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When their turn came, they handed over the documentation to the receptionist and then went to sit on a nearby chair while it was being reviewed.

“How do you think the people around us see us when we talk just the two of us like this?”
“…Who knows. I never really paid attention to that before.”
“You’re really beautiful Schenna-san, so you attract a lot of eyes. Obviously men, but even some women also look at you, and sometimes they’re jealous of the women who get to be around you.”
“I’m not really fond of peeking into other people’s thoughts; and, you’re also really pretty.”

Petra was a goddess, so it did not surprise Schenna that much that she was able to read others’ thoughts.

Other people might think it was a blessing to have Schenna’s appearance and gender, but for her, it had only been the root of continuous troubles. Especially during puberty when her body began taking a more feminine appearance, she was constantly distressed and there were many times she resented god for that.

But that god, or rather, goddess, was now in front of her, and no matter how much she yelled or got angry at her, it never filled that sense of void in her mind.
Petra was earnestly doing all she could to make it up to Schenna and Kishana, and they noticed that. So now all they could do was accept what they had.

“Reading others’ minds is a privilege of gods. If you think about it, it would be troublesome to try fulfilling someone’s wishes if we couldn’t see what they think. I even know what goes on in your and Kishana-san’s minds, and all the anger you two have against me.”
“…Please avoid doing that as much as you can. People tend to have secrets they want no one else to know about.”

Maybe that was something she had to do as part of her job, but now that she had been sent down, she was only Schenna’s and Kishana’s support, so it felt weird for Schenna that Petra would be reading other people’s thoughts.

“I understand. In that case, I’ll try to restrain myself. I’ll also discard the graph of your affection points I had prepared.”
“Affection points?”
“Yes, a graph to plot your affection points. That kind of analysis is really useful in our work up there.”

Schenna assumed it was something similar to the terms of a dating sim.
And she would be lying if she said she was not interested in her own stats, or rather, she even wanted to see the graph.

“Is that graph something you can show me right now?”
“It would stand out too much here, but we can check it when we are in your room.”
“…Please do that later when we’re alone in the restaurant then.”
“Okay. It will be a secret between us two.”

After having worried about it for a bit, Schenna had finally resolved to check it.
If she knew the details, she probably would have a better idea of how to treat different people in the future.

“I thought you were a pretty stubborn girl, but you’re surprisingly swayed by certain stuff.”
“I’m an old man dragging my past life behind me.”
“My apologies. I made you think of something you didn’t want to…”
“Just laugh that off. You clumsy goddess.”
“Hahah…that’s the first time someone has ever called me that. Though lamentably I can’t deny it.”

Schenna’s lips parted into a slight smile, which pushed Petra to smile herself as well.
Petra had managed to loosen up nicely, so she was probably going to be alright later.
The receptionist lady called Petra’s name as she spread Petra’s papers on the desk and waited.
Schenna pushed Petra’s back to move forward as she watched the inspection of the documents.