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

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Chapter 31: Himegasaki Festival Showdown – A Date with the Princess

After finishing my date with Shiranui, I went straight back to the classroom and threw myself into work.

The crowd hadn’t let up even a little.

Customer service was brutal—like, black-company levels of exhausting.

Nonstop orders, smiling through the fatigue, always on your feet.

It was chaos.

I was completely drained, but somehow I powered through the afternoon shift without causing any major screw-ups.

And once it ended, I didn’t even stop to catch my breath—I just jumped straight into the next thing.

Honestly, I knew from the start today was going to be intense.

Still, I agreed to this schedule myself, so I had no right to complain.

“—Excuse me.”

I arrived at the student council room, which had been set as our meeting spot.

Why here, of all places?

Because the school grounds were a madhouse.

And with someone like Kanon—currently rocketing up the popularity charts—just walking around out there…

It would’ve turned into a full-blown circus.

It wasn’t just visitors from outside, either. Even our own students had been lining up to talk to her.

So to avoid the chaos, the ever-efficient student council president, Hikawa, made the call to tuck her away in the student council room.

Technically, using school facilities for something this personal is… a bit of a gray area.

But in this case?

Yeah, I had to admit—it was a good call. Props to her.

“That outfit looks good on you.”

“Thank you, Da—Senpai.”

“…”

Lately, Kanon had been trying to call me by the same name she used in the game…

But every time, she chickened out halfway and switched back to her usual way of addressing me.

Honestly? That was totally fine by me.

If she ever actually said it out loud at school, I’d probably die of secondhand embarrassment on the spot.

Anyway—

Today, Kanon was dressed like a fortune-teller.

She wore a long, navy-blue cloak, and the oversized hood draped over her head completely—

Just tilting her head a little was enough to hide her entire face.

Honestly, she looked more like a wizard than a fortune-teller…

But since she was adorable either way, who was I to complain?

“You’re going out in that outfit?”

“Disguise.”

“Fair enough.”

With that thing on, no one would’ve guessed it was Kanon under there.

“Oh right—where’s Hikawa?”

“She said if she stayed close, she’d lose it and go berserk.”

“Yikes. That’s terrifying.”

“She had the scariest face.”

I was the one who asked, but yeah…

Kinda glad she wasn’t here.

If she saw us walking around together like this, she’d definitely flip out.

“All right then. Let’s head out before she comes back.”

With a nod, Kanon and I left the student council room together.

Walking beside her—so much smaller than me—I couldn’t help but feel… strangely out of place.

I mean, I was walking through school… with my online wife.

The more I thought about it, the weirder it felt.

It was like strolling around with your favorite celebrity.

Or maybe even weirder than that.

Even though I knew—technically—that Kanon and Non-Non were the same person,

My brain just couldn’t connect the dots.

They were way too different.

Non-Non was this bubbly, cheerful, super-stylish blonde elf with a knockout figure.

Kanon, on the other hand, was quiet, petite, and… let’s just say fashion wasn’t exactly her strong suit.

The gap between them felt massive.

Even after her confession, we kept playing Utopia Online together.

And even after I found out that Non-Non was actually Kanon, nothing really changed.

She was still the same talkative elf in-game—same voice, same playful tone.

And honestly? I didn’t want things to get awkward, so I never brought it up.

I just kept treating her like my in-game wife, like always.

“So, where do you wanna go—”

“The haunted house!”

“Whoa!”

She cut me off with that answer before I could even finish the question.

“Uh… you like that kind of stuff?”

Kanon nodded eagerly.

Now that I thought about it, Non-Non did mention she liked haunted houses and horror stuff.

Even in-game, she loved diving headfirst into creepy dungeons full of undead monsters.

So that wasn’t part of the act, huh?

Well, I’d left the planning to her—so I didn’t really have a say anyway.

And with that, we headed off to the haunted house.

It was already packed.

Judging by how people were reacting as they came out, it was probably scarier than expected.

“…”

“Senpai?”

“N-Nothing! It’s nothing at all!”

Before I could overthink that awkward pause, our turn came up—

And Kanon and I stepped into the haunted house.

Right after we entered…

“Wah, sooo scary~”

Okay.

Could that have sounded any more fake?

Despite claiming to be scared, Kanon’s expression didn’t budge an inch.

Which, yeah—made sense.

We hadn’t even seen a single ghost yet.

Then, without warning, she casually clung to my arm.

And once she latched on… she didn’t let go.

“!!”

Even someone as dense as me could see what was happening.

This was clearly a setup.

That obviously forced “scared” line?

Total bait.

What she really wanted was an excuse to get closer.

A dark, enclosed space, just the two of us—

And before anything even jumped out, she made her move.

I’d heard before that haunted houses were like relationship cheat codes—

That fear and dim lighting helped romance move faster.

Kanon had definitely picked this place with that exact effect in mind.

And now, she was using it to get as close as possible.

A terrifying mastermind… wrapped up in a tiny frame.

Up until now, I’d managed to keep a clear head by overanalyzing everything.

But unfortunately for her…

Her little plan didn’t quite go the way she’d hoped.

“Eeeek!”

…Yeah.

I totally lost it.

It’s not like I’ve got a problem with scary stuff in general.

But jump scares?

Those are my kryptonite.

I don’t believe in ghosts or anything supernatural,

But if someone suddenly screams from behind me?

I’m gonna scream back.

And guess what this haunted house specialized in?

Yup—nothing but jump scares.

The actors must’ve noticed how jittery I was,

Because they went all-in just for me.

They dialed up the spooks to max.

I really tried to play it cool, I swear…

But that pathetic little yelp?

Yeah, it stayed with me all the way to the exit.

By the time we stumbled out, I was completely wrecked.

“F-Finally over…”

“…”

“I mean, it was cheesy and all, but… surprisingly well done, right?”

“……”

Please stop looking at me like that.

That pitying stare hurts more than any ghost ever could.

“Sorry. I’m really bad with jump scares.”

“It’s fine. Kanon had fun because of it, actually.”

“Wait… because of it?”

“…I discovered a weak point in senpai.”

…Oof.

Now that was embarrassing.

I wasn’t sure which was worse—

The shame of being exposed in front of a junior…

Or the fact that it was my in-game wife who saw it happen.

Anyway. Time to shake that off and move on.

After we left the haunted house, Kanon took the lead.

“There’s somewhere Kanon wants to go next.”

“Where to?”

“My class.”

“…Oh.”

Honestly?

Not exactly thrilled about that one.

Kanon’s class had set up a fortune-telling booth.

And yeah, they were doing actual readings.

But the problem wasn’t the fortune-telling part.

It was who was inside.

That booth was home to the one person

I’d been trying to avoid more than anyone during this whole festival.

So far, I’d managed to steer clear of her all day—

And I was really hoping to keep that streak alive.

“Welcome to—”

Ayane—my mortal enemy… and, unfortunately, also my little sister—froze the moment she saw me.

“Ugh, Aniki? What are you doing here?”

“Act like a proper host. I’m a customer, remember?”

“Then fix that face of yours and come back when you actually look like one!”

…What even is a “customer face”?

“And what’s with that thing on your head?”

I stared at the strange accessory perched on top of her head.

All the other fortune-tellers were wearing matching long, mage-style cloaks with plain hoods.

But Ayane?

Her hood had cat ears on it.

And yeah… they suited her.

Way too well, actually.

The problem was, she was the only one wearing cat ears—so she stood out like a spotlight.

“No way I’d let a golden opportunity like this go to waste! Stuff like this is crazy popular, you know? Guys are dumb and simple-minded. Slap on something cute and act all cutesy, and boom—they’re toast.”

That’s… a pretty brutal take.

I wanted to scold her on behalf of my entire gender,

But then I glanced around and… yeah.

Unfortunately, she had a point.

There were a few other girls working the booth,

But Ayane was clearly the fan favorite.

By a landslide.

Her personality might be garbage,

But I had to admit—her drive to become a Princess was legit.

“Didn’t you see it yourself, Aniki? The Princess hype is what pulls people in.”

“Yeah… no argument there.”

It was true.

Most of the visitors were obviously here just to catch a glimpse of the Princesses.

“If I become a Princess, even hot guys from other schools will start lining up just to see me. It’s one step closer to my dream. So yeah, I’m gonna do whatever it takes. Always gotta give it my all.”

…And naturally, the one who ends up suffering from her “give it your all” mindset is me.

As I silently sighed at Ayane’s usual nonsense,

Kanon—who’d been standing quietly beside me this whole time—finally spoke up.

“Ayane-chan, give me a fortune reading.”

“Yeah yeah, got it.”

Her tone was pure garbage, but apparently she actually took the readings seriously.

After getting some basic info, she laid out the tarot cards.

She used to be clumsy and awkward with it,

But now?

She looked surprisingly legit.

Guess all that practice finally paid off.

“Your compatibility’s looking pretty good. If you two became a couple, you’d probably be pretty happy.”

“Wow. That’s vague.”

“I gave you a legit reading, okay? And hey—if Kanon’s cool with it, why don’t you just start dating already?”

“…What about Kazama?”

Wasn’t she supposed to be on Team Kazama?

“Look, becoming a Princess is my top priority. As long as you make your big declaration and seal the deal, I don’t care who you pick—I’ll cheer you on either way. Yeah, I was rooting for Kazama-senpai since she promised to support my campaign, so I was kinda leaning her way. But Kanon’s my friend too. Honestly, she’s way too good for a guy like you. But if you’re serious about her… I’ll back you up.”

So basically, as long as someone—anyone—made things official,

The rest of the competition would back off…

And the path to Princesshood would be clear for her.

From beginning to end, she never wavered.

Relentless, shameless, and laser-focused.

“I’ll give everything I’ve got to help Ayane-chan become a Princess. I won’t hold back, ever.”

“Our compatibility is off the charts! If you two became a couple, you’d be ridiculously happy!”

…Could this girl be any more full of it?

There was no way she actually believed any of that.

But Kanon looked completely satisfied.

She probably didn’t care about the fortune itself.

What mattered was hearing those words from Ayane—

Like she just wanted a gentle push from a friend.

Of course, I kept all that to myself.

After leaving the fortune-telling booth, we wandered around the festival for a while.

Thanks to her disguise, Kanon managed to fly under the radar pretty well.

We checked out all kinds of spots, roaming the campus until our time was nearly up.

As usual, Kanon didn’t show much emotion on her face.

But judging by the light bounce in her step, I could tell she was enjoying herself.

Even if her expression didn’t change, her body language gave her away.

Just like Non-Non in-game.

“—Well, looks like our time’s up.”

Our date had officially come to an end.

Kanon gave a small nod.

Her face stayed as blank as ever,

But… I could’ve sworn there was a trace of reluctance there.

“Um… What did you think of our date?”

“I had a great time.”

Even with the haunted house,

Even with Ayane being there—definitely not my comfort zone—

I still genuinely enjoyed it.

Because I was with Kanon.

I answered honestly.

But for some reason…

Kanon’s expression suddenly clouded over.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Kanon’s not good at talking. Unlike Non-Non… I just can’t get the words out.”

“Well, I mean, real life and games are two totally different worlds. It’s normal. Everyone’s got stuff they’re good at—and stuff they struggle with.”

There are plenty of people who aren’t great at talking face-to-face.

Same way I’m perfectly fine with horror and jump scares in games—

But a complete wreck when it happens in real life.

Your real self doesn’t always line up with your virtual one.

“I really wanted to act like Non-Non today. But I couldn’t do it at all.”

“I don’t think you need to be the same.”

“Huh?”

Kanon blinked at me, like she didn’t quite follow.

“Non-Non and Kanon… they’re both you, right? If you feel like they’re two totally different people, then that just means I get to enjoy both sides of you. Sounds like a win-win to me.”

At that, Kanon let out the tiniest giggle.

“And honestly? You weren’t that different.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. Like, your movements, the way you reacted to stuff—it all felt really familiar. But more than anything, it was the vibe. Walking around with you… it felt just like being with Non-Non.”

That’s when it clicked.

Watching her wander through the food stalls,

Eyes sparkling with curiosity…

It reminded me of Non-Non hunting for rare loot in-game.

That same light, that same joy.

And just for a moment—

I could picture it.

What it might actually be like…

If the two of us really started dating.

“Um… thank you.”

“Right back at you.”

“…I’m really looking forward to your answer.”