Short Story: Mortal Gods
“Fwuh…!”
The hoe came down upon the land, shaking up the roots and other plant matter beneath the earth. The god of agriculture, Mochizuki Kosuke, had been tilling soil since the early hours of the morning. His efforts were borne of an earnest desire to expand Brunhild’s farmland. He could’ve tilled the fields in the blink of an eye had he employed his divinity, but such powers were forbidden in the mortal realms. Rules were rules. He couldn’t very well call himself a god if he didn’t abide by them.
“Wowie… You did a lot…”
“Ah, Agricult— Er… Dad? Here, lunch.”
“Oh… If it ain’t Suika and Karina… Thanks fer this.”
The god of the hunt, Mochizuki Karina, along with the god of alcohol, Mochizuki Suika, had come to visit him. In this mortal realm, they were taking on the identity of Kosuke’s daughters.
He looked up to the sun and realized that it was noon. This was further evidenced by the fact that Suika was holding up a lunchbox toward him, and the fact that Karina had said “lunch.”
“Lu made us some lunch, which was nice… but there’s no booze…”
“Obviously. Touya wouldn’t be very happy if you were drinking in the middle of the day.”
“She’s right, lass. We’re relatives to the grand duke down here. Can’t go an’ make him look improper by playin’ the fool, can we?”
“Alright, I gotcha. I’ll be careful not to drink. Well, about as much as I can, anyway.”
Both gods had their own doubts as to just how “careful” Suika would be.
“Ah… Wait, that sound. Is that Sosuke?”
The little drunkard started glancing around like a curious gremlin, following the sounds of guitar-strums from a nearby tree. The three of them looked up and found none other than Mochizuki Sosuke, the god of music. He was draped across a tree branch and strumming his guitar. He hadn’t been there before, he’d simply used teleportation magic to get there without being noticed. There weren’t many in the mortal realms who could teleport, but it was one of the convenient tricks that gods could employ. He made the guitar vanish and then hopped down to the ground before pulling a large square box out of thin air. Then, he began to gently pat his hands on the top.
At first glance, it was a simple box, but it was actually an instrument as well.
The box was an instrument from a location on Earth named Peru. The Peruvian instrument was known as a Cajon. This one had strings and bells attached to the inside that generated sounds that would echo through a hole on the front. It was a percussive instrument that could be played by hitting it at various angles. He hurriedly tapped it at a light rhythm, as if to say, “I’d like to eat now.”
They all sat by the field and spread out the two boxes that Karina and Suika had brought with them. There were a variety of delicious-looking riceballs and many a side dish to go with them.
“Whoa, looks great! I’m so glad I came down to the mortal world…”
“Yeah… It’s been really nice. I haven’t been to the mortal realm in like… ten thousand years? It’s nice to work, eat, and enjoy myself a little.”
Suika and Karina smiled and laughed as they made small-talk. They washed their hands in a magical orb of water that had been conjured up to float in midair.
“Don’t ferget that we’re here to support the kid. We ain’t just here to have a good time, got it?”
“…Aren’t you enjoying yourself the most by coming out into these fields all the time? I’m pretty sure you might be having the most fun. I haven’t even seen you come by the castle once!”
“Mh…” Kosuke quietened down and started shoveling food into his mouth as Sosuke’s drumming intensified.
“Well, I don’t mind so long as we’re all enjoying ourselves anyway.”
“We really have to thank Touya for all of this… Or perhaps we need to thank God Almighty’s mistake?”
“I still can’t believe he dropped that lightning on a fella by mistake… When I heard that, I laughed my ass off!”
“Ahaha… It might be sacrilege, but it is pretty funny—”
As the four gods laughed together, their smartphones began to ring at the same time. The four of them awkwardly checked who the incoming caller was…
and the screens simply said “god of worlds.” These smartphones had been
made by Dr. Babylon… Contacting God on them would’ve been impossible.
Being called by the same person all at once should’ve also been impossible… However, the four of them knew one person who was truly beyond all possibilities, god himself.
It was likely that the old man was watching them right now on his television set… The four gods quietly muttered, “Don’t look at me!” in their heads as they averted their gazes and started to eat their lunch.
And so, the lives of the mortal gods of Brunhild carried on, carefree and relaxed as ever.
