"Uh... um... it's nothing... nothing..." The young Patrol Officer swallowed, his words stumbling.
"The tip from the informant was green hair, tall and thin, flat-chested. She clearly doesn't match... Arthur, let's go." The older Patrol Officer took off his hat and bowed to Syl, "Sorry to disturb you, beautiful lady. Have a pleasant evening."
"G-goodbye, ma'am..." The young man, still trying to say something, was pulled away by the old Patrol Officer.
"Is it really that exaggerated?" Syl muttered softly after they had gone, then reached up to touch her own face.
It felt even softer than her original body's face, soft and supple.
Since she couldn't see a mirror nearby, Syl simply summoned the physician card.
After all, others couldn't see the cards anyway.
Syl saw that the woman on the physician card, holding a scalpel and wearing the eerie silver bird-beak mask, had changed. Her robe had also transformed into a black double-breasted suit.
The mask she originally wore was now removed, revealing the woman's features.
Silver-gray hair cascaded down her back, reaching her waist.
A slightly baby-faced countenance, looking about seventeen or eighteen years old.
Along with those peach-blossom eyes with silver-gray pupils, paired with a small mouth, a perfectly slender figure, and a 20% charm boost...
She was the absolute picture of a stunningly beautiful and pure maiden, undoubtedly the number one choice in the hearts of most men, except for those with... peculiar tastes.
Most importantly, this... visually estimated at least a C+? Or more?
Feeling the sensation of having breasts for the first time made Syl somewhat uncomfortable.
She hadn't really noticed it before, but once Syl became aware of the slight heaviness in her chest, she immediately felt awkward, finding every movement awkward.
Moreover, if she moved too vigorously, there was a slight sway... the feeling of soft skin rubbing against fabric really made Syl's head ache.
"Would've been better to remove the chest part and give me some extra stats instead."
While reaching up to gather her hair and put the mask back on, Syl grumbled inwardly.
Although she was resistant to the new... developments on her front, Syl no longer felt much aversion to having turned into a beautiful maiden.
In fact, she even thought it would be better if her new card-self was as beautiful as possible.
Ideally, each card would be a different type of beauty. That would be perfect.
Syl was even worried she might fall in love with the version of herself on the cards, because they were just too good-looking.
Oh, except for the clown card.
Right now, Syl couldn't muster any fondness for the clown card. Even though it was also a beauty, the experience it gave Syl wasn't exactly pleasant.
After putting the mask back on, Syl finally felt at ease.
After all, she wasn't familiar with the surroundings. Being so beautiful and constantly showing her face to others made her feel embarrassed, and it could easily attract unwanted attention.
Also, with the mask on, she couldn't smell that faint, strange odor in the air anymore.
Sigh...
Now the most important thing was to figure out how to get through the night. She needed to return to the church the moment the Pope got back.
After all, her original body was still severely injured. Coming out like this would definitely mean falling into a coma.
Syl didn't trust the other people in the Church much. Sigma clearly hadn't learned any healing Divine Arts yet. Right now, the only one Syl could rely on was the Pope, her big sister.
Hang in there, big sister who got held up. Please come back safely.
"Aaargh—"
"Waaah—"
"Quick, stop the bleeding! Do we have any cloth? Damn it, isn't there even a clean piece of cloth!?"
"Edward! Wake up, Edward!"
While strolling along the street, Syl noticed a small alley between two buildings where seven or eight people were gathered, seemingly over something.
Through the gaps in the crowd, she could see a pool of blood. It seemed some bloody incident had occurred.
For such matters, Syl had absolutely no desire to be a spectator. She would even stay far away to avoid getting involved in these troublesome affairs.
But despite thinking this, Syl's body turned and entered the alley.
"Step aside. I'm a physician. Let me take a look." Syl spoke from behind the mask, her voice sounding muffled to the outside, making her age indistinguishable.
Syl: "?"
How did I just turn in here looking for trouble?
Suddenly, Syl recalled the affix on the physician card.
Kind-hearted.
So it's a do-gooder...
Sigh...
Since it was at least doing a good deed, Syl didn't forcibly control her body to leave. Instead, she relaxed her control over it a little.
She might as well treat it as raising compatibility, letting the physician card show off its skills and level up her own skill proficiency.
Syl comforted herself with this thought.
After Syl spoke, perhaps because of her attire or because everyone was already in a daze, the people parted to let her through.
Looking at the man lying on the ground, bloody and mangled, seemingly having fallen from a great height and now on the brink of death, Syl frowned slightly.
Even through the silver mask and the filtering herbs, she could sense a strong, nauseating smell of blood.
"Could you all please disperse a bit? The patient needs sufficient fresh air." Syl waved her hand, patiently gesturing for the surrounding people to step back.
The panicked crowd around her timidly retreated a little.
They didn't understand medicine, couldn't afford a private doctor, and weren't followers of any church. Now, they could only pin their hopes on this person who claimed to be a physician.
Opening the leather tool bag slung diagonally across her waist, Syl took out the instruments and materials inside.
It's just that, no matter how you looked at it, this serrated pointed knife didn't seem like it was meant for the living.
Amidst the spine-chilling sounds of sawing flesh and the piercing of silver needles through flesh for suturing, the surrounding people retreated further and further, almost unable to bear watching the bloody scene.
Slowly, shattered bones were secured with thin plates, flaccid skin was connected with black thread. An hour passed, and not a single wound could be seen on the man lying on the ground.
Even... he didn't quite look like a person anymore...
His entire body was covered in sutures, and most parts were flesh and skin stitched together from different places.
Different skin tones aside, two fingers were even sewn into this person's eyes...
More like a terrifying zombie than a human.
"Welcome back to the world of the living." Syl smiled beneath the mask as she wiped her instruments, then removed the glove from her left hand, seemingly performing the final step.
She simply extended her left hand, used the knife in her right to make a light cut on her palm, and let the blood drip from her palm into the mouth of the man on the ground.
The sutured man slowly opened his eyes...