Mask District, Black Market,

"You don't seem to enjoy this place, Inspector Stailor.. or should I just call you, Stailor?" Iliana spoke calmly as the two of them walked into the market, Stailor following Iliana closely behind.

"I don't like the Black Market in general.. It triggers bad memories for me. And call me whatever you feel comfortable with." Stailor replied, with the discomfort clear as day.

"Well, we can relate to that.. But the restaurant Alisa works at isn't far." Iliana spoke calmly before falling silent and calmly walking.

Along the way, they saw a lot of food stalls, ranging from Kebabs to Tikki to Shawarma Wraps, and bakeries. The Black Market, though sounds Illegal at first, is one of the connection path between many cities that cannot be connected by regular means.

Though many people hate the existence of Black Market, but none dare oppose an existence as grand yet neutral as the Black Market. The credit of which, goes to the founder of the Black Market, who has been alive for almost a Millennia, also known as 'Apostle of Northern Mists'.

The Black Market connects one city to another via pathways, though not every city has it. These pathways can be used to traverse from one city to another and even places one wouldn't normally venture out to, like the Northern Forests, Mist Entrance of the South, Homan Ruins of the Eastern Battlefronts and even the Tribe of Berserker in the West. There was no place in this dimension, other than the Mists themselves that the Black Market didn't connect to.

But as of today, there was no need to go that far from Luminae.

The detective and inspector arrived at the restaurant and walked inside. Upon entering, the manager of the restaurant, who recognised Iliana, greeted them calmly.

"Miss Iliana, it's good to have you back? Oh? You are with someone other than Abel and Eluya? Is there something I can help you with?" The Manager asked, his face was covered with a mask, just like the other employees of the restaurant.

"Yes. May I talk to Alisa, privately?" Iliana said calmly, while the tightness in her chest slowly became unbearable. But she wasn't taking any chances, as Inspector Stailor overseeing the test will make sure that Alisa won't be discriminated against ever again.

The manager pointed to an empty table in the corner of the restaurant, far from other customers to ensure privacy, and said. "Oh. Sure.. I'll get Alisa to handle your table. There is an empty table in the corner over there. Please be seated there."

Iliana nodded as she and Stailor sat down at the table, waiting for Alisa to arrive. The 'Alisa' stationed here was a dummy that Iliana had placed for safety reasons. Though untraceable by others, this 'Alisa' acted as an alibi in situations like these.

"Inspector Stailor, You should order something. We need to look normal here, don't you think so?" Iliana spoke, sliding the menu to Stailor after already scrolling through it.

Stailor sighed at the suggestion, thinking nothing of it and began reading the menu. His facial expression ranged from amazement to curiosity to disgust, varying throughout the read.

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"What's wrong, Inspector? Is something intriguing to you?" Iliana said calmly, her face was adorned by a quiet smile.

"Yes.. I know it's the restaurant's duty to provide food for each and every person.. I know this place isn't subject to Luminae's laws or any law for that matter. But providing Fresh Human Blood.. Isn't it cruel?" Stailor questioned Iliana, hoping she'd have the answer but ultimately had no hope of knowing.

But for Iliana, she knew that question well, since she worked in this place for a long time. "You are misunderstanding the details, Inspector. The blood is only what people willingly provide for money, they don't take any more than required. And please leave that Speciesist attitude somewhere else.. or we might get in trouble." Iliana said with an underlying tone of sarcasm.

Just then, A woman, dressed in a very old-schooled maid uniform, adorned with Black and Red ribbons and she wore a mask. Her gait, as she approached the table, was measured, in a practiced and almost robot-like manner.

Once she was standing beside the table, she spoke. Her voice was firm as a wall, exactly what you'd expect from someone who suffered through a catastrophe. "Detective.. What may I help you with today?"

"We need some blood samples, Alisa." Iliana said calmly, her gaze fixed onto a pin on Alisa's dress. It was from a famous Cartoon Character that played on the TVs when she was a child.

Noticing Iliana's gaze on the pin and the request, Alisa just sighed and nodded. "Alright. One Cold Coffee for Miss Iliana, One Plate of Spicy Bao for the gentleman, A blood Sample and a Complimentary Pin of 'Mr Jaiboo'."

"Actually, make it three pins." Stailor said calmly, his cheeks a little red but he made the request nonetheless.

"Alright.. Three, it is. Please follow me to the staff room." Alisa said calmly as she guided Iliana and Stailor to the Staff Room, where she sat down on a chair and rolled up her sleeve. "Take the blood sample before returning to your table. I'll be serving the food shortly."

Stailor nodded, as he opened the Blood Collection Kit and collected a blood sample from 'Alisa'.

Once the sample was collected, Iliana and Stailor returned to their table. Both of them were sitting on the opposite chairs. Then Stailor cleared his throat before speaking. "We have collected the samples.. We should leave ASAP and submit the sample."

Iliana nodded, checking her phone to look at the time. She knew that time was of essence if she wanted to continue with her plan.

Just then, Alisa came back with the order and the Three Pins, handing one of them to Iliana and letting Stailor take the other two. "I hope you have a wonderful day." Alisa said calmly before leaving.

After eating their meal, the two of them walked out of the restaurant with Alisa bidding them farewell. Even through all of this, she didn't remove her mask which Stailor wanted her to do but didn't express, nor could he apologize.

As the two of them sat back in Stailor's car, Stailor looked at the Two Mr. Jaiboo Pins and felt light dizziness. "I feel a bit sleepy.. I did get a full night's sleep though." He thought to himself before he fell unconscious.

Iliana, seeing the chance set up, quickly changed the blood samples from the Fake Alisa to her own. She remembered what Fake Alisa told her in private back in the restaurant. The Pins have a special drug, it'll make the inspector black out for exactly 3 minutes. Do the thing you need to do by then.

After three minutes had passed, Stailor opened his eyes and sat back up with a jerk. He looked at Iliana, who seemed worried about him suddenly blacking out.

"Inspector, are you all right?" Iliana said, feigning worry about Stailor, even though she was the one who planned this all along.

"Uhh.. Yeah. I just fell asleep due to eating those Baos back there. I'll drive carefully, don't worry." Stailor said calmly, looking at the blood sample, which was exactly where he put it. Iliana left no evidence of tampering with the blood sample.

The drug used on Stailor was one of the rare plant syrups that can induce a strong but ephemeral effect that wasn't traceable after a few minutes of application. By the time they reach the agency, the traces of the drug will also have vanished from the Pins too.

For Iliana, this was the best case scenario. One step at a time, she was getting closer to getting Justice for her Family and that kind soul, whom Iliana owes her life and name to.

There was hope that Iliana will achieve what she wants to.