Whoosh...
A sleigh pulled by reindeer glided across the night sky of the Empire, where a crescent moon hung.
Naturally, the reindeer pulling the sleigh were not real. They were spirit beings, contracted to Orca, the White Dragon.
Since spirits could freely change their forms, I had asked them to take on the shape of reindeer.
'I've secured Santa Claus too.'
Next to me sat a figure who seemed to have stepped straight out of a storybook—Santa Claus himself.
"Haha, flying through the sky... it feels like a dream."
The Dwerg, Brümdal.
As a half-dwarf, half-human, Brümdal was an elderly man with a stout build and a thick white beard.
His appearance alone fit the Santa image perfectly.
But it wasn't just his looks.
Though hidden under his Santa costume, Brümdal's body was packed with muscle.
Even without Rudolph, he had the physical prowess to leap across rooftops on his own.
On top of that, he had even worked as a chimney sweeper in the past.
Brümdal was a Santa Claus with experience.
Most importantly, he had the excellent consumer habit of drinking coke even in winter.
For some reason, he seemed genuinely grateful to me as well...
"I will pay you 10 gold coins per day."
"T-That much?"
"..."
I had been ready to increase the offer if he thought it was too low, but seeing Brümdal's shocked reaction, I realized he must have lived a very hard life.
Well, considering that half-bloods were discriminated against everywhere in the Empire, it was no surprise.
It seemed Brümdal had rarely had a proper opportunity to earn a decent income.
Of course, I never intended to pay Brümdal only 10 gold coins.
For an extreme job like climbing in and out of chimneys all night, 10 gold was far too stingy.
"10 gold coins are just the base pay."
"B-Base pay?"
"Yes, and I will add 1 gold coin for each house you deliver to."
This was how you made work rewarding.
There's nothing quite as motivating as performance-based pay.
Sure enough, Brümdal—Santa Claus—had a fire of enthusiasm in his eyes.
"Haha, but this outfit is no ordinary clothing."
"You've got a keen eye."
"It seems to be infused with magic."
"That's correct. Santa Claus has to be special, after all."
The idea of Santa going down chimneys and meeting children without getting dirty was unrealistic.
And to maintain his body temperature while flying through the sky on a sleigh, his outfit needed magical enhancements.
You could think of Santa's outfit as being like Iron Man's suit.
Of course, if he just left the gifts at the door instead of using the chimney, that would solve the problem...
But that could lead to a magical situation where whoever found the gift would claim it as theirs.
This world lacked modern legal concepts like 'laws against misappropriating lost property.'
There was a good reason why Santa took the trouble to invade homes through the chimney.
"Here is the information for the first house where you will deliver gifts."
Brümdal accepted the paper and read it, his head tilting in confusion.
"There are two children in this house. Why is there only a gift for the younger sibling?"
"I was told that the older brother, Dugley, is a bad child."
"Haha, how bad could a child really be..."
"He mistreats his orphaned cousin Herrick, and last year, he made Herrick take the Magic Tower entrance exam in his place to pass."
"I-I see."
The younger the child, the less they understood where to draw the line when doing bad things.
"Just leave the magic book that Herrick wished for as a gift."
"Understood."
"But are you really able to go down the chimney?"
Though I had insisted he use the chimney, seeing it in person made me question whether a human could really fit through.
"If it's difficult, I can ask the spirits to help."
"Haha, no need. This is nothing."
Brümdal leaped from the sleigh onto the roof with ease.
He gripped small gaps in the chimney's bricks and climbed up before lowering himself inside.
"Incredible."
It wasn't just his strength but also his skill—could the real Santa have moved like this?
The abilities of a seasoned Santa were truly impressive.
*
Strange rumors began to circulate in the imperial capital.
There was talk of someone secretly delivering the gifts that children had wished for in their Resting Season letters.
"When I woke up, there was a present sitting on the living room table!"
"Really? The same thing happened to me! I woke up, and there was a gift in front of the fireplace. When I opened it, there was a music box inside."
It seemed that someone was sneaking into homes at night and leaving gifts for the children.
A thief who, instead of stealing, left behind presents?
Such a bizarre act had never been heard of before.
Whenever citizens gathered in small groups, all they could talk about was the mysterious "thief" of the night.
"Who could possibly be leaving these gifts?"
"Well, my letter had the name 'Santa Claus' written on it."
"Yes! Mine had the same name on it too."
Santa Claus.
A mysterious figure who sneaked in at night to leave gifts that children desired.
People speculated wildly about who Santa Claus might be.
Some thought he was an apostle sent by God, others believed he was a great wizard, and some suggested it might be a prank by fairies.
But since no one had actually seen Santa Claus, all these guesses were just baseless theories.
As Santa's nocturnal escapades continued, people began to notice a certain "pattern" to his gift-giving.
"Santa doesn't give gifts to all children, you know."
"Ugh, you're right. Herrick, who lives with us, got a magic book, but strangely, my son didn't receive anything. I'm so annoyed!"
"But didn't your son bully Herrick every day?"
"H-Hey! When did he ever do that?!"
"The whole neighborhood knows about it."
"Come to think of it, the kids who didn't get presents all seem to have had bad reputations."
He didn't leave gifts for bad children...!
"Did you hear? Crouch's son didn't get a gift from Santa Claus."
"Oh my, I thought he was a good kid..."
Children who did not receive gifts from Santa became the talk of the town.
Sometimes, this led to their past misdeeds being exposed.
"Did you hear? To get a present from Santa Claus, you mustn't do anything bad."
"Yes, Father!"
"My, why is our child doing homework without being told? Ho-ho."
Children began to behave well on their own, hoping to receive a gift from Santa.
"If you keep acting like that, Santa Claus won't bring you a present."
"Hwaaah!"
"Shh! Santa Claus doesn't give presents to children who cry."
"Sniff!"
Parents started using Santa Claus's name as leverage to discipline their children.
Baseless rumors even started spreading, like how Santa Claus wouldn't give gifts to crying children.
"Ah, I wish I could see Santa Claus."
"Do you think Santa is really a fairy?"
Amidst the cold winter, the imperial capital was burning with stories and excitement about Santa Claus.
*
"Will Santa Claus come today?"
"Kevin, stop wasting time and go to bed."
"Just a little longer, Mom."
In the imperial capital lived a young boy named Kevin McCallister, who sat in the living room, staring endlessly at the fireplace.
For days, he had stayed up all night, hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus, who was said to sneak in through the chimney to leave presents.
'What does Santa Claus look like?'
Once again, Kevin sat on the living room sofa, eyes fixed on the fireplace.
Kevin hadn't caused any trouble this year, so he firmly believed he would receive a gift from Santa Claus.
Of course, Santa didn't visit every household, and being good didn't always guarantee a present. Still, a sliver of hope made Kevin's heart race.
That night, Kevin fell asleep while waiting for Santa, nibbling on a cheese pizza in the living room.
He didn't know how much time had passed when a rustling sound woke him up, his eyes widening.
Someone was coming into the living room through the fireplace!
'S-Santa...!'
Though it could have been a petty thief, young Kevin was sure it was Santa Claus.
Santa wore red and white clothes and had a thick white beard that reached his chest.
"Oh dear."
Santa stumbled over a string trap that Kevin had set up by the fireplace.
"Santa?"
"Haha, looks like I woke you up."
Santa Claus, setting down the enormous gift sack from his back, chuckled kindly.
"Are you Kevin?"
"Y-Yes! I'm Kevin!"
Hearing Santa say his name, Kevin's eyes sparkled with joy.
"Haha, let's see... Here's the present you asked for in your wish letter."
As Kevin tore open the gift wrapping without hesitation, his eyes grew even wider.
"Wow!"
Inside was a bundle filled with Beast Cards, the collectible cards Kevin was obsessed with.
"Is... is there a Blue-Eyed Ice Dragon too?"
"Haha, if you're lucky, you might find one."
Santa Claus gently patted Kevin's head, chuckled warmly, and stepped back into the fireplace.
"Enjoy the Resting Season."
With that, Santa climbed back up the chimney.
"Whoa, awesome."
Kevin's jaw dropped at Santa's incredible ability to defy gravity.
Snapping back to his senses, Kevin dashed outside.
"Santa! Santa was here!"
Hearing Kevin's shout, others who had been waiting for Santa rushed outside too.
"Where?!"
"Up there, on the chimney!"
"Oh my gosh, it's really Santa!"
People screamed as they saw Santa emerging from the chimney with a sack full of presents.
And then, they witnessed an unbelievable sight.
"What... what is that?"
"A... a sleigh?"
A sleigh pulled by giant reindeer was descending from the sky.
While everyone questioned their eyes at the surreal scene, Santa Claus made an enormous leap from the chimney onto the sleigh.
Under the round, full moon...
The sleigh, carrying Santa, sped through the snowy night sky.
It was the moment the legend of Santa Claus, who rode a sleigh pulled by reindeer through the night, was born.
And then...
"Oh my!"
"Santa was a grand wizard..."
A convincing rumor began to spread: that Santa Claus was actually a grand wizard dispatched by the imperial palace.
The story went that the Emperor, worried about the people's morale in the cold winter, was distributing gifts to the citizens.
Though this was just one of the many theories about Santa Claus's true identity...
"I won't deny the possibility that Santa might be connected to the imperial palace."
The Emperor's vague response only fueled the speculation.
It wasn't a clear "yes" or "no," but it was enough to make the people praise the emperor.
This prompted the Church to quickly issue its own statement about Santa Claus.
"Santa is a saint who distributes God's gifts during the Resting Season."
Thus began the heated debate between the Church and the imperial family over who truly held the legacy of Santa Claus.
***
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