"What exactly do you mean by surgery, Kyroki?" (N)

  "An invasive treatment, supposed to align the body structure to a desired effect." (K)

  I only understood half of what she said just there.

  Yet, coming from Liana's face, whatever she understood couldn't be good.

  "I, I don't want to be cut open." (L)

  "Even though you can heal? Detrimental. I thought I could go a bit farther." (K)

  Maybe I should turn around with Liana right this instant.

  Whatever she wants to fetch from her home can't be as close to her as her own face.

  "Argh, stop looking like this. I said surgery, but it's minimally invasive. It's even temporary." (K)

  That would already put her above Akasia.

  As long as her temporary isn’t multiple years as well.

  "Now, lie down here, so I can start to get to work." (K)

  She points at her usual torture stone table.

  Although reluctantly, Liana sits down there.

  "I said, lie down. Please follow simple instructions." (K)

  Even more reluctantly, she does as she's told.

  "Good. Now hold still for a moment." (K)

  "Wha-" (L)

  "Sssssst"

  In mere seconds, Kyroki has applied several layers of clearly sticky silk around her head, to fix it to the stone beneath, and continues applying more around the rest of her body.

  "Kyroki!" (N)

  "She has to stay completely still for the duration of the procedure. Otherwise, I can't set the punctures precisely enough, which would be detrimental to her well-being." (K)

  "What punctures?!" (N)

  "Wh-what are you going to do!?!" (L)

  "Adjusting the bone structure would be a bit excessive and require too much time and effort. However, inducing minor changes to the muscles and skin texture is just within the limits. Now prepare yourself, as this may sting a little." (K)

  Kyroki takes some kind of stone container and dips her finger, no, claws, in them.

  Is it just me, or did she file half of her nails to the size of pin needles?

  Needles she brings directly above Liana’s face.

  "No!" (L)

  She yells, but can’t even budge as the needles come down.

  Should I try to stop this!?

  "Stk"

  "Eckh" (L)

  "Stkstkstkstk"

  Faster than I can blink, Kyroki punctures Liana's face several times with her nails, before I can even finish my thoughts.

  "See? Already done. That wasn't so bad, was it?" (K)

  She says while starting to cut the web with her thicker nails.

  I'm not sure if I would agree with her.

  Especially, as there's a tiny bit of blood on Liana’s face.

  Yet not nearly as much as I'd have expected after getting pierced so often.

  "Ackh, that, that, feels weird. My face, it's, quivering." (L)

  "Good. It should subside within a minute." (K)

  While I'm pretty sure that Kyroki isn't going to kill Liana, I can't be quite sure if she'd do something else that, in her understanding, doesn't mean harm.

  This thinking puts me severely on edge.

  Then, something occurs that, even though I shouldn't be easy to impress anymore after all my time here, still befuddles me.

  Liana's face seems to stretch on its own.

  Her eyebrows raise slightly higher, the place between pinching tighter, her cheeks shift a bit towards the back of her head, her eyeline basically loses its tear sacs as they narrow, and her lips grow thinner.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Also, her complexion grows a bit paler, as if the color got washed out of her face.

  Together with the blue hair, I can hardly compare her to before.

  Only the color of her eyes remains as a tiny reminder of her old appearance.

  Now she looks, well, stunning.

  Before, she was cuter, rather soft and cushy, but now her eyes got far more present and her features sharp.

  "L-Liana?" (N)

  "Yes?" (L)

  Okay, it's still her.

  "Let's see... Hmm, melanin concentration reduced evenly and in mild proportions, muscle strands slightly tensed. How is the feeling? Endurable?" (K)

  Liana makes some funny faces with her mouth.

  "My, my face feels kinda tense. Taut. But not by much." (L)

  "Endurable?!" (K)

  "Y-yes!" (L)

  "Good. Hopefully, it will stay at this. I didn't permanently shorten the strands, so the straining augmentation should wear off within the week. Also, melanin production should set in after a short period in the sun. Yet I wouldn't recommend repeated applications. It would wear the skin out, and then I would have to concoct something to regenerate everything back to normal, which would be such a pain." (K)

  Am I crazy, or is the mere fact that she can do such a thing ridiculous?

  Yet I really should stop being surprised by her.

  "On another note, your silk glands are cluttered. You should use them more." (K)

  What is this about Liana and silk?

  "What do you mean?" (L)

  "It's as if you just got this one conditioned response, to ask questions... Your navel. You should possess a silk gland there. I'd advise you to make use of it at times, or you're going to incur health issues if it clogs up. If you can’t work out how, ask your matriarch." (K)

  Liana looks equally perplexed as I am.

  As we are questioningly looking at each other, Kyroki moves towards a shelf at the side.

  Yet it's a little too high for her, so she quickly grows three legs and, surprisingly nimble, grabs a flask from there.

  "Fine, now that everything else is settled, here, drink this." (K)

  Liana and I, we both look at the flask and have the same thought.

  That one should do anything, but certainly not drink this.

  "What are you waiting for? I don't have all day!" (K)

  "I-is this really necessary?" (L)

  "Yes, obviously. So down it! Or do I need to say, pleeeeaassse?" (K)

  Okay, that was creepy.

  The way she tilted her head, smiled, thin fangs emerging ever so slightly, and stretched this in a not-at-all child-like manner.

  It made my skin crawl.

  Apparently convinced, or just not wanting to hear something like this ever again, Liana takes the potion.

  "Just drink it. You'll barely feel a thing." (K)

  The 'barely' would concern me, if I were Liana.

  "O-okay. I’ll trust you." (L)

  "Oh, great. Then do what the one who knows her stuff says! Unbelievable." (K)

  And so Liana does.

  She clearly doesn't like the taste, as I get quite clearly through our mental link.

  Next, she seems to cough and retch, but nothing comes out.

  Only Kyroki doesn't seem concerned.

  "Wait a moment... good. Should be absorbed now." (K)

  To my relief, Liana speaks again.

  "Wh-whatch wach thish?" (L)

  She sounds hoarse.

  "Good, speak a little more. Please." (K)

  "Whach, whac-, what do chu-, you mean? Ack, crchuh! Urgh, got that out. Grgh. That, that stuff burned my throat. I... What is with my voice?" (L)

  "Perfect. Couldn't have you talk to anyone with your old voice. Don't worry, as I said, it will wear off eventually." (K)

  You didn't say anything like that at all!

  Not even what the potion was for!

  Both of us stare at this crazy little girl.

  "That was all! You are free to go now. I suppose Talisa has finished whatever she tailored up by now." (K)

  So we leave, rather motivated to do so as fast as possible.

  I hope Liana doesn't resent me for what she's going through here.

  "Aah, eeh, iiooh." (L)

  As we walk to the, hopefully, last station, Liana can't stop making sounds.

  I admit, it doesn't sound familiar.

  Her new voice is deeper.

  Still clearly a woman’s, but more…mature.

  Probably Kyroki attempting to match her changed appearance.

  I guess both of us will need some time to get used to her having this new voice.

  "Ehm, is your throat fine?" (N)

  She was coughing and retching an awful lot before.

  "I, I guess so. But the tone... Still, it's like I'm speaking normally. It's just so strange, just like..." (L)

  Now she starts touching her new face.

  "I know, I saw it in her mirror, but I still can hardly believe it." (L)

  "Yes, uh, so that was Kyroki." (N)

  "I'm not sure what to think of her. The things she does, they're beyond everything, but also she's..." (L)

  "...Kyroki." (N)

  I helpfully add.

  "Yeah..." (L)

  "I mean, she's the one mainly responsible for me being as I am now. And you." (N)

  "I guess I got it simpler in this regard than you. I mean, I only got these two protrusions in my mouth and, well, I guess silk?" (L)

  Yeah, have fun with that.

  Pulling that out is one of the weirdest sensations you can get.

  "I guess Talisa is a bit more agreeable." (N)

  "You mean the one who argued to keep me under permanent mind control?" (L)

  "She's a bit strict, but usually fair. It's just that it sometimes takes the others to correct her." (N)

  "Mhm..." (L)

  Not convinced, I guess.

  We reach the last chamber, where a note hangs that we are supposed to wait for a bit.

  Eventually, Talisa emerges.

  The first thing she does is take a close look at Liana's face.

  "Hmm, I'd have liked to know the kind of changes those two would induce beforehand. Now the whole concept might be a little off." (T)

  Concept?

  What kind of concept do you need for clothes?

  Well, aside from weaving thread, I guess.

  "Is it really that important?" (N)

  "Of course it is! Fashion is a meticulously accentuated art! You can't produce satisfying results without the proper groundwork!" (T)

  If she says so.

  "However, I can save this. Just come in and give me a moment." (T)

  I feel like this whole clothes thing is a bit beyond me.

  She makes us follow her into her room, right towards the big weaving station.

  "Ehm, maybe nothing too fancy for this?" (N)

  "Of course, this isn't that kind of dress! I got her pants in combination with a short skirt, which harmoniously transitions into a decent blouse. While I favored an orange-yellow colorization before, this doesn't add up in the slightest with the new style. Yet I could instead weave a green pattern. Yes, that might work." (T)

  She sits down and starts her art, it can hardly be called any less.

  How she operates dozens of strands simultaneously, with fingers and spider legs, so that in the center, a piece of clothing almost magically assembles in front of our eyes.

  This much becomes apparent even through my distress at the mentioned spider legs.

  Liana is similarly impressed as I am.

  It's the first time that I've seen Talisa going all out like this.

  Before long, the blouse is created.

  As she said, this one is dark green and looks a bit firmer than the one she had first.

  More of a directed pattern with clear lines.

  "Yes, this should do. Here you are." (T)

  She places the entire outfit in Liana’s arms, who stands there looking at the gift.

  Yet Talisa doesn’t let her merely gaze at them.

  "Well, what are you waiting for? Put it on!" (T)

  "Right here!?" (L)

  "Where else? Don't act shy. I don't care for the human physique, and Neri is already so intimately connected to you that this act can’t possibly matter." (T)

  "Right..." (L)

  It seems at this point, Liana has already given up and just caves in.

  Wanting to still give her some privacy anyways, I turn around till she finishes putting the clothes on.

  When I turn back, she looks really good.

  Not exactly standing out, but once you look at her, there's just this sense of elegance.

  "I feel you thinking, Neri. Is something the matter?" (L)

  "No, you look great, Liana!" (N)

  "Oh, well, thank you." (L)

  "Ahem." (T)

  Talisa?

  Oh, right.

  "You did such a wonderful job for Liana, Talisa! Thank you!" (N)

  "Well, this is my field of expertise. Of course I'd do well." (T)

  "Still, you didn't have to. It could have been very plain. Thank you for your help, Talisa. You went out of your way, just for Liana." (N)

  "No need to thank me for this. It was more of a byproduct after all." (T)

  Byproduct?

  At this, she strides to another corner and brings another piece of clothing.

  "Of course, I wouldn't let you go to such a place as a human town without proper covering. So here's your newest outdoor outfit!" (T)

  Once again, I am overwhelmed.