When I Started Capturing the Academy Princesses, Things Turned into a Battlefield - V2 Chapter 22: My Wife’s Confession and a Silent Prayer

Chapter 22: My Wife’s Confession and a Silent Prayer

You just had to say it, huh?

Hikawa had completely frozen after Kanon casually dropped the whole “we’re married” bomb. But after a moment, she started moving again.

“Kanon-chan… what exactly do you mean by ‘married’?”

“Just what it sounds like. Senpai and Kanon are husband and wife.”

“…”

Hikawa slowly turned her head toward me—like a broken robot. And those eyes—wide, sharp, and just a little unhinged—looked like she was one step away from going full-on crime drama villain.

“Calm down! She means in-game! Just in the game!”

“…”

“Like I said earlier, I had no idea she was Kanon. And for the record, when we first met online, she was still in middle school. We weren’t even in the same school or area. I didn’t know who she was at all.”

Back then, she wasn’t even in high school. Totally different school, totally different town—there was no chance we would’ve crossed paths in real life.

“And also—real life and the internet are two completely separate things. Just because we got married in a game doesn’t mean anything weird happened. Please, let’s be clear on that.”

Knowing how intense Hikawa’s sister obsession could be, I wouldn’t be surprised if even a virtual marriage was enough to set her off. But at least in front of Kanon, she probably wouldn’t lose it. Gotta maintain that responsible older sister image.

After hearing my explanation, Hikawa just stood there—silent, processing everything with a face that said a thousand things and nothing at all.

“…Fine. I understand.”

Looked like she finally accepted the situation—at least for now.

“Well, just so we’re clear, it’s not like our marriage had any romantic meaning behind it.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It was for the skills. In the game, you get access to special abilities if you’re married. I know it probably sounds weird to someone who doesn’t play, but it’s basically a couple-exclusive bonus. That’s the only reason we got married.”

I made sure to stress that it was purely for gameplay purposes.

“Kanon-chan, is that true?”

“It is. At first, we only got married for the skill perks. And I didn’t even know it was senpai at the time.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“…Alright then.”

After double-checking with Kanon, Hikawa finally backed off.

Looked like we’d narrowly avoided a total meltdown.

“I understand the situation now, but there’s still one thing I don’t get.”

“What is it?”

“How did Kanon-chan figure out that her in-game partner was Yuma Kanbara? He clearly didn’t put it together on his own.”

Yeah, that had been bugging me too.

With Shiranui, she figured it out from my phone’s icon and username. But Kanon never had a chance to see my phone. So how’d she connect the dots?

“I realized it when senpai tried to hit on me. He used such a ridiculous pickup line, I knew it had to be him.”

…Ridiculous?

Just as I tilted my head in confusion—

“I only said that stuff to Darling—uh, I mean, senpai—because I wanted him to experience heartbreak. I had no idea the girl he was trying to flirt with was me, Kanon. I honestly couldn’t believe it at first, but the fact that he used that ridiculous pickup line the day after asking for advice? There’s no one else in the world that dumb.”

Kanon said this while looking genuinely apologetic.

So I hadn’t imagined it. Yeah, “Good morning, kitty-cat” was sketchy no matter how you sliced it. Even I’d gotten a weird feeling the moment it came out of my mouth.

Apparently, that one line sealed the deal for her. And seriously, who else would try something that cringe after getting advice? Just me. Of course it’s me. Lucky me.

“Oh, and also… all that stuff I said before about Non-Non’s appearance? Total lie. I was scared of getting doxxed, so I made it up. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. It’s totally normal to hide stuff that could reveal your real identity.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Not at all. If anything, I respect you for being smart enough to protect yourself. There are creeps out there who try to meet up the second they find out someone’s a girl. A lot of people hide their gender in games for exactly that reason.”

There was no way I could ever be mad at Non-Non for that. Honestly, I was just relieved she wasn’t some flashy, overly flirtatious blonde with a history of a hundred exes. That kind of girl… really isn’t my thing.

If anything, I was seriously glad that Kanon turned out to be Non-Non.

…Still, it’s kind of surreal.

The quiet, mysterious girl with long hair covering one eye… is my wife?

This is insane. I really hope I didn’t say anything super pervy in our old chats.

As I nervously tried to scroll through my mental chat logs, Hikawa—who’d been silently listening this whole time—finally spoke up.

“So basically… the two of you were already married in the game. Neither of you knew each other’s real identities. Then one day, Yuma Kanbara started making moves on Kanon-chan. And during that interaction, Kanon-chan figured out who he really was. That’s the story, right?”

Hikawa laid it all out, and I gave a nod.

When you put it that way… yeah. It was kind of miraculous.

“…Hold up.”

Just as I was starting to appreciate how wild this whole coincidence really was, Hikawa’s voice suddenly trembled with barely contained rage.

“Yuma Kanbara. You tried to hit on Kanon-chan?”

“Ugh—”

She went straight for the one thing I really, really didn’t want her to bring up.

Look, I had my reasons, okay? That whole pickup attempt? It was Ayane’s idea. I was just following instructions.

…But there was no way I could say that out loud. Absolutely no way I was telling Hikawa that I’d been “strategically trying to conquer the princess.” If she found out I was trying to romance her beloved little sister as part of some plan, she’d go full-on nuclear.

“I heard your connection came from your sisters being close friends.”

“That’s true! They’re super close, no doubt about that!”

“Then why did you try to hit on her?”

Crap. I’ve got nothing.

Just when I was about to spiral into full panic mode, Kanon stepped in and saved the day.

“You don’t have to talk about that, Onee-chan.”

“Kanon-chan?”

“I called Senpai here today because there’s something really important I need to say. We should get to the main point before anyone else shows up.”

Kanon stood in front of me, eyes filled with determination.

That look… I recognized it. It was the same serious expression Shiranui had when she confessed to me just the other day.

“Um, Kanon-chan—”

“I’m trying to say something important, so please be quiet, Onee-chan!”

Startled by Kanon’s sharp tone, Hikawa actually flinched in surprise.

“Senpai, I want you to listen. You’ve probably figured it out by now, but I want to say it out loud.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Kanon took a small, steadying breath.

“Both in the game and in real life… Kanon loves Senpai!”

Thud!

A loud crashing noise echoed—like someone had fallen out of their chair. And no, it wasn’t me.

“To be honest, I didn’t feel that way at first. But the more time we spent together, the more I fell for you. Even though I didn’t know your name or face, I started liking you more and more. I really started thinking of you as my real husband.”

This time, a groaning gugeehhh sound rang out—like someone grinding their teeth in sheer agony. Again, not me.

“In real life, you’re kind of plain-looking… but being with you makes me feel at ease, and our date was so much fun. I just thought, ‘It’s gotta be this person.’”

With her face flushed bright red, Kanon looked me straight in the eyes.

“That’s why… I want you to be my husband in real life too!”

I just got confessed to by my online game wife.

Actually—she proposed to me.

Right after that, a loud “GUAGGHHHHHHHHH!” beast-like scream erupted from beside me, followed by the unmistakable sound of someone collapsing.

I didn’t even look. Something told me it was better not to.

Normally, this would be the moment to respond to a passionate confession like that.

But the truth is… I’ve got two confessions waiting for an answer.

And honestly, I still haven’t made up my mind.

“I…”

“I get it,” Kanon cut in gently.

“If only Kanon gets a reply and the others don’t, they’d be upset.”

Ah, right. I’d told Non-Non about this yesterday.

“…Thanks for understanding.”

“So, when do you plan to give your answer?”

“During the school festival.”

“Then Kanon will wait until then too.”

“You sure?”

“I want to hear your answer… at the same time as everyone else.”

At the same time, huh?

That honestly sounds terrifying in its own way.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

“Okay.”

Kanon’s cheeks turned pink as she gave a small nod.

“Senpai… thanks for coming today. I was nervous, but I’m really glad I told you.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Kanon smiled at me, looking completely satisfied.

Even though her real appearance was totally different, that smile overlapped perfectly with the image of my blonde elf wife, Non-Non—and my heart skipped a beat.

Yeah… my wife really is the cutest.

I seriously need to think this through properly.

…

……

Wait, wait, wait.

This feels like the scene’s winding down, but there’s no way it ends like this, right?

We just wrapped up a whole chain of intense events—but this definitely isn’t the happy ending moment.

And I know that because of who’s sitting right next to me.

So… how’s she going to react?

Will she go full rage mode and try to strangle me?

Maybe flip a desk and aim for the head?

Or will she just straight-up tackle me and send me flying out the window?

Honestly, all of those feel equally likely.

Kanon will probably try to stop her, but I should still cover my vital areas—just to be safe.

Bracing myself for the worst, I slowly turned to face her.

“…”

Yeah.

It was way worse than I expected.

Her Majesty the Queen had been emotionally shredded by her precious little sister’s words.

Now she sat there, completely broken—slumped over and unmoving, like she’d just been overthrown in a royal coup and left to collapse beside her own throne.

Rest in peace, your highness.

Amen.