Chapter 5: Exercise and Idol

An unrecognizable ceiling loomed above me. If I remember correctly, the last time I felt like this was when I reincarnated into this world. I couldn't shake the thought that if I transferred too much energy, it might cancel the transformation. That's one concern I need to keep in mind. But now, I wonder—would it even work on a normal person? That needs clarification.

"Oh, Mamoru, you're awake!"

I slowly turned around to see Hibiki, bright smile in place, with Miku by her side. Now that I think about it, they really do make a pair; whenever I see Hibiki not in a fight, she’s almost always with Miku. But how long have I been unconscious? I need to get back to school.

“Oh, you’ve woken up, Mamoru.”

Genjuro entered the room, accompanied by Tsubasa and Chris. I noticed Chris fidgeting, which left me puzzled until she bowed her head.

“Uh, sorry for pushing you so far.”

“What are you talking about?”

I genuinely didn’t understand why she was apologizing, but the others looked away for a moment before Tsubasa stepped forward, her gaze steady and direct.

“Mamoru, you’ve been asleep for a week.”

“HUH?!”

I need to calm myself; that’s rather troublesome. A week is far longer than I expected. I thought I’d faint for just a couple of days, not an entire week. I noticed Chris fidgeting even more, and Tsubasa was making an awkward face.

“It’s a joke, isn’t it?”

As soon as I said that, Chris burst into uncontrollable laughter, while Hibiki scratched her cheek, letting out an awkward chuckle. Genjuro smiled, and Tsubasa looked embarrassed. Miku, on the other hand, silently observed our interaction.

“You guys nearly gave me a heart attack there for a minute.”

“Well, that’s what you get for toying with us throughout the match.”

“Although I don’t like it, Chris is right. Mamoru, you played a bit too much.”

“Well, I don’t mind. It just shows I’m still lacking in training.”

Hibiki, ever the training enthusiast, clenched her fists in excitement, while Tsubasa let out a sigh. Chris, clearly proud of her prank, stood with her hands on her hips and a grin on her face. I noticed Miku pinching Hibiki's cheek.

"Well, now that you've woken up, Mamoru, let's exercise."

"Ohh."

"What?"

Genjuro, who was patting my shoulder, flashed a big grin. Hibiki voiced her excitement, Tsubasa sighed again, and Chris burst into laughter.

I'm underestimating their stamina; they've been running for over an hour, and I'm already at my limit, yet all four of them seem perfectly fine. It's typical for the trio to hold up well—Genjuro is superhuman, after all (I've never seen anyone punch a Noise like him), Tsubasa is an idol, and Hibiki trains with Genjuro almost every day since she joined. But losing to Chris feels like too much.

"Hohoho, what's the matter, Mamoru? Is this your limit?"

Even now, she's teasing me, poking my cheek with a grin while Tsubasa watches, and Genjuro jogs alongside Hibiki. This just highlights how much my Symphogear boosts my performance; in a fight, I can last longer than they can, but in my normal state, I'm weaker.

While it's good to know this now, I find it challenging since I never planned to join them in the first place—after all, I'm a guy. It feels like I'm losing at almost everything. So when Shinji approached me and offered to train me in exchange for joining the trio, I agreed.

Shinji has one technique I want to learn most: the clone technique, which I find fascinating, but now I'm starting to regret my decision.

"Idol?"

"Yeah. You see, as Tsubasa's manager, I barely have time to train you. But if you become an idol alongside her, I can make excuses to train you."

"Why not? When you sing as Mei, you're good enough. Your movements are already at the level of an amateur idol, so I'm fine with it."

"Director Genjuro, you're not serious, right?"

I looked at the others; most of the team was nodding in agreement, but Tsubasa was simply grinning with Chris, which surprised me since it was the first time I'd seen Tsubasa smile like that. Hibiki's eyes sparkled, while Miku let out a sigh.

"Looks like I can't really say no, can I?"

"You can, but that means I can't train you."

"Kuhh... fine, you won. But how do you plan for me to become an idol in the first place?"

"Of course, we'll use Tsubasa's popularity to boost your profile. But first, we need to enhance your dance and singing skills, and then we need to see how long you can maintain your transformation."

"Umm... isn't it hard? For Mamoru to become Mei, he needs to transform, right?"

Nice, Miku! Thanks for the help i said in my mind. Just then, the screen turned on, revealing Fine in a casual outfit, which surprised me since she should be in prison.

"For that, you don't need to worry. I've made a device for it."

She flashed a huge grin, seemingly enjoying my discomfort, which I guessed was just her sadistic side coming through — her way of getting back at me. But I suppose it’s not surprising that she could create such a device, considering she's the maker of Symphogear.

Realizing I had no way out, I fell to all fours, feeling my dignity as a man slowly slipping away as I faced the reality of becoming an idol of all things.

The device from Fine is a bracelet that fits my wrist perfectly, resizing itself when I wear it. After saying the keyword "gear on," I transform into my female self while still wearing my outfit, which feels larger since I'm about 10 cm shorter in my female form.

Then, Shinji encouraged me to participate in idol training alongside Tsubasa. I felt drained after just one day of training, which included dancing, singing, and learning how to pose in front of the camera.

Out of all the training, I found posing the most challenging. I had to maintain my expression and body position until the cameraman was satisfied with the shots. They even asked me to change poses several times, and I was amazed at how Tsubasa got it right on her first try.

I suppose it's normal, given her experience compared to mine, but I was so exhausted that I didn’t even change back when I entered the dorm. I had moved in just yesterday after transferring to Lydian Private Music Academy, quicker than I had expected.

They even created two entries for me—one for my male persona, Mamoru, and one for my female persona, Mei. Genjuro mentioned that I might sometimes need to show up as Mei at school, and they used the same last name, Ursula, since my father is from the U.S. and met my Japanese mother, giving me mixed heritage.

They also prepared student outfits for both personas, and now I'm living in a large dorm with all the Symphogear users. Miku is planning to transfer to the dorm as well, pending her parents' permission. This is my first time seeing all the rooms in the dorm, aside from the one featured in the anime.

Thank goodness everyone has a single bedroom instead of sharing, as that would be a nightmare. My morning was busy, especially since I was walking to school with Tsubasa. We always seem like a pair, which Shinji plans to use to show that Tsubasa and I are a unit.

I asked Tsubasa if she was okay with this arrangement, knowing she only sees Kanade as her partner. She smiled slowly at me.

"Thank you, Mamoru, but I'm fine. Kanade is scolding me in my dreams, telling me I need to look to the future and not dwell on the past."

I patted her shoulder and smiled, but she caught my wrist in a lock. I gently tapped her hand to signal my surrender, realizing I was now in my male form. She noticed what she was doing, then stepped back and bowed.

"Sorry, Mamoru! I twisted your hand reflexively. Are you okay?"

"It's fine, but this is a surprise. Is it because you're an idol? Have many men tried to grab you?"

"Yes, in the past, one managed to slip past my defenses, but I subdued him."

I couldn't help but pray for the fool who attempted to attack Tsubasa in the first place, cursing him as my hand throbbed in pain. Just how strong is she to twist my hand like that?

At least I could be sure that Tsubasa had moved on from Kanade, but the smile she gave me sent a shiver down my spine—it felt ominously intense.

"So, Mamoru, you need to work harder, okay?"

I nodded vigorously, feeling that shaking my head would lead to something worse.

From that point on, Tsubasa and Shinji became strict with me. The menu they provided was overwhelming, and they even limited my consumption. When I tried to explain that my transformation made it less of an issue for me, Tsubasa shot me a cold look, so I ended up following their rules.

Let's just say my food consumption is so healthy that when I compare it to my past self, it looks like my past self was eating trash. However, I was quite poor in my previous life, so I wanted to eat well in this one. Although I eat healthily now, I have to admit that Miku is an excellent cook.

I spent a month repeating my dancing, singing, and modeling training. Meanwhile, Hibiki and Chris were handling the Noise situation, but they only gave me a thumbs-up in the group chat. Shinji focused on basic ninja training, promising to teach me advanced techniques once I successfully debuted as an idol.

What’s more embarrassing is that they recorded my daily training and labeled it as public training, which almost made me angry. I managed to hold my frustration in, but the day of my debut was approaching fast.

Now, as I looked at the poster featuring Tsubasa beside me in my Mei persona, I couldn't help but feel that Tsubasa looked stunning in her idol outfit. My outfit was nice, but it still felt lacking. I hoped to get through this quickly, especially since Chris's teasing was making me want to punch her.

Nervous and unable to sleep, I went to the rooftop and saw Tsubasa holding a necklace with a photo, probably of Kanade. She paused when she noticed me approaching.

"What’s wrong? Can’t sleep?" she asked.

"Yeah, I can’t sleep knowing tomorrow is my debut," I replied.

"Ahahaha, I felt the same way before my debut, but she was there, so I was fine."

"Was it Kanade?"

"Yeah, she is so straightforward, just like the sun."

As Tsubasa slowly looked up at the sky, I thought about how Kanade is like the sun, while Tsubasa resembles the moon. She was doing her best to move forward, so I gently patted her head, surprising her as she glanced at me.

"While I don't know Kanade that well, I think she would be proud to see you now, trying your best to move forward, even if it's just one small step at a time."

"Do you think she would be proud of me?" Tsubasa wondered.

"She will."

Tsubasa closed her eyes, allowing me to continue patting her head. My worries felt small compared to the responsibility she had to take care of me on stage tomorrow.

I hope the performance goes well.