Chapter 51: Even Vampires Get Periods

August 8, 2025, Friday.

Maybe it was staying up all night binging anime, but Cola slept straight through to dusk.

The moment she opens her phone, a flood of notifications hits—LINE voice calls, a pile of texts, buzzing her hand numb.
Before she can check them, another message pops up:

“Cola, what’s up? It’s 8 p.m., and you’re not here?”

“Eight… huh… eight?!” Cola’s eyes widen, but her overslept body has zero energy. Her muscles ache just trying to move, so she rolls over and texts Liuli back: “Just woke up…”

Another voice call—this time from the manager.
She hesitates for seconds before answering, still scrambling for an excuse. Natsuki’s worried voice comes through.

“Hey, Cola? Where are you? You okay?”

“Uh, at home…”

“At home? Geez, you scared me! What’s going on? Not showing up for work without a heads-up? That’s rude! Even I get mad, you know!”

“Sorry!” Cola tenses. The playful tone doesn’t hide it—Natsuki’s pissed, a rare thing for close-knit Japanese. “Uh… I’m feeling sick… slept all day and overslept…”

A lame excuse. “Feeling sick” aside, it’s mostly true.

“You okay?”

“I’m… fine now…”

“Next time, tell me in advance, got it? It really ticks people off.”

“Sorry… I’m all foggy today.”

“Rest up then. I’ll get Sae to cover your shift—thank her later.”

“Oh, y-yeah… thanks, Manager.”

“Call me Natsuki-nee, jeez. I even told some customers the ‘cute trap’ was coming today.”

“Cough…”

“Make it up during the day shift. Some customers already want you to serve them.”

“Eh? Serve? N-No way, they’ll notice if I change!”

“What are you on about? We’re a proper café! Just chat and have coffee with them during the day!”

“Oh, right…”

“Rest well. I’m busy now.”

“Thanks for the trouble, really sorry…!” Cola piles on the keigo. She usually avoids formalities in Japan, but when she’s in the wrong, sincerity’s the way to go.

“No next time, okay?”

Natsuki hangs up. It’s peak hours at the café—she’s got no time to chat, especially if Sae’s covering the front, leaving Natsuki to handle the bar.

Cola exhales, rolling over on the tatami. “How’d I sleep that long… fourteen? No, fifteen hours?”

Outside the clean floor-to-ceiling window, the moon hangs high.
The quiet city, not exactly bustling, hums with occasional car sounds.
Her head throbs from oversleeping, but lying around won’t help.
Gotta move, or it’ll be more than a headache.

“Ugh…” Forcing herself up, she stumbles into the door.
Maybe it’s too long in the AC, but the warm air outside feels just right.
She instinctively opens the bathroom door, then remembers the toilet’s in a separate cubicle. Swaying, she darts to the front door and into the tiny toilet.

Her stomach’s been aching since the call, and now, on the toilet, it’s worse—like a shrimp curling in pain.
“Bad food? Nah, I barely ate last night…” Clutching her abdomen, she groans. “Ugh… it’s getting worse…”

Her stomach’s empty, but something’s flowing out.
Without her phone, she idly checks her magical circuits—her mana’s unusually low, dropping her from Prince-level to Duke-level. “What’s this… like I got hit with a debuff.”

The pain sharpens as sleep fades, like someone’s yanking her insides. Sweat soaks her clothes, her silver hair sticks messily to her face, and her brain slows, consumed by agony.

After thirty minutes on the toilet, she staggers up, drenched like she fell in water.
Glancing back, she sees dark blood in the bowl, then notices more dripping from her body.
It hits her.

As a modern, educated person, she gets it.
At first, she thought it was just stomach pain—years as a guy never pointed her to this.
Now it clicks, and her lips twitch.

“Damn… vampires get periods too? What the hell, don’t we recycle blood when it’s low? Ugh, stop thinking, that’s gross…” Covering her forehead, she grabs a stack of tissues to pad herself, slowly pulling up her sweat-soaked pants. “…Guess I gotta buy those things…”

She sighs, muttering.
She could use telekinesis to hold the blood, keep her pants clean.
But telekinesis feels too real—like touching it with her hands.
Gross, even if it’s her own blood.

Maybe because she wasn’t born a girl, this feels intensely uncomfortable.
“Being a woman’s such a hassle…” she grumbles. “Vampires bleeding monthly? Come on, we should control where our blood goes, or turn it into mana…”

The tiny sink in the toilet is so small her hands barely fit.
Grumpily, she washes up, then limps out on numb legs.
Sighing, she laughs at herself. “Told the manager I was sick, and now I am sick, for days… Ugh…”

Stumbling back to the bedroom, she chugs a warm cola from the table. “Periods and cola—bad mix? Whatever, I’m a vampire, no rules for me…”

Maybe it’s in her head, but the cola eases the pain. She’s not hunched over anymore, just a bit weak.
Brushing off the lingering ache, she washes up, opens the window, and sits on the sill, googling period tips.

First, buy pads—she knows that much.
Then, how to use them.
The internet’s full of guides. She skims a few, getting the gist.
“So many types… built-in ones? Nah, that’d feel like… an invasion…” Her eyelid twitches. She opens a shopping app, checking pad prices to compare with the convenience store.
Gotta stock up—it’s a monthly thing now.

“Another expense,” she grimaces. “Price of being a ‘privileged’ woman, huh? Not much privilege in Japan, but back in %%, I’d be T0…”

She chuckles, recalling group chat news.
“Everyone’s talking about this stuff lately… It’s constant in %%. Japan had its wave, but it’s over. Even the biggest tides fall.”

Clearing her phone’s apps, she slides off the sill.
It’s nearly 9 p.m. At work, the stage would be heating up—popular bands backstage, new ones rocking out. Strong rookie bands always get people talking.
Maybe she’s used to working nights, but she misses it. Then, imagining roaring rock music, her stomach cramps again.

“Not the time for intense stuff… If I listen to music, it’s gotta be soft and chill.” Tiptoeing, she grabs her keys from the door hook. “Gotta buy pads… Feeling all damp…”