When I Started Capturing the Academy Princesses, Things Turned into a Battlefield - V1 Chapter 30: The Last Princess and the Midterm Exams

Chapter 30: The Last Princess and the Midterm Exams

“Alright then, let’s hear it. Spill everything.”

It was the first regular report of October.

Right after dinner, Ayane barged into my room.

She came earlier than usual—she must’ve had something she really wanted to know.

Without asking, she grabbed the snacks I had sitting on my desk and plopped herself onto my bed, munching away.

There was no point telling her off.

And seriously—how can she still eat after just having dinner?

“Hear what?”

“Obviously, I’m talking about the Queen.”

“…”

“I heard people saying you were helping the student council or whatever, but that’s definitely not it, right? I mean, it’s not like you have anything to do with the student council to begin with.”

Fair point.

There was absolutely no connection between me and the student council.

Ayane knew that Hikawa and I had zero contact before this.

Sure, other students might believe that excuse,

But Ayane could see right through it.

And come on—behind the school building? That’s not exactly where you handle official council business.

I figured I might as well be honest.

“She saw me talking to Kanon, and I guess it bothered her.”

“Come again?”

“You remember when we ran into you and Kanon on the way to the convenience store? Turns out, Hikawa saw that. And since Kanon usually doesn’t talk to guys, my presence apparently set off her big-sister alarm.”

Ayane’s face twisted into a sour frown.

“…That’s way too overprotective.”

“No kidding.”

“Kanon was grumbling about it too. She said the Queen is super overprotective. She has to report every time she goes out, And if she forgets, her sister comes chasing after her.”

Yeah, that definitely goes beyond just “protective.”

Ayane looked exasperated—

But when she glanced at me, her expression shifted to one of understanding.

“Then again, thinking about it… It kind of makes sense. Some creepy guy like you getting close to her precious little sister? Of course she’d be on high alert.”

“…You make me sound like a criminal.”

“You’re not a criminal, sure—But as someone who’s read your long, gushing donation message, I totally get where the Queen’s coming from. Honestly, I don’t want you getting near Kanon either.”

“Guh…”

Oof. Can’t argue with that.

“So? Did you explain everything properly?”

“Of course I did. I told her I greeted Kanon because she’s your friend. And I made a solid case that not saying hi would’ve been rude. She understood after that.”

“Wow, not bad. That’s some quick thinking—for you, Aniki.”

“I mean, what was I supposed to say? That I was targeting her sweet little sister as part of some twisted plan? Come on, even you’d be in trouble if she found out about that.”

As I said that, Ayane muttered, “True,” and gave a small nod.

If the Princess-hunting thing ever got out, Hikawa would absolutely snap.

And knowing how siscon-crazy she is, who knows what she’d do if she found out I had her sister on my target list.

It wouldn’t just be me—Ayane would get dragged down with me too.

“I’ll ask anyway—what about the Queen?”

“What about her?”

“I mean, are you planning to go after her?”

Arisa Hikawa…?

Seriously?

That’s absolutely impossible.

She’s not a potential target—she’s a full-blown warning label.

We somehow ended up in that bizarre alliance, but if I had the choice, I’d stay as far away from her as possible.

“Not a chance in hell!”

I declared it with full conviction.

“Yeah, figured. Even you wouldn’t be dumb enough to try that.”

“No way. Absolutely no way.”

“…Alright, fair enough. Considering who we’re talking about, I get it. I never expected you to go for her anyway. And now that she’s Kanon’s big sister—my best friend’s big sister—I really don’t want her anywhere near my creepy Aniki.”

Wow. Rude to the end.

Like I would want anything to do with that siscon queen.

Honestly, I kind of wanted to expose her for being such a hopeless sister freak.

But… sadly, I couldn’t.

Sure, Hikawa is a siscon—but thanks to that weird alliance, I’ve been labeled as one too.

If that ever went public, my reputation would hit rock bottom.

And Hikawa?

Even if it came out, she might actually come out of it looking better—like some sweet, devoted older sister who just loves her family a little too much.

…Not that anyone would believe me if I tried to tell them anyway.

“Since it’s October now, let’s do a quick recap of your progress so far.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“You became friends with the Fairy, but there’s been no real progress. The Goddess and the Prince-Princess warmed up to you after you helped with their fight, but they’re still hard to crack. I made you stop with Kanon, and the Queen is totally impossible, so she’s off-limits. As for the Saintess—you haven’t even talked to her yet. That about right?”

Spot on.

So far, I’ve had contact with five of the Princesses.

We’ve become acquaintances or friends at best, but unfortunately… none of those relationships have gone any further.

But if you line it all up like this, even if there hasn’t been a major breakthrough…

It’s still kind of impressive, right?

I mean, I used to have zero interaction with girls.

The fact that I’ve made this much progress in such a short time?

I kinda want to pat myself on the back.

“The second-term election is around mid-December, right?”

“Yeah. The voting starts after the final exams are over.”

So… I don’t have much time left.

The second term’s packed with school events—sports day, the culture festival, and more.

We’ve also got midterms coming up soon, and then finals before the election.

Those events could be a chance, sure…

But I’m not exactly confident I can use them well.

“You think you can pull it off?”

“…”

Honestly, I’ve never been confident.

But that doesn’t mean I can just quit.

“I’ve got no choice but to try, even if it seems impossible. It’d be a lot easier if you would just give up on this Princess thing.”

“Yeah, like that’s ever happening.”

“Didn’t think so.”

No surprise there.

There’s no way she would back down.

“So, what about the last Princess? What are you going to do about her?”

The image that flashed through my mind…

Was her, smiling and enjoying herself while shopping with some handsome guy.

I couldn’t stop seeing that happy expression.

“B-But before that—we’ve got midterms coming up!”

I couldn’t take it anymore, so I forcefully changed the subject.

“…Don’t remind me of something so depressing.”

At Himegasaki Academy, midterm exams start next week.

Ayane, for all her energy and attitude, wasn’t exactly great at studying.

She had worked hard to get into this school, sure—

But she wasn’t exactly top of the class.

“You’ve been riding high ever since you became friends with Kanon. Have you even touched your textbooks?”

“Ugh…”

That face said it all—she hadn’t.

“Well, don’t blame me when your allowance gets cut.”

“I-I’ll just get a part-time job!”

“And if your scores suck, they might ban that too. You realize that if you fail, your spot as a Princess could be on the line, right? None of the current Princesses are failing their classes.”

Ayane stopped mid-snack.

Sure, in high school looks matter a lot,

But there are plenty of students who care just as much about grades.

Princesses are practically the school’s idols—

And no one wants an airheaded one representing them.

“You’ve got a point. I may have been slacking off a bit.”

“Besides, if your grades go up, your reputation will too. I mean, look at Hikawa. And that one, too. They’re both top of the class.”

“Ugh, fine. I don’t like it, but I’ll study.”

With a heavy sigh, Ayane trudged back to her room.

…What a simple-minded girl.

I scoffed to myself, but truth be told—I’d been a little worried about my own slipping grades too.

So I sat down and started studying as well.

◇

Monday morning.

Already gloomy, as expected.

I got up at my usual time, ate some bread that had been left out for me, and headed out the door.

The sky was clear—a perfect blue stretched above me.

“…”

“…”

I took one step outside… and stopped dead in my tracks.

I froze, unable to process what I was seeing.

“Good morning, Yuu-kun.”

With a soft smile, the one speaking to me…

Was the Saintess—my childhood friend I’d grown distant from.