Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter SS4

Arifureta Magic Academy ~Christmas Showdown~
 

The academy grew busier as Christmas drew near. Today, all of the students were gathered in the auditorium for an emergency assembly. To their surprise, it was Aiko, not chairwoman Tio, who came out to greet them. Upon seeing her grimace, the students’ expressions stiffened.
“Everyone, I have bad news. Santa Claus has been sent to the hospital by one of our students.”
The students groaned in unison. Incidentally, Santa was real in this world. He was a wealthy multi-billionaire who went around giving presents to all the good kids on Christmas Day.
“Fortunately, his life isn’t in any danger. There is, however, another problem. His reindeer have gone on strike and are nowhere to be found!”
To be fair, their boss had just been hospitalized. It was understandable that they’d want the time off. The school’s beleaguered student council president raised her hand and spoke up.
“Ai-chan-sensei! Please tell us who exactly is responsible for injuring Santa!”
Who’s the bastard who piled even more work on me during the holidays!? I’ll fucking kill him! Both the teachers and the students shivered at the intensity in Shizuku’s gaze.
Overwhelmed, Aiko gave in and confessed in as roundabout a manner as she could.
“A-According to the public safety committee member who was at the scene, the culprits’ confession were as follows: ‘All I wanted was to do was cosplay as Santa, ride on his reindeer, and tell Hajime that I’d be his present this Christmas. If those pesky flies hadn’t gotten in the way, Santa wouldn’t have gotten hurt,’ and ‘I could not forgive her for trying to get ahead of the rest of us. I never expected that she would dodge my breath or that Santa would be the one sitting behind her...’”
So it was Yue-sensei and Chairwoman Tio! All the students thought simultaneously.
“A-At any rate, there’s only two days left until Christmas! We need to find and capture all the reindeer by then! These are the wanted posters Santa-san gave us!” The projector whirred to life, and the wanted posters appeared on the auditorium’s large screen.
WANTED—Dasher of the Fierce Antlers. His tackle has the force of a battering ram, so be careful.
WANTED—Prancer of the Trampling Hooves. His kicks can shatter steel, so be careful.
WANTED—Dancer of the Elusive Tails. His breakdance kicks have killed hundreds, so be careful.
WANTED—Vixen of the Gilded Tongue. His honeyed words have lead many to ruin, so be careful.
WANTED—Thunder Brothers Donner and Blitzen. The Lightning Fields they create can scorch anything, so be careful.

WANTED—Cupid, the Matchmaker’s Eyes. One look into his eyes and you will be his forever, so be careful.
WANTED—Comet, the Hurtling Flash. His dash leaves sonic booms in his wake, so be careful.
WANTED—Rudolf of the Divine Nose. He has a complex about his nose, so be careful.
Are they supposed to be monsters or something!? the students silently bemoaned.
“They can be a little rambunctious, but I’m sure you kids can handle it! Please work hard to restore our school’s honor!” The students could tell Aiko was desperate, so with a weary sigh, they agreed to help. Two days later, on Christmas. While everyone else was enjoying time with their family or lovers, Kouki and Ryutarou lay wrapped up in bandages in the academy’s infirmary
“Ryutarou, you alright? You’ve been moaning an awful lot.”
“Barely. You look even worse than I do Kouki. Your face’s a mess.”
It looked like a truck had run over Kouki’s face, while Ryutarou had no unbroken ribs left. Suzu, Eri, and Shizuku all looked like hell as well. Surprisingly, Kaori and Shea were lying down as well. Kaori had buried her face into her pillow, while Shea was wrangling with her bandages and screaming.
“I’ll get you next time,” she bellowed.
Practically no student had escaped this affair unscathed. Santa’s reindeer had been so powerful that it was hard to believe they were mere animals. Eventually, Hajime had gotten tired of being led around the nose by them and turned the entire battlefield into a wasteland with his Hyperion. He’d given them one final warning, claiming he’d kill them if they didn’t surrender. Had he not done so, the entire student body may have been wiped out.
The reindeer may have possessed monstrous strength, but they still had their old animal instincts. And those very instincts had told them Hajime was serious, so they’d quietly surrendered. After that, he’d forced Yue and Tio to apologize, ostensibly bringing the case to a close.
And so, on Christmas, most of the students lay groaning in bed. Just then, the window popped open and a figure hopped inside.
“Merry Christmas.”
“N-No way...” Kouki groaned, while Ryutarou punched himself to make sure he was actually awake. The other students all looked on in shock. Hajime had just come inside wearing a Santa costume. He might have been frowning, but he was really wearing the outfit!
“Mmmm, Merry Christmas. Sorry for all the trouble.”
“My apologies, dear students, and Merry Christmas.”
Now the students were even more shocked. Yue and Tio had entered behind Hajime, wearing reindeer suits. In fact, this was the first time any of them had seen Yue look even mildly embarrassed. Quite a few of them found her outfit so cute they succumbed to nosebleeds.
“This is one of the things Santa asked us to do if we wanted him to forgive us. I’d have to play Santa, while Yue-sensei and Tio would be the reindeer.”
Eyepatch Santa pulled a bundle of presents out of his Treasure Trove, and for once the students felt like all their suffering had really been worthwhile.