Demigod Erina

After Fang Mo gave him some encouragement and guidance,

Jonathan found his courage again and left with his head held high.

Out of curiosity, Fang Mo chose not to keep fast-forwarding time this time and secretly followed him instead.

Although Jonathan had regained his confidence and planned to have a proper fight with Dio next time, the truth was that Dio no longer wanted anything to do with him.

That was also part of Dio’s scheme.

The social circles among children could be strangely intricate. As mentioned before, Dio was an excellent actor. Fooling children his own age was as easy as breathing, so he quickly became the local Child King and spent every day telling people that Jonathan loved tattling.

Tattling was one of the things children hated most.

So everyone quickly began distancing themselves from Jonathan, like some postmodern version of school bullying.

In Dio’s mind, loneliness could hollow a person out, so he would stop at nothing to take everything around Jonathan away from him.

His friends, his father’s love, even his pet dog, which served as his emotional support—Dio would isolate him completely, mentally and physically. In the end, Jonathan would no longer be able to endure the torment and would become a useless wreck living in fear.

If Jonathan became a useless wreck,

then once Dio came of age, taking the family fortune would become much easier.

George was an idiot who was easy to fool. A little poison would be enough to kill him. Then Dio could dispose of that useless Jonathan and completely take over the nest, swallowing the entire Joestar family’s wealth without anyone noticing.

Just thinking about that scene was enough to make Dio practically ecstatic.

To make his future fight for the inheritance go more smoothly, he even deliberately showed an interest in law and planned to study it further, laying the groundwork for legally seizing the family fortune.

And unlike the ecstatic Dio Brando,

Jonathan was in terrible pain.

He lay on the lawn, clutching a Sun Stone as he cultivated while thinking over everything that had happened recently.

"Damn it, that bastard Dio…"

Jonathan frowned and muttered to the sky, "It feels like he’s constantly invading my life. I clearly wanted to settle things with him once and for all, but now he won’t even acknowledge me…"

As he spoke, footsteps suddenly came from the road above.

Jonathan looked up and saw several boys from town. They had all played together before.

"Ah, it’s you guys."

Jonathan sat up from the grass and greeted them warmly. "Where are you going? Want to come play with me?"

But when the boys saw Jonathan, they all wore expressions of disgust.

"Hey… that guy seems to be talking to us, right?" The dark-skinned boy frowned and quietly asked his companions, "What do we do? Should we respond to him?"

"Don’t bother with him."

A boy in a pink vest shot Jonathan a disgusted look. "He loves tattling more than anyone. He’s like this now, and he’ll definitely grow up to be a snitch…"

"What did you say?"

Jonathan could no longer stay still. He immediately moved to rush over and demand an explanation. "Who are you calling a tattletale!?"

"Run! He’s lashing out because he’s embarrassed!"

The boys scattered at once. As they ran, they mocked him, "Hahaha! Tattletale JoJo is mad! Run, or that idiot will tell the adults everything!"

"Wait! Come back here!"

Jonathan tried to explain from behind them. "I’ve never tattled on anyone!"

"Hahaha! JoJo is an idiot tattletale!" "Yeah, nobody should play with him!" "He gets mad and hits people too! How shameless! He calls himself some gentleman nobleman—I’m dying!"

The boys ran off, their piercing laughter ringing out behind them.

Their laughter was like blades, stabbing one after another into Jonathan’s nerves.

"Damn it! It must be Dio again!"

Listening to their mockery, Jonathan felt unbearably stifled and furious. He wanted to explain, but no one would listen. If he went home and told his father, George would only scold him for not being friendly enough.

At that moment, he suddenly felt an inexplicable loneliness and sadness.

Even his beloved dog Danny had been sent away by his father. Jonathan no longer had anyone he could talk to. The feeling was unbearable, and he could not help slamming a fist into the ground.

A faint orange glow clung to his fist. With a bang, he smashed a small bowl-sized crater into the earth.

Jonathan slowly raised his arm and saw that the soil inside had turned slightly red, hissing strangely as a wisp of green smoke drifted from the crater.

"Hm? This is…"

Jonathan froze at the sight.

But at that very moment, a crack sounded from somewhere nearby above him, as if someone had accidentally stepped on a dry branch.

Jonathan looked up in confusion and found a blonde, blue-eyed girl hiding behind a tree with a wicker basket in her arms. He could vaguely see fruit inside it.

"Hm?"

Jonathan felt that she looked somewhat familiar.

But before he could Recognize her, the girl shyly hung the basket on the tree, lifted her skirt, and turned to run away.

Jonathan walked over in confusion and took down the basket. Inside, he found a spotless white handkerchief embroidered with his name: Jonathan Joestar.

"Ah… my handkerchief."

The moment he saw it, Jonathan remembered.

The girl was from town as well. One day, a group of troublemaking children had snatched her toy doll. Jonathan had stepped forward to help, only to get badly beaten by them. He had lost his handkerchief too, though he had managed to take the doll back.

"So it was her."

Realizing this, Jonathan hurriedly called after her retreating figure, "Thank you for the fruit! I’ll be here tomorrow too. Let’s play together!"

She did not say anything. She only gave him a shy glance before running away.

What Jonathan did not know was that he liked quiet girls like this most of all. Combined with how beautiful she was, he found himself a little moved.

What happened next was simple.

Jonathan did not have any other friends now and was all alone, while the girl regarded him as her benefactor.

Children in Europe back then matured early. Before long, the two began spending time together, from playing at the park to strolling around on little dates and having water fights in the stream. During that time, Jonathan also learned her name: Erina Pendleton.

About half a month passed.

Jonathan finally realized that he seemed to have fallen in love with the girl named Erina.

He was so excited that he desperately needed someone to talk to. His old-fashioned father was obviously not an option, so after thinking it over, he decided to visit Fang Mo.

"Teacher Steve!"

Jonathan eagerly knocked on Fang Mo’s door. "I want to tell you something!"

"You found a girlfriend, right?"

Fang Mo sat on the sofa drinking coffee, calmly glancing at Jonathan. "So how far have things progressed? Have you confessed? Do you still have your first kiss?"

"Huh?"

Jonathan froze. "Teacher… how did you know?"

"Duh. I’m a grandmaster of romance." Fang Mo rolled his eyes. "I could smell the sour stench of love all over you from miles away… So? Need me to teach you a few tricks?"

"A grandmaster of romance?"

Jonathan looked doubtful. "But… Mr. Steve doesn’t seem very romantic. Is there someone you like?"

"Silence, you shameless little brat!"

Fang Mo immediately took offense. "My realm is beyond your comprehension. You probably don’t even know what to do when a girl gets her period, do you? Let me tell you, that’s a life-or-death question…"

"Oh?"

Hearing that, A Xue, who had been busy in the kitchen, curiously came out. "Does Master know what to do?"

"Of course."

Fang Mo waved a hand with absolute certainty. "Tell her to drink more hot water!"

"Master, are you… sure?"

A Xue looked at Fang Mo, then at Jonathan, who was listening attentively. She wondered whether she should remind him of something. "Is there a chance that the girl actually just wants him to spend more time with—"

Before A Xue could finish, Fang Mo suddenly pulled out a huge gold bar.

"Take this hundred-pound gold bar and go boil some hot water." Fang Mo said blandly, "If it’s not enough, remember to tell me. I’ve got more."

A Xue: "…"

Jonathan: "…"

"Did you learn that?"

Fang Mo casually tossed the gold bar aside and asked Jonathan, "Girls are actually easy to understand. Learn from me more, and you’ll soon shed the title of steel-straight man."

"No, Teacher, I really can’t learn this."

Jonathan could not help rubbing his forehead. "Isn’t there a way that doesn’t require gold bars?"

"You’re hopelessly dense."

Fang Mo looked at Jonathan as though he hated iron for not becoming steel. "First tell me, how far have you gotten with that girl?"

"I…"

Jonathan gave an embarrassed, foolish chuckle, then scratched his head. "Hehe, I want to confess to her."

"Not bad. You’ve got some courage."

Fang Mo nodded, then asked, "Have you thought about how you’re going to confess?"

"I want to carve her name and mine into a tree, then surround them with a heart." Jonathan lowered his head, unusually shy. "If… if Erina doesn’t reject me…"

"Are you serious?"

Fang Mo was stunned. "You’re going to confess by carving names into a tree? You aren’t planning to give her a diamond ring or something?"

"I… I don’t have enough allowance…"

Jonathan said awkwardly.

"That method really suits your stu—suits your temperament, but it’s way too lame for a confession." Fang Mo rubbed his temples, then reached into his clothes. "Forget it. Let your teacher think of something for you."

As he spoke, Fang Mo pulled out a necklace.

The instant it appeared, its pure radiance immediately caught Jonathan’s attention.

"It’s so beautiful!"

Jonathan could not help asking, "Teacher, what is this?"

"This? It’s called Aja’s Red Stone."

Fang Mo explained, "But it has nothing to do with Redstone. As for why it’s called that… honestly, I don’t know either. Anyway, from now on, this is an heirloom of the Joestar family. Tomorrow, give it to my daughter-in-law."

"Huh? Daughter… daughter-in-law?"

"What, have you forgotten that I’m your godfather?" Fang Mo said cheerfully. "Tell me, when a son gets married, shouldn’t his old man give him proper support?"

"But this must be very valuable, right?"

Jonathan could not help saying.

"Look at the gold beside you, then repeat what you just said." Fang Mo said. "I told you I know alchemy. Do you think I’d be short on money?"

"Then thank you, Teacher!"

Jonathan finally could not resist the temptation of Aja’s Red Stone and accepted it from Fang Mo. "Erina and I will definitely cherish this relationship!"

"Oh, right, that girl’s name is Erina, correct?"

Fang Mo said, "Give me her home address later. I’m curious what she looks like too. Consider it me vetting her for you."

"Erina is a very nice person."

Jonathan did not suspect anything and immediately told Fang Mo everything he knew.

"Mm-hm, very good."

Fang Mo nodded with great satisfaction. "Then you should head back first. Get ready to confess tomorrow, but remember to kiss her after the confession succeeds, or don’t blame me for getting angry."

"Kiss her!?"

Jonathan’s face instantly turned red. "Teacher, isn’t that a little too fast?"

"Fast my ass."

Fang Mo thought, If you don’t kiss her soon, Dio will take advantage first. But aloud, he explained, "I’m not telling you to do anything else. Don’t you think it’s romantic? It’s called a kiss of commitment… A proof of love that confirms the relationship while presenting a token of commitment. It is a vow to grow old together. You should know that we mages take vows very seriously, understand?"

"Then… then I’ll do my best…"

Jonathan nodded, seeming to gather his courage.

"Alright, it’s getting late. Go home." Fang Mo could not be bothered to keep him around and waved Jonathan away.

But the moment Jonathan left, Fang Mo sprang to his feet.

"Let’s go, A Xue."

Fang Mo beckoned excitedly at A Xue. "Come on, let’s go do something fun…"

"Master, what are you planning this time?"

Seeing Fang Mo so impatient, A Xue immediately guessed something. "You… aren’t thinking of messing with Erina, are you?"

"Pah, pah, pah. That sounds way too wrong."

Fang Mo said, "What do you mean, mess with her? I’m obviously doing this to mess with Dio, okay? Stop dawdling… Hurry up and come witness the birth of a demigod."

"A demigod?"

A Xue froze. "Master, what exactly are you going to do?"

"You still can’t tell?" Fang Mo smiled as he took out an Enchanted Golden Apple and a huge handful of Essence Berries, saying happily, "Of course I’m turning Big Joe’s wife, and at the same time Jonathan’s grandmother Erina, into a God of Man. After all… I’m not some Ebony Devil.

"I just want to see the moment Dio forcibly kisses her."