When I Started Capturing the Academy Princesses, Things Turned into a Battlefield - V1 Chapter 08: The Next Target

Chapter 08: The Next Target

“Alright then, let’s hear your report.”

Ayane spoke lazily, sprawled out on my bed, munching on snacks.

It was Sunday night. 

The setting? My room.

And me? 

I was sitting seiza in front of the bed.

Correction—I was being forced to sit seiza.

How did it come to this?

The explanation was simple.

That evening, after finishing dinner, I returned to my room—

Only to find Ayane barging in uninvited.

She spotted a bag of snacks on my desk, tore it open without permission, and made herself comfortable on my bed while eating.

Annoyed, I called her out on it.

And what did she do?

She flashed a smug grin and said—“Oh? So you wanna be exposed, huh?”

She threatened me. 

And just like that—

I was sentenced to seiza for the crime of talking back.

For a moment, I considered fighting back. But I held myself back at the last second.

It would’ve been a terrible move. My position here was too weak. 

Even if I somehow overpowered Ayane, all that would be waiting for me afterward was a scolding from my parents.

And if my parents got involved—

Sure, Ayane would get yelled at too.

But. There was a far greater risk for me.

Because once my parents started digging, they’d find out.

They’d learn the truth.

That their son was…

A Long-Text Niki.

Just imagining how that conversation would go—

Was pure nightmare fuel.

No. Losing was not an option.

Which meant—

I had no choice but to play along with this tyrannical queen.

“What do you mean by ‘report’?”

“A regular update.”

“…What update?”

“Yep. From now on, every Sunday night, you’re going to report your progress on capturing the Princesses.”

Just great.

As if Sunday nights weren’t miserable enough already—what with the looming dread of school the next day—now I had to deal with this too.

Seriously, this was the worst.

“Not that it matters. Knowing my cowardly Aniki, nothing’s changed anyway.”

“Don’t be stupid. There’s been a lot of progress.”

“Oh? You actually made some moves?”

“Prepare to be shocked—because guess what?”

And so, I told her everything that had happened.

Well—almost everything.

I left out the part about Kazama’s little game of making the guy next to her fall for her.

That was her secret to keep.

Not that I owed her anything—

But if I told Ayane, she’d probably say something like: “Use it as leverage and force her to go out with you.”

Yeah. Hard pass.

At first, Ayane listened with her usual smug, overconfident expression.

But the moment I mentioned walking home with Kazama—

Even she looked surprised.

“Huh. So you got seated next to her, and that gave you an opening to get closer.”

“I wouldn’t say we’re close, but I’ve definitely made some progress.”

“Wow. I can’t believe it. Aniki, actually becoming friends with the Wind Fairy?”

Did Ayane expect things to move slower? 

I mean, even I was surprised to end up sitting next to Kazama.

But honestly? Anyone could become friends with her.

She was the one who always made the first move, after all.

Maybe the underclassmen just hadn’t caught on to the rumors about her yet.

But I wasn’t about to bring that up. 

Better to let her keep thinking I was doing something impressive.

“Not bad, huh?”

“Don’t get cocky. You haven’t captured her yet, have you?”

“…Guh.”

Can’t argue with that.

Sure, we walked home together—

But nothing had changed between us since then.

She still sat next to me every day, constantly messing with me.

It was clear she had no intention of stopping her little game of teasing her seatmates.

She might actually listen if a pretty boy told her to knock it off—

But coming from a mob like me?

Yeah, no chance.

“Alright, I get the situation. At least you’re actually trying to capture her. That’s a relief.”

“Not like I have a choice—if I don’t, my life is over.”

“True. Still, for a hopeless otaku Aniki, you’re doing surprisingly well. I guess I can actually praise you for once.”

…Wait. She was praising me?

I had been fully expecting her to call me trash and kick me with her tiny legs.

“…You sure it’s okay to praise me? I haven’t captured her yet, you know.”

At that, Ayane just gave me a look of pure disbelief.

“Listen, do you really think you can capture a Princess that easily? I mean, come on. She’s the girl who beat me to become a Princess. You think she’s just gonna fall for you just because you put in a little effort? Use your common sense, Aniki.”

Oh, now she wanted to talk about common sense? 

This coming from the same person who told me to go capture the Princesses like it was nothing?

I wanted to complain, but… She wasn’t wrong.

If it were that easy, someone else would’ve already captured Kazama by now.

“The real challenge starts now.”

“Yeah, I get that. But honestly? I don’t see how I can go any further from here.”

“And why’s that?”

“There’s just… no opening. Like you said, she’s not someone who’s gonna fall that easily. Right now, there’s nothing to work with—no trigger to turn this into anything remotely romantic.”

At the moment, there was nothing I could do.

Sure, I had learned Kazama’s secret—

But using that as leverage to capture her?

That wasn’t gonna work.

How do you capture someone like her?

I had no idea.

This wasn’t some game character with set dialogue options.

She was a real person.

And unfortunately—

I had zero knowledge on how to deal with real-life girls.

“So, what’s your plan then?”

“It’s gotta be a long game.”

For now, the best approach was to take advantage of our seating arrangement and build some kind of connection.

Since she still hadn’t given up on her game of making the guy next to her fall for her, she wasn’t about to push me away.

So the best move was to maintain our current relationship while waiting for an opportunity.

It was the most realistic strategy.

Not that anything about a plain-looking guy like me capturing a Princess was realistic to begin with.

“Alright then. We’ll go with a long game for the Fairy.”

“…Wait, you’re okay with that?”

“Yeah, sure. Because in the meantime, you’ll be capturing a different Princess.“

Ayane said it so casually—like she was discussing what to eat for dinner.

“…Hoe?”

Some weird sound escaped my mouth.

“Ugh, stop making dumb noises. If we’re putting the Fairy on hold, then obviously you need to go after another Princess in the meantime. Otherwise, it’d be a waste of time.”

Are you kidding me?

Getting closer to Kazama and trying to capture a completely different girl?

That was impossible.

“Yeah, no. That’s not happening.”

“It’ll be fine. Or what? Aniki, are you saying you can’t do what I tell you?”

…Yeah. Of course I didn’t have a choice.

“So, who’s your next target?”

“How the hell am I supposed to decide that?”

“I’m letting you pick, you know.”

“Even if you say that, I can’t pick someone. I have zero connections to any of the other Princesses.”

This time had been pure coincidence.

Kazama was my classmate.

And thanks to a lucky seat assignment, I had been able to interact with her.

That was the only reason I even had a chance.

But now?

She wanted me to capture someone I’d never even spoken to?

Any of the other Princesses would probably just find it creepy if a random guy started approaching them.

They were used to getting hit on—

And if I left a bad first impression, capturing them would be completely impossible.

“Then just go for someone easy to approach.”

“…Easy to approach?”

“You know, someone who wouldn’t find it weird if you talked to them. Like, I don’t know… maybe your beautiful childhood friend?”

“…Don’t even joke about that.”

“Yeah, you’re right. You and her are like the moon and a turtle.”

Shut up.

“Fine, fine. Guess I’ll throw you a lifeline.”

“That sounds… incredibly suspicious.”

“Relax. There’s a Princess I’ve known for a while. And right now, she seems to be in a bit of trouble.”

Wait. Ayane had connections to one of the Princesses?

“And you want me to… what, exactly?”

“Help her out. Use the situation to get close. Then—capture her.“

“…Do I have a choice?”

“Oh, of course. I’m not forcing you or anything. It’s just that… if you refuse, I might suddenly feel like talking a lot more than usual.”

…So, I didn’t have a choice.

And just like that—

I was dragged into capturing my second Princess.