The Teddy Bear Sends the Insomniac Villain to Dreamland - Chapter 05

Chapter 5

The deep lethargy and exhaustion caused by his inability to sleep.

Those feelings had turned the naturally quiet and blunt Blake into someone utterly indifferent to the world.

To the point that even attending the birthday banquet of one of his only two friends, Lea Everett, felt bothersome.

There was no special reason he wanted to return home.

He had only recently come back from the war against the demonic beasts, and his body felt unbearably heavy.

On top of that, he hadn’t slept properly throughout the entire war.

A mere thirty minutes.

If someone survived for over six months on nothing more than brief naps where they barely closed their eyes for half an hour at a time, surely anyone would understand.

At least, that was what he thought.

Because he could never truly fall into deep sleep, living in a constant haze of dizziness and fatigue had become normal for him.

To the Blake I miss dearly.

Blake, have you been doing well? How are things over there? I heard you’ll be returning soon, but don’t you think it’s time for you to rest a little too? At this rate, you’re going to collapse.

…(omitted)…

Oh, and I’m planning to hold a birthday banquet. It’s been so long since I last saw you, so I really hope you’ll come. I know you must be tired, but if you have time after returning, would you attend?

I miss the way we used to be.

—Your eternal partner, Lea Everett.

If not for that earnest letter from his close friend Lea, he probably would never have left the estate at all.

To be honest, even then he had only intended to show his face briefly and leave.

That was, until his aide insisted that bringing a gift was the bare minimum necessary to avoid disgracing the ducal house.

And then, right as he was leaving the estate, the old peddler woman he encountered strongly recommended the teddy bear.

It had actually seemed like a fairly decent choice.

‘Young man! Don’t you need this teddy bear?’

‘…No.’

‘What a prickly young man you are. You definitely need it! This teddy bear could change your world.’

‘You’ve got no conscience, old woman. Just look at the condition of this thing.’

‘Ahem, hahaha. W-Well, yes! But this teddy bear isn’t ordinary. Sometimes you have to look beyond appearances and see what’s inside. What matters is the heart.’

‘…The heart?’

That was how he impulsively bought the teddy bear.

Of course, he had hesitated a little.

Even he knew it was far from a normal gift.

But under the hot spring sunlight of midday, exhaustion washed over him along with the efficient realization that buying this meant he wouldn’t need to waste more time on gift shopping.

Without further thought, he handed over the money.

‘I’ll take this.’

And so, while trying to give away the teddy bear he had bought, Rain stopped him and dragged him to the terrace.

His plan had simply been to hand over the teddy bear without incident and escape this chaotic banquet hall as quickly as possible.

Yet now—

“Hello, my savior!”

The teddy bear cheerfully waving its hand and bouncing around in front of him was…

What exactly was this thing?

He couldn’t believe the situation unfolding before his eyes.

Was it some artifact created by the insane magicians of the Kasdonia Empire?

Or perhaps one of those moving dolls supposedly popular in toy shops these days?

Had that junk dealer old woman sold him a magical item?

Or maybe…

‘A demonic beast?’

The sword he instinctively drew gleamed coldly beneath the moonlight.

“What are you?”

“Vivian. My name is Vivian Holloway!”

The teddy bear introducing itself as Vivian seemed incredibly excited.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but its cheeks even looked slightly flushed.

Still, no matter how cute it appeared, he couldn’t let his guard down.

“Are you some wicked object made by magicians? Or a demonic beast?”

At Blake’s words, Rain—who had been frozen stiff the entire time—finally regained focus in his green eyes.

He too instantly drew his sword, radiating the intent to cut down the teddy bear at any second.

“I’ll sever its head immediately, Commander.”

“I’m not a demonic beast! I already don’t have any magic left, so that’s just cruel.”

The teddy bear protested indignantly before suddenly raising a round little paw.

“Wait a second.”

Then it busily began scribbling something on the floor, clutching its forehead, and wriggling around restlessly.

“Would this make them believe me? No, wait. I can’t do that with the little magic I have charged right now. Ugh, what should I show them?”

It looked utterly serious while moving its tiny bean-like paws around in thought.

“…What exactly is it doing?”

“I have no idea.”

Blake, who genuinely had no clue anymore, stared at the teddy bear in confusion.

“It… doesn’t seem like a demonic beast, does it?”

“No. Demonic beasts lack intelligence. That thing clearly possesses intelligence.”

“Then what exactly is that teddy bear?”

At that moment, as though reaching a conclusion, the teddy bear’s round eyes curved into crescents.

“Alright, I’ve decided! I’ll properly introduce myself. I am Vivian Holloway, the Great Witch of the West from the world of witches!”

The moment it finished speaking, the teddy bear raised its short, chubby arms high into the air.

“Fireworks!”

Pop! Pop!

With tiny explosions, a pathetic little firework burst above the teddy bear’s hand in colorful sparks.

Of course, the light was so small it was embarrassing to even call it a firework.

“……”

“Wow.”

“Hehe.”

Apparently pleased by Rain’s small gasp of admiration, the teddy bear crossed its arms proudly and nodded.

“Now you believe me, right? I’m a witch! I just lost most of my power right now, so I ended up stuck inside this teddy bear.”

The teddy bear drooped its eyes sadly as it added,

“I used all my remaining power just to make those fireworks. Please believe me.”

By now Rain was staring at the teddy bear with fascinated eyes.

But Blake wasn’t.

He still hadn’t lowered the sword aimed at the teddy bear, his gaze full of suspicion.

“A witch? That’s ridiculous. Witches disappeared hundreds of years ago. Are you some insane magician?”

“A magician? Those people who borrow mana? They’re completely different from me! I draw out my own magic power directly!”

The teddy bear shook its head, then paused thoughtfully before raising its paw again.

“Wait a second. Just wait.”

“Why should I wait?”

“Good things come to those who wait.”

Blake blinked slowly at the shameless response.

All he wanted was to go home and rest immediately.

And yet somehow, he found himself actually waiting for the teddy bear.

The teddy bear rolled its eyes around while pressing its lips together, apparently thinking hard about what to do next.

Then suddenly, it slammed a paw into its palm.

“Ah! Right. I can make you sleep. Can magicians do something like that?”

“…What did you say?”

The shadows beneath Blake’s eyes seemed to darken even further.

“Uh-oh. That’s basically a forbidden phrase.”

Beside him, Rain muttered anxiously and stomped his feet.

‘Make me sleep.’

That was certainly something magicians couldn’t do.

Magicians created magical artifacts through formulas and calculations no one else understood.

They controlled fire, water, and defensive magic.

But none of them could make him sleep.

No magic.

No medicine.

Nothing in the world could put him to sleep.

And now this thing claimed it could?

Finding the statement absurd, Blake curled his lips into a faint smirk and finally lowered his sword.

“And how exactly would you make me sleep? By hugging me and patting my back? Or maybe singing a lullaby?”

“Hmmm, is that what you want? But the reason you can’t sleep isn’t because you lack someone to hug you.”

The mocking amusement in his eyes instantly sharpened into something deadly.

“You know about my curse?”

The teddy bear flinched slightly, then deliberately looked away while answering calmly.

“Witches know everything. And I’m Vivian, the Great Witch of the West. I can help you.”

“……”

“But you have to help me too. I need you. If we stay together, we’ll be unstoppable.”

A scammer.

Or perhaps a trap sent by someone targeting him.

That was Blake’s current evaluation of Vivian.

First, the suspicious teddy bear distracted them with fireworks.

Then it used its harmless and cute appearance to lower their guard.

And finally, it offered an irresistible proposal.

A suspicious teddy bear that introduced itself as a witch capable of breaking his curse, while producing fireworks from thin air.

“Commander, no matter how I look at it, that doll is extremely suspicious. Shouldn’t we just deal with it right here?”

Yes.

No matter how anyone looked at it, the situation was bizarre and suspicious.

But strangely enough, the words of the junk dealer old woman kept echoing in Blake’s mind.

‘This teddy bear could change your world. Sometimes you need to look beyond appearances and see what’s inside. What matters is the heart.’

“If someone else comes onto the terrace, this situation could become an even bigger problem. I’ll cut it down immediately—”

Whispering into Blake’s ear, Rain couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Alright.”

“An excellent decision, Commander. Then I’ll immediately dispose of that strange teddy bea—”

“No. I said alright. I’ll take it with me.”

“…Pardon?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you the one acting surprised? I said I’d do what you wanted.”

The teddy bear’s round pea-like eyes blinked slowly in disbelief.