Tokyo: Let the wicked women pay the price!

On the day of the surgery, Fujino was woken up by a text message.

[Waka Hanako: Fujino-kun, would you like juice or milk for breakfast? Hanako can deliver it to the hospital for you.]

[Waka Hanako: You should drink less cappuccino; it's bad for your stomach.]

He scratched his hair, which was a little messy from just waking up.

This Waka Hanako... she seems to be very discreet, always only sending text messages and never making phone calls casually.

But this cappuccino?

I just drank it yesterday.

She's still spying on my life somewhere!

No, I need to have a good talk with her once this busy period is over.

She should be coming for a follow-up check-up next week.

[Fujino Kazuhiko: Really, no need, Ms. Waka. I'll contact you when I have time, and we can talk in detail.]

[Waka Hanako: (*^▽^*) Okay, Hanako is waiting for your date notification.]

He put his phone in his pocket, checked his watch, grabbed his coat, and headed out the door.

On the one hand, I was going to be late, and on the other hand, I was really worried about Lemon's surgery.

I have to go to work immediately.

......

After greeting his colleagues in the department, Fujino confirmed the shift schedule.

There are no scheduled outpatient appointments today, so after rounds, I can find a chance to disappear for a while and go see Lemon.

My colleagues at the hospital are all very busy and generally don't have time to chat.

But today, Tsuchimikado quietly found him.

"Senior, this... is a gift from Mr. Nagano."

He threw a red envelope at Fujino's crotch.

Mr. Nagano?

Fujino paused for a moment, then remembered that strange patient.

Haha, it's that unlucky guy who was almost cured of his illness but almost had his medication dosage increased by Takanashi.

Fujino gently pinched the red envelope with two fingers.

This is at least the thickness of twenty sheets of Fukuzawa Yukichi.

Wow, Nagano-san, that's incredibly generous. You paid 20 yen to the psychiatrist just for being discharged?

Without hesitation, he took out two bills and handed them to Tsuchimikado.

"Senior, this..."

"Take it, everyone who sees it gets a share."

Nonsense, even though it's an unspoken rule, how can I feel at ease if I don't bribe you a little?

What if something unexpected happens?

However, the unexpected happened more suddenly than he had imagined.

It's just not about the discharge bonus.

Professor Kasai called him to his office as soon as the ward rounds were over.

"Fujino-kun, what was your diagnosis for the child who had the neurosurgery consultation yesterday?"

He paused slightly, then said, "Senior, to be honest, that child's condition is very bad. He probably has severe depression and schizophrenia. I can only prescribe some medication to temporarily control it."

"But... only three days have passed from when I started taking the medication to today's surgery."

Fujino pursed his lips: "I'm afraid the effect of the medication is very limited."

Unlike other medications, such as antihypertensive drugs and psychiatric medications, they are generally not discontinued even before surgery, unless they interact with anesthetics.

Fujino prescribed relatively safe medications, but correspondingly, they weren't very potent.

I hope that child is lucky.

Professor Kasai closed his eyes, moved his lips a few times, and said, "This is your first independent consultation. Matsushita-kun from the neurosurgery department wasn't telling the truth this time; I didn't expect such a difficult patient. Otherwise, I wouldn't have let you take on the case."

What do you think is the probability that she won't wake up?

Fujino pursed his lips: "It should be alright. I checked on the patient yesterday, and he seemed to be recovering quite well. There's at least a 70% chance he'll wake up."

Yes, although the success rate of implanting the "want to live" message is as high as 88%, Fujino only dared to conservatively answer 70%.

As a doctor, you can't make absolute statements.

Kasai nodded: "Seventy percent... seventy percent?"

Even that depends on the child's mood.

Professor Kasai is also a doctor, so he knows that the 70% probability description is a bit too low.

In a doctor's language system, they either say "high probability" or "low probability," or "good prognosis, generally not likely."

If we actually use percentages from probability theory... the situation is not so optimistic.

If the child doesn't wake up, it will be a stain on Fujino's medical career.

Ring ring—

Suddenly, Professor Kasai's internal phone rang.

He answered the phone without saying a word, but his expression worsened.

"Fujino-kun, we have two pieces of news. Which one would you like to hear first?"

Fujino saw that wry smile and mentally prepared himself: "A few pieces of good news?"

"one......"

Hearing Professor Kasai's words, he breathed a sigh of relief.

If there's good news, then there's bad news.

It can't be that the good news is "the surgery was a success" and the bad news is "I was just kidding, bro."

Fujino straightened his long robe: "The child still hasn't woken up?"

"I'm going to check on neurosurgery, Professor Kasai."

Thankfully, I'm still alive.

Just as he gripped the doorknob, Professor Kasai's voice rang out from behind him.

"Fujino-kun, sometimes you have to believe in the power of 'belief'."

He nodded heavily and opened the door.

I walked toward the neurosurgery ward.

......

The ward was deathly silent.

No one spoke, only the beeping of the vital signs monitor.

Nadeshiko Okubo sat next to Lemon, but her eyes were gazing absently out the window.

Only Assistant Professor Matsushita and the neurosurgeon stood at the foot of the bed, their hands crossed in front of them.

Fujino's arrival was like a pebble thrown into the water.

Okubo Nadeshiko turned around abruptly, rushed to Fujino, and grabbed his sleeve.

"Mr. Fujino! Can you save Lemon? You can, right?"

"Please calm down, Miss Nadeshiko." Fujino gently pulled open his sleeve as he looked at Assistant Professor Matsushita: "Matsushita-senpai, what's the patient's condition?"

Nadeshiko quickly interrupted, "Lemon—"

Fujino pulled out his sleeve, interrupting her: "Miss Nadeshiko, I'm asking Matsushita-senpai."

"If you want to save Lemon, you'd better not interrupt the doctor."

Matsushita's voice sounded a little tired: "After Nagata and I finished Miss Lemon's surgery, we're rushing to do the next one."

"I've just had some free time now."

"She should have woken up from the anesthesia by now, but we've discovered... it seems she hasn't fully recovered..."

Fujino nodded and continued, "What about the vital signs?"

This time, it was Dr. Nagata, Matsushita's attending physician, who spoke up: "Fujino-san, Lemon's vital signs are very healthy, we're afraid..."

He glanced at Nadeshiko, but didn't say the rest of his sentence.

But all three people present were professional doctors.

They all knew the subtext—

If she doesn't wake up in these ten minutes, she might never wake up again.

Fujino opened the medical record book, glanced at it, and nodded slightly.

As long as you're alive, you haven't reached the most dangerous situation yet.

"I'll give it a try."

Upon hearing this, Matsushita and Nagata nodded and walked towards the door.

As he turned to the side, Assistant Professor Matsushita lowered his voice: "Ten minutes at most. Such a serious matter as a person in a vegetative state needs to be dealt with quickly."

"If all else fails, we'll have to write it into the medical record and notify the family."

Fujino softly replied with an "Mm," and waited for the two of them to leave.

He looked down at Nadeshiko on the stool.

Lemon's success rate for "wanting to live" was 88% last night, but it suddenly worsened today.

He knew perfectly well that the only person who could affect Lemon after he left last night was her mother.

"What happened yesterday? She was doing fine in the afternoon."

Okubo Nadeshiko sat on the stool and gently closed her eyes.

Tears streamed down her face silently, and she managed to utter a string of words with all her might.

"Lemon said she wanted to go to an ocean park, an amusement park, or a rural shrine... I said that would be too much trouble for you."

"I just said I'd like to ask you to take her to visit the University of Tokyo."

"Did I say something wrong again?"

Fujino stood to the side watching her and sighed.

It's true that even the most brilliant effort from a genius can be no match for a moment of inspiration from a fool.

She didn't know she was wrong; she knew her daughter was going to die.

Oh, to become a vegetable is worse than death.

"No, you don't know." He pursed his lips, wanting to leave some room for interpretation, "You know best about your relationship with Lemon."

"If I were her, I might also hesitate at the thought of facing such pressure after waking up."

Nadeshiko stopped sobbing: "I just love her..."

"I believe it." He gently patted Nadeshiko's shoulder. "Too much oxygen can also suffocate you."

"Was I really wrong?" she wondered, somewhat confused.

"Not only that, come and register with me sometime."

Nadeshiko gently stroked Lemon's pale cheeks, and bitter tears dripped onto Lemon's lips.

"Lemon...I'm so sorry, my Lemon." Her tears flowed like a broken dam. "It's all Mom's fault!"

[Worldline 3 has concluded: Okubo Nadeshiko has come to realize her mistakes, sincerely repent, and repair her relationship with Lemon.]

[Reward: Telepathy (Beginner Level)]

[Telepathy (Beginner): Allows direct communication with your partner's mind, limited to 8 characters, once a day.]

He nodded, and seeing that Nadeshiko truly realized her mistake, he knew there was still hope for her.

There's still hope for lemons.

Use [telepathy].

But how can I communicate with Lemon using only eight words?

[Wake up, Mom is waiting for you]?

This might force her to continue sleeping.

Your dream hasn't come true yet?

Oh no, this makes me feel even worse!

Lemon needs an environment without a high-pressure mother so that she can survive when her dreams are shattered.

……

Remembering Professor Kasai's parting words, Fujino seemed to have grasped the key.

Or perhaps, it was by convincing her that her mother was no longer pressuring her?

Without a moment's hesitation, he used his newly acquired "telepathy," and a text box appeared in front of him.

[If Nadeshiko is sick, I can cure her too.]

send.

He stood there quietly, watching the lemon.

The panel had already switched to the success rate of the subconscious "want to live" implantation, staring at the value that was 0% when they entered.

But soon, Fujino smiled.

The success rate, like the heart rate of a lemon, started to fluctuate and then began to rise.

This is the power of believing.

She was willing to believe in Fujino Kazuhiko, who brought her warmth, and she was also willing to believe that Fujino could cure her mother's illness.

The illusory promise, the one without any guarantee, "If Nadeshiko is sick, I can cure her," made her willing to try to believe it.

Fujino grasped at this last straw, as did Nadeshiko and Lemon.

"Fujino-kun, is it still not working?" Assistant Professor Matsushita entered the ward softly, his voice tinged with sorrow. "We've already informed the professor about this serious matter, and we'll be coming to apologize to Ms. Okubo later..."

"We can't drag this out for too long."

"Wait a moment, Matsushita-senpai." There wasn't as much despair in his voice.

The success rate has risen to 75%, but he doesn't want to gamble.

This is life; ideally, there shouldn't be any probability issues.

"Matsushita-senpai, it's the professor on the phone." Nagata walked into the ward and handed him the phone. "He wants you to answer the phone immediately."

With the professor absent, he's the one in charge. He can't leave the ward right now, but he also can't answer the phone in front of the family.

Matsushita glanced apologetically at everyone, and amidst Nadeshiko's suppressed sobs, whispered an apology before heading towards the restroom.

"Fujino-kun, you're really unlucky," Nagata said in a low voice, his face full of worry. "We've both had terrible luck."

"I heard from Matsushita-senpai that you were a last-minute replacement for the consultation. That's really unlucky." Nagata held the cigarette case in his hand. "I'll have to go out for a smoke later."

Did Matsushita-senpai really say that? Then I'm truly grateful for his protection.

Fujino thanked Matsushita sincerely, but did not respond to Nagata's words.

It's 90%.

Matsushita leaned out of the toilet, his face full of resentment, and opened his mouth.

Fujino can read lips, which is part of micro-expressions. Assistant Professor Matsushita was clearly cursing, "Baka! Old bastard! I'm being made to take the blame again!"

Matsushita approached the vital signs monitor, hesitated for a moment, then reached out to pat Nadeshiko on the shoulder before speaking.

Fujino rushed forward and pulled Matsushita away.

He placed his hand on Lemon's forehead: "Lemon Jam, I'll help you keep an eye on Mom, don't be angry with her."

"She's just sick."

The phrase "[Want to live]" was implanted.

Matsushita, who had been pulled away, wasn't angry; he could understand Fujino's actions.

This way, I can at least reduce my family's anger. This guy is easy to deal with.

"Assistant Professor, are you alright? Don't blame Fujino-kun, he's just a bit clumsy." Nagata hurriedly stepped forward to support Matsushita, who had already regained his footing.

He irritably shook off Nagata's hand: "Forget it, Nagata. Fujino is much more experienced than you."

Nagata, unperturbed, quietly pointed at Fujino and whispered, "Old Taoist, huh? I think he's more like an old Shinto. Does this kid really think he's an Onmyoji?"

"I've heard that psychiatrists all have some degree of mental illness. He doesn't imagine that he can simply place his hand on a patient's head, whisper a few words, and the vegetative patient will respond to his will and slowly sit up—ahhh!"

"Aaaaaaah!"

"Stop yelling, you're disturbing the patients' rest!" Matsushita gently scolded Nagata, "I told you you're not being proper..."

But Matsushita soon realized that Nagata was just opening his mouth, but was not making an "ah" sound.

A very good scream, making Dr. Matsushita's head spin; the voice came from Nadeshiko Okubo.

In Matsushita's view, Fujino stood by the hospital bed with a smile on his face.

He had just removed his hand from Lemon's head.

Nadeshiko, who was sitting next to Fujino, gasped in surprise, covered her mouth with one hand, and lunged toward the hospital bed.

The girl, with droopy eyes and extremely weak, gently stroked her mother's head.

"I heard what Fujino-san said."

"You're sick too, it's not your fault."

"..."