Anime Collector: Starting With the Malevolent Shrine

The rooftop of Sōbu High.

Unlike its usual relaxed atmosphere, a heavy tension now permeated the air.

Utaha and the others stared in shock at one corner of the rooftop.

"Daiki-kun, open your mouth, aah———" Miku used her chopsticks to offer him some food.

Daiki complied, and she gently placed the food in his mouth before raising a clean handkerchief to wipe away rice grains from his lips.

Yukino's eyes flickered slightly, but she remained silent. After all, Miku was his girlfriend — that was an established fact. Though she intended to pursue Daiki, she wouldn't cause a scene. She simply took out her lunchbox and sat quietly next to him.

This made Nino, who was sitting next to Yukino, grind her teeth in anger.

Under normal circumstances, that should have been her seat! But this rich girl had claimed it under the pretense of discussing family business.

Despite her resentment, Nino felt a hint of surprise.

According to Yukino, nearly half of her family's assets had been allocated to Daiki. The Yukinoshita family was one of Chiba's prestigious clans.

Her Nakano family merely ran a private hospital. Though their connections were extensive by ordinary standards, they couldn't compare to local powers like the Yukinoshita family.

For such a powerful family to allocate half their assets to him — Nino had to admit she had underestimated the value of being a Jujutsu Sorcerer.

This filled her with urgency. She couldn't predict whether the Yukinoshita family would offer even more.

Take this persistent Yukino before her. If she were to pursue Daiki at any cost, would he refuse?

| Nino Nakano — Secondie |

| Ichika, are you sure there's nothing between Yukinoshita and Daiki-kun? It better not affect Miku's relationship. |

Nino took out her phone and sent a message to Ichika, who was not far away.

Reading the message, Ichika was slightly surprised. Despite having acknowledged her relationship with Daiki, Nino was still concerned about Miku.

Could there be some misunderstanding?

| Ichika Nakano — Firstie |

| I guarantee! There's absolutely nothing going on! As long as I'm here, Daiki-kun is absolutely safe! I'll eliminate any possibility of anyone trying to steal him! |

The confident declaration made Nino's eyebrows twitch.

She had not only stolen him but thoroughly enjoyed the process. It seemed she needed to find time to change Ichika's stubborn mindset!

However... she wondered why her sister was so confident.

Putting away her phone, Ichika didn't offer any further explanation. She could hardly admit it was because she'd been stealing him herself, leaving no chance for others.

Miko and Hana were uninvolved parties who had wandered into this situation. They quietly ate their meals, pretending not to notice the tense atmosphere around them.

"Daiki-kun, was that commotion at the stone shrine earlier your doing?" Yukino asked between bites of rice.

"Yes, the Cursed Object in the shrine was devoured by an Evil Spirit. The chances of encountering Evil Spirits at Sōbu High will likely increase from now on."

Daiki's words made Miko raise her head.

Ginko, who had been sitting far away, walked over to his shaded area.

"Does that mean nowhere will be safe anymore?" Ichika asked worriedly, remembering the grotesque Zombie Devil.

"Well, the invisible Evil Spirits aren't really the issue. The main concern is that you might encounter some strange phenomena." Daiki explained, thinking of Fumino's description about the strange dog.

Hearing this, Miku seized the opportunity to nestle closer to his arms.

"What should we do?" Nino wrapped her arms around her shoulders, her voice tinged with fear.

"Don't worry too much. Here's one strand of Spiritual Power for each of you. Evil Spirits will stay away as long as the Spiritual Power isn't depleted." Black Spiritual Power swirled around Daiki's fingertips.

This mystical sight made Yukino and the others widen their eyes in wonder. Even Saki, sitting far away, gaped in astonishment.

'What is that? Magic? And those Evil Spirits they're talking about... could it be...' She suddenly recalled the shadow she'd encountered while returning from her part-time job yesterday.

She had met it unexpectedly on her way home at night and dismissed it as her imagination. Now thinking back, that must have been an Evil Spirit!

The quintuplets and Yukino shared six strands of Spiritual Power between them.

Yotsuba watched in amazement as the Spiritual Power flowed into her body through her fingertips. Even the usually composed Itsuki stared at the strand, mouth dry with wonder.

Nino, Ichika, and Miku showed little surprise. The first two had witnessed his true power before, while the later's calm reaction stemmed purely from her trust in Daiki.

Yukino pressed on, "Daiki-kun, do you have any more? I'd like to get some for my mother and sister too — I can pay for it!"

"I want to buy some too. We can negotiate the price." Ginko, who had been silent until now, interjected eagerly.

She wasn't afraid of death, but Keika and her Master, Rina, needed it.

"Daiki-kun, we'd like to buy some too..." Miko and Hana echoed the little girl's request.

"I'm afraid not. This is extracted using my Innate Technique, and currently, the amount of Spiritual Power I can gather is limited — there's basically no surplus."

From afar, Saki's face fell with disappointment. She had wanted to buy a strand for her sister Keika Kawasaki, who was home alone.

"Don't worry about your family, Yukino. I've left nine strands of Spiritual Power with your family. Generally, if you don't go out, you won't encounter things like Evil Spirits."

Yukino's emotions fluctuated wildly. She hadn't expected her family to possess nine whole strands of Spiritual Power!

Miku and Nino frowned slightly but quickly composed themselves. After all, the Yukinoshita family was bound to him — leaving this awith them made sense.

Only Ichika's brow creased imperceptibly, for she knew the true nature of Daiki's Innate Technique.

'He left so much Spiritual Power with the Yukinoshita family... Just how many times did he do it with Nino?!' A crushing weight settled on Ichika's heart.

Though Daiki wasn't her boyfriend, she felt betrayed nonetheless.

As she imagined Nino and him using the Innate Technique, her grip tightened on her chopsticks until they snapped with a sharp crack.

'Damn it!' Never had she felt such frustration.

Yet she could only swallow this anger in silence. It hadn't seemed so terrible before, but now she sensed Nino's presence all over Daiki, as if he bore her mark!

'Stay calm! Stay calm! I'm the one who came after! I stole from Nino, not the other way around... not the other way around...'

Better to maintain peace for now than to retreat and grow more upset.

Forcing a warm smile, she asked, "Daiki-kun, how many strands of Spiritual Power can you extract from one use of your Innate Technique?"

Daiki looked up and replied, "Ten times for one strand!"

Ten times for one strand!

A faint blush colored Ichika's cheeks as she secretly took out her phone and sent him two messages.

| Ichika-chan — Red Model♡ |

| Daiki-kun, why does the Yukinoshita family get nine strands while Miku and the others only get one each? Do you think I can't afford it? |

| Let's start with fifty times tonight, to add one more strand each for Miku and the others! |

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