Black Market

Black Market (闇市) is a location in Mass for the Dead.

Background
The Black Market in E-Rantel was formed as a result of more people congregating in the city. Due to the increasing population, there are many things that cannot be obtained through normal distribution channels.

The Black Market has become a valuable source of supplies for needy refugees. If it disappears, those who cannot survive on the distribution system of the city will commit crimes and riots. Therefore, both the Re-Estize Kingdom and city tolerate the Black Market, as there are other more serious crimes to contend with. After the dissolution of Eight Fingers, after many of the backing nobles cut ties with the organization to deal with the effects of the "Incident", one of the Executives, Cocco Doll had left moved his slave trafficking operation from the Royal Capital to E-Rantel under the guise of a brothel. Using what little connections he had with a few nobles, he managed to make the Black Market his territory becoming its boss and setting up a protection fee to the vendors at the commercial area.

Mass for the Dead Arc
Sebas Tian's fellow quarry workers wanting to show their gratitude to him for all the hard work he did for them was invited to a surprise banquet at of the food stall in the market. Afterwards, his comrades paid for a session at a brothel, where he met a prostitute named Tuare. Solution Epsilon at the market spotted Sebas Tian exiting the establishment. This followed by many appearances in the Black Market convinced her that Sebas Tian had gone rouge and betrayed Nazarick. After she reported this to Momonga and Albedo, they ordered Solution to inform the protagonist and Slimeko to conduct an investigation on Sebas's activities in the market.

The adventurers had very little luck in obtaining real information of the brothel, but they had a chance meeting with Saint Clementine who they witnessed intervene an incident to stop a pair of thugs from extorting one of the shops. She brought the city guards who intended to bring the law in the area. The saint noticing the protagonist and his friends requested their help in bringing down the source of corruption of the Black Market which according to an informant was Cocco Doll. Furthermore, Clementine informed the protagonist and the others that the brothel was just a cover for slave trading and some unsettling rumors that its employees were mysteriously vanishing one by one.

By allowing one of the thugs to escape, Clementine and the adventurers followed the man to a mansion where the former Executive of Eight Fingers made his base. However someone had already beat them to the mansion, which turned out to be Sebas Tian who was doing his own investigation. After being allowed by Clementine to interrogate Cocco Doll, the Nazarick agents learned that Cocco Doll admited to operating a slave trading business, but to avoid any connection to him, he sold the brothel to the current owner named Isabella. As for the missing employees he had no knowledge of their disappearances. When the party returned to the market, they headed to the brothel where they found it to be devoid of all its employees. After finding an escape route in the basement, the party greatly suspected that something foul was afoot and pursued. Once the situation was resolved with the market, it was later revealed that the Black Market would be restructured to allow it to exist in some form.

After one of the guests had a mental episode and escaped to E-Rantel, the protagonist's adventurer team and the remaining guests tracked him down. To avoid a scene, they brought their target to the market to have a discrete conversation.

Layout
A vibrant underground market located in the back alleys of E-Rantel where ugly buildings stand out.

Black Honeymooner
A brothel that poses as an inn located in the back of the market that was owned and managed by both Isabella and Cocco Doll. The brothel was one of the first establishments that formed around the same time as the Black Market. In truth, the brothel is a slave trafficking operation that sold desperate souls. Faced with the desperate situation of the world after the appearances of the Cracks and Chaos Beasts, these people were too scared to try to escape. Beneath the brothel house is an underground basement where Cocco Doll arranged for secret meetings with the owner. In addition there was a secret passage connecting to the sewers of the city hidden in a large crate. It was used by the former Executive to come and go from the brothel, but also by Isabella to feed on her victims at a private dungeon.

Trivia

 * In the Light Novel, Eight Fingers was heavily invested in the black markets.
 * Several miners from the quarry near the city, contribute to the market wares, selling products and crystals that they pilfered which the city's toll taxes ignored. Thus, the goods found in the market place are relatively cheap.
 * According to Sebas Tian, the King is most likely paying for the toll taxes. Once the goods pass out of the city, the prices will no doubt be placed with high taxes. The loosening of the crackdown of the market is in fact for the benefit of the people though it's possible this might cause discord in the future.
 * In order for shops to do business here in this area, a protection fee is required to be paid to the Black Market Boss and his collectors.