Okay. I know I am going to sound like a puritan, and this might get a lot of bonks, but I have serious reservations about this plot point. For a story that's so dedicated to showing the horrors of bodily autonomy and the importance of free will, Sayaka having to sell her body gives me an extremely bad taste. We've gone through, like, numerous chapters where we're hammered in that the girls are analogous to the trapped seals. They're forced to be bred like cattle for the future of humankind; their bodies are the machine, and the children are the product. Hell, even Kurumi seems grossed out by traditional reproduction!
Why should the reader be preached about free will, when Sayaka is essentially punished for leaving? It just feels like an incredible letdown that even Sayaka cannot retain her bodily autonomy after she left the institute. I understand "freedom is not free," but this seems more contrived to make Sayaka miserable. Even Kurumi says that she's disgusting! There's no resolution to what she's done; Kurumi pushes her away, and the outcome is... everyone should forget about it? After arguably one of the most traumatic things someone can do: giving your body because you had no other option? I'm genuinely confounded what the angle was. Was it to hammer in a point that's been nailed down so hard you can see the shank through the table?
I'm not arguing that horrible things can't happen to characters, but I hope I can at least say it was well done or made sense. I hope it sticks the landing, or someone can elucidate for me if I am missing something.
Edit: Just came back to say that it STILL pisses me off. Sayaka’s last memory is her being coerced and Kurumi calling her disgusting. She has to relive that day, like, everyday because she can’t retain anything else after. Don’t get me started on how I feel about the seal plot line or that creepy rape-y Russian man.