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On a Godless Planet:Volume1B Chapter 33

2026-06-21T14:06:21Z

112.215.244.253:

==Chapter 33: Paperboy 04==
[[Image:Godless_1B_243.jpg|thumb]]
–''The morning sun shines on the moment of renewal.

●

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

<span style="font-size:200%">'''“I died!!”'''</span>

I was at a quiet location.

It was a terrace.

The ceiling and floor were semicircles and, to reveal my complete lack of vocabulary, the floor was super-duper smooth. I was lying down and couldn’t even get up without slipping because of how, well, smooth and slippery it was. Man, I really don’t have much of a vocabulary, do I!? Oh, but it was colored white.

It was a large area with glass around the outside. Everyone had restrained me and thrown me in here. Was this one of those rooms where you had to do something to be let out?

But things were pretty crazy outside the windows. That had to be outer space. It was the night sky but without a ground below it. It continued on forever and a whole bunch of lights were flying back and forth while things exploded.

Yeah, it was like a 3D version of a shoot ‘em up’s final stage.

Except I was being automatically flown through it, so was it more like a 3D theater? Was this Galaxian 3? Project Dragoon?

And someone stood there with all that in the background.

It was a girl.

I’m pretty sure I knew who she was.

She was…

●

I awoke with a start.

I felt like I just had an awful dream. Or rather…

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

<span style="font-size:200%">'''“I died!!”'''</span>

What I mean is, I experienced a shock that took my life away, leaving me dead. But it wasn’t a bad thing. I was surprised by something that made me to happy. I had wondered if something so good could really happen to me.

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

“Excellent.”

I caught my breath while just sitting in bed in a T-shirt and boxers with the morning sun shining in on me.

I checked the digital clock on the same shelf as the TV next to the bed and saw it was 08:05 of 8/5/1990. I liked how the time and date matched. Was this going to be a good day?

But that aside…

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

“Is this what it was??”

The reason I had “died” had fallen onto the bed. They were game glasses for an immersion game. That would mean I fell asleep playing a game. But in that case, what a game! What a story! Was that one of those porn games that keep coming out these days!? I hope so! The scene I was seeing would still be uncensored too! Wait, what do I mean “still”? Oh, who cares.

But in that case, I wanted to avoid continuing the porn game first thing in the morning.

●

''Oh, right,'' I thought.

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

…''It’s summer break! Now’s not the time to be sitting around playing porn games!

I had been spending all my time working part-time. On the last day of school, I had played Darius II in a Darius cabinet at the Oslo in front of Tachikawa Station. When I left the arcade just before it closed, a HiAce was parked there.

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

“The heck is this?”

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

“We’re gathering people for street vendor jobs in Ishikawa Prefecture. Wanna come?”

I of course hopped in the van and ended up cooking okonomiyaki in Ishikawa for about two weeks. Man, I’m stupidly impulsive at times. I gained a new skill plus 170,000 yen and thought I was set for life, but it was really annoying how none of my colleagues knew Japanese and we had no other language in common either.

Anyway, after spending the start of my summer break like that, I thought I would use that funding to buy a bike, some clothes, a bag, and other equipment for a trip.

I was thinking about getting a sleeping bag too since I was planning to camp out.

Which reminded me.

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

“I should go on a trip.”

Where would I go?

It wouldn’t count as a real trip unless I went further than Ishikawa.

I knew Ishikawa pretty well. On my 5th day working as a street vendor there, our “boss” gathered everyone together, spread out a map of Japan, and spoke with a fairly useless interpreter next to him.

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

“Listen up. One of you ran off, so let me be clear about this: You can only survive here because we took you in. You have nowhere to run to, okay? …Wait, what are you doing here? You’re Japanese!”

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

“It just kind of happened.”

And when he paid me…

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

“Where’s the payslip?”

He gave me a huge compliment for asking that: “You have a lot of guts, you know that!?” Not sure why, but okay.

●

Wow, I am being really exposition-y here, aren’t I?

●

I didn’t have any breakfast. Crap. I hadn’t expected the fridge to be empty.

I needed a full stomach before I left on a trip.

I did have money. As for clothes…

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

“What was my part-time job for again?”

The closet only had school uniforms. And I mean only new style summer ones.

Also…

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

“Why do I have women’s underwear in here?”

Had I awoken to a new fetish at some point?

●

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

“For real?”

These were clearly underwear. Women’s underwear.

When had I bought them?

And what did it mean? I could maybe understand a swimsuit…well, no. That would be weird too.

My life here had grown confusing in the blink of an eye.

This made no sense.

Up until last night, I was cooking okonomiyaki with my bottom-of-the-pyramid pals and enjoying myself by admiring the cute young women in yukatas, the fireworks, and the other festival sights. But then I get home to find women’s underwear in my room.

It was kind of scary, so I checked the bath and in all the drawers. I also looked under the bed.

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

“No one’s here.”

I started to worry there was some obsessive stalker in the room next door and this was their doing.

It would be pretty bad if they had their room covered in photos of me and they pressed their ear against the wall while making weird noises. Unless they were a hot, busty, and kind – then it’d be A-OK! Bring it on!

Oh, but the room next door is supposed to be empty.

Now I disappointed myself.

But what was with the women’s underwear?

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

“…”

I tried them on in front of the closet real quick.

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

“A perfect fit.”

Huh?

Is that what this was?

Had I done it? At least this meant I hadn’t stolen them.

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

“But wait!”

What did this mean? I began an investigation.

●

I grabbed my wallet from the kitchen, opened it, and checked the receipts inside.

I had just over 110,000 yen left. And the receipts said I must have gone to the FamilyMart in Sunagawa last night. Also…

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

“I bought these at Will? This ‘Women’s Under’ has to be it, right? I didn’t hop aboard a HiAce to go help out because the women’s underwear was in trouble, did I?”

But if I was helping out, why would they have charged me money? That makes no sense. But still…

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

“I don’t remember this at all.”

Why did I head out to buy women’s underwear one summer morning? I had no idea, but I could picture the scene at the register. It probably went something like this:

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

“Oh! I’d like these please! A bra and panties set of women’s underwear! No, 5 sets! Oh, do you have these in wine red!? Then I’ll have one set in that! That should be more exciting! For my family!? No, no! For me! Yes, and could I get a receipt please! Filled out anonymously? No! Fill out the receipt for Sumeragi Izumi! Yes, that’s my real name of course! And make sure the product is listed as ‘women’s underwear’. …Oh, it’s all ready!? Thank you so much!”

I was pretty sure I would have gone that far, but it was hard to say.

I should probably stop inventing memories.

Anyway, I didn’t remember doing it, but I had definitely bought the mystery underwear. The memory was entirely absent, but it was possible I had bought them by mistake somehow. However…

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

“That would be so boring.”

''It is what it is, so can’t I just say something more interesting happened?'' I wondered.

Anyway, I had new style uniforms, so I could put one of them on and go shopping for casual clothing.

Then I could go on a trip.

But I didn’t want to bring too much with me. I could wash my pants and shirt at my destination, so I decided to pack two days’ worth and I could do the same with underwear. Anyway…

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

“Time to go shopping.”

●

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

“Okay.”

Once I was dressed, I headed out. My room was on the 2nd floor. The hallway was as large as a terrace and…

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

“–––––”

I felt like there was someone there.

But there wasn’t.

Of course there wasn’t.

The room next door was empty. I checked out of curiosity but didn’t sense anyone’s presence near the door.

I looked out past the railing, but…

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

“No one.”

There was no one there.

●

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

“Since when did I get so lonely?”

I tended to talk to myself, but that was due to playing too many video games.

But whatever.

There was no one there, like always. The garbage trucks would be out at this hour, so it seemed too early to go shopping.

But something wasn’t right.

No, everything was right, but that right felt wrong. Like something was asking me if I really wanted this to be right.

The feeling had been following me around all morning, but what was it?

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

“Oh.”

I remembered I had checked out some books at the library.

I couldn’t remember when I had checked them out, but it must have been a while back.

I also couldn’t remember why I had checked them out. Had I done it before summer break?

“That’s right, that’s right,” I said. I was trying to tell that odd feeling that things here really were right. I had to finish my preparations and then leave on my trip.

But would it be okay to keep the books checked out over summer break? I wasn’t sure. I was pretty sure the library was always open.

So I decided to go return them.

That would kill some time this morning.

They would probably be open by 9, so I could kill time there until around 10.

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

“Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.”

Doing that felt “right” somehow and that seemed to drive me to action.

Something wasn’t right.

So I returned to my room, stepping out of the bright morning and into that dark indoor space, and felt some meaningless relief. But I felt a weird urgency, like I couldn’t stay here forever.

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

“The books.”

There they were.

●

In the kitchen, I found 5 books stacked up on top of the storage box next to the fridge.

I didn’t remember reading them, but that made sense. If I had actually planned to read them, I wouldn’t have gone to Ishikawa. And they were probably really overdue by now.

It would have seemed too weird to carry them in my arms, so I stuck them in a shoulder bag.

Then I left.

There really wasn’t anyone when I left my room.

●

Why did this all feel so weird?

●

I thought about a number of things while walking, but other than the weird empty spot in the junk food section of the convenience store I stopped at on the way, everything was normal.

The clerk responded in the usual doll-like fashion, so everything was normal.

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

“Are they out of ginger ale too? I could have sworn they kept it here.”

Something was beginning. My 7th sense said so.

But I couldn’t worry too much about that, so I bought a meat-filled steamed bun and a fruit and vegetable drink for an unnecessarily balanced breakfast.

●

Once at school, it was ten past nine, but the library wasn’t open.

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

“What the heck!? And I was hoping to look at the sex ed books and the gymnastics and swimming pages of the practical PE lessons! How dare you suck all the fun out of my summer break!”

I rattled the door like a monkey, but it wouldn’t budge. That pissed me off, so…

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

“Dammit! Do I have to take a dump in front of this door to teach you a lesson!?”

But I realized they definitely had security cameras in the hallways and doing that would only hurt me, so I abandoned the idea.

This had all been a waste of time. I thought about checking on my classroom, so I walked down the walkway to Building B.

And then…

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

“Ah! Sumeragi-chaaaan!”

Someone called to me from Building A.

●

I looked up from the walkway, wondering who it was, but…

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

“…”

There was no one there.

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

“Eh?”

The place was deserted. I still thought I could hear the voice echoing between Buildings A and B, but there was no one in the Building A hallway. None of the windows on its three floors were open.

I must have imagined it.

I was hearing things. Or to put it more simply…

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

“Is my true power awakening within me?”

I’m serious!

But I could have sworn I heard that phantom voice. Which I guess is how phantom voices usually work.

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

“Did it come from there?”

The eastern end of Building A was the club building. I didn’t belong to a club, but I decided to check it out.

●

I went there.

It was summer break and pretty early in the morning, so there wouldn’t be anyone there.

I wanted to go to Will at 10, so I had to kill time until then.

And while considering that, I noticed something.

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

“It’s like I’m trying really hard to find a reason to go there.”

●

The club building…or did they call it the school club building? Who cares.

It was a 3-story circular building with a courtyard in the middle.

The entrance was an opening through the first floor leading into the courtyard. When you passed through the building, there were shower rooms and such on the right and stairs and vending machines on the left.

It felt like you could live here if you wanted to.

It was really quiet at this time.

The sun was not yet shining directly into the courtyard, so it was only dimly lit.

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

“So this is what the place is like.”

And just as I said that…

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

“You suck so bad at this!”

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

“Ohhhh, sounds liiiike you’re having fuuuun.”

I heard voices.

They came from the room directly across the courtyard from the entrance. More than one person were doing something exciting inside.

It was still barely past 9, so if they were this heated up now, they may have spent the night there.

I was curious, so I decided to approach.

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

“Hey.”

But someone called out to me from behind.

●

I looked back to find someone I didn’t know. I got the feeling he was an upperclassman. He had a turban made from a few different colors of bandanna worn deep over his eyes.

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

“It hasn’t been deactivated yet, so you can come out, but you can’t go in. Circle around on the inside.”

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

“What are you talking about?”

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

“Oh, yeah.” He leaned back a bit. “Fine. I’m headed in the same direction, so come with me.”

I didn’t know what any of this was about, but I did so.

Really, though. What ''was'' this about?

All we did was circle around the courtyard. We followed the inner wall and the upperclassman in front of me tapped on the wall or drain spouts along the way. And then…

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

“This is the place, right? The game club.”

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

“Oh, yes! This is it! Thanks!”

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

“Don’t worry about it. It happens to everyone at first. And I’m partially to blame since I forgot to deactivate it this time.”

He reached for a door painted with an “Art Club” label.

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

“See you. You can head straight through on your way out.”

“Okay,” I said while he opened the art club door and went inside.

Was I imagining the smell of incredibly dry sand coming from in there?

A hot and dry wind blew out from the room.

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

“Ohh?”

Did the art club have a kiln for firing pottery?

I noticed something as the hot wind circling around the courtyard pushed on me.

At some point, I had grabbed the doorknob to the game club where I had heard those voices.

●

Would I do it?

Would I go in?

No, wait. I had to knock first.

The art club’s door was shut, but what about this one?

Could I open it?

Could I get in?

I was only going to take a peek to kill some time.

And if it wasn’t a good fit for me, I could just say bye and leave.

Was I going to do it?

I was.

Yes.

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

“Okay.”

Just as I decided to do it, I heard a voice from behind me.

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

“What are you doing here?”

●

I didn’t even need to look back. I knew who this girl was.

Yes. Her grades were 5th in our year and she had a crazy belligerent way of talking, but she was really easy to get worked up.

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

“Umm, your name was…”

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

“Hm? Wait a second.”

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

“Huh? What? You got a problem with me standing here!? You refuse to recognize me as a fellow intelligent being just cause I’m standing in front of a door!? You think I’m not worthy of standing in front of doors!? Oh! I see how it is! Well, fine then! I’ll use the back entrance!”

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

“I don’t care about any of that. …So what’s this? Do you remember my name?”

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

“Eh?”

My initial response was “of course I do”, but then…

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

“Huh?”

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

“What?”

Once she asked, I realized I didn’t know the name of this girl in a new type uniform.

No, I did know it, but…

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

“I know it, but I don’t?”

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

“What now?”

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

“Oh, I get it. I haven’t raised the proper flags yet. I didn’t meet all the conditions for this route.”

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

“What ''are'' you talking about?”

She gave me one hell of a glare.

But I shook my head.

I knew her, but I couldn’t find the memories. It was like the information I knew had to be there was sealed off and I couldn’t find it.

So was it actually in my head somewhere?

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

“Umm.”

I thought for a bit and it hit me.

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

“You have a body part in your name, don’t you!?”<ref>The “jiri” of Kuwajiri means “butt”.</ref>

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

“Like what?”

I gave her a closer look.

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

…''Was it hips?

Even from the front, I could tell she had a nice butt, so “butt” was my real guess there. But I couldn’t exactly just say “butt” to a girl. So…

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

“Are you Oda No-boobs-naga of the Oda clan?”

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

“Kuwajiri. My name is Kuwajiri.”

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

“Cute-wajiri?”

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

“Kuwajiri!”

Then she walked over next to me.

Hooray, I’d never been so close to a girl before! But I had to avoid doing anything creepy. Then I’d get the cops called on me for the first time too. Besides, getting turned on just from being near a girl would make me pretty pathetic. Yes, I wouldn’t get turned on from being near just any girl. Only the busty ones. And did Kuwajiri count there? She did not. Which meant now was not the time to get turned on.

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

“Very logical.”

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

“What are you muttering about? Are you okay?”

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

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m functioning on pure logic here.”

She gave me one hell of a glare.

But I had calmed down. I wasn’t even trying to touch her or anything criminal like that.

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

“Sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff. You smell a lot like Karamucho and snacks like that. Are you okay?”

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

“What!?”

She glared at me, but she did take a test sniff of her own hair and arm.

She must have been near those snacks sometime recently. And…

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

“––––––––”

She glared at me again, but that was all. Then she reached for the game club’s doorknob that I had let go of.

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

“What? Did you want to join the club?”

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

“Eh? Um, well, to be honest, I was just trying to kill some time.”

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

“I see,” she said while turning the knob and pushing. “Then I’m sorry to say that no one’s in yet today.”

●

''Eh?'' I thought. ''What is she talking about?'' Because…

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

“I just heard voices from in there.”

I followed Kuwajiri through the opened door, but…

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

“–––––”

There was no one inside.

●

There was no one there. Well, Kuwajiri and I were there, but in the large space past us, I only saw a table and six chairs. There was a window and lockers past that.

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

“Are you sure you weren’t just confused?”

She flipped on the lights and it felt kind of chilly.

But not because the air conditioning was on. The deserted room simply lacked the heated energy I had expected. But…

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

“No, I definitely heard voices from in here. They sounded like they were messing around. Oh! But I don’t mean that in a dirty way! They were both male voices, but it wasn’t that kind of messing around! Don’t get any weird ideas, okay! Man, that really sounded like I was talking about something dirty, huh!? If you point out it sounded dirty, it means you’re normal, but if you don’t, it means you’re a secret pervert! Which means you’re the stealth perv here.”

She ignored me.

But I had heard voices from in here.

There was a table.

There were things left on top of the table.

There were chairs.

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

“You can take a seat if you like.”

The frontmost seat on the far right was by the entrance, so it was probably meant for visitors like me.

I sat down and looked around.

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

“…”

It was a concrete room simply painted white. There were a few pipes running along the ceiling, but they were hard to see.

Further in, there was a window with lockers along the wall on either side of it. There were shelves up to the ceiling on top of the lockers and they had some kind of storage boxes and bags on them.

There was an air conditioner on the front end of the ceiling and two sets of two fluorescent lights.

It was a crudely designed place, but that made it feel like a home base.

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

“I see.”

Kuwajiri had opened the rightmost locker and stuck her head inside, but now she stepped back and took a breath.

She turned toward me.

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

“I’ll be leaving now since that was all I needed to check, but what about you?”

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

“Oh, then I’ll leave too.”

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

“You can kill time here if you want. No one will question it if you say you’re thinking of joining the club and we generally leave the place open.”

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

“Man, you’re careless!”

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

“Our upperclassmen are pretty influential, so generally no one would dare steal anything.”

She walked quickly toward the door.

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

“I’ll keep this open. …You’re headed to Tachikawa, right? You can wait until 10 reading those books you brought if you want.”

●

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

“She actually left me here.”

She really was careless.

But leaving now felt like it would only encourage her carelessness. And…

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

“I could have sworn there was someone here.”

I checked under the table, but there was no one there. Honestly, it would’ve been pretty scary if there was someone there, so I was glad there wasn’t.

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

“…”

That just left the lockers in the back. There was a 21-inch TV in front and I saw a Famicom in the TV stand below it.

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

“What were the people here doing?”

I went to check.

I stood up and checked inside the TV stand. I saw the Famicom as well as a box full of game cartridges.

●

''Ohh, they’ve got a lot of classics here,'' I thought.

Most of them were multiplayer games. Famista was an obvious example. Same with the soccer game. Oh, the rules for Tecmo’s American football game were a bit confusing, but I loved how big the characters were in it.

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

“I was a Megadrive kid, so it’s nice having all these here to check out.”

They even had Penguin Wars.

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

“When you play against other people, it always puts you up against the CPU for the first round. I really wish they would fix that.”

Then I realized something.

I had discussed this with someone before.

●

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

“But with who?”

With a friend? No, I wasn’t the friend-having sort of person. I could say that with absolute confidence.

But what was this? I felt like I had discussed with a whole group of people before. Or more accurately…

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

“I discussed it with someone when several other people were present.”

But what did that mean? When would there be a bunch of people present and I was only speaking with one of them?

Oh, I know what it had to be!

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

“I was captured by an evil order of knights. They chained me up and surrounded me while my rival who betrayed me said, ‘This is for being so good at Penguin Wars.’ ”

No, never mind.

I tried to make it interesting and failed miserably. Besides, would anyone really betray someone just because they got beaten bad at Penguin Wars? Well, maybe. It is really irritating when someone beats you all at once. You have to be careful with multiplayer games because you can get so heated up it turns into a real life battle.

But what was this?

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

“Who was it?”

Who had I discussed this with?

No, I had to think more carefully.

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

“I don’t even have a Famicom.”

Well, Penguin Wars already existed back when I was in elementary school. It was in the arcades and was released for the MSX and Famicom afterwards. I had an MSX2 and 98 at home, so I might have played it with my friends back when I was still so pure and innocent in elementary or middle school. But…

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

“But the conversation I remember was more like discussing those older memories in the present.”

This was weird.

And then I found something else. I discovered a certain game in the box of Famicom games. It was called…

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

“Family Tennis.”

●

Once I spoke those words, the memories came rushing back.

●

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

“Yes. I used to loooove gambling when IIII was younger.”

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

“––––––”

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

“Sumeragi, you intentionally took a loss so ––––––––––––!? Who loses while using ***!?”

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

“Huh!? –––––. I give every challenge my very best shot, but when ■■ played against me using %%% and swung her body around along with the controller, I couldn’t take my eyes off her jiggling boobs and a game over was unavoidable! So –––––”

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

“But ■■-chan? The match against Sumeragi-chan might be a special case, but why are you so good at this game?”

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

“Eh? A-am I that good?”

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

“I think it worked in her favor that she focuses on her hands without looking at her opponent. With a ––––– TV, she can still see the whole screen while focused on her hands. And–––––”

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

“Kh. I can’t believe I ended up in 4th while using ???.”

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

“Well, I’m not too upset since I ended up in 2nd.”

●

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

“–––––!?”

The vision I saw was like a surprise attack.

But I did my best to remember it. Like it was something I had to memorize for a test. Because…

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

“This is super important for me!”

It was a clue. Yes. A clue to what, I didn’t know, but I knew it had to be one.

===Interlude===

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

“Hey, Kuwajiri, I’m hearing some weird noises from the game club.”

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

“Sorry, I’m off duty today, so I’m getting some homework done.”

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

"Law is the very foundation from which a story is created. I have witnessed and even taken part in the creation of countless stories. This story itself is nothing more than fiction."

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

"With Law, one can manipulate the existing plot of a story. They can rewrite it—or even erase it entirely."

The gods and goddesses unleashed their respective magic upon Dareka without hesitation.

Countless rays of divine power descended from every direction, each carrying a different miracle and authority. The heavens trembled as reality itself bent beneath the overwhelming force of their combined attacks. Waves of celestial energy swallowed the battlefield, producing explosions that shook the fabric of existence and illuminated the void with blinding brilliance.

The assault struck Dareka directly, dealing devastating damage and leaving him unable to mount any meaningful resistance against the sacred power wielded by the gods and goddesses. For the first time, he found himself completely overwhelmed by the miracles born from true divinity.

Yet the destruction was only the beginning.

The effects of the divine magic reached far beyond ordinary attacks. Every spell carried the power to impose fate itself, rewrite causality, and weave an entirely new plot into Dareka's existence. No matter how impossible the circumstances, the laws created by the gods forced a new sequence of events upon him.

His future was rewritten. His choices were restricted. The chains of destiny wrapped around him one after another, leaving no path of escape.

Miracle after miracle manifested around his body, altering reality as if the universe itself had accepted a brand-new script. Cause and effect obeyed the will of the gods, and every attempt to resist only led Dareka deeper into the inescapable narrative they had imposed upon him.

In that moment, the overwhelming magic of the gods and goddesses did not merely attack its target—it created a new miracle, forged a new destiny, and authored a new chapter that Dareka could neither deny nor avoid.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[On_a_Godless_Planet:Volume1B Chapter 32|Chapter 32]]
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| Forward to [[On_a_Godless_Planet:Volume1B Chapter 34|Chapter 34]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

On a Godless Planet:Volume2A Chapter 13

2026-06-21T13:08:37Z

112.215.244.253:

==Chapter 13: Kageki==
[[Image:Godless_2A_277.jpg|thumb]]
–''Issssn’t freeeedom graaand?

●

Raidou watched Kido out of the corner of his eye.

Scarecrow had told them that the Roman god Neptune had called her name.

That meant she had some connection to the Roman gods. But…

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

<Do you remember the name of the Roman gods’ leader?>

Kido’s response to Balancer’s question was clear.

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

“…”

She ignored it.

She was expressionless, like this didn’t concern her at all. Shifu seemed focused on Kido too, but she would have given him some kind of signal if she had noticed anything.

But this lack of reaction meant Kido was hiding her reaction.

Raidou saw this as confirmation he was onto something.

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

“The Roman gods’ leader is Jupiter, same as the planet, right?”

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

<Correct. The planet takes its name from the god.>

●

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

“I’d only ever heard the Japanese pronunciation with a ‘y’ sound at the start, which makes it sound so cute and adorable.”

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

<FYI: He is generally depicted as an old man with a long beard.>

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

“It’s funny how the vibe people get from different sounds differs between country and region.”

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

“Like how some people think voiced consonants sound vulgar.”

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

“Kuwajiri Tsubomi has two voiced consonants, so are you double vulgar?” <ref>This entire section is based on the Japanese definition of voiced or unvoiced (i.e., is it written with a dakuten or not)</ref>

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

“Sumeragi Izumi has just as many.”

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

“Not a problem! ‘Senpai’ and ‘tits’ are voiceless, so Senpai cleans up all my vulgarness!”

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

“B-but my name is Iwanaga-hime, which has a voiced consonant.”

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

“Aren’t you also known as Konohanachiruya-hime? Nothing voiced there!”

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

“Come to think of it, Tooru, Yomoji-chan, and I should be fine.”

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

“I haven’t given you my real name, so can I sit this one out!?”

●

Balancer was relieved to find no one had mentioned the voiced consonant at the start of “Balancer”.

It was best to not feel left out by the lack of comment. ''If I ever reach that point, I need to reinitialize myself.'' At any rate, Balancer kept speaking.

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

<Since ancient times, the planet Jupiter has been given the name of each region’s leader god. That may be a piece of culture that spread as the mythologies migrated. But since it ended up named Jupiter, you can see that Rome was more powerful than Greece.>

And…

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

<And it is fascinating to note that the planet Jupiter really does act like a leader or father to the Earth.>

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

“Hm? You never mentioned that when we were doing our terraforming.”

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

<Then listen up. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, at 11 times the size of Earth. It is a colossal planet with a volume of more than 1300 times Earth’s. It also boasts a gravitational pull 2.3 times that of Earth.>

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

“So it’s got the biggest boobs of the planets! Just like how Senpai’s gravity is constantly pulling my gaze toward her chest!”

Shifu tapped Senpai-san on the shoulder.

●

While the idiot ran and tripped the 70m back, Raidou considered what Balancer had said.

''Balancer really didn’t bring this up during our Terraforming,'' he thought.

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

“So are you saying Jupiter’s size makes it the ‘big boss’ of the planets?”

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

<No, that is not my point. Jupiter’s great size and pull draw in ''a certain something'' which protects the other planets like it is their guardian.>

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

“You mean…?”

''Kuwajiri likes building the tension, doesn’t she?'' thought Raidou while Balancer gave the answer.

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

<Meteors and asteroids.>

●

It was simple enough if you thought about it.

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

<Star systems form when all the dust scattered across space forms a vortex and planets form within it. But even after the planets take shape, there is still dust left in the star system and that eventually solidifies. And while the completed planets and asteroids travel, they draw in that solidified dust, which creates meteors.>

Jupiter played its role there.

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

<Jupiter’s size and gravitational pull are so great that it draws in all the dust and asteroids in the solar system, devouring them. That of course includes ones that would have hit the Earth.>

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

“How much does that help?”

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

<The odds of a meteor hitting the Earth are about 1/8000th that of one hitting Jupiter. This is because the rocks or asteroids headed toward the center of the solar system will be captured by Jupiter and pulled toward it. So for the sun and every planet until Mars, there are rocks and asteroids floating between them and Jupiter where their gravitational pull is in balance with Jupiter’s.>

Do you understand what that means?

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

<The Earth was created through a series of special circumstances. So even if you did terraform a planet just like Earth, you would still need a way to defend against meteor strikes because a major strike during the earlier phase will devastate everything on the planet’s surface.>

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

“Eh!? What!? Can you start over! I just got back!”

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

<You damn dirty ape!!>

●

I could only draw one conclusions from that: ask Senpai to fill me in, not Balancer.

But that aside…

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

“So you’re saying this planet can’t be the same as Earth?”

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

<There are more issues in that regard, but this is a major one that comes up at this stage.>

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

“Does this star system have a planet that can act as a cushion like Jupiter?”

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

<This star system has more planets than the solar system, so the outer planets should automatically do so. But by my calculations, the angle of entry of the rocks and asteroids could lead the planets to function as gravitational catapults which accelerate the rocks and asteroids. Then some that would have left the star system will be sent toward the inner planets instead.>

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

“Why didn’t you bring this up with our planet?”

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

<The rocks and asteroids within the star system generally start from their own orbit, so they are captured by other asteroids and planets and accelerate as they pass between. Your terraformed planet is, to be blunt, shielded by this one.>

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

“You mean we get the brunt of the attack!?”

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

“Sounds like you chose a bad place to live.”

Damn girl took the long view. But…

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

“D-don’t we still have the same problem even if the outer planets do shield us like Jupiter? So what do we do?”

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

“For reference, an average of 5-10 meteors strike the Earth’s surface each year.”

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

“That’s barely any.”

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

“Yeah, but just one big one and you’re screwed. And the odds of a big one hitting are based on the odds of strikes happening.”

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

<A meteor of 10km or larger is required to cause a mass extinction event, but those are rare – they only occur on a timescale measured in hundreds of millions of years. But meteors of 1-5m strike at a rate of one every 4-5 years.>

I heard 1-5m, so I took a look around.

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

“Club head, how tall are you?”

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

“Supreeeemely tall.”

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

“Yahoo! That’s so cool! But I was hoping for an actual number.”

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

“A biiiit over two meters.”

“That seems short for a monotheistic god,” said Kuwajiri and I unfortunately had to agree. But…

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

“So at most, we’re talking 2.5 times the size of the club head? Sounds pretty small.”

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

<At more than 4m, we are talking about destructive power rivaling a tactical nuclear weapon.>

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

“So enough to wipe a town off the map?”

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

<The damage from the blast would be significant. They generally fall into the sea or uninhabited desert or break up in the atmosphere, but they do sometimes hit a populated area and cause quite a stir.>

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

“Yeah, that issss what happens.”

Everyone fell silent for a moment. After that moment, Raidou-senpai turned to the club head.

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

“Wait. Don’t say a thing. Okay?”

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

“It was a biiiit more than kilometerrrr. And it broke up iiiin the atmosphere.”

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

“We actually have records of that one too.”

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

“Wasn’t it around 3100 BCE?”

I could tell they were talking about something wild. But we had a problem to solve.

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

“We could use a good meteor defense, Senpai.”

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

“Um, could I handle that if I level up some more?”

●

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

“Onlllly if you could reach myyyy level.”

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

“Yeah, you can defend against a cataclysm. But you can’t guard the sky all the time.”

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

“Could you receive assistance from other gods?”

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

“There is a better way. And I was curious why I didn’t see it.”

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

“Um, what is that better way?”

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

“Well,” replied Kuwajiri. “A moon. You can use a moon to shield your planet.”

●

I heard everyone fall silent.

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

“Huh? What’s this about? Did something happen? What’s wrong with a moon, Senpai?”

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

“Well, I just have some concerns.”

Senpai wasn’t giving me an answer, so Kuwajiri did it.

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

“There may be issues, but I can explain the benefits. During the Earth age, the moon orbited the Earth and did indeed function as its shield. Over a seven year period of observation, 1743 meteors struck the lunar surface. That is 249 a year, which is 25-50 times the amount that strike the Earth. Not all of them struck the dark side of the moon, but even when they didn’t, you could say the moon was functioning as a shield.”

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

“The moon has a dark side?”

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

“The moon rotates, but this rotation is synced with its revolution around the Earth, meaning it always points the same side toward the Earth. You’ve seen the reproduction in the divine world, haven’t you?”

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

“Now that you mention it… I just assumed Balancer got lazy or lost the data on the other side, like when you screw up rewriting a disc.”

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

<How rude! If I wanted to, I could compress the entire game to fit on just the one side of the disc!>

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

“What are you even talking about?”

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

“You see, Will’s Sato Musen has this rewriting service. I know they at least have a Takeru.”

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

“That doesn’t explain anything.”

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

<Beginning in the 80s, one method of distributing console or home computer games was to provide disc rewrite services at electronic stores. The major ones were the Famicom Disk System’s rewrite service or Brother Industries’ Soft Vendor Takeru, which was essentially a game vending machine that rewrote your disc to contain the home computer game of your choice.>

Balancer continued.

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

<Soft Vendor Takeru shuts down by 97, but the devices and communication technology developed for it continue to be used for a very long time in the karaoke industry’s Joysound service.>

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

“Th-that’s a really weird successor.”

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

“Since they always had everything in stock, those things are really great when you miss the initial release of a game. That said, it takes a fair bit of time for it to write an X68 game and its common for the manual to be too large to print out, forcing you to have to ask them to mail you one.”

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

“With some games like Mugen no Shinzou II, Takeru was pretty much the only place you could get it.”

I looked to Kuwajiri.

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

“You can keep going if you want.”

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

“That was quite a digression, but I’ll allow it since I asked and Raidou-senpai went along with it.”

Shifu-senpai slapped Raidou-senpai on the back.

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

“Sorry about that, Kuwajiri.”

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

“Again, I brought that one on myself. Anyway, the light side of the moon is relatively untouched, but the dark side is marred by countless craters from meteor strikes. This is partially because the lack of an atmosphere prevents the craters from weathering away, but the difference from the light side still shows just how much the moon shields the Earth.”

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

“It does a pretty good job for just flying around the Earth.”

When I heard that, I just had to comment with my gaze nonchalantly settling on the center of Senpai’s chest.

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

“Raidou-senpai.”

“[[Image:godless_raidou.png|50px]]

“Yeah?”

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

“What’s your go-to in Gradius III?”

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

“Reduce. Always Reduce.”

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

“Wow. I always go with the Forcefield. Same as in 2.”

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

“Another digression?”

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

“Not really. We’re treating ‘Earth’s shield’ as a kenning for the moon.”

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

“What is a kenning?”

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

“Well,” said Raidou-senpai. “Our mythology has a lot of songs and poetry, so we have a tendency to come up with ways to mention something without directly mentioning it. That’s called a kenning.”

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

“Eh? You mean all this talk about the moon has been a kenning for Senpai’s big boobs!? Hooray! Kennings rock! Now I want to worship the moon and stare intently at it! Three cheers for kennings – the present participle of the letter ‘k’!”

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

“Wouldn’t that just be ‘k-ing’?”

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

“Shifu-senpai, talking sense to that idiot is a waste of time.”

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

“O-oh, yeah!? Well, calling someone an idiot means you’re the idiot! You iiiiidiot!”

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

“Sumeragi-kun, you shouldn’t insult other people.”

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

“Okay! I swear I will never do so again!”

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

<Has any promise ever been less likely to happen?>

Kuwajiri glared over at me after that.

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

“Anyway, Sumeragi. Remember when Senpai-san said she had some concerns?”

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

“Huh? Are we still talking about the present participle of ‘k’?”

I gasped and struck a pose.

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

“Are you saying we’re going to discuss what exactly that would mean!?”

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

“Do we have to?”

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

“Kuwajiri-san, I know you like knowledge, but I am not sure that is a discussion we need to have.”

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

'''“That isn’t remotely what I said!”'''

“Really, it isn’t,” she insisted before pointing to the moonless night sky.

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

“A moon is a massive singular phase that will have a great influence on the planet.”

Meaning…

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

“If you consider a moon to be as unique an entity as the planet, it could have its own giant spirits or gods. And as a part of this star system, those spirits or gods would be our enemy.”

●

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

“Looking at the scope of the problem, those might be the greatest enemy to the terraforming.”

Omokane brushed her hair back below the library air conditioner.

Standing at the entrance, she wiped away the sweat with a handkerchief and looked to the counter.

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

“Shamhat-kun, no sitting down today?”

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

“I promised last time I would stand and she’s holding me to it.”

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

“If I give her a seat, she never leaves.”

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

“I don’t settle in that much. …Anyway, Omokane, am I a ‘-kun’ now? Don’t you use ‘-shi’ for Bilgamesh and Ki?”

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

“I switch it up depending on my mood. And you seemed fairly cautious of me during the meeting with Eshita-kun before.”

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

“Of course she was given how you behave. And, Omokane-san? Do we have a plan to use against this star system’s moon god?”

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

“There are a number of options there. We have to place Tsukuyomi-kun in charge of the moon, but he’s fairly powerful.”

“But,” she said.

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

“With the forces we have now, only Yomoji-kun has a chance. The moon is such a massive singular phase I can see why Balancer is putting the issue off.”

●

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

“You can think of the moon as a single environment. The interior crust is nearly frozen, which prevents the interaction of multiple phases, which is thought to be why it is so uniform.”

Kuwajiri combined her 90s knowledge with her knowledge of the gods.

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

“Every mythology has a powerful sun god paired with an equally powerful moon god. We should assume this planet’s moon god would be equal to all of the planet’s spirits and primitive gods.”

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

“Does the planet even have a moon?”

Balancer answered Kido’s question.

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

<It does. Just not right now.>

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

“No-yes?”

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

“Is there something there or not?”

The idiot looked my way and said “nothing there”, so she wished him an early death. Because wishes were harmless.

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

“Kuwajiri-chan, it’s showing on your face.”

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

“Sorry. I just have an expressive face.”

Everyone’s face grew a lot less expressive, but she had actually meant that as a joke.

●

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

“But to be honest, Shinto doesn’t say much about our moon good. There are different theories as to why, but since he hasn’t shown up here yet, we can say one thing for sure,” said Omokane. “Conquering the moon can wait.”

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

“But then what do we do about the meteors?”

Shamhat raised her hand.

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

“You could have Eshtar move the planet that corresponds to Venus.”

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

“Close, but not quite. It won’t give us a whole moon, but we should be able to do something similar.”

●

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

<First of all, this planet’s moon is currently orbiting on the opposite side of the sun. When returning this planet to its primitive state, we removed the moon and the primitive god that rules it.>

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

“Now that’s what I call an astronomical event.”

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

“Does that mean this god is higher rank than us?”

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

<Not higher than Yomoji, since he is creator class. So you all need to increase your level until you are strong enough to fight the power ruling over the moon. We have Yomoji as precedent that this is possible.>

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

“I-I’ll do my best.”

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

“Putting in a good effort is always a good idea. But does that mean we have to do without the moon’s influence while it is gone?”

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

<Once you have gained a certain level of control over the planet, I will use my influence to artificially reproduce the moon’s effects. But you must terraform in a moonless state until then. The beginning of the artificial effects will cause some minor issues, but I will calculate those out and discuss them with you when the time comes.>

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

“Do you think the moon will return?”

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

<Yes. For many celestial bodies, the moon is a sibling planet or a planet caught by its gravity. If the primitive god was created by a phase developed on the main planet, then once the terraforming reaches a critical point, the god will return to stop the changes to the main planet.>

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

“Wouldn’t it be better to come back and destroy us now? Why be so inefficient about it?”

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

<Because the main planet is in chaos now.>

Balancer tilted their screen to not block the idiot’s view.

That let him see the state of the planet.

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

<The planet’s spirits and primitive gods are in an uproar. The moon god still has their form, but they would likely lose control in the same way if they were close enough to the planet to be affected. It is partially because the main planet is becoming “something else”, but the moon god is also waiting for us to be eliminated.>

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

“Wait.”

Kido raised her hand and spoke with a frown.

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

“This moon god sounds quite intelligent.”

●

<That is true,> said Balancer, opening an astronomical diagram on the ground below everyone’s feet.

It showed…

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

“Oh, I remember this! This was my idea! The one that made everyone go nuts! Then I got a lap pillow and applause from Senpai before I rolled back!”

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

“Sumeragi-kun! Sumeragi-kun! You’re confusing your memories!”

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

<This digest version is still accurate, so where is the problem?>

Senpai grabbed and shook Balancer.

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

“I’ll show you the problem!”

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

“Ah ha ha! What an idiot!!”

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

“You be quiet too, Eshita-san.”

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

“Y-yes, ma’am!”

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

“Since when is she in charge?”

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

<That would be a long story, so just accept it.>

Balancer ignored Kido’s further confusion in order to speak and move the diagram.

The diagram showed the original planets forming.

Then some meteors flew in from outside the star system, hitting the sun. Their pieces then hit the initial planets. The split planets went on to create more planets, but…

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

<After this, the fragments that did not form planets became moons or similar satellites for the planets. But this means the celestial bodies known as moons contain pieces of the sun.>

Which meant…

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

<Unlike a simple moon, these moons can be seen as successors to…I suppose you would say the sun god.>

●

Kido raised her hand. She hadn’t planned to actively involve herself in the discussion, but she had brought up this topic herself. So she asked her question.

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

“If we can fill a decent-sized field full of our techniques, you will use that to guard the sky? But what about right now, before that process is complete? You cannot currently use the moon as a shield. And it is unrealistic to expect us to constantly protect the sky with our authorities. So is there another way?”

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

<Yes. Let me explain this starting furthest from the answer.>

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

“Why?”

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

<We started this discussing the moon, so I will start closest to the moon. And Shinto is one of the rare mythologies that lets me discuss this.>

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

“…? Something close to the moon that can be discussed in Shinto? I am not sure what you mean.”

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

“You mean me, don’t you?”

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

“Eh? You’re in Shinto, Mucho? Are you a potato processing god? Or a god of spices?”

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

“I am a cute goddess of victory and beauty!”

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

“What ‘cute goddess’ pours an entire bag of Karamucho into her mouth?”

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

“It’s called gap moe! …You there! You know what I mean, don’t you!?”

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

“Balancer, give us the answer already.”

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

“Heyyyyy! You could play along a little!”

''Not when you’re this annoying.

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

“Wait, Mucho! Your boobs aren’t as big as Kido-senpai’s! Keep that in mind when you speak to her, okay!? Always start with two bows, one clap, and two more bows!”

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

“What in the world are you talking about!?”

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

“With him, I rarely know.”

''I agree, but I do like the way he bowed to Douhai-san after bowing to me,'' thought Kido. Level up Revelation Boards scattered all around Douhai-san.

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

“–––––––”

Was this what it meant to glow? But seeing that light gave Kido the inspiration she needed.

Balancer said it was close to the moon and Eshtar had reacted, so…

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

“You will rely on a star god, won’t you?”

●

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

“Shamhat-kun, a star god would be the logical choice for avoiding meteors, but are you familiar with Shinto’s star gods?”

Shamhat-kun set her paper cup on the counter and thought for a moment.

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

“Are you going to rely on our Eshtar?”

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

“Are you saying you ''don’t know'' about Shinto’s star gods?”

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

“Yes, I won’t try to deny it.”

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

“Then shouldn’t you have admitted it when she first asked?”

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

“Hee hee. You can’t expect me to be 100% honest.”

“I see,” said Kubiko-kun, turning Omokane’s way. Her gaze said, “How much should we tell her?” But Omokane was willing to tell her everything.

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

“Shinto is unusual compared to the rest of the world because it has no gods that reference the planets or the constellations.”

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

“Huh?”

Her confusion sounded legitimate.

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

“If you exclude Amaterasu-kun and Tsukuyomi-kun, the only Shinto star god is one called Amatsu Mikaboshi. Mikaboshi-kun is an extremely wicked god who resisted the great Takamagahara duo of Futsunushi-kun and Takemikazuchi-kun, but he must have had a touch of a maiden’s heart because he was scolded by Takehazuchi, god of weaving, and the two ascended into heaven together.”

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

“ ‘Mika’ refers to a bright light, so just like Takemikazuchi refers to lightning, Mikaboshi refers to a bright star – some say Venus. If so, then there is a connection to Eshita-san.”

“That’s right,” said Omokane, but Shamhat-kun tilted her head.

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

“What an odd mythology. The movement of the stars is used to tell the passage of time and to know when to hold festivals, so most mythologies feature the stars as gods.”

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

“We mentioned before that Shinto includes the conquering of different parts of Japan in its mythology, remember? If you view war as a way of bringing about syncretism, then this could be the result of an opposing force being known for worshiping the stars.”

Also…

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

“Separate from this talk of star gods, ancient Japan learned astronomy from China, which included the practice of Hokushin worship. Do you know what that means?”

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

“Hokushin? Sounds like a company name.”

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

“It does, doesn’t it!? Hokushin Shipping!”

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

“Hokushin Shipping isn’t real, but there a Hokushin Transportation started last year, so do be careful.”

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

“Your information network is disturbingly thorough.”

''Well, that is our job.'' But to get back on topic…

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

“Hokushin is another name for the North Star. The North Star was important to all ancient peoples who lived in the Northern Hemisphere, so it was often seen as the king of the stars. And the Big Dipper accompanying the North Star was seen to represent those close to the king.”

So…

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

“During the Asuka period, Prince Shotoku had a sword called the Seven Stars Sword which was engraved with the Big Dipper. And according to the Nihon Shoki, the emperor held a ceremony in 642 called Prayer to the Four Quarters which included a prayer to the Big Dipper. The Prayer to the Four Quarters went on to become an official ceremony in the imperial court, but important people also had the Big Dipper drawn on the inner wall of their burial mound. …My point is, there was an astronomy fad among the upper class that had nothing to do with Shinto. And this fad spread to the rest of the people.”

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

“At the time, worshiping the North Star was seen as another way of worshiping the emperor. Which meant once night fell, the people could worship the emperor from anywhere. That led to very simple forms of worship like holding a torch up toward the North Star at night.”

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

“Right. There was star worship before the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki were compiled.”

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

“Then why was all that combined into a single star god?”

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

“There are different theories concerning that, but I’ll give you the most interesting and human one. Oh, and I love conspiracy theories, so keep that in mind as you listen.”

Anyway…

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

“In 796, the emperor issued an edict banning worship off the Big Dipper. And in 799, worship of the North Star was banned as well.”

●

Shamhat found this odd.

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

“Why would he ban worship of himself?”

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

“Let’s go through this in order.”

Shamhat nodded at the lead knowledge god’s suggestion. Meanwhile, Scarecrow took the paper cup from the counter and refilled it with coffee.

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

“Thank you.”

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

“Omokane-san can be long-winded.”

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

“So this coffee is a way of helping your boss?”

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

“I just have nothing better to do while she goes on and on.”

Meanwhile, Omokane was opening several Revelation Boards in obvious excitement. It looked like she greatly enjoyed gathering the important points she needed for her speech. And…

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

“I mentioned that Prince Shotoku was all about the Big Dipper worship back in the Asuka period, right?”

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

“Yes, you did.”

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

“That prince took the Soga clan’s side.”

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

“––––––”

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

“Do you see where this is going?” asked Omokane. “Worship of the Big Dipper was worship of the emperor. And the Big Dipper was also thought to be responsible for the country’s harvest. Hence why the nobles felt required to worship it and the emperor did the Prayer to the Four Quarters. Even the common people worshiped the North Star at night, which doubled as worshiping the emperor. When these practices had come over from China in ancient times and everyone had gotten used to them…do you really think a god of the night or the stars could take root?”

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

“You mean…”

Was this it?

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

“When the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki were made, there was no need for a god of the night? Or rather, having one would have created a conflict?”

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

“Correct. The gods of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki were for the people’s daytime life and worship. But their night worship of the North Star had come from overseas and thus could not be included in the Kojiki or Nihon Shoki. Nevertheless…everyone did it.”

Do you get it?

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

“Shinto rarely ever mentions gods related to the night or astronomy. Tsukuyomi-kun is a moon god and acts as a pair to Amaterasu, but the stories about him are extremely limited. There are two possible reasons for this. From a conspiracy theory perspective, the people who worshiped the star gods opposed the imperial court and were destroyed. Or if you want to be boring, there simply wasn’t a need for those gods when the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki were compiled.”

What did that all mean in short? Omokane gestured with her arms as she spoke.

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

“The worship of the night’s stars was a practice of the imperial court, not of an indigenous people. But since it wasn’t native to Japan, it wasn’t included in the Kojiki or Nihon Shoki.”

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

“Then why ban it later on?”

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

“The edict I mentioned was in 796, but the capital was moved from Nagaoka-kyo to Heian-kyo in 794. This of course moved the center of politics and led to reforms in a number of areas.”

That was enough for Shamhat to make a good guess. And she realized this discussion was meant to sound her out. Because…

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

“Did the new politicians not know the old ways of the court?”

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

“At the time, the old Buddhist faction had become a lot of trouble to deal with. And the emperor was seeking out new things, such as using his envoy to Tang China to acquire the latest form of Buddhism.

“During the Heian-kyo period, the Fujiwara clan rose to power and led to the Taira clan being called in later on. It’s possible the emperor saw what was happening and decided to gradually make the North Star worship a practice only followed by the imperial family and stopped using it in politics. Either way, it ended with star worship being banned in Japan and, since it wasn’t mentioned in the Kojiki or Nihon Shoki, that field remained empty afterwards.”

●

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

“Shinto is an even bigger mess of a mythology than I thought.”

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

“It was shockingly influenced by human politics.”

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

“Um, uh, sorry?”

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

“Wait! How dare you all make Senpai apologize! I’ll apologize in her place! Got that?”

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

“It would be meaningless coming from you.”

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

“Come ooooooooooooon! Let me drag the bit out longer than that!”

●

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

“But anyway,” I said. “Does that give us two options?”

*'''Get help from What’s-His-Name, the Shinto star god.

*'''Get help from another mythology’s star god.

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

“Shinto god’s are low level and are divine rank weaklings, so I vote for 2.”

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

“But given this planet’s level, you would need a really high divine rank. Maybe not on that monotheistic god’s level, but still.”

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

“Then how about this?”

Everyone looked over and Kido-senpai continued.

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

“You can ignore the threat from the sky until the god you need arrives.”

●

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

“That might sound careless, but I think it’s a good idea.”

Kuwajiri fully supported Kido’s idea. Because…

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

“Most of the planet is currently a sea of lava. Even a largescale meteor strike wouldn’t ‘damage’ the planet any.”

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

“Aaaand I dropped oooone on the other side of the planet beforrrre.”

Yes. When Senpai-san was being a shut-in, Yomoji had dropped a giant meteor on the other side of the planet to buy time against the planet’s spirits.

In that case…

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

“We just need a base, right?”

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

“Yes. You will be running a few experiments around this tableland and then further expand the results in a base built within a protective field. Then you can safely research the terraforming. That means you only need meteor protection for the area within that field. That is much more efficient.”

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

“So for the terraforming, we’ll hold our strategy meetings in the base and then head out to wherever we need to be?”

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

“Remember what I said? It’s like a SimCity based on SimEarth that uses a method more like Populous.”

Kuwajiri didn’t know what that meant, but the idiot seemed to get it.

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

“Then let’s build our base here! Senpai’s stone hut can be at the center of it all!”

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

“Are you sure? It’s not all that nice a place.”

Kuwajiri resisted the urge to point out that everywhere else was lava. ''See, I can show restraint when I want to.'' Shifu-senpai looked her way and sent a message.

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

“Nice silence, Kuwajiri-chan!”

It was a relief to know Shifu-senpai had been thinking the same thing. But then the idiot made an announcement.

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

“That settles it! This can be our top candidate for the base! No, the only candidate!!”

●

''Oh,'' thought Ki.

This was like enemy territory right now, so maybe it would be best to give some advice.

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

“Are you sure announcing that is a good idea? If this is Shinto land, won’t your words influence the world?”

If so…

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

“Wouldn’t the enemy watching from a distance have heard what you said?”

●

Busty Mesopotamian-senpai’s warning made me look.

Far in the distance, a red light was rising into the dark and cloudy sky.

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

“Huh?”

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

“What is it?”

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

“That looks kind of familiar.”

A moment later, the light curved and flew straight toward us.

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

“Whoa!? Did they hear us just now!?”

I heard deafening spraying and sizzling sounds. They all joined together into the great roar of…

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

“A flame dragon!”

No, it wasn’t. It looked a lot like the dragons we had fought here before, but it wasn’t one.

Several flame dragons joined together to form a giant one 100m tall. And…

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

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[On_a_Godless_Planet:Volume2A Chapter 12|Chapter 12]]
| Return to [[On_a_Godless_Planet|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[On_a_Godless_Planet:Volume2A Chapter 14|Chapter 14]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

On a Godless Planet:Volume2A Chapter 13

2026-06-21T13:07:24Z

112.215.244.253:

==Chapter 13: Kageki==
[[Image:Godless_2A_277.jpg|thumb]]
–''Issssn’t freeeedom graaand?

●

Raidou watched Kido out of the corner of his eye.

Scarecrow had told them that the Roman god Neptune had called her name.

That meant she had some connection to the Roman gods. But…

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

<Do you remember the name of the Roman gods’ leader?>

Kido’s response to Balancer’s question was clear.

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

“…”

She ignored it.

She was expressionless, like this didn’t concern her at all. Shifu seemed focused on Kido too, but she would have given him some kind of signal if she had noticed anything.

But this lack of reaction meant Kido was hiding her reaction.

Raidou saw this as confirmation he was onto something.

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

“The Roman gods’ leader is Jupiter, same as the planet, right?”

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

<Correct. The planet takes its name from the god.>

●

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

“I’d only ever heard the Japanese pronunciation with a ‘y’ sound at the start, which makes it sound so cute and adorable.”

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

<FYI: He is generally depicted as an old man with a long beard.>

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

“It’s funny how the vibe people get from different sounds differs between country and region.”

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

“Like how some people think voiced consonants sound vulgar.”

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

“Kuwajiri Tsubomi has two voiced consonants, so are you double vulgar?” <ref>This entire section is based on the Japanese definition of voiced or unvoiced (i.e., is it written with a dakuten or not)</ref>

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

“Sumeragi Izumi has just as many.”

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

“Not a problem! ‘Senpai’ and ‘tits’ are voiceless, so Senpai cleans up all my vulgarness!”

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

“B-but my name is Iwanaga-hime, which has a voiced consonant.”

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

“Aren’t you also known as Konohanachiruya-hime? Nothing voiced there!”

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

“Come to think of it, Tooru, Yomoji-chan, and I should be fine.”

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

“I haven’t given you my real name, so can I sit this one out!?”

●

Balancer was relieved to find no one had mentioned the voiced consonant at the start of “Balancer”.

It was best to not feel left out by the lack of comment. ''If I ever reach that point, I need to reinitialize myself.'' At any rate, Balancer kept speaking.

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

<Since ancient times, the planet Jupiter has been given the name of each region’s leader god. That may be a piece of culture that spread as the mythologies migrated. But since it ended up named Jupiter, you can see that Rome was more powerful than Greece.>

And…

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

<And it is fascinating to note that the planet Jupiter really does act like a leader or father to the Earth.>

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

“Hm? You never mentioned that when we were doing our terraforming.”

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

<Then listen up. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, at 11 times the size of Earth. It is a colossal planet with a volume of more than 1300 times Earth’s. It also boasts a gravitational pull 2.3 times that of Earth.>

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

“So it’s got the biggest boobs of the planets! Just like how Senpai’s gravity is constantly pulling my gaze toward her chest!”

Shifu tapped Senpai-san on the shoulder.

●

While the idiot ran and tripped the 70m back, Raidou considered what Balancer had said.

''Balancer really didn’t bring this up during our Terraforming,'' he thought.

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

“So are you saying Jupiter’s size makes it the ‘big boss’ of the planets?”

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

<No, that is not my point. Jupiter’s great size and pull draw in ''a certain something'' which protects the other planets like it is their guardian.>

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

“You mean…?”

''Kuwajiri likes building the tension, doesn’t she?'' thought Raidou while Balancer gave the answer.

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

<Meteors and asteroids.>

●

It was simple enough if you thought about it.

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

<Star systems form when all the dust scattered across space forms a vortex and planets form within it. But even after the planets take shape, there is still dust left in the star system and that eventually solidifies. And while the completed planets and asteroids travel, they draw in that solidified dust, which creates meteors.>

Jupiter played its role there.

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

<Jupiter’s size and gravitational pull are so great that it draws in all the dust and asteroids in the solar system, devouring them. That of course includes ones that would have hit the Earth.>

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

“How much does that help?”

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

<The odds of a meteor hitting the Earth are about 1/8000th that of one hitting Jupiter. This is because the rocks or asteroids headed toward the center of the solar system will be captured by Jupiter and pulled toward it. So for the sun and every planet until Mars, there are rocks and asteroids floating between them and Jupiter where their gravitational pull is in balance with Jupiter’s.>

Do you understand what that means?

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

<The Earth was created through a series of special circumstances. So even if you did terraform a planet just like Earth, you would still need a way to defend against meteor strikes because a major strike during the earlier phase will devastate everything on the planet’s surface.>

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

“Eh!? What!? Can you start over! I just got back!”

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

<You damn dirty ape!!>

●

I could only draw one conclusions from that: ask Senpai to fill me in, not Balancer.

But that aside…

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

“So you’re saying this planet can’t be the same as Earth?”

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

<There are more issues in that regard, but this is a major one that comes up at this stage.>

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

“Does this star system have a planet that can act as a cushion like Jupiter?”

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

<This star system has more planets than the solar system, so the outer planets should automatically do so. But by my calculations, the angle of entry of the rocks and asteroids could lead the planets to function as gravitational catapults which accelerate the rocks and asteroids. Then some that would have left the star system will be sent toward the inner planets instead.>

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

“Why didn’t you bring this up with our planet?”

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

<The rocks and asteroids within the star system generally start from their own orbit, so they are captured by other asteroids and planets and accelerate as they pass between. Your terraformed planet is, to be blunt, shielded by this one.>

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

“You mean we get the brunt of the attack!?”

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

“Sounds like you chose a bad place to live.”

Damn girl took the long view. But…

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

“D-don’t we still have the same problem even if the outer planets do shield us like Jupiter? So what do we do?”

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

“For reference, an average of 5-10 meteors strike the Earth’s surface each year.”

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

“That’s barely any.”

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

“Yeah, but just one big one and you’re screwed. And the odds of a big one hitting are based on the odds of strikes happening.”

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

<A meteor of 10km or larger is required to cause a mass extinction event, but those are rare – they only occur on a timescale measured in hundreds of millions of years. But meteors of 1-5m strike at a rate of one every 4-5 years.>

I heard 1-5m, so I took a look around.

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

“Club head, how tall are you?”

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

“Supreeeemely tall.”

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

“Yahoo! That’s so cool! But I was hoping for an actual number.”

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

“A biiiit over two meters.”

“That seems short for a monotheistic god,” said Kuwajiri and I unfortunately had to agree. But…

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

“So at most, we’re talking 2.5 times the size of the club head? Sounds pretty small.”

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

<At more than 4m, we are talking about destructive power rivaling a tactical nuclear weapon.>

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

“So enough to wipe a town off the map?”

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

<The damage from the blast would be significant. They generally fall into the sea or uninhabited desert or break up in the atmosphere, but they do sometimes hit a populated area and cause quite a stir.>

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

“Yeah, that issss what happens.”

Everyone fell silent for a moment. After that moment, Raidou-senpai turned to the club head.

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

“Wait. Don’t say a thing. Okay?”

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

“It was a biiiit more than kilometerrrr. And it broke up iiiin the atmosphere.”

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

“We actually have records of that one too.”

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

“Wasn’t it around 3100 BCE?”

I could tell they were talking about something wild. But we had a problem to solve.

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

“We could use a good meteor defense, Senpai.”

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

“Um, could I handle that if I level up some more?”

●

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

“Onlllly if you could reach myyyy level.”

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

“Yeah, you can defend against a cataclysm. But you can’t guard the sky all the time.”

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

“Could you receive assistance from other gods?”

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

“There is a better way. And I was curious why I didn’t see it.”

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

“Um, what is that better way?”

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

“Well,” replied Kuwajiri. “A moon. You can use a moon to shield your planet.”

●

I heard everyone fall silent.

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

“Huh? What’s this about? Did something happen? What’s wrong with a moon, Senpai?”

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

“Well, I just have some concerns.”

Senpai wasn’t giving me an answer, so Kuwajiri did it.

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

“There may be issues, but I can explain the benefits. During the Earth age, the moon orbited the Earth and did indeed function as its shield. Over a seven year period of observation, 1743 meteors struck the lunar surface. That is 249 a year, which is 25-50 times the amount that strike the Earth. Not all of them struck the dark side of the moon, but even when they didn’t, you could say the moon was functioning as a shield.”

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

“The moon has a dark side?”

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

“The moon rotates, but this rotation is synced with its revolution around the Earth, meaning it always points the same side toward the Earth. You’ve seen the reproduction in the divine world, haven’t you?”

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

“Now that you mention it… I just assumed Balancer got lazy or lost the data on the other side, like when you screw up rewriting a disc.”

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

<How rude! If I wanted to, I could compress the entire game to fit on just the one side of the disc!>

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

“What are you even talking about?”

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

“You see, Will’s Sato Musen has this rewriting service. I know they at least have a Takeru.”

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

“That doesn’t explain anything.”

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

<Beginning in the 80s, one method of distributing console or home computer games was to provide disc rewrite services at electronic stores. The major ones were the Famicom Disk System’s rewrite service or Brother Industries’ Soft Vendor Takeru, which was essentially a game vending machine that rewrote your disc to contain the home computer game of your choice.>

Balancer continued.

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

<Soft Vendor Takeru shuts down by 97, but the devices and communication technology developed for it continue to be used for a very long time in the karaoke industry’s Joysound service.>

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

“Th-that’s a really weird successor.”

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

“Since they always had everything in stock, those things are really great when you miss the initial release of a game. That said, it takes a fair bit of time for it to write an X68 game and its common for the manual to be too large to print out, forcing you to have to ask them to mail you one.”

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

“With some games like Mugen no Shinzou II, Takeru was pretty much the only place you could get it.”

I looked to Kuwajiri.

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

“You can keep going if you want.”

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

“That was quite a digression, but I’ll allow it since I asked and Raidou-senpai went along with it.”

Shifu-senpai slapped Raidou-senpai on the back.

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

“Sorry about that, Kuwajiri.”

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

“Again, I brought that one on myself. Anyway, the light side of the moon is relatively untouched, but the dark side is marred by countless craters from meteor strikes. This is partially because the lack of an atmosphere prevents the craters from weathering away, but the difference from the light side still shows just how much the moon shields the Earth.”

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

“It does a pretty good job for just flying around the Earth.”

When I heard that, I just had to comment with my gaze nonchalantly settling on the center of Senpai’s chest.

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

“Raidou-senpai.”

“[[Image:godless_raidou.png|50px]]

“Yeah?”

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

“What’s your go-to in Gradius III?”

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

“Reduce. Always Reduce.”

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

“Wow. I always go with the Forcefield. Same as in 2.”

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

“Another digression?”

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

“Not really. We’re treating ‘Earth’s shield’ as a kenning for the moon.”

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

“What is a kenning?”

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

“Well,” said Raidou-senpai. “Our mythology has a lot of songs and poetry, so we have a tendency to come up with ways to mention something without directly mentioning it. That’s called a kenning.”

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

“Eh? You mean all this talk about the moon has been a kenning for Senpai’s big boobs!? Hooray! Kennings rock! Now I want to worship the moon and stare intently at it! Three cheers for kennings – the present participle of the letter ‘k’!”

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

“Wouldn’t that just be ‘k-ing’?”

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

“Shifu-senpai, talking sense to that idiot is a waste of time.”

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

“O-oh, yeah!? Well, calling someone an idiot means you’re the idiot! You iiiiidiot!”

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

“Sumeragi-kun, you shouldn’t insult other people.”

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

“Okay! I swear I will never do so again!”

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

<Has any promise ever been less likely to happen?>

Kuwajiri glared over at me after that.

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

“Anyway, Sumeragi. Remember when Senpai-san said she had some concerns?”

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

“Huh? Are we still talking about the present participle of ‘k’?”

I gasped and struck a pose.

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

“Are you saying we’re going to discuss what exactly that would mean!?”

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

“Do we have to?”

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

“Kuwajiri-san, I know you like knowledge, but I am not sure that is a discussion we need to have.”

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

'''“That isn’t remotely what I said!”'''

“Really, it isn’t,” she insisted before pointing to the moonless night sky.

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

“A moon is a massive singular phase that will have a great influence on the planet.”

Meaning…

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

“If you consider a moon to be as unique an entity as the planet, it could have its own giant spirits or gods. And as a part of this star system, those spirits or gods would be our enemy.”

●

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

“Looking at the scope of the problem, those might be the greatest enemy to the terraforming.”

Omokane brushed her hair back below the library air conditioner.

Standing at the entrance, she wiped away the sweat with a handkerchief and looked to the counter.

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

“Shamhat-kun, no sitting down today?”

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

“I promised last time I would stand and she’s holding me to it.”

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

“If I give her a seat, she never leaves.”

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

“I don’t settle in that much. …Anyway, Omokane, am I a ‘-kun’ now? Don’t you use ‘-shi’ for Bilgamesh and Ki?”

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

“I switch it up depending on my mood. And you seemed fairly cautious of me during the meeting with Eshita-kun before.”

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

“Of course she was given how you behave. And, Omokane-san? Do we have a plan to use against this star system’s moon god?”

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

“There are a number of options there. We have to place Tsukuyomi-kun in charge of the moon, but he’s fairly powerful.”

“But,” she said.

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

“With the forces we have now, only Yomoji-kun has a chance. The moon is such a massive singular phase I can see why Balancer is putting the issue off.”

●

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

“You can think of the moon as a single environment. The interior crust is nearly frozen, which prevents the interaction of multiple phases, which is thought to be why it is so uniform.”

Kuwajiri combined her 90s knowledge with her knowledge of the gods.

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

“Every mythology has a powerful sun god paired with an equally powerful moon god. We should assume this planet’s moon god would be equal to all of the planet’s spirits and primitive gods.”

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

“Does the planet even have a moon?”

Balancer answered Kido’s question.

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

<It does. Just not right now.>

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

“No-yes?”

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

“Is there something there or not?”

The idiot looked my way and said “nothing there”, so she wished him an early death. Because wishes were harmless.

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

“Kuwajiri-chan, it’s showing on your face.”

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

“Sorry. I just have an expressive face.”

Everyone’s face grew a lot less expressive, but she had actually meant that as a joke.

●

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

“But to be honest, Shinto doesn’t say much about our moon good. There are different theories as to why, but since he hasn’t shown up here yet, we can say one thing for sure,” said Omokane. “Conquering the moon can wait.”

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

“But then what do we do about the meteors?”

Shamhat raised her hand.

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

“You could have Eshtar move the planet that corresponds to Venus.”

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

“Close, but not quite. It won’t give us a whole moon, but we should be able to do something similar.”

●

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

<First of all, this planet’s moon is currently orbiting on the opposite side of the sun. When returning this planet to its primitive state, we removed the moon and the primitive god that rules it.>

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

“Now that’s what I call an astronomical event.”

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

“Does that mean this god is higher rank than us?”

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

<Not higher than Yomoji, since he is creator class. So you all need to increase your level until you are strong enough to fight the power ruling over the moon. We have Yomoji as precedent that this is possible.>

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

“I-I’ll do my best.”

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

“Putting in a good effort is always a good idea. But does that mean we have to do without the moon’s influence while it is gone?”

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

<Once you have gained a certain level of control over the planet, I will use my influence to artificially reproduce the moon’s effects. But you must terraform in a moonless state until then. The beginning of the artificial effects will cause some minor issues, but I will calculate those out and discuss them with you when the time comes.>

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

“Do you think the moon will return?”

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

<Yes. For many celestial bodies, the moon is a sibling planet or a planet caught by its gravity. If the primitive god was created by a phase developed on the main planet, then once the terraforming reaches a critical point, the god will return to stop the changes to the main planet.>

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

“Wouldn’t it be better to come back and destroy us now? Why be so inefficient about it?”

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

<Because the main planet is in chaos now.>

Balancer tilted their screen to not block the idiot’s view.

That let him see the state of the planet.

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

<The planet’s spirits and primitive gods are in an uproar. The moon god still has their form, but they would likely lose control in the same way if they were close enough to the planet to be affected. It is partially because the main planet is becoming “something else”, but the moon god is also waiting for us to be eliminated.>

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

“Wait.”

Kido raised her hand and spoke with a frown.

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

“This moon god sounds quite intelligent.”

●

<That is true,> said Balancer, opening an astronomical diagram on the ground below everyone’s feet.

It showed…

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

“Oh, I remember this! This was my idea! The one that made everyone go nuts! Then I got a lap pillow and applause from Senpai before I rolled back!”

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

“Sumeragi-kun! Sumeragi-kun! You’re confusing your memories!”

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

<This digest version is still accurate, so where is the problem?>

Senpai grabbed and shook Balancer.

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

“I’ll show you the problem!”

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

“Ah ha ha! What an idiot!!”

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

“You be quiet too, Eshita-san.”

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

“Y-yes, ma’am!”

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

“Since when is she in charge?”

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

<That would be a long story, so just accept it.>

Balancer ignored Kido’s further confusion in order to speak and move the diagram.

The diagram showed the original planets forming.

Then some meteors flew in from outside the star system, hitting the sun. Their pieces then hit the initial planets. The split planets went on to create more planets, but…

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

<After this, the fragments that did not form planets became moons or similar satellites for the planets. But this means the celestial bodies known as moons contain pieces of the sun.>

Which meant…

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

<Unlike a simple moon, these moons can be seen as successors to…I suppose you would say the sun god.>

●

Kido raised her hand. She hadn’t planned to actively involve herself in the discussion, but she had brought up this topic herself. So she asked her question.

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

“If we can fill a decent-sized field full of our techniques, you will use that to guard the sky? But what about right now, before that process is complete? You cannot currently use the moon as a shield. And it is unrealistic to expect us to constantly protect the sky with our authorities. So is there another way?”

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

<Yes. Let me explain this starting furthest from the answer.>

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

“Why?”

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

<We started this discussing the moon, so I will start closest to the moon. And Shinto is one of the rare mythologies that lets me discuss this.>

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

“…? Something close to the moon that can be discussed in Shinto? I am not sure what you mean.”

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

“You mean me, don’t you?”

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

“Eh? You’re in Shinto, Mucho? Are you a potato processing god? Or a god of spices?”

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

“I am a cute goddess of victory and beauty!”

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

“What ‘cute goddess’ pours an entire bag of Karamucho into her mouth?”

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

“It’s called gap moe! …You there! You know what I mean, don’t you!?”

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

“Balancer, give us the answer already.”

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

“Heyyyyy! You could play along a little!”

''Not when you’re this annoying.

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

“Wait, Mucho! Your boobs aren’t as big as Kido-senpai’s! Keep that in mind when you speak to her, okay!? Always start with two bows, one clap, and two more bows!”

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

“What in the world are you talking about!?”

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

“With him, I rarely know.”

''I agree, but I do like the way he bowed to Douhai-san after bowing to me,'' thought Kido. Level up Revelation Boards scattered all around Douhai-san.

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

“–––––––”

Was this what it meant to glow? But seeing that light gave Kido the inspiration she needed.

Balancer said it was close to the moon and Eshtar had reacted, so…

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

“You will rely on a star god, won’t you?”

●

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

“Shamhat-kun, a star god would be the logical choice for avoiding meteors, but are you familiar with Shinto’s star gods?”

Shamhat-kun set her paper cup on the counter and thought for a moment.

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

“Are you going to rely on our Eshtar?”

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

“Are you saying you ''don’t know'' about Shinto’s star gods?”

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

“Yes, I won’t try to deny it.”

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

“Then shouldn’t you have admitted it when she first asked?”

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

“Hee hee. You can’t expect me to be 100% honest.”

“I see,” said Kubiko-kun, turning Omokane’s way. Her gaze said, “How much should we tell her?” But Omokane was willing to tell her everything.

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

“Shinto is unusual compared to the rest of the world because it has no gods that reference the planets or the constellations.”

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

“Huh?”

Her confusion sounded legitimate.

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

“If you exclude Amaterasu-kun and Tsukuyomi-kun, the only Shinto star god is one called Amatsu Mikaboshi. Mikaboshi-kun is an extremely wicked god who resisted the great Takamagahara duo of Futsunushi-kun and Takemikazuchi-kun, but he must have had a touch of a maiden’s heart because he was scolded by Takehazuchi, god of weaving, and the two ascended into heaven together.”

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

“ ‘Mika’ refers to a bright light, so just like Takemikazuchi refers to lightning, Mikaboshi refers to a bright star – some say Venus. If so, then there is a connection to Eshita-san.”

“That’s right,” said Omokane, but Shamhat-kun tilted her head.

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

“What an odd mythology. The movement of the stars is used to tell the passage of time and to know when to hold festivals, so most mythologies feature the stars as gods.”

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

“We mentioned before that Shinto includes the conquering of different parts of Japan in its mythology, remember? If you view war as a way of bringing about syncretism, then this could be the result of an opposing force being known for worshiping the stars.”

Also…

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

“Separate from this talk of star gods, ancient Japan learned astronomy from China, which included the practice of Hokushin worship. Do you know what that means?”

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

“Hokushin? Sounds like a company name.”

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

“It does, doesn’t it!? Hokushin Shipping!”

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

“Hokushin Shipping isn’t real, but there a Hokushin Transportation started last year, so do be careful.”

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

“Your information network is disturbingly thorough.”

''Well, that is our job.'' But to get back on topic…

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

“Hokushin is another name for the North Star. The North Star was important to all ancient peoples who lived in the Northern Hemisphere, so it was often seen as the king of the stars. And the Big Dipper accompanying the North Star was seen to represent those close to the king.”

So…

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

“During the Asuka period, Prince Shotoku had a sword called the Seven Stars Sword which was engraved with the Big Dipper. And according to the Nihon Shoki, the emperor held a ceremony in 642 called Prayer to the Four Quarters which included a prayer to the Big Dipper. The Prayer to the Four Quarters went on to become an official ceremony in the imperial court, but important people also had the Big Dipper drawn on the inner wall of their burial mound. …My point is, there was an astronomy fad among the upper class that had nothing to do with Shinto. And this fad spread to the rest of the people.”

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

“At the time, worshiping the North Star was seen as another way of worshiping the emperor. Which meant once night fell, the people could worship the emperor from anywhere. That led to very simple forms of worship like holding a torch up toward the North Star at night.”

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

“Right. There was star worship before the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki were compiled.”

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

“Then why was all that combined into a single star god?”

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

“There are different theories concerning that, but I’ll give you the most interesting and human one. Oh, and I love conspiracy theories, so keep that in mind as you listen.”

Anyway…

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

“In 796, the emperor issued an edict banning worship off the Big Dipper. And in 799, worship of the North Star was banned as well.”

●

Shamhat found this odd.

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

“Why would he ban worship of himself?”

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

“Let’s go through this in order.”

Shamhat nodded at the lead knowledge god’s suggestion. Meanwhile, Scarecrow took the paper cup from the counter and refilled it with coffee.

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

“Thank you.”

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

“Omokane-san can be long-winded.”

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

“So this coffee is a way of helping your boss?”

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

“I just have nothing better to do while she goes on and on.”

Meanwhile, Omokane was opening several Revelation Boards in obvious excitement. It looked like she greatly enjoyed gathering the important points she needed for her speech. And…

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

“I mentioned that Prince Shotoku was all about the Big Dipper worship back in the Asuka period, right?”

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

“Yes, you did.”

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

“That prince took the Soga clan’s side.”

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

“––––––”

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

“Do you see where this is going?” asked Omokane. “Worship of the Big Dipper was worship of the emperor. And the Big Dipper was also thought to be responsible for the country’s harvest. Hence why the nobles felt required to worship it and the emperor did the Prayer to the Four Quarters. Even the common people worshiped the North Star at night, which doubled as worshiping the emperor. When these practices had come over from China in ancient times and everyone had gotten used to them…do you really think a god of the night or the stars could take root?”

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

“You mean…”

Was this it?

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

“When the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki were made, there was no need for a god of the night? Or rather, having one would have created a conflict?”

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

“Correct. The gods of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki were for the people’s daytime life and worship. But their night worship of the North Star had come from overseas and thus could not be included in the Kojiki or Nihon Shoki. Nevertheless…everyone did it.”

Do you get it?

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

“Shinto rarely ever mentions gods related to the night or astronomy. Tsukuyomi-kun is a moon god and acts as a pair to Amaterasu, but the stories about him are extremely limited. There are two possible reasons for this. From a conspiracy theory perspective, the people who worshiped the star gods opposed the imperial court and were destroyed. Or if you want to be boring, there simply wasn’t a need for those gods when the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki were compiled.”

What did that all mean in short? Omokane gestured with her arms as she spoke.

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

“The worship of the night’s stars was a practice of the imperial court, not of an indigenous people. But since it wasn’t native to Japan, it wasn’t included in the Kojiki or Nihon Shoki.”

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

“Then why ban it later on?”

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

“The edict I mentioned was in 796, but the capital was moved from Nagaoka-kyo to Heian-kyo in 794. This of course moved the center of politics and led to reforms in a number of areas.”

That was enough for Shamhat to make a good guess. And she realized this discussion was meant to sound her out. Because…

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

“Did the new politicians not know the old ways of the court?”

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

“At the time, the old Buddhist faction had become a lot of trouble to deal with. And the emperor was seeking out new things, such as using his envoy to Tang China to acquire the latest form of Buddhism.

“During the Heian-kyo period, the Fujiwara clan rose to power and led to the Taira clan being called in later on. It’s possible the emperor saw what was happening and decided to gradually make the North Star worship a practice only followed by the imperial family and stopped using it in politics. Either way, it ended with star worship being banned in Japan and, since it wasn’t mentioned in the Kojiki or Nihon Shoki, that field remained empty afterwards.”

●

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

“Shinto is an even bigger mess of a mythology than I thought.”

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

“It was shockingly influenced by human politics.”

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

“Um, uh, sorry?”

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

“Wait! How dare you all make Senpai apologize! I’ll apologize in her place! Got that?”

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

“It would be meaningless coming from you.”

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

“Come ooooooooooooon! Let me drag the bit out longer than that!”

●

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

“But anyway,” I said. “Does that give us two options?”

*'''Get help from What’s-His-Name, the Shinto star god.

*'''Get help from another mythology’s star god.

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

“Shinto god’s are low level and are divine rank weaklings, so I vote for 2.”

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

“But given this planet’s level, you would need a really high divine rank. Maybe not on that monotheistic god’s level, but still.”

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

“Then how about this?”

Everyone looked over and Kido-senpai continued.

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

“You can ignore the threat from the sky until the god you need arrives.”

●

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

“That might sound careless, but I think it’s a good idea.”

Kuwajiri fully supported Kido’s idea. Because…

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

“Most of the planet is currently a sea of lava. Even a largescale meteor strike wouldn’t ‘damage’ the planet any.”

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

“Aaaand I dropped oooone on the other side of the planet beforrrre.”

Yes. When Senpai-san was being a shut-in, Yomoji had dropped a giant meteor on the other side of the planet to buy time against the planet’s spirits.

In that case…

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

“We just need a base, right?”

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

“Yes. You will be running a few experiments around this tableland and then further expand the results in a base built within a protective field. Then you can safely research the terraforming. That means you only need meteor protection for the area within that field. That is much more efficient.”

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

“So for the terraforming, we’ll hold our strategy meetings in the base and then head out to wherever we need to be?”

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

“Remember what I said? It’s like a SimCity based on SimEarth that uses a method more like Populous.”

Kuwajiri didn’t know what that meant, but the idiot seemed to get it.

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

“Then let’s build our base here! Senpai’s stone hut can be at the center of it all!”

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

“Are you sure? It’s not all that nice a place.”

Kuwajiri resisted the urge to point out that everywhere else was lava. ''See, I can show restraint when I want to.'' Shifu-senpai looked her way and sent a message.

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

“Nice silence, Kuwajiri-chan!”

It was a relief to know Shifu-senpai had been thinking the same thing. But then the idiot made an announcement.

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

“That settles it! This can be our top candidate for the base! No, the only candidate!!”

●

''Oh,'' thought Ki.

This was like enemy territory right now, so maybe it would be best to give some advice.

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

“Are you sure announcing that is a good idea? If this is Shinto land, won’t your words influence the world?”

If so…

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

“Wouldn’t the enemy watching from a distance have heard what you said?”

●

Busty Mesopotamian-senpai’s warning made me look.

Far in the distance, a red light was rising into the dark and cloudy sky.

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

“Huh?”

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

“What is it?”

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

“That looks kind of familiar.”

A moment later, the light curved and flew straight toward us.

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

“Whoa!? Did they hear us just now!?”

I heard deafening spraying and sizzling sounds. They all joined together into the great roar of…

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

“A flame dragon!”

No, it wasn’t. It looked a lot like the dragons we had fought here before, but it wasn’t one.

Several flame dragons joined together to form a giant one 100m tall. And…

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

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

"I'll take care of this ugly creature myself."

A dark blue aura erupted from Tenma's body, spreading across the battlefield like an invisible tide. The moment it reached the monsters, they froze in terror. Their bodies trembled violently, their legs refused to move, and agonized screams echoed through the air.

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

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

Several seconds later, the Monster King descended from the sky.

It landed heavily on the ground before fixing its bloodthirsty gaze on Tenma.

Unlike the other monsters, however, the Monster King showed no fear at all. Tenma's aura had no effect on it.

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

"It should have been terrified like the others, but it..."

Before Tenma could finish speaking, the Monster King shot forward at incredible speed.

Tenma immediately took to the skies, trying to put distance between them.

But the Monster King relentlessly pursued him.

Sharp claws sliced through the air one after another as the beast launched a furious assault.

Tenma evaded attack after attack, weaving through the sky with precise movements, but the Monster King's speed was overwhelming.

A single claw finally broke through his defense and slashed across his left arm.

Tenma was knocked backward and fell from the air.

Fortunately, he regained his balance and landed perfectly on the ground.

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

"Damn you!!"

Blood dripped from his injured arm, but Tenma immediately cast healing magic upon himself.

The wound rapidly closed as if it had never existed.

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

"I'll kill you!!!"

Power surged through Tenma once again.

This time, the aura surrounding him was no longer dark blue.

It had transformed into an unimaginably deep shade of dark purple, radiating an oppressive presence that seemed to devour the very atmosphere.

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

"-!!!!-"

The Monster King suddenly began to tremble.

For the first time, genuine fear filled its eyes.

Within Tenma's terrifying aura, it saw an illusion—a colossal monster far larger and more horrifying than itself looming overhead.

Driven into panic, the Monster King launched a reckless barrage of attacks.

But the instant its claws collided with Tenma's Combat Barrier, every strike shattered uselessly against the invisible wall.

The Monster King's screams grew increasingly desperate.

Fear consumed its mind.

Its body shook uncontrollably.

In the end, unable to withstand the overwhelming pressure of Tenma's aura, the Monster King died where it stood.

Moments later, Shinsei, Boku, Senpai, Bil, AI, Poseidon, Tooru, Hime, Inana, and Saku arrived at the battlefield.

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

"What is this aura?! Tenma, did it come from you?"

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

"Yeah. I released it by accident while we were fighting. But... why are all of you perfectly fine?"

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

"Gods and Goddesses possess extraordinarily powerful willpower, far beyond that of ordinary humans. That's why an aura like this doesn't affect us."

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

"I didn't know that."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Then, without any warning, Tenma's vision faded.

His body lost all strength, and he collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

“…!”

The top of the serpentine collection of flames had a humanoid shape.

<noinclude>
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