The White God Festival was finally set to begin the next day. As I made my final preparations, I couldn't help but feel a restless sense of anticipation fluttering in my chest.
Unlike the Six Kings Festival, this wasn't an overnight stay, so I didn't need to pack all that much. Our group for the outing consisted of ten people in total. From Lilia-san’s mansion, there was Lilia-san, Luna-san, Sieg-san, Aoi-chan, and Hina-chan. From my house, it was Anima, Eta, Theta, Caraway, and myself.
As for Mom and Dad, they weren't joining us, mainly because Mom isn't fond of crowds. Instead, Lilia-san had suggested they spend some quality time alone as a couple. She had arranged for them to go sightseeing at the Aerial Garden—the castle where my birthday party had been held.
The Aerial Garden is an incredibly popular spot with a strict limit on daily visitors, so getting in on short notice is usually impossible. However, since Lilia-san is the owner of the castle, she was able to pull a few strings to secure a private slot for the two of them. It was a thoughtful gesture for my parents since they weren't attending the main festival.
As for the others staying behind, Nebula couldn't leave the vicinity of the World Tree, and Illness-san was acting as the mansion’s proxy in Lilia-san’s absence, as she always did.
Nebula and Illness-san had decided to use this opportunity to renovate the garden at my house together. The two of them seemed to have hit it off quite well and had been brainstorming design ideas for a while now. Their plan focused on creating more open space for Bell and Rin to run around, with significantly more lawn area than Lilia-san’s garden. I had liked the proposal the moment I saw it, so I provided the budget and told them to go for it. Apparently, they could get the entire renovation done in a single day.
The sun would likely be down by the time I got back from the White God Festival tomorrow, so I probably wouldn't be able to see the results in detail until the following day, but I was really looking forward to it.
Since there were no entry restrictions for the White God Festival like there were for the Six Kings Festival, it was expected to be incredibly crowded. If navigating the throng as a group of ten proved too difficult, we would likely split into smaller clusters.
By the way, I was scheduled to head to the Sanctuary on my own from evening onwards to spend time with Shiro-san. I wondered what she had in store for us.
"I will be switching the weather in the God Realm to nighttime starting at a specific hour, so there will be fireworks," her voice echoed in my mind. "You will have a front-row seat."
Fireworks, huh? The Sanctuary was definitely high enough to offer a perfect view, though I worried it might almost be too close. Still, knowing Chronoa-san and her team, they had probably calculated the trajectory to perfection.
"By the way, I studied a bit about the festivals in your world the other day," Shiro-san added.
"Really? Festivals can be quite localized, you know. There are even unusual ones, like that festival where people throw tomatoes at each other."
"...That is the first I have heard of such a festival," Shiro-san replied. "Should I have prepared that for you?"
"Prepare it? In the Sanctuary? No, if it’s a one-on-one tomato fight with you, Shiro-san, I can only see a future where I end up completely covered in pulp."
"I see. In that case, I have arranged for a few food stalls instead," she explained. "It is better to have something to eat while watching the fireworks, isn't it?"
That would certainly be appreciated. I would just have to make sure not to overeat during the day. When I thought of festivals back home, the first thing that came to mind was the date I had with Alice a little while ago. Being Japanese, that sort of festive atmosphere was just inherently comforting. I bet Shiro-san would look amazing in a yukata. Then again, with her peerless beauty, she would look good in pretty much anything.
At any rate, I was looking forward to tomorrow more and more. It was a festival in the God Realm, so it would surely have a different atmosphere than the festivals back home, but that in itself was exciting.
I had already received a briefing on the various attractions. Chronoa-san had personally visited me to explain which events required advance bookings or lottery entries. I might have hesitated if I were alone, but since it was something the whole group could enjoy together, I had accepted her kindness and made several reservations.
"By the way, Kaito-san," Shiro-san said.
"Yes? What is it?"
"I am thinking of providing a guide for your group during your visit to the Middle Level. Please, try this."
As she spoke, a Garapon lottery machine suddenly manifested in front of me. I gave the handle a spin, and a small ball rattled out. It had a name written on it: Sky.
"I see," Shiro-san noted. "Then, once you reach the Middle Level, I shall have the Sky God act as your guide."
So it was a god's name. A guide would definitely be a help; the Middle Level was massive. Even if the God Realm was smaller than the Human or Demon Realms, it was still vast beyond belief, so I was grateful for the assistance. I told Shiro-san to pass on my regards to this Sky-san.
"Understood," Shiro-san replied.
Sky God Sky, huh... I wondered what kind of person she would be.