The woman standing before Seiya, who called herself his mother, was named Wenren Yuko.
However, in reality, Wenren Yuko was only in her early twenties. She wasn't Seiya's biological mother—merely his guardian, who had taken him in.
Despite her unkempt and exhausted appearance, Yuko was actually a very attractive woman when she bothered to dress up properly.
Before becoming a doujin artist, Yuko had once been an idol—though only an underground one, and not a particularly famous one at that.
Still, the fact that she had made it as an idol at all was proof enough of her beauty and figure, both far above average.
Yuko had originally been a student at an art academy, with dreams of becoming an idol.
She had an older sister she depended on, and that sister supported her by working as an idol herself.
Because of that, Yuko had always aspired to become just as dazzling as her sister.
But one day, her once-bright life and dreams completely shattered.
Her beloved and admired sister, Aiko, was on her way to introduce her fiancé and his younger brother to Yuko when they suddenly became caught up in a brutal incident.
A man wearing a baseball cap had broken into a home and murdered a female idol named Hoshino Ai.
The assailant stabbed Hoshino Ai several times, and even after she collapsed, he showed no intention of sparing the young boy present at the scene.
With the last of her strength, the dying Hoshino Ai screamed for help. Coincidentally, Aiko and her group happened to be passing nearby—and when they saw what was happening, they rushed to intervene.
As an idol herself, Aiko recognized the famous Hoshino Ai instantly. But even if she hadn't, she and her fiancé could never stand by and watch a child be killed before their eyes.
Aiko's fiancé charged at the armed man without hesitation, hoping to stop the tragedy.
However, the attacker was a young, strong man wielding a knife. Though Aiko's fiancé managed to subdue him, he was fatally stabbed in the process.
When Aiko rushed forward to check on her fiancé, the wounded assailant suddenly rose again.
Maddened beyond reason, he recognized Aiko as another idol, realized the man was her boyfriend, and with crazed laughter, stabbed Aiko as well.
After achieving his "triple kill," the deranged man, realizing he could not escape, ended his own life with the same knife.
When the police arrived, they found a horrific scene—two men and two women lying in pools of blood, with two terrified children nearby.
The blond child stood frozen, staring blankly at the lifeless Hoshino Ai, traumatized beyond words.
The black-haired boy, however, wept but quickly noticed that Aiko was still barely breathing.
He tore off his own clothes to cover her wounds, carried her to the sofa, performed basic first aid, and called for help.
When the police and paramedics arrived, they were stunned by what they saw.
After investigation, the police informed Yuko that the attacker had been a crazed fan of Hoshino Ai, unable to accept the fact that she had married.
Upon recognizing Aiko as another idol happily living with her boyfriend, he had suffered another breakdown—and attacked her as well.
Thanks to the boy's quick actions, Aiko survived, though she fell into a coma. Her fiancé, however, succumbed to his injuries.
That black-haired boy was none other than Wenren Seiya, the fiancé's younger brother.
With no remaining family, Seiya became a true orphan.
Since Aiko's fiancé had died protecting her, and Seiya had saved her life, Yuko resolved to adopt Seiya and called herself his "mother."
Aiko remained comatose, and the cost of her ongoing medical care was enormous.
Forced to drop out of school, Yuko began working as an illustrator, using her art skills to survive.
However, most of her income didn't come from normal illustration work—but from the adult doujin industry, where she had made a name for herself as a famous artist.
"I want to rest too," Yuko sighed, stroking Seiya's head, "but if I don't work, we won't have enough for your aunt's hospital bills—or for food this month.
Your aunt's old idol savings are almost gone. If I stop drawing, we'll be down to instant noodles for every meal."
She patted Seiya's head again, telling him to go back to bed, warning that staying up late would stunt his growth.
"Yuko," Seiya said seriously, "I've been thinking. I'm going to take Arima's suggestion and try becoming a child actor."
The "Arima" he referred to was Arima Kana, a short-haired girl with shoulder-length wine-red hair—Seiya's neighbor.
Arima Kana wasn't an ordinary girl, either. She was a prodigy, known in the industry as "the genius child actress who can cry in ten seconds."
However, her sharp tongue and arrogance made it hard for her to make friends.
Because Seiya was mentally more mature than his peers, he was the only one who could tolerate her temper, and so she treated him rather well.
In fact, she had once told Seiya that he was far more mature than most kids his age and offered to help him enter the entertainment industry under her wing.
At the time, Seiya, thinking of himself as a transmigrator, had felt it humiliating to be "sheltered" by a six-year-old girl—and declined.
But now, watching Yuko work late into the night, drawing explicit doujinshi to keep them alive, Seiya couldn't help but feel that if he didn't do something soon, he'd be no better than a useless dog.
"So our Seiya wants to be a star now?" Yuko smiled gently. "Then Mama Yuko will always support you.
But it's late, you know. Time for our little superstar to get some sleep."
Clearly, Yuko hadn't taken his words very seriously. She spoke to him in the same tone one might use to coax a child to bed.
Seiya could only sigh helplessly. At his current age, even if he declared earnestly that it was a man's duty to protect his family, Yuko would probably just laugh it off.
(It's a revenge story, of course. Don't expect morality over vengeance. Since this involves simultaneous transmigration and shared divine power later on, resurrection isn't off the table either.)
(End of Chapter)
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