I wonder if you are referring to his rhyming. I had the same confusion. I killed over a hundred mobs but he would rhyme "something, something, 16". Killed loads more, "something, something, 23". It's only when I stopped killing mobs and the day ticked over to the next when he rhymed "something, something, 3", then (having not even gone out hunting again) "something, something, 4", that I realised he was just banging on about the time of the day. I waited until my time was up and he took the doll and I completed the mission with way over a hundred kills.

So, just kill the required number (30+) and wait it out. Ignore his stupid rhymes.