At first glance, it may be unnoticeable.

But the ball decorations hanging from the ceiling throughout the store was a well-organized perceptive illusion designed to keep the normal customers in the dark while only being recognizable to the true patrons of the guild who knew where to look.

This kind of art which appears as a bunch of miscellaneous objects put together but when seen from a particular perspective reveals its true form are anamorphic sculptures.

The balls of various measurements scattered in the store to look like a funky decoration, when looked at from the back end of the children's book section provided a perfect illusion in the shape of an eye.

It meant that everywhere no matter the place, hidden within them there is a third eye watching the world.

"I don't understand. Are you looking for a certain book?" The clerk asked, confused.

The clerk may appear as a harmless young man with a kid-friendly persona on the outside, but the gatekeepers of the guild are not to be underestimated at face value. His eyes were buried beneath his dark orange hair making it impossible to make out its color.

The gatekeepers are the entry-level assassins in the guild. They do the preliminary analysis on the customer before letting them meet the representatives.

"Yes. I'll take the latest edition of 'The Adventures Of The Witty Mr.Knox'. I can't seem to find it from there" Ann pointed back to the children's section at the back of the store.

"Ah.. we ran out of stock on that series. But don't worry, a new shipment just came in"

The clerk asked her to wait and went through the door behind him. He rummaged through the boxes in the backroom and searched for the book. Soon after he came back with a small pocket-sized book and presented it to Ann.

"Got it. Book for your kid?"

"No, it's for me"

"You?" He asked, with a chuckle.

"I mean... the books got a lot more than what meets the eye"

"Do you want me to pack it for you?"

"Yup"

"That will be three silver" The clerk finished packing and placed the book in front of her.

"Oh, wait! I have a discount coupon"

Ann smiled as she pulled out a small blue-colored tassel from her pocket and slid it onto the counter next to the book.

"How about this? Will this suffice?"

The clerk halted and narrowed his eyes on Ann, the previous friendly aura around him now turned into a cold one.

"They come in two parts" Ann added as she continued to smile.

The tassel was originally a part of the assassin's knife Ann had retrieved the night of the third attempt on her life in Frost's mansion of horrors. The knife on the other hand was safely tucked inside her boots, ready for action when needed.

The tassel had a small eye-shaped bead at the center marking the place it came from.

'I was wondering why they would leave obvious evidence of their tracks. But it turns out it was an advertisement. Quite the marketing strategy they've got' Ann thought to herself looking at the blank face of the clerk.

"This way please.."

The clerk said in a low voice as he opened the counter door and guided Ann into the back room,

"What about your companions, customer...."

Ann followed his line of sight to Noah and Oliver. To her surprise, the two foxes were busily reading books in the literature section of the store.

'Since when they read literature?'

"It's just me. They can handle themselves"

The clerk led her through the back room which looked like storage for newly shipped books and stopped in front of a door with a faded eye symbol etched into it. He knocked twice on the door before turning around and leaving.

"This is as far as I go"

Right on cue, the door opened to reveal a luxurious and spacious room, most probably a waiting room to receive noble customers.

Ann remembered the first time she commissioned the Third Eye organization.

She had sought the help of the guild even though her father was opposed to the idea of hiring illegal underground people. But since the Ashford's needed solid evidence to get the Moore's to court she did not have a choice.

The guild representative met with her at a local bar filled with people constantly moving in and out. Once he heard the request, he quickly evaluated the fee, received the pay, and disappeared into the crowd.

There was nothing noticeable about the representative since his face was covered the entire time and did not ask for anything out of the line.

A few days later, a package arrived at the Ashford estate containing detailed information about the human trafficking routes and other deeds the Moore family was up to.

And within a week the Ashford's were able to legally file a case against the Moore family.

Since Lorenz did not like his children contacting underground organizations, the fee that Ann paid for the request had to come out of her own pocket, as a lesson for disobeying orders.

'Two thousand gold coins are not easy for an unemployed seventeen-year-old to gather...' Ann recalled the pain she felt seeing her savings run dry.

But the end result was all that mattered.

Honesty, Truth, and Justice were all that Angelica had lived for.

The sinners were punished and justice was served!

Ann felt a ping in her conscience and shook her mind to clear her head.

Besides, it was her first time directly approaching the guild to place a request.

Although she had her doubts about approaching a guild that previously sent out assassins to kill her, they were the best in the information business.

And the person that they were after was long dead.

Ann took a seat on one of the sofas and looked around the luxurious room while she waited for the guild representative to come and meet her.

The room had tables on all corners with beautiful portraits hanging on the wall and an expensive-looking chandelier. There was another door to the side of the room other than the one she came in through.

Not wanting to stay seated, Ann got on her feet and walked around.

Among the portraits, the one that caught her eyes was that of a woman standing on the shores of a beach looking into the sunset. She was walking barefoot in a white dress with her hair loose fluttering like a butterfly's wings.

'Is that pale blonde hair or just the reflection of the sun?' Ann peered into the picture.

Since the portrait was a bit high, it was hard to make out the details especially with the bright chandelier illuminating the room in light.

Suddenly Ann jumped back a few steps and glared at the wall beneath the portrait.

It was an instinctual move that made her cautious of the surroundings.

As if waiting, the wall disappeared revealing another inner room that looked like an office. In the center of the room was a large wooden desk with protective runes carved on the side.

The most notable thing was a man sitting behind the desk wearing a grey suit with a white mask that had an eye drawn on its right side completely covering it. His wavy purple hair was held together in a neat and elegant way.

"Hello there" said the rusty voice behind the mask.

"Would you like to come in and take a seat?"

'What's with the increasing number of hidden rooms? Are all information guilds like this? And how long was this guy looking at me?' Ann frowned at the man but still checked the walls before entering the room.

The wall had mana stones embedded everywhere that can be remotely controlled with magic.

Right as she passed through the wall closed leaving no way out.

The man in the mask, who appeared to be the guild master, motioned her to take a seat in front of them. But he was definitely higher up the ladder than the representative she had met earlier.

"I heard you brought a rather impressive item to the front desk. Where did you get it?" He asked, putting his hands together on top of the desk.

"Garage sale" Ann answered, with a no-nonsense face.

"Got it on a two for one deal"

The guild master smiled behind his mask, intrigued by the unexpected answer.

"So how may I help you?"

"I need information on the whereabouts and recent activities of a bunch of people. And a separate background check on another guy" Ann fired without any hesitation while evaluating the aspects of the room.

"Please write the names on this paper and spell them correctly. We don't want any confusion around people with the same names and different spelling..."

When the guild master snapped his fingers, a paper and pen materialized containing the standard eye logo printed on them.

'They even got their own branded stationery. Great!'

Ann sighed and started writing.