Led away from the party venue, Elena was not in her usual Princess General attire, but rather dressed as a duke's daughter.
Though not to the same extent as Marina, who wore a party dress on a daily basis, Elena's current appearance was fittingly described as exceedingly beautiful.
The white fabric and overall look were not particularly flashy... yet even so, looking at Elena as she was now, many would find their eyes drawn to her, regardless of gender.
"Hm? What is it, staring at me like that. ...Um, could it be that it doesn't suit me?"
Perhaps feeling slightly anxious at Rei's intent gaze, Elena asked the question. Rei shook his head.
"No, I was just thinking that seeing you like this is refreshing."
"I would think so. Honestly, I'm not good with this sort of attire. Marina not only wears such clothes regularly, but she can move around in them so easily—I'm practically impressed."
Elena's party dress was not overly revealing.
Unlike Marina's, it did not have a deeply plunging neckline or an exposed back... and yet, since Elena's figure possessed feminine curves that were second to none compared to Marina's, depending on the viewer, while perhaps not to the same degree as Marina's dress, it was still alluring enough to stir desire.
"In Marina's case, that's become her everyday wear. It's just habit, right? ...Anyway, want a drink?"
Saying that, Rei produced fruit water from his Misty Ring.
Elena accepted it in silence and moistened her throat with the cold liquid.
For a brief moment, silence fell over the room.
What could be heard were the cheerful voices of those enjoying the party in the great hall.
Listening to those voices, Elena, having wetted her mouth with the fruit water, spoke up.
"So? Why did you go out of your way to bring me to a place like this? That something happened... I'm certain of, but."
From Rei's demeanor, it was clear he hadn't called her out merely because he wanted to talk with her.
Though, if he had told Elena he called her out because he wanted to speak with her alone, she would not have been angry—she would have gladly welcomed it.
"I'll be blunt. ...Just now, I encountered someone I believe to be Black Wolf."
"...What?"
Elena's gaze, which until a moment prior had been harboring a certain romantic expectation, shifted to that of the Princess General at Rei's words.
Naturally. The Black Wolf, who could be called the strongest assassin even in Anesis right now, had been inside the Duke Kerebel Mansion of all places.
Today, a party was being held to appreciate the servants, but that did not mean security at the Duke Kerebel Mansion was lax.
No, rather, precisely because a party was being held, security should have been even stricter.
To be told that Black Wolf had infiltrated such a place, there was no way Elena could remain calm.
"I'll ask just in case, but this isn't some kind of joke... is it?"
"Yeah. He was definitely there. However... I'm convinced it was him, but there's no guarantee the one I met was Black Wolf."
"What do you mean?"
At Rei's vague words, Elena furrowed her beautifully shaped brows slightly.
This, even while harboring the thought that if Rei said it was Black Wolf, then it almost certainly was.
"I told you before that I met someone I suspected to be Black Wolf, right? The one I encountered today had the same facial features as the one I met back then, but their hair color had changed from black to silver, and the length had gone from about back-length to around the shoulders."
"That's..."
Hearing the reason Rei couldn't state it with certainty, Elena was also slightly bewildered.
After all, differing hair color could be managed through dyeing or using a magic item, among various methods, and differing hair length could simply be cut.
She could rationalize it that way, but the question remained as to why anyone would go to the trouble of doing such a thing.
"That's why I think it's probably the same person, but I don't have proof."
"But... if it was a disguise, for what purpose would they do such a thing?"
"If I knew that, I wouldn't be agonizing over it. Though, I don't think there are that many people out there who can vanish without leaving a single trace from right in front of me in an instant."
In other words, within Rei's mind, there was certainty that it was the same person, given that anyone possessing such a skill... or a magic item of that caliber was not likely to be numerous.
"You should have said that first. ...There can't be that many people who could deceive both you and Set. Though, Set wasn't involved in tonight's incident, I take it. So, did you learn anything?"
In response to Elena's questioning, Rei showed her his right hand, where the numbness had now completely faded.
However, Elena, suddenly shown his right hand, could only tilt her head, not understanding what Rei was trying to say.
"What about that right hand?"
"I exchanged a single blow with Black Wolf, and when I received that attack, my right hand went numb."
"...What?"
Elena, who had been wondering why he was holding out his right hand, shifted to a serious expression at Rei's words.
Naturally. There were not many who could deliver a strike capable of numbing Rei's right hand.
In other words, it meant Black Wolf was more skilled than initially anticipated.
When Elena had been telling Rei about Black Wolf's information, she had not intended to underestimate his strength.
However, the fact remained that since Black Wolf was an assassin, there had also been a belief that in a head-on fight, Rei would overwhelmingly prevail.
Such a belief vanished in an instant at the words that he had numbed Rei's right hand.
At a level of strength capable of numbing Rei's arm with a single strike, it would not be strange if they turned out to be a high-rank adventurer or even an alias holder.
That was completely unexpected for Elena as well.
"And that is not a joke or anything of the sort, but in the truest sense?"
"Yeah. Though, considering I blocked Black Wolf's strike but Black Wolf couldn't block mine, I'd call it my win."
"No, I don't think that is a matter of winning or losing... but, I see. So at the very least, they're an opponent who can clash with you head-on to some degree."
Even while saying it wasn't about that, the fact that Rei had the upper hand brought a measure of relief to Elena.
This was likely due less to matters of combat power and more to the joy that the man she loved had held the advantage.
"Anyway, there's no doubt they're a troublesome opponent. ...Which is why, for my part, settling it today would have been the best option. But various things came up, and that didn't happen. Specifically, how they vanished remains unknown."
"...That is troublesome. Do you truly not understand the method, even you?"
"Yeah. At the very least, I don't think they had the leisure to use a magic item... but there's a possibility it could be one that takes no time to activate—one that triggers the instant you intend to use it. And if it's a skill, that would be even more troublesome."
In the case of a magic item, there was a possibility they were using an exceptionally high-performance artifact, something that could be called a legacy of the Ancient Magic Civilization obtainable in dungeons and the like. And if it was a skill, the activation conditions could be said to be infinitely varied.
In Rei's case, he fundamentally needed to consciously activate a skill and speak the skill name aloud, but it wouldn't be strange for there to be those who could activate skills without doing any such thing.
"If it is a magic item, I'd also want to steal it after defeating Black Wolf, if possible."
Stealing a magic item from a defeated opponent was halfway akin to robbery.
However, for Rei, who was called the Bandit Eater, he felt absolutely no guilt whatsoever about taking from those who meant him harm.
Vanishing from the scene without a trace—so that even Rei and Set could not sense it—whether through teleportation or some other method, was an extremely attractive magic item for Rei as well.
"Knowing you, I figured you would say that."
Elena, too, had a long relationship with Rei.
That was precisely why she knew what kind of magic items Rei favored.
"In any case."
She understood what Rei was trying to say, but in the current situation, there was something she needed to ask first.
"Given that Black Wolf has infiltrated, do you think we should strengthen our security?"
"Ah... I wonder. Honestly, as far as I know, the only ones who could fight Black Wolf are you and Filma. Of course, I don't know the entirety of the combat power that Duke Kerebel's House possesses, so there might be other forces, but..."
Elena and Filma were exceptionally powerful assets among the combat power held by Duke Kerebel's House.
Powerful enough to overturn quantity with quality, much like Rei.
The possibility that such combat power existed elsewhere within Duke Kerebel's House could not be denied entirely.
That said, even if Rei asked Elena about such things, he didn't think she would answer honestly, so it was likely meaningless.
"Unfortunately, for now it is just Filma and myself."
Whether what she was saying was the truth or not, Rei couldn't tell. He couldn't tell, but... even if it was a lie, Rei didn't mind.
Elena was Rei's companion, and at the same time, she was the daughter of Duke Kerebel's House and the Princess General—the symbol of the Noble's Faction.
Rather, if she were to carelessly leak things that should originally be kept secret, that in itself would make him uneasy.
"I see."
That was precisely why Rei gave only that short reply.
"Indeed. ...However, at the very least, I must tell my father about Black Wolf infiltrating our mansion. Whether we can deal with it is another matter."
"Ah... well, that's true. You're the lord of Duke Kerebel's House, so naturally there's a need to inform him of such intelligence."
However, if Black Wolf had infiltrated his own mansion and the likelihood of being able to counter them was low, that would be a painful blow for Liberte as well.
"I would like to stay here and relax with you a bit longer, but considering the matter with Black Wolf, that won't do. ...Let us return."
"Yeah."
Rei had no particular objection to Elena's announcement that they were returning to the party venue.
He had come here in the first place solely to inform her that Black Wolf had appeared in this mansion.
Having conveyed that, returning to the party venue promptly was only natural.
Though, for Rei as well, ending the time spent with Elena in her party dress felt slightly wasteful.
Still, considering the Black Wolf situation, there was no way he could be selfish.
(Well, sort of... truly just sort of, but I didn't get the feeling that Black Wolf would mess with anyone other than me.)
Rei didn't know the details of Black Wolf as a person either.
If anything, he had only met him directly twice, and on top of that, the Black Wolf he met today had changed hair color and length compared to the first encounter, so he couldn't be certain it was the same person.
...With that level of strength, and furthermore whether it was a skill, a magic item, or something else entirely was unknown, but he didn't think there were many opponents out there who could vanish without a trace from in front of him.
"The moon is beautiful."
On the way back to the party venue, Elena, who had suddenly stopped walking, murmured while gazing out the window in the corridor.
At those words, Rei also looked outside the window.
Today was a party, but even so, at the Duke Kerebel Mansion, the lighting magic items never went out.
Not every part of the vast Duke Kerebel Mansion was lit up, but even so, an extraordinary amount of lighting magic items illuminated the surroundings.
That such a thing was possible was surely because of the immense wealth held by Duke Kerebel's House.
However, even amid that abundance of lighting magic items, they could not overshadow the brilliant light of the moon floating in the night sky.
"So it is."
Rei, too, stopped beside Elena and agreed with those words while gazing at the moon.
When one spoke of winter nights, the impression was of the moon hidden behind thick clouds, but the night sky that Rei and Elena now looked up at was without a single cloud, and they could clearly see the moon's beautiful form.
And so, Rei and Elena gazed at the moon in the night sky together for several minutes, but knowing they needed to inform others about the information regarding Black Wolf, they set off walking toward the party venue once more.