On the way home in the evening after replenishing his sugar, Hadith stopped, noticing just as he was about to leave.
“Jill?”
“Eh? Huh, I’m sorry.”
Jill, who was looking through the shop window, turned around in a hurry.
Hadith, on the other hand, turned his eyes towards what Jill was eyeing.
In the shop window was a stuffed bear sitting on a cushion. Dark brow fur with round ears and black eyes, fluffy and comfortable to hold. It was quite adorable.
“Do you want that?”
“No, not really…”
Even though Jill rejected it, she glanced at the bear in whimsical manner.
Jill, whom had been escorting Hadith to go shopping, was rarely distracted. She could even ignore yakitori which had a very delicious aroma.
She truly wanted it, it seemed.
Jill rushed to Hadith, who peer into the shop window to check the price.
“I, it’s the truth! I don’t want it! I don’t want the stuffed animal! I no longer have the qualification to!”
“Qualification? You’re exaggerating.”
“But, but, it’s true! When I was about seven years old, my parents bought me the same thing as a souvenir on the way home. But that day, a thief entered the mansion and I used the stuffed animal as a shield! I thought I could fix it later…!”
…it seemed that she had gone through a lot of things.
With both fists clenched, Jill dropped her gaze to the ground.
“I tried my best to fix it, but it was more difficult than I thought and my stuffed bear entered martyrdom…”
“Martyrdom…”
Jill nodded seriously when Hadith parroted her.
“Therefore, I decided to not have stuffed animals anymore.”
Was that how it was?
“…Are you doing this as a repentance?”
“…Thank you for understanding.”
Jill replied with a tired face—it was as if she was a Captain that couldn’t prevent the loss of her men.
“That’s why, I’m no longer qualified to have stuffed animals…”
With that, Jill threaded alone.
There was no happiness or hostility around her—which wasn’t good.
Hey—a voice came from inside his head. Rave said inside Hadith.
“You understand, right? You must buy it for her later.”
Of course he knew.
It was just that Jill might not appreciate it the way he thought she would.
Rave, I’ll need your help later.
“That’s fine with me, but what should I do?”
No matter what it took, he must turn it into a wonderful present. With that in mind, Hadith followed Jill.
Her bed, with a canopy, could fit three large adults. It was luxurious—however, Jill couldn’t help but feel that it was plain. Jill sighed. She wondered if she could decorate it with anything.
The stuffed bear I saw last week was cute.
The shabby limbs, ears, and soft body were plump and cute. Speaking of which, The Rave Empire had a famous brand of stuffed bears. Certainly, the stuffed animal Jill once owned was also made by the Rave Empire. It wasn’t exactly the same shape because the craftsmen handmade them one by one—no, she didn’t want to be reminded of that. She shook her head profusely.
That was because if she pondered about it for too long, she would be relieving a painful memory.
Through the passage of time, the memory had become subtle—but it was still painful.
When she became Geraldo’s fiancée, she rejected his gifts of stuffed toys. After Geraldo heard about her stuffed animal’s martyrdom, he understood and said, “Well, that’s not really a problem, is it? After all, it’s not like stuffed animals are a necessity of life.”
Well, even though it was very likely the gifts Jill received from Geraldo were picked by his sister.
But, as he said, it’s not a necessity of life, yep.
No matter how old she was, it didn’t matter even if she was a returnee, there were things she couldn’t change.
“Jill.”
Hadith, who changed his attire in a separate room, came into her bedroom. Jill’s back was turned towards him, blocking her view.
Because she didn’t feel any murderous intent, her response was delayed. That was when he rolled onto the bed.
“!? W, what is it, Your Majesty, so sudden…”
“It’s finally done.”
Hadith, who had his knees on the bed, laughed and spread something in his arm—
—it was a stuffed bear. He was moving its arm to greet Jill.
It was the same bear she encountered when she was escorting him last week.
But for some reason, it was wearing a fine cloak and a crown—but there was no doubt about it, it was the same bear!
No way—Jill widened her eyes.
“You made it yourself, Your Majesty!?”
“Only the cape and the crown adornment.”
The bear seemed to not have been sewn, indeed.
“It’s to match the doll with me. The name’s Haddy.”
“Emperor Bear, huh…?”
“You, what’s wrong with calling it with it’s given name—my name?”
“No, that’s not it…”
“Well, it’s fine. We will soon be returning to the Imperial Capital. Then I may have less time to be around you, and we may not be able to sleep together like this.”
Hadith gently gave her the stuffed emperor bear. Jill was visibly perturbed.
“Um, Your Majesty, I—“
“I want you to think of it as me and have it.”
Love sure was heavy.
While thinking of it, she put the doll on her lap.
She felt like the beady eyes were looking at her—cute.
She stifled her sound and closed her eyes, turning her back to Hadith.
“I would be happy to take care of it, but, as I thought, Your Majesty…”
“If it’s this bear, it will be okay, he won’t die.”
Jill widened her eyes.
“Dying the thread with Rave’s blood, I sewed a magic formula inside it. When you pull the cloak, the magic ore hidden beneath the crown will appear in front of it in the form of a muzzle. If you pull it three times, said muzzle would shoot a magical heat ray.”
“…heat ray. How powerful it is?”
“It’s fine, it’ll only shoot from the front, therefore not damaging the doll. If even a single thread breaks, the doll will enter automatic battle mode to fight enemies within range.”
“That’s amazing!?”
“Be careful because it may not stop rampaging until all the enemies within range die.”
“How do I stop it?”
“Pull the cape twice.”
Indeed, it was a stuffed animal that was difficult to handle.
Hadith, sitting beside her, said mischievously as she turned over the doll and raised its arms to check its entire body.
“More than anything, even if it does break, I can fix it.”
After seeing Hadih’s face, Jill was unavoidably embarrassed.
“Your Majesty, this is cheating…”
“What?”
This gift totally spelled that Hadith was a totally different man from that one guy in her once-failed love.
However, she was still wary. She didn’t want to repeat the same mistake.
Silently, Jill hugged the stuffed bear. She was really cautious.
“Won’t you accept my gift?”
“…”
She covered her face using the stuffed animal, and nodded.
Hadith smiled happily, and dropped a kiss on top of her head—only tonight, would she overlook his action.
“By the way, you mentioned something about Rave’s blood…”
“Yes, it comes out when I cut him.”
“…he’s not angry?”
“—of course I am!!! I’ve been silently watching from over here!!! This is how you repay me after watching over you all this time, huh, you ungrateful Dragon Emperor!!!”
The sweet atmosphere, however, wasn’t preserved for long due to the fight between Hadith and Rave, who made a heavenly entrance.
Jill smiled and hugged her teddy bear.
With a prayer that she would get a different ending than in her previous life.