Upon hearing that name, Asterios’s eyes narrowed slightly.
So that was it; it wasn’t surprising then.
If the deity before him was the Goddess of Love and Beauty, then the feeling she gave Asterios made perfect sense.
However, Asterios had no intention of saying much to her; it was simply that they weren’t acquainted.
Among the Twelve Olympians he had met so far, he was quite familiar with Apollo, Athena, and Artemis, who had occasionally passed by Mount Pindus while hunting, but this was indeed his first time meeting the one before him.
Moreover, for some reason, Asterios felt that Aphrodite’s words and actions just now were full of provocative undertones.
That made him rather uncomfortable, as he had once heard Chiron mention some of the less-than-savory deeds of the Olympian Gods.
This goddess’s level of trouble was definitely among the highest of the gods, and Asterios did not want to get involved in trouble he shouldn’t provoke.
Aphrodite was stunned by his act of ignoring her, and then became slightly angry.
She had originally come here out of curiosity to see the child Athena was looking after; after all, for a cold-hearted old virgin like Athena to be so enthusiastic was enough to make Aphrodite intensely curious as well.
Now that she was here, he was indeed a youth of outstanding bearing.
Aphrodite could understand why Apollo would occasionally visit this boy; he was truly exceptionally handsome.
But what was with this attitude?
He was being far too impolite to her.
Aphrodite had received plenty of flattery, praise, and even hatred, and she could handle those emotions with ease.
But this instance of being ignored alone left her dissatisfied.
This child was simply too strange.
Therefore, she moved ahead of Asterios’s path at an even faster speed, intending to give the boy’s cheeks a good pinch.
She wanted to make him call her ‘Beautiful and Kind Lady Aphrodite’ amidst his shyness and charm, just to vent the frustration in her heart.
Four bright red wings appeared behind her as she moved in front of Asterios, reaching out with both hands like lightning to pinch his face.
She was absolutely confident that in a moment, Asterios would show the expression she desired and then loudly sing her praises.
But would things really go as smoothly as Aphrodite predicted?
The answer, naturally, was no.
A flash of golden light passed by, and Aphrodite’s hands met only empty, invisible air, while Asterios had already appeared behind her.
The Goddess of Love and Beauty turned around in disbelief.
What was that just now?
Thaumaturgy or Magic?
Impossible—forget about magic circuits or chanting, there wasn’t even a ripple of magical energy.
In just an instant, Asterios had moved five paces behind Aphrodite and continued toward the Pelion Cave.
“Teleportation?
An Superpowers?
Is this for real?
How can he use it so skillfully at his age?” A greater desire couldn’t help but arise in Aphrodite’s heart; she refused to believe she couldn’t catch this child today.
She lunged toward Asterios even faster, her speed now approaching Teleportation.
Unfortunately, Asterios used true Teleportation; with a single thought, his position could shift flexibly.
Aphrodite exhausted herself to the point of panting but still couldn’t catch him.
Thus, Aphrodite threw out a question that Asterios had to answer: “Does Athena know you have this kind of ability?” Hearing this question, Asterios’s thoughts stalled for a split second.
After he blurted out that she didn’t know, Aphrodite’s hands had already caught him.
The game between human and god ended there; Aphrodite had won this game—which was rather trivial to Asterios—by cheating.
Looking at Asterios now, Aphrodite noticed his eyes were closed.
“So you close your eyes now?
Why didn’t you close them the moment you first saw me?
It’s not like I’m going to gouge your eyes out~” Aphrodite teased Asterios as she held him tightly, while Asterios replied with a smile that his eyes were often closed, as he could see things clearly even without opening them.
These words, spoken like a little adult, gave Aphrodite a subtle sense of peace.
She suddenly felt there was no need to be so serious with the child before her.
After all, how old was he?
Being serious with someone like him was simply no fun.
So she set Asterios back down steadily and then reached out with both hands to begin stretching his tender cheeks.
After playing with them repeatedly, she finally stopped and looked down at the beautiful child from above.
“Now I’m truly curious~ She doesn’t know you have such strange abilities, nor does she know what secrets are hidden in your body.
Yet she’s so devoted to you; what’s the meaning in that?” Asterios shook his head gently at the words of the Goddess of Beauty.
He said that many things don’t need a driving purpose; doing something simply because one wants to do it is enough.
“Who taught you to speak like that?
Such a good child being made so old-fashioned, it’s really…” Aphrodite dissatisfiedly rubbed Asterios’s smooth blonde hair, trying to make it messy, but no matter how she rubbed, the beautiful golden hair never became tangled.
Now Aphrodite had to admit that the child before her was truly flawless at this moment.
It was the first time she had encountered such a difficult existence; he didn’t seem like a child at all.
“So, I’m leaving.
Until next time, Goddess of Love and Beauty.
Your beauty is indeed heart-stirring; even I must close my eyes to keep myself from blushing.” Aphrodite was actually caught a bit off guard by this sudden strike.
She didn’t expect Asterios to say such a thing at a time like this.
The child had previously appeared uninterested in everything, yet in the end, he still said something that made Aphrodite happy.
It showed that he indeed knew exactly what to say; it was just that Aphrodite’s sudden visit today, combined with her mediocre relationship with Athena, meant Asterios hadn’t shown her any signs of closeness.
“What’s this?
Just a brat acting like an adult.
You’d better not let me catch you.
Otherwise, I’ll have to tear off this disguise and listen to those scandalous sounds of yours~” Aphrodite even licked her lips with quite some excitement as she said this; this was a rare prey.
Not just because of Asterios’s relationship with Athena, but because he himself was truly an interesting existence.
Aphrodite didn’t know how long it had been since she had seen such an interesting mortal.
Meanwhile, having returned to the Pelion Cave and eating dinner with his father, Asterios suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
This mysterious sensation made him wonder for a moment if he was getting sick.
But on second thought, that was impossible.
How could he get sick right after stimulating his power?
Ha~ maybe it was just a gust of wind blowing in.