The Teddy Bear Sends the Insomniac Villain to Dreamland - Chapter 82

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 82
Perched upon Alfredo’s bony shoulders, I gazed upward at the staircase ascending toward the 100th Floor.
‘Quite formidable magic.’
Even by a witch’s standards, the shoulder’s proprietor—the Grand Mage Alfredo—who steadily supported my posterior, was a master of his craft.
Rather than relying on conventional textbook incantations, he had forged his own formulae and wove magic through them.
As Alfredo climbed the stairs with measured steps, I offered him praise.
“You’re using self-created magical incantations. That would have been difficult for a mage who relies on gathering mana.”
“I devoted myself to long years of effort. Through training to transcend the predetermined vessel, I eventually reached this point.”
The staircase we ascended still stretched considerably ahead.
This path felt as though we were ascending toward the heavens themselves.
This time, Alfredo posed a question.
“Might I inquire as to your name, Witch?”
“Vivian.”
“May I ask how you came to this place? The portal should have been sealed long ago.”
“That’s precisely what puzzles me, so I’m investigating. Have you ever seen a portal, Grand Mage?”
The surroundings gradually transformed into an expanse where azure and indigo hues intermingled.
As I admired the peculiar atmosphere, as if we might soon touch the stars themselves, Alfredo fell into contemplative silence.
Presently, he uttered something unexpected.
“If you speak of portals, the Magic Tower once possessed one in ages past.”
“What?”
My eyes widened. The Magic Tower had harbored a portal?
“As you well know, Vivian, portals existed in two forms—public portals fixed in a single location that all could utilize, and private portals operated by individuals.”
“And?”
“The Magic Tower is said to have possessed a privately operated portal. More than two centuries ago, my grandfather spoke of it as though recounting ancient tales.”
So over two hundred years prior, portals had been divided into two categories: public and private.
Public portals were fixed in place and accessible to all.
For reference, I had been a rather modest witch who utilized public portals.
Private portals, by contrast, were possessed individually by their owners.
Due to the advantage of being usable whenever desired, certain witches and dragons who enjoyed frequent exchange with the Human World maintained private portals.
However, private portals required enormous magical power to inscribe the spell formations and operate their opening and closing mechanisms.
This was precisely why they remained so rare.
‘Come to think of it… the papyrus that young Annie threw at me seems to have been a private portal.’
This was knowledge I had lacked when I indiscriminately swept up bundles of papyri from the treasure vault of a greedy ancient human noble.
“It does seem I arrived in the Human World through a private portal.”
“How peculiar and suspicious indeed. I understand that after the flow of mana between the Demon Realm and Human World was severed, all portals naturally closed.”
“Ah, you’re quite knowledgeable. That’s right. Once the vital current between the two worlds was cut off, there was no further exchange.”
“I now appreciate the fruits of my diligent study of ancient texts. The unfortunate truth is that the private portal within the Magic Tower has already lost its power and become little more than a fossil.”
A colossal door now loomed before us, standing solitary in the void.
Glancing back, the transparent staircase we had traversed had already vanished entirely, save for the platform upon which we stood.
“Fascinating magic indeed.”
“I spent considerable time devising this mechanism to conceal the Magic Tower Treasure Vault and repel intruders. It is an honor to receive such praise.”
The peculiar eye affixed to the center of the gate swept across Alfredo, and with a creaking sound, the door swung open.
The Magic Tower Treasure Vault.
Inside was nothing short of another world entirely.
Countless magical artifacts were densely displayed on every shelf, as if all traces of magic remaining in the Human World had been gathered in this singular place.
There were jars of jam containing frogs of indeterminate, kaleidoscopic hues, and magical instruments that rivaled ancient magical tools in their antiquity.
Alfredo stood before the densely packed shelves and withdrew a staff from within his robes.
A brilliant light emanated from the staff’s tip, and from somewhere came the sound of mechanical clicking.
In the blink of an eye, an extraordinarily thick tome materialized before me, hovering weightlessly in the air.
“This is the very book. It possesses a long and storied history. You are welcome to peruse it for as long as you wish until you find what you seek.”
“Thank you.”
With characteristic kindness, he then transported me by magic directly to the floor where he resided.
“Did you really climb those transparent stairs one by one just for me?”
“Ah, no. I had previously cast a spell ensuring that anyone departing from the Magic Tower Treasure Vault would invariably return to my floor.”
He smiled ruefully as he explained this measure against theft.
“Which is precisely why I remain utterly baffled as to how my beloved teddy bear was stolen.”
“Wait, even the Archmage doesn’t know?”
Alfredo’s head nodded in acknowledgment.
I leaped down from his shoulder and settled onto the sofa.
He kindly lowered the book beside me, positioning it at a height appropriate for someone of my stature.
“Should you wish to locate a specific section, simply say ‘search’ and then speak the name of what you seek.”
“Search, Aslan Leblanc.”
At the name that instantly appeared, Alfredo’s eyes twitched noticeably.
Pages numbering in the thousands fluttered past in a blur.
The book opened to page 2308.
I read aloud the title inscribed in elegant cursive.
〈The First Mage Who Required No Mana〉
“Wait.”
“Is something the matter?”
I read the title once more.
“The first mage who required no mana?”
“If you were curious about Aslan Leblanc, this title seems most fitting indeed.”
Alfredo’s expression grew peculiar with amusement.
“The venerable Leblanc Duchy is said to have harbored a remarkable mage. Though this occurred before my birth, I was unable to witness it myself.”
“So Aslan Leblanc required no mana. This is real.”
That singular fact crystallized into one inescapable conclusion.
‘Aslan Leblanc possessed the ability to charge mana.’
In other words, among the ancestors of the Leblanc Family who existed 150 years ago, there had indeed been one with the mana-charging ability!
I felt utterly vindicated, my long-standing curiosity finally satisfied.
I sensed Alfredo’s gaze upon me, quietly observing my expression.
The seasoned Grand Mage, cunning as a fox, seemed intent on uncovering why I had ventured all the way here to find this information.
‘Of course, I have no intention of telling him.’
I ignored him and continued reading the book.
[…Aslan Leblanc’s primary weapon was a sword. He wielded it with elaborate swordsmanship infused with magic, commanding fire, water, and wind against his opponents…]
This is astounding.
It appeared that Aslan Leblanc was an ability user at a level one tier above Blake.
So he was skilled enough not merely to channel magical power, but to infuse his sword with it and cast magic through the blade itself?
[Later, Aslan relinquished his ducal title at the remarkably young age of thirty and vanished without a trace. Records indicate that the sword he wielded disappeared along with him.]
After finishing the entire passage, I finally understood why the Leblanc Family’s chronicles contained so little about Aslan.
Aslan had stepped down as family head early and disappeared. The sword he had wielded with infused magical power vanished with him.
There was no epilogue.
He vanished, and the curse began afterward.
And Aslan Leblanc’s son inherited the ducal title at a tender age.
From that point onward, each successive family head began manifesting the curse around their thirteenth year, suffering throughout their lives before meeting their end.
The narrative was bewildering, yet what I needed to find next became abundantly clear.
‘Find Aslan’s sword.’
Then I could trace Aslan’s footsteps.
All this effort has finally borne fruit!
Rising from my seat with satisfaction, I dusted off my hands and prepared to depart.
Since I had drawn heavily upon the magical reserves within Arcanum to contend with the high-ranking mages, I should ask for a teleportation circle for the return journey.
Alfredo, sensing my thoughts, made a courteous suggestion.
“Now that you’ve come all this way, wouldn’t you like to see the portal before you leave?”
“Ah, that’s an excellent idea.”
I had been wanting to examine the portal next anyway, so I answered eagerly.
“I shall show you the portal and open a path for you to the Leblanc Duchy.”
“What’s your reason for being so helpful?”
“Hehe, because I hope to continue exchanging with you, Vivian, in the future.”
Alfredo, grinning good-naturedly, added that he also hoped to have his bear doll returned when I eventually departed, and took the lead.
‘Not a bad arrangement.’
It seemed there would be benefits to maintaining friendly relations with the mages.
I wondered how I might exploit them going forward.
As I followed Alfredo while contemplating how to extract maximum advantage, something suddenly flashed through my mind.
I stopped abruptly and cried out loudly.
“Oh, the cauldron!”

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