As far as Rei knew, several people had come from Japan to this region of Elgin.
Whether they arrived in the same bodies they'd had in Japan or were reborn as inhabitants of this world—in Rei's case, it was hard to classify as either.
His consciousness was exactly as it had been in Japan, while his body was an artificial one created by Zephyle that he had possessed.
At any rate, though he didn't know the reason, the number of people who had come from Earth—or rather, Japan—to this Elgin was rare but not nonexistent. There was no doubt that at least that many had come.
And Black Wolf, now lying dead on the ground before Rei's eyes, was likely one of them.
No—considering he had spoken the words "Yokohama Chinatown," it wasn't just likely. It was certain.
(Then again, there's the possibility that another Japanese person actually existed here, and Black Wolf had heard about it from them... no, that's unlikely.)
Rei considered this as he gazed at Black Wolf's corpse, but dismissed the idea almost immediately.
The fact that his mind kept drifting to things that would normally be impossible was surely because this whole incident had been completely unexpected for him as well.
It wasn't a matter of not wanting to kill Black Wolf, or anything about feeding him. It was an entirely separate matter—or so Rei was thinking, when he recalled how intensely Black Wolf had fixated on the nikuman.
And then, the final words Black Wolf had left behind. That he wanted to eat pork kakuni-man from Yokohama Chinatown—the kind he used to eat with his mother.
Considering those two things together, there was no doubt that Black Wolf was someone who had come from Japan.
But if that were the case, then something else didn't add up.
Why hadn't Black Wolf reacted when Rei had shown him the nikuman before? It was as though he had only remembered his time in Japan when he was on the verge of death.
(What exactly is going on?)
Rei had been lost in thought while staring at Black Wolf's corpse, but there was one other person here besides him.
Perhaps because Black Wolf's demise had been so utterly unexpected, Rei had completely forgotten that fact—until now.
"Rei, what's wrong?"
"!?! ...Ah, no. It's nothing. Just... the words Black Wolf spoke before he died. They were about the world I lived in before coming to this one."
"...What?"
Elena, who had inherited the Ancient Dragon's Magic Stone, naturally possessed sharp senses. She had known that there was some relationship between Rei and Black Wolf that she wasn't privy to, and that was precisely why she had covered her ears, thinking it inappropriate for her to hear the words Black Wolf left at the moment of his death. But she never expected such words to come from Rei's own mouth.
"Is that true?"
"Yeah. He spoke words referring to a certain place in my country. Naturally, I... don't think I ever said those words in front of Black Wolf."
The reason he couldn't state that with certainty was surely because he had given the nikuman to Black Wolf. It was possible that during their casual conversation at that time, he might have mentioned Yokohama Chinatown.
When it came to Yokohama Chinatown, it was a famous place that even Rei knew about. Given that, it wouldn't be strange for him to have associated words like that from the nikuman.
But... thinking that, Rei immediately rejected the idea. Together with his mother. Black Wolf had definitely said that. Given those words, it was hard to believe that "Yokohama Chinatown" had simply slipped from Rei's mouth.
"No, that's right. I definitely did not say those words in front of Black Wolf. I didn't, but... honestly, this is a tough one."
The final stage of the battle with Black Wolf had pushed Rei to his limits in more ways than one. Probably—no, without a doubt—if things had continued as they were, Black Wolf would have either starved to death or met an even more tragic end. If so, then Rei taking his life had undeniably been a form of mercy.
Rei understood that. But it was also true that he couldn't help feeling Black Wolf didn't have to drop such a bombshell right before dying. The same thing had happened when he participated in the Bestia Empire civil war—why was it that someone's Japanese origin was only discovered on the verge of death?
He knew that, given the circumstances, it couldn't be helped. He knew that, but... Rei couldn't help feeling a sense of absurdity about it all.
"Rei."
Elena called out to him again as he was lost in those thoughts. But what lay within her words wasn't exactly concern for Rei.
Noticing that in her voice, Rei turned to look at her. "What is it?"
"I want you to listen calmly. The chances are very slim, but we might still be able to investigate Black Wolf."
"...What?"
What came from Elena's mouth was unexpected for Rei as well. Under normal circumstances, he might have realized the same thing himself. But having killed Black Wolf—someone who appeared to be from the same Japan as himself—he was still somewhat shaken, and that was likely why he hadn't noticed it.
"Black Wolf isn't employed by any organization. Of course, it's not as though he has absolutely no connections whatsoever, but on the surface, that's how it appears. Given that, there must have been someone mediating requests for him. And someone like that might know something about Black Wolf, don't you think?"
"That's... I see."
Rei found himself nodding in agreement with Elena's words. The Black Wolf that Rei knew had, at the very least, definitely had difficulty with communication. There was no doubt that Rei couldn't imagine Black Wolf receiving requests directly from someone. Which meant that, as Elena said, someone must have been mediating those requests.
"But wouldn't it be difficult to find out who was mediating them?"
The doubt Rei voiced was undeniably valid. If Duke Kerebel's House had known who the mediator was, they would never have left an assassin like Black Wolf alone. It wouldn't have been surprising if they had taken action to capture him—or kill him outright if that proved impossible.
"Umu. It would be difficult. That is a fact. But it wouldn't be strange for there to be some clue. The people who serve Duke Kerebel's House are excellent, you know?"
Elena's tone was proud. That was how much she trusted the people serving her house. Rei, too, having stayed as a guest at Duke Kerebel's House for a short period, understood that those in their service were capable. That was why he had no objections and could nod in genuine agreement.
"I see, got it. Then shall we go get that information right away? ...But will they hand over something like that to us so easily? Well, with you there, it might be possible."
"I wonder. To be honest, I won't know until we actually ask. Even if I am a member of Duke Kerebel's House, if it's truly a critical matter, I likely couldn't share it without my father's permission. But we can think about that after we actually try asking."
If she couldn't manage it herself, she could always ask her father to grant permission—or so Elena's words implied as she wrapped up the thought. Rei expressed his gratitude.
"Sorry about this. ...Then, shall we head back? Honestly, we only came out to buy souvenirs. I never expected things to turn out like this."
"Now that you mention it, you're right. Truly... ah, truly..."
Elena recalled that this outing had been meant as a date between her and Rei. The battle with Black Wolf had completely ruined that atmosphere, which was why she found the whole incident so deeply regrettable.
(Black Wolf... no, whoever hired him. I will absolutely never forgive them.)
There were two reasons behind Elena's feelings. One was, naturally, that they had interfered with her date with Rei. The other was that Rei had been forced to kill Black Wolf—someone who appeared to have come from the same place as him.
Of course, regarding the latter, it was undeniably something that only came to light because Black Wolf had targeted Rei. If Black Wolf hadn't gone after him, they never would have crossed paths at all. In that sense, the only reason Rei encountered Black Wolf was because Black Wolf had targeted him.
"Elena, what's wrong?"
Unable to simply leave Black Wolf's corpse behind, Rei had stored it in his Misty Ring before asking. For Rei, Black Wolf was someone who had likely come from the same Japan as him. Leaving the corpse of such a person behind didn't sit right with him—and more practically, if he left it here, it was certain to cause an uproar when someone found it.
Fortunately, it was winter and the temperature was low, so even if the corpse went undiscovered, it wouldn't emit a foul odor. Still, there was a risk of disease spreading or, in some cases, the corpse becoming Undead. Considering all that, he had decided to bury or burn Black Wolf's remains himself later.
"No, it's nothing. More importantly, staying here will likely cause a commotion. We should leave before that happens."
"...Is that alright?"
The battle with Black Wolf hadn't left the surrounding area completely devastated, but it had suffered fairly significant damage. Thinking about it, it might be better to explain things to the Guards.
At Rei's words, Elena shook her head.
"We should deal with that after returning to the mansion. Doing anything here might lead to troublesome complications."
Rei wondered about that for a moment, but thinking it over, causing this kind of commotion in the middle of the city would naturally mean being questioned about the circumstances. Given his current situation, the last thing Rei wanted was anything troublesome—and since they also had the objective of finding the mediator who had facilitated Black Wolf's request, he didn't want to waste time here.
"Understood. Then let's head back right away. So, who should I ask about information on Black Wolf?"
"Leave that to me."
Elena had judged that it would be best not to introduce Rei to those who handled intelligence for Duke Kerebel's House. She traveled with Rei and trusted him, but... this was a separate matter. In her position as the Daughter of Duke Kerebel, she simply couldn't share that kind of information with him.
If it had been decided that Rei would marry Elena and become the next head of Duke Kerebel's House—or the husband of its head—then it would have been a different story.
Rei likely understood, for the most part, what Elena was thinking. Without expressing any particular dissatisfaction, he simply nodded.
"Got it. Then that's fine. ...Well, let's go."
"Umu. ...Still, this incident truly did end with an utterly unexpected result."
Rei nodded in agreement with Elena's murmured words. Originally, today's plan had been simply to buy souvenirs. Despite that, they had ended up fighting Black Wolf—there was no doubt it was an unexpected situation.
"I would have liked to buy souvenirs for more people, though. ...But I'm really not in the mood for that right now."
After fighting Black Wolf—someone from his homeland—he no longer felt like going souvenir shopping. He could have pushed himself to go, but his judgment was that there was no need to force it in this situation.
"Umu. Buying souvenirs in this kind of mood certainly wouldn't be very enjoyable for those receiving them. In that case, I think it would be best to buy the remaining souvenirs another day. Fortunately, there's no need to leave Anesis immediately."
He had said he would return to Gilm after the New Year's party, but it wasn't as though a specific date had been set. Delaying by a day or two wouldn't be a problem—or so Elena judged.
In the dark abyss, apart from the lights floating in the sky, one of the candle flames that had been faintly illuminating the darkness suddenly went out.
The person who noticed this looked around to see which candle's flame had died... and discovered one of them.
However, that person was slightly surprised—not that the flame had gone out, but rather that it had still been burning until then.
Having soon lost interest in the candle's flame, the figure returned to the task they had been working on moments before.