When I Started Capturing the Academy Princesses, Things Turned into a Battlefield

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Chapter 23: A Visit to the Saintess

“…Kanon should be fine handling things on her own, right?”

Muttering to myself, I walked away from the school.

After everything that had gone down, I’d carried Hikawa to the infirmary.

She’d collapsed in such a dramatic, awkward position that I was honestly kind of worried—but thankfully, it looked like she’d just passed out from the shock.

With her face twisted in despair as she lost consciousness, she didn’t look anything like the usual terrifying Queen.

In that moment, she seemed more like a fragile, ordinary girl.

Once I got her safely to the infirmary, I left the rest to Kanon and headed home.

There really wasn’t much else I could do if I stuck around.

Actually, knowing my luck, hanging around any longer would’ve just made things worse.

And with how Hikawa is, there was a very high chance she’d wake up and immediately explode again.

“Leave Onee-chan to me. This is something only Kanon can handle.”

The way she said it… she actually sounded dependable.

…Still, getting confessed to by my favorite idol and my online game wife back-to-back?

What kind of chaos route even is this?

Honestly, I just wanted to go home, flop onto my bed, and take some time to sort through this madness.

But nope. My day wasn’t over yet. Not even close.

There was still one more major event waiting for me:

The classic “Visit Your Sick Childhood Friend” side quest.

And to be totally honest… I had a bad feeling about it.

Like something was definitely going to happen.

My brain was already fried and running on fumes, but skipping the visit?

Yeah—not an option.

Her mom had already asked me to stop by.

And more importantly… I was worried about Tsukihi.

“No point just standing around overthinking it.”

Before long, I arrived at Tsukihi’s house.

When I rang the doorbell, someone very familiar answered.

A beautiful woman who looked like a slightly older version of Tsukihi—shorter hair, more mature features, and a kind, graceful vibe.

“Oh my, welcome, Yuma-kun.”

“Thanks for having me.”

It was Tsukihi’s mom.

Even though I’d drifted away from Tsukihi back in middle school, I still saw her mom pretty often.

She was good friends with my mom and would come by our house all the time.

Back then, it wasn’t unusual to run into her outside after school and chat like it was the most natural thing in the world.

By the way, I’d actually come here on the day of our date too—but she hadn’t been home at the time.

“Thanks for dropping by. She’s up in her room. I already let her know you were coming, so take your time, okay?”

“Thank you. I’ll head up.”

Man… how long had it been since I last stepped into this house?

I used to come over all the time as a kid.

I’d sprint up the stairs like a lunatic, only to get yelled at for being too loud.

But that was back then.

Now, I walked up calmly, like a reasonable person, and knocked on her door like an actual adult.

“Yes?”

“Uh, it’s Yuma.”

“Come in.”

With her permission, I stepped inside.

Tsukihi’s room hadn’t changed completely, but there was this odd mix of nostalgia and unfamiliarity.

The layout and furniture weren’t quite how I remembered them… but the desk—that was exactly where it used to be.

Just seeing it brought back a strange wave of memories.

The whole room was spotless, too.

Unlike me, Tsukihi had always been the neat and tidy type.

“Welcome, Yuu-kun.”

Tsukihi was sitting on her bed in pajamas, looking cozy but still alert.

“You’re not sleeping? You okay?”

“I’m feeling way better now. Planning to be back at school tomorrow.”

“That’s a relief.”

I’d been worried, but she looked a lot better than I expected. Just seeing that lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.

“Thanks for coming all the way here.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Oh, you can sit wherever.”

I plopped down right in the middle of the room.

“This place has changed a lot.”

“Well, yeah. The last time you came in here, we were still in elementary school. It’s been years, Yuu-kun.”

“Guess you’re right.”

My own room had changed a ton too.

Now it was filled with anime figures and an entire corner dedicated to Vtuber merch. Basically a shrine to my hobbies.

“I was kind of shocked when I heard you were sick. I mean, the weather suddenly got colder, so I guess it makes sense… but still.”

“Well, that was part of it. But honestly? I kind of brought it on myself.”

“Brought it on yourself?”

“I got way too excited about our date and stayed up late planning everything. Totally wrecked my sleep schedule and made myself sick. And… there was also the emotional damage.”

She let out a long, dramatic sigh.

“Actually, the mental part might’ve been worse. I was already sleep-deprived and feeling awful, and then Kazama-san’s confession just… finished me off. It was so sudden, I couldn’t even process it.”

Yeah, that moment caught me off guard too.

Getting my very first confession there of all places? Definitely not how I imagined it would go down.

If I was that shocked, then Tsukihi must’ve been completely blindsided.

She clenched her fists and started lightly thumping them against the bed.

“But right now… I think I’m more mad than anything.”

“Mad?”

“At myself. I ruined the date I’d been looking forward to by getting sick, and then I let Kazama-san completely outmaneuver me. It sucked. Big time.”

Her cheeks puffed up in frustration.

Well, yeah. She’d been really excited about our date, and it kind of went sideways.

Anyone would be upset after that.

After a moment of pouting, Tsukihi turned to look at me—and her expression softened a little.

“But… if Yuu-kun comes to visit me like this, maybe it’s not all bad.”

“If a visit from someone like me helps even a little, I’ll drop by anytime.”

“That actually makes me kind of happy. But still—”

She hesitated.

“If I’m being greedy… I wish it was the usual Yuu-kun. The one who isn’t carrying a million things on his shoulders.”

“…You can tell?”

“Of course I can. It’s not just that you seem troubled—you look exhausted. Honestly, you look worse off than I do.”

So she noticed.

Yeah, of course she did. That’s just the kind of person Tsukihi is.

I had to admit it—my mind was a wreck, and both my body and soul were running on empty.

“What happened?”

…Yeah, no way I could tell her.

I mean, seriously.

Getting confessed to by my favorite Vtuber and my in-game wife?

That’s already a ridiculous story to try and explain under normal circumstances—let alone to someone who’s sick and recovering.

No way I was dropping that kind of bomb on Tsukihi right now.

The last thing I wanted was to stress her out and make her cold even worse.

“So… you’re not gonna tell me?”

“It’s not that, I just—”

“It’s fine. I pretty much figured it out anyway.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“It’s about that Vtuber you’re obsessed with, right?”

…She wasn’t wrong.

“How’d you come up with that?”

“You told me about her, remember? I got curious, so I looked her up. I was lying in bed with nothing to do, so I started watching her latest stream. And I knew right away. If even I figured it out, there’s no way you didn’t.”

So she figured it out from that stream, huh…

Yeah. Telling her about Feni the Immortal Phoenix might’ve been a mistake.

“That girl—her real identity is Shiranui-san, right? That cool voice? It was super familiar. And even that cute voice she uses—I’d heard that one before, too.”

“…The cute voice too?”

“I heard it during the sports tournament. Remember that ball game where we went head-to-head? She said a few things, and I thought, ‘Wow, her voice is kinda adorable.’”

Oh right—during that basketball match.

They were matched up that day.

So when they got close, maybe Shiranui’s voice slipped into “Feni mode” without her even noticing.

“She was basically just talking like her normal self, so of course I noticed. She even brought up stuff like the shopping mall and the sports tournament.”

Right…

During that stream, Feni had been casually chatting about her day-to-day life.

She probably assumed I was the only one watching—didn’t expect any other Himegasaki students to tune in, especially with her tiny viewer count.

Shiranui’s big miscalculation?

The fact that I had mentioned Feni the Immortal Phoenix to Tsukihi.

Okay yeah… that part’s on me.

But in my defense, I didn’t know she was Shiranui at the time!

So technically, that’s not really my fault… right?

Also—just saying—

That particular stream? It’s been set to private now.

So clearly, even she realized afterward how risky that one was.

“I only figured it out during that stream too.”