Casey's eyes widened as she saw the bullet embedded in the carpet.

Belatedly, she discovered a hole in the window along with spider web-like cracks.

"A sniper? Assassination?"

The assassination itself wasn't particularly surprising.

Getting involved with criminal organizations was natural in detective work.

Consequently, it was inevitable to receive death threats and sometimes face actual assassination attempts.

However, what surprised Casey the most was that she was currently at the Selmore family estate.

Unless the perpetrator was insane, who would attempt such an overt assassination here?

In a way, should she praise it as brilliant for striking where no one would expect?

Casey pushed Rudger aside and jumped up from her seat to stand by the window.

While it would be dangerous to expose oneself like this against a sniper, this didn't apply to Casey.

Unless caught completely off guard beyond her perception, she could block even cannon fire, let alone a sniper shot, once she was aware of an attack.

But the opponent was also aware of such dynamics so there was no follow-up attack.

The moment they confirmed the first shot had missed, the sniper immediately withdrew.

Rudger also stood beside Casey to survey the outside situation.

Under the gloomy sky stretched the mansion's vast garden and beyond that were hillsides covered in dense forest.

The sniper was probably somewhere in that forest and the distance was quite far for immediate pursuit.

'The distance alone is over 1.6km. They aimed precisely at Casey's head from that distance. The opponent's skill is extraordinary.'

Perhaps knowing this, Casey just stared out the window with a hardened expression.

Rudger threw out a joke to lighten the mood.

"Seeing how an assassin appeared right after mentioning it, you must have quite a talent for inviting misfortune."

"...I wasn't hoping for accidents to come directly at me."

"Any idea who it might be? Seems you've made quite a few enemies."

"Don't know. Must have made plenty. If the criminals who want me dead lined up, they wouldn't all fit in our mansion."

"Even so, someone with this level of marksmanship is rare."

Casey narrowed her eyes.

"That's what's strange. A sniper of this caliber must be from the military, but I don't remember getting involved with such a person, at least in my memory. Or perhaps on your end?"

Casey asked Rudger in return.

"Just because they targeted me doesn't mean they necessarily have a grudge against me alone. Conversely, they might be trying to kill people around you because they have a grudge against you."

"I don't have anyone lining up."

"Why?"

"Because I cleaned up thoroughly so no one could line up."

Casey snorted dismissively.

"How impressive."

"Conversely, it might not be about you or me. After all, this is our first time coming here today."

"...That's true. No matter how skilled the sniper, to aim this precisely, they must have prepared for quite some time."

"If we just happened to get caught up in it, and they had been planning to target this mansion beforehand, then the target must be..."

"There's only one person."

Rudger and Casey's gazes simultaneously turned toward the door.

A cold energy like a snowstorm was rushing in from beyond the door and a chill that could be felt on the skin.

When they exhaled, frost formed in the air creating visible breath.

'What an intense cold.'

And this was from a distance.

At that moment, the flesh-biting cold disappeared instantly.

Right after, there was a knock at the door.

"Are you there?"

"Come in."

As soon as Casey's words fell, the door opened.

Casey's sister, Marias Selmore, entered with squinted eyes and a smile.

"Are you alright?"

"As you can see. I'm fine."

"Thank goodness."

As Marias stroked her chest in relief, Casey frowned.

"Shouldn't you explain what's going on first? No matter how you look at it, this isn't normal, right? An assassination almost happened at our Selmore mansion. Tell me. What's been going on?"

"...I'm really sorry. There have been machinations against me for quite some time, but I never expected them to pull something like this on a day like today."

"There were machinations? From how you're talking, it seems they've gotten particularly bad recently."

"Yes. These days, many black magicians are running rampant domestically. It's been giving me headaches in various ways. I thought it had ended safely after completely wiping out one organization recently, but I never expected them to take advantage of that gap to pull something like this."

Marias Selmore was still smiling, but shadows fell across her face.

"And to dare do this at the Selmore mansion, to my younger sister."

-Crack.

Frost began to form around Marias.

Rudger tensed his body as he felt the chill run across his skin again.

The warm room interior became cold enough to rival midwinter in an instant.

'This is the power of a Blue Mage who directly manipulates cold.'

That's what it meant to have a color title.

Going beyond simply interfering with nature and displaying power far beyond that.

Though it was just Rudger's speculation, if Marias wanted to she could probably make it snow in the middle of a hot desert.

-Rumble.

The clouds in the sky vibrated greatly, then began to pour their contents to the ground.

What fell slowly with the wind were pure white snowflakes.

Although this region's climate was generally cool, it was definitely not weather for snow yet snow was falling but only around the Selmore mansion.

-Whoosh.

At that moment, Rudger felt one side of his chest grow hot.

Not in a figurative sense, but literally.

'Pasha?'

Pasha, who was in spirit stone form inside Rudger's chest, was emanating heat.

The emotion faintly felt in the heat was displeasure.

It seemed to be reacting to the opposing environment, not natural but the temperature lowered by Marias' mood.

As warmth settled around Rudger, Casey looked at him with surprise.

'Is he resisting sister's cold?'

Beyond just resistance, he was maintaining warmth at least in his surroundings without losing it.

Perhaps thanks to that, Casey felt the tension from Marias' anger dissipating.

"Sister. Stop it. Getting angry now won't change anything. What's important is who the opponent is, and how we'll deal with this going forward."

"...You're right. I guess I got a little heated without realizing it."

Having regained her reason, Marias laughed softly.

'She gets heated up, but the surroundings freeze. How ironic.'

Pushing aside such idle thoughts, Rudger examined the bullet mark carved into the floor.

"It's quite deeply embedded. To penetrate this far despite being shot from such a distance."

Rudger used telekinetic magic to extract the bullet that had pierced through the floor.

The bullet had shattered into pieces upon impact with the floor.

Rudger gathered all the fragments and, using telekinesis, began assembling the shattered bullet like a cube in midair.

Hundreds of fragments smaller than a fingernail tip began moving through the air, taking shape.

Watching this scene, the corners of Marias' eyes stretched even longer.

'Even if it's simple telekinetic magic, such precise control...'

No one would be surprised by lifting heavy objects with telekinetic magic.

Magic output is proportional to the amount of magical power after all.

You just need to draw out magical power with all your might.

But using magical power weakly, to extract such tiny fragments, was very difficult.

Evidence that Rudger's magical power control truly transcended normal levels.

'I heard they only recruit exceptional people as teachers at Theon Academy, but this is really beyond imagination.'

Marias glanced at Casey.

Casey's expression showed little interest even at the sight of the shattered bullet being reassembled.

'Is she used to it?'

Marias understood why Casey had brought Rudger.

With that level of skill, it was certainly enough to satisfy her proud younger sister's standards.

'But there are still quite a few suspicious points remaining.'

Having investigated Rudger's background, she couldn't help but feel an undeniable sense of incongruity.

Others would ask what incongruity if told.

After all, Rudger's background was truly clean but that cleanliness was too perfect.

Marias felt suspicion there.

He was simply too capable for someone with his past, moreover, even if momentary, the power to resist her cold.

'I'll have to watch a bit more carefully.'

She intended to more thoroughly examine what kind of man dared to get close to her younger sister.

"The bullet is quite unique."

Casey muttered while carefully examining the completed bullet.

Though unremarkable in size, its shape had a spiral form like a whirlpool at the tip to maximize penetration.

"Plus, there's some kind of finishing treatment on the bullet tip, though faint."

"Probably coated with a drug that interferes with magical power concentration."

"Mm. Right. A slightly sour yet spicy scent. The smell you can get from processed herbs made from dried Galland grass."

"It could pierce through up to 4th tier defense magic. Plus this bullet's specifications. It's a specially manufactured ammunition that's currently discontinued. Though production was stopped by the military, existing stock must have leaked out. The quantity wasn't much so it should be easy to trace."

"The use of this means the sniper is ex-military. Using discontinued bullets means they're deeply versed in the underworld."

"Considering the herbs used, they must be connected to black magicians."

"Then we should start by tracking down weapons dealers."

The two who finished their deductions simultaneously looked at Marias.

"Since it's come to this, I'll go check it out."

"...Suddenly?"

"It was an attack aimed at me, right? Though the actual target would be my sister, since sniping isn't done overnight."

If Marias' words were true, the opponents were likely connected to black magicians with some retired soldiers mixed in.

What made them particularly vicious was that they didn't target Marias herself, but targeted the two who came as guests.

"Their intelligence is quite impressive too. Even if they didn't know where we'd stay, they picked exactly today when we returned."

"They probably had their eyes on us since we got off the train. They would already know the target's younger sister's description."

"This is a bit annoying. Are they saying I'm easy?"

Casey frowned while crossing her arms.

Though she seemed irritated, she appeared to be thinking deeply about something.

"Remember the shabby bar on 31st Street?"

At first, Marias didn't understand the context of Casey's words but Rudger nodded as if he understood.

"Beard. Sideburns. Scar on cheek. Whiskey bottle in hand. Correct?"

"Yes. There was also a peculiar scar pattern on his rolled-up forearm. A circle with a cross on top. That person was watching our car. I remember because his eyes were too clear for someone drinking."

"The forearm scar must be a mark indicating where they belong. The military, especially certain units, consider leaving indelible marks on skin as an initiation ritual, so that's certain."

"Then it should be easier to find. Are there units with similar patterns?"

"That's something you should ask your sister rather than me."

At their rapidly exchanged conversation, Marias couldn't help but be quite surprised internally.

Should she say they were in perfect sync?

It was amazing to see such good coordination without any prior planning but that's not what's important right now.

"If it's about the scar pattern, I have an idea."

* * *

Rudger and Casey left the stuffy mansion and headed to the city.

"Ah! Finally outside!"

Casey shouted jubilantly, apparently so happy to be out.

"You'll have to go back once this is resolved anyway."

"Well, who cares? It's fortunate to at least get some fresh air like this."

"Still, it's surprising your sister didn't step in."

"She's the head of the family after all, she can't move carelessly. Rather, that might be what the enemies wanted. It's better this way. When my sister gets involved, situations get worse."

"Why?"

"Because the capital would enter an ice age."

Casey's voice as she said this was completely serious without a trace of playfulness.

Rudger recalled Marias' ability.

For a moment, snow fell around the mansion and the cold reached even the dark clouds in the sky.

Considering that wasn't even her full power, it probably wasn't impossible to cover an entire city in ice.

"Is this the place?"

Casey examined a shabby factory.

The two had snuck out separately even when leaving the mansion since there was no need to show their movements to the enemies.

And from the moment they entered the city, Casey had bent light by surrounding them with a thin membrane of water so they could reach their destination without being detected by anyone.

"According to my sister's words, there should be remnants here."

"Though they seem to have put in quite effort, there are still traces they couldn't hide."

There were footprints all over despite it being an inactive factory.

Among them were mud tracks that appeared to have been made recently.

"What do you want to do?"

Casey's question meant planning the infiltration operation.

Rudger shook his head.

"Let's just end it quickly."

Rudger concentrated his magical power and blasted away the factory door.

Dust scattered everywhere with the explosion as confused shouts and footsteps could be heard from inside.

"We both have lots to do after all."