Kuroha Akira was stunned. It was his first time seeing such a situation—a talent downgrading before his very eyes. And it was actually a downgrade? How could that be!
How could someone with only a D-rank Voice Acting talent achieve what she had today? It defied all logic. No… he shouldn't be so certain. That would be jumping to conclusions.
Calm down, he told himself. First, he needed to calm down.
Akiko herself said she had no talent. He should listen to what she had to say first. There had to be an explanation.
Thinking this, Kuroha Akira first explained his sudden, abrupt action of grabbing Akiko's hand. He forced a casual tone, as if he hadn't just witnessed something impossible.
"Um, you said you didn't have any talent, so I thought I'd read your palm…"
"Oh, Kuroha-kun, you can read palms?" Takanashi Akiko's eyes widened with genuine interest. "That's a very impressive skill. I didn't know you had such talents."
Takanashi Akiko also believed in such things. Previously, when Takanashi Mirai was taking her junior high entrance exams, Akiko had even gone to the newly built Inari Shrine to pray for a passing amulet. Later, when her daughter passed, she went back and donated a large sum of money to fulfill her vow—a woman of faith.
In this industry, many people actually believed in metaphysics—and the higher up one was, the more they believed it. This was because in the film and television industry, whether ratings could explode was indeed half luck. Something could be critically acclaimed but commercially dead. And whether a voice actor could get a role also depended a lot on timing and fortune.
Takanashi Akiko was also well aware that she, who had not been favored by the God of Talent, had received a lot of favor from the God of Luck along the way. She'd had help from forces beyond her control.
"I can read a little," Kuroha Akira said carefully, "but your palm… how should I put it, it's quite complex."
"Is it very bad?" Akiko's voice was calm, almost resigned.
"Uh… I wouldn't say it's very bad, but there's a huge disparity between it and your current self… and I really don't understand why there's such a disparity, which is why I was so surprised just now…"
"Disparity, huh…"
Takanashi Akiko narrowed her eyes again, appearing thoughtful. Hearing Kuroha Akira say this, she now believed he had real ability. Because most people only saw the successful, famous version of her—they failed to see the price she had paid for that success. They saw the polished surface, not the scars beneath.
Now, however, she was seen through by a boy more than twenty years her junior—someone who saw the fact that she was actually 'mediocre' at her core. The recognition was both painful and liberating.
Takanashi Akiko, who was usually calm and composed, felt a ripple in her heart at this moment. She actually felt a little urge to tell the boy in front of her about the hardships she had faced along the way. She hoped someone could understand her—truly understand, not just offer empty sympathy.
Then Kuroha Akira continued to explain where the disparity lay.
"Yes, because in reality, you are already very successful as a voice actress, so your palm reading shouldn't…"
"It shouldn't be a palm reading that shows no future, right?" Akiko finished his sentence with a knowing smile.
Kuroha Akira nodded silently. But Takanashi Akiko showed an 'as expected' expression—she had anticipated this.
Just as Akiko herself said, she was well aware that she had no talent. That's why it was even more incredible. Because the most desperate moment for a person was when they realized they were 'powerless.' That feeling of helplessness was equivalent to being sentenced to death—a death of dreams, of hope.
However, Takanashi Akiko had persevered and even achieved incredible success against all odds.
If she had an A-rank talent, Kuroha Akira wouldn't be so surprised. But she was only a D! This wasn't like bra sizes, where bigger was better. In talent terms, D was barely above average—the kind of level you'd expect from a hobbyist, not a national icon.
In other words, this was like a small fry from a village becoming a super-reversal to the level of the ultimate demon lord! It was the stuff of legends, the kind of underdog story that inspired anime protagonists.
With questions swirling in his mind, Kuroha Akira continued.
"From my personal perspective, the voice I hear from Akiko carries very delicate emotional expression, capable of conveying a sense of warmth and care." He spoke sincerely. "Even an outsider like me feels a sense of ease and comfort when listening to it. So I don't think you've come this far just by luck. Your skill is undeniable."
In fact, this was a common characteristic of a wife character's voice—emphasizing gentle consideration and the quality of caring for others, possessing the Yamato Nadeshiko attribute. Motherly Voice Actor—the more Kuroha Akira thought about it, the more accurate this job description seemed. She was indeed the most suitable voice actress for traditional mother roles, the kind that made audiences feel safe and loved.
However, judging from Akiko's hidden secret work… she might also be able to voice unusual mother roles. The kind that would make people blush.
Takanashi Akiko had grown accustomed to hearing praise after becoming famous, but Kuroha Akira's sincere compliment still made her a little shy. She put her hand to her cheek, a faint blush coloring her features.
"You flatter me, Kuroha-kun. But this is also because I specifically practiced for a long time to transform my voice into its current state." She smiled ruefully. "As a result, because I've used this vocal range for a longer time, I now use this vocal range even in my daily life… Actually, my natural vocal range when I was young was very different from now. Almost unrecognizable."
"You are truly amazing…"
So she had forcefully transformed her voice into its current state. Kuroha Akira marveled. It had even become so integrated into her daily life that she must have been using her wife-like voice whenever she spoke while awake—it had become her default.
Seeing Kuroha Akira's surprised expression, Takanashi Akiko continued with a wry smile.
"Because if you don't have talent, you can only rely on effort, right?" She sighed. "But… actually, I didn't even know the specific meaning of 'effort' before. I was really immature back then… the me of that time…"
Takanashi Akiko recalled her past self and couldn't help but sigh with emotion. The memories were heavy, like stones she'd been carrying for decades.
Just then, Kuroha Akira secretly took out his phone under the table and dialed the number he had exchanged with Takanashi Mirai yesterday. He felt that what Akiko was about to say would be better for Mirai to hear—not just himself. This was between mother and daughter, and he was just a conduit.
However, Kuroha Akira didn't know if Takanashi Mirai was awake. And to avoid being discovered by Takanashi Akiko, he couldn't look down at his phone. So Kuroha Akira also didn't know if the call had connected. He simultaneously pressed the recording function, thinking that if she missed it, he would let her listen to it later. It was a precaution.
And just at this opportune moment, Takanashi Akiko continued to recount her past, her voice taking on a distant, nostalgic quality.
"Kuroha-kun, I actually entered this industry very early. I've already told you the reason why I first wanted to become a voice actress. And then I immediately put it into action—probably around your age. I disregarded my parents' objections, contacted my aunt who lived in Tokyo from my hometown Sapporo, and with her help, I entered a voice actor training school."
Kuroha Akira felt a little ashamed hearing this. Akiko, what terrifying initiative! Who could decide their path at fifteen, and even run away from Hokkaido to Tokyo, disregarding their parents' objections and acting entirely on their own will?
That was too brave! It was like she'd already unlocked the protagonist's courage stat at level one.
"After that, I successfully graduated from the voice actor training school in one year and then joined a large voice actor agency… But I toiled there for seven years and still couldn't even support myself."
"Seven years…"
Adding the one year at the training school, that was a total of eight years. From fifteen to twenty-three. Youth—fleeting, precious, irreplaceable. And she had gained nothing.
"Yes, that was a whole seven years…" Akiko's voice was soft, almost a whisper. "Now when people mention my past experience, they always speak highly of it, saying it was like building up strength over time, a late bloomer, that my past efforts made me who I am today… But only I know that before truly understanding what 'effort' meant, I was just doing useless work disguised as 'effort.' I was busy, but I wasn't productive."
"And at that time, even my aunt, who had always helped me, couldn't stand it anymore." Akiko's hands tightened around her coffee cup. "She advised me to go back to my hometown to inherit the family's hot spring inn. The agency also completely gave up on allocating resources to me, thinking I no longer had any value for cultivation…"
"And so, I became a voice actress no one expected anything from… Because I had no value, I even thought about hanging myself back then." She laughed, but it was hollow. "Haha."
Kuroha Akira couldn't laugh with her.
Akiko could laugh it off now, but how desperate must she have been back then? Saying she wanted to hang herself was definitely not a joke—she probably really did think about taking her own life at that time. The darkness she'd faced was real, not a theatrical flourish.
"And then I kept thinking, why did I become like this?" Akiko's voice dropped to a whisper. "Was it because I had no talent? Or was I just not trying hard enough? Or maybe I was cursed with bad luck?"
"Every year, the agency had more talented young people pouring in—fresh faces, bright voices, unlimited potential. I watched those voice actors younger than me gradually become famous, landing lead roles and recognition, while I couldn't even get supporting parts."
Her hands trembled slightly around her coffee cup.
"My voice also grew older with age, and with it, my chances seemed to shrink further and further… Really, that sense of despair… many people probably never experience it in their lifetime. It's the kind of hopelessness that eats you from the inside out."
"At that time, I hated talent immensely, and yet I envied talent immensely." Her eyes grew distant. "I complained countless times about why I wasn't someone blessed with talent. I thought about giving up, but I was just too unwilling… I had sacrificed so much already."
"I worked so hard—why am I the only one who can't do it?" Her voice cracked with remembered frustration. "Am I not worthy? Or are others just luckier than me? I'm clearly not inferior to them at all! So why couldn't I get the same opportunities?"
"How should I put it… At first, it might have been to achieve my dream." She smiled bitterly. "But by that time, I probably just wanted to prove myself. To show everyone—including myself—that I wasn't a failure. I really didn't want the career I had dedicated my entire youth to end in failure. The thought of walking away with nothing was unbearable."
Kuroha Akira felt a pang in his heart listening to her. Because he could indeed understand that feeling—that burning, desperate need to prove something, even if you weren't sure what. Especially when he saw games from other departments go online and achieve great success, he'd always felt that he had to get his own work out there, even if just to prove a point.
He remembered that same fire in his own chest from his previous life.
"And then I continued to search for an agency willing to take me in," Akiko continued, her voice brightening slightly, "and it was then that I met the benefactor of my life. She told me the specific meaning of effort."
The key person has appeared!
Kuroha Akira's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked.
"Would you mind telling me who that person is?"
"Actually, it's the director of the voice actor agency I'm currently with." A warm smile spread across Akiko's face. "Her name is Saotome Fuyumi. Director Fuyumi is my great benefactor—because when I was abandoned by my previous agency, she took in the down-and-out me. I was at rock bottom, and she extended her hand."
Saotome Fuyumi—she must be the one who guided Akiko and allowed that weak talent to blossom and bear fruit! Kuroha Akira wanted to know more about how she cultivated Akiko into a national-level voice actress. If he could know the secret, it would also help him cultivate Shion later. This was valuable intel.
"And after that, she personally nurtured me." Akiko's voice was thick with gratitude. "It can be said that without her, there would be no me today… She saw something in me that no one else did."
"So, it was this Director Fuyumi who told you the specific meaning of effort?" Kuroha Akira pressed.
"That's right." Akiko nodded. "I can still remember those words clearly to this day. They truly gave me—who was about to give up at the time—a huge impetus to move forward… However, those words were also quite cruel, because acknowledging her words meant denying my past life. Everything I'd done before had been a waste."
Takanashi Akiko said with a wry smile, recalling those most memorable words.
"She told me that what is called effort means 'making yourself able to do things you couldn't do before.' But at that time, I didn't even know 'what things I needed to be able to do.'" She paused. "I was like a lost bird flying aimlessly in a forest—beating my wings, but going nowhere."
Kuroha Akira folded his arms, his expression becoming very serious. These words also gave him some inspiration.
"Meaning, the goals weren't set clearly enough, right?"
Hearing how well Kuroha Akira understood, Takanashi Akiko became even more enthusiastic and continued to talk about the inspiration she received from the Director back then. It was like she'd been waiting for someone to truly listen.
"Exactly! But to set clearer goals, the next thing to do is 'subdivision'—breaking down the necessary elements to achieve a goal bit by bit into small, achievable objectives, and then accomplishing them step by step… This kind of action is what's really called effort!"
"I see—specialization!"
At this moment, Kuroha Akira finally understood the reason why [Voice Actor D] could 'evolve' into [Motherly Voice Actor EX].
If only looking at 'versatility' and 'potential,' Takanashi Akiko was far inferior to other geniuses. She would never be a jack-of-all-trades. Therefore, for those with no talent or thin talent, they should try to 'only focus on one talent' and reach the peak in that one specific type.
The same went for voice actors: instead of wanting to voice every character, it was better to only focus on one type of character and then do it better than anyone else. Not everyone was like Shion, who could master young girl voices, older sister voices, and loli voices. And even Shion wasn't actually good at mature female voices yet, because her vocal cords weren't fully developed.
What's more, even loli voices were divided into lazy, tsundere, impish, and so on… Just like Kugimiya, who had made tsundere characters her personal brand! It was better to specialize in one skill than to be a mediocre jack-of-all-trades.
That was the principle! Focus your power like a laser beam.
Of course, this kind of specialization was actually a last resort. After all, neither actors nor voice actors wanted their range to narrow, because if they wanted to break through and transform later, they would face huge challenges. And if they still failed to reach the top after specializing, then it was a complete and utter failure—all eggs in one basket, and the basket could break.
So this was undoubtedly a huge gamble! Only obsessed madmen would bet everything like that.
Sure enough, what Fuyumi Director said was the same as what Kuroha Akira thought.
"Yes, Director Fuyumi later told me that if I only wanted to be a voice actress, I could continue to pick up others' scraps—doing background roles and minor characters forever. But if I wanted to be a voice actress who could stand on her own, it wasn't enough to be 'no worse than others.' I had to be 'absolutely superior to others' in some aspect."
"So that's why you chose to specialize in motherly roles?"
"Yes, she analyzed the characteristics of my voice and believed that I could only be better than anyone else when voicing married mature women." Akiko nodded. "This is one of the talents I possess. But she also said that this is not my most important talent."
"Oh?"
Takanashi Akiko perfectly replicated Saotome Fuyumi's words from her memory, mimicking her tone with surprising accuracy. It was like she'd rehearsed this moment a thousand times in her head.
"Talent is composed of aptitude, potential, skills, experience, and knowledge… But the most important thing is actually 'willpower.' As long as the willpower is strong enough, theoretically speaking, human talent is limitless."
She took a breath, her eyes shining with the memory.
"I took you in because I saw in you the obsession to become a famous voice actress no matter what… My agency welcomes 'reckless madmen' like you the most!"
"So, if you really don't plan to turn back… come to me and bet your life! I'll pay for your life! I, Saotome Fuyumi, will definitely make you a household name as a generation's famous voice actress!"
After saying these words, Takanashi Akiko opened her eyes wide and took a deep breath to compose herself. The emotion of the memory was still raw.
"Director Fuyumi said something like that to me at the time… It's very inspiring, isn't it?"
"Yes… I even felt a bit excited just listening to it." Kuroha Akira admitted.
And these words sounded a bit familiar. It was quite similar to what he'd told Shion back then: 'Share half of your life with me!' Saotome Fuyumi was really good at stirring people's emotions—she knew exactly what to say to push someone over the edge of commitment.
"Later, I followed Director Fuyumi's arrangements for specialized voice acting training… But, at this point, I encountered an insurmountable obstacle." Akiko's voice grew heavy. "If I couldn't find a way to overcome this obstacle, it would be very difficult for me to continue down this already narrow path."
"What kind of difficulty was it?"
Kuroha Akira asked the question casually, expecting a straightforward answer. But Takanashi Akiko fell silent. The most uncomfortable expression she had ever shown appeared on her face—as if she were a sinner undergoing judgment, her features twisted with guilt and shame. The morning sunlight streaming through the window seemed to dim around her.
"Kuroha-kun…" Her voice was barely a whisper. "Can you promise me not to tell Mirai what I'm about to say?"
Kuroha Akira first showed hesitation, then a thoughtful expression. He weighed the options carefully. Finally, he nodded resolutely.
"Okay, I promise you, Aunt Akiko. I will absolutely not tell Mirai."
However, he added silently, if she hears it herself, it's not my fault. The phone was still connected, the recording running.
"Hmm…"
Takanashi Akiko pondered for a long time, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her apron. She was still very hesitant in her heart, wrestling with decades of carefully guarded secrets.
Originally, she hadn't intended to tell Kuroha Akira even this matter. She had wanted to take this secret to her grave—it was the kind of truth that could destroy a family. But once she started talking, she couldn't stop. She really wanted to tell him all the experiences she had had so far, to unburden herself.
It wasn't that Kuroha Akira was particularly special or that she trusted him implicitly. It was just that after her daughter entered her 'rebellious phase,' Takanashi Akiko was under a lot of psychological pressure.
Raising a child had always been smooth sailing before—she'd never encountered such difficulties. Then, these secrets had been bottled up in her heart, always lacking an outlet, and Kuroha Akira just happened to walk into that vulnerable space…
This was the same situation as Aizono Moe after she'd wet her pants earlier—Kuroha Akira had become the best listener, the accidental confessor.
"Kuroha-kun, you are also a very smart child, so I'll briefly explain my situation at the time, and you should be able to deduce it…" Akiko took a shaky breath. "At that time, I had just turned twenty-three, unmarried, and had no experience dating men. Asking someone like me to voice a married character with children—even if my voice was suitable—I always lacked the experience of being a mother…"
"Uh…"
Takanashi Akiko clasped her hands together like a sinner confessing in a confessional, treating Kuroha Akira as the confessor priest. Her eyes were closed, as if she couldn't bear to see his reaction.
"Yes, Kuroha-kun, just as you thought. I didn't become a voice actress after becoming a mother—rather, in order to become a better voice actress, I wanted to gain experience as a mother…"
Takanashi Akiko closed her eyes tighter. The more she spoke, the more pained she became—those suppressed emotions gushed out like a broken dam, intensifying her agony. But she still insisted on confessing all her sins, like reopening a wound that had never fully healed.
"I… I am a despicable person, and an unqualified mother…" Her voice cracked. "No, I can't even be considered her mother."
"Every time that child called me 'Mom,' I felt both happy and heartbroken… Because my original intention for raising that child was actually all for myself."
"Mirai… she… is not my biological daughter."
"I… I've never… given birth!"
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
Kuroha Akira was truly drenched in sweat when he heard this. His palms were clammy, his heart racing. All the doubts in his mind were now resolved—including the mystery of Takanashi Mirai's background.
Before, Kuroha Akira had only guessed that Takanashi Mirai's father might still be alive, but for some reason, she couldn't know her father's identity. However, he had never once doubted Takanashi Akiko's identity as a mother. Because Aunt Akiko, with such a strong motherly aura, could only be 'Takanashi Mom,' right? It was unthinkable otherwise.
However, now, Kuroha Akira finally understood.
No wonder Takanashi Mirai said that her mother was obsessed with becoming an 'ideal mother,' and she had never seen another side of her, as if she were playing the role of a mother…
Her intuition was correct. Indeed, only a child truly understood her mother.
And this was also the true reason for Takanashi Akiko's overflowing maternal love. Because Takanashi Mirai was not her biological child—although she would pour most of her maternal love into her, she wouldn't only pour maternal love into her. There was always that performative quality, that sense of trying to be the perfect mother.
Single mother? Her husband died in an accident when her daughter was born?
Pure nonsense! All just stories made up for others to hear!
Forget being a mother—she wasn't even a wife!
She was a Motherly Voice Actress… and only a Motherly Voice Actress. The false wife, the fake mother, Takanashi Akiko.
She had gambled her life and ultimately succeeded greatly. But she also bore the life of another—that adopted daughter named Mirai, a child raised not out of maternal instinct, but out of professional necessity. The weight of that choice had followed her for years, and now, at last, it was being spoken aloud.