Allen's group was brought to the dragonkin patriarch's mansion, though as the outer walls were made of clouds, it looked more like a fluffy snow fort.
"Haku, do you think you can fit inside?"
'Gyau…'
The mansion was large enough that Haku could lower his stance to enter. Inside the gates there was proper wood on the walls and floor.
"Please wait in this room. I'll inform the patriarch about your arrival."
Katakuchi, the dragonkin gatekeeper, said that before leaving the room. There was plenty of space for the three parties and a dragon in the room, so they waited calmly.
Not much later the patriarch arrived, though Allen already knew thanks to Kuwatoro's Skill.
"You've endured a harsh trip to arrive here from the world below. Please make yourselves at home and try to ease the exhaustion from your trip."
The patriarch said that, and various dragonkin came with food to welcome them.
(So they call the human realm the world below, I guess it makes sense.)
Everyone so far had referred to the human realm as the world below.
"Thank you very much for the warm welcome."
"It's the least I could do, I heard how small your group was, so getting through the Gate of Judgement with so few men must have been a grueling trial…"
The patriarch and all other dragonkin closed their eyes in apparent mourning after saying that.
There had been no casualties, but Allen also closed his eyes.
Helmios noticed that and followed suit, but Galara just looked around confused.
That highlighted the different personalities of each party too, though all of them were just following Allen, as he had been the reason they got to the divine realm.
(They probably doubt 40 people is enough to get through, so they're assuming we're the minority that survived.)
"I don't have the words to thank you enough for how you've received us."
Allen bowed again, speaking for everyone there.
"Don't mention it, please. Now eat up, I really want you to taste Shandar's cuisine."
Everyone happily began to eat. They had a banquet earlier already, but they did not mind doing so multiple times in a day. They even had the drinks that Merle and Galara could not buy earlier.
"...Well, it's not bad. But for that price…"
"Yeah…"
Galara and Merle liked alcohol even more than the average dwarf, but the drinks seemed only decent to them. Both of them had tried the best the human realm had to offer, and those were far superior to the drinks in the divine realm.
(They have a lot more alcohol in their magic bags anyway.)
Everyone there had their personal magic bags, with provisions and medicine for months.
The dwarves also had plenty of drinks stashed there, so if they did not like what the divine realm had to offer, they would likely just take out their own to enjoy.
"Hey Allen, why are you so quiet all of a sudden?"
Allen felt like there had to be a reason why they were being received so well, and Cecile was curious about his reaction.
"Ah, Cecile. I think this might be a quest."
"What does that mean?"
Cecile could not understand what he meant, but Allen just nodded telling her it was fine.
(He'll probably keep blabbering on for a while before the quest starts though.)
Every time a village chef would give him quests in games before, he always just mashed buttons on his controller to skip dialogue. He never paid attention, only answering "yes" from time to time.
But he had been spying on the gatekeeper, so he knew they wanted something from them.
Eventually the patriarch looked at Allen again.
"So…there's actually a reason why I called you here."
"You want something from us?"
Allen went along with the patriarch's conversation. Helmios and Galara also perked their ears, curious about it. They had also been able to guess this would happen.
"Yes, our queen has conceived, and so I'd really appreciate it if you could gather Spirit Crystal Stones for us."
"Spirit Crystal Stones? Not Spirit Stones?"
Allen wanted to make sure he had not misheard.
"Yes, they appear when a powerful specter is defeated… Ahh, you might not know about those, but they're ghosts that appear here in the divine realm…"
The patriarch assumed they did not know about the ghosts, so he began explaining.
Allen was curious to hear how the locals described them, their opinion was also valuable, and then he could compare what they said with what Merus said.
This was also the first time Allen heard of Spirit Crystal Stones, which Shandar's queen seemed to want.
"Is that why there were gatekeepers posted at the gate?"
"...Yes, that's correct. The specters of the chasm are incredibly powerful, and we can't fight against them ourselves."
Allen had Appraised everyone in sight, but they were all too weak to fight ghosts.
Some of them would be strong enough to defeat B Rank monsters, but ghosts could be above A Rank.
(And so they were keeping watch over the Gate of Judgement to grab anyone who got through.)
Allen understood why the gatekeepers were there now.
"Please, help us. At this rate we might be driven out of Shandar."
While Allen thought of what to do, the patriarch bowed to the ground, and his servants followed soon after.
"What's happening here?"
Ignomas gasped behind Allen. The dragonkin of the Dragon God's Village had been arrogant and looked down on them, being guardians chosen by the Gods. He had some clashes with dragonkin gatekeepers there too, so now he was confused by seeing them bow like that.
(Different situations lead to different positions.)
"Please raise your head. What do you mean by being driven out of Shandar though?"
"S-so…gathering Spirit Crystal Stones was the duty of courageous dragonkin…"
Allen first asked why the patriarch was so intent.
The divine realm was largely inhabited by two races, dragonkin and divine people. The first were in charge of the military, while the latter had governing roles.
It was customary for dragonkin to offer Spirit Crystal Stones to the Heavenly King, but for a few thousands of years they had been unable to do that.
(So it's like the lords and samurai of old?)
Allen recalled how feudal lords had their samurai to protect them in ancient history.
10000 years ago the Dragon God Magra crossed the Gate of Judgement with many dragonkin.
That led to a lot of chaos where even the Gods had to intervene.
(And in the end they decided to trap them all in the divine realm.)
Merus had told Allen how that story ended.
There had been some dragonkin serving in Shedar's palace before, but they were lumped in with the newly-arrived rioting dragonkin.
For 10000 years there were no new dragonkin that crossed the Gate of Judgement, and they were all sent away from the palace as they no longer fulfilled their duties.
(And that's why all the shopkeepers in the market were dragonkin.)
Now all high ranking jobs were done by divine people, while dragonkin were gatekeepers or tended shops.
"What should we do, Allen? They're bowing to us. Should we help them?"
Ignomas' straightforward personality made him want to help someone who asked earnestly.
(I don't mind hunting ghosts, but I wonder if we get something in return too.)
"What are the benefits of bringing Spirit Crystal Stones to the king?"
"Well, you can gain important positions like becoming a guard of the palace."
"That's not really helpful… How about obtaining permission to enter the temples of Gods?"
Allen had no interest in becoming a guard.
"I've heard the king has a ship that travels to the Spirit Paradise."
(Oh? A ship? So that's the way to the Spirit Paradise. This is a quest worth completing.)
Allen turned to look at Rosen and Fabre, but they just desperately ate without showing any reaction. That likely meant that the ship was necessary to enter the Spirit Paradise.
Allen thought that having a Spirit King and Spirit God with him would be enough, but that was not the case.
This was a really straightforward quest though, he would listen to the dragonkin patriarch, then hunt ghosts, obtain Spirit Crystal Stones, and gain access to the boat.
"Alright, we'll help you then."
"Really?!! I knew I could trust the heroes that came out of the Gate of Judgement."
The old patriarch smiled through this wrinkles.
"So we'll be hunting ghosts now, huh."
Helmios understood what they would have to do, but Galara was unresponsive.
At least Allen had a more specific plan of what to do now, but the patriarch seemed to still have something more to say.
"It seems the dragonkin of your party were lost through the trials though… Please, take some dragonkin from here if you can."
The patriarch did not seem to like the idea of gathering Spirit Crystal Stones with no dragonkin present.
"Could you also tell us the location where the ghosts that drop Spirit Crystal Stones spawn?"
Allen wanted to know where to start his hunt, and that would also be an excuse for dragonkin to claim some credit for it.
"Ohh!! You truly are heroes, you catch on so fast. Now eat as much as you want! And have some Mormo fruit juice too!!"
Allen did not drink alcohol, so the patriarch served him fruit juice.
And so Allen's group listened to the plea of dragonkin and decided to go hunt ghosts.
