When Jotaro, Kira, and Aiko arrived at the temple, Aiko left the ogre's corpse outside the premises while Kira headed to her room to change into the demigod clothes.
Meanwhile, Jotaro and Aiko waited in the hall. Jotaro was sitting cross-legged on the floor, while Aiko stood in front of him, curiously observing everything around her.
Suddenly, Kira entered the room.
—I'm ready now —she announced.
Both turned to look at her. When Aiko saw that Kira was wearing the same outfit as Jotaro, she couldn't contain her excitement.
—You look so beautiful, Kira!
Kira smiled proudly, placing her left hand on her chest in an exaggerated pose.
—Of course! I'm just too gorgeous —she said in a boastful tone.
—Really? You look like any other girl to me —Jotaro commented indifferently.
Hearing that, Kira frowned and replied, annoyed:
—Oh, yeah? And who asked you, shorty?
Jotaro smiled, though he looked slightly irritated inside.
—You know, you're not exactly the best person to call me that, Kira.
—What?! Are you saying I'm short?
—I'm not saying it. You are —he replied with a teasing grin.
Visibly irritated, Kira lunged at Jotaro and started pulling his hair.
—Say that again! —she shouted.
—Shorty! —Jotaro repeated provocatively.
Aiko tried to calm them down.
—Hey, there's no reason to fight! Please, calm down!
Jotaro caught Kira's arm and quickly twisted it behind her back.
—Aah! That hurts! Let go! —Kira complained.
—I'm only doing this because you're being aggressive!
—Let me go!
—Not until you calm down!
—Okay, okay! I'll calm down! But let go of me!
—Okay.
Jotaro let her go. Kira rubbed her arm, looking at him with tears in her eyes.
—You're so mean, Jotaro...
—It's your fault. I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't gotten violent.
—But you started it!
—Stop fighting already! —Aiko interrupted, clapping her hands together—. You're both to blame! Jotaro for provoking Kira and Kira for reacting like that. Apologize so we can move on with the plan!
Both lowered their heads.
—I'm really sorry, Kira...
—I'm sorry too, Jotaro...
—Good —Aiko said, smiling—. Now we can continue with the plan.
"She's scary when she gets serious…" Jotaro and Kira thought at the same time.
After that, the three headed to the village to carry out the second part of Jotaro's plan.
Already in the village, the three of them were hiding in some bushes.
—Alright, Kira —Jotaro said—. The second step is for you to show yourself to the villagers. Do you think you can handle it?
—Yeah, I'll be fine. How hard can it be? —she answered confidently.
—Then go.
—Got it.
—Good luck, Kira —Aiko wished her.
—Thanks, Aiko.
Kira approached the area where the villagers were gathered. As she walked, she thought:
"I just have to walk up, let them recognize me, and tell them to go to the temple. Easy. I don't know why Jotaro didn't want to go with my idea—it's almost the same thing."
A child saw her and shouted in surprise:
—Ah! It's Kira!
The people around turned and started approaching.
—It's Kira!
—That means the demigod has returned!
—It's a miracle!
"Perfect, I've got their attention," Kira thought.
She took a deep breath and began to speak:
—Good morning, people of Lythari village. Today I've come to deliver a mess—
Before she could finish, a little girl hugged her from behind.
—Do you know where the demigod Jotaro is?
—Huh? Well, he's...
—Do you know where he is?
The crowd swarmed her, all asking the same thing. Kira tried to respond, but the flood of questions overwhelmed her.
—One at a time! I can't answer all of you at once!
No one was listening. Desperate, she looked toward the bushes where Jotaro and Aiko were hiding.
—What do we do? —Aiko asked.
—There's nothing we can do now… We'll never forget your sacrifice, Kira —Jotaro said solemnly, placing a hand over his chest.
—She's not dead! —Aiko replied indignantly.
—Okay, seriously... Yeah, we should help her.
—We should've done that a while ago!
At that moment, they heard Kira shout:
—I said one at a time!
The crowd froze and took a step back.
—We're very sorry, Miss Kira.
—We didn't mean to upset you.
Kira sighed and said:
—I'm sorry too. Even if I was upset, it wasn't right to yell at you. I understand you're all worried about Jotaro since he disappeared so suddenly.
Kira lowered her head and knelt, touching her forehead to the ground.
—I deeply apologize for yelling at you.
—No, please, don't do that! —some exclaimed.
—It was our fault!
—Come on, help her up!
Two men took her by the arms and helped her to her feet.
—You didn't need to bother… I could've stood up on my own —Kira said.
—Don't worry, it's no bother. By the way, what was the message?
—Oh, right, I almost forgot.
Kira adopted a serious tone.
—Demigod Jotaro asked me to tell you all to gather at the temple tonight. It's important. That's the message.
After speaking, Kira began to walk away, ignoring the crowd's questions.
—At night? At the temple?
—Could it be dangerous?
While the villagers murmured among themselves, Kira returned to Jotaro and Aiko.
—All done, Jotaro. I gave the message.
—Good. Now we just have to wait for nightfall.
—Are you sure they'll come? Going out at night might be dangerous...
—Of course it is. But you'll be with Aiko to protect them.
—What?
—Oh, right, I forgot to mention it… It's your job to escort the villagers so monsters don't attack them.