When I Started Capturing the Academy Princesses, Things Turned into a Battlefield - V1 Chapter 16: The Princess-Prince’s Soliloquy

Chapter 16.5: Interlude – The Princess-Prince’s Soliloquy

“…I never thought I’d end up like this.”

Right before starting my stream, I found myself lost in old memories.

People had always said I was boyish ever since I was a kid.

And honestly, they weren’t wrong.

Back in elementary school, I used to play with the boys all the time—tag, dodgeball, roughhousing in big groups. I loved it. There were even moments when I thought, maybe I really am just one of them.

But as I grew older, I started to understand.

I was a girl.

There were a lot of little things that made me realize it, but the biggest one?

I wasn’t strong enough anymore.

Back in elementary school, I could go toe-to-toe with the boys in arm wrestling. I could hold my own in a fight. But before I knew it, that balance was gone.

I couldn’t keep up anymore.

And just as I was coming to terms with that, the girls around me started calling me cool—a prince.

And that image only spread further.

After I transferred schools because of my parents’ circumstances, it became even more extreme.

They started calling me a handsome girl, and before I knew it, I was constantly surrounded by girls.

I was never the type to be assertive, and the last thing I wanted was to be disliked—so I went along with it.

They wanted me to be cool, charming, their ideal prince.

So I played the part.

But the truth is—

That’s not who I really am.

I liked stuffed animals. Collecting cute trinkets was my hobby.

I wasn’t anything special—just a normal girl.

In fact, I might have loved cute things even more than most.

I adored frilly dresses. I admired the princesses in fairy tales.

Outside, I played the role of a prince—but at home, I dreamed of being a princess.

And in the middle of this double life, one thought kept crossing my mind.

…Is this really okay?

By the time I entered high school, the girls around me had started getting boyfriends.

I never paid much attention to romance before, but—

I started to feel jealous.

I wanted to be called cute, too.

Once that thought took root, I couldn’t shake it.

But reality didn’t care about my feelings.

Instead of being seen as cute, I became even more popular for my coolness.

Girls kept confessing to me—not because they saw me as adorable, but because they saw me as a prince.

Even the club I randomly joined became a problem.

When things got complicated, I had no choice but to quit just to avoid the drama.

I was struggling with my emotions—

And then, I discovered Vtubers.

The moment I saw them, it felt like a scene straight out of a slice-of-life anime.

Their cuteness pierced my heart.

Before I knew it, I was completely hooked.

I started collecting merch, never missed a single livestream—

And then, an idea struck me.

If I became a Vtuber… maybe I could be the princess I always dreamed of.

Reality wouldn’t allow it.

But online—maybe I could finally be that kind of girl.

I didn’t waste any time. 

I researched everything, gathered the necessary equipment—

And took my first step.

I started preparing in secret, making sure no one would find out about my plan to become a Vtuber.

But partway through, my mom caught me.

When I explained everything to her, she actually understood.

Not only that—she even helped me set up my streaming equipment.

Apparently, she had already noticed the inner conflict I had been struggling with.

And so—

A new version of me was born.

“I’m Feni the Immortal Phoenix! Nice to meetcha~!”

I created a character by slightly twisting the name Tsubasa Shiranui.

I modeled her voice after my favorite Vtubers, adjusting my tone—

And to my surprise, I could sound ridiculously sweet.

Honestly, if someone figured out my real identity, I’d be terrified.

Feni and I were just too different.

There was no way anyone would ever connect the two.

—First time here, but wow, your voice is adorable!

—I love it! Just subscribed!”

—I bet you smell amazing. I’m rooting for you!

So many people showered me with compliments.

Praise for a side of me I had never been allowed to show before.

And every single word sank deep into my heart.

I could feel something inside me being fulfilled for the first time.

No one would ever know. So, I could do whatever I wanted.

I stopped hiding my girly side—in fact, I embraced it.

On stream, I openly shared that my entire room was pink and that I loved cute things.

And the more I leaned into that side of myself, the more my viewers adored me for it.

When I finally got monetized, tons of people celebrated with me.

It felt incredible—like they were saying my feminine side was worth something.

And when I enabled donations, one particular name stood out.

An account called “Valhalla.”

From what I could tell, he was a high school boy.

His messages were always long, filled with praise.

They weren’t particularly well-written, and some people might have laughed at them, calling them cringe or creepy—

But to me, his words meant everything.

Every single day, he showered me with compliments.

And without realizing it, his presence became a source of support for my streams.

That was how things continued… Until the summer break of my second year of high school.

That was when my best friend, Misuzu, confessed to me.

My mind went completely blank.

I never once got that kind of vibe from Misuzu.

She was the one person I thought would never see me that way.

“…Sorry. I can’t return your feelings, Misuzu.”

I had no choice but to turn her down.

But from that day on—our friendship started to fall apart.

By the time the second semester started, we still hadn’t been able to fix things.

I was frustrated.

I hated feeling helpless.

And then—

Something shocking happened.

I found out who Valhalla really was.

It happened when a male student in front of me dropped his smartphone, and I bent down to pick it up.

On his screen—I saw Feni the Immortal Phoenix.

My heart nearly stopped.

But what truly shook me was the account name displayed at the top.

“Valhalla.”

I knew that name.

And when I saw the profile icon, I was completely sure.

It was an old anime character—one that Valhalla-kun had always used as his icon.

I had known from his donations that he was a high school student.

I figured he was close to my age, but… I never imagined he was in the same school, in the same grade as me.

The world really was too small.

My greatest supporter—the person who had always lifted me up—was just an ordinary guy.

Not a handsome prince, but not bad-looking either. Just a completely average high school boy.

I had seen him a few times before, but I never knew his name.

Even though I was still shaken, I felt the urge to connect with him.

I didn’t fully understand my own actions.

But before I knew it, I was drawn to him.

To the person who had supported me for so long.

And as it turned out—Kanbara-kun was Misuzu’s friend.

He offered to help mend things between us.

Thanks to him, Misuzu and I were able to be friends again.

And just like that—

Kanbara-kun’s presence in my life grew even larger.

He was the only one who ever praised the feminine side I had always hidden.

He was kind, always looking out for his friends.

He shared my interests. 

And most of all—

He was my biggest fan.

That was more than enough reason for me to start falling for him.

“What would happen if I told Kanbara-kun?”

What if I revealed that I was Feni the Immortal Phoenix?

“…”

No. It wouldn’t work.

When he called me his favourite, he was talking about Feni—not me.

My voice, my appearance—everything was completely different.

There was no way he would prefer someone boyish like me over a girly girl.

But…

Feni and I were the same person.

And Kanbara-kun was kind.

Maybe—just maybe—he would accept me.

And if he did… maybe we could move to the next stage of our relationship.

“…Next stage, huh.”

Just thinking about it made my face heat up.

I didn’t want to cut things off with him, so I came up with an excuse to stay close.

The reasoning was a bit forced—even I knew that.

But Kanbara-kun agreed without hesitation.

I couldn’t just dump everything on him all at once.

That would be too overwhelming.

And what if he rejected me?

So instead—

I would slowly, gradually, let him see my girly side.

I would take my time—make him fall for me little by little.

After all, he already adored Feni, the inner part of me.

That meant there was a chance.

Looking around, I realized something—

No other girl seemed interested in Kanbara-kun.

Most of them didn’t even know he existed.

That was a huge advantage.

But…

There was one problem.

Yukina Kazama.

I never expected her to be sitting right next to him.

The way she casually talked to Kanbara-kun, laughing so easily with him—

It seriously irritated me.

That being said, Yukina had always been like this.

Back in our first year, she was always chatting and laughing with the guy sitting next to her.

This time was probably no different.

She was just teasing Kanbara-kun because he was quiet and easy to mess with.

And besides—

A girl as cute and popular as Yukina Kazama wouldn’t waste her time on a guy like him.

She would definitely go after someone more attractive.

I had no real rivals.

For now, I just needed to keep building our bond—

As fellow Vtuber fans, as friends.

Slowly, we would get to know each other more and more—

And then, when the time was right, I would reveal the truth.

Maybe I could even drop subtle hints along the way, just to plant the idea in his mind.

Someday—

“I don’t want him to love Feni—I want him to love Tsubasa Shiranui.”

That was my goal. 

In the end, I wanted Kanbara-kun to fall for me—

And confess to me.

Imagining that future made my heart flutter.

With that thought in mind—

I started my stream.