When I Started Capturing the Academy Princesses, Things Turned into a Battlefield - V2 Chapter 04: The Gloomy Fairy and the Mountain Prince

Chapter 04: The Gloomy Fairy and the Mountain Prince

After I arrived at the classroom, I found myself thinking.

Lately, something had been bothering me.

It was about the girl who sat next to me—

Yukina Kazama, known as the Wind Fairy and one of the Princesses of our class.

Something about her had been off.

She was usually all smiles, a total people person with insane social skills.

That bright, friendly grin of hers and her wide range of conversation topics made her super popular.

But for the past few days, she’d looked oddly down—almost bored.

Her mood was clearly low.

Even when she was talking to someone, there was something off about her smile… like the shine was gone.

“Morning.”

“Ah, good morning.”

She used to greet me in a cheerful voice,

But now it sounded like she was just going through the motions.

It wasn’t just with me—she seemed like that with everyone.

“You don’t seem too energetic. Did something happen?”

“…The fact that you’re acting like it has nothing to do with you is kinda the worst, you know.”

“Eh?”

“Forget it. Expecting anything from you is just a waste of time.”

…Why did I just get scolded?

While I was still trying to process that unexpected lecture—

“The reason I’ve been gloomy is simple. I thought the game I was playing would be easy to beat, but turns out… it’s ridiculously hard.”

“…Is that a bad thing?”

“It’s not. Honestly, I kind of love it.”

Kazama glanced around, making sure no one else was nearby—

Then gave me a very clear look of annoyance.

“But the real problem came after that. At first, I just thought it was a hard game… But turns out, it’s basically an unbeatable trash game. Seriously, sometimes I just want to scream at how unfair the world is.”

That last part sounded like the real her slipping through.

Still, yeah… that’d kill anyone’s motivation.

I play a lot of games too, so I got where she was coming from.

A bit of challenge is fine—

But when something feels impossible to beat, that’s just frustrating.

“What kind of game is it?”

“A dating sim. The guy I was aiming for is surrounded by girls who are all way cuter than me. And one of them? She’s insanely strong and super aggressive. To make things worse, that aggressive girl has a best friend—and she’s just as strong and smart as her. Like, seriously… how am I even supposed to win?”

That’s not just bad odds—that’s a total losing battle.

She thought it’d be an easy win, only to find out there were multiple rivals…

And every single one of them was on a higher level than her.

If it were me, I’d have already raised the white flag in tears.

So Kazama’s gloomy mood was all because of a game, huh.

Hard to believe the sweet-talking Fairy—who usually toys with guys with a smile—was this down.

Seeing her on the receiving end for once…

It felt weird. Kind of refreshing, even.

Alright, what now?

From my “Princess strategy” point of view,

Tsukihi was definitely the first priority.

But second in line… was Kazama.

Not that I had much of a choice.

Misuzu Tsuchiya was clearly into Tsubasa Shiranui, so she was out.

Tsubasa Shiranui? Yeah, no thanks—getting on Tsuchiya’s bad side isn’t worth it. She’s a friend, after all.

Arisa Hikawa is a hardcore siscon—definitely off-limits.

And if I made a move on Kanon Hikawa, I’d have both Arisa and my own sister coming for my throat. Not happening.

So by process of elimination, Kazama was the only real second option.

Unless Tsukihi’s popularity totally tanks and she’s out of the Princess race entirely,

I should probably get closer to Kazama too—just in case.

“Alright, I get the situation. I wanna look into that game too, so tell me the title. We can beat it together.”

“Nope.”

“……”

Once she said that, there was nothing I could do.

Kazama clearly wanted to clear the game on her own.

I get it—sometimes you just want to take on a challenge without using guides or walkthroughs.

While I frowned and furrowed my brow,

Kazama let out a cheerful laugh.

“That troubled look suits you. Watching Kanbara-kun look confused kinda makes me feel better.”

“Hey, come on.”

“Maybe I’m starting to cheer up a little.”

I still couldn’t quite figure her out.

Then again, no one can really read what’s going on in someone else’s head.

I was still unsure of how to close the distance between us when—

“Sorry, could I have a moment?”

The one who called out to me was Yamada-kun.

◇

Haruto Yamada—he was the resident handsome boy of our class.

He’d always been super popular with the girls.

Good-looking, tall, smart, athletic… and on top of that, he had a great personality.

Back when I had no friends and couldn’t even find a partner for group activities, he was the saint who reached out to me.

He was kind to everyone.

After summer break, his popularity had shot up even more.

It was obvious he’d leveled up since before the break.

Rumor had it he’d started working out and paying more attention to his fashion.

Some girls even said,

“If there are Princesses, then we need a Prince too,”

And apparently, behind the scenes, people had started calling him the “Mountain Prince.”

But even a prince like him couldn’t reach a Princess.

Yamada ended up as prey for Kazama—

The girl who loved to mess with the boy sitting next to her.

He confessed to her twice and got rejected both times.

In fact, the reason he leveled up over summer was because he was trying to win Kazama’s heart.

“Oh, you need something from Kazama? Go ahead.”

I stepped aside to let him talk, but—

“No, I’m here for you, Kanbara.”

“For me?”

“You have a moment?”

We’d spoken before since we were classmates,

But we weren’t exactly close.

Still, I had no reason to say no—so I agreed.

Yamada stepped up beside me.

“I’m jealous of you, Kanbara.”

“…Huh?”

That was the last thing I expected to hear.

I mean, from my perspective, Yamada was the one to be jealous of—

The good-looking guy every girl liked.

“These days, people talk about you a lot, Kanbara. They say stuff like, ‘I’m so jealous—he’s close with the Princesses.’ You even came to school with one this morning, right?”

Ah, so that’s what this is about.

Yeah, I’ve definitely been drawing attention lately—

Not in a good way.

But honestly, I’ve come to terms with that.

There’s nothing “honest” or “pure” about trying to charm the Princesses.

It’s a shady move, and I fully expect people to talk behind my back and call me a scumbag.

Even so, I’ll take the hate—

Because anything’s better than having my long-text Super Chat history exposed to the world.

If that ever leaked, I’d never recover.

In today’s internet age, that kind of thing could go viral worldwide in seconds.

So yeah…

This was probably his roundabout way of saying I was being a nuisance.

“Ah—no, don’t get me wrong. I’m not here to complain or anything like that.”

“…Huh?”

“Actually… there’s someone I’ve got my eye on.”

He’s talking about Kazama, isn’t he?

Right after summer break ended, Yamada confessed to her.

I just happened to witness it.

It was the moment I realized Kazama was putting on an act.

…And yet he’s saying all this with her sitting right next to me? Seriously?

I glanced to the side—

Kazama looked completely uninterested.

He was talking loud enough that she could definitely hear him, but she didn’t react.

From her perspective, she already “cleared” this guy.

There was no reason for her to care anymore.

By the way, Yamada didn’t know I’d seen his confession back then.

“Just thinking about her gets my heart all stirred up. Whenever I see her talking to someone else, it’s like my chest tightens.”

“…”

“You probably know who I mean, right? She’s someone who’s always near you, Kanbara.”

Yeah, she’s literally right next to me.

…Wait.

Maybe Yamada wants her to hear this?

Maybe he’s purposely saying all this out loud to let Kazama know—

“Even though you turned me down, I’m still in love with you.”

It might not be the most direct or manly approach,

But hey, this was still one way of putting his feelings out there.

Despite being a pretty boy, the guy had guts.

He wasn’t afraid to put himself out there over and over.

I think I underestimated him.

Meanwhile, I backed off the moment I thought Tsukihi had a boyfriend.

But this guy?

This kind of persistence… maybe this is what it really means to be a true “ikemen.”

Even though she already turned him down,

With that much honest emotion coming at her…

Kazama probably felt a little happy, too.

“Even after all this, it’s still not getting through to you, huh?”

“It’s not that it’s not getting through, it’s just—”

“I know. I’m a man too. So I’ll stop being vague and say it clearly.”

Yamada looked dead serious as he spoke.

“I’m in love with your sister!”

…Hah!?