When I Started Capturing the Academy Princesses, Things Turned into a Battlefield - V2 Chapter 06: Emergency Strategy Meeting

Chapter 06: Emergency Strategy Meeting

It was Sunday night.

Ayane stood in front of me with an expression I couldn’t even begin to describe.

It looked like a confusing mix of anger, exasperation… and maybe even happiness.

That said, her behavior was the same as always.

She barged into my room without knocking, stole some snacks, and started munching away like she owned the place.

“We will now begin an emergency strategy meeting!”

Ayane declared right after polishing off the snacks.

“What’s the agenda?”

“That handsome guy.”

By “that handsome guy,” she meant Haruto Yamada—my classmate.

Since that confession, Yamada had been going all-out.

He’d even started heading to the first-year classrooms, desperate to find chances to talk to Ayane.

“He’s in your class, right, Aniki?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you two friends?”

“Just classmates.”

She couldn’t know that I’d pushed everything onto Yamada earlier.

If she found out, things would get annoying.

So I kept pretending like I had no idea.

“There are already rumors going around. About you and Yamada.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of a problem right now. Well, I figured if I aimed to become a Princess, stuff like this would start happening eventually.”

With her popularity skyrocketing, it was only natural that guys would start going after her.

Even I’d heard plenty of boys were aiming for Ayane lately.

“Just to confirm—you’re not actually dating him, right?”

“I’m not.”

“Planning to?”

“It’s undecided, but for now, no. I don’t think he’s a bad person or anything, but he’s definitely not boyfriend material—especially not for my very first one. The way he keeps bragging about how good he is at school and sports is seriously cringe.”

So basically, she doesn’t think he’s terrible, but she has zero interest in dating him.

I didn’t like how smug she sounded, but when it comes to love, the one who falls first always loses.

That’s just how it is.

Tough luck, Yamada.

By the look of things, she didn’t even remember that little moment when she cheered him up.

Well, if she doesn’t remember, then there’s no point bringing it up.

“That said, I won’t lie—it does feel kinda nice to be liked. The fact that he picked me over Kanon? That shows he’s got some taste.”

Ayane nodded proudly as she said that.

So she’s not looking to date him,

But she’s happy he chose her over Kanon.

She always calls Kanon her best friend, but wow… girls are scary sometimes.

“Anyway, back to the real issue. Do something about that guy.”

“If you don’t like it, just tell him yourself. Say, ‘Stop talking to me.’”

“If I could do that, I wouldn’t be here struggling.”

“You seriously can’t?”

“He’s tricky to deal with, okay? Like, the way he approaches me is just the right balance—annoying, but not enough to snap at. Actually, what’s making it worse is that my friends keep doing unnecessary stuff.”

…What’s that supposed to mean?

“Like, when that guy comes over to talk to me, my friends will suddenly go, ‘Oh no, third wheel alert!’ and walk away. I know they’re trying to be considerate, but it’s totally unhelpful. Thanks to that, I end up alone with him, and now all these weird rumors are going around.”

Ah… the classic backfiring kindness.

Or maybe they’re doing it on purpose.

“Has he confessed or anything?”

“Not yet. He just makes small talk.”

“Even though he clearly likes you?”

“Duh. He shows up during every single break.”

So Yamada was still going hard, but hadn’t confessed yet.

Maybe he learned to be more cautious after the whole Kazama thing.

This was getting tricky.

“Why not talk to your friends and clear up the misunderstanding?”

“Already tried. Total fail. They’re convinced that me and that guy are already a thing. I’m kind of seen as the group’s mascot, so no matter what I say, they don’t really take it seriously.”

…What a pain.

Still, expecting me to come up with some perfect plan isn’t fair.

I didn’t have any brilliant ideas.

“Not that I care or anything, but if you don’t end up becoming a Princess, my secret is—”

“Getting exposed, obviously.”

You’re the worst.

“Of course it’s getting exposed. Our deal was that you’d make me a Princess. Even if it’s not your fault, if I don’t win, spilling your secret is only fair.”

No, it’s not.

“So yeah. Do something about him. If this keeps up, I might not be able to win.”

It might sound like an exaggeration,

But if rumors keep spreading, it’s not impossible.

If we leave it alone, who knows what people will start assuming.

And to make things worse—because of this Yamada situation, talk about Tsukihi had started to fade.

That wasn’t good either.

“Can I ask something basic?”

“What?”

“Why do you even want to become a Princess?”

She had been saying it for a while now,

But I never actually asked for the reason behind it.

“Isn’t it obvious? I want to be adored.”

“…”

“The Princess title is kind of a big deal around here. If I become one, it’ll blow up on social media, and just being a Princess turns you into a mini-celebrity. It’s basically like having a brand name.”

So the goal was to gain popularity and prestige.

To be fair, she wasn’t wrong about the attention part.

Just look at Tsukihi—she was always being watched, even by students from other schools.

Guess it wasn’t just her looks, but the Princess title that added to her shine.

“…I guess I can tell you, Aniki. The truth is—I have a dream.”

Her cheeks turned a little pink, maybe from embarrassment.

This was the first time I’d ever heard her mention a dream.

“First, I become a Princess and get super famous. Then a whole bunch of boys start fighting over me, trying to be my boyfriend. And I’ll stand in the center and say, ‘Please, don’t fight over me~’ Just thinking about it makes me drool.”

What a shitty fantasy.

And she had the nerve to blush while saying that?

So this is the dumb reason I’ve been forced to help her?

Seriously?

“That senpai might be good-looking, sure, but I want to become a Princess. Once I’m a Princess, I want way more boys trying to hit on me.”

“You’re really honest about your desires.”

“So, yeah. Fix this—immediately.”

Easier said than done.

Even if I told Yamada to back off, would he actually listen?

He was clearly obsessed with Ayane, and just because her brother told him to stop doesn’t mean he would.

And on top of that, I had to come up with a way to reject him without making Ayane look bad.

In situations like this, it helps to tie it to some kind of event.

Wasn’t there something convenient coming up?

I racked my brain a little.

…And then it hit me.

“The ball game tournament!”

“…Huh?”

“It’s coming up soon, right? Tell him you’ll go on a date if he wins it. But if he loses, say you’re not interested in weak guys and push him away. Didn’t he go on about how good he is at sports? Use that against him.”

The ball game tournament started on Tuesday.

It was one of the biggest events at Himegasaki, spread over two days.

Ayane thought it over for a moment.

“…And what if he actually wins?”

“Relax. Sure, Yamada’s athletic—but my class only has one soccer club member. The other classes, especially the upperclassmen, have a ton of soccer players. The chances of him winning are super low.”

“…I see.”

“And just in case, I’ll be your insurance. If by some miracle it looks like he might win, I’ll drag him down. I’ll mess up on purpose—just enough to make a difference without standing out.”

Ayane gave a small nod.

She was convinced.

“I guess that way, I won’t get a bad reputation. He’s the one who started bragging about his athletic skills anyway. I don’t like leaving things to other people, but if we’re acting fast, this really is the best option.”

“Pretty genius, right?”

“Sure. Just make sure you mess things up properly.”

One more annoying task added to my list…

But at least this gave me some peace of mind.

No matter how hard my class tries, there’s no way we’re actually winning the whole thing.