The Christmas of the Shield Hero Part 6  

After that we continually travelled around the village using the flying sled.

Is this really necessary?

As I think this, I spot Ren.

He’s inside of his house. His face is planted on the desk next to his window

Ren: “Jingle bells… Jingle Bells…”

What is this person doing?

I knock on his window and call out to him.

Ren looks up. He looks like he is about to cry.

Naofumi: “What happened?”

Ren: “I-It’s nothing.”

I peer into Ren’s room.

Inside, there is a table with an array of fancy food on it and a cake in the center. It is set for three people.

…So neither Female knight nor Taniko showed up?

I can understand Taniko, but Female knight… you too?

What do these people think the good intentions of others are? Why did they ignore Ren’s offer?

…Wait, I am Santa right now. I should look at this from Santa’s perspective.

Does she seriously intend to do that?

Christmas monster hunting may be over but does she plan to leave him like this?

How sad…He worked quite hard, and for this end to a holiday.

Is what I think from Santa’s perspective. Not much of a difference.

*sigh*… There’s no choice, I’ll do a little bit of work for him.

It’s on the way, anyways.

Naofumi: “Ren.”

Ren: “What is it?”

I pull two presents out of my bag and throw them at him.

Naofumi: “Hold on to those, and don’t open them. Something good will happen.”

Ren: “Ah…”

Naofumi: “See you later.”

I proceed to give Firo orders.

She starts running enthusiastically and we take off.

From afar, she looks like a reindeer running though the sky.

There. I see Female knight watching the sky from a well-hidden location. Taniko is there as well. They are practicing swinging their swords near the monster stable.

I get off of the sled in a place they can’t see and approach them as if I was simply in the middle of a walk.

Naofumi: “What are you two doing? Everyone is already asleep.”

Female Knight: “? Naofumi huh. I’ve told you before, but today I plan to stay up in order to give my thanks to that old man. Windea has said that she wishes to accompany me.”

Taniko: “Yeah! I want to thank Santa!”

Taniko is sporting a pair of extremely pure eyes.

I think Ren will regain his composition if I bring these two to him, but it seems they are dead set on meeting Santa Claus.

Naofumi: “About that. I came here because the white haired old man imparted a message unto me.”

Female Knight: “WHAT!?!”

“He told me that he had left the presents of the two people waiting outside the monster stable with the sword hero.”

Female Knight: “KU! That old man did an unnecessary thing! Windea, let us go acquire our presents from Ren.”

Taniko: “Understood!”

Female Knight and Taniko leave in a hurry.

This will let Ren enjoy Christmas a little… Is what I want to believe.

Gaelion: “You…”

Gaelion emerges from the stable and stares at me.

Gaelion: “You did something unnecessary.”

Naofumi: “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just found The Hero of the Sword crying to himself to be too pitiful. You would have done the same.”

Gaelion: “That is… You’re right, but… Yes that is pitiful, but…”

Naofumi: “I thought I would play Santa and give Ren a hand.”

Gaelion: “*Sigh*… I guess there’s no choice. Those two had been giving off a strange aura and staring at each other the entire time. Now the monsters in the stable can finally sleep.”

It seems the stable’s residents were still awake.

Until now. The night is now completely silent.

What? Did those two think they would miss Santa if they left for Ren’s place?

Well… it didn’t take much to get them to go

Even I found Ren’s display pitiful

And with that, I have given Ren his Christmas present

Naofumi: “Oh yeah, Please give these presents to the monsters here.”

Gaelion: “There’s no point if you don’t give them yourself.”

Naofumi: “The monsters don’t even believe in Santa. All of their wishes were addressed directly to me.”

They were all things like ‘Eating Naofumi’s homemade food’ or ‘Playing with Naofumi’.

I give the presents of the ones who actually asked for iitems to Gaelion.

“By the way, what does Kogaelion? He never hung up a wish slip”

“Fumu… I’ll ask him.”

Gaelion enters the stable and begins a long debate.

“… That’s impossible. Order something else.”

And as such, the debate continued. What could he want?

Gaelion: “He wants a hug from you.”

Naofumi: “Why do I have to…”

Gaelion: “He says it is a form of Skinship”

Naofumi: “… I see”

Is it that custom that is prominent overseas?

I hug Gaelion, who has changed into Kogaelion form.

Kogaelion: “KYUAAAAAA!”

And he lets out a loud cry. His spirits are really high.

Naofumi: “What a strange person”

I would learn the meaning behind these actions a little later…

Firo: “Mu~…”

Firo is glaring at me from the shadows.

Is she jealous? She really is on bad terms with Gaelion.

She should learn from Rafu. He gets along with Gaelion just fine.

As there is nothing left to do here, I board Rafu’s Sleigh and we depart.

Naofumi: “Next is… Motoyasu and the Filo Rials.”

It is now snowing heavily.

Has Motoyasu fallen asleep yet?

Well, He’s done a lot today. In eating and playing, he has been the first in line for everything. I have the present for Motoyasu himself, and the one for the Filorials. They would probably be happier receiving it from Motoyasu than from me.

I peer into the house. Motoyasu is indeed asleep, surrounded by Filo Rials.

I quietly get off the sled.

Naofumi: “Firo, can you lower your head”

Firo: “? Sure!”

Following my orders, Firo lowers her head. I carefully remove some feathers from her crest.

(Note: Her Ahoge evolved over time. Remember, the Filo Rial Queen gave Firo a feather)

I place these in a box and throw them at Motoyasu with all my might.

They made a soft sound as the hit the ground near Motoyasu. The Filo Rials near him turn in their sleep, but otherwise remain silent.

Well, Motoyasu should be satisfied with this.

Merry Christmas

I wonder why I am giving presents to Motoyasu as well. Well, I’m Santa for now.

After that I circled the village and districted presents to Imya and the rest of the townsfolk.

Though Imya lives inside of a hole, so I left his present with his uncle.

While I was going around, I witnessed Rishia inside of the Dining hall.

What is she doing?

She seems to be staring Itsuki in silence.

The mood is quite Christmassy

Itsuki: “Ah, it’s Naofumi, isn’t it?”

Itsuki spots the flying sled, and calls to us with his hand in the air.

I should ignore him. I would ruin the mood.

But there is no choice as he has noticed me. So I park the sled and go to meet him.

Naofumi: “What are you two doing up so late at night?”

Itsuki: “Eh, We were watching the village. It puts our hearts at ease.”

Naofumi: “It seems like you were just flirting with Rishia…”

Itsuki: “How cruel… I don’t have such motives. Rishia merely admires me. There is no love involved.”

“Fe~ T-that’s right. We are only here for vacation, anyways…”

Rishia hesitated for a moment before she answered, however, Itsuki immediately confirmed her statement.

This is the opposite situation from Ren

Naofumi: “I’m wrong?”

“Yes, I have no ulterior motives, and Rishia understands this. For now, I am simply training to make sure I do not go down the wrong path.”

Rishia is nodding, but her face looks like it is about to cry.

Could this be what me and Rafatalia’s situation looks like from an objective viewpoint?

Naofumi: “Ah… Well…”

Itsuki: “If it’s about delivering presents, then we can help.”

Naofumi: “N-no… It’s fine”

Instead of pushing this relationship with Santa’s authority, it is probably best to leave it be.

These are the heroes that come to the village the least.

They should be allowed to rest for a while.

Itsuki: “Well, I guessed as much”

Naofumi: “Ha…”

Itsuki can sometimes be quite sharp.

It’s not like he isn’t thinking of me.

Naofumi: “Anyways, this is for you two.”

I take out two bottles of specially brewed wine and give it to them.

Naofumi: “It’s quite potent, so drink in moderation.”

This is the product of the research me and Ratt had put into the Lucor fruit I had previously been unable to modify.

The alcohol content is quite high, but the taste is decent. I have also put a weak enchantment on it to help it’s drinkers share their true feelings.

It is my hope that this will help the two of them open up to each other more

However, in the end, how well it goes is up to Rishia.

Itsuki: “Thank you”

The result: both of them got extremely drunk and to this day, neither of them can remember what happened.

But it seemed that they had become closer than before by the next morning.

I could use the power of the spirits to check on them, but that would be rude.

After that…

Sadina: “Na-o-fu-mi-cha-n!!”

Yep, it’s the second woman who wishes to corrupt this holy night.

This is why I brought more of that wine.

I throw the bottle with all of my strength at Sadina.

The alcoholic Sadina catches it and starts glugging it down.

As expected, it seems she’ll drink any sake if it’s close by.

Sadina: “Ah… this one is quite potent. To weaken me this much with just one bottle… As expected of Naofumi. *hic*”

Naofumi: “I made it with you in mind. I’ll also have you speak your true feelings”

Sadina: “I love Naofumi from the bottom of my heart. Hurry and do fun things with Rafatalia so you can do fun things with me… Enough that you forget about Rafatalia.”

…These are her true feelings, huh?

Yes. I should run. It’s dangerous here.

Sadina: “Ah, wait~”

I signal for Firo, who is in the sky, to come to my aid, and keep running.

Sadina: “I told you to wait!”

The drunk Sadina starts to cast magic.

「Revelation?Thunder Bolt X」

Above me, lightning begins to form.

However, I am the Shield Hero, this level of magic won’t even feel itchy.

I point my shield to the sky and prepare myself.

But to use Revelation level magic, is she trying to kill me?

Sadina: “Ara~”

Firo: “Master, let’s go to Melty’s place as well”

Naofumi: “…Yes, lets.”

This village is dangerous. We fly in the direction of castle.