Irie turned the light on as soon as he finished his presentation.

There were about eight men wearing lab coats inside the meeting room.

The man sitting at the far end was the only person without one.

Upon seeing Irie finish his speech, he clapped his hands several times.

Having noticed his applause, the other men in the room soon followed suit.

"Excellent.

Very, very excellent.

I'm quite satisfied with your progress."

"Your hard work has paid off, Dr. Irie."

"No, I would say it's because of my incredible staff.

I really do owe them my gratitude."

"We really are getting close to finding a perfect cure.

There are a few more sticking points left, but they can all be resolved with time and financing."

"We're counting on your support on that front.

With sufficient funding and labor, I estimate we'll be done within three years.

By 1986 we should be able to establish a complete treatment for it.

From here on out, our challenges are establishing a treatment package that other, unspecialized medical facilities can easily administer, and developing an easier, cheaper test for it."

"With regards to testing, Dr. Irie is currently researching ways to detect potential patients through blood samples.

Once that process is established, the test can be administered alongside regular physical exams, and we believe that will drive costs down significantly."

"That's wonderful to hear.

The current tests are pretty involved and expensive, after all.

...Sorry, I'm truly grateful to hear you're considering the costs too.

Healthy citizens are supposed to be our nation's assets, so it really is shameful to bring up the budget, but...

But from our position, we'd like to shave every yen we can off the costs."

"Of course. We understand.

If we established a treatment that was impossible due to the cost, it'd just be a pie in the sky.

It's our job to develop a practical treatment, not a theoretical one."

Tomitake started clapping again, and everyone followed him.

"You're truly a respectable man, as well as a talented doctor.

I'm honored to have met you."

"No, I can't sincerely accept your applause until every person has been treated, and this so-called 'curse of Oyashiro-sama' has been exterminated.

We hope for your continued cooperation until that time."

"Likewise!

I'll do everything I can to make sure you receive almost every yen in the budget you've outlined.

Please keep up the good work!"

Tomitake and Irie shook hands,

and the meeting room was filled with applause yet again.

"That's it for tonight's meeting.

Tomorrow's the main event we're all waiting for... the budget hearing.

Let's all push hard."

Takano was being sarcastic, of course.

The staff members in lab coats were smiling bitterly.

"...Ahahahaha.

Well, I'll give my greatest efforts for the budget you all need too.

To be honest, I want to be on your side myself...

But I'm the one who has to explain things to the brass, and the one they come down on directly...

You have my deepest apologies, but regretfully, I'll be rigorously examining the budget.

Please continue lending me your cooperation."

"Ha ha ha. That's your job, so we can't blame you.

We'll see you tomorrow.

In any case, that's it for today."

Once Irie declared the meeting over, his white-coated staff gathered up their documents and left after glancing at the clock.

...It was almost midnight.

The staff who were off tomorrow might be alright, but those scheduled to work needed to sleep soon, or it would hinder them the next day.

Takano gathered up the butts from the ashtrays as well as the empty coffee cans.

"My, some people didn't drink their coffee.

We managed to get a coffee budget for meetings approved, but I wonder if they'll cut that budget if people don't drink it.

Hee hee..."

"Ahahaha... Don't be so mean.

I'm not doing this because I enjoy it, you know?"

"Oh, Takano-san...

I'll take that leftover coffee."

"I'll take one too.

That way the budget won't go to waste."

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

The two of them seemed more relaxed with the other staff members gone.

Tomitake and Irie loosened their collars in a sign of relief.

"How are Rika-chan and Satoko-chan? Are they doing fine?

I heard last week that Satoko-chan's test results weren't that good recently..."

"No, but it actually wasn't that big of a deal.

She was a bit out of sorts because of the heat wave.

Her new results came out very stable."

"Hee hee, Dr. Irie is very passionate about Satoko-chan..."

"Th-Th-That's not true.

As a physician, I treat all of my patients equally, to the best of my ability!

But if she feels grateful and decides to become my maid, that would be wonderful!

...Though that's proving quite difficult."

"It would be wonderful if there was a way to completely cure Satoko-chan.

...But I guess that's what's difficult?"

"...Once a patient reaches the L5 state like Satoko-chan has, it's easy for them to re-experience hallucinations, similar to a patient suffering from flashbacks.

Those technically aren't caused by the disease, but by the normal defense mechanisms cultivated in the brain.

Like the idiom, 'a scalded dog fears cold water' suggests, the brain naturally uses past experiences proactively for our survival."

"In simpler terms, emotional trauma.

Worse yet, we suspect she may have suffered damage directly to her frontal lobe, so she needs more delicate counseling and long-term medication than the usual trauma patient."

"You may be able to treat her illness, but you can't treat her mental health...

is that what you are saying?"

"...There are plenty of people functioning in society with emotional trauma.

Even if she's just one more to the mix, that's still a miraculous recovery considering the state she used to be in..."

"Think about diabetic patients.

There's no cure, but many of them live happily by managing their condition."

"She still needs three shots a day...?"

"No, she's recovered quite a bit, so she's down to twice a day now.

I think that puts a lot less strain on her too."

"She was so afraid in the beginning...

But Rika-chan talked her into it."

"Into getting the shots, you mean?"

"Satoko-chan was told that she's receiving financial support from us by supporting our research."

"So she thinks that she's getting two shots a day not because she's sick...

but as a test subject for your research?"

"Jirou-san.

......It would be a horrible thing for us to explain to her what kind of illness she's suffering from...

Didn't I tell you this before?"

"...Ah, well.

I remember.

Sorry for being insensitive..."

"...If you happen to see Satoko-chan somewhere, please be kind to her."

"All right.

...I will."

"Rika-chan is such a strong girl...

Her background is similar to Satoko-chan's, yet she's leading such a steady life."

"We have Rika-chan and her deceased parents to thank for all of this.

Without their understanding and support, we would've never discovered even a hint at a cure so soon."

"......She even endured our inhumane experiments very well.

We wouldn't have the results we do today without her support after overcoming her parents' death.

...I'd like to repay the debt we owe her somehow."

"I agree.

Tokyo also recognizes that Rika-chan and Satoko-chan have rendered us a distinguished service.

They will be compensated for their work someday."

"Hey, you guys don't even want to pay for our coffee filters!

Hee hee."

"Again, don't be mean.

You keep bringing that story up..."

"Ha ha ha ha ha."

"But even though all we can do is to compensate them with money...

I wish there was a way to pay them back from our hearts..."

Takano muttered like she's talking to herself, but it almost sounded as if she was talking to them.

"...I'm sure there are many ways for us to show our appreciation.

There are many ways we can pay them back."

"Dr. Irie...

I mean, Coach. I guess you're already doing that for them all the time.

I suppose I should be nice to those girls too."

"Indeed. Plus, Rika-chan was very nice to you today."

"Aaah, I nearly forgot!

I have to take that film to get developed first thing in the morning!

It was such a wonderful experience...

History,

culture,

the smell of it...

Everything about it was wonderful!"

Irie wondered what she could have experienced during the day.

Tomitake could only smile and act like he didn't know anything.

"By the way...

Takano-san...

What do you think of what Rika-chan told us near the end today...?

What are your thoughts?"

"......I want to believe that it's only paranoia.

...She did say that there's no absolute proof, either."

"What's going on?

From what you've said, it sounds like Rika-chan is showing some bad symptoms?"

"Her test results from last week...

I thought they came out pretty good, but did you see anything different, Dr. Irie...?"

"No...

They were as stable as always.

If Satoko-chan's results are a wave during high tide, Rika-chan's are the quiet surface of a lake.

Ha ha ha, just like their personalities."

"......What's the possibility of a sudden outbreak?"

"What are you talking about?

Don't tell me Rika-chan is showing symptoms of the disease progressing?!"

"...Rika-chan asked us for something today.

......She wanted our protection, because she feels like someone is going to murder her."

"No way.

...Hahaha, who would try to kill her?

That's impossible."

"Rika-chan is a beloved mascot here in the village, and I don't think she has any enemies.

...I think it was just her imagination, too."

"Why does she think that someone is trying to kill her?

If she's experiencing paranoia, she may be in the early L5 stage..."

"......She said she saw it in her dreams.

She wants us to reinforce security around her, because she feels threatened."

"For a young girl like that, it's not uncommon to get scared after having a nightmare.

But we need to determine if it was really just a dream, or if she's showing early symptoms of the disease..."

"Okay.

Let's give her an urgent checkup tomorrow.

I really hope nothing is wrong.

She's the most valuable person in this village."

"I hope she's okay.

...But what should we do if she is?"

"...Jirou-san.

If that's what she wants in return for what she showed us today, it's not even a big deal.

If she's worried about her safety and wants to rely on us, I think we should support her.

That's what paying her back with our hearts is all about..."

"You're right.

Even if she was just dreaming, we'll lose her trust if we don't support her.

This is our chance.

We've found a way to show her our appreciation."

"...Yeah, I agree.

Besides, she has a right to seek that support from us."

"Yes. We have to make sure to protect her at all times."

"That's true.

...Though that's your job, not mine.

So please, give her your best."

"Understood.

Takano-san, please do what you can to keep her safe.

It's probably not so serious that we need to bring in the Bloodhounds from Tokyo."

"Hee hee... True, you can't ask them to come over just because Rika Furude had a nightmare.

All right.

I'll order at least four members of the Mountain Dogs to watch her 24 hours a day."

"...That's impressive.

That's tighter security than when I went to Tokyo."

"Hee hee hee...

She deserves special treatment.

I'll make sure she gets the best security in the country!!

No one would dare plot an assassination on her!!

I'll get the best bodyguards out there!!

Not even a super spy could lay a finger on her!!

Meow meow!

Onigafuchi banzai!"

"...

...

...

...

Takano-san,

did something good happen...?"

"Well,

I mean...

Ahahahahaha......"