( Lily's POV )
When I managed to compose myself a little I went to the throne room where the knights were going, once there, Meld told the story of what had happened in the great dungeon.
I was devastated and in disbelief but the most important thing for the Pope and even my father was that Kouki had returned alive.
For the other important heroes invoked who lost their lives, the Pope brushed them off with just a few words.
Ishtar: Now they are under the grace of Eht-sama.
That was the expected response from someone in the Pope's position, but I felt a chill in his words and I could have sworn I saw a small, smirk smile appear on his face.
The incident was too much for the students to handle and they spent the whole day in their rooms, I also stayed in my room and Mari accompanied me.
She asked me what had happened with Yuuki and I couldn't tell her the truth, I told her that he would return later than the others, I was strangely calm and she didn't doubt me at all, maybe I was in deep denial.
*Knock knock*
Lily: I'm sorry, I don't want to see anyone today.
Akane: I don't want to bother you, Princess, but I have something important to tell you. It's about Yuuki.
I didn't want any guests at this time and when the door was knocked I tried to send them away but the one on the other side didn't listen, I recognized the voice as someone from Yuuki's group, a girl named Akane, and when she said she had something to say about Yuuki I rushed to open the door.
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What Akane wanted to say couldn't be spoken in the castle so we moved outside the castle, to a place in the mountains covered by trees, this seemed a little suspicious but I had no reason to distrust this girl.
We arrived at a clearing where the rest of Yuuki's group that returned to the castle were waiting for us, The head of the knights, Meld, was also there and before I could ask what they wanted to talk about, I heard a voice from behind the trees.
' I'm sorry I had to call you this way, but the situation calls for caution. '
I couldn't mistake that voice, it was Yuuki's voice, I turned in the direction of the voice and saw a figure come out from behind a tree and when the figure got closer, I saw that it was indeed Yuuki, and he had his usual smile as if nothing had happened.
Without a second thought I ran to him and hugged him tightly, perhaps scared that he would disappear again or that I was hallucinating, and it seemed Meld was equally surprised.
Meld: How could you be here? I saw you fall into the abyss.
Yuuki: A simple fall isn't enough to finish me off, me disappearing into the dungeon was something half-planned.
Lily: But why? Why you needed to disappear like that. I almost thought I'd never see you again.
While I was hugging Yuuki I looked up at him with my tearful eyes, he gave me an apologetic smile and pat my head to comfort me.
Yuuki: I had to get out of the eyes of the church, I came across a lot of information that told me that the church could not be trusted, especially Ishtar.
Meld: That is a very serious accusation, are you sure of that?
Yuuki: completely, I can't give you all the information but I know I can trust you, this is bigger than the church and the future of the kingdom, the fate of the world is at stake here.
The vast majority of humans are members of the church but not all follow its teachings at the same level, Meld and most of the knights only follow the teachings of the church superficially, and after what happened today my trust in them was lower than ever.
Meld: That sounds very serious, but why do you need to disappear?
Yuuki: I'm still digging up information and have a plan slowly cooking, you guys should keep a very close eye on Ishtar.
Lily: and what will you be doing?
Yuuki: conquering the rest of the dungeons, I can't give you all the details but those exist to ensure the future of this world, I can't stay any longer but I'll keep you informed.
I stayed hugging Yuuki for a while longer and although he said he had to leave he did nothing to separate me, but when I let go he disappeared again.
After my short meeting with Yuuki I returned to the castle and Mari was very curious about where I was, The news of Yuuki's disappearance was not correct and it was not certain if anyone in the castle would go and talk about a sensitive subject with Mari but I acted ahead of that possibility, and told her that Yuuki wasn't going to be returning to the castle for a while, that he was in a top secret mission and she couldn't talk about it with anyone, dhe was somewhat disappointed that she would be able to see Yuuki but she understood that he had many responsibilities.
After that Mari went to sleep peacefully and I was left thinking about what Yuuki had said, he was there risking so much for us but I could barely do anything to help him, my sight then fell on the enormous sword that Yuuki used to fight that was in my room.
I approached the sword and placed one hand on the hilt, I took a deep breath and then used all my strength to raise the sword, I had heard from other knights that his sword was so heavy that they were surprised he could use it with one hand but I didn't feel any weight and the force I put into lifting the sword threw me on my back, I think Yuuki had some hidden enchantments on his sword.
As I lay on the floor clutching Yuuki's sword, an idea entered my head, something to give Yuuki the support he deserved.