Anime Collector: Starting With the Malevolent Shrine

"If your food is as delicious as you are, then it's all fine." Daiki smiled, leaning close to whisper in her ear, "But I think you might want to try my food. After all, you were eagerly tasting me not too long ago..."

His suggestive whisper made Mei brush aside her cascading white hair, her cheeks flushing as his hands grew bolder.

Though she had liked her previous unique braided hairstyle, Daiki had mentioned that while he enjoyed her braids, she looked even more beautiful with her hair loose.

Her waist-length white hair swayed as she inhaled the cooking aroma.

"Those three girls next door have decent cooking skills." With her senses heightened by Cursed Energy, Mei could clearly hear everything Ayase and the others were doing in the neighboring apartment.

The enticing aroma from next door was impressive. By normal standards, their cooking was quite good — better than her own cooking skills, she had to admit.

She simply smiled at their unexplained hostility.

"Not bad — good quality beef, though slightly overcooked." Daiki's nose twitched as he assessed the cooking.

Mei's eyes widened in surprise, "Looks like I can just sit back and enjoy."

She gently traced the corner of his mouth, her expression softening.

"Since Daiki-kun won't let me cook, I'll have to reward you differently." Her lips curved into a mischievous smile as she lowered herself.

Daiki maintained his steady rhythm with the kitchen knife, its blade leaving afterimages as it rose and fell. The hot oil bubbled, releasing fragrant seasonings into the air.

From her position below, Mei breathed in the mixture of Daiki's scent and cooking aromas. The scents filled her nose with each breath, while her persistent mouth moved steadily, leaving trails of saliva along the full length.

❊❊❊❊❊❊❊❊❊❊

Next door, Ayase and Kirino worked together confidently while Iroha, inexperienced with cooking, stood by to assist.

"Wow, Ayase, your cooking must have improved! The ginger pork smell is so strong I can smell it with my eyes closed!" Kirino exclaimed from her cooking station.

"Huh? I'm making braised beef! I thought that was yours."

"I'm making eel rice!"

Kirino and Ayase turned to each other in surprise.

"Um, it must be from next door!" Iroha raised her hand timidly from her assistant position, "Actually, Daiki-senpai is quite skilled at cooking. Even head chefs at high-end restaurants might not match his skill."

The embarrassed girl could only remind them helplessly. She had tried mentioning this before, but they never listened.

"It's fine, I still have steak!" Ayase's face flushed as she recalled her earlier boasting.

"Right! Steak only needs black pepper and seasonings — it's more about the meat quality than cooking skill," Kirino added quickly, trying to salvage their pride.

But as they cooked their steaks, an enticing aroma wafted from next door.

"We've got this!"

Kirino and Ayase exchanged determined looks.

According to Iroha, their senpai hadn't been home for two days. He couldn't possibly have high-grade steak sitting in his fridge.

With Iroha having bought such expensive ingredients, they just needed to rely on their superior beef quality to win this cooking battle.

But then a magnificent beef aroma mixed with rich oil fragrance hit them, the black pepper perfectly complementing the meat.

Most surprising was the subtle fresh aroma weaving through it all.

"Could that be rosemary?"

"How is his beef aroma so rich? I can smell distinct layers of rosemary, black pepper, and beef."

"Did he drug the food?"

The steak's ingredients were simple enough. Daiki had used rosemary, but hadn't they used it too?

Though Iroha had thoughtfully prepared all the same seasonings, the gap in cooking skill was devastatingly clear.

Ayase couldn't help but question whether she was even cooking beef anymore.

"The recipe says rosemary enhances the steak's aroma and has antioxidant properties that maintain the beef's freshness and texture. I never thought it made much difference before. Could my recipe be missing the most crucial cooking technique?" No matter how hard she thought, the black-haired girl couldn't figure out what made the difference.

Not just at Iroha's house next door — even passersby stopped in their tracks.

"We're completely outmatched..." Kirino wiped the sweat from her cheeks, her expression grave.

When the steak was finally served, they realized how far they'd fallen short. What they once would have considered perfect in appearance, aroma, and taste now seemed mediocre compared to the heavenly smells from next door.

Ayase hadn't even noticed her braised beef had burnt.

The whole living room fell into dead silence. She refused to believe there weren't drugs involved.

Click!

Both kitchens turned off their stoves almost simultaneously, but the contrast in presentation and aromas was stark.

Daiki's cooking had thoroughly overwhelmed the three next door.

"... My eel rice should still be okay." Kirino quickly consoled the crestfallen Ayase.

As the host, Iroha remained attentive despite her disappointment.

"I'm fine!" Ayase forced a smile.

What puzzled her most was Daiki's cooking method.

The aroma alone revealed his extraordinary culinary skills — as Iroha had said, even high-end restaurant head chefs couldn't compare.

Mei, wiping the corners of her mouth and nose, walked to the window and invited the three next door.

"Little ones, would you like to come over and eat together?"

"Hmph, no way!" The proud Kirino immediately refused.

She didn't notice Iroha's face stiffening beside her.

She wanted to! She wanted to!! She wanted to!!!

But with her friend's refusal, she couldn't contradict her.

After all, Ayase and Kirino were trying to help her save face. Though they might have misunderstood something, their intentions were good.

The refusal came quickly, but eating became torturous — smelling such rich aromas while eating such bland food.

After finishing all the food, the three still felt unsatisfied.

"Should we order takeout?" Iroha patted her stomach and asked tentatively.

"Won't we get fat? I still have a running competition." Kirino hesitated, but the lingering aroma made her unable to refuse.

"Let's just order one portion from that good udon place nearby. They do deliveries now — we can share it between the three of us."

Hearing they would split one portion, Kirino and Ayase hesitantly agreed.

Soon after, the Ogata Udon delivery arrived.

Ayase opened the door to find a petite mascot girl.

"Hello, here's your udon order." Rizu Ogata held out the packaged meal.

Her eyebrows lifted slightly — what a wonderful smell!

Despite having just left the hospital, Rizu couldn't stay idle. With the recent low customer flow, she had started making udon deliveries. She hadn't expected to find such an enticing meaty aroma in this area.

It made her stomach growl with hunger.

"Thank you!" Ayase said politely.

"Ahhh, why won't this smell go away! Daiki-senpai is so annoying!"

As Rizu turned to leave, she heard the commotion from inside.

"Excuse me, that Daiki-senpai — is it Daiki Tsukasa-senpai?" She asked suddenly.

"Huh? Iroha, is the senpai next door called Daiki Tsukasa?" Ayase asked, turning toward the living room.

"Yes, why?"

"Nothing, just seems like she's a friend of next door's senpai." Ayase studied Rizu carefully.

The girl was petite but perfectly cute — like Thumbelina from the fairy tale.

"Wait, are you... second-year Rizu Ogata-senpai?" Recognition dawned on Ayase's face as she blurted out the question.

❊❊❊

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