Lyn stayed calm. "In that case, my initial guess is you ate the wrong thing. Looks like you ate your doll's arm."
The girl's smile froze.
But the doll's laughter kept going: "Doll loves Mommy! Mommy loves Doll! Heeheehee!"
Lyn raised his dead-fish stare and asked, "Any stomach discomfort lately?"
The girl stiffened. "My tummy's been rumbling. Feels like something's tickling inside."
Lyn nodded, scribbled in his notebook, and casually said, "Sounds about right. It probably hasn't digested yet. You want surgery, or physical therapy?"
The girl hesitated. "…What's surgery like?"
Clang—
Lyn drove the bloodstained boning knife into the tabletop.
"Cut open your belly, take out your doll's arm, and I'll sew you back up."
Instantly, the doll's laughter stopped dead.
A chill shot from the girl's feet to the top of her head.
"How about physical therapy?"
Lyn stood up, grabbed gloves and a mask from the shelf, and looked at her evenly. "Simple. No cutting. I can take it out from the top or the bottom—your choice. Cheaper, too."
Girl: "!!!"
Doll: "!!!"
Girl SAN -20
The girl stared blankly. "…From the… top, then…"
"Okay." Lyn pushed aside the items on the counter, cracked his wrists, and said, "You're small, so no need for the operating room. I can do it right here. Just hold still—don't bite my arm off."
Under the girl's terrified gaze, Lyn's large shadow loomed over her, mask and leather gloves in place, eyes calm.
The girl sat on a small stool and instantly hugged her doll.
"Can I not look?"
Lyn replied flatly, "Nope. My teacher said once you're in this shop, you get treated—otherwise, you leave something behind."
The girl trembled, then gave in. "…Fine."
She opened her mouth wide.
"Wider!"
Riiip—
She stretched her mouth toward the back of her neck, revealing a gaping maw.
A foul stench washed over Lyn.
Unfazed, he grabbed a retractor from the shelf, locked her jaws open to prevent spasms, then rolled up his sleeve and slipped his arm into her mouth.
Straight in!
Deep throat!
The girl's eyes bulged.
"Um—um—"
"Don't move." Lyn's face was stone-cold as he calmly probed around inside her stomach. "Shouldn't take long. If you want your doll whole, stay steady."
Ding! You obtained Hair x50.
Ding! You obtained Unknown Body Fragments x2.
Ding! You obtained Rotten Meat x5.
Ding! You obtained Comb x1.
The girl's eyes widened, mouth still agape, letting out frightened muffled cries.
"Found it!" Lyn's finger brushed against something wriggling.
Ding! You obtained Wriggling Arm x1.
Riiip—
It was the exact arm she'd eaten.
Lyn rinsed it off calmly, set it on the counter, and said, "That's it. You must've been starving that night and unconsciously ate your doll's arm. Your doll didn't stop you because it knew you were hungry."
"Still, watch what you eat in the future. Some things don't digest well."
The girl sat frozen, mouth held open by the retractor, speechless.
"Physical therapy: 10 Skeleton Coins. Suturing: 30 coins." Lyn, still masked, calmly pulled out rope and a gleaming long needle.
"Do it now?"
The doll in her arms burst into tears and tried to bolt.
"No–ow (Now)–ju (just)–sew–" The girl mumbled through the retractor.
Lyn gloved up and said coolly, "Alright, hold it down for me. I'll start stitching."
The girl's eyes went wide as she pinned the struggling doll to the counter. The doll's eyes reflected the icy glare in Lyn's—it let out shrill screams.
"Starting now."
Swish swish swish—
Swish swish swish—
Ding! Beginner Surgery EXP +1.
Ding! Beginner Surgery EXP +1.
Ding! Beginner Surgery EXP +1.
After half an hour, amid the doll's AAAAAH screams, Lyn snipped the thread and said, "All done. Apply this potion once a day. Within a week, the arm'll be normal again."
He grabbed a bottle of greenish liquid, uncorked it, and poured it over the seam. The doll let out a terrified shriek.
The girl stared blankly. "…Fi–finished?"
Lyn dusted off his hands. "Treatment complete. Time to pay. Physical therapy 10 coins, suturing 30 coins, one bottle of potion 10 coins—seven bottles total, 110 coins altogether! Thanks for your business, come again."
The doll flung itself into the girl's arms, trembling in fear. Clearly, Lyn had carved a deep psychological scar.
The girl fumbled through her clothes. After a long pause, she pulled out 20 coins and placed them shakily on the counter. "…I–I only have twenty…"
Lyn's tone stayed flat. "That's fine. You owe 90. Which part do you want to stake as collateral? I can cut it off for free."
He lifted the boning knife.
The girl's face twisted into (ΩДΩ), and she took a step back.
"Ten more coins!" She dug out ten coins and dropped them on the counter.
Lyn: "Still short 80."
The girl (ΩДΩ) set down the six bottles. "…I'll buy these later."
Lyn took them back. "Still short 20."
The girl trembled. "Can I… put it on credit?"
Lyn walked out with the knife and replied coolly, "Small business, no credit. Not my call. But 20 isn't much—leave one of your eyeballs, and the potions are yours. I'll even give you 40 coins change."
The girl hugged her doll and backed up, covering one eye. "Can I pay with something else?"
Lyn: "Name it. I'll appraise."
The girl swallowed hard. "…What if I… sleep with you once, and you forgive the whole bill?"