Chapter 368

Chapter 368

Arifureta After IV Christmas Special Gather, Santa Claus Four

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This is something that I wrote in three hours because I had no time so the quality is really rough but, please read it as your Christmas accompaniment if you like!

People of narou, Merry Christmas!

While the world was flourishing with Christmas’s characteristic mood coloring the atmosphere, there was someone running through a back alley in panic.

The delinquents loitering at the back alley smirked when they saw that person who was running.

Why?

Because the person was a beautiful female wearing santa costume!

Yes, the person who was dashing through the back alley desperately at midnight was a young lady with santa cosplay.

Why was she in so much of a hurry? Was she late for her work? Or perhaps she was going to a party? Or perhaps, her mini skirt santa outfit caused some bad guys to chase after her with a bad intention……

Bad guys like us perhaps? The delinquent youths thought while blocking the path. The expression of the santa lady twitched seeing that. The youths vulgarly grinned at her seeing that.

「Yoo, lady. What are you doing dressed like――」

「Aah geez, even though this isn’t the time for this!」

「Eh? Ah?」

The santa lady’s leg kicked in a flash at the same time when that voice filled with a lot of irritation and grief burst out.

The completely merciless upper kick exploded on the side of youth’s head. 「Abya!?」 The youth let out a strange scream while flying backward. Even more kicks flashed through the air and mowed down the youths like weeds.

「S-stay down over there quietly okay!」

The santa lady left those words behind to the youths who fainted with their eyes rolled back while dashing away.

One youth who didn’t faint opened his mouth to complain but……the lady was already gone from sight at that time. The incident that happened too fast robbed him of any target to vent and he could only curse 「Shit-」.

And then he stiffened.

His instinct was telling him Don’t move, hold your breath down. A freezing chill rushed through his body and he felt like all the heat of his body had been robbed.

Right after that, someone passed through in front of the youth. The youth felt a terror without compare at this time, even so he was filled with the desire to praise himself who instinctually closed his eyes so that he didn’t see anything.

He was feeling something similar to a conviction. If his eyes were opened, if he saw the person who passed him by right now, there was no doubt that he wouldn’t get away unscathed from this. Both mentally and physically.

The hustling and bustling were faintly audible from here. The youth felt immeasurably relieved by that noise while he obeyed his body’s desire to let go of his consciousness and forgot everything.

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In the meanwhile, the lady santa who splendidly kicked the delinquents flying was――

「Hiiiiiiiiih, it’s cominggg! Something dreadful is chasing meeee! Noooooooo-」

Crying while continuing to run without caring of anything else despite her amazing strength. At the same time,

「Stupid stupid stupid-, Stupid driver!! Even though it already makes me cry to have to work at Christmasss! Why does it turn out like thisss!」

She even complained like hat. Her sanity would be lost because of the terror of the current situation unless she did that. She was convinced that it would be game over for her if she was reduced into such state.

And so, she complained more.

「I thought it was suspicious from the start! Because, he was wearing his hat too deeply that I couldn’t see his eyes! Yet he was driving normally even though there was no way he could see ahead like that! And he was also abnormally silent!」

She fixed her hold on the very old leather bag that she was holding. Its content was something suspicious……or rather, it was a “book” that caused nausea to well up just from looking at it.

「What do you mean by “Surely you’ll be able to deliver it with your legs and stamina that had gotten away from them many times” huh! You’re surely someone related just as I thought!」

When she was doing work of Christmas event tour with the male driver who was her coworker in the company, he suddenly muttered 「This is bad……」 and took out a leather bag out from somewhere. He handed the book to her and told her to deliver it to a certain place.

Naturally the santa lady refused because they were in the middle of working and she didn’t understand what he was talking about, but he then said, 「If you don’t deliver it……everyone will die you know?」. When she objected Then let’s throw it away!, he objected back 「A lot more people will die if you throw it away though?」.

And so, the santa lady checked the content of the book, just in case~, and she understood everything.

Ah, this is a dangerous crap. It’s the unreasonable thing that I had experienced many times in the past. It doesn’t matter whether I cry or go shivering at the corner while holding my head, incredibly gruesome thing will happen to me and my surrounding if I don’t do something about it with everything I have……she thought.

Even so, it was unreasonable to hand this dangerous crap that was even worse than a bomb to someone like her who wasn’t even a transporter much less an explor○ (self-proclaimed). If he was someone related with “that side”, then certainly it wasn’t like she couldn’t understand how she knew about her who boasted an astounding survival rate but……

But, she still couldn’t help but scream.

「Even though, even thoughhhh, I’m just a bus tour guideeeeeeeeeee!!」

She was forced to cosplay as santa to be bus tour guide for Christmas night event just because she was a rookie. Furthermore she was forced to watch the customers having fun and enjoying themselves at the event despite her woes. At the break time, the bus driver whose eyes couldn’t be seen by the hat he was wearing entrusted the blasphemous and repulsive book to her saying 「I leave the rest to you」. Then she got chased by this unknown person who was human but felt dangerous for an unknown reason. It was unreasonable.

She wanted to cry.

She looked at her smartphone while running at full speed. There was still some distance until her destination. It was the distance of five train stops she guessed. It seemed the bus driver (who absolutely couldn’t look forward due to his hat) had contacted his acquaintance who was going to that spot in haste. Apparently that person would do something about his book if she could just hand it over to them but……

「I don’t think I’ll make it at allll」

She rushed out into a relatively wide road. At the corner of her sight she could see a couple snuggling close to each other.

She wanted to cry.

That couple screamed 「Hiih」 seeing the santa lady who dashed out from the back alley with a desperate expression and an amazing speed that would make any sprinter turned pale.

She wanted to wail.

Her field of vision that was blurry from tears caught sight of the pretty crystal dangling from her smartphone. It was the thank you present from the students in the field trip that jauntily shaved her sanity point before this. Apparently it was a charm that might bring her salvation if she wished for it when she was in trouble.

She recovered the leeway in her heart slightly from that. Though she didn’t think it would really cause a supernatural phenomenon that could save her.

Certainly the central figure of those students, the boy who gave her this charm emitted quite the presence. The students all simultaneously looked at him when she talked about the legend of demon king of Kurama. In fact he had the air that felt like a real demon king, but this was this, that was that. There was no way that this charm would really do something for real.

She would die if she got absorbed in such delusion. Reality was reality. Although, there was no doubt that the consideration of those students who were good people deep down when she actually bothered to look closely at them gave a calm to her heart in this cornered situation.

「D-don’t give up. I’ll return home alive too this time, then――I’ll spray that driver’s eyeballs with capsaicin until I emptied the whole bottleeeeee」

From her waist holster――or rather her pocket, she took out an extremely sweet coffee milk, took out a straw and stabbed it in with one hand! The sugar supply flowed in! The bus guide santa-san’s stamina was recovered! Her speed increased further!

But, as expected the reality was still the reality even with the increase of her momentum. The instinct that had protected her until now suddenly rang the alarm bell.

The hair at the back of her neck stood on ends. The bus guide santa-san immediately threw herself forward.

Something passed by overhead. There was the sound of a building’s wall destroyed. At the same time, her hand became numb from the sensation of hard asphalt. She held down the pain with her guts and used her falling momentum to roll like a drill without stopping――

「All of you single people out there~! How about visiting a maid cafeee~? Let’s spend a fun time with rabbit-eared maid santa at Christmasss! If you visit now there is Christmas special discount――uee!? Santa-san!?」

「Wawah, I’m sorrrrryyyy」

「――Geboraaa!?」

She crashed on a twintail rabbit-eared maid santa――wearing an outfit that looked like miniskirt maid uniform with red and white color to look like santa outfit and equipping a special rabbit ear――who was distributing flyers at the street. The girl was blown away.

The rabbit-eared maid santa’s body bent into the shape of ‘<’ and she flew while letting out a scream that a maiden mustn’t make. And then her back crashed hard on the light pole at the other side of the street. This time her body bent backward like a shrimp before she fell on the ground.

The people walking on the street stiffened. The rabbit-eared maid santa was convulsing on the ground while still bending backward like a shrimp. The tackling culprit who caused that――the bus guide santa who was on all fours gathered everyone’s gaze.

From normal perspective, it was completely the scene of a crash site. Perhaps it was even a murder scene. That was just how horrible the crash & bending of the spine looked like.

The bus guide santa-san turned pale. The terror that surpassed even her terror toward her pursuer caused her facial muscles to spasm greatly.

While everyone was dumbfounded by the sudden accident, the bus guide santa-san came back to her senses earlier and she raised her voice in panic.

「A-are you alrightttttt!?」

「I’m alright!」

「No way!?」

It was an astonishing toughness. The rabbit-eared maid santa girl stood up normally while her twintail whipped out *buruaaaaa* wildly. Her smooth standing up movement was a bit eerie.

「A-are you really alright? I’m sorry! Because of me you――」

The bus guide santa apologized and worried while in a fluster. The rabbit-eared maid santa held out her hand forward while her other hand brushed up her twintail gallantly. She snorted 「Fuh」.

「Santa lady, I’m fine so please don’t worry. For a soul sister, just this much is like a mosquito bite.」

「I don’t get what you’re saying at all but, I’m glad! Your back bent backward to a degree that your spine should have absolutely snapped but, it’s amazing that you’re unharmed!」

「I never slack on training daily in order to oppose senpai, the nemesis of Onee-sama!」

「As expected I still don’t get it but, I’m really sorry!」

「We’re fellow santa, I forgive you!」

As expected from the shock corps captain of soul sisters. The kouhai-chan who was the target of the demon king’s affectionate treatment. Not only she was tough, she was large hearted toward everyone other than the nemesis who targeted Onee-sama.

Although, it was a shame that the flyers of the café where she was working part time got scattered everywhere.

She wished to give Christmas present to her beloved Onee-sama, however, she had used up all her pocket money for booby traps toward the hateful senpai, so she searched and found this temporary part-time job somehow. She would be fired if it got found out she had literally scattered the flyers everywhere!

「Say, santa lady. If possible please help me picking up the flyers at lea――」

「Watch out-」

「――guea!?」

The rabbit-eared maid santa――aka kouhai-chan santa experienced her second crash today.

Something that rushed out from the alley bent like a whip and struck her stomach. She was sent flying with her body bent into the shape of ‘<’. Kouhai-chan santa crashed on the street lamp again like before and bent like a shrimp.

Then, there was a scream 「Kyaaah」.

Kouhai-chan turned her gaze even while convulsing like a shrimp. She saw the bus guide santa got blown away until right beside her.

「A-are you alright? Just what in the world――」

Kouhai-chan santa looked like the one who shouldn’t be okay at all no matter how in this case, but her body stood up with a smooth and slipper movement while asking about the bus guide santa-san’s condition in worry. She was a good child at heart. It was only her problematic action toward the demon king that was standing out.

However, the bus guide santa-san had no leeway to respond to that worried voice of kouhai-chan santa. The cause wasn’t just the pain of getting sent flying. Something like that wouldn’t be any problem as long as she had her extremely sweet coffee milk. Furthermore the stock of her extremely sweet coffee milk inside her pocket was sufficient at all time!

Therefore, there was only one reason of the bus guide santa-san’s anxiety.

「Kuh, it got taken away-」

Yes, the “book” that apparently would cause a lot of death if it didn’t get delivered, the leather bag where it was contained had been stolen by her pursuer.

When she turned her gaze, she saw the man in black clothes appearing from the alley. He was a pale Caucasian male who lacked vitality. He was also thin and looking unhealthy. His hand was holding the leather bag.

Kouhai-chan santa naturally didn’t understand the situation at all. However, she guessed correctly that it was that man who attacked them. She also sensed the ominous aura from that man which caused anxiety just from looking at him.

「I have, to take it back……」

Bus guide santa-san who was on all fours forced strength into her legs and stood up with difficulty. She took out an extremely sweet coffee milk from her sleeve and resupplied.

Beside her, kouhai-chan santa noticed the abnormality at the surrounding.

「Eh? Why are people……」

Even though there were bystanders who were watching dumbfounded from the crash accident of kouhai-chan santa just now, they were all gone when she realized it. No, there were still some people around but, they were turning their back from this scene and walked away as though ignoring or perhaps not even noticing this commotion.

Something strange was afoot. That was all she understood. And then, kouhai-chan santa saw her reliable senpai among the leaving people and stood up.

However, that senpai wasn’t the demon king senpai――

「Bunny-senpaaaaaai!! Here! Over hereeeee!!」

It was a loud voice that was hard to believe coming from such small body.

Due to that voice, that “bunny-senpai” from the part-time job workplace――the rabbit-eared maid santa-san who dressed the same like kouhai-chan but with a veteran smell drifting from her gasped and turned around as though she had just remembered the reason she came to this place. Her eyes widened like saucer.

Kouhai-chan santa yelled toward that senpai who was jam-packed with many attributes of rabbit-eared maid santa senpai!

「Thieveee! That man! He is a thieveeeeee! He stole that leather baggggggg!!」

The rabbit-eared maid santa-senpai’s expression instantly changed――

「You’ve some guts doing that in this town pyon!!」

Right after that, her figure vanished. The speed of her fierce dash made it looked like she disappeared from view. She entered her top speed in an instant and rapidly closed the distance with that man!

The man swung his arm in annoyance. Instantly something that looked like a black whip approached the bunny-senpai with a horrific speed.

The bus guide santa reflexively yelled.

「Watch out-」

「It doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t hit pyon!」

Rabbit-eared maid santa-senpai dodged the whip. She ran in top speed while making a sharp turn without braking at all somehow.

The man’s eyes widened slightly. And then, the rabbit-eared maid santa had already entered into his bosom at that time.

「――”Scre○ Bite”! Pyon!!」

The rabbit-eared maid santa-senpai spun while running past the man from his side in an instant. The girl landed with a cool pose like a hero’s landing. In her hand――

「As expected from bunny-senpai! The living legend of Akiba! The pyon at the end of your sentence isn’t just for show!」

「N-no way. She took it back in that instant!?」

Indeed, her hand was holding the leather bag. It was a technique from a certain American football manga to spin while forcefully snatching a ball that was in the hold of the opponent. Even though she was a rabbit-eared part-time worker dressed in santa cosplay that looked like a maid.

The rabbit-eared maid santa-senpai immediately dashed away toward kouhai-chan santa and bus guide santa-san.

「I have taken it back pyon. For now let’s call the police pyon.」

「I-is the pyon absolutely necessary……?」

「……Some people had pointed how immature I was as a rabbit-eared maid pyon. Constant battle pyonparation pyon.」

「Aren’t there too many pyon there?」

In any case, bus guide santa had recovered the book.

However, the threat hadn’t left. Rather, now with her there were two ordinary people……no, a girl who stood unharmed after bending backward like a shrimp, and a woman who outmaneuvered a dangerous man with superhuman movement. Perhaps they should be called as extraordinary people rather than ordinary people, even so, it was still a fact that she had involved people who didn’t know about “this side of the world”.

And then, the man’s atmosphere changed as though to display that danger.

*Shiver*, a hard to describe coldness assaulted their whole body.

「Tsu, what’s with this person? Doesn’t he seem like a bad news?」

「S-seems so pyon. He looks even more dangerous than the self-proclaimed gentleman fixated to our café’s girl that I encountered sometimes pyon.」

「B-both of you, thank you very much for your help. Let’s part way here.」

She couldn’t involve them anymore than this. She had to get away alone from here……

Bus guide santa-san resolved herself just like she did many times in the past with such heroic determination.

There was already no more choice except this in order to save the two maid santa-san. However, it was unknown whether this man would let these two go unscathed in the end. She wanted to believe that the chance wasn’t low that this man would ignore these ultra tough maid-san and super mobile maid-san because it would be too troublesome to dispose of them but……

And so, the bus guide santa-san backed away bit by bit. The man took a step forward and the tension rocketed up. It was at that timing,

「Are you troubled? Nano」

「「「Eh?」」」

The three santa-san stopped moving. The man also reflexively stopped moving due to the suddenly appearing presence.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the voice――at the end of the street where the people left to.

And then, they witnessed it.

「Reindeer!? Why is there a reindeer here!? There is a tiny santa-san too!?」

Yes, there was a pony-sized reindeer with bright red nose tip, and standing imposingly on the sleigh that was pulled by that reindeer――

「Myuu-chan!?」

「Y-you are! The daughter of the one called boss by the evangelists of the way of rabbit ears!」

「Aaa, now that you mentioned it! This is the child who called that student with demon king atmosphere papa!」

Eh? Kouhai-chan santa and rabbit-eared maid santa-senpai and bus guide santa looked at each other. Eh, we are unexpected connected by involvement with “that person”? Such thought was drawn on their face.

There the bus guide santa realized. Come to think of it, she had once seen this twintail santa-san! She was that girl who got tied up by that demon king-like student onto an electric pole, and yet she got out of the binding slipperily on her own and dashed toward a running bus and even almost caught up, that girl who seemed a bit messed up in the head!

By the way, Myuu was dressed in santa costume because her present distribution activity last year received great popularity, so this year too she was planning to do the same. Right now she was incidentally on the way home after doing her santa act and happened to see this disquieting situation that was detected by the Grim Reaper reindeer.

「Never fear nano!」

With a posed look, Myuu santa took a cool pose using a certain abyss lord as reference.

「Because Myuu is here! Nano!」

Lu-chan! Return this strange space into normal! When she ordered that, the disquieting space that drove away people from here returned back into normal. The noise of people’s chatter was gradually getting closer.

「Myu, Myuu-chan! Get back, it’s dangerous here! That man there is dangerous! Or rather, are you alone this late at night!? What is senpai doing!?」

Kouhai-chan made a tsukkomi with a warning filled with common sense, but in that moment, the man got fed up with the strange bunch (from the man’s perspective) that appeared one after another and swung his arm. His target was naturally bus guide santa-san.

However, the sharp whip――it was actually tentacle――that stretched out once more was blocked before it could harm bus guide santa. It was bounced back by the reindeer’s horn.

「Eh, no way, since when!?」

「It’s troubling if you underestimate Lu-chan nano. The fastest raindeer, that’s Lu-chan nano!」

No, who is this Lu-chan? Such tsukkomi resounded inside their heart. The thought that Lu-chan actually was a real greater demon with the real name of Lucifer never even crossed their mind. The king of demons had changed job at Christmas only into the fastest reindeer that transported presents for good children!

The noise of people’s chatter had returned and people were gradually approaching the area again, even so the man showed no sign of retreating. He was prioritizing snatching the book rather than keeping the secret of his existence.

The man gazed warily at the mysterious reindeer and little girl. He slowly took a fighting stance.

Facing against him were four santa-san.

The four santa obtained this chance meeting in this holy night. It was unclear whether this was a miracle or a comedy, or rather even just the fact that all of them were all cosplaying as santa at the same time was a miracle in itself, but putting that aside, would they be able to become one team and overcome this danger……

It was then, Myuu santa grinned fearlessly and took action.

「Eat this nano! Sure kill move――!」

She pointed her hand forward with a cool move. Then pushed *click*. *Tururururu-* A call ringtone rang!

「――”Calling Papa”!!」

――Myuu? What’s the matter? You should be home already shouldn’t you?

――Papa save Myuu! There is a pervert nano!

「Where is this suicide volunteer?」

「Hii!? Senpai!? Since when!?」

「Bo-boss-san!? Where did you appear from pyon!?」

「Eh, aa!? Demon king student-san――not, Nagumo Hajime-kun right!?」

The three santa showed three different reactions. The senpai and the boss and the demon king student Hajime had appeared out of nowhere with his back facing them.

No wonder. Certainly an instant summoning of demon king was indeed a sure kill move.

「Aa? ……Kouhai, the superhuman rabbit-eared maid, and the guide from that school trip? What’s more everyone is cosplaying as santa……what’s this situation?」

It was just as he said. Even so, there was no need to guess how the situation developed from there.

The man easily got subdued. It felt like he was being possessed by some kind of strange existence so Hajime captured him, but at that time that strange existence had already vanished. There was nothing else that could be done, so Hajime wrote about the situation using permanent marker on the man’s face and sent him off using a gate to a certain abyss lord who should be having Christmas party to have him deliver the man to occult expert.

「Kyaaaaaaaaaa, Kousukeee! A strange man appeared from empty air!」

「Nagumooo! It must be your work! Who the hell is this guy!?」

「Ah, Kou-kun! Claire-chan stumbled because of the shock and crashed on the glass window head first! She fell out until the road――」

「Ah, Kousuke-san. Claire-san got run over by a car」

「Claireeeeeee!? I guess you’re unharmed but are you alrighttt!?」

Hajime closed the gate right away while such voices could be heard from the other side. He then guarded the bus guide-san and safely sent her until the book was delivered to the person at the destination.

After that, the three santa who finished their respective work got invited to the Christmas party that was held in Nagumo house while they were still wearing their santa cosplay but……

Of course, when the high school girl who always adventured even at daily life, the superhuman rabbit-eared maid, and the bus guide-san with cheat willpower and survival ability intruded into Nagumo house that could be said as a singularity point, there was no way that nothing would happen. They would be dragged into another new turmoil here too.