When I Started Capturing the Academy Princesses, Things Turned into a Battlefield - V2 Chapter 14: A Date with the Saintess

Chapter 14: A Date with the Saintess

The reason I’d been feeling strangely restless for a while now…

Was probably nerves.

It was Sunday morning.

And I was standing in front of a certain house.

The house belonged to my childhood friend, Tsukihi Yoiyami.

It was only a few minutes’ walk from mine.

Today was a big day—my official first date ever.

Well… technically my second.

But considering how questionable yesterday’s outing was as a “date,”

This one might be the first that really counts.

Whether it’s my first or second doesn’t matter much,

But man, I never imagined there’d come a time when I’d be going out with girls two days in a row.

Feels like a lifetime ago when I’d given up on romance and just shut myself in all day.

Anyway, today I’d actually put a little effort into my appearance.

I used some wax to fix up my hair,

And I was wearing one of my favorite outfits.

Why the sudden effort?

Because my mom scolded me before I left the house.

Apparently, she already knew about today’s date.

A few days ago, she happened to run into Tsukihi and got the scoop.

So when she saw me about to leave in my usual lazy getup, she refused to let it slide.

And that’s how I ended up looking like this.

Guess she just didn’t want Tsukihi’s mom coming around later with a list of complaints or something.

“…Whatever. I just hope today doesn’t end up like yesterday.”

The tragic memory of the karaoke box came rushing back.

After Tsukihi casually dropped that unnecessary line, the entire room turned into a battlefield.

For some reason, Shiranui and Kanon both demanded a full explanation and interrogated me relentlessly.

I guess they were curious about what their rare male acquaintance—me—was up to.

Tell them where the date was going to be?

Yeah, well—too bad.

I didn’t know either.

Tsukihi had insisted on keeping it a secret until the actual day,

So no matter how hard they grilled me, I had nothing to tell them.

The worst part?

Hikawa and Tsuchiya both glared at me like I’d just murdered their families.

Apparently, siscon Hikawa couldn’t stand seeing her little sister get all emotional,

And Tsuchiya was clearly annoyed by how Shiranui—someone she liked—was reacting to the situation.

I get why they were upset, but seriously—stop looking at me like I’m the bad guy.

So while everyone else was fuming,

Tsukihi alone sat there with a perfectly calm smile—

Like the eye of the storm.

Yeah… let’s not think about that anymore.

I’d rather forget it happened.

What really puzzled me more, though, was Ayane.

She’d fled the scene,

And only came back after I’d already returned home.

But she wouldn’t say a word about where she went,

What she did,

Or how things ended with Yamada.

Every time I asked, all I got was a cold “Shut up.”

Seriously…

Does she even realize how much of a mess she left me to clean up?

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Yuu-kun.”

After a short wait, the front door opened and Tsukihi stepped outside.

And I… couldn’t look away.

Her glossy black hair was styled into a bun—something I’d never seen on her before. It felt fresh and different.

She wore an oversized shirt paired with short shorts.

The way the shorts peeked out from beneath the long shirt—it was a cute combo.

“H-How do I look?”

“You look great.”

I wasn’t exactly an expert on fashion, so I didn’t know what else to say.

But she really did look good—so I just told her that straight up.

“Ehehe… thanks.”

And that smile she gave me while blushing? Also pretty cute.

“We could’ve just met up somewhere, but I thought it’d be nice to come out and meet you like this.”

“I don’t mind. But… can I ask why?”

“It reminds me of the old days.”

Come to think of it, I used to visit Tsukihi’s house all the time.

Back then, there was nothing romantic about it—

It was just something we did when we were bored.

As I was thinking back, Tsukihi let out a small cough.

“You okay?”

“It’s nothing. Really—I’m totally fine.”

Her face looked a little red, but… probably just my imagination.

“Alright, let’s go. You can leave the date plan to me.”

“Weren’t we going shopping?”

“Let’s see a movie first. It is a date, after all.”

I had no reason to say no.

So, with memories of the past guiding our steps,

We chatted about the old days as we caught a bus from the nearby stop.

◇

“You sure a family restaurant’s okay?”

After the movie, we headed to the nearest family diner.

“I was really craving a hamburger.”

“You’ve always loved them, huh, Yuu-kun?”

Just like she promised, she insisted on paying for the meal.

But she’s not the kind of heartless person who’d drag me to some overpriced place.

For the record, Tsukihi ordered pasta.

“It was a really good movie.”

“Yeah, it was fun. Totally lived up to the hype.”

As we enjoyed the food, we chatted about the film.

We’d gone to see a hit anime movie—

One of those record-breaking, top-grossing titles that kept popping up in the news lately.

And yeah, it really was as satisfying as people said.

…Honestly, I’d been a little tense because it was labeled a “date,”

But now that we were actually here, it wasn’t bad at all.

Probably just a matter of getting used to it.

Even though we’d grown a bit distant for a while,

She was still my childhood friend—so it didn’t feel awkward or anything.

If this had been with another girl, I probably would’ve been nervous the whole time.

“There’s something I’ve really wanted to ask you. Is that okay?”

As we talked, something I’d been meaning to ask suddenly popped into my mind.

“Sure.”

“It’s kinda late to bring this up, but… Why did you suddenly start talking to me again? I mean, there was this… sort of awkward distance between us, right?”

It had been bothering me for a while now,

But with everything going on—rumors, midterms, the ball game tournament—I hadn’t gotten the chance to ask.

That day, after years of barely speaking, Tsukihi suddenly showed up in front of my house.

It was way too unnatural.

Right after that, the rumors started, and then she even brought me a homemade bento.

I still didn’t understand why she suddenly started closing the distance between us like that.

“You’ve been wondering about that, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“It’s because a certain misunderstanding got cleared up.”

“Misunderstanding?”

Tsukihi didn’t answer right away.

“I do want to talk about it, but… there’s something I want to ask you first.”

“What is it?”

“Do you have a favorite celebrity or idol, Yuu-kun?”

…What kind of question is that?

I had no idea what she was getting at.

“Not really. I haven’t watched much TV lately, so I don’t even know who’s popular anymore.”

“I see… Then, do you have a favorite streamer?”

A favorite streamer, huh.

That one, I could answer right away.

My favorite is the Vtuber Feni the Immortal Phoenix.

Her naturally sweet voice and sheer cuteness set her apart from the rest.

…But it’s not exactly something I want to admit out loud.

She’s not very popular with girls.

I only told Shiranui because I knew he liked Vtubers too.

And more importantly—there’s no way I want anyone finding out about that super long donation message I sent her.

If Tsukihi ever saw that, even she would probably call me a creep.

Some of those screenshots ended up on fan forums and image sites.

Even I felt secondhand embarrassment looking at them.

“Judging from that reaction… you do have a favorite, don’t you?”

Sharp as ever.

Guess that’s what you get from a childhood friend.

“Yeah. She’s a Vtuber.”

“I want to know her name.”

“She’s called Feni the Immortal Phoenix.”

The moment I answered, Tsukihi pulled out her phone and started searching.

“I see… so you do have a favorite.”

She mumbled that as she looked at the screen, wearing a face of complete understanding.

“Thanks for telling me. I’ll check her out sometime.”

“O-Okay.”

You can check, sure—but keep it casual, alright?

If she notices my account name Valhalla, it’s over.

“Next question. Do you have any favorite characters from anime or games?”

“I’ve always liked anime, but I don’t have any favorite characters in particular. As for games, I’ve been hooked on this one called Utopia Online.”

“Do you have a favorite character in that game?”

“Actually… I’m married in the game.”

“…Huh?”

Tsukihi stopped twirling her pasta.

Wait—did I say something weird?

I quickly replayed my own words in my head,

But no, I didn’t say anything too crazy.

This shouldn’t be a problem.

Even if she starts digging for details, I’ve got no dark secrets like the long donation message here.

Besides, it’s just in-game marriage—nothing more.

“…Who’s the partner?”

“She’s an elf named Non-Non.”

“Is the person behind the character a girl?”

“Uh, well… probably.”

Since we’d never met in real life, it was all based on what she claimed.

But thanks to her advice, I’d managed to befriend even the unapproachable Kanon without much trouble.

That alone convinced me she really was a girl on the inside.

No average guy could come up with lines that smooth.

“You didn’t, like, meet up in person or anything, did you?”

“Nope.”

“Any plans to meet?”

“Not really.”

When I answered, Tsukihi let out a small sigh of relief.

“It’s better that way. You never know what kind of person they might be. Seriously, never agree to meet someone like that. You’re already way too easy to approach as it is, Yuu-kun.”

It’s not like I was planning to meet her from the start, though.

Still, Tsukihi had a point.

Offline meetups can lead to trouble pretty easily.

Not that I thought Non-Non was shady, but unless there’s a very good reason, I had no plans to meet her in person.

“…Your favourite Vtuber and your online wife, huh. I need to erase both of them from your head first.”

Erase them from my head? What does that even mean?

“So, are you ever gonna answer my question? You said there was some kind of misunderstanding?”

“I’ll tell you—once we get those sneaky homewreckers out of your brain.”

“Homewreckers in my brain?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just talking to myself.”

I didn’t really get what she meant,

But Tsukihi looked satisfied, so I guess that was enough.

I’ve never been good at understanding girls,

And even after all these years, that hasn’t changed at all.

After we finished eating, we left the family restaurant.

Next up was the game center.

Tsukihi had heard about the one I went to during yesterday’s double date,

And insisted she wanted to go too.

“Huh? Kazama?”

“Eh—Kanbara-kun?”

Right after we stepped into the game center,

The person playing a crane game near the entrance…

Was none other than Yukina Kazama, who sat near me in class.