The Lying Counselor’s Eloquent Reasoning - Epilogue - Part 2
On the way home, Tomomi fiddled with her phone this time and researched Tsubaki Moeka’s movements. Akane’s friend was in the same school as her, so she followed up with her. The reply came unexpectedly swift. However, “Tsubaki Moeka’s parents caught on to the fact that she was using her phone to engage in papakatsu, and took away her phone” was the only information that she learned.
Finally, she checked the news reports about Akiyama Ryuichi’s arrest, but all the news reports showed that he had surrendered himself by himself. It was truly bizarre. If a counselor had been involved in his arrest, some astute media outlet would have picked up on it.
Everyone’s memories of the doctor have been erased completely… Even though the results of the counseling remain…
As she realized this fact, Tomomi felt a sudden agony in her heart. How could everyone forget about such a strange and unreasonable counseling? It made no sense.
Tomomi immediately rushed out of there. Of course the place she headed for was the counseling room. Before she could even think about it, her body reacted. She had to confirm if that place truly existed, and if that man really was real.
But even as she moved her feet in that manner, she could not reach the place where Uroma was. Regardless of how many times she walked around the downtown area, the old building where Takahiko Uroma’s Counseling Room was supposed to be was nowhere to be discovered. Furthermore, when she pulled out the pocket tissue from her bag, she found that the advertisement paper had been shifted to that of a beauty salon.
“W-Why…”
Is it because I said I would no longer work part-time? Is that why everything turned out like it never happened? Tomomi’s heart ached even further. Even if everyone else’s memories of the man disappeared, she was determined not to let that be the case for her. He was a benefactor. No matter how rotten and twisted his personality was, how much he lied habitually and deceived people, how much he was like a demonic counselor who could never be called decent, that was an unwavering truth. Therefore, she felt that she absolutely must not forget about him.
“D-Doctor! Dr. Uroma! I’m sorry I spoke ill of you! I won’t say I’m quitting my part-time job anymore, so please come out! Please!”
Within a short time, she was screaming in the middle of the street. Not surprisingly, passersby stared at her curiously, but those glances no longer fazed her. All she cared about was that she didn’t want to forget the time she had spent with him.
Shortly after, she spotted the old building right in front of her. It looked like it had always been there, but the atmosphere was such that it had never been in sight until now.
“Doctor??”
Tomomi immediately dashed into the building. Then she hurried up the stairs to the third-floor counseling room of Takahiko Uroma.
But what a surprise. The door was now locked with an “In preparation” sign, preventing her from entering.
“W-Why…”
Of all times, he’s probably not here now. That guy must be bored to death basically every day. I’ve never seen any “in preparation” sign until now!
Just to be sure, she went upstairs to the living space, but it was also locked, and Uroma didn’t seem to be there. Tomomi trudged down the stairs and returned to the door of the counseling room. For some reason, she felt as if she would never meet Uroma again. And the thought of that filled her chest with anxiety.
“Suddenly vanishing into thin air… isn’t that too much…”
She sat there and eventually burst into tears. This happened after she voluntarily announced her intention to leave.
But then, unexpectedly, the sound of someone’s footsteps ascending the stairs could be perceived. Alarmed, Tomomi quickly stood up and looked down over the railing. A man in a white coat was just coming up the stairs. In his hand was a plastic bag full of tablets, and whenever he moved, she could hear the scraping sound of the bag.
“Doctor!”
“Oh, I thought you weren’t going to be popping by here anymore, Tomomi?”
Uroma looked up at Tomomi and smirked, a mean smile on his face.
“I-Isn’t it fine! What’s with that big package?”
“What, of course, these are supposed to be eaten.”
Uroma walked right up to Tomomi, pulled out a piece of candy from the plastic bag, opened it up, and ate a piece. It was a strangely familiar exchange.
“I see you’re still addicted to those.” Tomomi involuntarily laughed. The tension that had been holding her back seemed to have loosened at once.
“There’s one for you, too, if you want another snack at three o’clock.”
Uroma brought out the pink tablet from the plastic bag and handed it to Tomomi. He then unlocked the door to the counseling room and quickly stepped inside by himself.
Don’t tell me you bought this for me? You said that pink is not your favorite flavor… When she thought about it, Tomomi felt relieved again and smiled.
But soon after, following Uroma into the counseling room, that feeling turned to one of surprise and dismay. The room was littered with a large number of tablet containers. They were likely empty containers after they were all finished.
“Why is there all this mess…”
“Oh, it’s just overdose. It happens to me all the time.”
“No, you don’t have to talk about it like it’s some kind of drug.”
It’s nothing but sweets, and you’re simply overeating. In fact, why are you suddenly eating so much of it? This is just like??Then, Tomomi suddenly realized.
“Doctor, is it possible that you were upset because I ragged on you, so you ate out of spite??”
“Of course not. There’s no way my mental health will be affected by your poor words. I wish you would stop imagining such a joke. It’s really unpleasant.” Uroma said quickly, as in a defensive tone, and stared at Tomomi.
“I-I guess so…”
No matter how I look at it, your reaction is obvious. Tomomi nodded, holding back the urge to blurt it out. In any case, if I were to pursue this matter in-depth, no doubt he would merely dodge it with his annoying theories and never reveal the truth.