The Deceitful One

The brown-haired young lady's eyes lit up as she asked, "Bryan Lombardi? Are you perhaps Detective Watson's student?"

Bryan was slightly taken aback hearing this lady mention his teacher's name as he replied, "Yes, that's right!"

The young lady got up from her chair and extended her right hand as she smiled, "Hello, my name is Hailey. The captain did tell me that you would arrive, but I thought that would be tomorrow."

'Captain? Is she part of Silver Owls too?' Bryan raised his eyebrow slightly as he thought inwardly.

He shook Hailey's hand as he smiled, "Nice to meet you, Miss Hailey. So, is Mr. Robert in?"

Hailey walked around the reception desk and gestured, "Yes, the captain is in his office right now. Please follow me."

Bryan then followed behind Hailey as she guided him through the reading section of the library and toward the back.

As he walked, Bryan looked around the library and the tall bookshelves. The second floor of the library too had innumerable bookshelves. And there was a large opening in the center of the library.

In the center was a large bronze-colored globe of the world, displaying the four continents as well as the Eastern Islands. The globe was thrice the height of Bryan.

Bryan stopped by the globe for a minute and observed it with fascination. The outer shell of the globe was made of bronze and one could still see through its core where all sorts of gears worked together in harmony.

The gears inside the globe continued to operate as the globe slowly rotated at a slow pace.

Bryan couldn't help but marvel at its mechanism. He then lifted his head and saw the people taking out and reading books from the bookshelves on the second floor.

There was a wide clearing at the library's center on the first floor through which one could see the second floor.

Looking at Bryan who was admiring the library indoors, Hailey smiled as she introduced, "The Sofia Public Library was built by the Church of Wisdom and its doors are open to all. Anyone can come here and acquire public knowledge free of cost."

"I see, truly admirable!" Bryan replied sincerely.

Hailey nodded her head, "Indeed."

Then she proceeded to take Bryan to the administrative section of the library. After passing over the last of the bookshelves, she pushed open a large wooden door and entered.

After following her through the door, what greeted Bryan's view was a large space where tables and cubicles were arranged side by side. He could see a lot of men and women working there.

The atmosphere here was quite relaxed and there wasn't the usual rush or the cacophonous sounds that one would expect inside any office.

Bryan was slightly confused as this wasn't what he was expecting when he thought of the workplace of the Silver Owls.

Looking at the confusion in Bryan's eyes, Hailey giggled, "This is just the office where the librarians and the other employees take care of the administrative stuff."

Bryan was enlightened, then he asked, "Then where do the Sil... I mean, where do you guys work from?"

He almost spilled the name out loud. Although there was a low chance that anyone around him would know the meaning of the Silver Owls, Bryan still didn't want to risk it and do something stupid.

Hailey pointed her finger to the ground with a mysterious smile, "Hehe, you'll know soon enough."

She then turned around and went to the corner of the office space where there was another wooden door. On top of the door was a silver plaque with bold, black words that read,

'RESTRICTED AREA.

Authorized Personnel Only.'

Bryan's gaze landed on the plaque for a moment as he entered the room after Hailey. And then he was dumbfounded.

Because contrary to his expectations, all he saw was one small room that could barely fit five people within.

Hailey who was secretly observing Bryan's expression all this while, burst into laughter. Bryan looked at her in puzzlement, wondering if she was an idiot or something.

After laughing for about a few seconds, Hailey wiped the tears from her eyes as she wheezed, "Ah, sorry sorry. Everyone who usually visits the headquarters for the first time almost always has the same expression. I just find it very funny."

Bryan shook his head as he asked, "So what now?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Come, stand here beside me." Hailey patted the side of her head as she replied.

Bryan had no clue why Hailey asked him to stand beside her but he did so nonetheless. Then he saw Hailey crouch down and place her hand on one of the bricks on the floor.

Hailey then released her spiritual force from her palm which activated a hidden mechanism in the room.

'As expected, she's one of us!' Bryan's eyes narrowed slightly as he felt the spiritual force come out from Hailey's palm. Then he focused his attention on the floor that had begun to rumble.

A few moments later, the floor slowly began to descend. Bryan was taken aback, however, this time he controlled his emotions, not giving Hailey another chance to laugh at him. He felt slightly embarrassed being laughed at by a stranger, after all.

In the darkness, Bryan held his breath in anticipation as the floor which turned out to be a platform for the lift, continued its descent.

Soon he saw light fill his vision as the platform came to a halt. Bryan opened his eyes and the scene in front of him instantly left him mesmerized.

Machinery, gears, books, and magic!

This was a massive underground space. In one corner, a group of men was tinkering with large pieces of machinery. In another corner, a young man was building animals and birds made of metals and gears.

There was also a small library which took up almost a fourth of the underground space where young men and women were studying diligently.

In the furthest secluded corner of the underground space, within an enclosed area made up of glass walls, a handful of people were casting spells and practicing magic!

Hailey looked at Bryan and smiled, "Welcome to the headquarters of the Silver Owls, Damascus Branch!"

This was the first time that Bryan had truly been introduced to the world of Transcendents. A world full of mystery and magic!

Bryan's lips slowly curled up into a bright smile, "Amazing!"