Kenjiro stood just outside the grand gate, the sleek phone feeling alien in his hand. Revenge required resources, and apparently, in this bizarre world, resources required... selfies. With a deep sigh of disgust, he opened the pre-installed app, a gaudy pink and black thing called "LilyPad."
The first step was creating an account. It asked for a nickname. He scoffed. He was Kenjiro "The Titan" Tanaka. He was a legend. But "The Titan" didn't exactly fit his current... aesthetic. His mind drifted back to the gym, to the shouts of his bros as he pushed for a new personal record. A nickname they'd given him, half in jest, half in awe of his physique.
With a grimace, he typed it in: Bombom.
The app then prompted him for a profile picture. He felt a wave of nausea. Angling the phone, he stared at the face looking back—the soft features, the wolfcut hair, the wide, brown eyes. It was a stranger. With a sneer of pure contempt, he snapped the photo and posted it.
Almost instantly, the phone buzzed. A notification popped up: +100 Femboy Coins. Then another, and another. They were comments.
omg so cute! Welcome! <3
Those eyes! I'm melting!
A new S-tier Lily has appeared!
"Shut up," Kenjiro muttered to the screen, but the coins were in his digital wallet. The first step on the road to revenge had been taken, and it was humiliating.
He pocketed the phone and started walking. A signpost on the dirt road read: City of Aethelgard: 1 Mile. One mile. A pathetic distance. A cool-down walk in his old life. Now, it felt like a marathon.
"Are you kidding me?" he grumbled to himself. "A whole mile? In this body? It's gonna take forever!"
He trudged on, each step a reminder of his weakness. After a few minutes of angry walking, the sound of an engine approached from behind. A sleek, expensive-looking car, the kind he used to dream of owning, pulled up alongside him. The tinted window rolled down, revealing a man at the wheel. He was handsome, with a chiseled jaw and muscles that strained against the fabric of his shirt—a man who looked like he belonged on the cover of a fitness magazine. A man who looked like… him. The old him.
"Hey," the driver said with a confident smirk. "Need a ride? You look like you're having a rough day."
Kenjiro froze. His internal alarms, honed by years of gym-bro logic, were blaring. Never get in a car with a stranger. But then he looked down the long, dusty road. His legs already ached. Was he really going to jump in a stranger's car just to avoid walking a single mile?
Yes. The answer was an unequivocal yes.
"Yeah, thanks," he mumbled, hopping into the plush leather passenger seat. He tried to project an aura of nonchalance, but a sliver of fear crept in. What were this guy's true intentions?
"Figured you could use the help," the man said, pulling back onto the road. "Saw your picture on LilyPad, and the location tag wasn't far off. You're even cuter in person."
He glanced over at Kenjiro, his eyes full of the same kind of appreciative hunger Kenjiro used to see from women at the gym.
"Listen," the man continued, his voice smooth as butter. "I'm rich. Like, really rich. I can get you anything you want. All you have to do is say you'll go on a date with me."
Kenjiro's mind reeled. The sheer audacity! He opened his mouth to deliver a scathing refusal, to tell this guy exactly where he could shove his money. No, I'm not dating a muscular guy just 'cause he is rich and muscular, he thought furiously. I WAS that before too, you idiot! I don't need another me!
But his body betrayed him. A deep blush spread across his cheeks. His legs, tucked awkwardly under the purple miniskirt, began to tremble. And the words that came out of his mouth were not his own.
"N-no," he stammered, his voice small and shaky. "I-I need time to think. T-this is all new to me."
WHY AM I SAYING IT LIKE THAT? he screamed internally. THIS IS NOT ME!
The muscular man just nodded, a hint of disappointment in his eyes but still smiling. "I get it. No pressure." As they reached the city entrance, he pulled over. "Here's my number. Call me if you change your mind."
He handed Kenjiro a business card before driving off. Kenjiro stumbled out of the car and onto the clean pavement of Aethelgard, his mind and body in a state of civil war.
He looked up, taking in the city. It looked... normal. Buildings like the ones in his old world, cars, people walking around. But there was one key difference. Dotted throughout the crowds were Twilight Lilies, and each one was surrounded by an entourage. People flocked to them, offering gifts, asking for autographs, or just basking in their presence. They moved through the city not just as people, but as living landmarks, superstars, centers of their own small universes.
And he, Kenjiro "Bombom" Tanaka, was now one of them. The thought was terrifying.