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

Boarding the boat, they untied the mooring ropes secured to the dock.

The wooden boat, almost too large to be called small, was laden with various supplies and blankets.

After personally checking the items, he nodded in approval.

“We’re well-stocked. We can set off now.”

Once everything was ready, they glanced toward a corner, and two figures appeared out of nowhere, as if by magic.

Walking naturally from a distance, the two bowed in greeting.

“Ex-excuse us……”

Seemingly unaccustomed to revealing themselves, they boarded the boat awkwardly.

Iriel looked confused and pointed, as if to ask, ‘They aren’t part of our group, are they?’

Ray, seated at the helm, spoke nonchalantly.

“You know already, right? One of the three families secretly guards the Saint. These two are from that family.”

“Yes……”

Their expressions betrayed a hint of dissatisfaction.

Leaving the perplexed Iriel behind, they waved to a man.

“See you later, uncle.”

“Come back safe. I’ll prepare a delicious meal again.”

“…When we return, there might be a few more of us?”

“If there are many, I’ll just rent out a whole inn. With the gold you gave me, I can afford that, right? Hahaha.”

They exchanged cheerful smiles.

“I’ll come back again.”

“Safe travels.”

Waving once more, they began rowing away from the dock.

As they carefully navigated the waterway, the man’s figure gradually faded into the distance.

The journey had finally begun.

Though their exact destination was unknown, excitement filled their hearts.

The others were equally thrilled, looking out at the sea with uplifted spirits.

Under the brightly shining sun, beautiful clouds hovered high in the sky.

The fresh wind and the crystal-clear seawater created a view like no other.

Iriel marveled, murmuring to himself.

“I was a bit scared of going out to sea, but this is better than I thought……”

The others, inexperienced with such excursions, gazed in awe.

However, Ray’s expression became slightly tense.

“Thank goodness the boat is sturdy, or we might have been in big trouble.”

The difference in the waves from the shore became noticeable.

If it was like this when we hadn’t gone far, there was a risk the boat might break or capsize further out at sea.

Now they were truly experiencing the might of the ‘Sea of the Dead Sailors’ off the coast of Crellan.

Gripping the oars tightly, Ray issued a warning, his voice tinged with tension.

“Brace yourselves. We might face bigger waves ahead.”

“Ah, with such nice weather, how could there be big waves?”

Iriel naively jinxed their situation.

This did not bode well for their future.

“Soyeong, take this.”

“Huh, me?”

Soyeong looked baffled as she received the oar.

Ray then lay down on the boat and explained.

“We have to keep going like this for a while. But as you know, there’s not even a breeze to unfurl the sails.”

“…….”

In other words, they needed to row.

Thinking, ‘Why did I bother learning to row if it’s going to be like this!’

Soyeong glared with dissatisfaction, but it was futile in front of the Saint who was abusing his authority.

If this was also an order, then it was something that had to be done.

She rowed without complaining.

As Soyeng rowed diligently, Heukyeong quietly watched her, prompting Ray to glance at him.

It was as if he was saying, ‘There are two oars, why aren’t you rowing?’

Feeling the pressure, Heukyeong also grabbed an oar.

Splash- Splash-

With every wave that hit the side of the boat, Ray, comfortably lying down, chided them.

“Do you think the boat will move forward like that? Don’t just use brute force; think of gently pushing the water away.”

“Ugh……”

She rowed vigorously, accompanied by a grunt.

However, the boat still rocked significantly.

Splash- Splash-

“Are you trying to break the boat?”

“Grrr……”

This time, Heukyeong got scolded.

Seeing the legendary Healers of the Holy Kingdom’s shadows struggling with a single oar, Iriel smiled faintly.

‘He plans to teach rowing. He’s really not straightforward.’

Despite his words, he pointed out everything correctly—the way to row with the waves, the most stable posture for rowing.

From basic to detailed instructions, he taught them, and there was a strange affection in his guidance.

‘Will I ever receive such affection?’

She looked away with a bitter expression.

It was a wish that wouldn’t come true just by thinking about it.

Unaware of her new resolve, Ray carefully observed the two, quite seriously intending to teach them rowing.

‘You never know when an emergency might arise. It’s necessary to teach them so they can use it whenever needed.’

Though the waves were stronger than near the coast, it was an ideal environment for practice.

Becoming accustomed to calm waters wouldn’t bring out real skills in a critical situation.

Here, with the perfect combination of strong waves and no wind, it was the best place to learn.

As he expected, after some initial floundering, both Soyeng and Heukyeong were getting the hang of rowing.

Even while watching them, he made sure the blankets, tightly wrapped in leather, didn’t get wet and suggested:

“Let’s take turns sleeping tonight if possible. Since fatigue builds up faster at sea, everyone should get at least four hours of sleep.”

“Okay.”

“We obey the command.”

“We obey the command.”

Looking up at the clear sky, he thought,

‘With this weather, it should be fine for a while.’

Evening arrived.

The night sky was filled with stars, and the refreshing air swirled around.

The sea, which had strong waves during the day, had been calm for a long time now, like a lake.

Under the bright moonlight, Ray chewed on jerky, looking around.

The sea, clearly visible even with the faint moonlight, was tranquil without a single ripple.

Feeling uneasy about it, he alternated between looking at the quiet sea and a book, scratching his head.

“It’s strange… According to the uncle’s book, we should have already entered the Crellan Sea.”

Soyeong tilted her head in confusion.

“Is there a problem?”

“It’s not really a problem, but… it’s strange that the sea is this calm.”

“Rather, it’s an opportunity. Should we take this chance to explore other areas?”

He shook his head at her suggestion.

No matter how he thought about it, the timing seemed too perfect.

The sea calmed down just as they entered the Crellan area?

That was beyond unbelievable.

Unless a deity watched over them, it was a hard situation to believe.

Of course, he didn’t think that Gaia, the goddess known for her non-intervention, helped them.

‘Could this be a precursor to a tsunami?’

There were no bubbles on the sea surface, but the calmness of the sea was unsettling.

He enhanced his vision with mana and looked into the distance.

What he barely saw was the sea, fiercely boasting turbulent waves.

Startled, he looked around, but every direction seemed similar.

“What in the world…”

Looking back the way they came, the waves were rough but not different from the daytime.

In other words, they could return but couldn’t move forward.

Faced with this unexpected situation, he woke up Iriel and Heukyeong.

“What, what’s up? Is it my turn?”

“Get up. We need an urgent meeting.”

“What?”

Iriel, waking up to the word ‘urgent’, rubbed his cheeks to clear his mind and asked.

“What’s happening? It doesn’t seem like a big deal…”

The sea was so calm it seemed peaceful rather than dangerous.

But Ray’s expression was extremely serious.

“We’re blocked everywhere except the way we came. We can’t move forward like this.”

“…”

Iriel looked around, tilting his head in confusion.

“Blocked by what?”

She looked puzzled, not understanding.

The scene he had barely glimpsed with his mana-enhanced vision was probably invisible to her.

Ray briefly explained the situation.

“Right now, it’s calm like a safe zone, but if we move a bit further, the waves will get fierce. No, it’s more accurate to say the sea is going mad.”

“That bad?”

“If I’m right, even if I reinforce the boat with magic, it won’t last long. If the boat breaks, we’ll be fish food.”

Despite his blunt words, Iriel didn’t seem scared and thought deeply.

“Uhm. Is there no other way?”

“If there was, I wouldn’t have woken you up.”

“Can’t your magic do something?”

“Do you think magic can do everything? Unless I freeze the entire sea, it’s impossible to deal with that.”

“What about lifting the boat with psychokinesis?”

“I can freeze it in the air or throw it in a straight line, but free flight is impossible. Not just mana control, but the spells for flight are entirely different.”

“That’s a problem. We have no choice but to break through those waves…”

After a moment of contemplation, Ray spoke up.

“…There’s not exactly no way.”

“Do you have an idea?”

“It’s a bit of a stretch to call it an idea… but look at this.”

He opened a book passed from the man, and all three focused on it.

“We are here right now. So, the notorious Crellan Sea is right in front of us. According to the uncle’s map, the sea should calm down again after passing through the Crellan Sea.”

“That means…?”

Heukyeong asked nervously, and Ray nodded.

“We’ll break through as fast as we can.”

The Healers were shocked and objected.

“Oh, no, Saint! We can’t risk your precious life on such a gamble!”

“Right! Besides, our goal is the Hero’s lineage! If we pass through too quickly, we won’t find it!”

Iriel seemed to agree with them this time.

“…I think we should look for another way.”

Faced with the majority’s opposition, he had to think differently.

He never intended to force his way through from the start.

As they were all in the same boat, their opinions mattered.

But without any alternatives, there weren’t many options left.

With only a 20-day limit, lingering here could only bring harm.

He popped a piece of jerky into his mouth from the bag and said,

“We have about half a day until morning. Think it over and decide by then. Of course, if no other opinion arises by that time… well, we’ll have no choice.”

“…Then let’s pool our thoughts together until morning.”

“Good. Let’s begin by discussing the method of freezing the sea.”

Iriel grimaced.

“Is that even possible for a human?”

At her question, Ray gave a sly smile.

“We won’t know unless we try.”