Surviving As A Cannon Fodder

Chapter 108

"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.