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

The church carriage that departed from Evian was now circling around the Lukasia Mountains.
The final destination was Ashargen, a port at the northernmost point of the Lukasia Kingdom.
The ultimate goal was to cross the Plavus Sea from there, pass through the Alter Sea, and arrive at the Grand Duchy of Kapatia.
“Please don’t look at me with those eyes, Hero.”
“Ah, I apologize for my rudeness.”
Bigrind turned her gaze away from the hero with a prim expression.
It was already the second day since they left Evian, in the afternoon.
Six church carriages had departed, and the hero Ludvik, along with Bigrind, was riding in the VIP carriage in the center.
No matter how you looked at it, he seemed to lack the gravitas befitting a hero.
Bigrind also felt that she was lacking as someone who called herself a saint — in fact, it was good when she became a saint, but honestly, while she was at least aware of whether she was worthy or qualified as a saint, the problem was that Ludvik didn’t seem to have even that level of self-awareness.
“Saint.”
Bigrind barely managed to hold back the sharp tone that had almost escaped, which had become a habit.
Because of Yona — she thought to herself, that sharp tone wasn’t appropriate for Ludvik, with whom she would have to travel on this long hero’s journey.
“Yes.”
“What kind of place is this Northern Continent?”
“The Northern Continent… you say?”
She thought he might be asking jokingly, but it didn’t seem so.
Ludvik’s expression was quite serious, and his eyes, which had looked endlessly frivolous before, were now sunk in thought, demanding a serious answer from Bigrind.
“I asked too abruptly, didn’t I?”
Ludvik rummaged through the document bag attached to the side of the carriage seat and pulled out a map, spreading it on the table.
Among the maps, it was a national map depicting the countries of this continent.
“Evian, where we were, would be right here, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Evian, at the northern edge of the Lukasia Kingdom, with its back to the Lukasia Mountains.
Ludvik’s finger, which had pointed at Evian, drew a line and pointed to Ashargen.
“And we’re heading here now, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct too. And from Ashargen, we’ll set out into the Plavus Sea.”
Bigrind’s slender finger pointed from Ashargen to the sea in front of it.
The Plavus Sea, also known as the Golden Sea.
There’s a legend that during the fierce battle between ancient Katus and ancient Kapatia, a ship carrying treasures fleeing from the Bulpus nation sank, and all those treasures were submerged.
“And from this Plavus Sea… to the Alter Sea.”

“There are truly so many countries. The powers must be quite diverse.”
Bigrind recalled her memories from her education at the church at those words.
Certainly, while countries are divided, she had been taught that countries themselves weren’t really important.
“You don’t need to think about it too complexly. Rather than conflicts between countries, the structure of conflicts between races would be simpler.”
“Races, you say?”
“Yes, races. Elves and humans, beastkin, dwarves, orcs. These five races are in opposition, that’s the current situation.”
“Hmm.”
Ludvik folded his arms and exhaled through his nose.
The Southern Continent where he had been wasn’t this complicated.
The Land of Death, the Great Desert, shown small below the map of the Northern Continent.
Marlen, belonging to the Southern Continent below that, is his homeland.
“Come to think of it, you said you were from Marlen, Hero.”
“Yes, it’s in the Southern Continent.”
Bigrind found this part somewhat puzzling.
Marlen.
That name, Marlen, which came up frequently during church education.
Isn’t it the place where the legend of the Celestial Deity remains?
The place where it was said that their descendants had lived for generations, Marlen.
Bigrind knew well that it was in the Southern Continent.
How on earth did he come from Marlen, which is like a holy land of the Celestial Church, all the way to this Evian?
He looked too fine to have crossed the Great Desert, called the Land of Death.
“…No, never mind.”
Suppressing her rising doubts, Bigrind shook her head.
Doubting the hero would be like doubting the Celestial Deity, wouldn’t it be an extremely irreverent act?
He must have been guided by the Celestial Deity to Evian, and as a result, a saint was also born in Evian, so the Deity’s guidance couldn’t have been in vain.
So, there was no need for doubt.
“We’ll arrive at Ashargen after about three more days of travel. I know it might feel confining, but please be patient a bit longer, Hero.”
“Well, that’s fine. I have no complaints as I’m traveling comfortably.”
Ludvik had no reason to be dissatisfied either.
Riding in the carriage, they would naturally head towards their destination, making it an incredibly comfortable journey.
Dust was continuously rising.
Along with the movement of the six church carriages, dust was being kicked up by the horses ridden by the Holy Knight Order escorting the carriages.
Because of this dust, the scenery outside the window was completely obscured, making it impossible to see outside properly.
*
“—Kairoc?”

Yes. May I come in for a moment?
“Just a second.”
Yona hurriedly wrapped the holy cloth around her right arm, covering the tattoo.
Although Kairoc was a trusted companion, she wasn’t sure if he would remain a comrade or maintain that trust after seeing such an ominous tattoo.
“Come in.”
With a creaking sound of old wooden hinges twisting, Kairoc entered the room.
After taking one step in, Kairoc didn’t come in any further and gestured to Yona.
“I’d like us all to gather and talk for a bit. Come down to the first floor.”
“Huh? Oh, okay. I’ll be right down.”
As soon as he heard Yona’s response, Kairoc turned around and left the room without hesitation.
He could have just called, why did he come all the way up here, Yona muttered to herself as she adjusted her clothes and went downstairs.
“He-hey, Miss Yona. Didn’t we wake you up?”
James raised the glass he was holding and grinned.
Given his size, the glass he was holding was larger than the usual size, and it looked extremely crude, as if it had been made by hollowing out a piece of wood.
“Come, sit here.”
“Okay.”
Seeing the handkerchief Alec had spread on the chair, Yona frowned, picked up the handkerchief, and rubbed Alec’s head with it.
“I told you to stop treating me like a woman, you bald bastard.”
“Hey now. It’s just manners, manners.”
“I don’t need that kind of manners, I’m a man.”
“Huh, really now.”
At James’ words, Yona, who had been bickering with Alec, turned to look at him.
As the gazes suddenly focused on him, James seemed a bit embarrassed and scratched his protruding molar.
“No, it’s just that Alec said, don’t misunderstand Miss Yona based on her appearance because she’s actually a manly fellow despite how she looks. But I didn’t really believe it until now.”
“…I’m just stating the facts, what’s wrong with that?”
Yona sat down on the chair, tightly closing her mouth.
She was already in a bad mood because of that fragment, and now even James, whom she thought was a serious character, was acting like this, making her mood sink even further.
“Anyway, the reason I called everyone to gather is that I think we need to change our schedule.”
Kairoc took a sip from the cup in front of him with a slurping sound and then spoke.
There was also a cup placed in front of Yona, and when she looked into it, judging by the smell, it was fruit wine.
It only tasted sour, so she didn’t really want to drink it.

“What do you mean by changing the schedule?”
Alec asked on behalf of Yona, who was keeping her mouth shut.
“I think we need to abandon our original route.”
“What are you talking about? Kairoc, explain in detail.”
“Alright, Yona. I’ll explain, so wait. Can’t a man like you even wait for that?”
Extending his hand to Yona, who looked like she was about to say something with an annoyed expression, as if to calm her down, Kairoc grinned.
At a glance, his mouth, which looked like a shark’s, twisting into a smile was quite a frightening sight, but it was something Yona and Alec had become accustomed to by now.
“We’re going to the plains.”
“…The plains?”
“Yes.”
Kairoc took out that expensive map from his bag and spread it out.
“We’re about here right now.”
A point precariously straddling the border between the Kapatia Empire and the Republic of Marea.
Kairoc’s thick finger pointed to that spot.
“The original plan was to go straight from here and cross the Insturia Mountains, but seeing your stamina on the way here, Yona, I don’t think crossing the mountains will be possible.”
“Hey, I can do it! I really can. Marching is all about willpower!”
“Huh, I see. That willpower. I acknowledge your willpower, Yona.”
This wasn’t just empty words, but sincere.
If it weren’t for Yona, not only Alec but also Kairoc would have been cold corpses in that catacomb.
Attempting purification by clinging to that terrible thing, and actually succeeding at it, isn’t something that can be done with ordinary guts.
“But this is a long-distance journey. When moving long distances, willpower alone isn’t enough. You understand what I’m saying, right? Calm down and listen to my explanation.”
Yona swallowed her rising irritation and took a swig of the fruit wine.
It tasted sour.
“We’ll go up here, pass through the Kapatia Empire… and go to the Grand Duchy of Kapatia. And from there, we’ll go through the Medial Plains to reach the community.”

“It’ll be much slower than taking a shortcut.”
“That’s true. But I don’t want to risk throwing away our lives trying to go faster.”
At Kairoc’s firm words, Yona closed her mouth.
Well, it might be for the better.
If we go through the Medial Plains, we’ll pass through the Infula Church territory, so that might actually be better.
“…Alright. Let’s do that then.”
“And James has decided to join us. Just until the Medial Plains.”
“Mr. James? But you have a family?”
“Heh heh, I’ve received a favor, so I should repay it. Fortunately, I’m an archer, so our professions don’t overlap. Anyway, it’s only until the Medial Plains, so there’s no need to feel burdened.”
The protruding molar that gleamed every time he spoke, reflecting the candlelight, was quite a bizarre sight.
But as they had seen when facing the black bear, his skills were certain, and it would be much better than just the three of them going alone.
“Besides, I know the roads in the Medial Plains well.”
“I look forward to working with you.”
There wasn’t really any other choice.
“Don’t look so down like that.”
“When did I ever do that?”
As with homemade fruit wine, it was made by simply throwing in a lot of fruit liquor, so the alcohol content hidden behind the sour taste of the fruit was quite high.
Yona was always confused.
When she was a man, she remembered being a heavy drinker who would drink soju by the crate with a couple of friends.
Because of this, she often gets confused about the fact that right now, this current body doesn’t have a high alcohol tolerance.
Even now, after downing three or four glasses of fruit wine in succession, she’s feeling quite tipsy.
Although she had shot back at Alec, who suggested taking a walk to sober up a bit, asking if he was trying to hit on her, she didn’t mind it and had come out with Alec.
It was truly a beautiful village.
Although there were no visible rice paddies or fields, each house with its proper appearance had a small vegetable garden in the front yard.
The night dew that had settled on each of these gardens reflected the moonlight brilliantly, shining as if stars had descended.
“Ah, right.”
Alec suddenly remembered something he had put in his sling bag.
“What?”
As Alec was rummaging through his sling bag, he happened to look at Yona.
The full moon had risen brightly, dominating the night sky without a single cloud.
The brilliantly shining full moon seemed to be Yona’s background, floating behind her,
and Yona’s figure, backlit by that moonlight, looked truly beautiful to Alec.
But he didn’t voice that fact.
There was something he wanted to say right away, but he didn’t let it out.
At least, it wasn’t something that should be said right now.
“…This.”
Instead, Alec held out what he had taken from his sling bag.
That thing wrapped in light brown leather.
Yona took what Alec was offering.
“What’s this?”
“I thought of you and bought one.”
It was the hunting knife he had bought from the old man at the general store to hear about the bear and the sacred tree.
“Just carry it with you. I know you can’t use weapons with your right hand, but you can use your left hand, right? I thought it might be good to have for self-defense, so I bought one.”
“Heh…”
Yona pulled the knife out of its leather sheath and held it up to the moonlight.
The gleaming dagger looked quite nice in a way.
“I’m not sure about these things. I’ve never used one. But since you gave it to me, it must be good.”
Then she lifted the left leg of her nun’s habit, undid the holder cable, and wrapped it around her thigh to secure it.
“Aren’t you embarrassed, you wench? Showing your legs like that.”
“I’m a man, you bald bastard. What, do you want to use your breast-fondling ticket now?”
Yona straightened up after attaching the hunting knife to her thigh and grinned.
This made Alec burst into laughter as well.
“…I’ll use it a bit later. Not as a joke like now.”
“Sure, just don’t regret it when you’ve saved it too long and it turns to shit.”
I don’t think I’ll regret it though.
Alec thought.