On a Godless Planet:Volume1B Chapter 38
Chapter 38: Curse 02
–Wow! Wow!
An interview with my fav is so exciting!
●
I was sitting in a chair.
Inside the stone hut.
I had expected it to be dark, but there was something like an emergency light on the ceiling.
I was waiting for Senpai to make some tea when she emerged from the kitchen.
“Here is your tea.”
“Thank you so much! So. What should we start on for today’s terraforming!?”
“Um, did Balancer not tell you what’s happening?”
“They did! But you’ll do the terraforming with me! I just know it!”
Yes.
That felt like destiny to me.
I was just about to explain why when she sat next to me and turned toward me.
…So big.
I meant her boobs. Make no mistake about that. And then she spoke to me.
“Where should I begin?”
“What did you eat to get such amazing boobs?”
“Eh? Eh? Tofu?”
The fact that she actually answered told me this really was the usual Senpai.
But this was my chance to explain what I already knew was going to happen.
“I’m going to take you out of here so we can begin the terraforming again! Nothing else can happen! But if you’re accepting questions, there’s a ton I want to ask!”
“A-as long as it’s nothing weird. And, um?”
“Yes?”
“Are you sure you want to take this so lightly?”
“It’s fine! Because that’s just how I am!”
It was time for some questions.
“Isn’t it going down the stairs dangerous when you can’t see your feet!?”
After a pause, she hung her head and held that head in her hands.
●
Shifu received a sudden divine transmission.
“Um, Shifu-san? I hate to interrupt at a time like this, but do you have a moment?”
“Ohhh? What is it, Senpai-chan?”
“Well, um, I still intend to return to my virtual manifestation, but I have a question.”
“Yeah? What is it? Is it time for some tender you-know-what time with Sumeragi-chan, so you want some pointers?”
“No, I don’t know what!”
“Oh, so it isn’t about that? Then what it is?”
“Well, the thing is…”
She asked the question.
“What are we supposed to talk about at times like this?”
“Ohhh, that.”
“I need an answer.”
“Sorry, sorry. I think the usual would be to talk about your feelings for each other, why you’re breaking up, and whether you’re actually going through with it. I don’t think it’s usually a very pleasant thing.”
“…”
“Is that not what’s happening?’
“He asked me if it’s dangerous when I go down stairs.”
“Yikes.”
Shifu called out to Tooru without using the Revelation Board.
“Tooruuuu! This is gonna take a while!”
“Not what I wanted to hear right now!”
●
I asked Senpai all sorts of things about herself.
“Do you have a favorite color?”
“Um, I guess monotone if that counts. Since black is my personal color.”
“Eh? Does that mean you wear black underwear?”
“With the new style uniform, I don’t even wear underwear. The uniform provides enough support for everything.”
“Oh, yeah! I wore a girl’s new style uniform for a bit, but I completely overlooked that! Why didn’t I notice? I guess it felt like wearing a swimsuit!”
Now to change the subject.
“Then what’s your favorite food?”
“Um, I like adding seaweed to a bowl of rice for flavor and mixing it together with chopsticks?”
“Nhhhh! That’s so cute! What else do you like to add to your rice!? Are you a fan of big sausages, if you know what I mean!?”
“Eh?”
I slapped my own cheek.
“Forget that last part! Just focus on what you like to add to your rice!”
“Um, I like most any Japanese food, but I especially like adding thick-fried tofu or grated yams and a raw egg.”
“Yeah, those are great! And the yams can come in handy in the bedroom too!”
“Eh?”
I slapped my own cheek.
“Based on these answers, you really do like your white rice, don’t you? Do you not like meat?”
“As long as there’s enough pepper or spices that you can’t make out the flavor. I can eat it in something like curry.”
She clapped her hands together.
“Oh, I did try cooking pork in oden sauce after hearing about it here and I liked that. When I cut it fairly thin, it went great with Japanese mustard or wasabi.”
And…
“I’ve gotten kind of hooked on ice cream. I like most any flavor. Especially when you order it in a cup.”
“Nhhhh! Nice! Adding a cup size with ice cream cups! I’ll allow it!”
“Eh?”
I slapped my own cheek.
“Wh-why do you keep slapping yourself? Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine! This just shows how wonderful you are!”
She smiled in an “my, my” kind of way, but that vanished soon enough.
“Th-this isn’t the time for that, Sumeragi-kun! Things are, um, really dangerous right now!”
“Then,” I said. “One final question.”
I asked it.
“How can you be Iwanaga-hime?”
●
…How?
I wasn’t sure what he meant, so I asked.
“…? What do you mean by ‘how’?”
“Oh, that! Well, it’s in the myths, right!? Like the Kojeeky!”
His pronunciation was off, so I corrected him.
“Um, the Kojiki.”
“Right, the Kojeeky!”
“No, um, the Kojeeky.”
Oops, he got me saying it too, so I quickly waved my hand side to side.
“Anyway, what about the Kojiki?”
“Right! That myth says something really rude. It says you look like a hideous monster or something! How rude can they be!? If someone wrote that now, I’d rush right on over to their house to let them have it!”
“That was more of a subjective issue. It comes down to Ninigi-san’s personal tastes.”
“You mean Ninigi had really weird tastes and your sister was really weird!?”
“No, Sakuya has a wilder personality and she likes eating ramen gyoza even in the middle of the night, but I would say she’s cute and good looking.”
Sumeragi-kun performed an upside-down stretched-out prostration at my feet.
“Please forgive meeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I got carried away and insulted your family! It’s this mouth’s fault! This stupid mouth of mine!”
“No, um, I wasn’t blaming you for anything, so calm down.”
“Okay, I’m all calmed down.”
“That was fast! Anyway, um, I’m plainer than her, so…”
He gave me the most serious look I had ever seen, so I decided it was best not to phrase it like that.
In that case, it would be best to tell the truth here. Not to mention…
“I actually told you about this a while back.”
“So it’s something I forgot?”
“Yes,” I replied. “There is a reason I ended up like that.”
●
“In Japanese mythology, Ninigi, father of the Japanese people, was given two wives: Iwanaga-hime and Konohana Sakuya-hime. But he rejected Iwanaga-hime because she was ugly and married only Konohana Sakuya-hime.”
“There’s a ‘but’ coming, isn’t there? I mean, I don’t see how anyone could call Senpai-san ugly, so why?”
“Plastic surgery?”
“An impressive leap of logic there, Sugawara-kouhai! But no, there is another reason for this. And it causes something of a problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
“Well,” said Omokane. “This was discovered during her virtual manifestation, but what if I told you Iwanaga-hime was not wed for a reason other than her appearance?”
“Hm? That wouldn’t make much sense either. I mean, is there any good reason to reject a near-eternal lifespan?”
“There is.” The lead wisdom god smiled a little. “It goes back to whose myth it was.”
●
I decided to tell him.
Only my superiors and Balancer officially knew about it and he was the only one I had privately told about it. Although I knew Balancer would be telling the others about it outside.
And I didn’t really care if they knew since I was returning to a virtual manifestation anyway. So…
“Do you know who compiled all those Japanese myths?”
“Um, the Yamato Court?”
“That’s right. Then the rest is simple enough. The Yamato Court was led by the emperor who was said to be a direct descendent of the gods. And that made the Japanese people descendants of the gods as well.”
Then…
“Why didn’t the emperor or any of you have the same long lifespans as the gods?”
“Because…”
He hesitated and then looked me in the eye.
“Huh?”
He must have noticed the contradiction there.
“Myths are ‘created’ by whoever’s in charge at the time, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
What about that did he find so strange?
“The emperor and the rest of us have short lifespans because you weren’t chosen as Ninigi’s wife in ancient times. But that myth was ‘created’ when the emperor and the rest of us already had short lifespans.”
“Yes. The Japanese people may have had short lifespans before the myth was created, but without the myth, that was not yet defined. Then if I have that authority, did it have an effect before the myth was created’ Or did it only take effect after the myth’s creation? There’s a bit of a contradiction there. Oh, but my authority isn’t one that can affect the past retroactively.”
Anyway…
“I think the myth must have come later. But the creation of our myths forms a ‘mold’ in the ley lines and, once enough time has passed, our presence is actually able to influence things. And when many different concepts were merged during the Earth Age, those concepts allowed our authorities to manifest.”
I took a breath.
I looked up at the sky despite the ceiling in the way. The ship on which humanity slept had to be up there in the far distance.
How many gods longed for them now?
“We recreated some of Earth Age myths from the molds for our virtual manifestations. We recreated a lot of those stories to help more of the gods to manifest. One of those was Ninigi’s marriage to my sister and me.”
“But…you already looked like you do now back then, didn’t you?”
“Yes. But…”
But…
“I probably looked like this during the Earth Age myth as well.”
●
Shifu tilted her head.
“What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t mean to be rude, but doesn’t Shinto mythology depict Senpai-chan as pretty unpopular? That should have been part of her mold, so why’d she end up so good looking if her virtual manifestation was based on that mold?”
One of the flame dragons slipped through while she spoke, so she and Tooru moved back enough to crush the dragon in front of them.
Tooru was honestly a poor match for this fight.
Lightning attacks were not very effective against flame dragons. Lightning would strike an object and the supply an impact from there, but it did not even matter whether or not the flame dragons were conductive because the lightning attacks would burst right through them.
That meant he either had to extent his Thor’s Hammer to hit them with it, or Shifu would pluck out some hair and have him attach it to the “guard” of the hammer to create the…
“Golden Hammer!”
“Heh heh. That name is so embarrassing!”
That was really all he could do. But…
“Umm, can we get back on topic?”
They were talking about Senpai-chan. As a fellow goddess, Shifu did not want to be too harsh, but there was one major question left over here.
“How can you say she looked like that during the Earth Age too?”
●
“Because it’s Shinto,” said Kuwajiri while reading the reports Balancer had resumed sending her.
There were a lot of mysteries about Senpai-san, but she had an opinion on this one.
“I think it’s based on the purification rules.”
“Purification?”
“Yes,” she replied while realizing it felt like forever since she had held a normal conversation with Shifu. “Shinto contains several stories of a cursed god or impure object changing into a benevolent god or a treasure. Purification in those cases refers to viewing the inner essence of the cursed god or impure object and tearing away the curse or impurity that made it look ‘ugly’.”
In that case…
“Let’s say that Senpai-san is good looking. But she carried a certain curse that made her into an ‘ugly’ being. However, Ninigi’s rejection purified her, she lost that ‘ugliness’, and she appeared in her original pure form.”
“Then what was that curse?”
“The way she can shorten lifespans?”
Kuwajiri shook her head.
“The curse needing purification was the lengthening of lifespans.”
●
“I don’t understand. Why would lengthening lifespans be a curse needing purification?”
Omokane shrugged at Scarecrow’s question.
“Kubiko-kun, you are a scarecrow god, correct? That might make it sound like you were born from human civilization. But even if myths are sometimes created by those in power, the gods in those myths are still gods. You must not forget that.”
Hear me out.
“Humans and gods are much alike, but what is it that creates a clear distinction between the two?”
“Authority?”
“Close, but no. Humans too could use spells after the merging of the concepts. Divine protections and spells are no longer ours alone. Which means…”
“Is it their lifespan?”
“Correct! Well done, Sugawara-kouhai! No, I shall call you Tenma-kun to bring us closer! From humanity’s perspective, having or not having a lifespan is the clear distinction between them and the gods!”
How about that?
“Now, let us get back on topic. For humanity and for Earthly Gods like you, Kubiko-kun, Iwanaga-hime’s lifespan lengthening authority had to be a hot topic. They would badly desire it. However…”
Omokane gave a snort of laughter.
“We Heavenly Gods did not like the sound of granting humanity ‘life as eternal as a stone’ even if that was an imperfect eternity. We knew the humans would begin to act just like us if they gained it.”
Do you understand now?
“For the Heavenly Gods, Iwanaga-hime’s lifespan lengthening authority would grant humanity power approaching our own special privileges, which would be tantamount to a terrorist attack against us.”
“–––––”
“How about that? Ninigi was a Heavenly God too, so what decision do you think he would have made? He may have decided humanity could not be allowed to become Heavenly Gods, so he chose the shorter lifespan instead of the longer even though he knew it would affect him as well.”
Or…
“He may have known that humanity would not last if he had accepted the longer lifespan then.”
●
Kuwajiri opened a Revelation Board and began some calculations.
She was calculating out the productivity of ancient humanity. During the 10th century BCE, wetland rice cultivation began in Japan and that had spread across the entire country to some degree or another by the time the Shinto myths were created.
But if the events of the mythological era were true…
“If the Japanese people had gained extended lifespans at the point of the story about Ninigi, Senpai-san, and Konohana Sakuya, it is highly likely that Japan would have declined.”
“Hm? What do you mean? With a longer lifespan, they would have more knowledge and more people and they would no longer fear death, so wouldn’t they prosper?”
They would not and one of the upperclassmen explained way.
“Their agricultural productivity, right?”
“Yes, exactly.”
That war god’s skills as an agricultural god proved useful here.
“According to Shinto mythology, Ninigi’s children were Hikohohodemi and Hoderi. Those two were mixed gods born from a Heavenly God and an Earthly God, but they possessed certain nicknames and authorities.”
Namely…
“Hikohohodemi was also known as Yamasachi, which means Mountain Fortune, and Hoderi was also known as Umisachi, which means Sea Fortune. They were in charge of the productivity of the land and the productivity of the sea respectively. They were not yet around in Ninigi and Senpai-san’s generation, so there would not have been enough food production to support the people even with their lengthened lifespans.”
●
“My sister became pregnant after her first night with Ninigi and then she caused a lot of what I can only call aggressive stories, but at that time, there were no gods on the level of a Heavenly God that could stabilize production on the earth. And my nephews who took on that task were late to develop their powers because they were always fighting with each other and getting into trouble. …So what would have happened if my lifespan lengthening had increased the number of people?”
“Um, there wouldn’t be enough food?”
“Yes. And what would happen then if they had my authority?”
“Um.”
“There wouldn’t be enough food, but people wouldn’t be dying, so there would be food crisis.”
Correct.
“My authority lengthens lifespans, but it does not make them immortal. So with my authority, the people would live superhumanly long, but they would still starve to death without food. In the early stages of human prosperity, they could not have supported themselves if they had my authority, so it would have only driven them to their doom.”
●
“Authorities that provide godlike abilities will always harm humans. Just like the Tower of Babel.”
But anyway…
“A new problem has arisen there. Yes, we must remember what exactly Iwanaga-hime’s power is.”
Are you listening?
“Choose to be with her and you will gain an imperfect but still nearly-eternal lifespan. But refusing her and being given a shortened lifespan was no real problem at the time of the Earth Age myths.”
“Humanity does indeed have a short lifespan.”
“Indeed they do. But…what about when that authority was established in the current age? Especially in the virtual manifestation world where the gods of many different mythologies coexist?” she said. “The virtual manifestation is used to partially recreate the necessary myths for the development and creation of the gods while still in a virtual state. We can’t recreate the largescale damage of ‘the twilight of the gods’ or anything like that, so anything related to a god’s death is worked around somehow or other. But…”
“In the other mythologies, the lifespan of the believers or gods is generally established with a choice to steal or lose food or some other item, right?”
“Correct. In most mythologies, that is set in stone and cannot be overturned. The Fruit of Knowledge is a one-way switch and the promise cannot be restored afterwards. The choice is a one-time deal.”
But…
“With Iwanaga-hime, the offer is still valid. Because she is unmarried, not divorced. The mythology that acquired her could still give their believers godlike lifespans.”
●
Ki was hitting the flame dragons with the most effective attacks out of their entire group.
Freezing spells worked well. That was not surprising, but that also meant she was the most exhausted one in the group. However…
…I owe those two bigtime.
The human had taken her place when she was meant to die. He had saved her and given her more time.
In equivalent exchange terms, the only way to repay him would be to die, but since she did not want to die, she was prepared to accept as much exhaustion and injury as it took. And she was listening to the others discuss this while she poured her all into this fight.
“Could she really extend just their believer’s lifespans? Doesn’t Senpai-san’s authority affect other gods as well?”
“Yes, but since Omokane and the other Shinto gods still have their eternal lifespans, the effects must only reach her spouse and their children. That means she would only have to marry the original human or the god that became the original human in the mythology in question.”
What would happen then?
“That god’s worshippers would gain near-eternal lifespans in this world. They would become superhuman, but in the world after the terraforming has stabilized, that would give them a major advantage as primates. Those humans would likely sweep across the world and the other mythologies would ultimately lose all their believers and be destroyed.”
“You mean…?”
“The humans of the mythology that won over Iwanaga-hime and gained her long lifespan authority would become the rulers of the human world. That is why her marriage must be carefully managed.”
That sure is restrictive, thought Ki. Having that authority sounds like a real pain.
“But…that still doesn’t answer the actual question about her looks.”
●
“It’s simple. Remember what I said about purifying my power? Before that was done, I was an ugly being to the Heavenly Gods. But when Ninigi-san shunned me, it made me ‘harmless’ to the Heavenly Gods even with my lifespan lengthening power. That acted as a purification and made me clean.”
But…
“The Heavenly Gods wanted to make sure no one would seek out my power, so they said anyone who married me would gain a long lifespan but all their descendants would be the children of an ugly goddess.”
“But…”
“I really was initially ugly in purification terms, so by claiming I still was, they could decrease the amount of people who would try to acquire me. It might sound awful, but that has allowed me to live a peaceful life without anyone noticing me. Being treated badly is not necessarily a bad thing. That too is a form of purification.”
In other words…
“It was all to hide my authority, to prevent humanity from becoming too similar to the heavenly gods…and to ensure I could live a normal life.”
●
A smile escaped onto my lips.
I could not help but smile because I felt so glad. Because…
“Do you understand now, Sumeragi-kun? I was never meant to appear on the center stage. I give humans inhumanly long lifespans and I can kill a god if I resent them. I can only survive if I keep my identity hidden.”
I had now let him know this was the right decision.
“So I can’t stay here now that my identity has been revealed. This could lead to trouble with the other mythologies and you could become more than human if my authority were to affect you.”
What would happen then?
“You too would be eliminated from this world as nonhuman.”
The terraforming had to be done by a human. And they had to remain on a human level even with the help of divine protections and authorities.
So…
“Sumeragi-kun.”
This was goodbye.
“Do you understand now?”
I distinctly saw him nod.
He was saying he did understand.
●
Was this relief I was feeling?
I wanted him to understand that I couldn’t be here and that was how it was meant to be.
I had gotten that through to him and he had expressed his understanding, so why did I feel something bitter and heavy weighing on the bottom of my heart? And…
“Now it’s my turn!”
●
“Huh!?”
Out of nowhere, Sumeragi-kun held out a Revelation Board.
“Eh? Eh? Sumeragi-kun!?”
“Okay! I asked you a bunch of questions and you answered them, so now it’s my turn! This Revelation Board has a list of sexy questions I’m willing to answer, so ask me anything you want to know!”
Now.
“Are you ready for Sumeragi Izumi and Senpai’s Super Interrogation Time!?”
Eh? Eh? Interrogation?
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