Rather than being happy over Rita's praise, she earnestly praised Rita in return. In Shiina Mashiro's eyes, Rita was good at everything, while she herself was completely blank at everything except painting.
"..."
Rita smiled at Shiina Mashiro's words... She placed one hand on Shiina Mashiro's head and stroked her beautiful hair as if petting a cat.
"Lots of people like your paintings. Look... they're all astonished by them, even admiring them. Shiro... even so, are you still going to give up fine art?"
Rita actually felt that it was a pity for Shiina Mashiro to give up fine art. She was a world-class genius painter; if she simply abandoned that field, it would be far too regrettable...
Still, Rita respected Shiro's choice.
"I like manga..."
Shiina Mashiro did not answer Rita's question. She simply stared at Rita with resolute eyes.
"All right, I think I understand."
Seeing Shiina Mashiro like this, Rita said no more. To most people, giving up fine art to draw manga was absolutely a path that only grew narrower!
But as long as someone was happy, that was enough! As long as Shiina Mashiro was willing and happy herself, why should Rita worry about it?
"This painting... is very good."
After walking a few more steps, they came before another painting. There were not many people appreciating it, but Shiina Mashiro stopped, looked at it, and spoke very seriously.
It was a painting of a building with a decadent Gothic style. The overall palette was dark and gray. A somewhat dilapidated Western mansion stood amid overgrown weeds, its walls mottled and its wooden windows rotten, like the haunted houses often seen in movies. Dark clouds crowded the sky, yet a crack among them revealed a dazzling sliver of sunlight. The painting as a whole