Tokyo: Let the wicked women pay the price!

There's no other choice but to try some talk therapy first.

Hypnosis

Her already dull gaze had nothing left to lose.

"Miss Lemon".

"Um."

"Why...are you unhappy?"

"Because I can't find a reason to live anymore."

"Could you try to tell me why?" Fujino looked at her earnestly. "I've also thought about ending it all before, so I should be able to empathize with your feelings."

"Oh?" She turned her head for the first time, looking into Fujino's eyes. "I feel like my heart has been ripped out, and I can't even cry."

"Is it because Miss Nadeshiko has been controlling of you?"

She nodded, then shook her head: "What's the point of telling you?"

Fujino looked into Lemon's eyes, which, although also hypnotized, were much more ashen than Saki's.

You can tell that she must have been a sweet and lovely girl before she got sick.

Now, however, her large eyes on her round face have become lifeless, and her chestnut hair is dull and brittle.

Fujino sighed, "Lemon sauce, I'll help you."

"I know your current worries are because you're afraid of your mother, aren't they?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Lemon, who was in a hypnotic state, began to twitch and kept trying to curl up.

That's a subconscious tendency to protect oneself.

Fujino reached out, hesitated for a moment, and gently took Lemon's hand.

The warm, large hand seemed to offer her guidance, a source of strength she could rely on.

Lemon's body stopped trembling, but she still mechanically said, "No, doctor. My mother, you don't understand."

How could you not understand?

Even someone who isn't a psychiatrist could tell from the farce just now that something was wrong with Nadeshiko.

A controlling, protective, and almost obsessive tendency to coerce.

Just like that joke he heard in his past life, Lemon might not actually be as sick as her mother.

"Lemon jam, I hope you can try to trust me this once."

Lemon remained half-dead, nodding and then shaking her head.

That's fine.

Typical major depressive disorder.

It may seem like they're just giving up, but the essence is quite different.

They have no motivation to change anything, and even suicide requires a courage that has been accumulating for an unknown period of time.

Fortunately, the success rate of implanting the subconscious desire to "live" has improved somewhat.

It's at least 5%.

If you repeat yourself a few times, people will eventually listen.

But now, Fujino squinted at the toilet, probably because he needed to take care of the main problem there.

Release from hypnosis.

Lemon paused, a hint of emotion flickering across her face.

She frowned and glanced at Fujino.

His voice was hoarse as he asked, "Is everything you just said true?"

Is there an unexpected surprise?

Fujino nodded gently: "I'm a doctor, and you're my patient now. I want to help you."

She seemed to lower her guard, her eyes drooping: "You're a psychiatrist, right? Am I mentally ill?"

"Am I out of my mind?"

Fujino gently shook his head: "You just have a headache."

"It will be alright."

Lemon turned over blankly, facing Fujino and the hospital room door with her backside, staring blankly at the corner of the wall, and stopped talking.

Fujino glanced at it again, and the success rate of his subconscious efforts increased slightly, reaching 10%.

He sighed. Although the effects were slow, things were improving.

Fujino stood up: "You should rest first."

He wants to talk to her mother.

All signs indicate that she is the root of the problem.

He leaned against the sink, looking down at Okubo Nadeshiko sitting on the toilet.

Fujino's voice carried a hint of coldness: "Miss Nadeshiko, I am Dr. Fujino from the Psychology Department. To be honest, Lemon Sauce's condition is worse than you think."

"It seems she has depression." Fujino pursed his lips. "To be honest, if this continues, it will greatly affect her post-operative recovery."

He dared not speak directly about the fate of someone in a vegetative state.

"Depression?" A cold smile flashed across Nadeshiko's face. "Young people these days have such poor mental resilience."

"I provide her with the best food and clothes, work three jobs to send her to the best college, what's there to be depressed about?"

"It should be me who's depressed!" Her face was contorted with rage. "Even after all this, my grades are still so bad, and I'm getting more and more disobedient, like a dead person, I don't even respond when I call me..."

"Stop—" Fujino interrupted Nadeshiko's complaints, "Listen to me, first tell me how the lemon curd turned out like this."

Nadeshiko frowned: "What do you mean, 'how?' Everything was fine, and suddenly it's like this."

"Please start from the beginning, starting with home and then school."

Fujino knew that letting her wallow in self-pity would never get them to the point.

Nadeshiko's face was full of impatience as she gritted her teeth and said, "Lemon is my ex-husband's child; we are not related by blood."

She started with a bombshell, leaving Fujino speechless, but thankfully she wasn't going to let Fujino interrupt.

"She's just a burden. Her ex-husband cheated on her and disappeared, his fate unknown. Yet she's determined to stay with me."

"Is he dead or alive?" Fujino shook his head.

That would be worse than death.

"I hate him, and I hate his daughter, but I raised her and I love her very much."

"So I have to think about her future, I have to make sure she studies hard and gets on the fast track in life."

A light gradually appeared in her eyes: "I have a lawyer friend who said that if the father is a scumbag, the probability of the child being a scumbag is also very high. I don't want Lemon to be like her father, so I've been a little more involved."

Fujino smacked his lips, unsure of what to say.

Life doesn't require as much logic as a novel; instead, it often seems unrestrained and reckless.

But when he heard the key phrase, his pupils contracted slightly: "A lawyer friend? Himegami Ayame?!"

"You know her too?"

Fujino roared inwardly.

It's you again! You're like a persistent ghost, you bastard!

What exactly do you want?!

But clearly, this is not the time to dwell on the mysterious man, as another panel option popped up in front of Fujino.

[Okubo Nadeshiko: Scum's bloodline will also be scum, but Lemon is so cute, I must correct her, I can't let her grow unchecked, this is... I love her...]

[Worldline 1: Acknowledging Okubo Nadeshiko's twisted love, you can even take advantage of Lemon's vulnerability after she becomes a vegetable. (Reward: Lemon's vegetative state bill and Nadeshiko's physical and emotional well-being)]

[Worldline 2: Do your best and leave the rest to fate. Warn Nadeshiko that this might lead to Lemon's death, and let her consider it carefully. (Reward: 200,000 yen bonus)]

[Worldline 3: Make Okubo Nadeshiko realize her mistakes, sincerely repent, and repair her relationship with Lemon. (Reward: Telepathy (Beginner))]

Fujino stared at the panel and at Nadeshiko, whose face was gradually breaking into a pilgrimage-like smile, and fell into deep thought.

This is such a hassle.

All three options are utter garbage.

The first is utter scum, the second is someone who stands idly by, and the third is the most difficult path.

I don't want to choose any of them.

Let's see if we can exploit a bug using the subconscious mind.

He stared at Nadeshiko, implanting the subconscious message that "it's good for lemons," with a 100% success rate.

Fujino stared intently... his eyes meeting Nadeshiko's.

"What's wrong, Dr. Fujino?"

Upon hearing Nadeshiko's words, he quickly replied, "You... feel that you might want to change your approach to educating Lemon?"

Why?

Do you love her?

"Love, love so much that I can't control myself."

Looking at Nadeshiko, whose eyes were practically brimming with love, Fujino cursed inwardly, "Damn it!"

Sure enough, the child was the least ill in the family.

Nadeshiko genuinely felt that controlling the lemon was for her own good.

Oops, I just inserted the wrong one.

Forget it, even if I really wanted to insert the "Apologize to Lemon" message, the success rate would probably be extremely low.

This woman is so determined, so stubborn!

knock knock --

There was a knocking sound on the ward door.

Fujino slipped out of the restroom and opened the door.

"How are you?"

"Why is it you?"

Standing outside the door was Wakaba Saki.

She was still wearing the same winter school uniform and pleated skirt as last time, but her stockings were gone, and her kidney-shaped shoes were covered in mud.

He was carrying a fruit basket.

She saw Fujino's white lab coat and pouted, "I...I didn't...expect...it to be you."

"He's clearly a scumbag... but he's a doctor?"

She peered into the house, looking at Fujino warily. "Aunt Nadeshiko! It's me, Saki. I've come to see Lemon. Are you there?"

Damn it! Where did that big-breasted auntie go?!

Don't leave me alone in a room with this pervert!

Nadeshiko, fixing her hair and shaking the water off her hands, came out of the restroom, smiling as she accepted the fruit basket. "Thank you, Saki-chan. But the lemons are a bit..."

"Hey!" Saki's pupils shrank to a point, her fists clenched, and she said in a low, harsh voice.

"How could you... Lemon is still lying in the hospital bed, and you're in the bathroom with her mother?!"

"Are you even human?"