On a Godless Planet:Volume3A Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Rampart

–Aren’t events like this so exciting?

●

This is a weird flood, thought Raidou. The sky was covered by dark clouds pouring with rain, but…

“Tooruuu? Can you see where you’re going?”

“Yeah, I can see just fine.”

Which is what’s so weird, he thought because he was at the bottom of the floodwaters.

Specifically, on the ground. He was walking along a street near the Suna River in north Tachikawa while under all that water. And tugging along a line of rubber boats floating on the water’s surface behind him.

Kido called down to him from the frontmost boat with an invisible, rain-repelling roof over her head.

“Is my divine protection functioning?”

“You bet. This is honestly kind of fun, so don’t worry about it.”

None of the water reached him. The water parted in front of him and closed up behind him, so he felt like he was walking through a narrow passageway in an aquarium.

That let him walk on the street while the rubber boats borrowed from the hiking club, orienteering club, and air gun club formed a line behind him.

“Sorry for making Raidou-san tug us along, Shifu-san.”

“Tooru sees these kinds of job as a chance to show off, so you don’t need to feel sorry.”

“Eh!? So I should compliment him!? Raidou-senpai, I don’t see any hair on your shins from my position back here, so do you shave your legs!? Or is that natural!? Either way you do a great job grooming yourself, but I’d rather not pay any compliments to a male upperclassman!”

“Someone shut that idiot up.”

“Now you’ve made him mad.”

“Don’t be dumb! A little comment like that is Raidou-senpai’s way of showing verbal closeness to his underclassman! We have strong enough bonds that an insult or two can’t break them! Do you really not get that!?”

“Since you won’t shut up when he wants you to, I take it he has zero trust in you.”

Kuwajiri can be mean, thought Raidou. But a tugging job like this was perfect for him.

“There was that time he dragged an entire mountain to change the terrain itself.”

“He even effectively fished up Jormungandr, so you could say he dragged an entire world.”

“Effectively isn’t good enough.”

Oh, whoops, thought Raidou. And a moment later…

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have forced my own standards onto you. Your opinion is yours.”

“Thank you.”

●

“Kuwajiri-chan is really strict with herself when it comes to hierarchy.”

“Hm, I really put my foot in my mouth there.”

“How so?”

“There’s someone I only managed to tie against and if you change that to say I ‘effectively’ won, it hurts my reputation, but I also get that she’s just trying to support me.”

“How would you prefer to frame that tie?”

“That it all comes down to the rematch.”

“I can picture it already! ‘Raidou and his fated nemesis Jormungandr battle it out again! Who will win!? Find out in the next exciting episode: ‘Another Tie’.”

“Don’t invent awful episode previews about me.”

“But they do that sometimes, don’t they? Like the preview at the end of a recent Rascal the Raccoon rerun showed a scene of the mom collapsing and then tells you the next episode’s title is ‘The Motherless Child’.”

“Yeah, it’s like they don’t care if they spoil everything.”

●

Raidou tugged the rubber boats along while discussing dumb things like that.

The boats were primarily loaded with supplies. Before leaving, they had contacted representatives of the cultural clubs and volunteered to carry any supplies too heavy for the clubs to bring themselves.

It was amusing how the rubber boats had automatically flowed by in front of their room.

“It feels like a recreation of a myth or a divine protection, doesn’t it? With a boat washing up to rescue people in a flood.”

They had deflated all but one, gathered all the supplies, and then made their way to Sumeragi and the others’ apartment building.

“It was smart to come to me first.”

“You’re the only person we know who will give us flood protection without having to worry about owing someone something.”

From there, it was simple. They had collected their things at Kuwajiri’s place and visited the other locations, inflating extra boats as necessary. Kido’s divine protection let them ignore the stormy weather, but…

“In a way, this feels a lot like a summer camping trip.”

●

…This is weird.

Like Kido had mentioned before, the water was perfectly clear.

So clear it was probably potable. And as Raidou continued to walk, he realized…

“None of the trash on the roadside has been disturbed.”

The convenience store bags, empty cans, fallen leaves, and similar things had not been washed away. Nor were they floating. That Karamucho bag better not have been from Eshita.

The water definitely had a current, but…

“Why hasn’t the water receded from this more elevated area?”

Exactly.

And furthermore…

“Based on what they’re saying on the radio, this abnormal flooding is only found in and around Tachikawa.”

“Tooru? What do you think?”

“I think I know where to go to find the answer. Can’t you see it?”

“”Eh? S-sorry, but we can’t see more than 10m with all this rain.”

Oh, right. Raidou nodded. Without the dark and the rain, some things were easier to see below the water.

“I can see the school’s main gate from here. The water level’s risen, hasn’t it? The gate is completely submerged, so maybe you can’t tell unless the baseball net comes into view.”

●

We only realized we had arrived at school after seeing some structures above the water.

They came into view from beyond the rainy darkness.

“Yahoo! That’s the school and the club building!”

They were in shadow thanks to the pouring rain, but those were definitely the school and the club building. However…

“They’re floating in the water?”

“No, I think those are raise-floor buildings.”

“The construction club and the art club said that would keep everything above water for now. When the occupational gods in those fields get fired up, they can do some incredible things.”

Sure enough, the school, the club building, and all the connecting pathways were supported from below by pillars.

“It’s like a small floating temple.”

“In Shinto terms, it’s like Itsukushima.”

“But the school is a lot higher up. About two floors higher? They even added stairs to the pathways between, but why do that?”

“Temanko contacted me earlier and explained they needed the extra height to keep the underground library above water.”

●

“That should do it. Hey, Scarecrow. I’ve given you enough height to keep you dry for half a day if the water level continues to rise at the current rate, but let me know if there are any problems.”

“Thank you so much. I mean it. I’m so glad you noticed this during the morning.”

“Well, we’ve got all our papyrus and mural stuff stored in here. It’d all be lost if the place flooded.”

“Ha ha ha. Kubiko-kun, this enormous library of yours is causing everyone so much trouble.”

“More than half of its books are ones you bought before building the school and never actually read!”

●

Tenma was out to greet them when they arrived.

She stood in front of the club building with an umbrella to keep the rain off. An unloading pier and a small harbor space had been built in front of the building.

At the edge of the harbor, construction and water gods were soaking in the water or seated on the edge and discussing what to do with some stone materials blocking the way. A few muscular gods were seated on the edge and listening to the explanation, but…

“Listen! When the next boat leaves, you strong ones need to swim down below and lift it all up at once! We’ll need to give a sign, so can any of you speak underwater?”

“No!!”

Of course they can’t, thought Tenma as the gods displayed diagrams and continued explaining things to each other. But…

“Wait, what!? We’re not even using the same kind of numbers!?”

“Sorry! We use sexagesimal numbers!”

“Divide it by 5! By 5! Wait, you do know about fractions, don’t you!? Please say you do! …You, don’t avert your eyes like that! …Ternary!? Are you kidding me!?”

“And you! Don’t give me that ‘numbers only make sense to me when counting sheep’ nonsense!!”

Wow, glad I don’t have to deal with those cultural differences. But…

...They seem to be having a lot of fun.

I wish I could have seen more of this back when I was alive, thought Tenma. Heian-kyo had an area along the river where foreign people lived – people who kept to their ancient customs. So many different sorts of people had lived together and respected each other.

Dazaifu, where she was sent after being demoted, had been impressive too. It was near the Asian continent, making it a defensive location but also a site for trade. Of course, she hadn’t been able to intermingle with the people back then and she had needed to remain cautious, but…

…I really should have visited Tang China.

The Tang dynasty had been nearing its end at the time, but that was why other countries would have been making inroads there. The ports and commercial cities would have felt a lot more like this than like Tang cities.

Back then, she had decided she had no business in “old” Tang China because she was only interested in new things.

But now that she had some distance from that decision…

…I really like this feeling of mixture.

It was in these mixtures that never-before-seen things came to be.

The collision of all those differences was fascinating.

Some god of learning I am if it took me this long to realize that.

“Hey, Tenma-chaaan?”

A voice called out from the rainy shadows up ahead. Tenma looked out to see a hole open in the water’s surface and a group of boats deflecting and blocking the pouring rain.

“So the game club has arrived. Or should I call you Human-senpai and a portion of the Terraforming Team?”

●

“Is the water level rising?”

After hopping over to the pier, Shifu reached a hand down into the “hole”. That wasn’t enough to directly reach Tooru’s outstretched hand.

“We could easily reach each other back at Sumeragi’s place.”

“Is it accumulating? Or does it vary based on location?”

At any rate, Tooru hopped up to grab her hand.

She pulled him up. At the same time, he kicked at the pillar holding up the pier to more or less run up the pillar.

“There we go.”

Instead of slowing his momentum, he picked her up and swung her around a bit.

“Wow.”

Shifu felt a little bad when she noticed Tenma-chan had to dodge out of the way, but she sighed after Tooru set her back on her feet. The nearby gods and spirits were whistling or praying, so she gave them a quick wave of acknowledgment.

“You’re in a good mood.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve used a boat. Even if these are just rubber ones.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Shifu nodded toward the knowledge god holding an umbrella. “It’s not like the ocean is frozen over in Norse mythology. Whether for fishing, trading, hunting, or adventuring to new lands, boats are pretty important artifacts for us.”

Tooru moored the rubber boats and pulled them in.

Someone walked up, possibly the manager of this port(?). They wore a raincoat, but…

“I will need to check your cargo, if you don’t mind.”

●

“Gehh! Mr. Vomit! I can recognize your boring vibes from all the way over here! And I’ll tactfully not ask why a sea god is standing out in the rain wearing a raincoat. Instead I’ll ask: what are you doing here!? Buying sweet rolls at the cafeteria!?”

“Sorry. That was a lot at once and I’m not sure where to even begin replying.”

“So what’re you doing here, Mr. V?”

“The headmaster spoke to me while Salacia recovered in the hospital and made me a teacher here.”

“A teacher!? Well, you could hardly pass as a student, but still…a teacher?”

“Sorry, but you’re just adding more I feel I need to reply to.”

“We can put that part off until later, but why are you standing out in the rain wearing a raincoat?”

“Well.” Mr. V pushed up his glasses. “I bought a lot of hiking gear, including rain gear, when I went to Okutama the other day, but I never had a chance to use it.”

“Sorry if I’m adding more for you to reply to, but why don’t you just use a divine protection to keep the rain away?”

“Oh! I know why! Weak gods don’t have very much internal or external ether supply, so it’s better to use gear to get by! It’s an essential skill for weak gods!”

That is not the call of support you want to get. But Senpai-chan was probably right since Mr. V sharply pushed his glasses up.

But…

“Is that what’s going on here?”

“No.” Mr. V shook his head. “I hated the thought of putting this in storage without ever using it, so when I woke up to see it raining this morning, I knew this was my chance.”

●

“…”

“Sorry, Shifu, but I kind of know what he’s talking about.”

“It makes me feel kind of dirty, but I know what he’s talking about too.”

“Is it like when I buy a some beer for a celebration, the celebration is canceled because the idiot does something stupid, and then I’m at the convenience store late at night, see they’re selling packs of gyoza, and decide to have my own little celebration?”

“I think that’s something else only a handful of people will get.”

●

While preparing to unload the boats and complete the Terraforming Team’s landing process, Mr. V asked about something that occurred to him.

It related to the knowledge god on the pier with him.

“Are you carrying that umbrella for the same reason?”

“Actually, I’ve been doing this since my previous life.”

“Eh? They had umbrellas in Japan back then!? Wasn’t that the Heian period!?”

<To be blunt, I’m pretty sure they had umbrellas as far back as a certain shut-in goddess’s time.>

“Correct,” said the knowledge god. “Umbrellas were originally made to imitate the canopy of the heavens and ancient Middle Eastern royalty used them as a sign of their power. Back then, they were shaped like square covers and people would stand on the four sides to hold them up from the ground.”

“So like the tarps used when camping?”

“Yes. A lot like the tents set up in public spaces during special events. Then in Greece around the 6th century BCE, they were made portable to keep the sun off. During the Tang dynasty, they arrived in Japan. Paper umbrellas are still known as ‘Tang umbrellas’ in Japan for this reason.”

The knowledge god pointed at the handle of her umbrella.

“Even when they were made portable, they were generally used by the aristocracy, so they would hang down from a pole held by an attendant. But when hanging from a pole and string, it was hard to balance a square one, so they were made in this more circular ‘umbrella shape’.”

“I assume later they were made to be held up by a pole in the center so they could be carried without an attendant.”

“Correct.” The knowledge god nodded. “In my time, they were generally either parasols or symbols of power for the aristocracy, so this portable type didn’t exist.”

<The Japanese closing umbrella was created in Japan during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Once they could be closed, they became a common household item. That is when they began to be used to keep the rain off instead of just the sun.>

“Of course, I’m using a Western-style umbrella which is designed differently from the Japanese ones. It’s more about the mood it sets than anything. But…”

The knowledge god looked to Mr. V and the other gods.

“Umbrellas have been in Greece since the 6th century BCE and they appear in the Nihon Shoki as a ‘cover’, so how did you not know about them?”

●

“S-sorry! I was really showing off that I’m a shut-in raised up in the mountains where none of this fancy cultured stuff ever reaches, wasn’t I!? Besides, what would a weak god like me know about the canopy of the heavens!? And when you underestimate how little a nobody god can do, we double down on being useless, so do be careful!”

“Now you’ve done it, Tenma-chan. She’s a real pain in the ass when she gets like this.”

“I say we blame Mr. V.”

“I-I wish I could say it wasn’t my fault, but it kind of was!”

“Did they have any umbrellas like that back in Rome?”

“My temple was only supported by a group of passionate fans…”

<Y-you did have some important supporters like Agrippa and Hadrian, so don’t get yourself too down, okay?>

●

I looked up the pier and noticed something.

There were a lot of gods and spirits there, but…

“Are they watching us?”

“We did bring food and supplies for the other clubs.”

I noticed windows open at the school with people looking out.

“Being the Terraforming Team probably gathers attention too.”

“Probably so, but I don’t think that’s what all this attention is about.”

“Right,” I said, turning to look at the person standing on the pier next to me: Kido-san.

“Kido-san, they’re all looking at you.”

“Huh!? What did I do?’

“Have big boobs? No, wait, Shifu-senpai’s are even bigger.”

“Not everything’s about boobs.”

Shifu-san spoke up with no concern for all the attention we were getting.

“Kido-chan, since you revealed your identity, some of them are scared and feel like they need to show you a ton of respect just to be safe.”

●

“Because she’s the Scythian water god? Are goddesses supposed to have that much of an impact?”

“It’s the giant boobs impact! And yours are plenty big for that!”

“Thank you for saying so. Then there’s nothing wrong with this, is there?”

“Y-yes, there is! There’s plenty wrong!”

●

“Um,” said Kuwajiri as she stepped onto the pier

The boat must have rocked more than she thought because she felt a bit unsteady now that she was on solid footing.

“The Scythians who worshiped Kido-senpai were a major force from the Black Sea’s east side to north coast during the 7th century BCE. But the Scythians were a collective state made up of several distinctive peoples who combined their cultures and civilizations into one,” she explained. “But they were also a definite threat to the surrounding regions using the horseback combat techniques they primarily developed for hunting. The Middle East and Europe had already developed mostly agricultural civilizations by then, so this warrior people from the east must have seemed like stereotypical barbarians and become a symbol of fear itself.”

●

<Now,> added Balancer. <The collective state of the Scythians was primarily composed of the people living in Scythia, the land east and north of the Black Sea, but they also covered a few countries east of the Black Sea and into Asia. A nomadic people who lived in Central Asia was split by internal conflict and a portion traveled west, plundering as they went, and they snowballed into a major force. The group that rapidly formed a state after coming in contact with Greece and other civilizations were the Scythians who worshiped Kido. To the east, Persia gained power in much the same way and the Scythians in the Caspian Sea region also gathered and formed a state.>

“So the people on the run and being targeted banded together and become a powerful state? That’s kind of impressive.”

<The Scythians took everything to the extreme because they were so mobile.>

“Isn’t that just a strength of an equestrian people?”

“So is there a difference between the western and eastern Scythian states?”

“I am a god born from the environment around the Black Sea, so I am unique to the western Scythians. The eastern Scythians in the Caspian Sea region only worshiped their sun god because he was ‘even faster than a horse’. That said, there were connections between the two states, so culture and customs passed back and forth.”

<Another small difference is that the eastern ones were more barbaric. One thing they had in common was the many female warriors among the Scythians. The eastern Scythians even took a queen and their women fought bravely.>

“All the best barbarians let their women fight too.”

“Yes, the Greeks eventually placed a man in the ‘role’ of sea god, but the Scythians had me and even dragons served me. It was that sort of culture. So now that I have broken the chains of the Echidna placed on me by Greek mythology and have managed a released manifestation as Api, everyone is cautious of me. But…”

Kido brushed her hair back. As if showing off that her black hair had no rain in it and that it blew in a wind separate from that of the storm.

“That means nothing to me. I am here as Izumi’s mother and as the parent of humanity.”

●

Shifu heard an “eh?” from someone.

From Mr. V. She looked over and saw him pointing at himself.

“But I have to be a teacher?”

“Why are you asking yourself that?”

“Well.” He waved his hand dismissively and then gestured toward Kido-chan. “Kido is a mother but also a student?”

“Kabooooom!”

The idiot ran up and kicked Mr. V right into the water. Not that I can really blame him this time.

●

“Hey! Get a clue, Mr. V! Having your hot, busty, cool-headed mom in the year ahead of you at school is a really sweet scenario!”

“Scenario?”

“That about sums it up. And in my defense, I never questioned you being a student, Kido-senpai. Not even once. I swear.”

“Kuwajiri-san? Can you say that again but look me in the eye this time?”

“Don’t worry, Kido-san. Boys tend to like it when there’s a hint of the taboo to spice things up!”

“Taboo?”

“None of you people are helping. Anyway, if Kido-san claims to be 18 too, it just barely works.”

“Too?”

<They still aren’t helping, are they?>

“A-and are you here to go in for the kill!?”

●

Ignoring Mr. V, who had managed to recover on the downstream side of the pier, I spoke to Kido-senpai.

“Come to think of it, what should I call you at school?”

“Wouldn’t your usual Kido-senpai work just fine?”

“I-it probably would, but wouldn’t it be safer if you made your relationship with Sumeragi-kun more clear?”

“Oh? That’s surprisingly bold for you, Senpai-chan.”

“If you insist,” said Kido-senpai, so I tried saying it.

“Mom!”

All expression vanished from her face. And eventually…

“…”

“Izumi, could you say that again?”

“Mom!”

Another short silence. And…

“…”

“That may be a little too powerful.”

“It does make you freeze for a second every time he says it.”

“It was that noticeable?”

“I definitely like it, but I’m afraid of what trouble it might cause.”

“What about Mother Kido!?”

“…”

“I think that’s taking it too far…”

“Um, what about mommy?”

“…”

“Iwanaga-san? Imagine him calling you that.”

“…”

“That would score a critical hit.”

“If I was cooking at the time, my hand would slip and I might hurt myself.”

“Then let’s just stick with mom.”

Kido-senpai smiled a little with a hand on her cheek.

“I am still worried that my relationship with you will be a burden for us both or that it could cause trouble if others place undue importance on it.”

But…

“You can call me what you want, Izumi. I need to get used to these things.”

“Then,” I said. “I’ll call you Kido-senpai at school and mom at home!”

●

Kido-san sure has changed, I thought. And…

…Kido-senpai at school and mom at home.

…Isn’t that really powerful too!?

Wow, wow, I’m so jealous, I was thinking when Kido-san beckoned me over. Curious, I approached and she pulled me over to whisper in my ear.

“You are the only one he simply calls ‘Senpai’ without clarification, so keep that in mind.”

“Um? You mean…?”

“Yes,” she said. “I am unique to him for being his family. That comes naturally. But you are unique to him because he chose you. You wouldn’t have that position if he hadn’t chosen you. That is incredibly valuable.”

●

I nodded with my brow tensed.

“Thank you. I got so carried away I lost sight of the happiness I already have.”

“Hee hee. I lost the happiness I should have had. And you lost the one who was chosen.”

That reminded me that when Kido-san was the Echidna, she had a myth saying she gave birth to the Scythian kings. But…

…The Scythians are gone.

They were lost and didn’t even leave any records behind since they had no written language. What would Kido-san’s current circumstances feel like after losing everything like that?

And Kido-san said more to me.

“You are not like me. You are the happiness Izumi found after leaving home. He inherited who I am, so he chose someone who has what I do not.”

●

“L-let’s try to work together!”

I smiled while watching Senpai-chan take Kido-chan’s hand and shake it.

Kido-chan responded with a blush of embarrassment about that line.

“Took you long enough, but well said.”

“Ha ha. Now that you’ve reached an understanding, it feels like the camping trip is truly over.”

“I feel like you all set me up, but maybe I set myself up.”

Maybe so, I thought. And…

“Oh, the rest of the game club is here now? I need to introduce myself.”

While Mr. V gasped in surprise, someone descended the stairs to the pier.

The god with light blue shoulder-length hair looked vaguely familiar, but I didn’t recognize her.

“Umm?”

Just as I asked “who’s that?”, Kido-chan explained.

“Salacia.”

“Eh? Salac- you mean the water monster?”

“Yes,” replied the god. She wore casual clothes and I noticed the rain was bouncing off the air around her.

“I’m Salacia. I’ve started working as a teacher here and I’m the game club’s new advisor, so it’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

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