In a second, Alexa thinks about Caelia's words. She gives a sudden step forward.
"I know, why don't you...!"
"Stop."
Mark interrupts Alexa, giving her a serious look. She looks back, slightly annoyed.
"What?"
"Don't ask that question. You are crossing the line. It's no longer you trying to be supportive."
"You don't even know what I'm going to ask!"
"I know. I know you. You were going to ask the goddess to live with you, weren't you?
Alexa looks away. She couldn't answer that question, but Mark had been imagining it for a long time. He knew that she would eventually get into this. Caelia, though, had no idea.
"Alexa..."
Alexa closes her fists, trying to bear the silence.
"You can't want the goddess just for you, Alexa."
"This is not my intention! It's just... I wanted to..."
"If you get more involved with the goddess, things are going to get complicated. You saw what happened at the clothing store, didn't you? Have you ever thought what would happen if people knew that the goddess is living in the home of a high school student? They would investigate your life. Anything you did would make the news. You wouldn't be able to live normally anymore."
In order to endure the harshness in Mark's words, Alexa squeezes her fingers even more tightly.
"You say that, but in reality, you're just concerned with your life, aren't you? You don't care what happens to others! You just want to get rid of your problems, don't you?"
"You're distorting things. It's not me I'm worried about, it's you."
After hearing this, Alexa relaxes her hands, but she still can't accept it. She turns around. Caelia was looking to her, concerned.
"You don't need to worry about me. I'm pretty good at taking care of myself."
"This isn't true. I keep getting you out of trouble."
"I've never asked for your help!"
"So why are you always close to me? It's because of your nosy attitude that I keep being dragged on the most annoying situations!"
"So it's about you after all!"
Alexa looks back at Mark. This time, he does nothing, leaving her unanswered. She turns her back on him again.
"Okay, I got it! You want me to leave you alone? Very well! I'll do it!"
Alexa runs, leaving Mark and Caelia alone. Caelia just watches, not knowing what to do. After seeing his friend disappearing on the horizon, Mark also decides to leave, but before he looks at the goddess.
"'ll give you an advice. Don't depend on that girl to survive. She doesn't think about the consequences."
Caelia lowers her head, looking at her bare feet. Once again, she was alone.