On a Godless Planet:Volume3A Preface

Inner Cover

A Good Time for Supplies

●

The school was busy that morning thanks to the downpour and flooding.

Some people were distributing food inside the library.

“I thought the coffee smell would get in the rice if you cooked it here, but apparently not.”

Scarecrow felt like this was the perfect job for her.

…I’m mass-producing rice balls, after all!

As a god modeled after a scarecrow, you could probably say rice was her specialty. Surely you can. However…

“If you ask me, this feels more like the god meant to guard the crops is consuming the crops instead.”

“Tenma-kun? You can keep these observations to yourself, you know?”

“Sorry. I had a knack for saying too much even during my human life.”

Tenma viewed the triangular objects lined up on a tray on the counter.

“Tenma-kun?”

“Yes?”

“Are you going to offer to help?”

“Eh? Preparing the food is someone else’s job.”

Come to think of it, wasn’t she part of the Heian aristocracy when she was a human? realized Scarecrow.

“What was your job as a human?”

“Saying too much.”

“And that was an important job?”

“Yes, of course. I used that skill to great effect to improve society, to facilitate human interaction, and to correct the thing we all know as politics. Whenever I made a presentation, it was to a packed house, but for some reason this got me demoted. Baffling, really.”

“Maybe your motivations were fundamentally flawed?”

“I will admit my primary motivation was, ‘Working sucks. Can I find a way to spend my life reading books while everyone else does all the actual work?’ ”

“Why would you admit that?”

“Well, after I was deified as a god of calamity (lightning element), they kept calling me a god of education, which really validated that motivation for me.”

“You’re awfully casual about this… So to change the subject a bit, what do eat in this world?”

“I eat at casual restaurants a lot, but I also buy the ready-made things they sell at convenience stores and supermarkets.”

“So you don’t cook for yourself?”

“I did learn to prepare one thing since coming here.”

“Oh, and what’s that?”

“Pouring water in a glass. I’ve come a long way since I was drinking straight from the ladle, don’t you think?”

Her concept of “cooking for herself” was devastatingly bad. That reminded Scarecrow of what Kuwajiri-san had said about cooking for herself.

“I heat up frozen food or grab some prepared dishes at the supermarket. Those are meant to be eaten with beer, right?”

So maybe that was a normal state of affairs for knowledge gods.

…But wait, I’m a knowledge god too!

So was Omokane, come to think of it. But she seemed like someone who didn’t give much care to her food. In fact…

…Am I the odd one out here?

That thought came to her with a very serious expression, but there was a very good chance it was true. After shuddering a bit, the door opened and a prostitute walked in.

●

“Yahoo! This library underwater yet!?”

“It is not! The third basement on down have been spatially separated and the second basement on up have been jacked up.”

“Is that so?” said Shamhat as she grabbed one of the rice balls lined up on the counter.

“Hey.”

“Hm? Yes, I’ll take one. Thanks for offering.”

“Do you not cook for yourself either?”

The prostitute responded immediately.

“I don’t if I can get something that tastes better than anything I make myself.”

I see. That’s one way of looking at it, thought Scarecrow before realizing something.

“Those are just salted with no filling, you know?”

“Wow, really!? And it’s so much tastier than when I make them! You must be the god of salted rice balls!”

Scarecrow lectured her. Yes, I gave her quite a talking to.

Divine Chat Zone

“Thiiiis time, we’re tallllking about track suits. I loooove ‘em. They’re niiiice and casual.”

“But why do we call them ‘jerseys’ in Japan? I know Jersey is a type of cow, so are they for people with big udders!? By which I mean boobs!?”

“Eh!? Jersey means big boobs!? So does New Jersey mean New Big Boobs!?”

“Wouldn’t it be udders, not boobs?”

“Seriously though, what does Jersey mean? Since there’s a New Jersey, is it a place name?”

“It is. The jersey fabric was used to make fisher’s clothing in Jersey of the United Kingdom. The fabric and the manufacturing method arrived in Japan during the Edo period, but sportswear made using the fabric became known as ‘jerseys’ in the English-speaking world and that terminology arrived in Japan in the late 19th century.”

<The modern synthetic track suits were adopted by schools across the country after the Tokyo Olympics. Before that, schools used woven sweatpants instead.>

“And did the spread of sportswear and the shift to sports apparel begin in the 80s due to the influence of the LA Olympics and sports manga? Our school’s track suit is its own unique brand, but I’m pretty sure they have a product line for general outdoor activity too.”

Table of Contents

This is a world modeled after Tachikawa in 1990. The only human and the many gods there have begun the terraforming needed to create a new world for the humans, but all they end up doing is chatting a lot, getting into fights, getting sidetracked, and playing board games. Now, a truly unpredictable story awaits you. Or maybe it doesn’t. Whatever.

Story

“Here is a guide to the story so far. It’s full of spoilers, so be careful if you were thinking of reading the earlier books later.”

The Story So Far:

1990, Tachikawa. Sumeragi Izumi, 2nd year in high school, was enjoying his summer break while the possibility of terraforming an extraterrestrial planet was being investigated. Then “Senpai”, the busty beauty who moved in next door, and Balancer, an AI guide, tell him that the world around him is a VR space created by Balancer. Humanity has already left for outer space and an AI-led terraforming has already begun while humanity is in cold sleep.

But the new planet already has planetary spirits living there and only the Earth-born data entities known as “gods” can resist them. To strengthen themselves, the gods and Balancer created Sumeragi as a human worshiper. This means Senpai and the other club members are all gods.

Then some inspectors arrived from the DC, the Divine Council, to gain the right to control the terraforming. Some trouble there revealed that Senpai is actually Iwanaga-hime, the god responsible for humanity’s short lifespan. Sumeragi took her back and swore to help guide the terraforming as her partner.

Thus, the terraforming began, but then another upperclassman, Kido Abinae, said she would be moving back to her home. At the same time, a water monster attacked and some Greek gods intervened. Kido tried to distance herself from Sumeragi and deal with the water monster and Greek gods. But after being forcibly invited to a summer camping trip, she revealed herself to be Echidna, mother of monsters, and the one who created Sumeragi’s base form. She said she was leaving because the mother of the human leading the terraforming could not be a monster. But Sumeragi stopped her and led her to manifest her true form as the Scythian sea god Api. As a result, Kido used the ultimate weapon Keravnos Melan to become Sumeragi’s mother and also advance the terraforming.

Word

• Terraforming

“Modifying a planet to be livable for humans. Humanity wants to do this to planets out in space now that Earth’s environment has worsened.”

• Rollback

“The act of resurrecting Sumeragi from a backup when he dies. As a special bonus, I’ve made it so he changes sex when he eats a banana.”

What?

• About the Terraforming

“So far, the terraforming work has included understanding how this star system came to be and figuring out what to do about the planet’s rotation and revolution. This is all foundational stuff, including the reason why we can’t let the planet freeze or overheat.”

“The next task is to hold a lecture on how the planet will change based on the exact actions and decisions made.”

• About Mythology

“Mythologies were not created individually. They spread and changed over time as humanity migrated around the world and various cultures spread with them. We also discussed the Pangaea Mythology, the foundation of human myths that began the various ancient mythologies.”

• About Other Things

“The Norse group and the one true god were working with Shinto to begin with, but our Mesopotamian group joined them later.”

Newcomer!

• Sumeragi’s Mother

Member of the game club. Lives at Sumeragi’s apartment building in the room directly below his. Sees herself as mother and mother-in-law to Sumeragi and Senpai on the floor above.

• Greek Gods

Tried and failed to create a second human. Mr. V and Salacia are living in Tachikawa as part of the school. Demeter and Athena are staying there…as tourists maybe?

Character

Sumeragi Izumi

Protagonist. High School Year 2. Game club member. Main consoles are the Mega Drive, the PC-98, and the MSX2. Big boobs worshiper. Has no filter whatsoever. Seriously, none. Tends to make strange noises. Background noise on legs. Is something of a problem, but isn’t a bad person. It’s fine.

Senpai

Senpai. High School Year 3. Game club member? Has difficulty saying no. 175cm tall and busty. Seems like the gentle type but actually has an odd amount of energy. Seems to use her flustered expression more than the normal one. Is a Shinto god and is actually Iwanaga-hime.

Kido Abinae

Year 3, 180cm tall, and busty. Is the Echidna, Greek mother of monsters, but her true form is the Scythian sea god Api. Wields the ultimate weapon Keravnos Melan. Created Sumeragi’s base form = is his mother. Acts like mother and mother-in-law to him and Senpai, which makes her and Senpai fellow Sumeragi fans.

Raidou Tooru

High School Year 3. Game club member. 195cm tall. The reliable big brother type. Surprisingly intellectual. Gets worked up playing games, but isn’t very good at them. Main consoles are the Famicom and the X68. A real fighter. Big boobs worshiper. Is Thor, Norse god of war, and primarily handles the fighting.

Shifu Saku

High School Year 3. Game club member. 185cm busty blonde. Raidou’s wife. The accepting mom type. Thor’s wife Sif from Norse Mythology and also his other wife Jarnsaxa. A harvest god.

Kuwajiri Tsubomi

High School Year 2. Game club member. 155cm tall. An intellectual with a sharp tongue. Something like a little sister to Raidou and Shifu? Good at games that don’t require reflexes. Kvasir, Norse god of knowledge. Has fairly high blood alcohol content.

Yomoji Shinsei

High School Year 3. Game club member. 205cm tall. Club leader. Stretches his words when he talks. Crazily tolerant yet intolerant. Absurd. Monotheistic god. The four letters one. Harsh with his believers.

Balancer

An AI made by humanity and a 30cm square. Currently works as a manager for the terraforming. However, most of their authority has been transferred to the gods, so he ignores an awful lot for a manager. Gets into a lot of insult battles with Sumeragi. Also provides exposition. This 90s world is a data world known as a Divine World that Balancer created.

Omokane Yatsui

High School Year 3. Shinto Representative in the Divine World. 170cm tall. Is Omoikane, Heavenly God of knowledge. Is also the Library Committee Head and works behind the scenes for Shinto. Maybe a little too much.

Kubiko Scarecrow

High School Year 3. Library Committee member in glasses and Kuebiko, Shinto god of knowledge and security. 175cm tall. Is only at the Earthly God level, but acts as Omokane’s overseer. Busty.

Sugawara Tenma

High School Year 1. 150cm tall. Is Sugawara no Michizane, Shinto god of learning, and also a lightning god and negotiation god, so she is multitalented.

Shamhat

Temple prostitute god from Mesopotamian Mythology. Originally human. 160cm tall. Down for anything if the price is right. More of a worrier than you would think and likes to help out. Busty.

Bilgamesh

Half-god half-human from Mesopotamian Mythology. 190cm tall. Tucks his shirt in. Later known as Gilgamesh, which is the better known name. DIY’d his equipment, created laws as a king, and did a lot of other stuff while doing a lot of “stuff” with Enkidu.

Kidou En

Busty. Enkidu, a half-god half-human from Mesopotamian Mythology. Also known as Ki. 180cm tall. Is Bilgamesh’s partner and is about as powerful as him, but she currently uses spells more often. Was originally a guy, but made herself into a girl.

Eshita Inana

Eshtar, a major god from Mesopotamian mythology. Shinto Terraforming Inspector and Karamucho lover. So she’s also known as Mucho. Insta-killed Sumeragi and fears Senpai.

Demeter

The oldest goddess among Greek’s top 12 gods. Quick to get in a fight, but also deeply emotional. After the trouble with Kido, is staying in Tachikawa as a tourist and on a whim.

Athena

Demeter’s niece. One of Greek’s top 12 gods. Not the same as the video game and manga character. Probably. As a young war god, she is easily influenced by her more forceful aunt. Uses the god of war Victorious Goddess.

Mr. V

Roman ocean god. Mr. Vomit. His real name is Neptune, but no one calls him that anymore. Has a past with Kido and the Greeks.

Salacia

Mr. V’s wife. Had turned into a water monster, but regained her original form thanks to Mr. V’s dedication and endurance. Friends with Kido.

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