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

Once she was free from her physical restraint, she immediately stood up and stepped back.

“Indeed… he cured a disease that caused me to lose consciousness. If what he says is true, it wouldn’t be strange if I had actually died. But still…”

Her distrust, born of numerous experiences, made it difficult for her to trust others easily.

But then, how could she explain the necklace and the burst bead?

As she gazed at the necklace with complex emotions, Ray misunderstood her expression.

“Was it an important item? Perhaps a keepsake from a relative.”

If it was a unique item from her parents, the sorrow would be indescribable.

But what could be done now? It was already shattered.

At least, he thought it would be good to make a similar one later.

Even though she would probably hate the idea.

“Go away.”

Her voice was cold, marred by burns on her lips.

She did not wish to face a heavily armed opponent, even with her formidable strength.

Thus, she thought it best to send him away.

Ray’s expression became serious.

“She must be upset about the necklace.”

Their misaligned perceptions remained unresolved until the end.

Finally, unable to bear the guilt, Ray started to act.

“Just wait a moment.”

He sat down with the necklace in hand and took out a small gem from his pocket.

It served as emergency money he never expected to use in such a way.

By touch, he traced the magic formula of the broken bead, piece by piece.

Strong materials like gems are better conduits for magical tools than mana crystals.

So, working with it was much easier.

But as he reconstructed the bead from memory, a strange thought occurred to him.

“…Huh? This seems like a restraint magic formula…?”

It was very similar to the mechanics of the Hold spell.

Why she wore such a seemingly useless artifact was a mystery to him, but it must have been significant to her, given the worn leather of the necklace.

Engraving the magic circle was straightforward.

Being familiar with the Hold spell, he felt quite comfortable with the process.

Pleased, Ray infused mana into the gem as if it were a fascinating toy.

If an artifact merchant had seen the process, they would have offered him a contract on the spot.

As a result, the skill level he learned from Aira’s books was fully reflected in the small gem.

The newly enchanted gem, far more powerful than the original engraving, created a fantastic collaboration with the necklace.

He carefully trimmed the worn leather of the necklace.

Now, it was no longer long enough to be worn around the neck.

Regrettably, it had to be used as a bracelet.

This was the best he could do.

She watched him, engrossed in his craft, sitting there in a daze.

Ray approached her.

He fastened the ominously dark slave mark, filled with a ghastly restraint spell, around her wrist, and she finally snapped back to reality.

“I’m sorry for breaking it. This is my way of apologizing, so please accept it.”

Saying so, he smiled like a blooming pumpkin flower.

From one side, he blurted out, “I guessed the size, and it fits perfectly!” How annoying it was, she wanted to strike him dead.

“Uaaaaaa!”

A cry of anguish filled the room.

She thought she had been liberated, but now she was a slave again.

And it was with a gold chain so strong she couldn’t even think of breaking it.

How it was made was beyond her, and she was certain even a royal court sorcerer couldn’t undo it.

His craftsmanship was indeed skillful; it was extraordinarily superb.

Blood-red light poured from her distorted face, barely visible.

‘I must kill him… before he triggers the master-servant seal!’

She activated the mana in her body, ready to leap from the ground.

Just then,

“That necklace had some complex magic on it, right? It was a bit of trouble to restore it. If mana is poured into it, it will probably activate immediately…”

Before Ray could finish, his mana-triggered magical formula activated.

Symbols materialized on her palms and neck, inflicting excruciating pain.

“Kuuuh… Ugh…”

“Always in such a hurry.”

He must have gone insane.

“You… I can’t begin to express how much I hate you… Aaah!”

She had thought herself accustomed to pain.

Yet the pain that caused her to lose consciousness, along with the haunting memories, closed in.

Memories of her parents dying on the battlefield.

Memories of her first enslavement.

And memories of relentless battles.

Tears flowed from her eyes, obscured by burn scars.

Drip- Drip-

By then, Ray sensed something amiss.

A strange sensation, as if the gears were misaligned.

“…This is a bit strange…”

He hastily cut off the mana emanating from the bracelet.

The magic circle’s amplified mana was swiftly quelled.

But the jolt scattered what little consciousness she clung to.

Having successfully stifled the rogue mana…

He halted what seemed like a bin overflowing with discarded magic, but now the real challenge lay ahead.

“What should I do now…”

He muttered, scratching his head, perplexed by the situation.

He surmised he had blundered greatly.

Yet he remained clueless.

The magic he believed he had halted had already taken full effect, and the master-servant pact was sealed.

“Eum…”

As she awoke, dawn broke.

She stretched languidly after a deep slumber.

However, the memory of what had transpired made her sit up abruptly.

There he was, the young man, waving nonchalantly.

“Did you sleep well?”

Had she slept well?

Indeed, she had slept soundly.

Regardless of the life that awaited her in servitude!

Frustration made her shoulders slump, but what could she do before her new master?

As long as the symbols on her palms remained, the master-servant seal was bound.

Her honest desire was to at least save her own life.

“What’s your name?”

“I don’t have one.”

“You don’t have one? Then could you tell me what led you here? Only if you’re comfortable, of course.”

‘Damn it! Why should I tell him!’

Despite her thoughts, the words flowed easily due to the master-servant seal.

It was unintentional on Ray’s part, though.

“…I lost my parents in a war.”

“……”

“When the war ended, I buried them with my own hands.”

Her hidden past, full of shame and pain, spilled out, one detail after another.

Though speaking was difficult and brought tears, she felt a surprising sense of relief after sharing.

She unraveled her long life story in the time it took to drink a couple of cups of tea.

Ray spoke in an even tone.

“It’s been a tough life.”

“……”

It was true enough.

Her past couldn’t be fully expressed in just a few words, but she couldn’t deny that it had meaning either.

While listening to her story, Ray understood the significance of the necklace and bead to her and what he had done.

“I’m sorry. That’s all I can say.”

“……”

As expected, no response came.

Perhaps because she shared her life story for the first time, tears welled in her eyes.

The tears, born of sorrow and pain against the world’s injustices, despair from being unable to seek help, and the newfound sense of relief, mixed together, creating indescribable emotions.

Unable to express these feelings in words, her tears simply fell, tracing the contours of her scarred cheeks.

“Cry as much as you want.”

“……”

She remained silent, her tears speaking volumes.

Why did this silent cry feel more heartbreaking than a loud one?

Her face, bearing a mix of burns and scars, and her body, delicate yet marked with muscles and scars, bore the evidence of her difficult life.

Deep down, he empathized profoundly.

He wanted to help her as much as he could.

‘Iriel could probably heal those burns.’

Her ability was impressively surprising.

Though she often grumbled and goofed around, her manifestation of divine power truly suited a saint.

Ray stood.

He extended his hand to her, who was still sitting.

“…Want to go outside for a bit?”

The place Ray chose for her to get fresh air was amidst a large group of soldiers.

Not just any soldiers, but the Holy Kingdom’s paladins in all their glory.

“Hey, wait…!”

“It’s okay, don’t be so guarded. I just want to help you.”

“I’m fine…! It’s just another crappy life!”

“Are you really okay with that?”

His gaze, heavier than the dead fish eyes she first encountered, questioned her.

“I, I am…”

As she hesitated, her glance shifted to the gem on her wrist, and Ray shattered it.

Crash!

The broken gem’s fragments scattered.

“I hope this shows my sincerity.”

With the gem gone, the master-servant seal, now weakened, began to fade.

Only then could she look into his eyes.

She sensed his sincerity.

‘Is he really trying to help me?’

Having never been helped before, doubts cascaded one after another.

Two thoughts clashed in her mind:

‘Can I allow myself to hope?’

‘Don’t trust. Everyone but me is an enemy. Haven’t you learned from your suffering?’

‘But… no one has ever interfered in my life this much, right?’

‘How can you think that? You just want to trust him as an excuse. I am a coward who hides behind distrust, locking away my heart. I pretend to be cold but can’t stand loneliness, right?’

Her own stark realization cut deep.

Accepting help from others, which she had always rejected.

It was like denying her own way of life, her own existence.