Abbacchio Tea, Kakyoin Porridge, Fang Mo Berries

At midnight, in town.

Fang Mo was leading A Xue toward Erina’s home.

"Wait, Master, are you really sure Erina will eat Essence Berries?"

A Xue carried a small bamboo basket in her hand and couldn’t help asking Fang Mo ahead of her, "I’ve eaten them too, and they left my whole mouth tasting like Creeper. No one in their right mind could possibly swallow something like that…"

"Say that again?"

Fang Mo’s fists clenched as he listened. "I didn’t tell you to chew them. Can’t you just swallow them whole?"

"They melt the instant they touch your mouth. How am I supposed to swallow that?" A Xue said with a headache. "Honestly, Master, this is the hardest thing you’ve ever made A Xue swallow. Nothing else has ever been this hard to get down."

"Can’t be helped. Good medicine tastes bitter."

Fang Mo spread his hands. "This is all my overflowing love for you."

"So you have overflowing love for Erina too?"

A Xue retorted.

"Cough, cough, that’s different." Fang Mo immediately shrank back, muttering his defense. "Doing bits doesn’t count as love… doing bits… can a prankster’s business be called love?"

As they talked, the two had arrived in front of a two-story building.

Erina’s father was supposedly a doctor, and this building was his clinic in town. Naturally, it was divided into two floors: the first was for treating patients, while the second was where Erina and her parents lived.

"We’re here."

Fang Mo patted A Xue’s little head. "I’ll leave the rest to you, A Xue."

After all, it was a girl’s bedroom. Fang Mo couldn’t exactly barge in at midnight, so he could only rely on A Xue to handle certain things.

"Mm."

A Xue nodded, then stepped onto a slab of ice and flew toward the window.

Perhaps because girls were so adorable, even when A Xue climbed through someone else’s window into their home, she didn’t look like a thief at all. Instead, she looked as though she were doing something perfectly respectable.

In any case, a little over half an hour passed.

A Xue climbed back out through the window with a bewildered-looking Erina.

Using the ice floating in midair, A Xue brought Erina down before Fang Mo. Erina had clearly never seen magic before, and her little face was practically covered in shock.

"Wait, why did you bring her out here?"

When he saw Erina, Fang Mo couldn’t help asking.

"I’ve already explained everything, Master." A Xue looked a little helpless too. "But when she heard you were JoJo’s master, she insisted on meeting you."

"You are… that mysterious great mage?"

Erina seemed somewhat shy, but she still took the initiative to speak to Fang Mo. "JoJo talks about you often. He says you’re a very amazing person. That bad man named Dio always bullies JoJo, and you were the one who helped him… I wanted to thank you in person."

"After all, I’m JoJo’s godfather."

Fang Mo smiled. "JoJo told me he liked a girl named Erina. I was curious, so I came to take a look. And now that I’ve seen you, JoJo really does have good taste. You’re even cuter in person than in the anime… no, cuter than JoJo described. You’re a good girl."

"Y-You’re too kind…"

Erina lowered her head shyly.

"You’ve passed my test, and I can help settle things with JoJo’s father too. You two just focus on getting along." As Fang Mo spoke, he pulled out an Enchanted Golden Apple from the basket beside him. "This is a greeting gift for my future daughter-in-law. Hurry up and eat it."

With that, Fang Mo handed the Enchanted Golden Apple directly to Erina.

"What… is this?"

Erina instinctively accepted the Enchanted Golden Apple, only to find that it was far heavier than she expected. She nearly dropped it with one hand and hurriedly steadied it with both hands.

"Have you heard of Greek mythology?"

Fang Mo was still quite friendly toward children, and he explained with a smile, "This is food that even the gods would fight over—a Golden Apple."

"This must be very precious, right?"

Erina froze, then quickly shook her head. "No, Mr. Steve, I can’t accept something from you."

"What a sensible good child."

Fang Mo reached out and rubbed Erina’s head before explaining, "Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of these. Just eat it. You’ll become prettier after you do."

"Really?"

At the mention of becoming prettier, Erina was clearly tempted.

"JoJo will definitely like you even more."

Fang Mo coaxed her. "As long as you eat this apple, you’ll become prettier than anyone else, and stronger too. From then on, no one will dare compete with you for JoJo."

Erina was only a child, after all. On top of that, she’d often heard JoJo say that Fang Mo was a good person, so she wasn’t wary at all. Before long, she couldn’t resist taking a bite of the Enchanted Golden Apple, and the next second, its flavor immediately captivated her.

It was more delicious than anything she had ever eaten. Could it really be food for the gods?

Erina had only meant to take a small bite, but by the time she came to her senses, she had already eaten the entire Enchanted Golden Apple. All that remained in her hand was a tiny pure-gold stem.

"I… I ate it all…"

Erina stared blankly at the stem in her hand.

But very soon, she felt something extraordinarily strange.

A cool, clear sensation kept rising from her stomach. The thing she had just swallowed seemed to have transformed into pure, powerful energy, slowly flowing into her limbs and bones and merging with every cell in her body.

It was like a nearsighted person putting on glasses.

The once blurry, muddled world suddenly became incomparably clear.

Erina could see the dew on distant blades of grass, feel the faint dampness carried by the night breeze, hear insects rustling beneath tree roots, and even sense endless power surging outward from her own body.

"What… is happening?"

Erina looked at her hands in surprise.

Before she could figure anything out, the unscrupulous Fang Mo suddenly summoned Stand-in Steve, then quietly had him throw a Splash Potion of Weakness behind Erina’s back.

Since the Potion of Weakness wasn’t a block and hadn’t passed through Fang Mo’s hands, it hadn’t technically been made real. It wouldn’t actually splash Erina with liquid or anything; at most, it was just a visual effect. Accompanied by a crisp shattering sound, Erina instantly felt a wave of weakness wash over her.

"I’m so tired."

Erina swayed, nearly unable to remain standing. "Strange… why did I suddenly become so tired…?"

And just then.

Fang Mo instantly began acting like his life depended on it. He slapped his forehead hard. "Oh no, I almost forgot! The Golden Apple’s power is far too strong. Ordinary people can’t handle it. Oh no, I messed up. My daughter-in-law is about to drop dead on the spot…"

"W-What!?"

Erina was struck dumb as though by lightning. "Mr. Steve… y-you’re joking, right?"

"Damn it, she’s dying, she’s dying…"

Fang Mo was an old con artist. He put on a frantic, anxious look, then suddenly acted as though he’d thought of something. He snatched the bamboo basket from A Xue’s hand, grabbed a handful of Essence Berries, and said, "No time to explain! Hurry up and eat these Essence Berries!"

"O-Okay…"

Erina naturally panicked too and quickly took the Essence Berries, stuffing them into her mouth.

The next second, an incomparably disgusting taste assaulted her head: like liquefied corpse juice from a severely rotted body, mixed with sewer slop fermented for a hundred days, sulfur, and highly concentrated farts.

Erina immediately gagged.

"Damn it, don’t spit them out. These can save your life."

Fang Mo added, "They taste disgusting, but they can save your life. It’s okay, kid, just pretend you’re eating shit… ah, no, pretend you’re eating stinky tofu. Pinch your nose and stuff them down. Here, eat another one."

Erina was indeed easy to fool. Hearing Fang Mo say that, she gritted her teeth and grabbed another one, stuffing it into her mouth.

"A Xue, pinch her nose."

Fang Mo gave A Xue an order, then grabbed a cluster of Essence Berries in front of Erina and stuffed them into his mouth without changing expression. "Don’t worry, daughter-in-law. This isn’t poison. I’ll eat them with you. Come on…"

Perhaps Fang Mo’s actions encouraged her.

Or perhaps A Xue pinching her nose really did help.

In the end, Erina still ate all the Essence Berries. She sat down on the ground as though she’d lost her soul, but less than two seconds later, she gagged again.

Perhaps the taste was simply too disgusting. Erina actually scooped up a handful of dirty water from a mud puddle, intending to rinse her mouth.

Luckily, Fang Mo stopped her quickly.

"Wait… is the power of fate in this JOJO world really this ridiculous?" Fang Mo said as he filled a cup with clean water using the Amulet of Tides and handed it to her. "You really can’t get past the muddy-water mouth-rinsing scene, can you?"

Erina said nothing. She grabbed the cup and hurriedly began rinsing her mouth.

As for A Xue, who had witnessed the entire process, she was staring at Fang Mo with a subtle look in her eyes.

"What?"

Fang Mo noticed A Xue’s gaze and couldn’t help asking, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"…It really has to be you."

A Xue couldn’t help rubbing her forehead as she complained.

"Cough, cough, anyway, the result is pretty good." Fang Mo coughed as well. To be honest, tricking a child into eating Essence Berries was just too wicked, and even he felt a little embarrassed. "She may look a bit miserable now, but trust me, Erina will definitely thank me later."

"You said it yourself, she’ll thank you later."

A Xue sighed helplessly. "As for right now… Master, I suggest you apologize to this child first."

"Uh, all right."

Fang Mo nodded, then slowly crouched down and spoke to Erina. "Sorry, girl. You might not believe me, but I really did this for you and JoJo… Oh, right, have you heard of Divination?"

"Seeing the future?"

After rinsing her mouth, Erina was feeling much better. When she heard JoJo mentioned, she froze. "Did you see something related to JoJo? What happened to him?"

"In the future… he will die," Fang Mo said.