Banishment is Fine: As a Genius Saint, I Can Shine Anywhere. - Chapter 2

With a quiet thud, Lionel shut the door to the guest room and let out a slow breath. He didn’t move right away. Instead, he placed a hand on his chin, sinking deep into thought.

(At the very least, it’s good that Meteora woke up. Her fever’s gone down, and judging by how she looked, she should be up and about by evening.)

Considering they were about to head for the border, it was a relief that she was recovering so quickly. But still…

“Isn’t she healing a little too fast…?”

The doubt weighed so heavily on his mind that the words slipped out before he could stop them.

Lionel had encountered many saints from the Central Temple before. He was born and raised in the royal capital, after all. As a child, he had often seen saints healing injuries and curing illnesses. And as a knight, he had relied on their restorative abilities more times than he could count.

Because of that, he knew exactly what the limits of the Central Temple’s so-called elite saints were.

No matter how skilled they were, healing three seriously injured people would leave them pale. After treating five, they would collapse. And after that, they would spend at least two days bedridden with a high fever. That was the standard limit for the saints Lionel had known.

And yet, Meteora treated hundreds of people. Sure, there weren’t any immediate life-threatening cases, but almost all of them were malnourished and suffering from some kind of illness.

Most were afflicted with diarrhea or rashes—chronic conditions that were notoriously difficult to heal.

But Meteora had cured them all.

On top of that, she had written protective talismans and offered prayers. She alone had accomplished what would have taken dozens of elite saints from the Central Temple.

And even after all that, she was only bedridden for half a day before making a full recovery. This is beyond normal.

When he had asked if she was an “enhanced human,” he hadn’t been joking—he had genuinely meant it.

But she had looked at him in exasperation and flatly denied it.

There was no hint of deception in her expression. If anything, the fact that she didn’t get angry at the suggestion only reinforced his suspicion.

She has a lot of pride. If she had been enhanced through some secret means, she would have reacted with outrage the moment I accused her. But she didn’t. Which means that, as she put it, she really was ‘born this way.’

It was almost too absurd to believe. But there was no other explanation. He had no choice but to accept it.

At that moment, the town chief’s daughter appeared from down the hallway.

“Ah! Captain! How is the saint doing?”

“Perfect timing. She just woke up. Could you prepare some fresh clothes for her?”

“She woke up!? Oh, thank goodness! I’ll get them right away—and I need to tell my father!”

After what happened yesterday, Meteora had become the town’s savior. The town chief’s daughter was no exception—her chronic stomachaches and headaches had vanished thanks to Meteora’s power. With a spring in her step, she rushed off to spread the good news.

“…”

Watching her excitement, Lionel suddenly felt awkward. It was as if he were the only one overthinking things.

Running a hand through his freshly washed dark brown hair, he let out a sigh and stepped away from the guest room.

No matter how much he pondered Meteora’s extraordinary power, he was just a knight—he wasn’t going to come up with any groundbreaking answers. It was more practical to focus on their upcoming mission at the border.

Still…

Her sleeptalking earlier did bother him.

She had furrowed her brows in distress, muttering things like, “I know,” and “I understand.”

But it wasn’t in her usual exasperated tone. No, it had sounded more like a child quietly saying “I’m sorry” after being scolded by a parent.

That arrogant saint… speaking in a voice like that?

Now that she was awake, she was acting completely normal, so he hadn’t brought it up. But…

“Ugh, forget it. Thinking about this kind of stuff won’t get me anywhere, and it’s not my style anyway.”

Lionel ruffled his hair again, forcibly cutting off his train of thought.

The duty of a royal knight is to protect this Holy Kingdom, which is safeguarded by the Divine Tree. Meteora is a valuable ally—nothing more, nothing less. I should be focusing on the monsters near the border instead.

They needed to move out as soon as possible, but they also had to wait for a response from the royal capital regarding the supply request he and Meteora had sent.

I hate waiting.

With that thought, Lionel headed outside to check on his fellow knights, who had been helping out with the fields.