Ais and the Ishtar Familia had bad blood.
More precisely: Ais and Phryne Jamil, captain of the Ishtar Familia.
Back when Ais was still Level 2, the woman nicknamed "Toad" had used her higher level to beat her down—an ugly, shameless "bully the weak" win.
"Toad… disgusting!"
The disgust in Ais's voice wasn't even subtle.
Riveria was praised as a beautiful, pure, principled elven royal.
Phryne's reputation was basically the inverse—ugly, cruel, and infamous for tormenting men, yet narcissistic to the point of claiming she was the most beautiful woman alive, even above the Goddess of Beauty.
If someone could make Ais openly voice hatred without Riveria even stopping her, that told you exactly how universally detested Phryne was.
But Cid cared about a different issue.
"Ishtar Familia territory is up ahead? But isn't this the Third District?"
Cid knew a fair bit about the Ishtar Familia—mostly from Raul's stories.
Alise had also warned him very seriously: don't go anywhere near Ishtar Familia turf.
And he knew the Third District's reputation too.
It was the slums.
What he didn't know was that Ishtar Familia was operating right inside the slums.
Based on the rumors he'd heard, Ishtar Familia was "popular."
Popular enough to thrive in the slums?
Did slum residents even have money to sustain that kind of business?
Or was it like Raul—people coming from outside just to visit?
"Yes. The Guild arranged for them to be placed in the Third District, and there are corresponding welfare subsidies."
Riveria clearly didn't like talking about Ishtar Familia.
Everyone chose their own way of life; she didn't intend to lecture anyone.
But she personally disliked places like that—she didn't even want to get close.
"I understand."
And for once, Cid's "I understand" actually meant he understood.
Not the fake "yes teacher" kind.
Because the Third District was the slums—that was exactly why Ishtar Familia was there.
Cid's interest in the area rose sharply.
He had no desire to "explore" battle prostitutes, and he had no desire to "explore" slums.
But put the two together?
That was different.
If people were suffering, the top was partying; and if the top was partying, then sex + gambling + drugs tended to travel in a bundle.
Even without thinking, you could predict the area was saturated with exploitation, coercion, and gray-market transactions—strict hierarchy, predation, the full package.
In other words: this wasn't just a slum.
This was Gotham City—"simple folk," "honest customs," and a whole lot of crime wearing a grin.
And crime meant cash flow.
Often cash flow sitting in the pockets of people who deserved to be robbed.
In Cid's worldview, he himself belonged to "the poor."
So Cid's eyes lit up.
This wasn't "Third District."
This was the Shadow's private vault.
And it was all Alise's fault—if she hadn't scared him off, he would've discovered this treasure earlier.
Riveria noticed his "sparkle-eyed" look and—understandably—misread it as yearning for Ishtar Familia.
Young men having desires was normal.
Cid was the type with enough audacity to have ideas even about her, after all.
She didn't actually worry he'd do something stupid.
He'd known about Ishtar Familia for a while but didn't even know they were in the Third District—so he clearly just had fantasies, nothing more.
Probably just private imagination. Riveria, with her elven "nobility," wouldn't comment on that.
Then—
Wait.
Riveria suddenly realized a terrifying question.
If Cid had fantasies…
Was he fantasizing about Ishtar Familia's battle prostitutes…
Or about her?
No. Stop. Do not think about this any further.
So Riveria forced the conversation elsewhere—smoothly, like a professional.
"…Cid. If you have the spare capacity, help me talk some sense into Raul. I heard he often wanders around here. The Third District has Daedalus Street."
"Daedalus Street? The legendary craftsman who created Orario?"
Cid recognized the name. Anyone who reached the pinnacle of a craft tended to leave an impression.
"Yes. Daedalus Street is extremely labyrinthine. Unless you've lived here a long time, you'll get lost very easily."
That was the real reason Riveria had stopped Ais from going deeper.
Crossing into Ishtar Familia turf was annoying, but the real threat was Daedalus Street.
Cid's expression instantly turned solemn.
Lost?
Dead memories began attacking him.
If Daedalus Street was truly that twisted…
Wouldn't that mean his private vault had an actual lock on it?
Unacceptable.
Then Riveria—seeing his serious face—shifted back to business.
"So you also think the Dark Faction is concentrated there? Finn thinks so too, but searching Daedalus Street takes too much manpower."
Cid shook his head immediately.
"Riveria-sama, that's not what I meant."
He'd learned it the hard way: people misinterpreted him constantly, so he had to deny things early.
He wasn't "investigating enemy hiding spots."
He was mourning the potential loss of his "vault."
Please stop free-associating!
But Riveria heard "not that"…
…and went deeper anyway.
Before Daedalus Street, Cid had asked about Ishtar Familia.
So in Riveria's mind, the implication formed naturally:
Cid suspects Ishtar Familia is entangled with the Dark Faction.
And as soon as that thought existed, the logic chained together frighteningly well.
Ishtar Familia already lived in the gray zone.
Were all those "women" truly there by choice?
People liked to claim "sex work is less harmful than gambling or drugs," but that ignored what happened when constraints loosened—coercion, trafficking, "consent" manufactured under force.
If Ishtar Familia's business was that big, how many "forced voluntary" cases had happened?
If the Dark Faction was nesting in Daedalus Street, could a familia with deep underground channels truly have no contact with them?
Even the Guild placing them in the Third District started looking suspicious.
Maybe they weren't after Guild subsidies.
Maybe they wanted proximity—to do business with the Dark Faction.
Riveria concluded:
Cid's question earlier wasn't curiosity.
It was a warning sign.
Riveria's eyes narrowed.
She "got it."
Completely.
So she leaned in and spoke quietly.
"I'll tell Finn your suspicion. But we can't deal with it right now."
Even if Ishtar Familia wasn't openly assisting the Dark Faction, they might be fence-sitters.
If Orario confronted them now, Ishtar Familia might flip fully to the Dark Faction—adding a major enemy right before the decisive battle.
In war, you unite every force you can.
Even "neutral" forces, even "pretend allies"—they still absorb enemy attention.
You settle accounts after victory.
"…Huh?"
Cid froze.
What suspicion?
What guess?
He had just been denying things.
Riveria… what did you "understand" this time?!
....
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