The Teddy Bear Sends the Insomniac Villain to Dreamland - Chapter 79

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

Chapter 79
“This place is absolutely brimming with magical artifacts that Lora would adore.”
Whether Ren descended to rummage through his belongings or occupied himself with other matters, I remained utterly captivated by the exploration of his chamber.
“Oh my, this is the love potion powder that Lora used to be so fond of!”
This was genuinely rare.
It was the magical powder whose production method I had once disseminated to my old friend in the Demon Realm—Lora, the Eastern witch.
“Lora would be absolutely thrilled to see this.”
The floor where Ren resided felt like an enormous jungle.
Ivy vines clung densely along the window frames, and artificial sunlight conjured by magic illuminated the space.
Beneath them, butterflies fluttered gracefully, accompanied by a variety of insects.
Constellations affixed to the ceiling spun rapidly in synchronization with a ticking clock.
It was a chamber befitting an eccentric mage with rainbow-colored hair.
After scooping a handful of love potion powder into my bundle, I glanced around once more to see if there was anything else worth taking.
“Oh, I found something.”
This time, it was a box crammed with miscellaneous items. I wondered what magical artifacts might be hidden within.
I climbed onto the sofa and rose onto my tiptoes, attempting to pull the box down.
The box, heavier than I anticipated, tumbled to the floor with a loud crash.
A single object fell with a clear, ringing sound and rolled across the floor until it stopped at my feet.
I picked up the object that had landed before me and tilted my head in confusion.
“A cauldron?”
Why would a cauldron be here?
It was an ordinary cauldron used for brewing potions.
This was hardly a magical artifact—merely a tool for potion-making.
Just as I bent down to set the cauldron upright, something caught my attention.
On the bottom of the cauldron’s interior, a peculiar pattern resembling a snail shell had been etched.
As I examined it carefully, magical energy suddenly surged. It was an involuntary, reflexive response.
That pattern was stimulating my magical power.
“What is this?”
Startled by the intense sensation of my magical energy being drawn inward, I reached toward the pattern. As I gradually channeled my power into it, the cauldron suddenly blazed with light.
And what appeared was—
“Lora?”
It was Lora.
What? What on earth was happening?
Beyond the now-transparent bottom of the cauldron, I could see Lora.
Lora, who was in the Demon Realm, was visible through the cauldron.
Unable to believe my eyes, I blinked for only a moment before regaining my composure and urgently thrust my face into the cauldron’s opening.
Though the cauldron’s mouth was wide, it fit me snugly given my considerable stature.
The darkness surrounding me made Lora’s image all the clearer.
“Lora, Lora! I’m here. It’s me, Vivian, Lora!”
Despite my desperate calls, she seemed unable to hear me.
Is my voice not getting through?
I thought all the portals had closed and every connection between the Demon Realm and the outside world had been sealed.
That’s when I suddenly recalled a conversation I’d had with Max on New Year’s Eve.
‘But Vivian, the Eastern Witch’s information network doesn’t seem that impressive, does it? It’s been ages since the portals disappeared, so where is she getting all this Human World news from?’
‘I have no idea. Lora’s eccentric, after all.’
This is insane!
Could this have been Lora’s gateway to observing the Human World all along?
I’d always found it remarkable how Lora managed to bring back Human World news every time, but I never imagined something like this existed.
The one problem was that Lora didn’t seem to be able to see me.
‘Hmm, this looks like a one-way observation window.’
So then, what parts of the Human World had Lora been watching through this all this time?
Or perhaps… did she possess multiple magical artifacts like this, each connecting the Demon Realm to the Human World?
It was possible that Lora had been observing various locations across the Human World through different channels simultaneously.
In any case, my eyes widened at this mysterious and novel magical tool. I leaned my face in a bit closer.
‘But what kind of vessel is this anyway?’
I didn’t know what I was looking through, but I found myself tucked away in some corner of Lora’s bedroom, watching her intently.
Then I heard Lora murmuring softly to herself.
“Oh right, Max asked me to contact him. I forgot about that.”
Max?!
Hearing my dragon’s name after so long, my pupils dilated. My ears perked up involuntarily.
“Vivian should come back soon. She said it’s fine, but Max has such a tender heart.”
Could Max have been crying?
My heart raced with worry.
Say more. Please, say more.
Lora, tell me more about Max’s situation!
As if reading my thoughts, Lora picked up a hat and cloak and murmured to herself.
“He asked me to bring wine, didn’t he? He said to bring something precious, so I should take the Marienthi 78 vintage.”
“The Marienthi 78 vintage?”
Even though I knew she wouldn’t hear me, I found myself crying out loudly. That’s my favorite!
“Why is that guy drinking it alone like some pathetic fool? No, wait… he’s not pathetic. He said we’d drink it together.”
“You’re drinking that together with Lora?”
Lora swept her vibrant purple hair back with a flourish, grabbed the wine she’d prepared, and left the room.
The cauldron fell silent.
“….”
I slowly withdrew my head from the cauldron.
My heart was in turmoil. It had been so long since I’d seen the Demon Realm, and it was Lora, my friend, no less.
I’d heard news of Max, and I’d learned that my dragon was doing well enough to drink Marienthi 78 vintage.
“I wish we could have talked.”
I felt only regret. To be this close yet unable to share my news, unable to see each other face to face.
It was frustratingly tantalizing.
The scattered contents of the box had made the surroundings messy, but I had no desire to tidy it up.
Since the room had been in disarray from the moment I first entered, one overturned box wouldn’t make much difference.
I collapsed onto the floor with my knees drawn up, resting my arms as I pressed my forehead against them.
Once the emotion of seeing Lora faded, reason returned to me.
“Why is a cauldron that can peer into the Demon Realm here?”
Where had Mage Ren obtained such a precious artifact?
With over two hundred years of severed contact, there should be almost no information about the Demon Realm available.
“Now that I think about it, it only became visible when I used magical power, didn’t it?”
That meant it was an object that human mages who wielded mana couldn’t use.
I was resting my chin in my hand, pondering the mysterious origins of this cauldron, when the door suddenly burst open at a perfectly convenient moment.
Ren had returned.
“Hey, treasure! I’m back—”
“Ren, this cauldron. What is it?”
Ren looked back and forth between me crouched in front of the cauldron and the scattered belongings strewn about, then asked.
“What were you rummaging through?”
“I was just checking what kind of magical artifacts mages use these days. But what is this thing?”
I tapped the cauldron pointedly. Ren’s expression darkened.
“I don’t know either.”
“It’s yours—how can you not know?”
“I secretly took it to mess with Clinky.”
As I rolled my eyes wondering who Clinky was, I finally noticed the figure standing behind Ren.
His snow-white hair stood on end as if it had been completely burned, and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses sat perched on his hooked nose.
His temperament also appeared quite disagreeable.
“You, you—when did you take this!”
Clinky shrieked at the top of his lungs, and Ren replied casually.
“A while back. I heard you’d inscribed some ancient incantations on a cauldron and got curious, so I took it. I didn’t even realize it was missing.”
“…You absolute lunatic!”
The mad scientist-looking mage went berserk, hurling fireballs as if to kill Ren on the spot, but they never reached him.
Ren casually turned away, having erected a barrier with silent magic.
“Clinky. Stop that and focus. That’s not what matters—the treasure you wanted to see is right here.”
As I watched this spectacle with indifference, I noticed the converging gazes and gave a small wave in greeting.
“Hello.”
….
Clinky’s mouth snapped shut instantly.
The dazed mad scientist staggered toward me.
“…A talking bear doll?”
There was something unsettling about that gaze.
My fur bristled along my arms at the gleam in those eyes.
“So this is the Magic Tower’s treasure—a bear doll that claims to be a dragon’s friend, is that right…?”
Ren nodded lightly in affirmation.
Clinky swallowed hard, his throat audibly tightening as he asked me a question.
“What’s your name?”
“Vivian.”
“Right, Vivian.”
He bent his knees and crouched down, extending his hand toward me.
His wrinkled, thick hand unpleasantly stroked my head with rough, repetitive motions.
“To think you found your way to the Magic Tower all on your own—how admirable. I’ve been searching for a long time to study a peculiar and suspicious being like you.”
I see, so that’s how it is.
But my attention was drawn more to the cauldron, so I pushed away his sticky touch and turned my gaze toward it.
I’ll have to take this with me when I go home.
“If Alfredo knew the treasure had returned, he’d order me to bring it at once, but it would be such a waste… when else would I get the chance to examine the belly of such a unique being?”
“Examine the belly? Hey, that wasn’t part of the deal.”
Ren stepped forward with visible displeasure, a magnifying glass clutched in his hand.
Well, I wasn’t particularly interested in that either.
I cared only about this cauldron.
And the Magic Tower’s historical records about Aslan Leblanc.
Those were the only two things I wanted to know about.
Just as Ren was about to grab Clinky’s shoulder, a sudden burst of electrical magic erupted, sending Ren flying backward.
As Ren rose to his feet in irritation, Clinky rummaged inside his clothes and opened a suspicious pouch.
Gripping a gleaming surgical scalpel, he suddenly seized my body.
“What are you doing?”
Meeting my jade-green eyes as I stared blankly at him, he grinned with greedy malice.
“Let me examine your belly.”

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