As they trudged through the soaking wet forest, Ritzy felt some of his tiredness dissipate. But he didn’t know whether it was because he moved his body, the sun was slowly rising and giving some faint light to the cloud-covered land, or if his alertness due to a possible threat had helped clear his mind.

In any case, Ritzy felt like he was back in control, even if his eyes were still a little grainy, despite the rain soaking him from head to toe.

Maybe it was thanks to that he noticed a nearby rustling in the bushes that wasn’t due to the drizzling rain or either of Ritzy and Gerhart moving and brushing against a branch or root system.

He didn’t react or show that he had noticed since that might scare the creature, whatever it was, away.

Ritzy moved the Deathbeds around a little. At first, he only moved them from side to side a little to see if the creature would react to the Deathbeds’ movement. And when it didn’t dash back deeper into the forest, only continued trailing next to them just outside sight, Ritzy moved the Mognog’s Deathbed forward.

Ritzy had Mognog’s Deathbed float at the edge of Gerhart’s vision so that he could see it out of the corner of his eye. Although he had tested it and confirmed that the creature didn’t react to the Deathbeds’ movement, Ritzy didn’t want to risk it by making too grand a movement. He also hadn’t reinforced the tether with enough mana to feel confident in his control if he moved it too far ahead.

Gerhart nodded. It was only a slight tilt back and forth that barely looked like anything other than Gerhart following something on the ground with his gaze before looking ahead again. It was to prevent the creature, should it have intelligence, from realizing that Ritzy and Gerhart were communicating using Ritzy’s Deathbeds.

After catching Gerhart’s nod, Ritzy floated the Deathbed over to him and held his hands below the bed. Ritzy dispelled the Deathbed, and Mognog fell down in his hands.

“Hey, kiddo. What’s up?”

Mognog was startled, once again, by the sudden shift in perception, but he was getting used to it and quickly took in his surroundings. He noticed that Ritzy and Gerhart were still walking, so he hadn’t been called upon to keep them distracted and stop them from falling asleep during a break. That could only mean something was going on, and it was something they needed Mognog’s advice or help to deal with.

However, Mognog couldn’t see anything immediately pressing that required his assistance or guidance. The only thing he had a good look at was Ritzy’s arms and upper body, as well as the forest he could glimpse on the sides.

“Oh, not much. Just bored.”

Mognog didn’t pay attention to Ritzy’s words since Ritzy raised him slightly and tilted him so that he could see Ritzy’s eyes that were moving from one side to Mognog and back to the side repeatedly. Ritzy was signaling that something was over there. And Mognog understood from Ritzy’s verbal answer that it was something that might understand what they were saying and react to it, either by attacking or leaving with intentions of coming back when they were unaware.

Mognog’s eyes moved up and down to simulate a nod and signal he understood.

“I see.”

As soon as Mognog showed his understanding, Ritzy turned Mognog’s head slightly, not enough to be noticeable, so that he could see what it was that hung around them and peered at them from the shadows of the forest. While doing that, Mognog also thought about how to keep up the facade and prevent the creature from realizing it had been discovered.

“How about a song? To keep the mood up as you two walk?”

Gerhart’s and Ritzy’s attention was on the possible threat, and they were tired, so they didn’t think too much about Mognog’s words. They were worried he would be talking in code they wouldn’t understand, but they hoped that Mognog would be smart enough to realize they weren’t that capable, especially with how exhausted, cold, wet, and hungry they were.

“Sure.”

“As long as I don’t have to sing.”

So, Ritzy and Gerhart gave their assent to Mognog’s suggestion.

“Alrighty then. It’s been a while since I last sang, so don’t put your expectations too high. I don’t even know if I can still sing properly.”

Mognog stressed the ‘I don’t know’ and looked at Ritzy with a sharp gaze to convey that he didn’t know what it was or that he couldn’t see what it was since it hid beyond the nearest trees in the dim forest.

Ritzy nodded hesitantly since he wasn’t sure that it was actually a message and not just a weird way to talk. When Mognog nodded affirmatively, Ritzy felt a little more secure in that he had understood what he meant. He subtly shifted his grip on Mognog to try and give him a slightly better viewing angle.

Stolen story; please report.

“Oh~ there once was a ship at sea! The ship carried a sailor, a sail, and a seal at sea.”

Mognog’s voice filled their surroundings with the first tune. He didn’t sing too loudly in case it would attract more or other creatures from the forest and in case it would scare away the thing following them. But he still sang louder than his talking voice since it was a song, after all.

“The sailor sought wine, the sail sought wind, the seal sought water, and the ship sought the sea!”

Mognog continued singing, not letting his gaze wander from the forest while also making sure the creature didn’t notice he was looking at it.

Ritzy and Gerhart, on the other hand, were distracted by Mognog’s song. It sounded a little out of tune and without proper rhythm, but it wasn’t like they could sing, so they didn’t really mind it. What they were curious about was the fact that Mognog had started to sing about ships at sea when they were in the middle of a forest.

But considering how much it was raining and how wet the ground was, maybe they were closer to the famed sea than they thought.

Mognog sang a few more verses as Ritzy and Gerhart walked on. But nothing regarding the creature watching them changed.

All three of them were at a loss for what to do.

Mognog once again lamented the fact that he didn’t have a body. But such complaints would do no good, especially when Ritzy and Gerhart relied on his help. He had to keep his mind in the game and on the task at hand.

“...I don’t remember any more than that at the moment.”

Mognog’s singing came to an end, and the creature still hadn’t even shown so much of a hair of itself. But all three of them could still sense its presence and gaze on them.

“It is what it is, Mognog. You don’t have to sing to keep us entertained. Just talking will do.”

Ritzy comforted Mognog since he looked a little down. He was a little dejected, but not because he didn’t know any more verses or songs. It was because he felt like he couldn’t do anything other than keep a watch over their surroundings. But Ritzy didn’t know that.

“By the way, Mognog. How come you sang about the sea? Or rather, why was a song about the sea the only one you remember?”

Mognog reminisced a little as he thought of his past.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Gerhart sensed Mognog’s hesitation to answer his question.

“No… it’s nothing like that. It’s just a precious memory.”

Mognog’s gaze drifted a little as he answered before he remembered that he was watching the forest to make sure the creature didn’t sneak closer or slink away without them noticing.

After Mognog’s answer, the trio grew silent again as Ritzy and Gerhart walked through the forest. Since he was afraid that he would make a mistake due to the awkward silence, Ritzy asked Mognog something he realized.

“Right, Mognog, back at the dungeon entrance, you mentioned something about iron rank? I’m pretty sure we have a different categorization than the Mognog Empire. Mind telling us about it?”

Ritzy’s suggestion of a topic came from out of nowhere.

“I guess it’s as good as anything to talk about.”

Mognog didn’t have a reason not to tell them about the mana mastery ranking system that the Mognog Empire had used. It was also basic facts that he could recite without getting distracted from his task of watching the creature that still lingered around them at a similar angle and distance from Ritzy at all times as long as it was possible while still staying hidden.

“I’m pretty sure the origins of the names of the ranks stem from value, usefulness, and durability as weapons mostly. So, the first rank is wood rank. That’s for those who don’t know how to use mana yet. Then, there’s stone rank, the one you two are at now. You know how to grab and use mana. But as a weapon, it’s as useful as a stone.”

Ritzy and Gerhart listened intently. Although they were somewhat familiar with the mana mastery ranking system they and everyone else on their continent used, as far as they knew, it was interesting hearing about Mognog’s system.

“As I said before, the next rank is iron. After that are steel, copper, bronze, silver, gold, black gold, mithril, orichalchum, and divine adamantite, and I think there are one or two more, but I didn’t get that far, so I’m not familiar with them.”

Ritzy counted with his fingers after listening. Gerhart spoke before he was done.

“How come gold is later when it’s softer and worse as weapon material? Is it because it’s worth more?”

“Mm, that. And because it has better mana conductivity. So, for high-ranking warriors, a weapon is better than an ordinary steel weapon.”

“I see.”

“But that’s just generally speaking. Weaponsmiths and people who know what they are doing can turn ordinary steel into a weapon better than one of gold, so it’s more about the quality of the weapon rather than the materials. That goes for warriors as well, by the way. Rank isn’t everything, it’s just an indicator of strength, so don’t be blinded by it.”

“Understood.”

“Hey, why does your system have more ranks than ours does?”

“It does?”

“Now that you mention it….”

“Yeah, Mognog’s mineral mana mastery has twelve or more. The system we’re used to only has eight.”

Gerhart only nodded as he realized, but Mognog was a little more surprised before he calmed down. He still had to watch the forest. He also realized that there was probably a reason for the differences between the two systems.

Getting surprised about something like that was unbefitting of him, so Mognog maintained his composure.

“That’s interesting, actually. Please tell me about it if it isn’t too much to do that while walking. If it is, we can take it when resting.”

“It’s fine.”

They had already started walking a little slower to talk with Mognog, even if it hadn’t been a conscious decision. It would let them walk for a little longer before needing to rest, and now it would also let Ritzy tell Mognog about the Killgara continent’s mana mastery ranking system.