After a brief interval, Sky-san seemed to pull herself together. She rose to her feet and approached us with purposeful steps.
Since Shiro-san had assigned this guide specifically to me, I felt it was my responsibility to handle the introductions rather than leaving everything to Lilia-san. To be honest, I was incredibly tense. Depending on how Sky-san chose to act after her recent ordeal, I would have to adjust my own response accordingly.
"Welcome, everyone. I am Sky, the Sky God, and I will be acting as your guide for today."
The fact that she didn't lead with "once again" or "starting over" made it clear she intended to bury her earlier blunders. If that was her plan, I decided the best course of action was to play along and act as if nothing had happened.
"I’m Kaito Miyama. I’m looking forward to the tour, Sky-san."
"The pleasure is mine. I look forward to working with you."
Since she had introduced herself by name, it felt right to address her that way. I already called the Supreme Gods and Shiro-san by their names with "-san" added, so using "-sama" with her would likely only cause unnecessary friction. I would stick with Sky-san.
"I won't prolong the greetings; let's get straight to the point. As you know, I will be escorting you through the Middle Level. If there are any specific locations you wish to visit, I will prioritize those. If you have no particular preference for the itinerary, I have taken the liberty of preparing a suggested course myself."
"I see. Um... does everyone have somewhere they want to go first?"
As Sky-san spoke, she produced a binder and unfolded a map of the Middle Level for us to see. Her demeanor had completely shifted; she now gave off the impression of a consummate professional, a stark contrast to the mess she had been minutes ago. While she had her own plan, she projected an air of flexibility that suggested she would adapt to our wishes, which was reassuring.
Even so, Sky-san had only been appointed as our guide yesterday. Realizing she had already put so much thought into a potential route for us made me feel a bit guilty for the trouble we were causing her.
While I reflected on that, I checked with the others, but no one had any specific requests. It was then that Cento-san and Sien-san spoke up.
"We cannot intrude on your group any longer, so we will part ways with you here and take Tre-neesama with us."
"Thank you truly for looking after Tre-neesama."
"Ehh? We should all go around together! No fair!" Tre-san puffed out her cheeks, pouting like a child.
"Hardly," Cento replied flatly. "There won't be any sightseeing for Tre-neesama. Only an exhaustive lecture awaits you."
"Wait, what?"
"We've already contacted Zwei-neesama," Sien added. "She said she'll be wrapping up her work and coming here immediately."
"Ugh, Zuva-nee is coming?! I guess my time at the White God Festival ends here. Oh well. I'll just drag her along for a tour after she's done yelling at me!"
She hadn't even started the lecture yet and she already had zero intention of reflecting on her behavior. Classic Tre-san. Regardless, the three of them decided to part ways there, bidding us farewell before departing.
Once they were gone, I turned back to Sky-san.
"Sorry for the distraction. It seems no one has a specific place they want to visit first."
"Understood. In that case, we shall proceed with the course I’ve prepared, adjusting our path whenever you find somewhere you’d like to stop. Does that sound acceptable?"
"Yes. We’re in your hands."
With the discussion settled, Sky-san suddenly gave me a deep bow, her expression turning nervous once more.
"Before we begin the tour, allow me to say one thing. It is the utmost honor to have been personally chosen by Miyama-sama. I will do my absolute best, so please, I look forward to your patronage."
"Oh, ah... right."
Chosen... well, technically that was true, but in reality, it had been a random draw from a lottery machine. I decided it was best not to burst her bubble.
"By the way, you don't need to use '-sama' with me. The other Gods don't use it, and you can speak to me more casually."
My acquaintances among the Gods were basically the five at the very top, but even so, having a deity call me "-sama" felt wrong. Honestly, I wished the sentiment would spread to the rest of the God race so they’d treat me like a normal person.
"I understand. In that case, I shall call you Miyama-san."
"That works for me."
"Now then, allow me to lead the wa— Oh, I am so sorry!"
"Whoops, are you okay?"
Just as we were about to set off, several papers slipped out of her binder and fluttered to the ground, perhaps because of the awkward angle of her bow. I instinctively crouched down to help her pick them up. I noticed they were different from the map she had shown us earlier; these pages were covered in dense, meticulous notes.
She had clearly used them to plan our route. The map was crisscrossed with numerous lines, showing just how much effort she had poured into this. As I marveled at her diligence, my eyes caught a specific section of the map.
"The view here is great, highly recommended! Check this out!"
The note was written in adorable, rounded script, and right next to it was a small, stylized doodle of Sky-san herself.
Ah... this was definitely one of those things I wasn't supposed to see.
Serious-senpai: "Chapter 1000 is almost here. I wonder what's going to happen?"
???: "Probably some kind of special extra chapter."
Serious-senpai: "So, finally, a moment for me—"
???: "You only appear on April Fools, Serious-senpai."
Serious-senpai: "...I can dream, can't I?"