Loki Familia.
Having slept for nearly two days, finally replenishing their energy, Lefiya, Ais, and the others went together to the dining hall.
After a hearty meal, the girls went for a stroll in the courtyard.
Finn and Riveria, who happened to be passing by, saw Lefiya and the others and walked over.
Finn: "Lefiya, how's your recovery?"
Lefiya: "Don't worry, Captain. I'm perfectly fine now."
Lefiya raised her arm and waved it, looking full of vigor.
Seeing this, Finn gave a slight nod.
Finn: "Take it easy and recover your energy over the next few days. The expedition time has been set for three days from now."
Riveria also advised: "Mental exhaustion isn't something a simple sleep can fully recover from. Starting tomorrow, you can..."
Lefiya: "Riveria?"
Seeing Riveria suddenly stop mid-sentence, Lefiya was taken aback for a moment before turning to look behind her.
The next second, a pillar of intense white light piercing the sky came into view.
"Deity return?!"
A look of shock appeared on Lefiya's face.
This was no small matter.
Normally, even if a War Game was lost, a deity would only be expelled from Orario.
As for a deity being returned to the heavens... that usually only happened during large-scale armed conflicts.
"That direction... the The Entertainment District?"
Finn's figure flickered as he moved onto a nearby building, confirming the general direction from which the light pillar rose.
The The Entertainment District, a deity return...
Instinctively, Finn recalled the recent incident where the Freya Familia attacked the Ishtar Familia.
"Chaos is coming."
...
Freya Familia.
After going all out on a trip to the The Entertainment District, Allen returned to the Familia headquarters.
"Lady Freya, the deity just returned to the heavens was the Goddess of Beauty Ishtar."
"Hmm, I know."
The silver-haired goddess stood at the palace entrance.
Gazing at the distant night sky, now calm again, a faint smile appeared on her face.
"Allen, who do you think did this?"
Allen: "I don't know."
Freya: "Take a guess. Give me a name you think might be the culprit."
Allen: "...Cain."
Freya: "Your reason?"
Allen: "Nothing specific. It just feels too coincidental."
Not long ago, Heith and others attacked the Ishtar Familia camp, sending its members to the hospital.
At that time, Heith reported back, mentioning the matter of the invisible person to him.
Invisibility, strength at LV4, entering the Ishtar Familia base during the chaos and taking a wooden box.
Combining all these factors, even Allen, who disliked analysis, could guess the truth.
That invisible person causing trouble during the chaos was Ryuu, who had recently obtained the Helm of Invisibility.
As for what was in the wooden box she took away...
Recently, Ishtar has been putting pressure on the Guild, complaining that they took away a Renard named Sanjono Haruhime.
Although it was unknown who Sanjono Haruhime was, it was clear the other party was an important existence.
Both Ishtar and Cain, who had commissioned Ryuu, valued her greatly.
Thus, a conflict already existed.
Cain taking action to send Ishtar back to the heavens was theoretically plausible.
Additionally, there was another important piece of information.
In Allen's memory, Cain had gone to The Hostess of Fertility to see Ryuu this morning.
"Perhaps it really was him."
Without analysis, it was one thing, but once analyzed, Allen suddenly felt the possibility of Cain being the culprit skyrocket.
"Lady Freya, do you need me to investigate?"
"Then go ahead and investigate."
Freya let out a soft chuckle.
Like Allen, she also felt that Cain was the one who did it.
However, whether the culprit was truly him or not still required investigation to be certain.
...
At the same time that various factions in Orario were shaken.
Ishtar was sent back to the heavens, and as a result, the Falna of the Ishtar Familia was sealed.
Suddenly losing their power, the Amazon Girls who were originally enjoying the nightlife fell into a panic one after another.
In this chaos, Cain found Lena, who had guided him earlier, and Aisha.
"You are... Cain of the Hestia Familia?"
Because of the recent War Game, Cain was somewhat of a celebrity in Orario.
Aisha recognized his true identity at a glance.
Aisha: "Do you have something to discuss with me?"
Cain: "Killing to silence witnesses."
Lena: "?"
Aisha: "?"
Who silences witnesses so openly?
Lena and Aisha exchanged a glance, their expressions subtle.
Lena: "Um... you're joking, right?"
Cain: "Yeah, I'm joking. After all, you are Haruhime's friends, I can't kill you."
Lena: "Whew~ You scared me, Eh?"
Lena's eyes suddenly widened; did she just hear that name ?
"I see, so that's how it is."
Aisha realized: "Of the two people with Haruhime before, one of them was you, wasn't it?"
"It was me."
Cain admitted it directly.
Although the plan to send Ishtar back was a success, the matter hadn't ended there.
After coming to the Ishtar Familia, both Lena and Aisha knew Haruhime had returned.
If Haruhime joined the Hestia Familia afterwards, as long as the two weren't stupid, they could guess it was related to Cain.
To minimize the impact of this matter, killing to silence witnesses was undoubtedly the best choice.
But as he said before, Lena and Aisha were Haruhime's acquaintances.
In that case, to reduce the impact, he could only use another method.
"You two, come to the Soma Familia."
"Soma Familia?"
Aisha was somewhat surprised: "If you want to monitor us, shouldn't you have us join the Hestia Familia?"
Cain: "Hestia is a virgin goddess; no matter how much the standards are relaxed, prostitute cannot be allowed to join."
Aisha: "Then what about Haruhime?"
Cain: "I used the back door for her."
Aisha: "?"
He really wasn't even trying to act anymore.
"Um..."
Lena, beside her, raised her hand: "If we refuse to join the Soma Familia, will there be any consequences?"
Cain smiled without saying a word.
Lena began to sweat profusely.
Lena: "Cough, actually I was just joking. I think joining the Soma Familia is quite good."
Cain looked at Aisha: "And you?"
Aisha shrugged: "I don't have a choice either, do I? At this point, I can only follow you."
Although their god had just been sent back by Cain, Aisha didn't have much resentment toward him.
As for the reason... Ishtar was different from Freya; she wasn't a lesbian and took both men and women.
When she was sent back to the heavens, only the male members who served Ishtar closely would be sad.
As for Ishtar, she would only lament having one less job, then find another Familia to start a new life.
In Aisha's view, following Cain was a decent choice.
In terms of strength, the other party could deal with Tammuz in a short time; his practical combat level was at least Level 4.
In terms of character, the other party chose to show mercy for Haruhime's sake and gave them a new option.
In terms of influence, Hestia Restaurant was thriving; even Aisha had traveled all the way to the Northwest District to eat there a few times.
Most importantly, as a Familia Captain, Cain was clearly different from someone mentally ill like Phryne.
But before going back with Cain, she had another thing to do.
Aisha: "Can you give me some time? I need time to arrange things for the other prostitutes"
Cain: "Of course. If they have nowhere to go, they can come to the Soma Familia together. It just so happens that my restaurant has been short on staff lately."
Speaking of this, Cain thought of the plot in the original work and added: "If they are in the Familia, I can also better protect their safety."
Aisha: "Protect their safety?"
Cain nodded: "Do you know what was written in the letter I gave to Ishtar earlier?"
Aisha: "I don't know. After Ishtar finished reading it, she kicked me out without saying anything."
Cain: "I wrote that I am a remnant of the Dark Faction."
Aisha: "Huh?"
Aisha was stunned.
Lena, who was eavesdropping nearby, was also stunned, her expression turning subtle: "I couldn't tell from watching the War Game, but Cain, you really love to joke."
Cain glanced at her: "Unfortunately, I'm not joking this time."
Lena: "..."
Aisha: "Dark Faction Remnants... I see, so that's why Ishtar kicked me out."
On the other side, Aisha believed Cain's words.
She had been wondering why Ishtar specifically kicked her out before meeting Cain.
Now, after hearing Cain's words, the answer was out.
She believed the information Cain gave and treated him as a remnant of the Dark Faction.
Aisha: "Although I knew before that Ishtar was doing some things in secret, I didn't expect her to be in league with the Dark Faction Remnants."
"Yeah, yeah, it's really surprising."
Lena nodded in agreement.
Lena: "By the way, Cain, what did you mean by protecting us just now?"
Cain: "Ishtar was the financial backer for the Dark Faction Remnants. Not only did she know many secrets about them, but she also held the key to their base, this thing."
Cain pulled out a red sphere from his robe; he had obtained this from Tammuz after defeating him.
As for why this thing wasn't on Ishtar...
She dressed too lightly; unless she hid the key in Point B, there was no place to store it.
After showing the key to the knossos to the two of them, Cain put it away again.
Cain: "Now that Ishtar has been sent back to the heavens, and the key related to their hiding place is missing. Aisha, if you were a remnant of the Dark Faction, what would you think?"
The key was taken by someone from the Ishtar Familia.
Almost instinctively, an answer rose in Aisha's mind.
"Eh? Wait, isn't that super dangerous!"
Lena also realized the answer, her expression becoming panicked.
The Dark Faction Remnants were not good people.
To find the key, they would likely take action against the members of the Ishtar Familia, even going as far as killing them.
"Cain, since you know about the Dark Faction Remnants, can't you strike first and deal with them?"
"I can't do that for now. I still need four or five months to prepare before I can move against the Dark Faction Remnants."
Cain looked at Aisha: "Anyway, that's the current situation. If you're not confident in protecting the members of the Ishtar Familia, you can bring them all into the Soma Familia."
Aisha nodded.
Although Cain's actions seemed like taking advantage of a crisis, for the sake of safety, it was the only thing to do.
"Give me some time, I'll go gather people."
As the leader of the Fighting Courtesans, Aisha's prestige in the Ishtar Familia was extremely high.
Although she wasn't the Vice-Captain, she was effectively no different from one.
With Ishtar sent back to the heavens, Phryne being a hands-off boss who ignored everything, and other high-ranking members hospitalized, Aisha was the de facto leader.
In just over an hour, she persuaded all the members of the Ishtar Familia and led a massive crowd toward the Hestia Familia's territory.
...
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, the night was over.
After dealing with the affairs of the Ishtar Familia, Cain arrived at the Adventurers Guild carrying a sack.
"Long time no see, Chairman Royman."
Sitting on the sofa in the reception room, Cain greeted Royman, who had just walked in.
"You look quite haggard."
"Anyone would look haggard after not sleeping all night." Royman sighed and sat down opposite him.
The pillar of light released when Ishtar was sent back to the heavens was extremely conspicuous; all of Orario could see it.
As the Chairman of the Adventurers Guild, Royman received the news immediately.
To investigate this matter, he had been busy all night and had not rested until now.
Royman: "Speaking of which, I heard you used some unknown means to incorporate the members of the Ishtar Familia. You didn't come to see me to talk about that, did you?"
Cain shook his head: "I'm here to turn myself in."
Royman was stunned: "Turn yourself in?"
Cain opened the sack at his feet and dumped out a handsome young man who was still unconscious.
Cain: "To tell you the truth, I am the one who sent Ishtar back to the heavens last night."
Royman: "...?"
The reception room suddenly fell into silence.
As the head of the Adventurers Guild, Royman's composure far exceeded that of ordinary people; he did not start shouting because of this.
After staring at Tammuz at Cain's feet for a couple of moments, he turned his gaze toward the black-haired youth in front of him.
Royman: "And the reason? There must be a reason why you suddenly acted against Ishtar."
Cain: "Ishtar might have destroyed Orario."
Royman: "Huh?"
Cain: "Don't be in a hurry, listen to me explain slowly."
Cain spent over ten minutes explaining the collusion between Ishtar and the Dark Faction Remnants.
After listening, Royman's expression became serious.
"Cain, the Dark Faction Remnants are a grave matter. Are you sure the information about the Knossos is true?"
"It's true, and the interior of the Knossos is extremely dangerous. Even if the Loki Familia and Freya Familia collaborate, they might still fail."
Cain hid nothing, telling Royman everything about the Knossos and the Corrupted Spirit.
By now, there was no longer any need to hide these things.
The Freya Familia already knew about the Dark Faction Remnants, and the Loki Familia would likely come knocking soon as well.
Instead of continuing to hide it, it was better to disclose this information in advance and cooperate with the Adventurers Guild.
This would not only provide convenience but also allow him to use the Guild's power to suppress the matter regarding the Ishtar Familia.
Cain didn't think his plan was perfect.
Rather than risk exposure by continuing to hide, it was better to speak up and cooperate with the Guild.
On the other side, after hearing the information provided by Cain, Royman was breaking into a cold sweat.
Knossos where even a collaboration between the Loki Familia and Freya Familia could fail.
If Cain wasn't exaggerating, then this Knossos was far too dangerous.
After a moment of contemplation, Royman stood up.
"Wait here for a moment. I have some questions I need to consult Lord Ouranos about."
T/N- Would y'all prefer Dark faction remnants or Evilus??
let me know, I'll use that in upcoming chapters.
...
Read advance chapters on p@treon
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Join disc0rd link in synopsis.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.