diff --git a/src/runtime/api/query.post.ts b/src/runtime/api/query.post.ts
index 83ffe9d45..2156de530 100644
--- a/src/runtime/api/query.post.ts
+++ b/src/runtime/api/query.post.ts
@@ -15,5 +15,5 @@ export default eventHandler(async (event) => {
     await checkAndImportDatabaseIntegrity(event, collection, conf)
   }
 
-  return loadDatabaseAdapter(conf).all(sql)
+  return (await loadDatabaseAdapter(conf)).all(sql)
 })
diff --git a/src/runtime/internal/database.server.ts b/src/runtime/internal/database.server.ts
index f93767692..59090b48e 100644
--- a/src/runtime/internal/database.server.ts
+++ b/src/runtime/internal/database.server.ts
@@ -6,22 +6,48 @@ import { fetchDatabase } from './api'
 import { refineContentFields } from './collection'
 import type { DatabaseAdapter, RuntimeConfig } from '@nuxt/content'
 import { tables, checksums, checksumsStructure } from '#content/manifest'
-import adapter from '#content/adapter'
 import localAdapter from '#content/local-adapter'
 
 let db: Connector
-export default function loadDatabaseAdapter(config: RuntimeConfig['content']) {
-  const { database, localDatabase } = config
+let _adapterPromise: Promise<(opts: unknown) => Connector> | undefined
+let _databasePromise: Promise<Connector> | undefined
 
-  if (!db) {
-    if (import.meta.dev || ['nitro-prerender', 'nitro-dev'].includes(import.meta.preset as string)) {
-      db = localAdapter(refineDatabaseConfig(localDatabase))
-    }
-    else {
-      db = adapter(refineDatabaseConfig(database))
-    }
+function getAdapter(): Promise<(opts: unknown) => Connector> {
+  if (!_adapterPromise) {
+    _adapterPromise = import('#content/adapter').then(m => m.default || m)
+  }
+  return _adapterPromise
+}
+
+async function getDatabase(config: RuntimeConfig['content']): Promise<Connector> {
+  if (db) {
+    return db
+  }
+
+  if (!_databasePromise) {
+    _databasePromise = (async () => {
+      const { database, localDatabase } = config
+
+      if (import.meta.dev || ['nitro-prerender', 'nitro-dev'].includes(import.meta.preset as string)) {
+        return localAdapter(refineDatabaseConfig(localDatabase))
+      }
+
+      const adapter = await getAdapter()
+      return adapter(refineDatabaseConfig(database))
+    })().catch((error) => {
+      // Allow a later request to retry initialization after a transient failure.
+      _databasePromise = undefined
+      throw error
+    })
   }
 
+  db = await _databasePromise
+  return db
+}
+
+export default async function loadDatabaseAdapter(config: RuntimeConfig['content']) {
+  await getDatabase(config)
+
   return <DatabaseAdapter>{
     all: async (sql, params = []) => {
       return db.prepare(sql).all(...params)
@@ -63,7 +89,7 @@ export async function checkAndImportDatabaseIntegrity(event: H3Event, collection
 }
 
 async function _checkAndImportDatabaseIntegrity(event: H3Event, collection: string, integrityVersion: string, structureIntegrityVersion: string, config: RuntimeConfig['content']) {
-  const db = loadDatabaseAdapter(config)
+  const db = await loadDatabaseAdapter(config)
 
   const before = await db.first<{ version: string, structureVersion: string, ready: boolean }>(`SELECT * FROM ${tables.info} WHERE id = ?`, [`checksum_${collection}`]).catch((): null => null)
 
diff --git a/test/mock/content-adapter.ts b/test/mock/content-adapter.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ae9a5f9de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/mock/content-adapter.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+export default function mockAdapter(_opts: unknown) {
+  return {
+    prepare: (_sql: string) => ({
+      all: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve([]),
+      get: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve(null),
+      run: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve(undefined),
+    }),
+  }
+}
diff --git a/test/mock/content-local-adapter.ts b/test/mock/content-local-adapter.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5c0f5ebf4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/mock/content-local-adapter.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+export default function mockLocalAdapter(_opts: unknown) {
+  return {
+    prepare: (_sql: string) => ({
+      all: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve([]),
+      get: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve(null),
+      run: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve(undefined),
+    }),
+  }
+}
diff --git a/test/mock/content-manifest.ts b/test/mock/content-manifest.ts
index 9b77d5e40..45b00587c 100644
--- a/test/mock/content-manifest.ts
+++ b/test/mock/content-manifest.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,13 @@
 export const tables = {
   test: '_content_test',
+  info: '_content_info',
 }
+
+export const checksums: Record<string, string> = {}
+export const checksumsStructure: Record<string, string> = {}
+
+const manifest: Record<string, { fields: Record<string, string> }> = {
+  test: { fields: { id: 'string', title: 'string' } },
+}
+
+export default manifest
diff --git a/test/unit/database.server.prerender.test.ts b/test/unit/database.server.prerender.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..48e603530
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/database.server.prerender.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+import { readFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
+import { resolve } from 'node:path'
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, test, vi } from 'vitest'
+import type { RuntimeConfig } from '@nuxt/content'
+
+/**
+ * Regression test for https://github.com/nuxt/content/issues/3829
+ *
+ * When `sqliteConnector: 'bun'` is configured and the build runs on Node.js,
+ * the prerender stage fails because Node.js cannot resolve `bun:sqlite`.
+ *
+ * Root cause: `database.server.ts` had a static top-level import for
+ * `#content/adapter`. Node.js ESM loader resolves ALL static imports at
+ * module load time, even when the imported binding is never called at runtime.
+ *
+ * Fix: `#content/adapter` is now loaded via dynamic `import()` only in the
+ * production code path, so the prerender stage never triggers `bun:sqlite`
+ * resolution.
+ */
+describe('database.server - lazy adapter loading (issue #3829)', () => {
+  const config: RuntimeConfig['content'] = {
+    database: { type: 'sqlite', filename: ':memory:' },
+    localDatabase: { type: 'sqlite', filename: ':memory:' },
+    databaseVersion: 'test',
+  } as RuntimeConfig['content']
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.resetModules()
+    vi.restoreAllMocks()
+  })
+
+  test('source does NOT contain a static top-level import of #content/adapter', async () => {
+    const source = await readFile(
+      resolve(__dirname, '../../src/runtime/internal/database.server.ts'),
+      'utf-8',
+    )
+
+    // Should NOT have a static import statement for #content/adapter
+    const staticImportPattern = /^import\s+\w+\s+from\s+['"]#content\/adapter['"]/m
+    expect(source).not.toMatch(staticImportPattern)
+
+    // Should still have the local-adapter static import (that one is fine,
+    // it resolves to a Node.js-compatible connector)
+    const localAdapterPattern = /^import\s+\w+\s+from\s+['"]#content\/local-adapter['"]/m
+    expect(source).toMatch(localAdapterPattern)
+
+    // Should have a dynamic import of #content/adapter
+    const dynamicImportPattern = /import\(['"]#content\/adapter['"]\)/
+    expect(source).toMatch(dynamicImportPattern)
+  })
+
+  test('loadDatabaseAdapter is async and returns a DatabaseAdapter', async () => {
+    vi.doMock('#content/adapter', () => ({
+      default: (_opts: unknown) => ({
+        prepare: (_sql: string) => ({
+          all: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve([{ id: '1', title: 'Hello' }]),
+          get: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve({ id: '1', title: 'Hello' }),
+          run: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve(undefined),
+        }),
+      }),
+    }))
+    vi.doMock('#content/local-adapter', () => ({
+      default: (_opts: unknown) => ({
+        prepare: (_sql: string) => ({
+          all: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve([]),
+          get: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve(null),
+          run: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve(undefined),
+        }),
+      }),
+    }))
+
+    const mod = await import('../../src/runtime/internal/database.server')
+    const loadDatabaseAdapter = mod.default
+
+    const result = loadDatabaseAdapter(config)
+    expect(result).toBeInstanceOf(Promise)
+
+    const db = await result
+    expect(db).toBeDefined()
+    expect(db.all).toBeTypeOf('function')
+    expect(db.first).toBeTypeOf('function')
+    expect(db.exec).toBeTypeOf('function')
+  })
+
+  test('loadDatabaseAdapter production path uses dynamic adapter import', async () => {
+    const adapterFn = vi.fn((_opts: unknown) => ({
+      prepare: (_sql: string) => ({
+        all: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve([{ id: '1' }]),
+        get: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve({ id: '1' }),
+        run: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve(undefined),
+      }),
+    }))
+
+    vi.doMock('#content/adapter', () => ({ default: adapterFn }))
+    vi.doMock('#content/local-adapter', () => ({
+      default: vi.fn(() => ({ prepare: vi.fn() })),
+    }))
+
+    const mod = await import('../../src/runtime/internal/database.server')
+    const loadDatabaseAdapter = mod.default
+
+    // In the test environment (non-dev, non-prerender), the production path is taken
+    const db = await loadDatabaseAdapter(config)
+    expect(adapterFn).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+
+    // Subsequent calls should reuse the cached connection
+    await loadDatabaseAdapter(config)
+    expect(adapterFn).toHaveBeenCalledOnce() // still only once
+
+    const result = await db.all('SELECT * FROM test')
+    expect(result).toHaveLength(1)
+  })
+
+  test('concurrent first calls share a single adapter initialization', async () => {
+    let releaseAdapter!: () => void
+    const adapterGate = new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
+      releaseAdapter = resolve
+    })
+
+    const adapterFn = vi.fn((_opts: unknown) => ({
+      prepare: (_sql: string) => ({
+        all: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve([{ id: '1' }]),
+        get: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve({ id: '1' }),
+        run: (..._params: unknown[]) => Promise.resolve(undefined),
+      }),
+    }))
+
+    // Keep the dynamic import pending so both callers enter initialization
+    // before either can finish creating the connector.
+    vi.doMock('#content/adapter', async () => {
+      await adapterGate
+      return { default: adapterFn }
+    })
+    vi.doMock('#content/local-adapter', () => ({
+      default: vi.fn(() => ({ prepare: vi.fn() })),
+    }))
+
+    const loadDatabaseAdapter = (await import('../../src/runtime/internal/database.server')).default
+
+    const firstPromise = loadDatabaseAdapter(config)
+    const secondPromise = loadDatabaseAdapter(config)
+
+    // Allow both calls to reach the shared initialization await
+    await Promise.resolve()
+    expect(adapterFn).not.toHaveBeenCalled()
+
+    releaseAdapter()
+
+    const [first, second] = await Promise.all([firstPromise, secondPromise])
+
+    expect(adapterFn).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+    expect(first).toBeDefined()
+    expect(second).toBeDefined()
+
+    const [a, b] = await Promise.all([
+      first.all('SELECT * FROM test'),
+      second.all('SELECT * FROM test'),
+    ])
+    expect(a).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(b).toHaveLength(1)
+  })
+})
diff --git a/vitest.config.ts b/vitest.config.ts
index 180db1bdb..89f8d9fc0 100644
--- a/vitest.config.ts
+++ b/vitest.config.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ export default defineVitestConfig({
     environment: 'nuxt',
     alias: {
       '#content/manifest': resolve('./test/mock/content-manifest.ts'),
+      '#content/adapter': resolve('./test/mock/content-adapter.ts'),
+      '#content/local-adapter': resolve('./test/mock/content-local-adapter.ts'),
     },
     include: ['test/**/*.test.ts'],
     exclude: [