"This horse’s name is Smarty."

"........."

"........."

"........."

I declared this to the four members of the hero's party gathered in front of me while holding onto Smarty’s reins.
The name of this impressive black horse is Smarty, and the reason is simple.

Because it's really smart.

"Are you serious?"

I tilted my head slightly at Raphaelia’s question.

"Seriously?"

"I mean… is that really the horse's name, Smarty?"

"Yes."

Because it is smart.

"Our mage can't name things, huh…"

"Ah, ahaha..."

What’s with their reactions?
I looked at the hero in confusion. Isn't it the protagonist's job to manage the heroines?

But even the hero was avoiding my gaze.

"Smarty, you like your name, right? Huh? ... Huh?"

Reluctantly, I turned to ask the horse directly, only to see Smarty taking a few steps back.
It was stamping its hooves on the ground and shaking its head vigorously as if trying to get free of the reins.

"… Smarty?"

Snort!

Not a voice recognition system, and as soon as I called it Smarty, it became irritable.
I was quite shocked by this reaction.

Was this really the same horse that had been looking at me with cute eyes just a moment ago, pleading for rescue?

"Is it really that… bad?"

In the end, it turned its head away coldly without looking me in the eyes.

I had no allies in this situation.

"… It’s not that you completely dislike it. But wouldn’t it be better to have multiple options to choose from?"

It seemed my attempt to speak kindly was meant to show consideration, but it didn’t ease my feelings.
With my shoulders drooping, I walked past the four of them and headed back to the inn.

I sensed some surprise from behind, but I tried my best to ignore it.
For now, I needed to act as if I was sulking. I was definitely not genuinely upset.

"Lu, Louis."

Aria tried to follow after the mage, her expression filled with disappointment.

"Aria, don’t go. Even so, Smarty was too much..."

Raphaelia grabbed Aria, stopping her.
Given Aria's kind-hearted nature, it was clear she would want to comfort the mage.

But I thought it was better to leave it cold for now.

"No… I meant I was going to tell him to put the horse in the inn’s stables…"

"........."

Was there something missing in that emotional response?
What would happen if you said something like that to someone who was disappointed?
If she had said that to Louis, he might very well shut himself away in his lab until the journey ended—an awful thought crossed my mind.

"I’ll handle that."

"If you say so, I guess it doesn’t matter…"

With that, the party temporarily disbanded. The hero and Serline set off to figure out the next destination, while Aria went to the church.
Raphaelia also had personal matters to attend to, but she grabbed the reins of the black horse that Louis had left behind, doing it for his sake.

‘What a smart horse.’

The black horse that Louis had brought was as intelligent as any of the other horses in the hero’s party.
No, it might even be smarter than that. Its black mane and coat were shiny and smooth, as if it had been well taken care of for a long time.

What about its personality?
It seemed to have a bit of a stubborn streak, but from what I gathered from Louis, it appeared to have quite high intelligence.

Combined with its sturdy build, it seemed more than capable of becoming a mount for the hero’s party, which frequently engaged in battles.

"Come here."

As I took hold of the reins, the black horse looked at me with an unreadable expression.
Then it snatched the reins from my hand and walked off toward the stables.

"… Huh?"

After going through all that, I stared at the black horse's retreating figure, perplexed.
Feeling dazed, I opened the stable door for it.

The black horse met the four horses that were already in the stables.
In that instant, an inexplicable tension spread throughout the stable.

The tension came not from the solitary black horse but from the horses of the hero’s party that were gathered together.
But even though the Emperor had gifted them, they didn’t panic or flee.

"Well, let’s all get along, okay? We’re going to be traveling together from now on."

After saying that, I closed the stable door.
I saw the black horse moving toward the group of horses, the sound of its hooves echoing behind me.

Before heading off to attend to my personal matters, I stood outside Louis's room.

‘Even though the horse said that… I should at least offer a little comfort, right?’

In a way, Louis was like a creator or an artist.
The magical tools he created transcended mere devices, showcasing artistic functionality.

So, perhaps Louis saw even "naming" as part of the artistic process.
If that were the case, he might have felt like the entire hero party had rejected his art just a moment ago.

Carefully, I reached out to knock on the door.
At that moment, I heard Louis’s small voice from inside.

"Blackie? Or Furry? No matter how I think about it, Smarty is the best…"

"........."

I stopped.

He needed more time to view himself objectively.
I left the inn, trying to forget the terrible names I had just heard.

At the same time, I sent a silent prayer for the black horse, which might end up with a terrible fate.

"What do you think about Nightlux?"

I finally said the last name candidate after much contemplation.

"It’s named because your eyes shine like the night sky."

I cautiously asked the subject who would bear that name.
In response, the horse gently waved a front hoof in the air.

"Is that alright? … Huh?"

I carefully approached the horse as it stood up.
When I reached out my hand to its head, it accepted my touch, different from before.

The black horse, soon to be Nightlux, seemed to like the name.
Only then did I let out a sigh of relief and plop down onto the ground.

Nearby lay dozens of crumpled pieces of paper, remnants of my struggle.
From Blackie and Furry to various names drawn from myths and stories, I had tried them all.

But in the end, the one that won was a name that captured its characteristics well.

"Lux."

It seemed to like the nickname I had thought of beforehand.
I slowly stroked Lux’s head, trying to connect with it.

Its eyes, which looked like they held the night sky, began to close softly as it leaned against me.
From now on, we would be companions on this journey.

When I shared Lux's name with the hero’s party, they all showed expressions of relief.

"What’s with that reaction?"

"Huh? What, what’s wrong?"

"We knew you would come up with a good name."

"........."

"Then, shall we discuss our next journey?"

I wanted to say something but decided to let it slide, given the subject at hand.

"First, our next destination is the large city of Abinrita. But before that, we need to stop by three places."

The hero placed three quest papers on the table.
These were requests from the adventurer’s guild that had either gone unsolved for a long time or required higher-ranking resolvers.

The hero’s party used these requests to maintain and grow their skills while also generating additional funds apart from the royal family's support.

"Two of them are combat requests, just like we originally received. But the other one… I thought it might suit you better, Louis."

"Me?"

Oh, now that I think about it, I remembered we had only accepted two requests originally.
So I could say that a new branch had emerged since I got involved.

I took the request that the hero handed me and examined it.

[We need a mage to fix the magical watermill in the village.]

A magical watermill.
Such magical devices aren’t common but are occasionally installed in certain villages.

Most were set up to enhance the villagers' livelihoods, often commissioned by the past residents who pooled their money to request installation from a mage.

In this case, it seemed like they wanted repairs.

‘But isn’t this something other mages could easily handle?’

[Five mages have come and gone so far, but it remains unresolved. It was installed by a high-ranking mage, and they say the spell itself is beyond interpretation… We may not have enough compensation, but we would be grateful for your assistance. We are currently facing significant inconvenience in fetching water.]

"The most skilled mage was a 5-circle mage, so I thought you might be able to handle it."

"But if it’s a high-ranking mage, I might have some difficulty…?"

It could be difficult.
Just as I was about to say that, I suddenly read the compensation section.

[Compensation: Remains of a meteorite that fell in the village, 10 gold.]

Meteorite remnants?
A meteorite is to say a fallen star.

And a meteorite is an incredibly rare material that is extremely hard to come by.
Its rarity easily surpasses the moonflower the hero helped me find.

"I’ll do it."

Those five mages probably accepted the request, hoping to get this.
But too bad. The remains are now mine.

I will make it so.

"Then let’s set off."

"No, we’ll be leaving tomorrow… and we’ll be stopping by the second village first."

"........."

... I’ll make it so in a few days’ time.
I quietly sat back down at the table.

After that, the meeting continued for a little while longer until it was time for dinner.

The next day, my time in Tras came to an end, and our new journey began.

"Lux."

I called the new companion, Nightlux, as I held onto the reins.
Lux sat quietly, waiting for me to get on.

"Wow, you’re really smart."

"Thank you."

My praise for Lux was also a compliment to myself for choosing him.
I gratefully accepted Serline's praise while gently stroking his mane.

"Shall we get going?"

The hero looked at me strangely.
Maybe it was because the hero wasn’t here this time, but I felt a little emptiness.

But there was no time to feel that, as the party started moving again.