Editing On a Godless Planet:Volume3A Preface (section)

===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.

[[Image:godless_scare.png|50px]]

“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.

[[Image:godless_scare.png|50px]]

…''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…

[[Image:godless_tenma.png|50px]]

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

[[Image:godless_scare_komari.png|50px]]

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

[[Image:godless_tenma.png|50px]]

“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.

[[Image:godless_scare.png|50px]]

“Tenma-kun?”

[[Image:godless_tenma.png|50px]]

“Yes?”

[[Image:godless_scare.png|50px]]

“Are you going to offer to help?”

[[Image:godless_tenma.png|50px]]

“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.

[[Image:godless_scare.png|50px]]

“What was your job as a human?”

[[Image:godless_tenma.png|50px]]

“Saying too much.”

[[Image:godless_scare_komari.png|50px]]

“And that was an important job?”

[[Image:godless_tenma.png|50px]]

“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.”

[[Image:godless_scare_komari.png|50px]]

“Maybe your motivations were fundamentally flawed?”

[[Image:godless_tenma.png|50px]]

“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?’ ”

[[Image:godless_scare_komari.png|50px]]

“Why would you admit that?”

[[Image:godless_tenma.png|50px]]

“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.”

[[Image:godless_scare_komari.png|50px]]

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

[[Image:godless_tenma.png|50px]]

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

[[Image:godless_scare_komari.png|50px]]

“So you don’t cook for yourself?”

[[Image:godless_tenma.png|50px]]

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

[[Image:godless_scare.png|50px]]

“Oh, and what’s that?”

[[Image:godless_tenma.png|50px]]

“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.

[[Image:godless_kuwajiri.png|50px]]

“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.

[[Image:godless_scare.png|50px]]

…''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…

[[Image:godless_scare.png|50px]]

…''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.

●

[[Image:godless_pigeon.png|50px]]

“Yahoo! This library underwater yet!?”

[[Image:godless_scare_komari.png|50px]]

“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.

[[Image:godless_scare_komari.png|50px]]

“Hey.”

[[Image:godless_pigeon.png|50px]]

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

[[Image:godless_scare_komari.png|50px]]

“Do you not cook for yourself either?”

The prostitute responded immediately.

[[Image:godless_pigeon.png|50px]]

“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.

[[Image:godless_scare_komari.png|50px]]

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

[[Image:godless_pigeon.png|50px]]

“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.

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