When I Started Capturing the Academy Princesses, Things Turned into a Battlefield - V1 Chapter 29: Interlude – The Queen’s Soliloquy

Chapter 29.5: Interlude – The Queen’s Soliloquy

“…That should do it for now.”

I murmured to myself while watching Yuma Kanbara walk away, having just sealed our alliance.

I never imagined I’d find a comrade like him in this school.

And to top it off, our little sisters becoming friends—it was nothing short of a miracle.

Kanon-chan herself said he was close with his sister, so I suppose there’s nothing to worry about.

To be honest, when I first saw him chatting so happily with Kanon-chan, I never thought it would turn out like this.

Life really is full of surprises.

Letting out a slow breath, I reflected on everything up to this point.

I fell in love with Kanon-chan the moment I was old enough to remember anything.

They say sisters close in age tend to fight a lot, but we were never like that.

In fact, we were known in the neighborhood as the perfect pair of sisters.

With that doll-like face, always looking so sweet—

She wasn’t great at expressing herself, but she was cheerful at home.

Whenever someone scary got too close, she’d hide behind me.

It was just… too adorable.

Still, being overly clingy would’ve pushed her away.

So I made a decision.

I would become the kind of older sister she could admire.

I studied hard.

Trained hard.

Did everything I could to be someone worthy of her respect.

Even though I desperately wanted to smother her with affection,

I held back just enough so she wouldn’t notice.

I’ve kept my true feelings in check—

Kanon-chan still doesn’t know I’m a full-blown siscon.

When I entered Himegasaki Academy, I joined the student council.

The reason, of course, was to show Kanon-chan—who would be enrolling the following year—what a wonderful big sister she had.

I poured my heart into it.

I gave stern lectures to students who misbehaved, and constantly corrected those who ignored the rules.

But… I may have overdone it.

At some point, people started to see me as someone to be feared.

Still, I didn’t really mind.

In fact, it worked in my favor.

If anything, it kept weird guys from trying to get close to me—or worse, Kanon-chan.

A year passed, and just as planned, Kanon-chan joined the school.

I ran for student council president and won without a hitch.

The words “You’re amazing, Onee-chan. Congratulations,” from Kanon—

I can still replay them in my head forever.

I never really cared about the “Princess” title from the elections held by the newspaper club.

But when someone who supported me was up for nomination, I told them all about my little sister.

When Kanon-chan got picked as one of the Princesses, I secretly gave a victory fist pump.

…Though I’ll admit, I wasn’t too happy she didn’t get first place.

I imagined spending a fun, peaceful high school life with her—just the two of us.

But then, one day during the second term, it happened.

I saw a strange boy talking and laughing with Kanon-chan.

Usually, Kanon-chan had zero interest in boys.

Even when spoken to, she’d ignore them completely.

But with this guy, she was smiling.

Talking to him.

And worst of all…

When they parted, she held his hand.

It was a huge incident.

The moment I realized that the boy Kanon-chan was talking to was a student from my grade, I immediately moved to eliminate the threat.

But… it turned out to be a major misunderstanding.

He was actually the older brother of Kanon-chan’s new friend.

And just like me, he was a siscon who adored his little sister.

“…That pairing really is something special.”

A girl even smaller than Kanon-chan, who already had the perfect little-sister vibe.

And for the first time ever, Kanon-chan looked like the older one.

It felt like I had just glimpsed an entirely new dimension.

Truly, a miracle pairing bestowed by the gods.

What if that girl ever came over to our house?

What if she clung to me along with Kanon-chan…?

“Guhehehe… ah, I should head home now.”

I wiped away the drool threatening to escape my mouth and finally started walking.

Huh?

Something caught my eye near the school gates—

Three people talking.

It was Kanon-chan and the Kanbara siblings.

That same scene used to irritate me before I knew what kind of guy Yuma Kanbara really was…

But now—

“Eh!?”

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

As someone who constantly watches over Kanon-chan, I realized it immediately.

No—I couldn’t help but notice it.

Kanon-chan… had fallen for that boy.

At the very least, she had strong feelings for him.

Yuma Kanbara wasn’t a comrade.

He was my enemy.

Just like that, I clenched my fist, ready to declare the alliance over—

But then, something even more shocking hit me.

Yuma Kanbara didn’t feel the same way.

After being confessed to by more than a few boys over the years, I’d developed a sort of instinct for recognizing romantic interest—from their gaze, their body language, the vibe they gave off.

And he?

That boy wasn’t in love with Kanon-chan.

Wait, seriously?

How can he look at an angel like her and feel nothing?

…Oh, right.

He’s a siscon.

The moment I remembered that, everything made sense.

To a guy whose entire world revolves around his little sister,

Kanon-chan was probably just “his sister’s friend.”

Nothing more.

What a tricky situation.

If I forcibly pulled them apart, Kanon-chan might end up hating me.

And breaking up that miraculous pairing because of me?

Unthinkable.

I needed to come up with a solution. Fast.

So I kicked my brain into overdrive.

◇

The next day during lunch break, I was walking down the hallway, deep in thought.

Deciding to mark Yuma Kanbara as an enemy was easy.

But… taking action after that wasn’t.

I tried digging into his background, fully intending to bring him down—

But the guy barely had any friends and almost no social connections.

He was serious, with perfect attendance—no absences, no tardiness, no early leaves.

There was nothing questionable about his behavior.

And to top it off, his grades were actually pretty high.

Just in case, I looked into his little sister, Ayane Kanbara, too.

Her reputation was… exceptional.

She was kind and fair to everyone, always smiling, and had this mascot-like charm that lit up any room.

She was a bit clumsy at times, but never made any serious mistakes.

She had a youthful appearance, but her features were well-balanced.

People praised her personality even more than her looks.

Rumor had it she was a strong candidate to be chosen as one of the Princesses in the upcoming election.

Now, this is just my personal theory…

But I’m fairly certain those “mistakes” of hers are intentional.

She’s probably the calculating type.

If you really pay attention, there’s a kind of deliberate charm in every little thing she does.

Clueless boys would never notice.

Even among the girls, only the truly sharp ones would catch on.

Naturally, my precious angel hasn’t noticed a thing.

Honestly… a devilish little girl paired with an actual angel? That’s perfection.

Girls like her tend to act in ways that benefit them most.

And since Kanon-chan is popular enough to be a top candidate in the Princess election,

A clever girl like Ayane would never treat her poorly.

“Kanon-chan, where do you want to eat today?”

“…In the classroom.”

“Eh, let’s go to the cafeteria.”

“You want to?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Ayane-chan’s really something. Okay, let’s go.”

Just by walking through the hallway, I happened to overhear their exchange—

And it brought a wave of peace to my heart.

This pairing… it’s sacred. Too sacred.

You wouldn’t see Kanon-chan acting like a big sister with anyone else.

Not just me—her classmates also watch their interactions with warm smiles.

Yeah, no need to force them apart.

I just need to deal with that guy somehow.

Still, if Kanon-chan really does like him, pushing him away too obviously would hurt her.

And that would make me look bad. I can’t let that happen.

So what should I do?

The simplest solution would be if that guy got a girlfriend.

Sure, it’d break Kanon-chan’s heart—and I’d hate to see her sad.

But on the other hand… it’d be such a rare sight that I could mentally screenshot it and file it away in my emotional gallery.

The only problem?

There’s no girl around who would actually fall for Yuma Kanbara.

His looks, his grades—totally average.

He’s quiet and doesn’t really stand out.

Recently, he got a bit of attention for being seen talking to Tsubasa Shiranui…

But that was only because he stepped in when she got into a fight with her best friend.

…He’s a siscon anyway.

Maybe he’s not a threat after all?

No, that’s far too optimistic.

Even if he is a siscon, there’s still a real chance he’ll eventually notice Kanon-chan’s cuteness and won’t be able to resist.

Should I… just become his girlfriend myself?

Yeah, no way.

For one, he knows I’m a siscon—he’d think it was some kind of joke if I confessed.

More importantly, there’s no universe where I, Arisa Hikawa, would date some plain, boring siscon guy. Absolutely not.

Besides, Kanon-chan isn’t the type to give up so easily.

Even if he did get a girlfriend, it would have to be someone so perfect that Kanon-chan could finally let go.

The only kind of girl Kanon-chan would admit defeat to…

Would be one of the Princesses.

No—the Princess. The girl who ranked at the very top in the general election, the undeniable queen of this school.

If she was the one dating Yuma Kanbara, then maybe—maybe—Kanon-chan could move on.

Not that I think that girl would ever take interest in someone like him.

As I wandered through the halls, lost in thought, two familiar figures caught my eye up ahead.

They were chatting while stepping into an empty classroom together.

I approached the classroom, not thinking much of it at first.

One of them was Misuzu Tsuchiya.

She’s well-known, of course—one of the most popular girls in school, especially with the boys, thanks to her, uh… “well-developed” figure.

And the other…

The one girl I consider my biggest rival.

What are those two talking about?

Knowing it was rude, I couldn’t help it—I leaned in to listen.

“…”

“…”

What I overheard was almost too shocking to believe.

Unable to contain the surge of emotions rising inside me, I stepped right into the classroom.

“I couldn’t help overhearing. Mind if I join in?”

The two girls looked startled and wary, so I quickly explained myself.

“No, wait—don’t misunderstand. I want to help you both. And if you want me to start by apologizing for eavesdropping, then yes, I’ll do that first.”

We talked it through.

…

………

And in the end, we joined forces for a shared purpose.

All of our goals lined up perfectly.

And so, the first-ever Big Three Alliance was born.

“Never thought it would turn out like this.”

With an amused smile tugging at my lips,

I turned and began walking forward—

Into what promised to be a very interesting future.