Anime Collector: Starting With the Malevolent Shrine-Chapter 162 - ⟴ Miku’s Doubts

She handed in her test paper with confidence.

Miku noticed the other four had flushed faces.

Nino's brows were furrowed as she gripped Yotsuba's arm, her tightly pressed lips betraying her poor mood.

Itsuki wiped her mouth, glaring at Yotsuba with displeasure, her reddened cheeks showing signs of agitation.

In the corner, Ichika sat silently, eyes narrowed delicately as if savoring something, her cheeks moving subtly.

Yotsuba, despite being the target of Nino and Itsuki's stares, appeared exceptionally proud, her cheeks puffed out like an adorable hamster.

Catching Miku's concerned gaze, she proudly gave a thumbs up, as if to say, "Don't worry Miku, I've got everything under control!"

Their strange expressions left Miku bewildered, unable to decipher their hints, especially Yotsuba's meaning.

An unusual tension hung between the typically inseparable quintuplets, making her increasingly uneasy.

Yotsuba turned away and swallowed hard, her graceful neck moving with a strangely bitter expression.

The quintuplets' test papers showed promising results, particularly Yotsuba's performance level, which came as no surprise to Daiki.

When the graded papers were distributed, Yotsuba received hers first, achieving near perfection.

Next came Nino, composed as she brushed back her cherry blossom-colored hair. Her second-place finish was expected and met with little reaction. Rather than grades, her focus lay on strengthening her Cursed Energy and Spiritual Power, anticipating a future where Evil Spirits might run rampant.

'I've mastered Black Flash and Reverse Cursed Technique. My only weakness is insufficient Cursed Energy — still at Grade 4 Sorcerer level. Daiki-kun says the Yin-Yang Primordial Technique will accelerate my training and boost my Cursed Energy. The problem is his departure, plus Itsuki and the others keep interfering. I would've won if Yotsuba hadn't interrupted midway.'

Wiping the corner of her mouth, Nino scowled at the disparity between her share and Yotsuba's.

She'd been there first — what right did that girl have to interfere?!

'Oh well, after Daiki-kun leaves, I can just find him myself later — but how can I do it without Itsuki and the others noticing?' Nino fell silent, unconsciously accepting Yotsuba and the others' status, though she herself hadn't realized it.

Ichika ranked third among the quintuplets, placing just below Nino but above Itsuki. She seemed unfazed by grades, merely glancing at her test paper — the points she'd lost were simply on concepts she hadn't grasped.

Itsuki came next, having had less time than Nino and lacking Yotsuba's boldness in their secret tutoring sessions. Though ranking fourth, her scores were still impressive enough to place her among the top students in their grade.

Last came Miku, who stared at her test score in disbelief. She not only ranked behind fourth-place Itsuki but had the lowest score among the quintuplets — with a staggering gap between her and first-place Yotsuba.

How could this be possible?!

Even though the Hundred Teachings had been disrupted by her angry outburst, surely the gap shouldn't be this dramatic? Something else had to be going on.

"Oh? Miku, your score seems a bit low!"

As she pondered this situation, Ichika, sitting beside her, gently poked her cheek.

Miku's cheeks puffed up at the touch, "This isn't normal! We all studied together — why is there such a huge difference in our scores?"

Her bewilderment made proud Yotsuba and Itsuki freeze — they'd completely forgotten how to explain this to her.

Nino rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "Hmph, maybe you should look at your own efforts? Sure, Daiki-kun's teaching helped us improve, but this knowledge didn't come easily! We haven't been slacking lately, especially last night — we worked hard until morning."

Her tsundere remarks made Itsuki and Yotsuba blush.

Nino wasn't wrong, though their method of effort might have been unexpected, as Yotsuba unconsciously touched her slightly sore waist. Who says this isn't effort!

Miku stood dumbfounded, speechless — she hadn't expected her four sisters to suddenly abandon their usual laziness and turn over a new leaf!

"But why didn't you call me? Don't you consider me a sister anymore?" Her cheeks puffed up, anger flashing in her expression.

Itsuki and Yotsuba's mouths twitched awkwardly — how could they possibly have called her for this?

Standing nearby, Ichika tugged at her sleeve and said softly, "It's because of Daiki-kun — after all, he is your boyfriend! If you two were having private tutoring sessions at night to improve grades, we couldn't interrupt, right? If you got too tired, wouldn't that disturb your rest? Who knew you were being so proper, Miku? If we'd known, we definitely wouldn't have left you out!"

Hearing this, Miku immediately thought of the previous incident. She had questioned the others about the stockings incident, only to find out it was Daiki's doing, so it was natural for others to misunderstand.

"But...! We agreed to study together! To improve our grades together! How could I possibly do something like getting ahead on my own!" Miku's dissatisfaction melted away, leaving only a pout.

After Ichika's persuasion, she fell silent.

"Hm? Ichika, why does your mouth smell strange?"

"Ah? It's Clerodendrum tea. I'll get you a cup next time."

"Don't worry about it, Miku. Just keep studying hard — that's what matters most." Daiki replied with a gentle smile.

Seeing that the quintuplets had no more questions, he bid farewell.

"Sorry, Daiki-kun, I'll make it up to you next time." Miku said softly.

"No problem, my dear. Bye, everyone."

Then he transferred home under everyone's gaze.

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Meanwhile, Mafuyu Kirisu held another tutoring session.

The invited participants were Fumino Furuhashi and Rizu Ogata. They expected another difficult teaching session, but something unexpected happened.

Rizu's liberal arts scores were all nearly perfect!

This completely stunned Fumino sitting nearby.

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We agreed to all be mediocre together — how dare you secretly become an overachiever!

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