Anime, Girlfriend Shokuhou Misaki

"Y-You, y-y-you, y-you, you wouldn't be thinking of completely eradicating us, would you?"

"We were eliminated in the very first round. If you're still not satisfied, we can withdraw from Akatsuki Academy right now."

Kazematsuri Rinna's teeth were chattering as well.

Although no one has figured out the truth yet, she had a premonition that Shinomya Amane from their academy had been disappeared by the man in front of her.

Now that this man had come here, was he planning to make them disappear as well?

As for her saying they would withdraw from Akatsuki Academy...

Wasn't that obvious?

Even if Haramura Makoto hadn't come, she already had the idea of withdrawing from Akatsuki Academy and persuading her father to give up.

For no other reason than the current state of Akatsuki Academy's fortunes. After Sarah's defeat, the academy's future was visible to the naked eye.

Calling it a setting sun would be inaccurate.

It was more like a seedling that hadn't even grown up yet, directly having its roots severed.

Who wouldn't withdraw from Akatsuki Academy at this point, waiting for the entire Kazematsuri Financial Group to decline along with Akatsuki Academy?

She was indeed a chuuni young lady, but she wasn't a stupid young lady.

"Don't overthink it."

"I'm not interested in you. I'm here to find Sarah Bradley."

Haramura Makoto's face showed mockery, and he directly walked past Kazematsuri Rinna, gently knocking on the door.

"It's Haramura Makoto, open the door."

"Eh?"

A rather loud surprised voice came from inside the room, and a girl wearing a paint-stained apron walked out.

"Y-You, why are you here?"

For Sarah, the man standing before her was a complete surprise.

And seeing her seeming to have forgotten everything, Haramura Makoto's eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm here to have you fulfill our bet. You don't only remember the part that's beneficial to you, do you?"

"..."

Sarah's face turned red all at once, as red as a ripe peach.

"T-That's right..."

Clearly, Kazematsuri Rinna was even more surprised than Sarah, so surprised that she couldn't even straighten her tongue.

Haramura Makoto and Sarah's bet was made in front of her.

So she was one of the few who knew about it, but she really didn't take the bet seriously, just treating it as a joke.

"T-That, that—"

Kazematsuri Rinna hurriedly wanted to speak.

But Sarah directly held out her hand, stopping Kazematsuri Rinna from speaking.

"I know what you want to say. I'll talk to you about the subsequent matters later."

Kazematsuri Rinna was very worried.

She still wanted to continue speaking, but she was worried about being scolded by Sarah. To her, an angry Sarah was super scary.

From a standpoint, Sarah was her stepsister.

How could she not be worried?

But Sarah had already opened the door, welcoming Haramura Makoto inside.

...

Hmm, how should I put it?

I can only say that Sarah's room was completely within Haramura Makoto's expectations. Her room was as messy as she was.

The floor was covered with opened paint containers, some of the paint already dripping onto the floor tiles.

The bed was randomly scattered with the same style of aprons she was currently wearing, some clean, some not.

Sarah casually sat down on a chair, her face full of melancholy.

"I remember the agreement."

"However, if you want me to work for you completely, I still need to resolve the contract with the Kazematsuri Financial Group."

"For the time being, I can only do it as a part-time job."

"But I will prioritize your tasks as much as possible."

Haramura Makoto also tried to find an empty spot and sat down.

"Those aren't very important."

"The restraints have already been invisibly placed on you. What I want to know now is why you're so persistent about having me as your nude model."

"I wasn't interested in asking before, but now I want to know."

Haramura Makoto asked his question.

He was very clear that he possessed a unique aura, and it was precisely because of this aura that transcended vulgarity that many women were fascinated by him.

It was only natural that Sarah would want him as a model.

However, he had already refused several times and proposed such harsh conditions, making it really incomprehensible what she was so persistent about.

"It has to be you, no one else will do."

Sarah shook her head, her paint-stained messy hair dancing with her head movements, making her gloomy face erratic.

"I have a painting that I must complete. That painting lacks a crucial element, and that element must be compensated by you."

"A painting that must be completed?"

"Yes."

Sarah nodded her head like a chick pecking at rice.

From her low tone, she gradually told her own story.

——Sarah Bradley!

The girl currently telling her story had spent her days in a hospital bed since birth.

She was born with a very serious illness, her bones were abnormally fragile, and simply moving could cause her bones to fracture. Let alone standing up and walking, even getting out of bed was difficult.

At that time!

She lived in a nameless studio in the Italian countryside.

The things she could see in that studio were her entire world at the time.

In her narrow world, all she could see all day long were easels scattered throughout the room, and a man always painting with his back to her.

That was her father, a painter of no fame.

He always stood in front of a canvas that covered a wall, frantically wielding the paint in his hand.

It was a religious painting.

The theme of the painting was the Battle of Armageddon, the scene of the Messiah burning away many demons with holy light.

Her father worked on that painting year after year, and even her crying and fussing couldn't pull her father's gaze back.

In the young Sarah's vision, there seemed to be only her father's back.

So much so that she still doesn't know what her father looks like.

Her daily life, her father's daily life, were all taken care of by the helpers her father had hired.

He was like he was possessed by a demon, completely immersed in the world of painting.

"I hate that painting, and I don't like painting either."

Sarah lowered her head, her eyes full of hatred.

"It was that painting that took my father away."

She really hoped that her father could put down the painting in his hand and hold her in his arms with the hand that had always been holding the brush.

But not once, that kind of proper father-daughter relationship absolutely didn't exist between them.

Haramura Makoto was slightly silent, only the gaze he used to look at Sarah flickered slightly.

He was also an orphan.

Although he couldn't completely empathize with Sarah in the full sense, he could still feel a bit of empathy.

"Then why do you hate painting, but you pick up the paintbrush?"

"And it's not just picking up the paintbrush, the shape of your soul is like this."

Haramura Makoto asked Sarah the point he cared about the most.

"Yes, it's my father's death."

That's right, it was the death of that father who didn't care about her.

The father who painted day and night suddenly couldn't hold the paintbrush anymore one day and fell in front of the canvas.

She didn't know why she would cry for this irresponsible father.

By the time the helpers sent the dead father to the hospital, the test results had already come out.

It was overwork, death from overwork.

Sarah, burning with anger, cast her hateful gaze at the canvas that had taken her father's life.

She braced her fragile body and stood up.

Picking up a knife, she stood in front of the canvas, wanting to destroy this thing that had taken her father's life.

But, she stopped her hand.

Before, she was always in bed, and her small vision couldn't see the things on the ground.

Only when she stood up and walked up to it could she see clearly.

The ground was covered with countless paint debris, countless paintbrushes were already frayed, and the entire bedroom was full of various painting tools, in a terrible mess.

That was the hard work her father had put in, his entire life's goal.

Although he had been defeated by fate, and didn't find inspiration when he was alive, this painting was already the only connection between her and her father.

She had no way to attack this painting.

Just like that, some time passed.

A friend of her deceased father came to the door.

"I am your father's friend, your father asked me to take care of you."

His name was Kazematsuri Kouzou.

It turned out that her father had already entrusted this friend, if he died, to please have his friend take care of his daughter. Kazematsuri Kouzou rushed over quickly after hearing the news.

According to the agreement with his friend, he took her in as his adopted daughter.

"So you also used your adoptive father's connections to join 『Rebellion』?"

Up until now, everything was clear.

"That's right, I must join 『Rebellion』."

"Because only by joining 『Rebellion』, is it possible for me to cure my illness."

Sarah nodded her head, directly admitting this matter.

Using Kazematsuri Kouzou's connections to join 『Rebellion』, Sarah then found the chief doctor inside 『Rebellion』, who was also one of the twelve apostles at the top—the Great Professor.

The Great Professor's medical skills were very powerful, even Yakushi Kiriko couldn't compare to him. He had even perfectly mastered cloning technology.