episode_0159
by fnovelpiaA question that everyone must have wondered at least once back in the days when people believed that Santa Claus was real.
The world is so big, how can we give gifts to children all over the world in one night?
On Earth, there was no problem because parents were Santa Claus, but in Taos, there is a real Santa Claus. You have to go out and deliver presents yourself.
The answer is that the Snowsong clan is spread across the entire continent and has a set area of responsibility.
Right now, on the other side of the continent, instead of a fat Santa Claus, a super sexy girl wearing a bikini and riding a surfboard may be handing out presents.
That’s not what’s important.
Karami and Assis, who have been entrusted with the role of daily Santa Claus, must also deliver presents before the magic of Christmas ends.
We arrived at the first city on a magical sleigh with a bundle full of gifts.
I stopped the sled in the air and looked at the situation.
Even though it was late in the morning, the city was filled with Christmas atmosphere, decorated with lights and decorations.
Although it was beautiful to look at, light was Santa’s enemy. Santa, who had to maintain his mystery, had to sneak in, but light was a primordial being that revealed his identity.
I feel like going down the chimney like Santa Claus in the fairy tale I saw some time ago, but it’s like a chimney.
“Honestly, the chimney is a bit like that, right?”
It’s a fairy tale, so you go down the chimney. If you try to do this in real life, you’ll get covered in charcoal all over your body. If you remove the fireplace from underneath, you’ll end up with a barbecue.
But since you can’t go in through the main door, it would be better to go in through the window.
After checking which house should receive which gift using the map given by Nicholas, Karami took out the gift box and handed it to Assis.
“See that green roof over there? A boy named Ron asked for a toy. Leave it there secretly.”
“Alone… ?”
“It’s hard to sneak in with my clumsy movements, and it’s not easy to escape even if I get caught. What are you doing? Don’t go quickly. There are more than one or two places to stop by.”
Karami passionately expressed his determination not to completely stick to the sled. It’s not because he’s afraid of going down and then coming back up.
Assis had no choice but to go alone.
I made an ice slide and slid down it, landing lightly on the roof. I looked around the roof to check the location of the windows.
I stood on the second floor balcony and looked out the window. The boy who seemed to be the owner of the room was sleeping soundly.
Assis tries to open the window and go in.
The door is locked.
He carefully channels his magic power to freeze and break the lock. The window, now unlocked, opens easily. Assis enters the room.
The boy who appeared to be Ron was swimming in dreamland, unaware that Assis had entered.
Just in case he woke her, Assis walked around the room with his characteristically light footwork, placed the box on Ron’s bedside, and then left.
Assis, who successfully presented the box, returned on the sled.
Karami smiled with satisfaction.
“Well done. You have a knack for infiltration. Should I continue giving you the remaining gifts?”
***
Santa roams freely in the sky.
Upon reaching the destination, Assis sneaks in and successfully leaves the gift behind without anyone noticing.
Agile movements reminiscent of airborne troops.
There are already three cities cleared.
There are already more than ten small towns.
The party arrived at another city.
Assis looked out over the sled at the ground. Despite the late hour, there were a few people walking around the streets. Most of them were men and women, and they were holding each other’s hands tightly.
“Rami. People… are holding hands.”
“Well, if you’re with someone of the opposite sex on Christmas, there’s a high chance that they’re your lover.”
“Lovers…hold hands…?”
“Even if you’re not a lover, you still hold hands. If you’re someone who’s important to each other.”
“… … .”
After hearing Karami’s explanation, Assis looked even more intently at the people holding his hand.
“Next is Molly’s house. Get ready.”
Assis, who has become skilled enough to be called a proper Santa, has come down to earth. The place she landed is a back alley far from the city center.
While the city was beautiful with Christmas decorations, the back alleys were as gloomy as usual.
There was a square hole in the wall of the shack we were headed to.
If only the window had been open to allow Santa to enter more easily, but there was no window at all. The cold winter wind blew in.
Thanks to that, Assis was able to easily climb over the window frame and enter the house without even touching it.
The structure of the house was simple.
A single room with a living room of about 3 pyeong.
Bottles of alcohol were rolling around in disorder.
The man, who appeared to be the father, was snoring loudly, hugging a sheet of cloth like a blanket. Young children were crouching in the corner of the room.
They were wearing thin clothing that didn’t suit winter. They hugged each other to share warmth, but that wasn’t enough and they shivered.
Assis, who had looked around the house, was about to leave, leaving behind a gift box like before.
“Eek!”
Molly, the older sister of the siblings, woke up with a start.
Assis couldn’t help but flinch. He tried his best to keep his presence quiet. No one had noticed him until now, but now a harmless girl had noticed.
Should I subdue him?
Or run away?
Molly moved before Assis could put his thoughts into action.
“Oh, Dad. I was wrong. Please don’t hit me. It hurts.”
In the dark shack where not even the moonlight came in, I couldn’t see anything, and I didn’t even think about checking up on the other person. I apologized automatically while hiding my younger brother.
On the contrary, it was Assis who was embarrassed. The emotion Molly showed was sadness, and the emotion that Assis felt was fear.
It was another new sensation for Assis. He froze in place, not knowing what to do.
Even if you wait, no fist will fly.
I can still hear snoring.
Molly felt something strange and belatedly raised her head to recognize Assis’ presence.
“Santa… ?”
Although it was not clearly visible due to the lack of light, the silhouette was clearly Santa’s clothes.
“Is this really Santa?”
“… … .”
Assis, who changes into silence.
It was a silent affirmation.
If this continues, it will tarnish the mystery of Santa and the innocence of children, just as Nicholas and Karami warned.
The gift had already been given. As Asis was about to turn his back to leave in a hurry, Molly quickly reached out and grabbed him.
“Okay, wait a minute, Santa!”
Molly’s father tosses and turns in the commotion.
Molly flinched loudly, then lowered her voice to a whisper.
“Can you take my little brother with you? If I stay here, my dad will beat me up and my mom will disappear without me. I’m fine, so please take my little brother with you.”
“… … .”
“Santa doesn’t give presents to crying children. That’s why I didn’t cry and held it in. Is it because of the presents? I don’t need to receive these presents, so please… .”
Molly returns the gift box to Asis.
This was the first time something like this had happened, and Assis was not very good at improvising.
What should I do?
There was only one thing she could do.
***
“I’m almost done now.”
A sled parked in the sky.
Karami scans a long piece of parchment, like a receipt from a company dinner. It has a long list of cities to visit and children to receive gifts from.
I’ve already solved 80% of them. It looks like I’ll be able to finish Christmas without any accidents.
As I was checking where to go next, Assis came up over the sled.
“Are you here? There aren’t many places left… Who are those kids?”
An uninvited guest followed behind Assis.
The little girl Molly and her younger sister Marley were carried on her back.
“That, that… .”
Assis muddled his explanation while watching Karami’s expression, and Karami quickly figured out the situation.
She was dressed in clothes that looked like they would be worn in the summer, and Molly’s small body was covered in bruises. She was a child who had been abused by someone who did not know the target.
Karami sighed and Assis flinched.
“Asia Miss. Didn’t I tell you clearly? Santa shouldn’t reveal his identity. And now that his identity has been revealed, he even brings the children on a sleigh. What is he thinking?”
“… … Sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, send me back quickly. I still have a place to go, and I’ll get there even if I delay. What are you doing if you don’t go?”
Molly hides behind Assis to avoid Karami.
Assis did not move.
It stood firm like a barrier blocking the cold wind.
“… I hate it.”
“Miss AS. This is kidnapping.”
“Take me… and comfort me.”
“What are you going to do with those kids? Do you have any plans?”
“No.”
There’s no way he would have thought about the aftermath.
But Assis was confident.
“Rami, help me.”
“How can I help you?”
“… … somehow.”
Karami burst into laughter at the answer that seemed shameless rather than confident.
I told him to just ask if he needed anything, but now he’s asking for it as if it were a given.
ASIA knows that too.
Karami said that if you ask, he will listen.
Assis, who knew no tricks, learned cunning.
“Haa, if someone saw me, they’d think I was Santa Claus who grants all wishes.”
“… … .”
Karami let out a sigh and smiled bitterly as if she couldn’t stop herself.
“Well, it’s Santa for today only. Just this once.”
Karami took the children on a sled.
Santa must maintain his mystery, and because his powers are weakened if his identity is revealed, the Santa industry must maintain absolute mystery.
‘I’m going to quit my job after today, what do you want me to do?’
If something went wrong, it was Nicholas, not Karami, who took responsibility.
Karami sat the children down between Assis and Molly. He dressed Molly in the Santa suit he was wearing and placed a hat on her head.
“Huh…? Uh, uh… .”
“Sup. In my creed, no one else gets to ride for free. Once you’re on the sled, you have to work. Hold on tight to the rope so you don’t fall off. When you’re done, let’s go deliver the next gift.”
***
“Wow~!”
The sleigh flies across the sky, its bells tinkling brightly.
Molly couldn’t take her eyes off the scenery on the ground.
Because it was a sight you could never see in a dark alley.
She threw away all her sadness and worries and her eyes sparkled like those of a girl her age.
Assis looked at Molly with gentle eyes, and Karami looked at her like that.
Who would have thought that Assis would refuse his orders?
Karami shook her head with a bitter smile.
The group continued to deliver presents with the new little Santa.
square.
Karami crossed out the list.
I just had my last home.
Karami looked satisfied as he looked at the lines drawn across the long list without missing a single one.
“Okay, it’s all over. It’s starting to come to mind, so let’s go back to Mr. Nicholas.”
“Molly, what should I do…?”
“I’ve thought about it.”
I thought about taking them to Doomheim, but I think it’s better for humans to be with humans. It’s not good for their education to hang out with dwarves.
Karami piloted the sled and flew to Palanis, a city known as the city of adventurers and mercenaries.
Because so many people die while adventuring, Palanis is a city with a particularly large number of orphans.
Adventurers pool their money to support the children of their partners and sponsor the church. Thanks to this, the church in Palanis has a stronger role as an orphanage than other cities’ churches.
You don’t have to worry about leaving the Molly siblings here.
The sled was parked behind a deserted church. Molly got off the sled carrying Marley. Karami handed Molly a gift box.
“Miss Molly, you should take this.”
“But, but the gift is… .”
“This is not a gift. If you work, you should be paid. This is a daily allowance for working as Santa.”
There is no such thing as free riding.
Instead, there is no unpaid labor.
Molly’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Of course. I hope to receive the gift from my younger brother next year. If you do something bad, the slave messenger will come and take you away.”
“… … Yes!”
The sled soon took off into the sky, and the nuns, hearing the commotion, came to find the Molly siblings. Only after watching them return to the church did Karami take the reins.
It’s time to report.
***
“Oh! You gave me all the gifts! Thank you so much!”
A forest of silvery shade, bathed in the sunlight of dawn.
Nicholas, who had been looking after Rudolph at the place where we first met, ran out barefoot. He grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously up and down.
“How on earth can I repay this favor… .”
“Haha, thanks to you, we had a good experience too. Well… if you want to repay us, I won’t refuse.”
“Yes. I can’t send my benefactor away empty-handed. Take this.”
Nicholas handed over a gift box.
An event reward that gives you a random item when you open the box.
I remember that they gave me some pretty good items.
I put the box on my side.
“Thank you. Let’s meet again sometime.”
“Hehe, both of you, be careful on your way home. Merry Christmas!”
We left the forest, escorted by Nicholas.
The sun is warm.
I stretched out my arms and yawned.
“I’m tired after staying up all night. Let’s go back and rest.”
“I…?”
“Yes?”
Assis looked at me blankly.
“I… don’t give gifts… ?”
What is this?
Assis even asked for a gift.
“What gift does Santa give? The greatest gift from Santa is the satisfaction he gets from seeing people happy.”
“I gave it to you… .”
Well, that was originally a gift for him.
Since you brought it here without permission, I had no choice but to speak plausibly.
But Assis lowers his head sullenly, not seeming to care much about that fact.
What on earth do you want that makes you want to do this?
Now I’m so curious I can’t stand it.
“Okay, I’ll give it to you. What kind of gift would you like?”
Assis extended his hand to me.
“Hand… .”
“What, you want me to give you a gift?”
“I want to hold your hand too.”
All I could think was that it was really sudden.
Did you get bothered by the people holding hands earlier?
Since he was able to feel warmth, Assis has been touching various things, just like a baby grabbing anything he can reach.
Isn’t this also an extension of that?
Because Asias has never felt human body temperature before.
“That’s not a difficult request.”
I placed my hand over Assis’s.
Thin hands that look like they could break if you force them.
But if I apply force, my side will break.
It’s as cold as holding ice.
The amount of cold air emitted has decreased, but it does not mean that the curse has been removed.
“So, how do you feel about receiving the gift?”
“… … hot, wo… .”
It’s not that I’m hot, it’s just that Assis is too cold. But from Assis’ perspective, it might feel hot.
I was about to slowly let go of my hand because I thought I would get frostbite if I kept holding on.
“… ?”
As I tried to pull it out, Assis’s hand gained strength.
Hold on tight and don’t let go.
He stared at our overlapping hands, then raised his gaze and looked into my eyes.
“If it’s like this… …Won’t it be lonely…?”
“Yes?”
“Lonely… ?”
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand what he meant. However, there seemed to be an uneasy light in his jewel-like blue eyes looking at me.
“I’m not lonely. Thanks to you.”
He answered like that.
Then Assis.
“… Yeah.”
Seems satisfied with himself.
He smiled faintly.
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