Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter SS6

Don’t Call Me A Goddess! 

“Whoa, look at that! It’s the Fertility Goddess!” 
“To think she would visit our lowly town...” 
“Her kindness knows no bounds. I heard she stood up to an army of sixty thousand monsters just to save the town of Ur.” 
“Not only is she improving all of our lives, she’s putting her own on the line to protect us. Though she’s a bit different from what I expected. I thought she would be more... adult-like and beautiful.” 
“That’s what makes her such an amazing goddess. Even though she’s short, she’s still working so hard for our sake. This may be rude, but I honestly think she’s kind of cute.” 
“I know what you mean. She may be a goddess, but honestly, she reminds me of a baby squirrel. I just want to cuddle her.” 
“Oh, you too? I know it’s rude to think this of a goddess, which is why I didn’t say it before… but she’s really cute. I want to take her home and take care of her.” 
“Personally, I want to give her a big hug. I’d sit her on my lap and admire her all day long.” 
“I just want to look after her.” 
The villagers were talking so loudly that it was hard to believe they were even trying to keep Aiko from hearing them. Aiko flushed bright red and tried her best not to say anything. Some time had passed after the incident at Ur, and Aiko had heard the same things from every village they’d gone through on their way back to the capital. Thanks to Hajime’s little scheme, everyone thought it was Aiko the Fertility Goddess who’d saved the town of Ur. 
The stories had spread like wildfire, and her name was already known throughout the kingdom. She’d accelerated her fame by making sure she improved the agricultural conditions of every single village she stopped at on the way back as well. Though it was her own actions that had made her look so endearing, and made the villagers all think she was adorable. 
Despite her petite appearance, Aiko was 25 years old. She was an independent, working, contributing member of society. She didn’t like being treated like a goddess, nor did she like being treated like a child. She glared angrily at the villagers, but it had the opposite effect of what she’d intended. 
“Ah, the goddess looked at us! All hail the Fertility Goddess! Come on everyone, cheer with me!” 
“All hail our goddess! All hail the Fertility Goddess!” 
Now they were cheering her on in the streets. Tears of embarrassment welled up in Aiko’s eyes. 
“E-Everyone, my name is Aiko! Aiko Hatayama! Please stop calling me a goddess!” Aiko had tried to stop people from calling her a goddess wherever she’d gone, but to no avail. 
“H-How humble... To think she would allow us poor villagers to call her by her name...” 
“Her kindness truly knows no bounds... I have never been so moved in my life.” 
“All hail our Fertility Goddess!” 
“All hail our kind and merciful Fertility Goddess!” 
Trembling with emotion, the villagers continued to cheer on Aiko. Her words had only served to deepen their faith in her. 
“Grrrrrr, what do I have to do to get them to use my actual name? Are they trying to kill me with embarrassment? Are the villagers all actually hitmen out to end my life?” Aiko was so embarrassed that she couldn’t even think straight, which was why she was seriously entertaining the possibility that all the villagers were hitmen. 
David and the rest of Aiko’s guards tried to cheer her up, but they couldn’t hide their own happiness at how popular their goddess had become. Their obviously insincere attempts to make her feel better only made Aiko feel more depressed. 
“Umm, Ai-chan-sensei. We’re the hero’s comrades, and Ehit’s warriors, so we’ll always stand out no matter where we go. You shouldn’t worry so much about the attention.” 
“Sonobe-san... I don’t mind the attention. Well, I do a little, but there’s nothing we can do about that. It’s just hard acting like a grown adult when everyone around you is calling you a goddess!” 

Without a moment’s delay, David and the other knights started telling Aiko how she wasn’t really that old, and that she was too cute to be an adult. Aiko ignored them. 
“Now now, Ai-chan-sensei. Your fame as the Fertility Goddess was spreading even before Ur. All that did was speed it up a little.” Atsushi and the others nodded in agreement. 
“I suppose you’re right, but still…” Aiko just didn’t want to accept it. The students all watched her with a mixture of pity and amusement. She decided to flee back to their inn, trying to escape from the villagers’ gazes, but before she made it inside, she heard them start talking about someone else. 
“By the way, what kind of person is the Goddess’ Sword? I’ve heard that he has white hair and wears an eyepatch…” 
“Well, the only people that strong aside from the knights are Ehit’s warriors, but I heard he wasn’t one of them.” 
“Are we even sure he has white hair and wears an eyepatch?” 
It seemed it wasn’t only Aiko’s fame that had started to spread, but Hajime’s too. The Goddess’ Sword was just as well known as the Fertility Goddess herself now. Aiko’s ears perked up when she heard Hajime’s title mentioned. She looked around the street while surreptitiously listening in on their conversation. Yuka and the other students strained their ears as well. Now that the topic had been brought up, the villagers were eager to share all the rumors they’d heard about Hajime. 
“That much is certain. After all, there aren’t many white-haired guys with eyepatches running around.” 
“I heard he shot down all the flying monsters with a spear of light, and destroyed the rest with a meteor shower.” 
“He sounds amazing. But if he’s the Goddess’ Sword, how come he isn’t guarding her right now? That group of Ehit’s warriors is.” 
He certainly was amazing back there, Aiko and the students thought to themselves. Even David and the other knights begrudgingly had to admit that Hajime had fought splendidly. Though, that didn’t mean they had to like everything else he’d done. 
The villagers all puzzled over the question of why Hajime wasn’t guarding Aiko like a Goddess’ Sword should. One of them spoke up, offering a possible explanation. 
“Come to think of it, I heard something from a merchant who was staying in the same Water Sprite Inn as the Goddess. Apparently her sword had a lot of women in his party and they were trying to fight with the Goddess for his love. Maybe he felt it would be awkward if he stayed?” 
Aiko coughed in surprise, quickly averting her gaze. 
“Wait, what!? The Goddess and her sword are lovers!?” Before long, the story had grown completely out of hand. According to the villagers, Aiko and Hajime were now lovers, and he’d had to leave her side because another woman had gotten between them. 
“E-Excuse me, everyone. Please don’t spread baseless rumors! I am teacher, and he’s my student! We have no such illicit relationship!” 
Aiko’s knights approached the villagers with a dark look in their eyes, but before they could do anything she spoke up. Unfortunately, the desperation in her voice made it seem like she was just trying to hide the truth and what had just been a rumor became cemented as fact in the villagers’ minds. 
“Oh yeah, I didn’t want to say this because it might be rude, but I heard from a lot of people that after the fight the goddess and her sword, well you know.” 
“Y-Yeah, I heard that too. That they shared a passionate kiss in the town square in front of everyone, I mean. 
Aiko blushed so deeply that her face looked like a giant tomato. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sounds came out. The villagers started discussing the kiss, and Aiko began to panic. She turned to look at Yuka and tried to explain herself. 
“S-S-S-S-Sonobe-san, it’s not what you think! He was just giving me CPR. There was nothing romantic about it! I swear, I’m an upright and honest teacher!” 
“H-Huh!? Why are you trying to explain it to me? B-Besides, whatever you might have done has nothing to do with me!” 
Yuka couldn’t understand why Aiko had suddenly turned to her. But even though she tried to protest, Aiko was beyond reason. Yuka couldn’t stop her from repeating “I swear, it’s all just a misunderstanding.” 
“What’s this strange feeling welling up...?” 
“You don’t have to say it, Atsushi... I know exactly how you feel.” 
The girls near them were getting flustered over a guy who wasn’t even here. Atsushi and the other guys watched on with dead eyes, while Taeko and Nana just snickered. Even when he wasn’t present, Hajime was sure to cause a ruckus.