Chapter 316: I must come first.

In the solemn Temple, the stunning Goddess stood before Shane, her gaze at him a mix of reproach and teasing.

Shane swore, for a fleeting moment he genuinely wanted to start swinging his fists.

Unfortunately, facing him was a mind-reading deity, who seemed to catch the brink of collapse within Shane’s heart, staring intently at him until the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Only then did the Goddess laugh.

“Should I start by congratulating you, Lord Viscount Beizut?”

Nien spoke as if nothing had happened.

“…That would be thanks to you, wouldn’t it, Lady Goddess?” Shane managed a forced smile and said, “If you hadn’t summoned me to this world, giving me a second life, how could I have made it this far?”

His words were quite sarcastic.

At least, Nien would not fail to notice.

So…

“Did someone just now wish to strike me, or was it my misperception?”

Nien blinked, feigning ignorance as she asked.

“That’s definitely a misperception!” Shane’s smile was still as strained, his tone as sarcastically mocking as he said, “It’s just, I feel that disturbing someone’s good fortune might incur divine wrath, you know?”

His ability for insinuation was certainly top-notch.

But clearly, Nien did not care.

“If my memory serves me correctly, in your world, it is humans who generally suffer divine wrath, not gods.” Nien said with a smile, “Rather, it is the gods who mete out divine punishment, and those who disrespect the divine are the ones subject to wrath. Do you think I make sense, my Lord Viscount?”

Upon hearing this, the smile on Shane’s face could no longer hold.

“…have I offended you, Lady Goddess?” Shane looked irritated, “I haven’t offended you, yet you impose divine punishment on me now, is that not too much?”

Indeed, Shane’s current situation was almost indistinguishable from divine punishment.

The delicate Princess was waiting for him, he was so excited that he was practically charging his weapon, the bullet nearly in the chamber, when suddenly the car was about to speed off, and he himself had ripped off the handbrake, only to encounter an automatic stop?

If this wasn’t divine wrath, what was?

“I know, the pure-hearted Lady Goddess surely doesn’t wish to witness any sordid affairs. If you’re punishing me because last time I let my thoughts run wild, inadvertently exposing you to sights unfit for your eyes, then may I apologize?” Shane caved in, pressing his hands together pleadingly towards Nien, “How about you let me return home, what do you say?”

Shane’s words involuntarily reminded Nien of the scenes she “saw” from his heart during their last encounter.

Immediately, Nien’s pretty face reddened unavoidably and she glared at Shane resentfully.

“How dare you bring that up?”

Nien appeared to be grinding her teeth in anger.

Without Shane bringing it up, Nien had nearly forgotten about it.

“Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ll tell you, don’t hope for success tonight.” Nien huffed, “I’ll keep you here until dawn breaks in the Human Realm, then send you back.”

Shane’s eyes widened in panic.

“What vendetta do you have against me to treat me this way?”

Shane couldn’t believe the Goddess would go to such lengths.

He had thought the Goddess was merely teasing him for preparing to take advantage of the Princess, but who would have guessed, the Goddess truly intended to ruin his chances.

Yet Nien did not seem to be joking.

“You’re my Hero, why should you be hugging and becoming intimate with other women?”

Nien said just that.

Shane felt like spitting blood.

“Can’t a Hero engage in enjoyable activities with girls?” Shane countered, “How on earth did the previous Heroes manage to leave descendants?”

Nien scorned Shane’s remark.

“They were summoned because of the Divine Race’s needs, they had basically nothing to do with me.”

Nien seemed to show little interest in those Heroes.

“What about me?”

Shane pointed to his own nose.

“You are different.” Nien didn’t hesitate to say, “You were summoned by me personally, filled with all my wishes and thoughts; how could you be the same as those fellows?”

“So, what others may do, I am not allowed?” Shane pressed indignantly, “What is this logic?”

“Of course, it’s the logic that I’ve established.” Nien said nonchalantly, “In any case, you are mine, and without my permission, you’re not allowed to engage in those acts with other women.”

Nien appeared extremely stubborn, making Shane feel like he was being fixated upon by a possessive yandere.

…Maybe, it’d be better to actually capture her and give her a good beating?

Just as Shane seriously began contemplating this, Nien’s stubborn expression suddenly turned pitiable.

“Surely you wouldn’t truly have the heart to raise your hand against me?” Nien said with tearful eyes, “To summon you from the distant Otherworld and resurrect you, who had died, it took me a full thousand years to accumulate enough power, paying a great price. And this is how you treat me?”

As she spoke, Nien appeared genuinely close to tears.

“I’ll be damned…”

Shane was on the verge of breaking down.

Well, that made it impossible to hit her.

Although Shane wasn’t sure if the Goddess was genuinely crying or faking it, he had a feeling that at least her words were true.

Given that, how could he possibly proceed?

But not being able to lay a hand on her didn’t mean Shane was willing to accept the status quo.

“I’m deeply grateful for everything you’ve done, but that doesn’t mean you can restrict my freedom, does it?” Shane sighed, speaking earnestly, “Look, I might be a Hero, but I’m also a regular man, do you really intend to keep me single for life?”

At this point, Nien gave no response, but Shane himself was shocked by his own words.

If things truly turned out that way, he might as well end it all with the Holy Sword.

Naturally, all these thoughts were already read by Nien.

“No matter what, I wouldn’t do something so outrageous.” Nien dried her tears, and with a smile again on her face under Shane’s twitching gaze, she said, “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have turned a blind eye to the things you’ve already done, right?”

Nien referred to “those matters” as what Shane had done with Luoqi and Tielle.

No, rather it should be said, it was what Shane had done with Luoqi, as well as what Tielle had done with Shane.

Given that this Goddess was always aware of what Shane was doing, she naturally knew exactly what had occurred between Shane and the girls around him.

And regarding those matters, Nien didn’t meddle too much.

The reason was simple.

“I must come first.”

Nien said bluntly.

“Huh?”

Shane was baffled.

“Isn’t that the case?” Nien stubbornly insisted, “You are my Hero, and I was the first person you met in this world. Logically and emotionally, it is only right that I come first.”

It took Shane five seconds to fully grasp what she was saying.

In fact, it boiled down to a single sentence.

“Using the words from your past life, does it mean that all the other seductive bitches can only line up behind me?”

That was precisely it.

In other words, Nien was not forbidding Shane from attracting women; she just wouldn’t allow those women to step ahead of her in doing something inappropriate with Shane.

The reason this Goddess had turned a blind eye to what Shane had done before was because, whether it was Luoqi or Tielle, they had all been behind her.

Shane’s first kiss in this world was snatched by this Goddess unexpectedly, wasn’t it?

Therefore, whether it was Tielle’s forceful kiss or Shane’s stealing a kiss from Luoqi, Nien was willing to allow these things.

But anything further than that was out of the question.

The reason was simply that Nien herself had not yet reached that point.

“You…”

Shane looked at Nien with a face full of astonishment.

So, this Goddess was coveting his body?

So you’re that kind of Goddess!

All these thoughts Shane had were received by Nien just as they were.

That caused Nien to look away, her cheeks tinting pink, yet she made no attempt to refute it.

“Anyway, for now, I won’t allow you to do that sort of thing with any other girls!” Nien said as she stayed calm and persisted, “Even if you really want to hit me, I won’t compromise, and I will never let you go back!”

As she spoke, Nien waved her hand, and Shane once again felt the world spin around him.

When Shane came back to his senses, he found himself in another place.

The majestic Temple had vanished, replaced by an endless sea of flowers.

Shane stood in the middle of this floral sea, staring dazedly at the beautiful array of flowers surrounding him, feeling like he wanted to cry but had no tears.

“Damn it, what the hell is this…”

That detestable Goddess seemed quite intent on thwarting him.

Not allowing others to precede her?

If you dare, come at me!

First I’ll take care of you, then you can send me back, and everything will fall naturally into place, right?

Now you’ve thrown me into this unknown place, where am I supposed to channel twenty years’ worth of cultivated skill?

“I could split open right here.”

Shane was beginning to feel the same as Luoqi.

Only after spending a whole half hour confirming that he indeed couldn’t leave did Shane finally resign himself to his fate.

“Don’t let me catch the chance…”

Shane made a mental note of this grudge, and began to look around.

“Come to think of it, where is this place?”

Shane started moving through the flowers.

Apart from the flowers, there was nothing else around.

The sky looked so distant.

The air was very fresh, making it seem as if his lungs were cheering.

The Magic Power in the atmosphere was not dense, but it had an indescribable sense of sanctity.

Perhaps because of this, even though the flowers were all the same, Shane didn’t find the sight dull or tiresome; he even felt tireless as if he could keep walking forever in this sea of flowers.

“Truly incredible.”

Shane’s desire to cry without tears gradually subsided.

But not long after, the sight before his eyes made him halt in his steps, stirring a tumult within him.

There, lying in the flowers ahead, was a supremely beautiful Goddess who appeared to be in a deep sleep.

The sight struck a chord in Shane’s memory.

Shane had seen this scene before.

In Nien’s Temple.

The Goddess who was asleep before him had an exact resemblance to Nien.

She was…

“Supreme God, Ominis…”

Shane finally knew where he was.

This was the deepest part of the Divine World, the secluded abode of Supreme God Ominis.

Its name was — “Holy Sanctuary”.