"Goddess?"
Lin Fan and Xiao Yue said this in unison as they looked at each other in blank dismay.
They could believe that this woman in front of them was an expert, but a goddess?
That really was a bit too hard to believe.
It was clear that she could see the doubt in their eyes, so the woman said with a smile, "That's right, I'm the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite."
As she said this, she released a bit of her aura.
When they felt this aura, they had no choice but to accept what she was saying since it was clearly an aura that wasn't of this world. Especially when it came to Lin Fan, he could tell that the aura the goddess released was the same aura that came from the letter he had received from the God of Earth.
But there was also something that made him feel strange.
The name she used, it was a name that Lin Fan was familiar with since it was also the name of a god from Earth.
In Greek mythology, Aphrodite was the Goddess of Love, just like this Aphrodite that had appeared in front of him.
Was it just a coincidence that the Goddess of Love in this world was called Aphrodite or could it be that the two of them were related?
Aphrodite didn't seem to care about their stunned looks and continued on doing her own thing as she said, "Since you have passed my trial, you have earned the right to my inheritance, but…"
She turned to the altar with the mirror on it and then turned back to Lin Fan to say, "This is a stolen artifact and it's one of my favourites."
It was clear by the tone of her voice what she was expecting out of Lin Fan.
While Lin Fan was tempted by the artifact of a god, but he knew that compared to the artifact of a god, it was better if he built a relationship with a god instead.
So Lin Fan said, "Of course it would be my honour to return it to you, my lady."
Aphrodite just stood there with a smile on her face, as if waiting for something.
Lin Fan could take the hint and walked up to the altar to pick up the mirror.
During this time, Aphrodite had turned to Xiao Yue who was standing there with a complicated look in her eyes and suddenly said, "His feelings for you are true."
Xiao Yue's eyes trembled the moment she heard this and she looked up at Aphrodite with a look of disbelief. The words that she had just said had struck her right in her heart.
Lin Fan had been secretly listening to them and he was also shocked the moment that he had heard these words.
But when he thought carefully about it, he realized that this was the one thing that he had been missing.
It was actually a very simple thing, but he had taken it for granted because he had never done something like this before. But for this world, it was something that had to be done or girls would never feel safe.
In this world, girls could be used and thrown away without a care, which is what most girls in this world feared. Girls that were used and then thrown away never had good fates.
Unless they were able to find someone that they could rely on, they would always have to look after themselves.
The one simple thing that Lin Fan had forgotten to do was confess his love to Xiao Yue.
This seemed like a very simple thing, but it was also a very important thing.
During this entire time, without the reassurance that Lin Fan loved her and would stay with her, Xiao Yue had been worried the entire time that Lin Fan had only been doing all of this just for her body. She knew that as he did more and more things for her, she would be more and more obligated to give him her body, which was also part of the reason she kept delaying everything.
It was a big gamble to use her body to snare Lin Fan, but if it didn't work, she would be left alone without anything and that would be certain doom for her.
So that was why the affection had decreased earlier when he had told her not to ever think about using herself as a shield. As well as when he had sacrificed himself for her, her affection had dropped by another five points.
She was afraid that it was all too good to be true and she didn't want to let herself fall into the illusion that Lin Fan truly loved her without this confirmation. All that would do was hurt her in the long run.
That was also why Aphrodite's words had shaken her that much. Especially since it was coming from a Goddess of Love.
After thinking this through, Lin Fan shook his head with a bitter smile as he came back with the mirror. However, instead of handing the mirror directly to Aphrodite, Lin Fan came in front of Xiao Yue who was still in a daze and suddenly took her by her shoulders.
Xiao Yue was pulled out of her daze and was about to say something, but before she could, Lin Fan looked right into her eyes and said, "I love you."
Then without a single moment of hesitation, he moved forward and placed a deep kiss right on her lips. Or at least what he thought was a deep kiss, but it was actually a sloppy and slobbery kiss since he never had any experience before.
It was a good thing that Xiao Yue never had any experience before, so she didn't know whether it was good or bad. She just knew that there was a stream of warmth that filled her heart that cast out all the darkness that had been inside.
Once Lin Fan finished his kiss, the dams in Xiao Yue's heart burst and her tears started pouring out. She fell to her knees as she let out all the emotions that she had been keeping inside.
Lin Fan bent down to pat the back of her hand when he saw this.
After crying for a while, her sobbing softened enough that she was able to speak again as she said, "Thank you, thank you…I love you too."
Lin Fan didn't say anything in response to this since there was nothing that he needed to say. Everything that needed to be said had already been said and the notification that he received told him everything.
[Xiao Yue's heart has been melted by your confession. Affection has increased by 20.]
After making sure that she had calmed down, Lin Fan stood up again and turned back to Aphrodite to say while awkwardly scratching his head, "Sorry about creating a scene."
Aphrodite revealed a perfect smile and said, "It's alright. I like seeing young lovers like this."
Then after she finished speaking, she raised her hand out as if she was waiting for Lin Fan to hand something over.
Lin Fan naturally knew what she wanted, so he lifted the mirror that he had placed on the side and placed it in her hand.
After he handed it over, Aphrodite didn't take it right away as she said, "Since you have passed the trial, the artifact recognizes you as its current owner. To give it back to me, you have to verbally state that you are relinquishing this artifact back to its original owner."
Lin Fan nodded before saying, "I relinquish this artifact and return it to its rightful owner."
There was a flash of light that surrounded the mirror before Aphrodite firmly gripped it to take it out of Lin Fan's hand.
She lifted the mirror up and admired her reflection in it before revealing a wide smile.
It was at this time that Lin Fan suddenly heard a notification that shocked him.
[Aphrodite has been touched by your devotion. Affection has increased by 10.]
There was an increase in affection from the goddess?
Did that mean what he thought it meant?
Could it be that as long as he was able to raise her affection, he would even be able to tame the goddess?
Lin Fan was filled with excitement, but he made sure not to show it on his face.
However, as soon as the notification rang out, there was an unpleasant feeling that ran through Aphrodite's body. As soon as she felt this feeling, she couldn't help shivering with disgust.
It was as if there was some kind of strange energy that was running through her body and she couldn't figure out what it was, not to mention being able to remove it.
She slightly narrowed her eyes to look for the source of this energy, but no matter how she released her divine sense, she couldn't find the source of this energy. It was as if it had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
The only ones that could do something like this to her were other gods…But which god would be naive enough to make a move against her like this?
Even if she was the Goddess of Love, that didn't mean that she was weak at all. Sometimes, love was like a hurricane!
It was just a good thing that this energy didn't seem like it was going to do anything. It just laid there dormant inside of her.
Since that was the case, she would find someone to get rid of this energy after she headed back.
However, she couldn't head back just yet, it wouldn't fit her status as a goddess.
This young man was devoted enough to give up a divine artifact, she had to give him something to reward his devotion.
After thinking about it for a bit, she reached out a finger that had a glow at the top and said, "Young man, this is your reward. Come and accept it."