Aiko Gone Mad
Three days had passed since Hajime and his party left Ul.
Although there were vexing problems; such as how to dispose of the corpses of the demonic beasts, and how to repair the roughened ground, the townspeople were unhurt. A result that could only be considered nothing but a miracle. The good news was immediately spread to the people who took shelter, peripheral towns, and even the Imperial Capital. The returning townspeople met their lovers and families. Some were hugging their close friends, and the joy of their safeties wrapped Ul in a festival-like clamor.
The protective wall Hajime left behind was surrounded the town as is, and the people who were talking about the details of the fight were gesturing how it exceed the common sense similar to how storytellers talked about a myth as they looked at the roughened ground outside of the protective wall.
The people who took shelter, especially the children, had sparkling eyes when they heard the story. Without losing this opportunity, the merchants were already calculating on how to make money by turning Hajime's protective wall into the town's new specialty.
Thus, the townspeople who didn't know anything about Hajime and Aiko believed Hajime and his party were dispatched by the "Goddess of Good Harvest," and Hajime's wall was named "Goddess's Shield" to honor it. Furthermore, the white-haired, eye-patched boy; Hajime, was called "Goddess's Sword" and "Goddess's Knight" in respect. However, it was a different story when David and the other Knights, or rather the real bodyguard Knights, recalled what was said about Aiko and Hajime. They would rampage while shouting, "As expected, I hate that guy!!!" In the future, Hajime would writhe in agony whenever he hears his name, but that's another story.
It was somewhat a miscalculation that resulted in earning himself some embarrassing nicknames, but just as Hajime thought, Aiko's fame and popularity were through the roof. When she walked into town, all the people would turn around and focus their gazes on her. Among them, there were also some who began to worship her while saying things such as "Bless us~." In this town Aiko, who saved the people, was certainly seen as nothing less than a "Goddess." The rumor had also already spread to the surrounding towns. At the very least, it might be correct to say that Aiko's words carried more weight than the Church of Saints' bishop, in the town of Ul.
The rumored Aiko was... safely supporting the town leaders in the town's reconstruction, but although she acted cheerful around people close to her, her mind wasn't there. The cause was the various impacts of the shocking truths Hajime had revealed before the fight. But above all, it was how Hajime killed Shimizu. The scene of that moment consumed her mind and gnawed at her heart.