The White God Festival was set to begin the next day. As the first endeavor of its kind in the God Realm, the gods were busy conducting their final checks.
Preparation had been exhaustive, so the work proceeded without a hitch. Just as the three Supreme Gods gathered their subordinates to impart the proper mindset for the morrow, Chronoa spoke up, as if whispering to herself.
"Understood. I shall arrange it immediately."
Standing nearby, Fate and Life sensed that Shallow Vernal had issued a direct instruction. After silencing the other gathered gods, they waited for Chronoa to speak.
Chronoa scanned the assembled crowd before relaying the command.
"I have just received an order from Shallow Vernal-sama. When Miyama's party reaches the Middle Level during tomorrow's White God Festival, the Sky God shall serve as their official guide!"
"What?! M-Me? Not one of the Supreme Gods?"
The announcement left no one more astonished than the Sky God herself. From Sky's perspective, there was absolutely no reason why she should be singled out.
Acting as Kaito's guide was a task of paramount importance. Normally, there was no reason to entrust the duty to her over Chronoa or Life—who were already on familiar terms with him—or Fate, who was Kaito’s lover.
Even if the Supreme Gods were busy managing the festival's operations, the Calamity God should have been the primary candidate among the High-ranking Gods. She was friendly with Kaito and held the highest standing among their tier.
(Of course, I cannot refuse an order from Shallow Vernal-sama. But to appoint me specifically over the Calamity God... Shallow Vernal-sama must have some profound reason behind this.)
Though stunned, she was still a goddess. Shallow Vernal’s word was absolute. Despite her bewilderment, Sky accepted the responsibility.
All the while, she remained convinced that Shallow Vernal had some calculated design far beyond her own understanding.
In reality, there was no "profound reason" at all. She had simply been chosen by a random spin of a lottery wheel. However, she had no way of knowing that.
As Sky stood there, overflowing with nervous energy and motivation, a hand was placed firmly on her shoulder. She turned to find her direct superior, Life, smiling gently at her.
"A personal appointment from Shallow Vernal-sama is a magnificent honor. I have no doubt a goddess of your caliber will handle it with ease, but please, ensure you remain focused."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"...I am sure failure is an impossibility, of course. However, I shall offer a warning just in case."
"Y-Yes?"
As she spoke in an incredibly soothing voice, Life opened her normally closed eyes just a sliver. Her lips remained curled into a smile, but her crimson eyes... they were not laughing.
"Should some blunder occur, heaven forbid... you will come to realize that every agony and hardship you have endured in your life until now was actually quite 'sweet, gentle, and blissful' compared to what follows. You shall experience this realization firsthand. But surely, there is no need for such concern, is there?"
"Eep! N-No, ma'am! None at all!"
Among the Supreme Gods, Life was the most uncompromising regarding any perceived disrespect toward Shallow Vernal. Since this was a direct appointment, any mistake on Sky’s part would be equivalent to dragging Shallow Vernal’s prestige through the mud.
Life’s words were no idle threat. It was a future that would certainly come to pass if an error occurred. Understanding this perfectly, Sky nodded while trembling.
Sky eventually distanced herself from the other gods and began obsessively checking the festival schedule with bloodshot eyes. Fate, drifting by on a floating cushion, approached her.
"Hey there, Sky God."
"Oh! God of Fate-sama! Do you have business with me?"
"I just thought you looked a bit too wound up. Life really is mean, isn't she? Making a threat like that when she knows it could never actually happen."
"What? Um..."
Sky looked confused by Fate’s nonchalance. As Life’s direct subordinate, she was well aware of her superior's temperament. She was certain that a hell worse than death awaited her if she failed, yet Fate was claiming the threat was empty.
"...I mean, who would be the one to judge whether something was a 'blunder' or not?"
"W-Wouldn't that be Miyama Kaito-sama?"
"Exactly. And Kai-chan is incredibly kind, you know? Even if you happened to make a mistake, there’s no way Kai-chan would ever call it a blunder."
"...Now that you mention it..."
"If Kai-chan doesn't think it's a blunder, Life can't just decide it is on her own, right? Besides, there’s no way to even check. It would be disrespectful to ask Kai-chan—Shallow Vernal-sama’s lover—something like, 'Was her guidance rude today?' Life has no way of verifying it. She was just prickling you to make sure you didn't get too relaxed."
Seeing Fate laugh, a look of immense relief washed over Sky’s face.
"Sky God... you were getting a bit carried away because of the appointment from Shallow Vernal-sama. Life has been getting better at noticing those little shifts in emotion lately."
"I-I see..."
"Anyway, just do your best without getting too stressed out."
"Yes! Thank you very much!"
After bowing and watching Fate drift away, Sky placed a hand on her chin, lost in thought.
As Fate had pointed out, it was true that she had been inwardly soaring at being entrusted with such an important task.
(I am truly grateful for that advice. It is difficult to notice such vanity in oneself. I must discipline myself so I don't get carried away, but I can't let my nerves ruin my performance, either. I will carry out this great role Shallow Vernal-sama entrusted to me with absolute perfection!)
For the record, it had nothing to do with her abilities; Kaito had been the one to spin the lottery wheel.
(The Supreme Gods have been changing lately. It must be the sign of growth that Shallow Vernal-sama mentioned before. After them, growth is surely expected from the High-ranking Gods like myself. I must be the vanguard of this new era!)
Shallow Vernal had no such intention whatsoever.
(Shallow Vernal-sama must have deep insights beyond my reach! Choosing me over the Supreme Gods or the Calamity God... surely it is because acting as the guide for Miyama Kaito-sama will serve as the catalyst for my own evolution.)
At the risk of being repetitive, she had been chosen by a random lottery machine. Shallow Vernal had not tampered with it in the slightest.
(All riiiight! I'm going to give it everything I've got!)
There are things in this world that one is better off not knowing. For the highly motivated Sky, it was probably for the best that she remained blissfully unaware that her grand destiny was merely the result of a random draw.
Serious-senpai: "...Well, if it keeps her motivated, I guess a little misunderstanding doesn't hurt. I wish someone would let me have a misunderstanding like that. Let me dream for a second that a 'serious' development is coming my way."
???: "Don't be ridiculous. You're always having delusions while you're wide awake."