Rei had been ready to respond at any moment to the figure that leapt from the roof onto the balcony, but...
Upon seeing the person who had appeared before him, Rei let out an involuntary sound of confusion.
"Huh?"
It was only natural that such a slightly hapless sound escaped him. After all, the person standing before him looked completely different from the individual he had previously encountered—the one suspected to be Black Wolf.
For one thing, the hair reflecting the moonlight was silver.
The build itself didn't seem particularly different from the person he had encountered before, but whereas that person's hair had grown down to their back, this one's only reached about shoulder length.
It wasn't as though the thought that they might have simply cut their hair didn't occur to Rei, but even so, he felt a sense of dissonance toward the person standing before him.
At the very least, the person suspected to be Black Wolf that Rei knew of was not someone like this.
But if asked whether the person in his line of sight was someone else entirely... that would also be a different matter.
The type of gaze directed at him was undoubtedly the same as the one that had been directed at him by the person previously suspected to be Black Wolf.
Moreover, the hair color had changed from black to silver, and its length was different, but in terms of build and facial features, there was no mistake—it was the same person he had encountered before.
Given that, Rei could by no means conclude that the person before him was a different individual from the one from that time.
"Are you... Black Wolf?"
Rei asked as a confirmation, but Black Wolf showed no particular reaction to his words, merely staring at him quietly.
Yes, with that same observing gaze as before.
Faced with the person directing such a gaze at him, Rei hesitated for a moment over what to do.
Originally, the plan had been to lure Black Wolf out here and immediately defeat him. That had been the initial purpose.
If the Black Wolf that appeared before Rei had been the same person as before, he would not have hesitated.
However, the person currently before Rei, while seemingly the same as the one he had encountered before, was subtly different.
The moment he understood that, the thought arose in Rei's mind that making a move here would not be a wise strategy.
Given that he did not know what kind of power the current individual suspected to be Black Wolf possessed, fighting here could well drag the people holding the New Year's party into this affair as well.
Above all, Rei still did not understand the method by which Black Wolf had escaped detection not only from Rei but from Set's eyes and sense of smell.
Rather than having Black Wolf flee mid-battle and carelessly bring back information about him... Rei's conclusion was that it would be better to let him go today.
Well, if I'm going to say that, then the obvious response is that I shouldn't have made a move in the first place.
"..."
In contrast to Rei's thoughts, the person suspected to be Black Wolf stared fixedly at him.
The same observing gaze as before was directed at Rei.
He could be certain that that gaze alone belonged to the Black Wolf he knew, but even that was something he could no longer fully trust.
It was possible... though truly only a possibility... that Black Wolf was in fact not a single person, but rather a name close to that of a group comprised of several individuals.
No, even if it is a group, would there really be someone with such a similar face?
Rei harbored that doubt for a moment, but then he remembered that the people of this world were the ones who had created his current body.
The one who had created Rei's body was Zephyle, a mage of the highest caliber.
Because of that, Rei had held the belief that creating a body with abilities equal to his own would be impossible, but on further reflection, the present was now far into the future from the era when Zephyle had been alive.
It would not be strange if, during that time, techniques had advanced to the point where something similar could be done.
But... Zephyle was a once-in-a-lifetime genius. A body possessing the same capabilities as this one, which was created by gathering equally brilliant geniuses under such a Zephyle... I feel like that's a bit of a stretch. ...Right, there's no point in staying silent here like this.
Thinking that, Rei opened his mouth.
"Are you the same person I met before?"
At Rei's question, the person suspected to be Black Wolf said nothing in particular, merely directing a quiet gaze at him.
If even a hint of doubt had appeared on that expression, it might have served as some kind of clue.
But the Black Wolf gazing at him showed not the slightest change in expression.
Judging from that, Rei could not read what the other party was thinking either.
Troublesome. ...Still, considering that the hair is silver now, wouldn't "Silver Wolf" be a more fitting name than "Black Wolf"?
Rei could not help but think something like that, but then he recalled hearing from Elena that Black Wolf's face was unknown.
"I'll ask just in case, but are you the assassin known as Black Wolf?"
The moment he heard the words "Black Wolf," the man reacted, if only for an instant.
Since there had been absolutely no reaction until then no matter what was said, that response gave Rei just a slight bit of hope.
"If you're the assassin Black Wolf, why aren't you attacking me? You were hired to kill me, right?"
"..."
He asked while holding a conviction close to certainty, but as expected, the only answer was silence.
Though Black Wolf had reacted somewhat to the name, there was no response whatsoever beyond that.
Finding that troublesome, Rei noted that the man suspected to be Black Wolf was still simply staring quietly in his direction.
And so, an unknown amount of time passed.
Rei said nothing more, and Black Wolf merely stared at Rei.
It was a scene of two men locked in a staring contest—something Rei would have very much preferred to avoid—yet neither averted his gaze.
From Rei's perspective, he still wanted to know the secret of how Black Wolf had vanished without being detected even by Set, and Black Wolf, for his part, was simply observing Rei's figure without changing his expression.
With the two of them silently staring at each other, Rei found himself unable to back down.
He was convinced that if he took his eyes off Black Wolf here, the man would undoubtedly disappear again.
That was precisely why he had been directing a gaze that seemed to say, Show me how you vanish right in front of my eyes and reveal your secret. But whether because Black Wolf understood Rei's intent or not, there was no sign of him disappearing.
Eventually, an increasingly tense atmosphere began to fill the surroundings.
Little by little, truly little by little, that tension grew... and if it reached its peak, a battle would likely begin despite neither party wishing for it.
Such an atmosphere, strange even to describe as such, spread through the surroundings...
Suddenly, the door behind Rei—the door leading inside the building—opened.
In that instant, several sounds like something slicing through the wind echoed around them.
At the same time, the person who had come out onto the balcony noticed Rei's presence and hurriedly bowed his head.
"Huh? Ah, Lord Rei? I'm sorry, I had no idea you would be in a place like this."
A man who appeared to be in his forties, having stepped out from the door onto the balcony, hurriedly bowed his head upon seeing Rei.
The man had probably come to the balcony to sober up from the alcohol he had drunk at the party, using the cold wind.
Having not expected anyone else to be there, he had apologized to Rei, but Rei shook his head to indicate it was not a problem.
"Don't worry about it. I was just thinking of heading back myself. ...I got what I came for, after all."
"Got what you came for?"
The man did not understand what Rei was talking about, but he seemed to have grasped that Rei was not feeling displeased. Looking relieved, he stepped aside to let Rei pass inside.
However, the moment Rei tried to walk past the man, the man noticed that Rei was pressing his right hand with his left.
"Lord Rei? Is something the matter with your right hand?"
"Hm? Ah. I messed up a little."
Perhaps because Rei said it in a light tone, the man did not consider it anything particularly serious and accepted it with an "I see."
He probably also wanted to avoid intruding on Rei's time, so the man did not pursue the matter any further.
Feeling grateful for that, Rei entered the mansion.
The numbness in his right arm from blocking the attack of the man suspected to be Black Wolf had mostly faded by now, but it was still not fully recovered.
A single strike from Black Wolf, released so as to blend in with the moonlight and the light from inside the building.
Rei had blocked it with his right hand and launched a counter with his left.
As a result, Rei had driven his left fist into Black Wolf's flank in the form of a counter, so as a skirmish, it was arguably Rei's victory.
Still, the alias Black Wolf... is it an alias? Well, I'll go with alias for now. It was worthy of such a name. To think that receiving a single blow would numb my hand.
Rei regularly sparred with Elena and Vihera, and during those sessions, there were times when the hand he used to block a blow went numb, so a numb hand was not all that rare.
Even so, that was strictly because those were battles against the likes of Elena and Vihera, and there were not many other opponents whose strikes had numbed his hand.
In that sense, Black Wolf was undoubtedly first-class... no, a being beyond first-class.
From Elena's information, Rei had been able to predict that much, but information heard through others and experience gained from fighting directly were naturally different in importance, with the latter carrying far more weight.
At the very least, having clearly confirmed that Black Wolf had enough ability to fight him to a certain extent was convenient for considering countermeasures going forward.
However, in the end, I still couldn't figure out how he disappeared this time either. I would have liked to learn that method today if possible.
Honestly, while the question of how high Black Wolf's abilities were was certainly important information for Rei, what was even more important was learning how Black Wolf managed to move around without being detected by either Rei or Set.
Failing to see through that until the very end was a significant blow to Rei.
His honest feeling was that he would have liked to do something about that aspect through this encounter.
Is it hopeless to figure it out on my own? In that case... should I consult Elena?
As a daughter of a duke's house, Elena possessed deep knowledge on a wide range of subjects, and as the Princess General, she was well-versed in matters of combat. Rei judged that it would not be strange for her to possess knowledge that he himself did not.
While thinking about such things, Rei returned to the party venue, where more people were now making merry than when he had left earlier.
Even so, the absence of anyone lying on the floor or shouting from having let loose too much was likely because the Duke Kerebel family was attending this party.
No matter how much it was a year-end party, they could not show an unseemly sight before the master they served. That was the reason.
Watching them thoroughly enjoy themselves while maintaining a sense of moderation, Rei headed toward the table where the Duke Kerebel family was seated.
When Rei had left earlier, someone who appeared to be a butler had been dining with the Duke Kerebel family, but whether that meal had concluded, only the Duke Kerebel family was eating at the table now.
As Rei approached, gazes from those enjoying the party around them were naturally directed his way.
That said, the relationship between Rei and Elena was already common knowledge among those working at the Duke Kerebel Mansion, and there was no question that Rei belonged there as a guest.
Given that, there was no one anywhere who would find fault with it.
Though being the focus of so many stares was not a particularly pleasant situation for Rei either.
However, for better or worse, Rei was accustomed to receiving attention, and without showing any particular concern for those gazes, he approached the Duke Kerebel family's table.
Naturally, that meant Elena, Liberte, Arcadia, and the others noticed Rei's figure, but since the approaching person was not anyone suspicious, they welcomed him with smiles instead.
The fact that even Liberte, who often wore a stern expression in normal times, was smiling was likely because he was relaxed at the party today.
The New Year's party to be held tomorrow, in particular, would gather many nobles, but it was close to a war fought without weapons.
That was because each person would maneuver to gain as much benefit as possible for themselves within the faction known as the Noble's Faction.
In that sense, today's party was apparently something they could thoroughly enjoy.
Feeling slightly bad about interrupting a party where they were enjoying themselves so much...
"Elena, do you have a moment? There's something I'd like to discuss with you."
...he called out to her.