To Hell with Being a Saint, I’m a Doctor

A battlefield is a place where even the skilled struggle to survive.

Well-trained soldiers often fell to blind arrows.

In such a place, a lone girl was like a lamp in the wind.

Her hands, which held a sword, trembled, and she instinctively closed her eyes whenever someone nearby was cut by a blade.

It was a wonder how long she could survive with such a demeanor.

Swords rained down where one couldn’t even see a foot ahead, and intense murderous intent exploded around her.

Some, as if possessed, fled the battlefield without looking back, while others followed them.

It seemed like everyone on the battlefield had gone mad.

For the young girl, such a scene was a huge shock.

Then, when an injured young man staggered toward her, she swung her sword in fear, unconsciously.

Thud—

The sound was so dull that it was hard to believe it came from a sword strike, and the sword lodged into the young man’s shoulder.

It hadn’t penetrated deep enough to reach the bone due to a lack of force.

It was just one attack, but the man died.

He was already severely injured, and the sword in his shoulder made it impossible for him to cling to life.

Afterward, the girl, panicked like when she had seen her parents die in front of her, somehow escaped the battlefield.

That was her first kill.

Murder became familiar.

The thick scent of blood no longer bothered her.

She wielded her sword.

On numerous battlefields, she brought down many mercenaries with her lethal swordsmanship.

Despite her face, melted from burns and splattered with blood, she didn’t care.

After five years on the battlefield, she earned a nickname.

‘Undead.’

Surviving every battlefield and having a face as gruesome as an undead, that’s how she got the nickname.

It certainly fit.

Even now, as she killed, she felt no emotion.

Just like a dead person.

As usual, she sent all her earnings from the battlefield to the orphanage.

She couldn’t defy the orders given by the brand of servitude.

It frustrated her that she couldn’t remove it, even with the mana training method she had learned by chance.

One day, an old man clicked his tongue and said,

“Tsk tsk tsk. Such a pity at a young age.”

“……”

“Covering your neck on such a hot day, you must be a slave, right?”

When she remained silent, the old man continued,

“Aren’t you curious about a way to remove the brand?”

A way to remove the brand of servitude? Was there such a thing?

If there was, she indeed was curious.

“Break that mana bead around your neck. Then, the link of servitude will also break. Of course, that’s if you can break it.”

With those words, the old man walked away.

But his advice was useless.

She had tried to break the necklace many times over the last five years.

She had tried using her sword and concentrating all her mana, but it had been futile.

There still was no way to break this curse.

Thinking this, she continued to roam the battlefield.

With the sensation of her sword slicing through skin, another figure fell.

Without a chance to check, others rushed toward her, turning the situation into utter chaos.

Looking at it this way, she considered herself lucky again.

Both in her first battle and now.

Considering she could survive without major injuries.

Entering a crumbling house and lying down haphazardly, she felt feverish.

Her strength drained away, and her consciousness faded, as if she were dying.

Well, dying this way wouldn’t be too bad, she thought.

Reflecting back, it was curious why she had tried so hard to survive.

Her consciousness quietly drifted away amidst the unpleasant heat and heavy moisture.

Having completed his pilgrimage and heading toward the castle, Ray’s expression was bright.

He could now act freely during his stay in the Silia Kingdom.

Thinking of meeting his parents, and incidentally Aira, his mind was already in a garden of flowers.

As the night deepened, and they stayed in a village for the night, they wandered around.

His body felt stiff, having been cooped up in the carriage for a while.

He left Iriel, who was trying to sleep in the inn, and went outside.

The village lacked any glamour, not being wealthy.

As he wandered around, the paladins recognized him.

“Your Holiness, where are you going?”

“Just thought to get some fresh air.”

“We’ll quickly arrange an escort for you.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be right back, so you rest.”

“Hahaha. Understood. Please return safely.”

Now, those with Ray had developed some flexibility, possibly because they were heeding the Saint’s words.

In a dark corner, quietly admiring the night sky, he sensed a faint presence.

However, the sensation was unpleasantly disturbing.

A dense murderous intent seemed to accumulate, akin to an untamed wild horse.

‘A mercenary? But it seems too weak for that…’

He moved toward the location and saw a dilapidated house standing alone.

Situated quite deep in the alley, it was surprising to find a house there.

The door was ajar, as if someone had recently entered.

He politely knocked on the open door.

Knock-knock-

“Is anyone the…”

Bang-

Before he could finish, the door fell off its hinges.

Unbelievable.

How dilapidated must a house be for its door to break from a mere knock!

“…I didn’t do this.”

With an inexplicable denial of responsibility, he cautiously stepped inside, where a human figure appeared to be lying.

He approached closer to examine the face, and indeed, it was a person.

But the face, distorted by burns, and the wounds all over the body made it hard to discern the person’s gender.

“Haah… Haah…”

He quickly checked the person’s condition, hearing the labored breathing.

‘The fever is severe. And the pulse is irregular.’

The person struggled to breathe, continuous gasps escaping.

Ray began to loosen the figure’s clothing.

Anything that could hinder breathing needed removal.

The necklace around her neck was no exception.

“I’m sorry for breaking this. I’ll apologize properly later.”

He gently tugged at it with mana, and the necklace, after a moment of resistance, came undone effortlessly.

The central bead burst, but Ray shielded himself from the fragments with his mana.

He lightly lifted the woman’s chin and eased the suppression of divine power.

“Air. Wind.”

The air, astonishingly purified by divine power, flowed into her like oxygen from a respirator.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be suffering from any disease.

No coughing, so not pneumonia, and no inflammation in the ears, so not an ear infection.

If it were something else, perhaps meningitis, but there were no signs of vomiting, so that seemed unlikely.

Overall, she appeared to have lost consciousness due to a high fever.

Ray removed his robe and laid it on the ground.

Although made of luxurious silk and seemingly thin, it was actually quite fine.

He placed the woman on it and removed a layer of her clothing.

Wearing as little as possible helps reduce a fever.

Without fever-reducing drugs, he couldn’t administer medication, but this care should be enough for her, who had mana in her body, to recover.

He tore off a sleeve and soaked it in water.

“Clean. Water.”

It served as a wet cloth.

After wringing it out, he placed it on her forehead, and the cool sensation seemed to relax her expression.

It still left a gruesome impression, though.

Before dehydration set in, it was crucial to ensure she was sufficiently hydrated.

Now lacking usable cloth, he had to use the clothes she was wearing.

After cleansing them with a cleaning spell and soaking them in water,

He carefully squeezed the clothes into her mouth, and she drank eagerly.

“Being here like this reminds me of the time I took care of Aira.”

Old memories brought sporadic laughter.

Had it been about five hours?

Just as he was about to change the wet cloth on her head, she made a swallowing sound.

“Eum…”

Was her consciousness returning?

Feeling the cloth on her head, she abruptly sat up.

“Who is it? I’ve been too careless.”

She scolded herself for lying down recklessly and moved her hand to the hilt of the sword at her waist.

But, of course, the sword wasn’t there anymore.

Her sword and various other items had been tragically dismantled by Ray.

“Don’t move. You’ve just started to cool down, so it’s better to stay lying down.”

“……”

Ray, speaking with concern, held the cloth he had used as a wet towel.

Naturally, her gaze shifted to her own body.

She quickly realized she was almost in her underwear.

A pervert, perhaps? Definitely a pervert!

No, surely a pervert!

After a few mishaps, she labeled Ray as the greatest lecher in the world and shouted,

“This pervert!”

“Pervert? How can you call someone who’s been nursing you a pervert!”

“Shut up, pervert!”

Her mana-filled hand lashed toward his chest.

Ray, with a look of injustice, easily deflected it.

The density was entirely different from before.

The Swordmaster’s hand pressed forward, and the Original Dragon’s tongue flicked out as his immense mana repelled her hand.

‘What…!’

Surprised by the incredible force, she withdrew her hand and quickly sat up.

Ray was taken aback by her smooth move, using the recoil.

It was a considerably quick-witted response.

However, her mana was so crude that he could have easily blocked it without even needing to dodge.

Catching her foot, he laid her back down.

“Let me go…!”

“Hold.”

With a short incantation, her body stiffened, immobilized.

Ray, a former doctor in his previous life and now a saint, calmly explained the situation.

“Listen carefully. I swear, I did nothing wrong to you. In fact, I’ve been nursing you.”

“……”

Though she couldn’t respond due to being immobilized, her murderous glare was still apparent.

Interpreting her look in his own way, Ray nodded and smiled contentedly.

“Good. I’m glad you understand,” he said.

“……”

“Oh, and this…”

As he spoke, he presented the necklace and the shattered bead fragments that had once encircled her neck.

“If this was important, I’m really sorry. It seemed urgent, so I tried to release it, and it burst. I’m not sure if I can compensate you, but if it’s possible, I’ll do my best.”

“……!”

Shock registered on her face.

She had seen many battlefields and had even sought the help of renowned masters to remove it, yet not one had succeeded.

The mana tied to the mana bead, a complex spell, was considered unbreakable.

But he had shattered it? How unimaginably powerful must his mana be to achieve that!

Could he be equivalent to a royal chief sorcerer?

Believing she had sufficiently calmed down, Ray released the magic binding her.

“Cancel.”