The Teddy Bear Sends the Insomniac Villain to Dreamland - Chapter 34

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 34
Nix bowed respectfully, unaccustomed to such a warm welcome.
“Hello.”
“A little mage, are you? If you’ve come looking for phoenix feather talismans, you’ve come to exactly the right place. We’re the original.”
The original specialty shop.
I suppose this was what a two-hundred-year-old original talisman specialty shop looked like.
Nix approached the woman proudly displaying her talismans and shook her head.
“I haven’t come to purchase a talisman.”
“No? Then what have you come for?”
Apparently expecting Nix to ask for a talisman, the woman bent forward slightly, looking a bit flustered.
Her gaze toward the adorable little mage at her shoulder level was warm and affectionate.
“Tell me anything. I’ll search for whatever you need.”
“Do you have Arcanum?”
The Shop Owner’s face stiffened at the mention of Arcanum.
Then, as if she’d misheard, she tilted her head and asked again.
“What are you looking for, little mage?”
“Arcanum.”
“…My goodness.”
A new curiosity seemed to spark in her, and the Shop Owner set down the talisman she’d been holding and crossed her arms.
“Why are you looking for that? Arcanum is quite a peculiar item. It’s famous for being able to contain even intangible forces. What kind of force are you trying to contain? A soul? Mana?”
Wow.
She hit the nail right on the head.
I nearly answered without thinking.
The Shop Owner waved her hand dismissively, joking about mana, but her eyes remained filled with suspicion.
Our Nix, however, remained completely unfazed and spoke with spirited determination.
“I need it. I have to find it for someone precious to me. I promised I would. It’s a matter of life and death. I really want to find it.”
Nix’s clear, ringing voice echoed through the quiet shop.
It was touching. Precious, she said.
She called me precious!
Though our time together hasn’t been long, the memories we’ve built haven’t been in vain.
And look at those eyes glistening with tears.
Her acting skills have improved even more than during that hunting grounds incident.
As I found myself swept away by emotion, Nix asked once more.
“Do you have Arcanum here?”
“…Who did you lose? Is that why you want to capture their soul?”
Thinking that Nix wanted to contain the soul of someone precious in Arcanum, the Shop Owner asked in a slightly softened tone.
“I can’t tell you that, but… I really want to find it. Please?”
The Shop Owner hesitated for a moment, faced with the earnest plea of the little mage, her large round eyes brimming with tears, clutching a teddy bear tightly.
Though she’d questioned sharply, she seemed to have no intention of making her cry, pressing her lips together before releasing them and shrugging her shoulders.
“Fine. I’m not sure if it can really contain a soul, but I understand that desire to believe it can. Hardly anyone searches for it anymore, so I’d almost forgotten, but we do have it in our shop.”
“Really?!”
Found it! Hurray!
Unlike what other shops had said about it being nearly impossible to obtain, the meeting happened almost disappointingly fast.
Nix’s dark eyes met mine. After the initial joy of finally discovering the Arcanum, the shop owner broached a more practical matter.
“But it’s incredibly expensive. Three hundred million gold.”
“…Pardon?”
“The Arcanum costs three hundred million gold, I said.”
Nix blinked both eyes, rendered speechless by the shocking price.
I was about to scoff and say that was nothing, but I quickly came to my senses.
Oh right, I’m broke.
If only I could have brought money from Halloway Castle, there would be no problem, but here I was utterly penniless.
Completely and utterly without a single coin!
I should have squeezed some money out of Blake when I had the chance.
The renowned swordsman of Castonia, the Leblanc Duchy—they must have astronomical wealth.
Of course, I wasn’t simply asking to borrow it. If he wished, I was willing to write a promissory note.
Honestly, I was a wealthy witch who possessed millions of times more gold than three hundred million.
The moment the portal opened, I could just ask Max to throw that paltry sum at me!
Ah, what a shame.
There was no helping it—it seemed I would have to return home for now.
“I’m sorry. We don’t want to set such a price either, but it’s such a rare magical artifact. Usually, high-ranking nobles and royalty are our main clientele. It has unusual applications, and they often purchase it to have jewelry crafted from the stone’s exquisite and beautiful luster.”
The shop owner, resigned to the situation, handed me a candy from a bowl placed nearby.
“I understand that raising such funds isn’t easy. But if the little mage becomes a great mage later and goes to the Magic Tower, perhaps one day you’ll be able to afford this expensive stone.”
“…Yes.”
“Keep your spirits up!”
Nix, having accepted the candy, trudged back out of the shop.
Leaving behind the cheerful ring of the bell bidding us farewell, Nix stood before the shop and spoke to herself while gazing at the empty sky.
“Three hundred million gold—I’ve never even heard of such an amount in my life.”
She was speaking to me. I too stood dazed, staring up at the sky, my lips moving slightly.
“So this is what it feels like to be without money.”
“Three hundred million gold. They say the price is whatever the seller asks, but who in the world would have such money?”
“Blake.”
“Ah!”
Nix’s expression brightened at the thought she hadn’t considered, though she soon furrowed her cute nose slightly.
“But would the Commander really lend us such a large sum?”
Though she asked this, worry didn’t show on Nix’s face. In her sparkling eyes as she looked at me, I sensed a deep faith that there was some way to resolve this.
Why did I suddenly feel the urge to live up to that trust?
I suppose I’ve grown quite fond of Nix too.
“Did you know this, Nix?”
“Know what?”
Nix unwrapped the candy I held and popped it into her mouth.
A soft smile played at the corners of my lips as I savored the candy.
The expressionless, taciturn face I’d seen at first had vanished entirely, replaced by Nix’s radiant smile. I reached over and gently stroked her hair, mirroring her joy with my own grin.
“Another nickname of mine is femme fatale.”
“What is a femme fatale?”
I explained kindly to her innocent question.
“An incredibly charming person. Someone who can seduce anyone.”
“Oh my. Even the Commander?”
“Of course. If I asked him to lend me something, he’d definitely do it.”
“Then I can come back and ask again later!”
Blake wouldn’t lend out that expensive stone for a purposeless purchase, but I had a legitimate reason for buying it.
I felt a bit guilty about wandering around behind Blake’s back, so I hadn’t properly discussed alternative methods of storing mana with him yet.
When I returned, I’d need to have a proper conversation about it.
But first, I should get ahead of Blake’s anger over leaving without more than a notification.
“Nix, is there a good restaurant along the way where we could pick up something to take with us?”
“What kind of food?”
“What’s your favorite?”
“Sandwiches!”
“Perfect. Then let’s find a restaurant that serves sandwiches loaded with meat.”
“A restaurant….”
Lost in thought, Nix naturally led us out of the alley and onto a main street.
But for some reason, the surroundings were unusually noisy.
“According to a map my colleagues shared, there should be a sandwich shop around here where people line up to eat, I think… What’s happening?”
Even Nix, who had been suggesting the sandwich shop, sensed the strange atmosphere and her expression shifted instantly.
“Run! Flee immediately!”
“Get inside! Save the children first!”
“Someone contact the Guard Unit!”
Women clutching children rushed haphazardly into houses with open doors, while men shouted at the top of their lungs, urging people to evacuate.
A Middle-aged Man who had been calling for the Guard Unit spotted us and grabbed my shoulder, speaking urgently.
“Hide now. Quickly!”
The man, unable to steady his ragged breathing, pulled Nix’s hand.
Nix followed obediently while surveying her surroundings.
As her sharp, dark eyes scanned the chaos-stricken downtown.
I could sense an eerie, undulating flow of mana around us.
Beneath the clear sky, dark, pitch-black mana writhed in an unnatural pattern.
What is this?
Where did such mana come from?
Since arriving in the Human World, it was the first time I’d encountered mana that was both pure yet simultaneously corrupted.
But before I could ponder further,
“Krrrraaaaaaagh!”
A sound that sent chills racing across my entire body pierced the air.
I could immediately discern what that suspicious mana emanated from.
“A demon beast.”
Nix’s arms, which held me tightly, tensed with sudden strength.
Her dark eyes lost their light, sinking into an abyss of shadow.
The Middle-aged Man, who had been frantically pulling Nix along, shoved her back toward a shop where an Elderly Woman was gesturing for us to enter.
“Get inside! Stay quiet until this passes…!”
“Sir!”
Before Nix could finish speaking, a pitch-black shadow fell across the man’s head.
Viscous saliva dripped steadily onto his shoulder.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————