Section 6: Becoming Santa Clause for Whose Sake?

Hey, Mante?

Yes, Stolfo?

You know I'm a Saber now, right?

Right... Though I still can't quite believe it.

Hey, none of that!

Anyway, I was thinking, and you know what?

Maybe I could just be Santa myself!

Wat.

H-hold on. Just back up a minute.

Didn't you bring all these Santas here to fight to determine which of them was the true Santa?

I sure did!

But while I was hanging around waiting for them to hash it out, I started thinking, "Wait. Maybe I'm already Santa!"

Gah! I forgot how quickly things go off the rails with you!

No way! Absolutely not!

You only just became a Saber! You can't be Santa Claus too!

Sure I can!

First I was a Rider, now I'm a Saber and Santa Claus too! It's all part of the Astolfo brand, baby!

Now you're just being greedy!

Come on, Stolfo, be reasonable. Remember what they say about people who chase after two hares at once?

There's no possible way this can end well. You know that, right?

Why not!?

I became a Saber no problem. What's the harm in being Santa too!?

But your outfit's not even red! It's black!

Yeah... Well, my hair's pink! Close enough!

Besides, the very first Santa Servant basically wore all black too, right!?

Okay, yes, that's technically true, but still!

Come on, what's the big deal? I just wanna be Santa!

And now I am!!!

No, you're not!!!

Arghhh, this is so frustrating! Somebody! Anybody! Please, stop Stolfo before this gets out of hand!

？！

Master? Is that you!?

Master!? Where is he? What page is he on?

Oh Stolfo. I see your language function is still pretty glitchy...

？！

Master!

And...Huh? Nightingale?

Didn't you say you didn't wanna be Santa?

Yes, I did.

However...I see now that I was unknowingly being selfish.

Hmm. I see.

But, um, didn't you also say that if you did become Santa Claus, you'd be handing out

Medicine? That's right.

It will taste sweet and delicious, just like candy... but it will still be medicine through and through.

Aw come on, you can't give away medicine as a present! That's just so...boring!

Yes, I agree.

That's why I originally declined the offer to be Santa Claus.

But I realized something thanks to my experiences here on Santa Island.

There's nothing wrong with being boring.

Huh? Come on, you can't be serious.

But I am. For the medicine I give away will be an expression of my love.

I will of course be sad if anyone chooses to refuse it, but I will not force it upon them if they don't want it.

Whatever the children do with my gifts is entirely up to them.

But I thought you didn't even like children.

I...

？！

Huh? I don't get it.

How can I put this...?

I admit that I don't always know how to behave around children, but that isn't because I dislike them.

I was just...afraid of them. You see, in my time, children frequently died much too young.

That's true in pretty much any time.

It's why those who are strong enough to fight will always have a duty to keep children safe.

I'm scared of children. They're so small, and weak, and fragile.

That's why I want to give them medicine. I want them to be hale and hearty, so that they no longer have to fear the specter of death.

That way...

Hmm... I don't get what you're talking about at all, but I can still tell you're really passionate about it!

But I dunno, I still feel like something's missing!

Oh, give it up already, Stolfo. Or if you can't do that, why not just fight her now?

Yeah, good idea! Okay, let's do this!

...Hm?

... ...

But I'm gonna lose!

Ughhh.

Waaah! Okay, fine! I'm just gonna pull out ALL the stops then!

...!

Astolfo is gathering up magical energy! It looks like

All I gotta do is ring this bell, and I'll get both stronger AND more Santa...um...Santay! Maybe!

So this is the power of the true Santa bell. Impressive. All my bell does is make a little jingling sound.

I don't know how this works either, but I do know that this bell is amaaazing!

？！

No matter. I cannot afford to lose this fight!

Now that I have decided to be Santa Claus, I refuse to turn away from my chosen path!

That's the spirit!

Um... I guess I don't need to be here anymore, so...

Aw come on, Mante, I was counting on you to join me!

Ughhh! Okay, okay!

It's my duty to help my fellow paladins, and I can't go back on that now!

Sorry about this, Master!

Then this is it. The final battle to determine who will be the true Santa!

You or me, Santa baby! Let's do this!

Noooooo! I loooooost!

(Sigh) What a surprise.

Hey! What do you mean, "what a surprise"!?

...Huh? I feel like...I'm getting weaker...?

......

......

?

I'm back to normal again!? Why? How? WHYYY!? HOOOOOOW!?

Hmm. I wonder...

Maybe it was that bell that turned you from a Rider into a Saber, Stolfo?

Really? Then, it wasn't because the heavens saw how hard I've been working and decided to grant my wish?

？！

Master?

？！

Ah.

Ah.

Aaaaaah!

？！

Now it all makes sense!

So that bell gathering magical energy was actually a just Holy Grail disguised as a bell!

Then, we were spending precious magical energy resources just so someone could pretend to be Santa Claus!?

Okay, I'm not recording anything in our archives about this mess. If word got out, Chaldea's reputation would be ruined!

So that's what was going on. I turned into a Saber 'cause I'm always going around wishing I could be one!

(Man, I'm so glad I didn't wish for something crass, like being a billionaire!)

Now I see.

So Stolfo lost his Saber powers when Nightingale officially became the bell's new owner!

Aw man. I guess life just never goes how you want!

... ...

Are you sure, Astolfo?

Hm?

Bwa!?

Wh-what's going on!?

No way. I'm a Saber again!?

H-hold on a minute! Did you just use the Holy Grail's power!?

Yes, I did. Though only enough to change Astolfo's Spirit Origin.

Huh!?

Any Holy Grails we find are supposed to be turned over to Chaldea anyway.

And above all, I didn't gather this Santa Power myself.

I may have decided to be Santa Claus...

...but I have no intention of using this power to jump straight to the conclusion.

Now that I have made my decision, I'm going to see it through to the end fair and square.

Wow, so mature...

No wonder she was the world's greatest nurse... I've never seen anyone else with so much willpower.

I'm perfectly happy to continue using this replica. Besides, I've grown rather fond of its timbre.

(Sniff) Thanks, Nightingale! You're the best!

(Sigh) I guess all I did was mess everything up again...

？！

Huh?

Astolfo.

If it weren't for you, I don't think I would have ever decided to be Santa Claus.

If not for you, I would never have come to Santa Island or ever looked back on who I used to be.

So...thank you.

Whoooa! I can't believe you just blushed!

You're so cute!!!

Cute!?

Wow... That blush could stop a thousand ships in their tracks...

？！

... ...

Ahem!

So, Master. I apologize for asking this on such short notice...

...but would it be okay if I continued my Santa Claus training for a while longer?

？！

Thank you, Master.

Don't forget about me! If there's anything I can do to help with your training, just say the word!

After all, I'm the greatest Saber who ever lived, so I'm sure I can be of service!

Just don't get carried away this time, Stolfo. Remember, you're only a Saber now thanks to her.

In the meantime, I'd be glad to help out too!

I'm not gonna do shit, but I did bring along a bunch of goody-goodies who wanna help.

Seriously, though. Don't expect me to help. 'Cause I won't. No freakin' way.

？！

As Chaldea's original Santa, I am honor bound to aid my successor.

I trust my answer goes without saying? Welcome, new Santa Claus. I'm glad to have you.

We'll help too, of course.

¡Sí!

SANTA...

And so will Darius III. At least, I think that's what he's saying.

I'll be glad to help from Chaldea in any way I can, too!

Thank you, everyone. In that case, there's one favor I'd like to ask of all of you.

?

I'm told it's traditional to have a party for Christmas, so I was hoping you could all help me hold one.

Would...that be okay?

Absolutely!