On a Godless Planet:Volume2A Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Death Bringer

–First prize goes to the murderer.

●

“Okay, this is gonna be our main game for the day: Casablanca!”

Shifu unfolded the game board after everyone had arrived and they had some snacks ready to go.

They were in the game club’s clubroom. It wasn’t very sunny out, but that meant the fluorescent ceiling light shined all the brighter on the table.

With Shifu herself, Tooru, Kuwajiri-chan, Yomoji-chan, Senpai-chan, Sumeragi-chan, the Druaga Couple, and Eshita-chan present…

“This feels like a bigger gathering than usual.”

“Because the air conditioning is struggling to keep up. Or maybe it’s the humidity. Should we switch on the dehumidifier?”

“Oh, is that the humidity? I thought the air felt heavy in here.”

“We didn’t have to deal with this kind of environment back home.”

“How weak do you have to be if some moisture is too much for you?”

“That moisture is why you suffered heatstroke before. You get that, right?”

En-chan seemed especially harsh when it came to Eshita-chan, but Shifu more or less understood why.

Senpai-chan looked their way and nodded.

“So if Kidou-san gets after her, Bilgamesh-san doesn’t have to apologize?”

“I think so. Isn’t that cute!?”

“Why are you two grinning at me like that?”

“Yes, yes! This I like!”

En-chan tilted her head and Senpai-chan raised her hand to change the subject.

“What kind of game is this?” ●

Kuwajiri-chan sadly angled her head in front of the box bearing the title Casablanca.

“The kind of game I’m bad at.”

“Ah ha ha. You lost pretty badly last time, didn’t you?”

“I was doing fine until about halfway through.”

“Eh? But isn’t Kuwajiri-san really good at games?”

“It must have a rule where you automatically lose after three consecutive seconds of not having big boobs!”

“I’m not going to dignify that with a response.”

That seems like a response in itself, but whatever, decided Shifu. At any rate, the rules were simple.

“There are 8 agents in the city of Casablanca, okay? And there’s a trunk in the center of the city. The game ends when one of the agents brings the trunk back to their safehouse.”

“It ends? So who wins?”

“Well,” Shifu replied. This was where the game got interesting. “The player who has paid that agent the most money when the game ends is the winner. But…any player can move any of the agents.”

And…

“When another player moves an agent in a way you don’t like, you can challenge the move. When that happens, you compete to see who can pay the agent more.”

“Hm? Wouldn’t that let one player pour a bunch of money into a specific agent? Once that happens, how could the other players compete even I they started paying that agent with their own money?”

“That’s right.” Shifu nodded. “So when that happens, you use another agent to ‘assassinate’ that one.”

“And an assassination is guaranteed to succeed. That means pouring all of your money into one agent lets you keep control of that agent from the other players, but all that money is wasted if the agent is assassinated.”

“But if they are about to be assassinated, you can challenge it and pay the agent not to do it. To be honest, the game really gets exciting once the assassinations start.”

“You have to decide when to invest your money in an agent, but you also need to negotiate. For example, you can let another player’s move go unchallenged if they gang up on another player with you.”

“It’s more exciting the more people you have playing. The box says you can up to 8 players, but you can actually play with more. But to keep it down to 8, Tooru and I will play as a team this first time.”

●

Things got crazy once the game got started.

Why was it so crazy? Mucho had nothing going on upstairs.

For example…

“I can just go ahead and assassinate any agent I meet, right!?”

“What are you, a serial killer?”

“A-a violent culture is invading us!?”

“I am sorry.”

And…

“Eh!? You mean I don’t give my money to the target to stop an assassination!?”

“No, you pay the killer to not go through with it.”

“Th-then what good is the money I spent on the target?”

“It makes a good funeral offering?”

“I am so sorry.”

And…

“Hey, Eshtar! Don’t touch everything with your fingers covered in Karamucho dust!”

“Yeah, that’s happened before, so all the paper stuff is a copy.”

“See, they’ve got a system! It’s not a problem at all, Enkidu!”

“Why…must you…be like this?”

“I wish I could say something here, but I once got the sheet wet from the condensation on my beer can.”

“And you expect us to take you seriously?”

It went on like that, but the biggest problem was…

“I wiiiiin!!”

“Is this what youuuu call a darrrrk horse?”

●

“They don’t call me a goddess of victory for nothing!”

Eshita laughed.

“This game club is great! I’m never leaving!!”

●

“That was a wild ride, but I guess it turned out alright?”

<It is certainly better than any of you going nuts with your god powers. I approve of this way of reaching a mutual understanding.>

Is that what this was about? I wondered. But…

“Doesn’t the name Casablanca make you think of Casablanca ni Ai o, Raidou-senpai? They made a lot of adventure games controlled with text commands back then, didn’t they?”

“The 68 version came out last year, but while I liked the background music they added, I’m not a fan of the colored art. I preferred the old black and white look. But even though it’s called Casablanca, the story’s set in America and it’s about the Daily Casablanca newspaper the protagonist works at.”

“Is that the one that had you crying during the second half? It’s a time travel story, right?”

<Incidentally, the title must have caused some copyright issues because it is later changed to ‘The Letter that Traveled Through Time’>

“So where is the city of Casablanca actually located?”

<Morocco. It is often mistakenly thought to be in South America, but it is in Africa, right across the Strait of Gibraltar south of Spain. The name is Spanish for ‘white house’, which I would guess is why people think it must be in South America.>

I see, I thought while munching on some snacks.

I was thinking I needed to refuel with some sugar after using my head so much, but then Mucho spoke up.

“I know this is sudden, but what was with that stuff last night?”

●

“I-I didn’t do anything! Honest!”

“And I didn’t see anything. Honest.”

<You two could not be more suspicious.>

●

“We’ve heard more or less what happened and what we told you this morning covers it.”

Ki waved her right hand in a way that said this was a place for fun and games but it was also a place for strategy meetings. So…

“The human there was attacked by a wicked water spirit that you could call a water monster.”

“Have water spirits turned violent in the past?”

<It does happen from time to time under my management.>

“For real? So…what? Were you evil this whole time?”

<If I were evil, I would have thrown this ape descendent into the zoo. Sometimes I wonder why I don’t.>

“Because you don’t have the guts?”

The human and the screen exchanged insults for a while after that. Once they were done, Ki raised her hand.

“From what I heard this morning, it sounds like Shinto follows a ‘don’t rock the boat’ philosophy, so I guess I should bring this part up for you: what does everyone think about the Roman god battling in an illegal divine field and about an Olympus god arriving as an inspector?”

●

“If you must know,” began Raidou next to Shifu, who was preparing for the next game. “I just hope Neptune isn’t a spy or vanguard for the Olympus gods.”

But…

“I kind of doubt he is.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Shinto’s reaction.”

He could tell from watching Omokane and the others that morning.

“First of all, Scarecrow didn’t really know what was happening. That she used a public medical facility means she’s not getting involved while also not hiding his presence.”

“So if they did understand the situation, they would have used a private medical facility and could have hidden his presence?”

“Right,” confirmed Raidou. And, “Omokane didn’t get involved. Last time, she laid a lot of the groundwork for dealing with Eshtar and you two, but she doesn’t seem to be doing that this time. She let Scarecrow’s decision stand with Neptune, so he at least isn’t working for Olympus.”

“What do youuuu think is happening herrrre, Tooru-kun?”

“I bet Omokane is leaving Neptune be to see if he’ll clash with the Olympus god.”

That would mean the following situation:

• Neptune (Roman Mythology)

Doing something independently

• Olympus

Arriving as an inspector

Connection to Neptune unknown

• Shinto

Saved Neptune and leaving him be to monitor the situation

• Water Monster

Attacked Sumeragi, everything else unknown

“That’s a lot of unknowns.”

“With what we know now, there aren’t many connections you can make without relying on what amounts to conspiracy theories. What we have here are the facts, not our fantasies.”

“I concur.”

“So the one conclusion we can draw from this is that I have a hidden power and someone’s trying to kill me because of it!”

“Huh!? You expect me to believe an idiot like you has a hidden power!?”

“That’s right, Mucho! I’ve got a cursed power! Just you wait until I nail a straw doll into a tree to make you smell like Caramel Corn, the polar opposite of Karamucho!”

“I don’t even know what that means, so don’t you dare do it!”

“But Caramel Corn is delicious, even if it’s a bit high on calories. It’s a strangely nostalgic flavor. It has a real ‘Western snack food’ feel.”

“Why do they put peanuts in it?”

“I don’t know, but I’m glad they do.”

Senpai-san’s conclusion made the idiot groan out loud.

“Ahhh! I had no idea you liked it! I didn’t do my homework! And here I am threatening to make Eshita smell like it! Why am I so stupid!?”

The idiot began forcefully prostrating toward his goddess, which meant slamming his head against the edge of the table. It made a lot of noise and Kuwajiri had to grab her water bottle to keep it from toppling over. The idiot went on to writhe on the floor, but…

“A-are you alright, Sumeragi-kun!?”

“Yup, I’m fine! I’m finer than fine, Senpai! Please stay right where you are! And then lower your hips just a little – yes, that’s perfect! That’s the golden angle! Thank you! Thank you so much! I, Sumeragi Izumi, have found the will to live!”

“I say kick him.”

●

In the library, Scarecrow saw the idiot run halfway across the schoolyard before throwing himself onto the ground.

“Yahoooooooooo! It’s been too long since my last kick from Senpai’s holy feet!”

Then he ran back, but this failed to inspire any real emotion in her.

●

“And I’m back! The clubroom is pretty small, so I had to improvise!”

Level up Revelation Boards were popping up all around Senpai.

“Why would that make you level up?”

“I-is that not how it normally works?”

“Any attention at all from your god is enough to make a true believer swoon, Busty Mesopotamian! And when that attention comes in the form of a kick, it’s something you tell your kids and grandkids about!”

The Busty Mesopotamian turned toward Senpai.

“At least he’s enthusiastic.”

“U-um, thank you?”

<Speaking of Caramel Corn, it is a longtime best seller introduced in 1971. Regarding your question about the peanuts, they provide an accent to the otherwise sweet flavor and they are used to carry the salt which helps draw out the sweetness.>

“So the nuts carries the salt and mixes it together with the corn?”

“I think this is the first time any of Balancer’s nonsense has ever surprised me.”

<I-it is not nonsense! I am acting as your guide to the 90s!>

“Pfft. She thinks you’re nothing but nonsense!!”

The idiot and the screen began trading insults, but then Raidou noticed Bilgamesh had his hand up. Sorry… How long have you had your hand up? You really need to assert yourself more. Oh, or I could think of you as Gil from The Return of Ishtar. Or maybe that’s a bad idea. Yeah, probably.

“So what do you want?”

“I want to know about the Roman gods. I have a hard time keeping up with the later mythologies unless they’re related to the prototypes.”

“I can’t blame you with Roman mythology because it’s kind of low priority for how big a name it is.”

Raidou turned toward Kuwajiri who nodded and opened a Revelation Board.

“You are at least aware that the Roman gods are generally copies of the Greek gods, except for their names, right? Then I will explain the rest.”

●

“Tenma-kun, you did some research on the rest of what we discussed this morning, I hope. So how much do you know about Roman and Greek mythology now?”

Tenma approached Scarecrow in the library while Shamhat searched for a book on wine. Tenma carried a few pamphlets on art museum displays.

“May I borrow this chair?”

“You are the only one who ever uses the chair in front of the counter.”

Tenma’s eyebrows rose a bit in surprise.

“What about Shamhat-san?”

“We’re lucky she has enough courtesy to not sit directly on the counter.”

“I would never sit there. My butt would get cold.”

So she was listening. That probably meant she was interested in what Tenma had to say.

Scarecrow was also somewhat curious about the materials Tenma had brought over.

“Are those about art museum displays?”

“Yes. I believe I am following most all written sources, but I wanted some visual sources as well when trying to envision the Released Manifestations of gods we haven’t seen yet. So I wanted to check the artwork excavated from ruins.”

The girl was originally Sugawara no Michizane, wasn’t she? Scarecrow was weirdly impressed to see what happened when a love of books extended to gathering knowledge instead of just enjoying stories. And…

“Roman mythology was originally a fairly weak mythology.”

●

Tenma put to words what she had investigated and come to understand during the day.

“Roman mythology was originally a non-Greek form of nature worship. The fascinating part is how it was similar enough to Greek mythology to have the Greek gods applied to it later on.”

“Similar how?”

“Well.” Tenma opened a Revelation Board. “The gods of the two mythologies were similar to begin with. For example, Jupiter, the leader of the Roman gods, is a sky god whose name comes from the same root as the Greek Zeus.”

There were other similarities like this.

“The 12 primary Roman gods, including Jupiter, are known as the Dii Consentes, which lines up well with the 12 Olympus gods known as the Dodekatheoi, and a lot of the other gods have equivalents between the two. These similarities are not forced. They have identical authorities, like a sky god, a war god, a god of beauty, or a god of wine,” she said. “There aren’t many gods without equivalents. In fact, they are quite rare. So if you ask me, it is less that Roman mythology was effectively hijacked by Greek mythology and more like Roman mythology was originally a shallow copy of Greek mythology with different names for the gods and they eventually incorporated the Greek myths since they were already completed.”

“I see,” replied Tenma’s superior, shifting her chair to look at her more closely. “And how do you think the mythology was formed?”

●

“When you look at how the mythology was formed, you find it is a simple example based on the usual rules.”

Kuwajiri opened a Revelation Board and displayed a map of the Mediterranean Sea. On it, she drew a long arrow from the Middle East and Asia moving west across the Mediterranean’s northern coast.

“First, humanity already had a model mythology with them when they migrated. They did not create a sky god, a war god, an agriculture god, a wine god, and so on at each of their destinations. They already had the models and brought those with them to their destinations. This does not contradict the idea that the image of the gods grew clearer as humanity created language and then traveled across the world.”

“Why did they take their gods with them? If they made new ones at their new land, wouldn’t that give them their own gods?”

“In an era before the development of culture and civilization, the people could not give up the gods who protected them. Their gods’ ‘teachings’ were those gods’ skills and permissions. For example, a fire god does not reside within fire. Whoever knows the fire god is permitted to possess the skill of creating fire.”

“The temples were the home of those skills and permissions, but even without those, festivals fill that role. Festivals are used to pass down religious skills because the gods’ skills were passed down to humanity in ancient times.”

Exactly.

“So once the people began to use their nature gods as primitive skills, the gods’ jobs were split up while the stories were passed down. The nature gods were something humans saw in natural threats. But as those became guardian deities of skills such as fire making, river management, hunting, architecture, and farming, the gods became symbols of those skills or those skills themselves.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? Natural threats eventually became human skills based on harnessing nature. Even though a threat and a skill are conflicting things.”

But what result did that lead to?

“And this made the human migration more efficient. Do you know why that is?” ●

Kuwajiri saw Yomoji tilt his head at her question.

“Becaaaause it helped them devellllop their skilllls? Iiiis that it?”

“That is a part of it, but it isn’t what I was looking for.”

Kuwajiri looked to Senpai-san. She sat next to the idiot who was vibrating up and down in what may have been an extreme form of fidgeting. Kuwajiri decided letting it bother her would let him win.

This is actually easy to see in the form of Shinto mythology. Because it’s a common trait of later mythologies.”

“Eh? Eh? Wh-what do you mean?”

“A healthy amount of big boobs worship!?”

“Not sure I would call it ‘healthy’, but it does have a lot of weird stuff.”

“Not quite! To the weird stuff part, not what the idiot said.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait! We’re not that weird!”

But then Senpai-san raised her head.

“You were listening in on our discussion this morning, weren’t you?”

“Yes, this has to do with that.”

“In that case.” Senpai-san thought for a moment before continuing. “Is it the clearly defined jobs?”

●

“It’s about jobs.”

Tenma looked to the art display pamphlet she had open in front of her. It was a display on ancient Mediterranean culture and the photos were of things like wine pots and roof tiles.

“As the gods became ‘skills’ and those skills were passed down and distributed, human migration became more efficient. Because…”

Because…

“It let them assign the jobs needed to build a village at their destination.”

This was frequently referenced in the myths. Scarecrow must have understood this because she spoke with a gentle smile.

“A lot of mythologies tell of foreign gods arriving, creating the gods, and giving them their myths, right?”

“Yes. I can only speculate, but I wonder if that is referring to foreigners visiting these primitive groups and giving them the knowledge of their gods and those gods’ skills.”

“And how does this relate to the connection between Roman and Greek mythologies?”

Tenma nodded and glanced down at the pamphlet for just a moment. The action was meaningless really. She simply felt that she needed to look away briefly or she wouldn’t be able to trust in her opinion here.

She calmly but boldly stated her theory.

“During the initial human migration, they brought a primitive mythology with them, but they would have managed the migration even without a mature mythology. If their gods had been developed into skills, then they had what it took to migrate. So in regions where travel and settling were easy, like along the Mediterranean coast, I can imagine even the Laurasian mythologies would have prioritized migration over maturing their mythologies.”

And…

“As the people interacted with the indigenous cultures they came across, changes in dialect would eventually lead to the development of entirely different languages. When that happened, it changed the names of the gods who were the skills they had brought with them and some of the local gods would have been added to their mythology too.”

The rest was simple.

“While this process was occurring in regions all over, there were some regions where the mythology developed much more rapidly.”

“What regions would that be?”

She answered right away.

“Regions of conflict.”

●

“When small cities fought, it inevitably led to a joining of their gods. As well as the stories of the heroes with a connection to those gods. As the people told those stories and they were used to prove the legitimacy of the leaders and establish a country, a mythology developed.”

Kuwajiri looked to the map of the Mediterranean on her Revelation Board. It showed…

“The Greek region was one of the most conflicted regions in the ancient Mediterranean. They also traded with the equally conflicted Middle East, so they were influenced by the mythology developing just as quickly there, leading to the construction of a very complex mythology.”

“I mentioned this before, but I was included in Greece as a goddess of beauty. Although she turned into a different goddess altogether once that became its own mythology.”

“So they copied Mucho…”

“I am so sorry.”

“Again, you really don’t have to apologize for these things!”

“Don’t sweat it!”

“You, on the other hand…”

Well, at least they’re cheerful. I tend to be more of a downer. I can’t keep up with them. But I feel like I’m close to being dragged into this. I should be careful.

“Kuwajiri-chaaan? How about you take a quick break?”

“Oh, thanks.”

Kuwajiri took a sip of her carbonated drink. Fortunately it hadn’t gone flat yet. And she decided that flavor was enough of a break.

“So Roman and Greek mythologies were the same originally. They had the gods chosen for migration back when the mythologies were still immature and they both underwent local changes. Greece was then influenced by more developed mythologies from the Middle East and elsewhere and they rapidly developed their own mythology through their local conflicts.”

And…

“Rome wasn’t as close to the Middle East as Greece, so they couldn’t reach that level of mythological development even with local conflicts, but since it was based on the same gods, they could absorb Greece’s already completed mythology and make it their own. That is how Rome developed their mythology.”

●

“Now,” said Tenma. The art museum display pamphlets had a lot of icons from ancient Rome as well, but…

“When Roman mythology copied from Greek mythology, they didn’t stop with the corresponding 12 gods. The original myths of the Latins can be found in Greek mythology, so the Romans, who were also Latins, viewed that as their own origin and based their founding mythology on it.”

“It kind of sounds like Roman mythology was the dough and Greek mythology was some powerful seasoning added later on.”

Tenma nodded at Shamhat who had approached at the counter at some point.

“The ancient Mediterranean had a long history and Greece must have been something of a library of culture and civilization thanks to their powerful mythology and military might. I expect they held a position where people could visit Greece to learn more about history.”

“But I doubt the gods were happy about the humans doing all that.”

●

“And? Is there a problem with Roman mythology taking a bunch of stuff from Greek mythology?”

Kuwajiri thought that was a decent question for an idiot. She just wished he would stop that vertical vibration. She gave him a look saying so before answering his question.

“It used a prototype.”

“A proto-what?”

“She is referring to a mythology that acts as a model for another. Instead of spreading through human migration, a prototype replaces the original myth as a clear ‘translation’.”

“Thank you for explaining that. That is what I meant. Finding similar myths between mythologies is normal, but a prototype is more like a translation. With a passive prototype that is naturally taken on through human migration or cultural exchange, you only end up with what you could call ‘sister myths’, but with an active prototype like what Roman mythology did…its rank suffers.”

“Why would they do that?”

“The humans chose to do it, not the gods.”

Kuwajiri realized something after saying that.

…I was unnecessarily harsh again!

Now wasn’t the time to just throw the truth in their face like that.

“I don’t really get what you mean, but there are things you just do without thinking it through! You have this urge, y’know? Like when I see Senpai, I look to her face first, but then my eyes drop to her chest!”

If only that idiot would shut up. But…

“The people probably thought it sounded like a good idea and didn’t feel any need to think about it more than that.”

●

“Do I need to think about why that idiot’s explanation was better than mine?”

“No, no, no, no, no. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, okay!?”

●

Shifu thought about what Kuwajiri said.

“It doesn’t just affect the gods’ ranks. Generally, all their stories have an ‘original’ version, so their authorities will be inferior to the originals, which means they’re no match for the originals.”

“But Rome spread pretty far, didn’t it? How’d that happen? Weren’t they all decadent with everyone having wild parties in the colosseum and stuff?”

“It comes down to the number of believers.”

Tooru looked to Senpai-chan before continuing.

“More worshipers and more worship increases the gods’ power. That has to be the reason Roman mythology was so powerful back then. But now that they’ve lost all their human believers, they have to rely on their own power.”

Meaning…

“In the current age, Roman mythology is no match for Greek mythology, which is why Greece might even be using them as their vanguard now. That was my earlier speculation that I then rejected.”

●

My conclusion was that I kind of got it. Simply put…

“Roman mythology and Greek mythology have a connection, so we should be careful now that they’re both here?”

“More or less, yeah. Do you have anything else to tell us? You were attacked by some kind of water monster, weren’t you?”

“Do I have anything to tell you!? Do I ever! Listen up, y’all!”

I said everything I could think of. This was what I realized while thinking about the incident this morning.

“I lost my memories of yesterday from the backroll, but I apparently nourished my pure soul by going to the river and seeing Senpai in a swimsuit! But that memory is gone! So for summer break, I want to go somewhere safe – by which I mean, somewhere I can see Senpai in a swimsuit! I want to have fun! Splashy fun! Do you get what I’m saying!?”

“Rollback.”

“Wayyyyyyyy too slow there! You’ve gotta get those retorts in there right away, Kuwajiri! Try to get it out the instant I say ‘ba’ next time! Try it! …Backroll. C’mon! Let me have it!”

●

After Tenma finished her explanation, Scarecrow looked out the window to see the human run toward the center of the schoolyard.

“Yahoooooooooooooooo! Asking Senpai for a shoulder massage was a stroke of genius, Kuwajiri!! Because the way her boobs squish into a new shape when she does it is simply divine!”

After seeing the idiot trip quite spectacularly, she decided to ignore him.

●

The idiot had already run off, but Shifu thought she knew what this was about.

“Did Sumeragi-chan draw the wrong conclusion about yesterday’s spirit calming?”

“I would say he drew the conclusion he wanted to believe was real.”

“Wh-what do I do now? If I tell him that didn’t happen, he might die of shock!”

“I didn’t realize humans had such low VIT.”

“Yeah, he’s only got like 3mm at most.”

“What is VIT?”

“It means his health.”

<It is short for vitality. It is most commonly used in games, but VIT and LIFE were the most common terms in 80s games. HP only rose to prominence with the rise of RPGs like Dragon Quest.>

“Apparently old game magazines had a hard time explaining all this. After all, everyone was used to the simple idea of extra lives and then games started introducing the concept of ‘health’.”

<There is one tragic story of a writer spelling it out as ‘vitality’ and having the proofreader ‘correct’ it to ‘bakatare-ty’.>

“The 80s were quite a time, huh?”

“If the 80s were a period of instability from the rapid development of so many things, you could see the 90s as a period where those things gained stability through popularity.”

And after they gained a deeper understanding of this divine world, the clubroom door opened. Shifu turned around, thinking Sumeragi-chan was back awfully fast.

“Good day. I am only stopping by to see if I left something here.”

“Wait, why are there so many people here!?”

Kido-chan was here instead?

●

Kido needed to check on something else first.

…Good, Izumi isn’t here.

She knew it was her weakness telling her to avoid meeting him. Because…

“I plan to return home for the second term. I did everything I wanted to do here, I know things have stabilized, and I have already cleaned up over there.”

“Kido-chaaan? I think you’re making a lot assumptions instead of coming to us for advice.”

She knew Shifu-san was trying to stop her from leaving. And that she truly meant it. Shifu-san didn’t lie about things like this. In fact, all the Norse gods were like that.

Kido appreciated it and relaxed a bit. But at the same time…

“The Mesopotamians? You got those inspectors to join you?”

“Pleased to meet you.”

“…Yes, it’s a pleasure.”

“Make yourself at home!”

Calm, cautious, and stupid, if I’m reading them right. I assume these must be Bilgamesh, Enkidu, and Eshtar. I heard Shamhat was with them, but she does not appear to be present. And…

“I notice Izumi is not here.”

“Oh, Kido-san, if you want to see Sumeragi-kun…”

Was she trying to be nice? But…

“No need, Douhai-san. I already decided I would leave Izumi with you.”

“No, um, that’s not what I meant.”

Just as Kido was wondering what she did mean, she heard a voice from behind.

“Wowzers!! A brand new busty upperclassman!! Can I worship you from below!?”

Can you what?

Back to Chapter 9

Return to Main Page

Forward to Chapter 11