As evening approached, Levin and Vera sat in the courtyard, enjoying the feast Levin had brought back from the city.
"Why did you order so much? You know I'm a vampire and don't care for this kind of food," Vera scolded Levin as she took a bite of a rare steak.
"If it's too much, just eat less. I ordered it for Ellie," Levin rolled his eyes and forked some creamy cheese pasta into his mouth. "Not bad, this restaurant is pretty good for the price."
"It's been the whole afternoon, and your sheriff still hasn't come out," Vera sipped the tomato juice she had specifically asked Levin to bring and casually discussed Ellie's condition.
"Sigh... who knows how much longer it'll take... By the way, why do you like tomato juice?" Levin asked, watching Vera down half a glass in one gulp, his curiosity piqued.
"I liked it when I was alive," Vera replied with a melancholic tone, her crimson eyes reflecting a hint of sorrow.
"Oh... I'm sorry, did I touch on something painful?" Levin quickly apologized, noticing her mood darken.
"It's fine. I've grown used to it over the years. Although I can't taste it anymore, the thick texture brings back memories of the flavor. Though, strangely, it's started tasting more and more like blood recently," Vera set down the empty glass and took another bite of her steak. "Most foods have lost their taste for me. I rely on texture to imagine the flavor."
Seeing Vera's mood sink further, Levin hurried to change the subject: "Oh, by the way, why are your eyes red today? I remember they were blue the first time we met."
Vera wiped her right hand across her eyes, and the clear, gem-like red eyes shifted to a deep blue.
"Do you like it? I can switch to other colors too," Vera said, flicking between red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple as if it were a trivial magic trick.
"..." Levin's hand froze mid-bite.
"Just a little harmless illusion. After all, red eyes are a dead giveaway for a vampire. The city guards would love to invite me for a chat over tea. A lifetime in prison doesn't sound appealing," Vera snapped her fingers, dispelling the illusion and returning her eyes to their original crimson hue.
"Why did you open a shop in Weimar? It's so dangerous for your kind here," Levin asked, intrigued.
"Dangerous?" Vera's eyes filled with confusion before realization dawned. "You're a native of Weimar, aren't you?"
"Uh... yeah," Levin replied, though it wasn't entirely true. It was too complicated to explain, so he let it pass.
"Did you know that in a secular country like the Hain Empire, vampires like us are staked through the heart by demon hunters, who then decapitate us for a bounty? In countries where the Church holds more power, they prefer to capture us alive, nail us to a cross, and slowly douse us with holy water until we turn to ash..."
Vera calmly described how vampires were dealt with in other countries.
"Now that's what I call dangerous."
"Then... wouldn't a lifetime imprisonment be a terrible fate for you as well?" Levin asked cautiously.
"Not at all. Don't you know? Weimar's special prison for non-humans charges vampires a fee and provides amenities like cold coffins, pet bats, alchemical blood, and even blood donations from Weimar's citizens. Vampire prisoners are a significant source of income for Weimar. And for vampires like me, who have high-ranking 'elders,' we can even be ransomed out through their connections..."
Vera smoothed a stray lock of hair and continued, "Weimar is quite famous among us vampires. Some ancient ones with more wealth than they could spend in a thousand years prefer to live comfortably in Weimar's prison rather than in a castle with blood thralls. It's safer than worrying about when the Church's Inquisition might come knocking..."
"Don't they fear running out of money?" Levin asked, his mouth twitching at the thought of vampires voluntarily surrendering to the authorities. But what would they do once their money ran out?
"Please, how long has your Weimar Free City been around? Only a few decades, right? There's been only one thousand-year empire in all this land. If your regime crumbles, those old folks living happily in prison might even step in to prop it up," Vera rolled her eyes.
Levin tried to argue weakly, "But things are different now. In the past, nations waged endless wars. Now, with doomsday-level magic in hand, regimes are more stable than before."
Vera scoffed, "Does the Cold Rift Federation have doomsday-level magic? Yes? And yet it's on the verge of collapse, thanks to the Hain Empire's subversive policies. The peripheral member states, feeling exploited by the Federation, are considering secession. If the Cold Rift Federation doesn't wise up soon, it could disintegrate entirely. You folks in Weimar should be careful too. The Hain Empire isn't to be trifled with. Being its neighbor is far from safe."
Levin shook his head with a wry smile, "That's way above my pay grade. What can I do? I'm just a deputy sheriff, not a member of the Council of Sages."
Vera dismissed his words, "The Council of Sages may not be any wiser than you, or even the average citizen of Weimar... When it comes to issues that affect your own lives, you should think for yourselves. The Council isn't infallible."
Levin teased, "If you said that on the street, even if people didn't know you're a vampire, they'd stone you to death out of sheer anger."
Vera shrugged, "It just shows that the Council still has the people's trust for now. But that's because the regime is young, and the city is thriving. The real test for the Council will come later."
"You seem to care a lot about Weimar for an outsider," Levin remarked, surprised at how invested Vera was in Weimar's political situation.
"Of course! I live here too. Naturally, I want Weimar to prosper so my business can flourish," Vera replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"By the way, if lifetime imprisonment is so comfortable, why don't you just turn yourself in?" Levin asked curiously.
"Because I'm broke! If I had money, would I be running a shop? D*mn it!" Vera angrily stuffed the rest of her steak into her mouth, chewing furiously.
*Ding-a-ling*
As Levin and Vera chatted, a bell rang.
"Hmm, looks like your sheriff is awake?" Vera stood up and dusted off the creases in her dress.
"Let's go down and check," Levin said briskly, heading for the ladder.
"Hey, wait!" Vera quickly grabbed Levin's arm.
"What's
"What's the matter?" Levin asked, puzzled, as he looked at Vera.
"Wait until I call you down next time. Use some common sense," Vera glared at Levin before climbing down the ladder alone.
Levin stood by the ladder, confused, until he heard faint voices and the rustling of clothes from below.
It suddenly dawned on him why Vera had stopped him. Ellie had just finished her transformation, likely in a state of undress, just like that night. It would be inappropriate to go down now.
"All right! You can come down now," Vera called out, and Levin descended.
Ellie had already changed into casual clothes and emerged from the iron cell, looking exhausted.
"How are you feeling, Ellie?" Levin asked with concern.
"Like I've been up all night... same as usual," Ellie replied weakly.
"Hmm... it seems the experiment was quite successful. The transformation duration was reduced by about two-thirds compared to your usual time," Vera mused. "But on a full moon, you werewolves are a bit stronger, aren't you?"
"That's true..." Ellie thought for a moment before answering.
"So, once you've recovered, we'll need to collect data on your full transformation to see how much the full moon extends the process and what the specific effects of exhaustion are on you. Is that okay?" Vera jotted down notes in her notebook, not lifting her head as she asked Ellie.
"No problem, please proceed," Ellie responded firmly.
"All right, enough talking. The food's ready. Let's go up and eat first," Levin stepped forward to support Ellie, who was slightly unsteady on her feet. Ellie blushed a little but didn't refuse.
"Tsk..." Vera clicked her tongue. "You two eat. I'm going back to work on the endurance toxin..."
"Come on, join us," Ellie urged.
"Someone went through the trouble of buying this just for you. It would be a waste if I ate it. I'll pass," Vera declined firmly and hurriedly walked back into the city.
Ellie and Levin had no choice but to finish the meal together.
"How did it feel to transform willingly?" Levin asked.
Ellie frowned. "I didn't like it... The bloodlust and the thrill of killing during the transformation felt too good, like taking a hallucinogen... It made me lose my sanity..."
"Then maybe we should stop this experiment and see if Vera has another plan..." Levin quickly suggested halting the experiment, but Ellie insisted, "No, Vera is a professional alchemist. Without enough data, she can't find a proper solution. Look, taking the endurance toxin voluntarily was something we hadn't considered before. If we keep going, we might find a good outcome."
"All right, it's your call," Levin agreed, since Ellie was determined.
The two ate the half-cold meal under the brilliant starlight, and Ellie looked up at the starry sky.
"It's been so long since I've seen a full moon... I suddenly really want to see it," Ellie murmured softly.
"One day, you will. You surely will."