Arios knocked on the door of an office.
"Come in." From the voice alone, you could imagine a spirited old lady, yet as Arios pushed open the door, he found a little girl seated at the desk, busily signing documents.
"Lady Ona, I am Arios Brazer, Inspector First Class of the Guard." Arios respectfully bowed, introducing himself.
"Ah, young Brazer, I remember you. I even held you in my arms when you were born." The little girl behind the desk responded with the voice of an elderly woman. "What brings you here today? It is indeed my turn to oversee public order this year."
"My apologies for the intrusion, Lady Ona. It concerns the Church of Valkyris—they conducted reconnaissance on Weimar City, and we've apprehended the infiltrators." Arios, seemingly unperturbed by the aged voice coming from the child, quickly proceeded with his report, not wasting a moment.
"Oh? The Church of Valkyris isn't giving up and wants to make a comeback? Have they forgotten how disgraceful their last expulsion was, a little over a decade ago?" The girl, whom Arios addressed as Lady Ona, let out a cold laugh. "If they want to return, let them. I'll drive them out every time, like the pack of wild dogs they are!"
"By the way, considering their usual tactics, yesterday was a full moon. Surely, they must have caused considerable casualties. How many did we lose?"
Arios scratched his head. "Uh, my Lady, there were no casualties."
Ona seemed displeased and clarified, "Not just among the Guard, but the civilians as well."
Arios shook his head after hearing this. "My Lady, there were no civilian casualties either."
A small question mark seemed to hover above Ona's head. "What did the Church of Valkyris do, then? Transforming and yet causing no civilian casualties? That's unlike them."
Arios stepped forward and whispered, "My Lady, we implemented a citywide curfew defense plan yesterday, specifically targeting Valkyris's infiltration. We had already stationed personnel in advance, so there were no casualties."
Ona's mood visibly improved. "Hmm, well done! It's no easy feat to thwart the Church of Valkyris. Whose idea was this?"
Arios, a bit embarrassed, replied, "My Lady, it was mine."
"Oh? How did you think to set an ambush under the full moon? Did your informants infiltrate the Church of Valkyris?" Ona inquired curiously.
"No, it's just that one of our members witnessed a werewolf during a mission, and it wasn't the same one we captured yesterday," Arios reported truthfully.
"Oh? Interesting..." Ona seemed to fall into deep thought.
Seeing Ona lost in contemplation, Arios stood respectfully, not daring to disturb her.
"I just recalled something. You may return now, young Brazer. You've done well. I'm aware of the Church of Valkyris's activities, and I'll send additional mages to support the Special Task Force. You and the rest of the Guard should focus on your duties. Rest assured." After finishing her thoughts, Ona waved Arios off, then reclined in her chair, lost in further contemplation.
"Has the Church of Valkyris changed their methods? Don't they usually launch large-scale attacks on the night of the full moon? Why did a werewolf appear before the full moon?"
"Or... could it be a wild werewolf, not associated with the Church?" The more Ona pondered, the more she sensed something amiss. She wrote a letter on the desk and summoned an arcane energy entity, placing the letter inside it.
"Deliver this to the Council of Sages," Ona instructed the energy entity. The entity trembled slightly, as if acknowledging the command, then flew out the window.
"It seems the days in Weimar City are about to get interesting. I hope those old fools are prepared." Ona jumped off her chair and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the bustling streets below, feeling a tinge of nostalgia.
...
After the all-night full moon operation, Levin and Ellie were utterly exhausted, especially Ellie. As soon as they returned to the camp, they, like their subordinates who had returned earlier, collapsed onto their beds and fell into a deep sleep.
Levin awoke late at night, habitually opening his system panel to check.
[Deception Successful!]
[Trickster Myth Points Gained: 489]
[Current Rank: Two (544/1000)]
What the... Where did I get such a huge amount? Half-awake, Levin was suddenly jolted awake, immediately opening the deception log to investigate.
"Weimar City dares to plant a spy among us; Weimar will pay in blood! Sirius's death must be avenged by their guards!"
"The Church of Valkyris has changed their methods? Don't they usually launch large-scale attacks on full moon nights? Why did a werewolf appear before the full moon?"
Several shadowy figures in the phantasm, some passionately speaking, others muttering to themselves, all discussing matters related to the full moon operation.
Levin smacked his lips.
"It seems I may have overdone it this time."
But surely, they won't trace it back to me, the Deputy Chief? Who would suspect that the werewolf from that night was none other than the outstanding young Guard Captain, Ellie?
Even if the Church of Valkyris decides to invade, we have the Special Task Force and the Council of Sages to hold the line. The sky won't fall.
I'd better get back to sleep. I have duty in the morning.
Levin yawned, relieved himself, and then crawled back into bed, falling asleep again.
Ellie's crisis was, for the moment, averted.
When Levin woke again, it was already daylight.
After the overnight operation, the Guard had been granted a day off to rest, and Levin had slept through the entire day.
In other words, today was a grueling workday.
Levin donned his uniform and led his squad through drills.
Today was still part of Ellie's special leave—her female-exclusive leave hadn't ended yet, and the overtime two days ago was an exception.
After the drills came the usual patrols.
Levin had been in this world for over a month now, and he was already quite familiar with his jurisdiction, making the patrols almost second nature.
The residents of the district had grown accustomed to Levin's new face, many of them smiling and greeting him as they passed.
"Captain Levin, have an apple. Didn't see you on patrol yesterday," a fruit vendor called out with a grin as Levin approached.
"Don't remind me. I was working overnight until yesterday morning and spent the day catching up on sleep. Thanks." Levin took the apple and bit into it.
"Take care of yourself! Weimar City relies on you to keep the peace." The vendor continued to chat with Levin as he tidied up his stall.
"Well, it's all part of the job... Hmm? What's happening over there?" Levin paused mid-bite, noticing a commotion in the distance.
"Murder! Murder!"
"Nobody move! Call the Guards!"
"I'm innocent! I swear I'm innocent!"
Levin quickly shoved the half-eaten apple into his pocket, tossed down two copper Weimar coins, and said, "I'll go see what's happening."
With those words, he shot off like an arrow from a bow.
"Hey! No need to pay!" the vendor shouted after him, but Levin was already racing towards the commotion, his mind and body both moving at breakneck speed.
As he arrived at the scene, Levin shouted, "Make way! Make way! I'm with the Guard! What's going on here?"
"Captain Levin is here!"
"Captain Levin! I'm innocent, I swear!"
Pushing through the crowd, Levin reached the scene of what appeared to be a classic murder. A corpse lay on its back, a clear knife wound in the chest, while a bloodied knife was clutched in the hand of a watermelon vendor standing nearby.
Despite the apparent simplicity of the scene, Levin refrained from jumping to conclusions. He first checked for any signs of life from the body on the ground.
The corpse was cold, the wound deep. The chances of survival were nonexistent.
Turning to the vendor holding the knife, Levin noted the blood splattered across his clothes and asked, "What happened here?"
The vendor quickly explained, "Captain Levin! I'm innocent! I was just sitting here selling watermelons when this man came up and asked for the price per pound. I told him it was only two copper Weimar coins. Then he asked me to cut one for him. As I pulled out the knife to do so, he suddenly grabbed my hand and drove himself onto the blade... he... he stabbed himself!"
A question mark seemed to hover over Levin's head.
A setup? But why would anyone go to such lengths?
"Did anyone see it happen this way?" Levin asked the surrounding onlookers.
"Captain, I didn't see it clearly."
"I was buying cucumbers at the time, didn't really notice."
"I just heard someone shout 'Murder!' and came to watch."
"I saw the watermelon vendor holding the knife and stabbing it into the man's chest, then he collapsed."
The crowd's accounts were varied and incomplete, but Levin could piece together some information. At the very least, all accounts confirmed that the knife in the victim's chest came from the vendor.
"Boss, you won't be selling any watermelons today. Come with us to the camp so we can get a clear understanding of the situation." Levin called his comrades over, had the vendor taken into custody, covered the body with a white sheet, and placed it on a stretcher—one for the Guard's interrogation room, and the other to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy.
The vendor's story, though far-fetched, couldn't be dismissed without evidence. The crucial task now was to wait for the autopsy results and confirm the identity of the deceased.
Levin's mood darkened—his first day back at work, and he was already dealing with a murder case. With Ellie still on leave, the responsibility fell solely on him, souring his mood even further.
"Sigh, it seems I'm destined to be overworked. I haven't even finished the reports from the last two operations, and Weimar City can't stay calm for two days straight. Now I'm behind on reports again," Levin thought to himself.
Just another "peaceful" day in Weimar City.