I’m Not a Saint, Not a Priest, Just a Healer.

“…Nnngh.”
The direct sunlight hitting her face forced Yona’s eyes open. She must have dozed off after having a light dinner, bathing, and collapsing onto the freshly changed mattress last night.

Rising from the bed, Yona stretched languidly and looked around with bleary eyes. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary – just the same old squalid inn room, built entirely of wood as dilapidated as ever.

“…Ah.”
She suddenly remembered her plans for today. Lifting her right arm slightly, those strange markings were still densely inscribed from shoulder to wrist.
She had hoped they might vanish after sleeping, but no such luck. On her pale skin, having only her right arm covered in this inky black script looked bizarrely out of place.
At least it didn’t hinder her mobility or holy power circulation.

“…Aside from the unsightly appearance, is this harmless then?”
Well, the appearance itself would certainly raise some eyebrows at the cathedral. The tutoring nuns would have a field day.

After a quick wash-up, Yona donned her nun’s habit. Tugging the bodice down slightly before throwing on her hooded cardigan completed her typical look.

“Alright, the key.”
“Heading to the guild?”
The reticent Moon and Star innkeeper accepted the key Yona handed over. Though a man of few words, she was a long-term tenant, so they exchanged cursory greetings.

“No, the tower.”
“The tower?”
“Yes, I have some business there. Anyways, thanks for your work.”

With a wave to the silent innkeeper, Yona stepped outside and stretched again fully. What a lovely day.
The clear azure sky was perhaps the only positive she had found since abruptly crossing into this world. Utterly unpolluted, gazing up at that pristine expanse always lifted her spirits.

“Alright, let’s go then.”
The Tower – the formal name was the Evian Mage Researchers’ Society, but nobody actually referred to it as such.
She would need to visit the cathedral tomorrow to purchase a new holy cloth anyway, so today she planned to stop by the tower first.
Just in case this required some kind of magical analysis or remedy. You never know.

“Prickery, hello there.”
“Oh, Yona.”
Spotting the goblin mage who had been in her party, Yona waved first. Prickery belatedly noticed and scurried over, waving back.
“What business do you have at the tower?”

While Yona was admittedly tall for a woman, Prickery barely came up to her waist. With a wrinkled green-skinned face and pointed ears, he was an oddity – a rare magically talented goblin who resided at the tower while also working as an adventurer.
And it was Prickery she had come to consult today.

“I wanted to show you something.”
“Me? I don’t really swing that way though.”
“…Stop with the nonsense.”
Yona nearly let a curse slip before remembering they were at the tower, not the guild hall. She bit back the insult that had risen to her lips.

“Is there a quiet place we can talk? Somewhere private.”
“Private you say? Ah…right, follow me.”
Prickery led her to the library, which was completely vacant upon entry. It felt rather strange – the very heart of knowledge at this vaunted tower, yet not a single soul occupied the reading room.

“Everyone’s too busy in their own research chambers. This library is meant for public use, but what regular townsperson around here would visit?”
He made a fair point, so Yona simply nodded.
“So what did you want to show me?”

Yona scanned their surroundings once more to confirm they were alone. Only then did she push back her cardigan sleeve, baring her right arm.

“Wh-What is this?”
“I don’t know, that’s why I came to you.”
Prickery stared agape at the dense black script covering Yona’s arm from shoulder to wrist. At a glance it almost resembled intricate artwork.

“You have an odd hobby like this?”
“Are you insane? My arm isn’t a damn canvas for doodling! This happened after dealing with that demonic beast yesterday, that goat-human hybrid thing. You know how I subdued it?”

“Hmm…so you ended up like this after defeating that demon? May I touch it?”
“Sure, go ahead.”

While a practicing mage for years, Prickery had never encountered anything like this before. Evian had all sorts of people with various tattoos – he had seen plenty. But markings inscribed like this manner of script was completely new to him.
And touching it, it simply felt like normal skin.

Prickery firmly pressed down on Yona’s arm.
“It doesn’t hurt?”
“Not at all.”
“How strange.”

From Prickery’s reaction, Yona immediately understood – this had nothing to do with magic. Well, she hadn’t really expected otherwise, so she wasn’t terribly disappointed.

“I can’t sense any magic power or aura at all.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. You’re absolutely sure you didn’t get these markings yourself?”
“Of course not. Look, I may not look it, but I’m a healer you know. Tending to the sick and injured is my profession. Do you think people would take kindly to me going around with body art like this?”

“…Well, I suppose that’s true. But how is there not a single trace remaining then?”
Prickery scrutinized Yona’s arm from all angles, utterly perplexed. For her part, Yona figured the mage would be of little help in this matter.

“Hey, is your master around?”
“He is. Shall I call for him?”
“Well…I’d rather not if possible. Having this scribbled all over me makes me uneasy too.”

Prickery’s master was someone Yona knew well – well enough to avoid meeting unnecessarily under normal circumstances. But she couldn’t think of anyone better consulted about such an abnormal situation.

“He should be in his chambers. But I don’t need to go in with you, right? You can go alone.”
“Do I have to?”
“I think it would be better that way.”
Prickery smiled awkwardly with a wave, leaving Yona alone to ponder briefly.
Was this really a good idea? What if instead of removing it, this person somehow anchored the markings permanently?
The resident master was renowned, but also notoriously eccentric.
Her hesitation was short-lived however, spurred to action by her own unease. Agonizing further was pointless – better than walking around with this unsettling condition festering on her arm.

“Alevian.”
No titles like ‘Sir’ or fancy honorifics. She had been disciplined enough times against using them.
Pushing open the door revealed an unchanged environment within. Sunlight streamed through, highlighting the swirling dust motes. Thick tomes lay strewn about like landmines amid the strange odors and oppressive warmth permeating the cluttered study.

Yona called out again to the room’s owner:
“Alevian!”

“Oh? Who is it? Yona?”
Accompanied by a reedy voice, a face peeked out from behind a nearby bookshelf.
A bespectacled blonde beauty – Alevian.

“Yona—! It’s been so long—!”
Beaming widely, the elf Alevian rushed over and enveloped Yona in a tight embrace before she could react. Feeling the ample softness press against her, Yona stiffened in surprise as Alevian giggled mischievously.

“Why has it been so long? Don’t you love me anymore?”
“I never loved you to begin with.”
“What? Then that night was just a fling?”
“There was no such night. Now let go.”

Ah, this was precisely why she disliked visiting. Alevian’s flirtatious energy was utterly boundless, rapidly spiking Yona’s own irritation in turn.

“I heard about your exploits from Prickery. Without you, yesterday would have been the demise of Evian’s Adventurer’s Guild.”
“You’re exaggerating. It would have worked out somehow even without me. Anyways, did you notice anything off?”

Adjusting her glasses, Alevian inspected Yona’s arm with intense scrutiny.
“Your skin is so smooth and supple…”
“No, not that. I mean these markings or script or whatever they are.”
“Right, right…those. At a glance, I can’t sense any magic power or aura from them…”

“So in other words?”
This was the problem with mages. If they could just speak plainly instead of all this mystical sensing nonsense…

“In conclusion then?”
“These just seem to be ordinary text.”
“I can see that much for myself.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”

Releasing Yona’s arm, Alevian straightened her posture and adopted a more serious demeanor, pushing her glasses up again.

“I mean these are quite literally just text. No magic, no supernatural aura. Simply text – exactly as they appear, like body art tattoos. Your holy power circulation is unaffected?”

In response, Yona focused inward and cycled her holy power. The wellspring in her lower abdomen responded, coursing through her body before flowing smoothly into her right arm, causing it to gently emanate a pale white glow.

“Yes, it flows well.”
“Precisely. If these markings involved any magic or aura, your holy power wouldn’t be able to channel through at all.”
“I suppose that’s true.”

Alevian smiled enigmatically as she traced a line from Yona’s shoulder down to her wrist with a slender finger.

“I understand your concern. The key is deciphering just what meaning these texts hold. That’s something I can look into.”

“Yes, thank you.”
Cutting through the unpleasantness, Yona expressed her gratitude sincerely. For all her innuendo-laced antics, the elf could be helpful when needed.

“Once I find out what language it is…”
“You’ll let me know?”
“No.”
Alevian shook her head, the lingering inscrutable smile sending a chill down Yona’s spine.
“I’ll come find you directly at the Moon and Star Inn. You’re still staying there, correct?”