Christmas 2016 Ss (2/2)

“…”

I closed my eyes and reminisced the last ten years.

There weren’t that many times I was Santa.

Still, when I closed my eyes I was able to remember the times I was Santa.

The feeling of excitement of sneaking into your own house, the thrill of leaving a present besides your kids, how I’d smirk thinking of the next day when everyone would open their presents, the feeling of accomplishment after leaving through the chimney.

Then in the next day when the smiling kids would open their presents and announce what they got, I still remember that incomparable happiness.

I won’t have many chances to experience that.

Orsted does it all the time now after all.

After such a long time, it was finally my turn again.

It would be my first time being Santa after a long time.

I can’t just say yes, go ahead, have fun to Sieg.

Even if my ident.i.ty as Santa was known once!

”Bye, Papa. We'll get you later, so”

”…『Wind Slice』!”

I used wind magic, and the rope binding by feet was cut.

I did a somersault and landed on the floor like a superhero.

I pointed at Sieg, who stood there in shock.

”Sieg! Lara! You guys can't have this role!”

”Papa!?”

“If you want to be Santa so badly, go marry and have your own children!”

After hearing this, Sieg was even more shocked.

“Well no, I still need to rescue Pax, so marriage is something I’d rather not think of right now…”

Sieg seemed to be shrinking down at a pitiful rate.

“Umm…about that, papa, I’m really sorry but…”

Seems he was still depressed after the marriage proposal with the princess of Asura Kingdom was refused.

Marriage might be a taboo topic to talk in front of Sieg I guess.

”Fa… hebuchi!!”

When I suddenly turned around behind me, Lara seemed to be doing a yawn + sneeze combo from the wind that somehow was getting inside here. Guess she’s cold.

She didn’t seem to be shocked at all.

To be honest, I wanted her to show at least a slight reaction.

It’s not that I want her to be fl.u.s.tered, but rather…be more like that.

I personally think I’d feel lonely if my daughter gets married to someone, but if she doesn’t get married I’d feel even more lonelier, I wonder if there’s really no one she likes…

In any case, leaving that aside…

”Ummm…”

Well.

I did't plan to hurt Sieg.

Sorry, Sieg.

Err, umm…what should I say to cheer this child up.

“…Do it with your own children, or else”

“Else?”

Arrite.

“Defeat me and go for it!”

”Uooooooo!”

The battle started.

—

”Ha!”

”Guwa!”

Skipping the full explanation, I lost in the end.

As I thought, Sieg is strong.。

Among the Greyrat family's children, he could be said to be the strongest.

Though it doesn't mean he can win against a North G.o.d Style Emperor Cla.s.s.

”Papa…Why did you go easy?”

”Uh, I was relatively serious?”

They aren’t just trying to sugar-coat it are they?

”But, you never used Stone Cannon.”

”No, I used it?”

”I know you didn't. Papa practices Stone Cannon almost everyday. You always. .h.i.t right in the center of the target that I could only see a speck of. Also, the target would disintegrate. The ma.s.sive piece of Rud Steel wasn't just penetrated but completely destroyed… If Papa used that, I'd be… But, Papa never used that.”

That’s true, I do practice like that.

Stone Cannon is probably my best skill by now.。

It’s the strongest, and fastest magic skill I can release.

I made it my goal to be able to use the best skill from the start to the end of a fight, no matter what situation I was in.

“Heh, like h.e.l.l I’d ever shoot that at you…”

After all, it was a skill to crush my enemies.

It’s not something I’d shoot at my family.

Or actually, this kind of quarrel was nowhere near serious enough for me to resort to that kind of skill.

“Such a thing… Papa…”

Sieg hugged the collapsed me.

”Sorry, I was wrong! Father did it all for family, and yet, I, I only thought about myself!”

”No, it's fine, Sieg. I was the one who was wrong…”

Yes, I was wrong from the start on.

Only because I was so set on being Santa, I lost sight of what was supposed to be the most important to me.

”This year, let's do it together.”

Yes, both my goal and Sieg’s is the same.

To make everyone smile.

For that, we’ll be Santa.

Sieg isn’t an exception either.

I’ll make him smile while we enjoy being Santa together.

Let’s make all the children in the house smile like never before!

”Father…!”

In the midst of this snow, Sieg lent a hand to my fallen body, and helped me stand.

I have no more hesitation anymore.

Lara found the whole thing to be too much of a pain or something so she went inside the office and willfully lit the fireplace and snuggled there. But I don’t care.

Even if the reindeer has no motivation, Santa is eternal.

We took our white bags and hoisted them on our shoulders.

Come to think of it, I wonder what was in Sieg's bag?

Since my bag's contents are said to have no sense, I wonder what are the things that kids these days like?

For the coming years, it’d be nice if he could teach me a few things about that…

But well, I guess that could be done after the presents are placed, I guess.

In any case, this year we are both Santa.

We got twice the Santas this year!

“Arrite, let’s go Santa No. 2!”

“Okay, papa…I mean, Santa No. 1”

Immersed in my thoughts as I was, we set off towards our home.

It was then…

…that the office door was opened with a bang.

“!”

Standing on the other side of the gate, there was an animal.

Wearing a costume made from snow hedgehog fur and great anger horns on its head.

Lara suddenly has motivation?

No, that's wrong.

Her costume's material was a bit different, and they weren't the same height in the first place.

His shoulder width was too big, and, incidentally, Lara probably didn't carry a huge sword on her back.

“A-Alek…”

“Teacher…why…?”

The reindeer—Alexander Raibaku—didn’t answer.

Instead, he walked clumsily through the snow opening a path behind him, then turned around.

Behind him was…hmm…how could this be called.

A red, fluffy piece of clothing, white bag, fake moustache.

His hair was originally silver, so a white wig wasn't necessary.

There was someone standing with a more imposing posture than me, who was the closest person to Santa.

If that man were to stand in front of children, the children would burst into tears, carriages would stop, and dead old men would come back to life.

When that guy recognized me, he raised an eyebrow.

”Oh, it's Rudeus.”

“Manager… why? Ariel-sama's place…?”

“You don’t need to ask to know.”

Was he too noisy and was kicked out?

Still, that doesn’t matter.

It was something I had been expecting.

After that, Orsted said something I hadn’t been able to guess.

“I came a bit late I guess. I’ll be Santa Claus this year too.”

Me and Sieg.

And then Orsted, we’d be a triple Santa.

Then, if three big grown-ups sneaked into a house, all the kids would notice it.

So, maybe I should be the reindeer again this year.

Tohoho…

In the end, I’d only be the support this year.

“Orsted-sama.”

While I was thinking like that, Sieg stepped in front of me.

What does he plan to do…

I have a bad feeling about this.

Still, he started speaking before I had time to do anything.

And spouted useless stuff.

“If you want to be Santa…You will have to defeat us first!”

“Oh?”

Orsted’s eyebrows twitched a bit when he heard that.

He was looking at us with a look that surpa.s.sed superiority.

He looked to be infuriated, but I knew better.

It was more of a ‘So this is the entertainment I’ll get this year’ face.

In other words, Orsted was ready to go with this.

“Papa! Let’s do this!”

Even though his thighs were trembling, probably from the cold, he smiled strongly at me.

He was telling me that no matter the enemy, we’d be able to get over it together.

If he looked at me like that, like h.e.l.l I’d be able to pull away.

To be honest, I really want to pull away here, still, my pride as papa is at stake.

My pride might be irreparably tattered already, but I still want to keep it before it fades away.

Also, I was the one who had the idea of defeating the opponent first.

“Yeah!”

Let’s do this.

This year I will be Santa.

I will be no reindeer, I will be Santa!

I will win that right, with my own hands, the right and qualification to be Santa!

“Alek.”

“Yes!”

Hearing Orsted’s call, Alec happily stepped forward.

His face was bright like that of a dog that was taken out to play.

Could it be…he also wants to be Santa…?

“Well then…”

It’s two vs two.

We are evenly matched in numbers, but they are stronger.

I don’t see a future where we win.

But my son standing besides me will give me courage.

Actually, I had thought that maybe the four of us could be Santa, but once we started, we couldn’t back off.

”Let's go, Sieg!”

”Yes!”

At any rate, our Christmas has only just started――!

—

It goes without saying that the next day, the children's beds had four times the normal amount of presents.

This story is a fiction.

There's no Christmas in Mushoku Tensei.