The group walked through the corridor and arrived at a large space. That was the cave Rosen mentioned. It was a circular area with a radius of a kilometer, and also a kilometer tall.
(That's the Great Spirit God over there. He's really making us walk a lot.)
The Great Spirit God Easley looked like an elderly wild goat, with silver fur.
He was reclined on a throne, and was tens of meters long, so he could be seen from afar.
He watched in silence until Allen's group was close enough.
'I apologize for my unsightly appearance, it's the product of age.'
His voice was low and emotionless.
'Great Spirit God, it's been a while. We've come to see you.'
Rosen was keeping quiet, so Fabre greeted the Great Spirit God instead.
(That's the Great Spirit God. I wonder if Kuwatoro can Appraise him?)
Allen had sneaked Kuwatoro in, shaped as a chick and hidden in his clothes.
[Name] ?
[Age] ?
[Species] ?
[Strength] ?
[Mana] ?
[Spiritual Power] ?
[Attack] ?
[Endurance] ?
[Agility] ?
[Intelligence] ?
[Luck] ?
[Attack Element] ?
[Endurance Element] ?
He could not see the Great Spirit God's stats.
(Woah, it's the same as Nestiad. Wait, he's glaring at me now.)
The Great Spirit God was looking straight at Allen, so he lowered his eyes.
'Welcome to my Temple. I'm the Great Spirit God Easley, who governs over everything.'
(I'd like to say something like that one day.)
Rosen looked up at Sophie, it was her turn to reply.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Sophiarone, daughter of the Elven Queen Lenoateal of Rosenheim."
'So you govern the elves… Why did you come here, governor of the elves Sophie?'
(Hm? He's calling her Sophie? That's the nickname we came up with though.)
Allen felt almost uncomfortable with the way the Great Spirit God responded.
"I became a Spirit Sage, so I came to the Spirit Paradise to form pacts with Great Spirits. May I do that?."
'I see, so you want to form pacts with the spirits here. Is that the same for the dark elf Luck?'
"I also want to form pacts with spirits!"
Luck sounded happy that the Great Spirit God had spoken to him.
'And you Formar?'
(Oh? He's even addressing Formar.)
"No, I'm here only to keep Lady Sophiarone safe."
'I see. As ruler of the Spirit Paradise instated by the God of Creation, I give Sophie and Luck permission to form contracts with spirits.'
"Th-thank you very much!!"
"Yayy! You're the best, Great Spirit God!!"
Sophie sighed in relief, while Luck struck a victorious pose.
(Oh? He agreed right away, I guess there's no quest here.)
'Actually…I'm really sorry, but there's something more.'
While Luck celebrated, Fabre jumped off his head and got closer to the Great Spirit God.
'I see you've become a Spirit God, Fabre. What is it you want to discuss?'
(Oh? She wants something?)
Allen had no idea what they were going to discuss.
'Me and Rosen would like to grant our power to Luck and Sophie, who we have contracts with. May we do it?'
Fabre knelt down so much that her face touched the ground as she asked for that.
'Why?'
'Because the Demon King keeps attacking the surface and it's incredibly dangerous.'
'Hmm, is that one of Elize's teachings too?'
'Elize has no involvement with this.'
(Who's Elize? Luck and Sophie don't know either…)
Sophie and Luck also looked confused, they did not know who Elize was.
'Before I agree to that, you can't forget that Rosen still hasn't been judged for his crimes after being instigated by Elize.'
His voice became more severe, changing the mood of the room.
"He needs to be judged?"
Sophie looked nervous hearing that. She looked at Rosen, who would be judged for something he did in the past.
'Rosen, take a step forward.'
'Alright…'
Rosen jumped off Sophie's shoulder and walked up to the Great Spirit God.
'I'm sure you understand what I'm trying to say.'
'Of course.'
'Do you have any excuse?'
'No, I did everything for the elves. I won't deny or try to conceal that fact. And Elize did not instigate me to do anything.'
Rosen knelt down and claimed he had done nothing wrong.
'So you don't feel any remorse?'
The Great Spirit God looked closer at Rosen.
'I don't.'
(What's going on?)
'Spirit God Rosen, there's two crimes you've committed.'
(Wait, there's actual crimes too? But he's always so peaceful!)
Allen had thought Rosen would just get reprimanded about something.
'Yes…'
'You can turn into a nameless beast, or a drop of dew.'
'Th-that's…'
Rosen began to tremble hearing that.
(I don't know what those punishments mean, but they sound harsh.)
'That's too much! Great Spirit God, please wait!!'
Fabre also did not seem pleased by it, stepping forward.
'Fabre. How do you figure that's too excessive?'
'Elize and Rosen did that for the elves. Why does Rosen have to suffer such a punishment?!'
'Fabre, servant of Elize. Do you wish to bear half of his burden then? He committed two sins, you can pick which you want to shoulder.'
She would take one, and Rosen the other.
'...Give me a moment.'
Fabre did not give an immediate answer.
"What's the meaning of this?! Why is he being punished like that?!!"
Sophie could not handle that anymore, so she stepped up and shouted loudly.
'I see… So I'll have to tell the elves what Rosen did as well. He touched the Gem of Foresight without permission, changing the future of elves.'
The Great Spirit God began talking of Rosen's sins. He had touched the Gem of Foresight without permission to see the future of elves. Then, even though he was still a Young Spirit, he turned one elf into a Transcendent just when they were about to be defeated by the dark elves.
(So that's the Battle of the Praying Maiden. But who's Elize?)
'I maintain my position… It was all to protect elves…'
'So you admit your sins. And you'll be punished accordingly. Fabre, pick which one you'll shoulder.'
The Great Spirit King stood up and took a step towards them, pressuring Sophie more.
"Rosen has always been there for us. If he committed those sins for us, then I should bear some of the blame as well."
'I see. Then all elves will cease to exist, and Rosen's sins will be pardoned. I have the power to make that happen.'
His voice had no compassion in it as he claimed he could eradicate elves from the world.
"Th-that's…"
'That's the fair punishment, considering Rosen's actions are the only reason you still exist.'
"Lady Sophie, be careful!!"
Sophie's body collapsed on the ground, so Formar rushed to support her.
"Hey, Allen. Why are you not saying anything? You're supposed to do something!!!"
Luck shouted at Allen to do something. Cecile also looked at him, agreeing with that.
Allen was just standing silently next to Cecile, writing down the conversation in the Grimoire.
As everyone looked at Allen, the Great Spirit God also started looking at him.
(The Great Spirit God is also looking at me. I guess I have to say something.)
Allen kept his Grimoire open as he slowly turned to look at the Great Spirit God.
"Great Spirit God Easley, I'm just a human, but can I talk?"
'Of course. What is it you want to say?'
"I want to help the Spirit God Rosen, obviously. Can we negotiate?"
'Oh? You think you have something to negotiate in exchange for Rosen's sins? What makes you think that?'
"If it really was an extreme sin as you claim, then you would have captured him as soon as we got here. No, maybe even earlier."
Allen was not fully convinced by the Great Spirit God's actions. If he really wanted to punish Rosen that badly, then he would not have waited for thousands of years.
True judgment would have been swift.
'So you're saying I'm also accomplice to it. That I should bear some of the blame as well, and let Rosen off more easily. I see…'
"Please try to be lenient with him…"
Sophie muttered like she was praying. The Great Spirit God slowly walked towards Rosen.
There was a low rumbling sound as Rosen's body began to move, vines sprouting from the ground and carrying him up before sealing him inside a tree..
'Rosen?!'
'You said you'll also bear some of his sins, Fabre. Your turn.'
'Ghah?!'
Some strange slimy liquid spurted out of the ground and covered Fabre.
"Hey! What are you doing!!"
Luck became angry at the Great Spirit God, but Allen glared at him so he would not do anything.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Only Allen remained calm, and asked the Great Spirit God about it.
'You have 10 days. After that, they'll both be turned into nameless beasts. I need you to solve a problem within that time.'
"A problem? We have to solve something then?"
'Yes. There's a big problem in the Spirit Paradise because of Rosen.'
They would need to solve that without the help of Rosen or Fabre.
(So we have to deal with something that not even spirits can't deal with?)
The Great Spirit God grinned, noticing how Allen thought this was unfair.
'Allen, I've been watching you on the surface. I know you've always had good grades in the Academy.'
The Great Spirit God believed Allen could solve that problem.
"Huh…I'm only being compared to other humans…"
Allen wondered what specific moment he was thinking about, but decided it was best to stay silent.
'Don't be coy now, I'm sure someone as skilled as you should be able to solve the problem.'
(Somehow I felt like he put a lot of emphasis on that word.)
"Rosen seems to be related to it, but exactly what is the problem?"
Allen really wanted to know more.
'Figuring that out is also a condition for you to free Rosen and Fabre.'
(I just solved the quest with Graham, but now I have to do another vague one. I have no choice but to work hard then.)
The Great Spirit God had given them 10 days. Allen looked at Cecile, Formar, and Luck, and the three nodded.
"Alright. Rosen, Fabre, just wait there for a bit, we'll solve the Spirit Paradise's problem and come back for you."
Allen told the two Spirit Gods to wait there for a bit.
'I'll be waiting too, Allen. You have 10 days, don't forget that.'
If he took too long, there would be no way of remedying the situation.
The group had to solve the Spirit Paradise's problem to pardon Rosen of his sins.
