Banishment is Fine: As a Genius Saint, I Can Shine Anywhere. - Chapter 5

“So, yeah. My body was useless as it was. If I couldn’t protect anyone, I might as well change it—to kill monsters more effectively.”

“…That’s why you became an enhanced human?”

Lionel merely shrugged in response.

“No regrets. Thanks to my reinforced body, I can fight the way I do now.”

“But…”

Meteora hesitated before speaking.

“To become an enhanced human, there’s always a price to pay.

What did you sacrifice in exchange for strength?”

She hadn’t given it much thought before. But now, the question suddenly felt important.

Lionel didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked off to the side and let out a strange noise.

“…Do you really want to know?”

“The way you’re making it a mystery only makes me more curious.”

“Well, it’s not exactly something I want to say to a young woman.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… it’s a ‘lower-body’ kind of topic.”

“…Lower-body?”

Meteora tilted her head, then suddenly realized what he meant.

She almost—almost—let her gaze drift downward.

“…W-Wait. You mean something related to, um, bodily functions?”

“Oh, you thought of that? No, no, I’m fine in that regard and stop glancing down! That’s inappropriate for a young lady.”

His ears turned slightly red, an unexpectedly bashful reaction.

Meteora pouted.

“Well, if you won’t say it clearly, what do you expect?”

“Fine, I’ll say it. What I gave up was… my ability to reproduce.”

“…Huh?”

“My ability to have children. That was the price.”

Meteora was stunned into silence.

“…Wait. But aren’t you the second or third son of some noble family?”

“Yeah. So I figured, it wasn’t a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?! That’s—! As a man, as someone born into a noble house—! That’s definitely a big deal!”

“My father and older brother were furious, of course…”

“Of course they were!”

Meteora sighed, frustrated.

“Sure, as a second son, you weren’t expected to carry on the family line, but still! You shouldn’t just throw that away!”

“But by sacrificing that, I gained the ability to fight monsters. That was more important to me.

I swore it—on my nurse’s grave.

I would exterminate every last monster and I would never let another child suffer like I did, losing someone they love to a monster.”

Meteora’s breath caught.

Lionel had been absently flexing his fingers as he spoke, but now, his expression twisted into something like a painful smile.

“…But the reality is cruel.

Just yesterday, I failed again.

That little girl—she lost her grandfather, and I was powerless to stop it.

And then she said those words.

No wonder you cried.”

“…Yeah.”

The girl’s voice—her scream of murderer!—still echoed in Meteora’s mind.

It probably always would.

“She’s not the only one. I’ve seen so many like her and every time, it feels like my past self is staring me down, whispering—

‘You couldn’t keep your promise. You have no right to be alive.’“

“…That’s—”

Meteora’s eyes trembled.

Did he even realize how broken those words sounded?

“That’s why you shouldn’t blame yourself so much.

Even if you don’t consciously dwell on it, the trauma buried in your heart will do it for you.

You’re a serious person. People like you—your subconscious guilt can be the worst of all.”

“…”

“You don’t need to do something to prove your worth.

Just being alive in this era—that’s already more than enough.

People like us, people with power, we tend to forget that so let’s remind ourselves from time to time, yeah?”

With that, Lionel grabbed his cloak from where it lay beside him.

“Anyway, my shift’s up. Get some sleep.”

“Lionel.”

“Hm?”

He turned, meeting her gaze.

Meteora hesitated, then looked away briefly before finding her words.

“…Thank you. For everything.”

“Ugh. You being all humble is creepy. Hurry up and get back to normal.”

And with that, Lionel stepped out of the room.

Meteora exhaled softly, looking down at the cup in her hands.

The milk had cooled while they talked. She took a sip.

A faint sweetness spread across her tongue.

It reminded her of Lionel’s rough but undeniable kindness.

The thought made her nose sting, and she nearly teared up again.

But instead, a smile formed on her lips.

Her heart and body felt just a little lighter than before.