Gods’ Games We Play, Vol. 5, page 18
Now, thanks to Titan’s fist, that frail ancient shell had been shattered.
When the wall fell away completely, there stood revealed…
…a mural in a riot of colors.
A three-thousand-year-old mural.
If they were to believe Titan, it must have dated back at least to the time of the ancient magical civilization. It had been covered in stone to protect it from the elements.
“Wait! Is that Li’l ’Don there?!” Pearl exclaimed.
“I can see Lady Minotaur, too,” Nel said, her eyes wide. “And that black, snakelike thing floating in the sky…is that Mistress Uroboros?!”
The painting depicted humans and gods at their games together. Two of the figures looked like Minotaur and Poseidon, but there were also scores of gods that they didn’t recognize. The mural showed everyone playing, humans and gods alike, enjoying their games with childlike innocence.
And the title of this mural?
May Your Gods.
“A team name. This is my reward for you,” Titan said. Her molten hair flowed. Then the Sage of the Earth grinned again and announced in a loud voice, “Take it with you, wherever you go from here!”
“………” Fay was silent for a long moment. He thought about it and found he felt almost as if he were in a sort of trance. Confusion washed over him. There was a fearful awe: Was it really right for him and his teammates to take on such a grand name? But there was also joy—at receiving such a tremendous gift, at being given a God’s Love like this.
The two emotions mingled in his heart. It was all he could do to answer, and finally, he said only, “We’ll cherish it.” He looked up at Titan, who gazed down at them. “It’s such a heavy name; I don’t think I could ever bear it alone. But I’ve got friends and teammates who will help carry it with me. We’ll bear it with pride.”
“No need to get too serious, kid. It’s like the games—just enjoy it!”
“Right… So there it is. Shall we go?” He turned to see Nel, her smile quivering with excitement, and Pearl, who looked a bit dazed.
Then his gaze settled on Leshea, who wore the biggest smile of all, and he nodded firmly.
“Let’s go to Arcane Court headquarters.”
Afterword
“Games are games in every era, see? You ought to enjoy your games, enjoy them to the fullest!”
Thank you for reading Gods’ Games We Play, Volume 5!
Humans and gods have at least one thing in common—they all love games!
Volume 5 involves more characters than any other volume to date, if you include those who are simply mentioned. It’s not just the gods with their many and varied personalities; we also meet someone who was involved in Fay’s old team for the first time. The Gods’ Games world is getting bigger and wilder—I hope you’ll look forward to seeing where it goes!
All right, let me talk a bit about the story! Volumes 3 and 4 were completely dedicated to the tale of the Labyrinth of Lucemia, making for quite a chunk of story. For this volume, we get a one-book-two-games structure for the first time in a while.
God-Tree-Fruit Basketball is a game with some sports elements, so Nel naturally got a chance to shine, but I think Leshea was also finally blessed with an opportunity to really strut her stuff. Captain Ashlan and Anita both got in on the action, too, so it was a pretty lively game.
Incidentally, I, your author, am particularly fond of “C’mon, lemmings!”
The second half of the book is devoted to the battle with Li’l ’Don (Poseidon). She appears on the cover of Volume 5, and I’m also pretty fond of her and Li’l Mino (Minotaur), including their friendship.
The gods so savor their individuality that they don’t form groups.
I sort of feel like someone in this volume said something like that, so I guess that makes these two an exception to the rule—or maybe the rule itself is one of those whims the gods have, and these two just decided to flip it on its head.
The team played Poseidon’s game in this volume, but I wouldn’t mind being able to introduce Minotaur’s game sometime, too…
Okay, it’s announcement time!
We’ve already had the joyous word that Gods’ Games We Play has an anime in the works, and at the MF Bunko J Summer School Festival, on the twenty-fourth of last month, additional details were announced. The show will be created by LIDENFILMS and directed by Tatsuya Shiraishi.
I have an official announcement! I, your author, have been invited to participate in all the script meetings, and the scripts are coming together with all the excitement of a developing gods’ game. I feel confident in sending these episodes out to you!
I hope you’ll await further information with eager anticipation!
Now, on to the special thanks.
To Toiro Tomose: This volume’s Poseidon is another character of god-tier beauty. Thank you!
To Kapiko Toriumi, who’s doing the manga adaptation: Thank you so much for producing such an enjoyable serial every month. I find myself looking forward to every new installment!
And to my editor, N: This work and its anime are indebted to you, not just every month but every day. I look forward to continuing to work with you to make it even more exciting.
Finally, a brief publication schedule.
First of all, my other series, Our Last Crusade, has been green-lit for another season of anime!
The third short story volume for that series just came out on August 20; in the main series, Volume 14 is planned for this winter. I would love to see you over in that series, too!
Meanwhile, I’ll be working on Volume 6 of Gods’ Games We Play as hard as I can! Just wait until we get into the Arcane Court arc and the encounter with the world’s strongest team!
Kei Sazane
Summer of 2022
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Kei Sazane, Gods’ Games We Play, Vol. 5
