When I Started Capturing the Academy Princesses, Things Turned into a Battlefield - V2 Chapter 10: The Sharp Saintess and the Queen’s Wrath

Chapter 10: The Sharp Saintess and the Queen’s Wrath

It was a morning a few days after the ball game tournament.

With midterms and the tournament behind us,

The only big events left in the second term were the cultural festival and final exams.

At least, that’s what I thought—

Until something unexpected popped up on the schedule for this Saturday.

My first-ever double date.

Yep.

This weekend, I was about to have my very first date in life.

But the girl wasn’t my girlfriend.

And on top of that—it was a double date.

And even worse—my sister was part of it.

What kind of cursed debut date is that?

After the tournament, we approached Yamada with the plan.

I was nervous he might turn it down…

But surprisingly, he agreed without hesitation.

“If anything, this helps a lot.”

That’s what he said.

When I asked what he meant,

Yamada explained that even for him—the “prince-like handsome dude”—

He had zero actual dating experience.

He didn’t know what to do or how to act.

Since he’d always been the one chasing after Ayane,

He was worried things might get awkward if they went out alone.

He wasn’t sure he could keep the conversation going.

Trying to make Ayane happy like that?

Man, he’s a good guy.

Way too good for my sister.

After working out the details, we locked in Saturday for the big day.

Yeah… not exactly thrilled about it,

But I brought this on myself.

No choice but to accept it.

“—All right. I’ll go talk to the Hero now.”

Just as I heard a voice behind me,

Tsukihi appeared at my side.

Today, we were walking to school together for the first time in a while.

Though… Ayane was tagging along too.

“You were amazing in the ball game tournament! Oh—and congrats on the win!”

Tsukihi clapped her hands with a bright smile.

“…Thanks.”

“Everyone was talking about that final pass. They’re calling you a hero, you know?”

She didn’t know the full story,

So of course she praised that pass.

But I couldn’t enjoy the compliment at all.

That pass was exactly what caused all this mess.

“You were amazing too, Tsukihi.”

“Even though we lost.”

“Shiranui was really strong, after all.”

“I’m hoping for a rematch someday.”

Yeah…

If that happens, it’ll definitely draw a huge crowd again.

Tsukihi and I chatted for a bit about the tournament.

Between all the practices and mismatched schedules, we hadn’t had a real conversation in a while.

Even during the event itself, we’d barely talked.

“Oh, right. Are you free this weekend?”

Tsukihi asked, her cheeks lightly flushed.

“Why? Got something planned?”

“I was thinking of going shopping, and, um… if you’re free, maybe you’d like to come along?”

“You just want me to carry your bags, don’t you.”

“That’s not it! I just thought it might be nice to go out together. I might ask you to hold something, sure—But if you come with me, I’ll treat you to lunch.”

Going out with Tsukihi… and getting lunch, too?

Yeah, I definitely wanted to say yes.

We’d already patched things up,

But we’d never actually hung out on a day off before.

That’s when I felt it—

Ayane’s silent pressure from behind.

…Okay, okay. No need to glare like that.

I know. I’m supposed to turn down Saturday.

The double date was a top-secret mission.

It couldn’t be exposed—not just to Tsukihi,

But to any student at Himegasaki.

If rumors spread, Ayane’s shot at becoming a Princess would vanish.

Yamada was planning to confess,

And if Ayane turned him down then,

He’d likely give up.

I quickly sorted out my thoughts.

“Sunday works for me.”

I replied with a smile.

Tsukihi tilted her head.

“Huh? What about Saturday?”

“I’ve got something going on that day.”

“That’s rare. You’re usually free.”

“Rude. I do have plans sometimes, you know. It’s not anything major, though.”

Tsukihi glanced behind me—at Ayane.

“Ayane-chan mentioned she had something on Saturday too. Is it related?”

“S-She did? Huh. I had no idea.”

“…I see.”

For a split second,

Tsukihi’s gaze sharpened ever so slightly.

But just as quickly,

She smiled again and gave a small nod.

“Okay, see you on Sunday.”

“Yeah.”

Tsukihi walked back to Ayane’s side.

Looks like I managed to dodge that one safely.

Though… I did feel a sharp stare burning into my back all the way to school,

I’m just gonna pretend that was my imagination.

◇

Time passed—and it was finally after school.

I grabbed my bag and was just about to leave the classroom.

“See you, Kanbara-kun!”

“Later, Kanbara.”

Kazama and Yamada both called out to me.

A few classmates also waved my way.

I raised my hand in return and said, “See ya,” before heading out.

Ever since the tournament, the vibe in our class had gotten way better.

The girls had done well,

And the boys even took first place.

Our class was more united than ever.

Even my own reputation had gone up a little.

All thanks to that pass.

Yamada kept going around saying, “We couldn’t have won without that pass!”

And somehow made me look like the team’s unsung hero.

Thanks to that,

My reputation—previously heading straight for rock bottom—had bounced back a little.

…Unexpected, but not bad.

In a pretty good mood, I headed toward the shoe lockers when—

“Well, well, isn’t that my dear alliance partner walking down the hall?”

Hikawa called out to me.

“Hey.”

“Heard you were amazing during the ball game tournament. The newspaper club even did an article on it.”

“Glad to hear it.”

…Except not really.

I wasn’t glad at all.

“Come to think of it, Hikawa, you didn’t participate in the tournament, did you? I didn’t see you at all.”

“The student council had a lot of behind-the-scenes work to handle.”

Ah, right.

Now that she mentioned it, I remembered—

The student council was in charge of running the event.

So that’s why I never saw her around… she’d been busy backstage.

“Sounds like a lot. Must’ve been exhausting.”

“Not at all. I got to watch Kanon-chan giving it her all, after all.”

Right. She was just a straight-up siscon.

“Oh, speaking of Kanon-chan, something came to mind. Mind if I ask you a quick question?”

“What is it?”

“This Saturday…”

My heart skipped a beat.

“I wanted to hang out with Kanon-chan, but she turned me down. Said she had plans. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“W-Why would you ask me!?”

“Just a hunch. She usually tells me what she’s doing, but this time, she didn’t say a word—just turned me down. And in my experience, when that happens… it’s usually because there’s something she doesn’t want to say.”

…Sharp as ever.

No wonder she was the proud president of the student council.

Though in this case, it probably had more to do with her siscon instincts.

Anyway—I had to play dumb with everything I had.

“Something she doesn’t want to say?”

“Right. Like, for example… Going out with a boy.”

Hikawa narrowed her eyes.

Tch… she was definitely suspicious.

If Kanon were going out with a guy, the list of suspects was short.

I was basically the only one she ever spoke to normally,

So of course I was under the spotlight.

Stay calm.

If I panic now, it’s over.

“S-Seriously, I don’t know anything!”

“……”

“Besides, there are plenty of things a girl might want to keep secret. Maybe she’s buying… y’know, bold lingerie or some super spicy romance manga or something.”

Every girl’s got at least one thing she’d rather not tell her older sister.

“That’s why I said it was just a hunch. So—do you really not know anything?”

This was bad.

If she kept digging, I was bound to slip up.

I scanned my brain for an escape.

Got it. I’ll use Ayane.

“Wait—I just remembered. Ayane mentioned going out with Kanon this weekend.”

“With Ayane-chan?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I heard them talking about it. Though I’ve got no clue where they’re going. If you’re that curious, you should probably ask her yourself.”

Technically not a lie.

Ayane was going out with Kanon—kind of.

There was a pause.

“…I see. Well, if that’s the case, then it’s fine.”

Hikawa turned and began walking off.

Looks like I dodged that one.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

And then—

“…Yuma Kanbara. Just so you know—our alliance is still active. If you betray me… there will be consequences.”

Leaving behind that ominous warning,

Hikawa disappeared down the hall.

…It’s fine.

Everything’s fine.

As long as we don’t get caught, we’re good.