The award ceremony hall was huge, all shiny marble and expensive decorations. Hundreds of people sat around dressed fancy and looking important.
Leon Verys sat in the last row on the left where nobody noticed him.
Fifteen years. That's how long he'd been coming to these things. Fifteen years of sitting in the back, watching other people win, rejection letters and flopped movies.
Yeah, he was that guy. The one everyone forgot about.
The presenter opened an envelope.
"And the award for Best Supporting Role goes to... Kavier Alex!"
Everyone clapped. Some guy Leon had never heard of ran up there, grabbed a golden statue, and started crying. Real tears and everything.
Leon turned away.
One day, he'd told himself a thousand times.
One day it'll work out for me.
But one day never came.
The street was empty and cold. Leon walked alone, thinking about the loan sharks waiting for their money, about another year of auditions where they'd pick literally anyone but him.
He was crossing an intersection when he saw the headlights.
Two bright orbs rushing toward him. His brain registered it all crystal clear.
the horn, the screech of brakes, the sound of metal hitting flesh.
When he hit the ground the pain exploded everywhere.
Blood pooled around his head as his world got dark around the edges.
If I'd known I'd be dying like this... I would've at least enjoyed my pathetic life more.
Then everything went black.
A voice spoke. Not with sound, but directly in his mind.
[IMMERSION SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[HOST: LEON VERYS]
[WELCOME, HOST. YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED A SECOND CHANCE.]
He opened his eyes to white, nothing but white everywhere.
What the hell? Is this heaven?
He almost laughed. If anyone's going to heaven, it sure isn't me. But I did donate a lot to orphanages, so maybe I get points for that?
A screen appeared in front of him with blue text glowing in the white void.
[WILL YOU RETURN TO YOUR WORLD AND BECOME THE BEST ACTOR?]
He stared at it.
Okay, this is definitely a dream. Or I'm hallucinating.
A second screen popped up.
[IMMERSION SYSTEM HAS BEEN GRANTED]
[GOOD LUCK, FUTURE STAR]
Right, sure... good luck to me.
The void started spinning beneath him.
He fell
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"
Leon's eyes snapped open to something soft being shoved into his mouth.
He jerked awake. A nun was holding him, pushing a bottle of formula into his mouth.
"There, there," she cooed. "Drink up now."
His body responded automatically while sucking on the nipple. But his mind was screaming.
What! The! Hell!
He looked down at his hands.They were tiny and pudgy. Completely useless.
No no no no no.
He was a baby. An actual baby.
His infant body was warm and drowsy. Despite wanting to lose his mind the exhaustion was pulling at him.
Wait. The system. That was real, right?
A blue screen flickered into view above him.
[IMMERSION SYSTEM - INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]
[HOST AGE: 0 MONTHS]
[FAME METER]
Fans Gained: 0Fame Points Available: 0Rebate Earned: $0
[SKILL SHOP](Locked - Requires 50 Fame Points)
[IMMERSION VOID](Locked - Requires 500 Fame Points)
[CURRENT STATUS: Orphan - Newborn]
The system was real.
He was reborn.As a baby in an orphanage. Again at that
Great. Im an orphan again in this life. Before that... the system.
He'd been in an orphanage as a kid too. That worked out so well, obviously.
But this time? This time he had a system. A second chance.
The nun pressed another bottle to his lips.
Well, at least they're feeding me.
The days blurred together. Feeding, sleeping, more feeding. By the third day, Leon started figuring out how this place worked.
A young nun picked him up one afternoon, sunlight hitting his face just right. She made those delighted noises.
"I've never seen such a cute baby," she whispered, pulling out her phone. "We should take lots of pictures, hehe."
She took photos of him, different angles and different expressions.
A screen appeared.
[FAME POINT UPDATE]
Image Appreciation: +11 Fame PointsRebate: $0 (No paid engagement)
[CURRENT FAME POINTS: 11]
Wait, seriously?
She showed the photos to the other nuns. They all gathered around cooing and making a fuss.
[FAME POINT UPDATE]
Image Appreciation: +19 Fame PointsFan Acquisition: +1 New Fan
[CURRENT FAME POINTS: 30]
This is actually working. I'm earning points just by being cute.
The nuns hugged him warmly.
These sisters are good. At least better than my previous life's orphanage.
The nuns put him in his cradle and left. More notifications popped up but he'd learned to wait until midnight to see them.
There's a function for DND?, Leon thought as another popup threatened to appear.
[HOST, WOULD YOU LIKE TO STOP RECEIVING POPUPS?]
Yes yes, he thought, mentally nodding his baby face.
[ALL HOSTS POINTS GATHERED IN A DAY SHALL BE SHOWN AT 12AM]
Well, that's alright.
Leon studied the system interface more carefully that night. The Skill Shop remained locked, but he could see what he could eventually buy:
METHOD ACTING LV.1 — 5,000 Fame Points
PERFECT CRYING — 12,000 Fame Points
SEXY SMILE LV.1 — 8,500 Fame Points
CHARISMA BOOST LV.1 — 15,000 Fame Points
BODY MOVEMENT CONTROL — 7,500 Fame Points
VOICE MODULATION — 10,000 Fame Points
And then there was the big one:
IMMERSION VOID ACCESS — 500 Fame Points
He understood now. Being appreciated gave 1 point. Being seen as cute, charming, or sexy gave 2 points. Getting an actual fan gave 5 points.
My ultimate goal is to debut. But it's gonna be hard with an orphan background.
Might as well check this system out.
A sister came to check on him and bent down to see his face.
"Your name shall be Leon," she said softly, holding up a locket. "That's what was written on this. You had it with you when you arrived."
Huh? That random god gave me my previous name, not that I mind.
Another sister started shooting a video of the two of them.
Leon saw that. He made cute poses - a pout, a smiling one with hands on cheeks, one with hands up.
"Our Leon is sooo cute!" the sister said, delighted.
Heheheh, Leon smirked internally. You haven't even seen 1% of this top side actor.
She might post this somewhere. This looks like I'm using them.....well, it's a give and take. I'll fund your orphanage later, don't worry.
He got an afternoon nap in the soft warmth of the young nun, her soft presence bouncing against his face constantly.
Damn, at least it's good I'm a kid now, he thought.
A maid came.
"Sister, guests are here," she said.
"Oh, they're here," the nun replied.
Ooh, a jackpot, Leon thought. I'm going to take what I can from them too.
The doors opened.
A man in his 30s stood there. Tattoos on both arms ,a scar on one cheekwearing black glasses. Long hair. Five people who looked like guards behind him.
Uhh... Is this... him?
Later Leon would get to know that Hiro was, as he looked, a yakuza.People somehow respected him. He had married Ayame but both of them couldn't have kids .that's what led him here.
Although Leon might be using them, he still did want to get out of here. Gotta act.
The nun was shocked.
"But Hiro, do you even want him? Like, why him? You never forced to take any other one from here."
Hiro picked Leon up.
No no no, wait, Leon panicked internally. I've just been reincarnated. You can't do shady stuff.
"Look at this guy's face," Hiro said with a chuckle. "Most kids get shit scared seeing my face. Him on the other side is getting... happy, I guess."
Yep, who doesn't want a cool looking daddy? And a yakuza? They must be rich as hell.
Hiro watched as Leon hugged him naturally, as if he knew him.
Gotta get close, daddy. Take me home.
"Not only that, he's even hugging me like he knows me," Hiro said warmly.
The nun remained hesitant. "Have you asked your family? You still live with your wife and parents."
"Don't worry," Hiro said with a relaxed smile. "They're chill. Well, not father, but what can he do to a kid?"
No wait, he might cut my last finger, Leon thought nervously, even as his baby body continued hugging Hiro.
Hiro looked at him with a warm smile.
"So kid, what do you say? Wanna be my son?"
This guy... doesn't look like a gangster at all, Leon thought. Well, old fool, I'm taking care of you from now on.
Leon hugged Hiro, accepting him.
"Thank you, Leon," Hiro said warmly.
"I'm the one who's thankful," Leon thought.
The nun patted his head.
"I'm so happy you got a family, Leon."
"Thank you, sister," Hiro said. "Our Leon, I'll raise him without him wanting for anything."
The nun smiled. "Are you planning to keep his name the same as Leon Verys?"
"Well, we are the ones with odd names from different countries. Let's combine them."
He paused thoughtfully.
"Leon Verys Satoru."
Fuck, Leon thought internally. Kill me. He's got no naming sense.
[FAME POINTS: 277/500]