Anime Collector: Starting With the Malevolent Shrine

Everyone gathered together to enjoy a lavish dinner.

Under the bright lights, the living room buzzed with energy. All previous unpleasantness seemed forgotten.

As night fell, Ayase and the others cleaned up the dishes.

"Iroha, it's getting late. Why don't Kirino and I stay over at your place? It would be troublesome if we ran into something nasty out there."

Iroha's face stiffened slightly.

Behind Ayase's warm smile lay her true motive — she wanted to use this opportunity to prevent Iroha's "training" with Daiki, hoping their relationship would gradually fade away.

How could she let her friend's wish come true?

'This is troublesome. I need to think of a reasonable excuse to stop Ayase from interfering.'

Though her thoughts were racing, Iroha responded with an adorable, innocent smile that betrayed none of her true intentions.

"No problem!"

Mei and Mai were staying in the guest room, and Mai, who had managed to avoid being kicked out, felt both excited and anxious.

Glancing at the other woman staying there, concern flickered in Ayase's eyes — she suspected Mai harbored similar feelings. After all, being in this environment every day, it would be natural to develop such emotions.

After careful consideration, Ayase decided not to say more. The urgent matter now was to save Iroha — she absolutely couldn't watch her friend become someone who would destroy Daiki's relationship!

❊❊❊❊❊❊❊❊❊❊

As night deepened, silence fell over everything. Clear moonlight bathed the ground.

In her room, Iroha stared intently at her phone's display.

"Four hours have passed — I can head out now. No matter how cautious Ayase is, she'd never guess I deliberately waited until she was exhausted before making my move."

Snickering to herself, she quietly opened the door, only to find herself staring at a pair of feet. Looking up, she met an ice-cold, contemptuous gaze.

"Iroha, where are you going?"

The ghostly voice echoed through the dark living room, moonlight illuminating half of Ayase's face while shadows cloaked the other.

The cold, detached expression struck Iroha's heart like a hammer, making it skip a beat. Her voice trembled with tears.

Ayase's expression softened, clearly not expecting such a tearful reaction. She quickly waved her hands in reassurance, "Ah, don't be like that. I just heard movement and wanted to check why you were up so late. I didn't mean to frighten you. Are you okay, Iroha?"

Her panicked demeanor revealed how worried she was about truly frightening her friend.

Sitting on the sofa trying to calm her nerves, Iroha remained tense but realized something — Ayase was lying. She hadn't made any noise at all, which meant Ayase must have been standing outside her door the entire time.

No, this was beyond creepy. Standing guard outside someone's door in the dead of night without sleeping — what kind of urban legend was this? Didn't she need rest?

As these thoughts raced through her mind, Iroha hesitated before asking, "Ayase, do you think I'm like a bad woman?"

"No, of course not!"

Ayase clasped her hands together, and her gentle tone made Iroha's face brighten with joy — she knew the kind girl would believe in her.

But before her happiness could take root, Ayase continued, "You're not like one — you absolutely are one! Destroying Daiki-senpai's relationship, damn it!"

Those final words, hissed through gritted teeth, sent tremors through Iroha's body.

She quickly tried to explain, "You've misunderstood me! Everything I'm doing is for Daiki-senpai's safety!"

Ayase raised an eyebrow, clearly expecting more excuses, but played along, "What does this have to do with Senpai?"

"Sigh, I didn't want to tell you this, but since this isn't good for your health either, I'll let you know quietly!"

It had to be said — Iroha's acting was masterful.

Even the skeptical Ayase, watching her friend's expressions and mannerisms, began to doubt herself — could she have truly misunderstood her friend?

Iroha took her friend's fair hand, sat her down on the sofa, and spoke slowly, "Ayase, what do you think of Senpai's strength?"

"Hmm? He must be very strong, right? After all, as the Jujutsu Inspector General with authority over the entire Jujutsu World, he needs the power to back up that position." Ayase fell silent briefly after sharing her thoughts.

"What about compared to the whole world?" Iroha asked, her tone grave.

The serious question caught Ayase off guard — truthfully, she didn't know much about the Jujutsu World, having focused solely on Cursed Energy cultivation lately.

"..." She remained silent, aware of this gap in her knowledge.

Seeing this, Iroha's lips curled into a smile as she began weaving her tale, "Did you know that a thousand years ago was the Golden Age of Jujutsu Sorcerers? During that peak period, the Strongest Sorcerer — known as the King of Curses — appeared and has lived on as a Cursed Object through the millennia. Their goal is to destroy the Jujutsu World! Now that Daiki-senpai leads the Jujutsu World — can you imagine what disaster would unfold if they were to meet?"

Ayase opened and closed her mouth. She had never heard this story before, and something felt off about it, though she couldn't pinpoint what.

"But... what does this have to do with you, Iroha? Besides, Daiki-senpai is so powerful — surely even the King of Curses couldn't defeat him, right?" She asked hesitantly.

At this point, Iroha knew she had succeeded.

She had overheard Mei Mei mention the King of Curses while Ayase and Kirino were busy refining Cursed Energy. Finding their cultivation efficiency too slow, she had chatted with the Grade 1 Sorcerer instead. Now it seemed this girl hadn't paid attention to such matters.

Organizing the information in her mind, she prepared to craft an enormous lie. With a grave expression, she declared, "This is the King of Curses we're talking about! They control humanity's four ultimate fears — of volcanoes, forests, oceans, and humanity itself. It's terrifying!"

"The reason I do those things with Senpai is because of his special ability — just by doing... that... we can increase power! The Jujutsu World appears peaceful now, but it's actually in turmoil. Ayase, would you have me watch Senpai's power stagnate and lead to defeat when the final battle with the King of Curses comes?"

"Daiki-senpai is too conservative for this kind of thing, but I, Iroha Isshiki, am willing to give my heart for the future of the Jujutsu World!"

Iroha clenched her small fist, her emotions running high.

Actually, Mei Mei had only mentioned the first three — they were Special Grade Curses — but Iroha felt these weren't shocking enough. So she invented the fourth fear, believing that the human heart was the most terrifying of all.

Ayase found herself overwhelmed and confused. Deep down, she suspected Iroha was fabricating the story, yet she couldn't bring herself to dismiss it entirely.

After all, this involved Daiki's life and safety — she had to consider every possibility carefully!

❊❊❊

T/N: If you want more chapters like this, check out my Patreon! Take a look at my other translations too, you might like them!

For just $1 you can access all the extra content, descriptive images, and the smuts (this one has a lot), costs only $2!

That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)

https://www.patreon.com/mrblackwing