Club training with 心を鬼にする

Idiom Explanation: Taking a hardhearted stance with 心を鬼にする

Renge wedges herself into the Ouran High School Host club, appointing herself the club’s manager. Due to her social status, Tamaki and the other wealthy club members are unable to object. Instead, they leave it to Haruhi to oust her.

環(たまき):: 「これもホスト修行(しゅぎょう)だハルヒ！！」; “This, too, is host training, Haruhi!!”; 「おとーさんは心(こころ)を鬼(お)ににするぞ！！」; “Dad has to harden his heart!”

Key Points

心(こころ)を鬼(お)にする means hardening one’s heart
- Tamaki says he will be strict with Haruhi for the sake of club training.
- The idiom does not mean becoming evil; it means suppressing softness.
これもホスト修行だ frames the hardship as training
- これも means “this too”, adding the current problem to Haruhi’s host-club lessons.
- 修行(しゅぎょう) gives it a discipline-or-training feel.
おとーさん is Tamaki’s dramatic self-role
- He calls himself “Dad”, making the strict stance theatrical and affectionate.