My Dad is a Popular Manga Villain - Chapter 1

Outside the bustling subway station, a boy tightly held his older brother’s hand, afraid of getting lost.

His brother was attending a comic convention today, and the boy tagged along for some fun and to see what it was all about.

At the meeting point, his brother’s companion waved at them and said, “Is this the little brother you mentioned bringing along? He’s so cute.”

The boy peeked out from behind his brother, gave a shy smile, and sweetly said, “Hello, big sister! I’m Xiao Bai, and I’ll be good and stay by my brother’s side the whole time! Are you a mermaid? You’re so pretty.”

The little boy was dressed in overalls, neat and clean, with soft, lamb-like hair. He was adorably cute, and his bright, lively eyes were filled with a delightful sparkle, as if even his eyelashes radiated innocence.

His brother, on the other hand, had a lazy and stylish look, and both brothers were quite good-looking, although the boy didn’t resemble his older brother much.

The companion remembered that this child was adopted.

“Such a sweet talker! I’m cosplaying as the Siren Queen from Fatum.”

Fatum is a Western fantasy revenge-themed manga, and it’s the work that she and her friends are cosplaying at the convention today.

The plot is a classic, set in a world filled with swords and magic. In this otherworldly setting, humans worship twelve main gods and are in constant conflict with monsters, killing each other. The time period resembles medieval Europe.

To find his father’s killer and his long-lost best friend, Blake, a half-human, half-demon boy from the City of Sin, meets various companions and embarks on a journey to uncover the truth and seek vengeance.

Because nearly every character is motivated by revenge, people jokingly refer to them as the “Avengers.”

This time, however, they were cosplaying as the entire villain faction, which means they were the enemies of the protagonist group.

In the story, this organisation is made up of powerful monsters that can take human form, each one a lord of their own domain. They give the protagonist group a hard time, nearly defeating them at every turn. The Siren Queen is one of them.

“How old are you, little brother?” she asked, pulling out a piece of chocolate meant to prevent low blood sugar and bending down to hand it to the boy.

Wow, his hair looks so soft—I want to touch it.

The boy blinked, as if knowing what she was thinking, and proactively leaned his head forward, reminding her of a well-mannered pet cat.

“Thank you, big sister. You can just call me Xiao Bai,” the boy politely thanked her as he took the chocolate. Puffing out his chest with pride, he said, “I’m 8 years old this year and already in elementary school!”

Who wouldn’t like such a well-behaved, polite, and adorable little one?

The companion patted his head, but after just a moment, the young man reached out and pulled his brother back.

“Ha, you’re such a brother complex!” the companion snorted, unsurprised. Then, looking at the boy’s face, she replaced her expression with a warm smile and softened her voice. “Xiao Bai, would you like to try cosplaying? There’s a character in Fatum with the nickname Xiao Bai, and it’s your brother’s favourite.”

“Yes!” Xiao Bai nodded enthusiastically, then looked up at his brother with wide eyes and asked, “Can I cosplay as your favourite character?”

With the internet being so widespread, even elementary school students like him are exposed to anime and games from a young age. They’re not only mature for their age but also familiar with terms like cosplay.

“Of course you can.”

Once given permission, Xiao Bai couldn’t contain his curiosity and eagerly asked the Siren Queen, “What kind of character is it?”

“He’s also a very cute character named Albin. He has white hair and red eyes and is an orphan. But at 8 years old, Albin was picked up by a scumbag. Do you want to cosplay Albin before or after he was picked up?”

“Scumbag?”

“In the manga, he’s an incredibly annoying character—he’s the source of all evil, cowardly and despicable, and his hairstyle, hair color, and behaviour are as detestable as a southern cockroach!”

Just mentioning the character made the companion angry: “He took advantage of the situation and adopted Albin when he was unconscious and suffering from amnesia, constantly manipulating and exploiting him until his death. He’s such scum! The worst kind of scum!”

She pulled up two pictures of Albin on her phone.

“This is what he looked like before and after being adopted.”

In the first picture, the white-haired boy is wearing patched-up old clothes, clutching a hard, dark loaf of bread while being chased down a dark alley. Despite this, his eyes are bright, and his expression lively.

In the second picture, the white-haired boy is standing with pursed lips, his eyes vacant. He looks thin and frail, and even though he’s wearing luxurious clothing, it appears too large and ill-fitting on him. His arms are wrapped in bandages, and the exposed areas show faint, fragmented scars, like a glass figure riddled with cracks, ready to shatter at any moment.

“Poor Albin was only 16 when he died, and he never regained his memory. He never got to—”

Seeing that she was about to reveal more, Xiao Bai quickly stopped her.

“Sis, I haven’t read Fatum yet, so please don’t spoil too much for me.” He casually chose the picture from before Albin was taken in. “This one looks simpler.”

Compared to black-and-white manga filled with text, he generally preferred anime. He had planned to wait until Fatum was adapted into an anime before watching it.

But after seeing his brother cosplay a character from Fatum today, he decided he would catch up on the manga tonight.

The companion immediately stopped talking and switched the topic back.

“Alright, leave the costume to me. Once everyone’s here, we’ll change inside the convention. You’re already good-looking, and since you’re a kid, you don’t need much makeup—simple is best.”

As the other companions gradually arrived and gathered, they headed toward the convention, just as the signal light turned red.

Xiao Bai took the opportunity to ask, “Sis, who’s your favourite character in Fatum?”

The companion didn’t give away too much and only said, “Of course, it’s Lord Ze! He’s like a high mountain flower—a true beauty.”

He’s also the one who, as a pure human, achieved the feat of killing a god, ruling over those villainous monsters, and becoming a man who even gods and demons fear!

The famous line, “So even gods can bleed,” was still her phone’s wallpaper.

If it weren’t for Zeman falling into a demon’s coma after being cursed by the dying Sun God, Albin wouldn’t have ended up in that scumbag’s hands.

Other companions nearby heard them talking about Fatum and joined the conversation.

“Hehe, everyone’s obsessed with white-haired characters! I also stan Zeman! By the way, did you see today’s new update?”

They pulled out their phone to show the group. “Fatum is getting a long-form remake, and it’s not just an upgrade in the art style—apparently, there will be changes to the story too.”

“Will the ending change? The original ending was practically a complete wipeout. Those who survived were left in agony. You can never trust a manga artist with a pen name like ‘Warrior of Love.’ It’s like a quick check on the artist’s mental state.”

…

The long red light finally ended, and the group crossed the street together.

Xiao Bai, being small, was at risk of getting bumped in the crowd, so his brother held his hand and walked at the back.

He looked up at his brother beside him. His black hair was casually messy, with raven feathers around his collar that contrasted with his pale skin. The sunlight was blinding, and his slightly squinted, misty purple eyes gave him a languid, elegant appearance, like a vampire still half-asleep.

But it seemed like there were no fangs.

Xiao Bai wondered which character his brother was cosplaying as.

Just as he was about to ask, he saw a truck running the red light and speeding toward the crosswalk, about to hit his brother.

Oh no!

He abruptly let go of his brother’s hand and, with all his strength, pushed him out of the way.

“Bang—”

So hot!

Cough, cough, cough—

He awoke in the intense heat and immediately inhaled a mouthful of scorching smoke. Pressing his mouth and nose against his arm, he coughed repeatedly, his body curling up instinctively.

The smoke stung his eyes, causing tears to blur his vision. All he could make out were flames, and the constant crackling of burning wood echoed in his ears.

What’s going on?

He remembered that he had died…

Could it be that he woke up during his cremation? That would be absolutely terrible.

In a panic, he wiped away his tears and realized he was in the middle of a burning forest. Thick smoke covered the sky, making it hard to breathe and filling him with anxiety.

The scene before him was different from a typical forest fire. It looked as if the area had been hit by an earthquake or a storm, or perhaps it resembled the aftermath of a war where a forest had been bombed. The terrain was either raised or sunken, the soil and vegetation uprooted. Trees that had fallen to the ground were engulfed in flames, but since the ground plants had been destroyed, the fire wasn’t spreading quickly and wouldn’t reach him for the time being.

After surveying his surroundings, he wasn’t sure whether he should feel relieved.

Well, at least he hadn’t woken up in a cremation furnace.

But what exactly was going on?

Holding back his tears, he tried to calm down, relying on the fire safety drills he remembered from school to assess the situation.

Memories from his previous life came flooding back.

In his past life, he had died in a car accident at the age of 8. After dying, he was reincarnated into this world of swords and magic, where he lived to be 8 years old again.

The price of awakening memories from his previous life seemed to be the loss of memories from this current one. Now, he only had basic knowledge of his present life, which left him confused as to why he was here.

In this life, his name was “Albin,” and he had white hair and red eyes…

As he sorted through his memories, Albin was completely baffled.

This all seemed so familiar—wasn’t this the character from Fatum that the Siren Sister had spoiled for him?

He had actually been transported into the manga, becoming a character destined to die young.

Panicking, he glanced around.

Amnesia, fire, 8 years old, orphan…

Oh no, could today be the day the Siren Sister had mentioned in her spoilers?

—The day when he would be picked up and adopted by a scumbag as bad as a cockroach, only to be exploited and die at 16.

Recalling those two comparison pictures and the Siren Sister’s description, he imagined a giant cockroach the size of a person scurrying all over him. He was so disgusted that his hair stood on end, and he felt a chill run through his entire body.

Ugh, that’s so gross!

Brother, help—

Instinctively calling out, he was stunned, his throat tightening with a lump of sadness, and tears began to fall.

Puffing up his cheeks and gritting his teeth, Albin breathed into his sleeve, channeling his despair into determination.

Run! He had to run!

He was terrified of pain and didn’t want to end up covered in scars like the character in the picture.

If he could just get away from this area, maybe he wouldn’t run into that scumbag.

Fear of the fire and fear of what was to come spurred Albin into action.

Relying on his experience from fire drills, he covered his mouth and nose with his tear-soaked sleeve, stayed away from the flames, and looked for an escape route.

After winding his way through the forest for what felt like a long time, he spotted a white figure on the ground.

Hmm, are there other people trapped here?

Albin immediately turned back.

He saw a man with long white hair collapsed on the ground. The man’s elaborate clothing was torn in several places by sharp objects and stained with blood.

From the hair colour, this man didn’t seem to be the scumbag the Siren Sister had described.

He carefully approached and initially thought that, given the tattered clothing, the person must be badly injured. However, upon closer inspection, he found that the man had no visible injuries. He appeared to be in some strange state of unconsciousness, and the so-called bloodstains looked more like patterns dyed into his clothing.

Perhaps the tattered clothes were actually what adults referred to as fashion?

Relieved, Albin checked the man’s breathing and listened to his chest.

Thankfully, he was still alive!

Looking at the surrounding flames, which were intensifying with the wind, Albin knew he couldn’t leave a living person behind in this situation.

What if this person died because he left?

An adult… if he saved him, could he ask him to take him to a safe place?

But how could he move the man?

He could feel that his body had become stronger in this life, but he was still far from being able to carry an adult.

Staring at the blood-red lining of the white-haired man’s cloak, Albin had an idea.

“Heave-ho, heave-ho…”

The cloak, resembling a body bag, wrapped around the man. Albin pulled the sturdy, smooth cloak and dragged the man forward with great effort, finally managing to get him to a nearby cave.

The cave was deep and echoed with sounds, which made Albin uneasy. But in the dark forest with his partial amnesia, he had no other place to go.

He didn’t know how to preserve fire or make a torch, so he dared only to stay at the entrance where he could see the flames and moonlight.

The unconscious adult beside him gave Albin some sense of security; at least he wasn’t alone in this dark, cold, and unfamiliar place.

He sat hugging his knees next to the man, feeling exhausted and upset from everything that had happened. Crying and muttering about his brother, sleepiness soon overtook him.

But he couldn’t shake the feeling that something outside was watching him. Fearing that something terrifying might come during the night, he was too scared to fall asleep.

His disheveled white hair bobbed like mashed garlic as he drowsily struggled to stay awake.

Suddenly, there was a slight movement from the “body bag” beside him. Albin jolted awake, terrified. He stumbled back three steps and clumsily drew the weapon he had picked up on the way, pointing it at the man’s throat.

“D-Don’t move!”

He was extremely scared. He both wanted to cling to an adult for safety and feared that this person might also be a bad guy.

This man had white hair and red eyes, looking very handsome, which reminded him of the beautiful person the Siren Sister had described. But even if he was that beautiful person, Albin didn’t know whether he was good or bad.

If this was a bad guy, he had to run away quickly!

The man’s face was obscured in the shadow where moonlight couldn’t reach. His dark crimson eyes gazed at the tearful white-haired boy in front of him. Despite the boy’s fierce display, he seemed more like a scared animal with its fur bristling after a fright.

The man’s gaze shifted downward. The so-called weapon was merely a twig about as thick as two fingers, its broken end barely touching his throat, making the threatening gesture only slightly ticklish.

This was a boy who seemed completely harmless.

But this was Thorn City, the City of Sin.

The man glanced at the darkening sky outside, his eyes cold and sharp like the perennial ice, with a turbulent current flowing beneath the icy surface.

Why was an ordinary child here, in the battlefield between him and the Sun God? The nearby villages had been wiped out by the Sun God, leaving no survivors.

Such an arrogant deity would never allow anyone who might know his secrets to live.

The man’s scrutinizing gaze fell upon the boy’s face, which was soot-stained and streaked with tears. The boy’s clothing also bore signs of being scorched by flames.

His eyes lingered on the fresh burns on the boy’s ankle.

The Sun God held dominion over fire, so when someone was burned, it was seen as divine punishment. Even putting out a fire was considered an offence requiring atonement and judgement.

Neither priests nor doctors would treat such people, and those walking the streets would be avoided from a distance, fearing to anger the deity.

Burns would follow them like a brand throughout their lives, until they were cast into the flames for purification after death.

The man observed the “body bag” that had been dragged out, now with its edges pulled into two “long ears,” and noticed the boy’s reddened, pinched palms. Although he didn’t understand how the boy had managed to survive, he now realized why he had ended up in the cave.

This stranger had pulled him out of the divine fire.

Such an act, whether in the eyes of the public or the priests, was considered utterly foolish.

He half-closed his eyes and, unperturbed by the weapon at his throat, sat up.

“What do you want? I told you not to move.” Albin was so nervous he nearly jumped up, tentatively asking, “Are you a bad guy?”

The man coldly replied, “Yes.”