Rin was busy practicing her hand with the technique of skinning animals while continuing to converse with Tris through the puppet 'Servant'.
Rin: "Master, you've been gone for so long. Did you encounter some trouble?"
Servant: "The trouble has just been dealt with. I should be back soon. Besides…"
Halfway through speaking, the puppet suddenly stopped.
Rin: "Master?"
Sensing something unusual, she asked curiously.
Servant: "It seems new trouble is coming our way."
With that, the puppet stood up and drew the knife at its waist.
It quickly approached Rin and helped scrape off the remaining wolf hide.
Though the work looked rough and careless, there was no time to linger.
Servant: "Quickly store this wolf hide in your spatial ring. We need to leave immediately."
Rin obeyed at once, but asked anxiously:
Rin: "Is danger approaching?"
Servant: "We've run into some dangerous-looking people. Best to avoid them and not get entangled in unnecessary trouble."
Moments later, Rin spotted the silhouette of a black horse, strangely out of place in the forest.
The horse was large and imposing, making her gasp as it galloped straight toward them.
Before panic could set in, Rin saw Tris riding the horse.
The animal stopped with precision, shifting from a full sprint to a standstill instantly.
The puppet 'Servant' lifted Rin and leapt onto the horse's back.
Tris then recalled the puppet into his spatial ring.
Once Rin was seated securely, the black horse dashed forward, racing through the forest at astonishing speed.
On horseback, Rin quickly noticed many strange things about the animal.
While moving, the horse was far too quiet—it continued forward without making any sound, whether a neigh or the sound of breathing as it ran.
Even more bizarre, she could not hear any sound of its steps, no hoofbeats striking the ground, even though it was moving at an extremely fast pace.
It was as if the horse were a ghost, a phantom that did not truly exist. If not for the fact that Tris and Rin were directly riding and physically touching the horse, Rin would have immediately confirmed such a suspicion.
Placing her hand lightly against the horse's back, Rin quickly recognized a rather familiar sensation.
After a moment of thought, she realized where that familiarity came from. The feeling was almost identical to when she first touched the puppet 'Servant'.
Although the horse's hide felt rough, unlike the smooth texture of the puppet Servant's skin, the elasticity of both was strikingly similar.
A surprising answer about the true identity of the black horse suddenly appeared in the girl's mind.
Rin: "Master, could this horse also be a puppet?"
Tris: "Indeed. You realized quickly."
'No. 5: Black Horse' was a puppet that Tris had completed earlier in preparation for his long journey away from home.
With a design almost entirely focused on enhancing mobility, the puppet served both as a convenient means of travel and as an emergency escape tool—exactly as Tris was using it now.
The design of 'Black Horse' was inspired by the white tiger-shaped puppet that Zyron had once used.
If a puppet were meant primarily for combat, choosing the form of a predator such as a tiger or lion would likely be the better option.
However, since Tris's main purpose in creating 'Black Horse' was for travel, he chose the appearance of a horse to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.
After all, riding a tiger down the road and riding a horse down the road are two vastly different images. As someone who disliked attracting unwanted eyes, Tris naturally chose the latter.
Of course, even though it was designed with mobility as its priority, the puppet 'Black Horse' was not incapable of combat. Even a real horse possesses dangerous kicks and strikes that can kill. Therefore, a magical puppet tool like this would never be limited to the combat ability of an ordinary horse.
. . .
After that, 'Black Horse' continued silently, carrying the two children out of the forest. Despite the trees and the rugged terrain, it moved with agility and speed, each step as smooth as if it were walking on flat ground.
On horseback, Rin kept curiously observing the marvelous creation she was riding.
Knowing that it was a puppet, she no longer wondered why it made no neighing or breathing sounds.
However, there was still another abnormality left unexplained, leaving her deeply puzzled and confused.
Rin: "Master, why does the horse make no sound when moving?"
Tris: "It's actually walking in the air using Space magic. That way, it makes no noise and leaves no tracks to be followed."
Understanding the reason, Rin nodded in satisfaction, letting out an admiring exclamation. Once again, she was impressed by what magic could accomplish.
Magic was certainly wonderful, but it was not something that could be used without any limitations.
Allowing the puppet to continue moving in such a way naturally consumed a great deal of spiritual energy to maintain.
Therefore, Tris was directing 'Black Horse' toward the main road. Any hoofprints of horses or donkeys on the main road would no longer appear unusual or attract attention.
As soon as they reached it, Tris let his puppet move like a normal horse to conserve his spiritual energy.
Who could know if sudden danger might arise? That was why saving spiritual energy to remain ready for any situation was necessary.
On the main road, 'Black Horse' continued to carry the two of them back to Aldor.
. . .
Fortunately, the rest of the journey went smoothly without any further surprises.
Near the outskirts of Aldor, Tris once again directed 'Black Horse' into the forest to avoid being seen before storing it back into his spatial ring.
Tris and Rin walked back the same way they had left earlier.
Once safely returned to the inn, Tris quietly let out a sigh of relief, feeling at ease. Rin, on the other hand, was filled with joy, a bright smile spreading across her face.
Even though an unexpected interruption had caused them to return earlier than planned, it was still a successful hunt for both Tris and Rin.
For Tris, he not only tested the new magic he had just completed but also managed to earn a bit of extra income.
For Rin, she had gained a considerable amount of money for herself compared to other children her age, simply from successfully hunting the 'Big Mouth Rabbit' and the 'Gray Wolf'.
And since this was her very first hunt for Magical Beasts, it carried even greater sentimental value.
Rin: "Master, let's eat wolf meat tonight."
When collecting the wolf's hide, she had also cut off its four legs. Rin truly wanted to use them as a way to commemorate her first hunt.
Hearing this, Tris nodded and replied:
Tris: "Alright then, go clean them carefully."
Receiving his approval, Rin happily carried the blood-soaked wolf legs into the bathroom to wash and prepare them.
That evening's dinner was nothing special compared to food bought from a restaurant, yet Rin still found it incredibly delicious.