After listening to Caraway’s story, I remembered that I was keeping Lilia-san and the others waiting. I excused myself from Acht and Eva with a quick word and headed back to rejoin the group.
Sky-san suggested that we move on to a spot where we could enjoy the scenery after our light shopping. She led us to an open area where several vehicles, looking very much like Ferris wheel gondolas, were parked.
“From here, you can board these floating gondolas to look out over the God Realm. They offer a clear view of both the Middle and Lower Levels, and we have even adjusted the surrounding landscape specifically for this festival.”
“That sounds impressive.”
“I love this kind of thing! It reminds me of the time we rode the Wyvern Service!”
Hina-chan beamed at Sky-san’s explanation. The concept did seem quite similar to the high-altitude travel of the Wyvern Service we had used before. As Hina-chan suggested, this promised to be a lot of fun. Given how perfectly organized the God Realm was, I imagined the view from above would be breathtaking.
However, as one might expect, the area was packed. Opportunities to see the God Realm from this vantage point were rare, so the massive turnout was only natural. Normally, a crowd like this would mean a long wait, but since our group included me—possessing Shiro-san’s blessing—and Lilia-san—possessing Chronoa-san’s blessing—I knew we wouldn't be stuck in the queue.
Sure enough, we were guided away from the main line to a gondola that had clearly been reserved specifically for us.
“This one seems quite a bit larger than the others.”
“Yes. The standard gondolas only seat six. Since it would be difficult for your entire group to ride together, I arranged for a larger model that could accommodate everyone.”
“I see. That’s very thoughtful of you. Wait, was the reason we went shopping first because…?”
“Precisely. I knew the standard units wouldn't suffice, but since I didn’t know the exact number of people in your party at first, I waited until I could confirm the count. Once I had, I ordered the preparations and shifted our schedule to include shopping while the larger gondola was being positioned.”
Sky-san was incredibly competent. She had assessed our group size at the Middle Level, likely issued the orders for the gondola while we were in transit, and then naturally inserted a shopping stop so that everything would be ready the moment we arrived. Since she mentioned reporting directly to Life-san, I wondered if she held a particularly high rank among the High-ranking Gods.
“Sky-san, do you hold a fairly high position among the High-ranking Gods?” I asked as we began boarding.
“Within the hierarchy of the High-ranking Gods, I am technically ranked second. The God of Calamity is positioned one rank above me, and the God of Flash—who serves directly under the God of Space-Time-sama—is one rank below me.”
“I see. Is there a specific rule that determines who serves under whom?”
I asked out of simple curiosity, but I noticed the others were also listening intently.
“There are several factors, but the primary one is the classification of one's Authority.”
“Classification?”
“Yes. For example, the things the God of Space-Time-sama’s Authority can do are quite focused, but the effects themselves are absolute. We call this a Specialized Type. In contrast, the God of Life-sama’s Authority covers anything related to the concept of life. Because it has such a broad range of applications, it is considered a Composite Type.”
In short, Chronoa-san’s Authority of Time was limited to things like stopping or accelerating time, but those effects were overwhelmingly powerful and unique. Life-san’s Authority of Life, however, could do a vast number of things—enhancing physical abilities, healing, resurrection, even creating life—but some of those functions overlapped with the abilities of other deities, such as certain High-ranking Gods.
“What about Fate-san?”
“The God of Fate-sama’s Authority is somewhat unique; it is what we call a Conceptual Type. If Authorities are divided into those three categories, the Conceptual Type is considered the most powerful. Of course, the Authorities of Low-ranking Gods are so diverse that they can be difficult to categorize, so this is just a general guideline.”
“By that standard, does that mean your Authority is a Composite Type like Life-san’s?”
“Correct. My Authority of the Sky allows me to do essentially anything related to the heavens. I can fly, manipulate the weather, and my abilities even increase simply by being in the sky.”
That sounded like an incredible power. She effectively had a permanent buff as long as she was off the ground and could control everything from clouds to wind and lightning.
“That’s a remarkable ability.”
“Oh, no. It can't compare to your Authority from Shallow Vernal-sama, Miyama-san. Her blessing is the Blessing of the World. In a sense, you have a powerful correction applied to your very existence just by being in this world.”
“I feel pretty weak for someone with a world-class buff, though…”
“Well… since the blessing acts as a multiplier for your base stats, I imagine that as your base abilities grow, the correction becomes significantly more noticeable. Think of it as having immense potential for the future!”
It seemed my base abilities were so abysmal that even a massive buff didn't make much of a difference, but Sky-san was kind enough to put a positive spin on it. She really was a wonderful person.