Anime, Girlfriend Shokuhou Misaki.

"You, you ...

"We were eliminated in the very first round. If you're still not happy about it, you can leave Xiaoxue Academy now."

Rinna Kazamatsuri's teeth were also chattering.

Although no one has found out the truth yet, she has a premonition that Shinogumi Amane from their academy was made to disappear by the man in front of her.

Now that this man has come here, could it be that he also wants to make them disappear?

As for her statement about leaving Xiaoxue Academy...

Isn't that obvious?

Even if Haramura Makoto hadn't come, she was already considering quitting Akatsuki Academy and persuading her father to give up.

Without him.

Given Akatsuki Academy's current fortunes, and with Sarah's recent defeat, their future is already clear to the naked eye.

Using "日暮西山" (the sun sets in the west) is incorrect.

It can only be described as a seedling that had not yet grown, whose roots were directly cut off.

Why not withdraw from Akatsuki Academy now, and wait for the entire Kazamatsuri Foundation to decline along with Akatsuki Academy?

She is indeed a spoiled, eccentric young lady, but she is not a stupid one.

"Don't think so much."

“I’m not interested in you. I’m here to see Sarah Bradley.”

Makoto Haramura wore a mocking expression, walked past Rinna Kazamatsuri, and gently knocked on the door.

"I am Makoto Haramura, open the door."

"Ugh?"

A loud gasp of surprise came from inside the room, and a girl wearing a paint apron walked out of the room.

"You, why are you here?"

For Sarah, the man standing in front of her was an absolute surprise.

Seeing her seemingly forget everything, Haramura Makoto frowned immediately.

"I'm here to bring you into this travel bet. You can't just remember the part that's in your favor, can you?"

"..."

Sarah's face turned bright red instantly, as red as a freshly ripened peach.

"This...this is real..."

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

Makoto Haramura and Sarah made their bet in front of her.

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

“Um, that—”

Kazamatsuri Rinna was so anxious that she wanted to speak.

However, Sarah directly reached out her hand, stopping Kazamatsuri Rinna from speaking.

"I know what you want to say. I'll tell you about the rest later."

Rina Kazematsu was very worried.

She wanted to continue speaking, but she was afraid of being scolded by Sarah, who was terrifying to her when she was angry.

From a standpoint of perspective, Sarah was her sworn sister.

How could she not be worried?

However, Sarah had already opened the door and welcomed Makoto Haramura inside.

……

Well, how should I put it?

It can only be said that Sarah's room was exactly as Makoto Haramura had expected; her room was as messy and dirty as she was.

The ground was covered with opened paint, some of which had even dripped onto the floor tiles.

On the bed were scattered aprons of the same style as the one she was wearing, some clean and some not.

Sarah sat down casually in 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 Kazamatsuri Group."

"For now, I can only do it part-time."

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

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

"None of these are very important."

“The constraints have already been placed on you without you even realizing it. What I want to know now is why you are so insistent on being my nude model.”

“I wasn’t interested in asking before, but now I want to know.”

Makoto Haramura voiced his question.

He was well aware that he possessed a unique charisma, and it was precisely this ethereal quality that captivated so many women.

It's only natural that Sarah would want him to be a model.

However, he has already refused several times and put forward such harsh conditions, which makes it hard to understand what she is so insistent on.

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

Sarah shook her head, her paint-stained hair fluttering with the movement, making her gloomy face appear unpredictable.

“I have a painting that must be completed, but it is missing a crucial element, and that element must be compensated for by you.”

"A painting that must be completed?"

"Ah."

Sarah nodded her head like a chick pecking at rice.

From her low voice, she gradually began to tell her own story.

—Sarah Bradley!

The girl who is now narrating her story has spent the entire life of her life in a hospital bed since birth.

She was born with a serious illness; her bones were extremely fragile, and even the slightest movement could cause her bones to fracture. She could hardly stand up and walk, let alone get out of bed.

At that time!

She lived in an obscure art studio in the Italian suburbs.

What you could see in that studio was her whole world at the time.

In her narrow world, all she could see all day were the canvases scattered throughout the room and a man who always had his back to her while painting.

That was her father, a painter who wasn't very famous.

He always stood in front of that canvas that covered a wall, splashing paint in his hands like a madman.

It was a religious painting.

The painting depicts the battle of Armageddon, with the Messiah burning away many demons with holy light.

Year after year, her father diligently studied that painting, and even her loud crying and tantrums could not draw his attention away.

In young Sarah's vision, it seemed that there was only her father's back.

To this day, she still doesn't know what her father looks like.

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

He was completely absorbed in the world of painting, as if possessed by a demon.

“I hate that painting, and I don’t like painting.”

Sarah lowered her head, her eyes filled with hatred.

"That painting took my father away."

He longed for his father to put down his painting and instead embrace her, the one who had been holding the brush the whole time.

But not even once; that proper father-daughter relationship was absolutely nonexistent between them.

Makoto Haramura remained silent for a moment, but his gaze towards Sarah flickered slightly.

He was also an orphan.

While I can't fully empathize with Sarah, I can still feel some empathy for her.

"Then why do you pick up a paintbrush if you hate drawing?"

"And it's not just that you took out the paintbrush, the shape of your soul is like this too."

Makoto Haramura asked Sarah about the point that concerned him most.

"Yes, my father's death."

Yes, it was the death of her father who didn't care about her.

The father, who painted day and night, suddenly found himself unable to hold a paintbrush any longer and collapsed in front of the canvas.

She didn't know why she was crying for this irresponsible father.

By the time the maids took the deceased father to the hospital, the test results had already come back.

He died from overwork due to accumulated fatigue.

Enraged, Sarah turned her hateful gaze toward the canvas that had taken her father's life.

She forced herself to stand up, despite her frail body.

He picked up the knife, stood in front of the canvas, and wanted to destroy the thing that had taken his father's life.

However, she stopped what she was doing.

She had always been in bed, and her limited field of vision prevented her from seeing anything on the floor.

Only when you stand up and walk up to them can you see them clearly.

The floor was littered with countless paint scraps, and countless brushes were worn out and brittle. The entire bedroom was filled with all sorts of painting tools, a truly chaotic mess.

That was the culmination of his father's hard work and the goal of his entire life.

Although he succumbed to fate and failed to find inspiration during his lifetime, this painting became the only remaining bond between her and her father.

She had no way of working on the painting.

And so, not much time passed.

A friend of my deceased father came to my door.

“I am a friend of your father, and your father asked me to take care of you.”

His name is Kazematsu Kozo.

It turned out that the father had already entrusted this friend with the care of his daughter if he passed away. Upon hearing the news, Kazeki Kozo rushed over.

In accordance with his promise to his friend, he adopted her as his goddaughter.

"So you also joined 'Rebellion' through your adoptive father's connections?"

Now everything is clear.

“That’s right, I have to join Rebellion.”

"Because only by joining 'Rebellion' can I possibly cure my illness."

Sarah nodded, readily admitting it.

Sarah joined Rebellion through the connections of Kazamatsuri Kozo, and then found the chief doctor of Rebellion, who was also one of the twelve apostles at the top—the Grand Professor.

The professor's medical skills are extremely powerful, even surpassing those of the pharmacist Kiriko. He has even mastered cloning technology perfectly.