When I Started Capturing the Academy Princesses, Things Turned into a Battlefield - V1 Chapter 34: The Saintess and the Study Session

Chapter 34: The Saintess and the Study Session

“…She’s here.”

The doorbell rang.

I could hear Mom’s cheerful voice echoing all the way upstairs as she greeted our guest.

Her tone had clearly jumped up a few levels, so there was no doubt—it had to be Tsukihi.

“This escalated fast. Tomorrow’s gonna be rough…”

Right after school, I sprinted home.

By the time school was letting out, that rumor had already spread to practically everyone.

I wasn’t in the mood to be bombarded with questions, so I bailed as quickly as I could.

Still, no matter how popular she is, that kind of info getting around so fast feels unnatural.

It’s like someone wanted it to spread.

The conversation downstairs seemed to wrap up, and I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

They stopped right in front of my door. A knock followed.

“Come in.”

“Thanks for having me.”

Tsukihi stepped inside.

It had been ages since I’d seen her in casual clothes.

She wore a long-sleeve white T-shirt and a black skirt—simple, monochrome, but stylish.

The soft, fluffy shoulder bag hanging from her arm made the whole look extra cute.

…Wait, this is just a study session, right?

She looked way too dressed up.

Like she was going on a date or something.

She could’ve just come in something more relaxed.

Pretty sure she’s even wearing light makeup.

“So this is your room, huh, Yuu-kun? It’s been a while.”

How many years had it been since she last came in here?

Back in the day, we used to hang out all the time in this room—playing games, reading manga, even studying together.

“Oh, figurines!”

Crap—I forgot to hide them.

That was probably the biggest change since back then.

Ever since I shut myself off in my own little world, I’d gotten into anime and games.

Now my room was filled with all kinds of merch.

And of course, most of it featured slightly too-revealing cute girls.

“Wow… they’re actually kinda cute when you see them up close.”

To my surprise, Tsukihi didn’t look grossed out at all.

In fact, she seemed genuinely interested.

This was definitely different from Ayane.

Only someone like the so-called Saintess could actually appreciate the value of these things.

Now that I thought about it, Tsukihi had always liked manga back in the day.

After taking a moment to look around, Tsukihi sat down at the table.

“Let’s do our best.”

“That’s my line. I’m counting on you today.”

“Don’t worry, I’m totally ready to help.”

It was great that she was so motivated,

But before we started, there was something I had to ask.

“Before we begin… Can you tell me why you came up and talked to me this morning?”

We hadn’t spoken in years.

That alone was a surprise—

But then she went out of her way to wait for me in front of my house.

I needed to know the reason behind that.

Even this whole study session…

Now that I thought about it, she had kind of pushed for it out of nowhere.

“Was it… not okay?”

“It’s not that it wasn’t okay. It was just… sudden, you know?”

“Yeah, I get that. It’s hard to explain, but there was a reason. Something that gave me a little push.”

“A reason?”

Tsukihi touched her finger lightly to her lips.

“That’s a secret.”

…She dodged the question.

“Alright, let’s get to studying.”

“…Yeah. Let’s do that.”

There were still plenty of things I wanted to ask,

And a few things I wanted to say—

But I figured I’d leave all that for later.

She was staying for dinner anyway.

And so, we started the study session.

About an hour had passed.

Just as my concentration was starting to wear thin,

I heard the front door open, followed by hurried footsteps on the stairs.

Then, without even knocking, the door to my room swung open.

“Hey, Aniki—about that rumor—”

Ayane froze.

“Thanks for having me, Ayane-chan.”

Tsukihi greeted her with a gentle smile.

Ayane let out a stunned, “Eh?”

It had been a while since I’d seen her actually look this shaken.

“W-Why is Tsuki-nee here?”

“I’m here for a study session with Yuu-kun.”

Ayane’s gaze shifted toward the table.

There were open textbooks and notebooks spread out.

“Wait… did you two make up?”

“We never fought in the first place. Right, Yuu-kun?”

She turned to me, and I gave a small nod.

“Yeah. We didn’t fight.”

Sure, things had been awkward for a while,

But it wasn’t because of a fight. That much was true.

“Really…?”

I guess Ayane had assumed we’d had some kind of argument.

I never told her the real reason we’d grown apart,

So it was natural for her to come to that conclusion.

“I just assumed Aniki couldn’t hold himself back and pounced on you.”

…Seriously, what is wrong with this girl?

“Get out of here. As you can see, we’re trying to study.”

“Sorry! Let’s talk a bunch later, okay?”

I tried to shoo her away, but Ayane tilted her head curiously.

“Later?”

“Tsukihi’s staying for dinner.”

“Seriously!?”

“Yeah, I’ve been invited.”

“See? Now shoo—you’re interrupting our study session.”

Still looking confused, Ayane finally closed the door and headed back to her room.

“You and Ayane-chan are as close as ever, huh, Yuu-kun.”

“Not even close.”

“Fufu… I’m jealous.”

Don’t be ridiculous.

There’s no way I’m close with that gremlin.

After Ayane left, we took a short break and then got back to studying.

We stayed focused, and before long—it was time for dinner.

◇

“Looking at you now, Tsuki-nee… you’ve grown a lot. In a lot of ways.”

“I’ve been working on it.”

“I haven’t grown at all though…”

“Ayane-chan, you’re perfect the way you are. If anything, I think that type’s in high demand.”

It was hard to tell whether this was a sweet, girly conversation…

Or just a painfully awkward one.

After dinner, we headed back to my room.

That part was fine.

But for some reason, Ayane came along too.

Tsukihi, who hadn’t visited in years, got the full VIP treatment from my family.

Everyone was excited, and the chat kept going—

So naturally, we ended up continuing the conversation in my room.

Well, it had been years.

Since Tsukihi and I had grown distant, she hadn’t visited in a long time.

Maybe Ayane felt a little lonely during that time.

She’d always looked up to Tsukihi like a big sister.

Maybe, deep down, she’d been hoping things would go back to the way they were.

“You really kept all these saved, huh?”

“It’s kind of a hobby.”

Right now, the two of them were sitting together, looking at pictures on Tsukihi’s phone and sharing old memories.

Tsukihi had always liked saving little moments in photos.

There were even a few I remembered taking with her.

“Ah! Found a handsome guy!”

Ayane said that as she swiped through the photos.

“This guy… he went to the same middle school as us, right? I remember seeing him with you once, Tsuki-nee.”

“With me?”

“Yup. There was even a little rumor about it. Some people thought he might be your boyfriend. Aniki, you know who this is, right?”

Since she called me out, I leaned over to look at the phone screen.

“…!”

The image on display—

It was the handsome upperclassman from middle school.

The one who used to be rumored as Tsukihi’s boyfriend.

The sudden memory hit me like a jump scare,

And my heart skipped a beat.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but he was actually my cousin’s boyfriend.”

“…Eh?”

Her cousin’s boyfriend?

Wait, so he wasn’t dating Tsukihi?

“Your cousin?”

“Yeah. I have a cousin who’s one year older than me. She’s really close to me—more like a big sister, since I’m an only child. We went to different elementary and middle schools, so you and Ayane never met her.”

That’s the first I’d heard of this.

“So, that senpai actually fell for my cousin. They met at a club tournament and it was love at first sight, apparently. When he found out we were related, he came to me for advice. He was really desperate, so I helped him out—even went shopping with him to help pick out a present. It was a lot of work, honestly.”

…Shopping for a present?

Wait a second—

Could that shopping trip I saw have been that?

Back then, I saw Tsukihi walking with that guy, smiling and laughing…

And I ran away like a coward, thinking I’d just lost.

I never asked her about it because I was too afraid of the answer.

So I stayed away.

…So all this time, I was sulking over a heartbreak that never even happened?

“Did things go well for those two?”

“Huge success. They studied together, got into the same high school, and now they’re kind of a power couple. People say they’re the perfect match.”

“…Wait, so you didn’t have any feelings for him at all?”

“Not even close. He’s not my type.”

…Are you serious?

After all these years, I finally learned the truth—

And now my emotions were a complete mess.

“Speaking of rumors, that thing about you and Tsuki-nee spread fast, Aniki. It came out of nowhere—are you okay with that?”

Ayane asked casually, following the flow of conversation.

“Oh, that? I’m the one who spread it.”

“Wait, you spread the rumor, Tsuki-nee!?”

…So it was you.

“I was planning to come over today, so I figured I should put it out there. Better people hear it beforehand than freak out later when they see me here.”

“Wait… the way you said that—does that mean you’re coming again?”

“Of course. You can’t expect me to finish tutoring in just one day, right? And if someone spots me here later, the rumors might get even worse. So I just decided to get ahead of it.”

I see.

Now that she explained her reasoning, it actually made sense.

…Wait, so this study session is going to continue?

Well, from my side, that’s a huge relief.

After today’s session, I realized my grades were in worse shape than I thought.

“But Tsuki-nee, you’re super popular. Won’t this affect you?”

“If things get rough, Yuu-kun will protect me.”

“Aniki’s not exactly reliable, you know.”

Don’t worry.

Out of everyone, you’re the last person I’d ever protect—rest easy.

“Hey… if it’s okay, could you help me study too?”

“Sure, I’ll take care of both of you.”

“Yay!”

Ayane lit up with excitement—

Guess her grades were in trouble too.

Watching them like this…

They really did feel like actual sisters.

I’d been worried when I first heard Tsukihi was coming over,

But now it just felt like we’d gone back to the old days.

It was… surprisingly comfortable.

As for school tomorrow…

Yeah, I’ll just not think about that for now.