CH 41

It was the night of December 24th, and the clock was about to strike zero. Rintaro had received a low rebound pillow from a bingo tournament, and it was helping him sleep peacefully after a long and tiring day.

「……Suyaa……」

「……Ssuyaaa……」

On the large king-size bed, there was an intruder, as expected. A little girl in reindeer pajamas was breathing softly through the gaps in her fangs. She was a reindeer, or rather, Samecchi.　

At first, Rintaro would move to the sofa and go back to sleep whenever he noticed it. However, after two weeks at Ark Dominion, he finally gave up on the idea because she kept sneaking in every night.

It may sound bad to be sharing a bed with a woman, but the other person is a child who is not old enough yet. There would be no chance of a mistake between her and Rintaro, who called himself a sensible adult.

–But there was another intruder that night–

「……Yoshi, you are sleeping well……!」

The tall, black-haired maiden opened the door carefully, making sure not to make a sound, and checked the inside of the room. Then she quietly crept into the bedroom where Rintaro was sleeping.

「Santa has brought you a present……. Well, I’d be in trouble if you were to wake up now though.」

A mysterious woman dressed in a bright red Santa suit, with a height like a model that even grown men look up to. She was the Sword Mountain Mysterious Being dressed as Santa Claus, Swordminas.

She had been preparing a gift for Rintaro and Sametchi for a few days to repay them for saving her life. However, Rintaro, who was sandwiched between two executives at the banquet hall, was too scary to talk to.

That’s why, taking advantage of her guise as Santa claus, she snuck into Rintaro’s private room after Rintaro had fallen asleep.

Even though it is Santa Claus, it is not the template Santa Claus like Dragius. It was a cheap cosplay mini-skirt Santa Claus like those sold at Large Duty-Free Shop(大型免税量販店). The length of the mini-skirt, combined with her tall body and ample bust line, was not sufficient to fit her body.

「Uuu…… if Rintaro were to see me like this ……!」

But it couldn’t be helped, because this was the only thing available. Aside from Rintaro, if Sametchi woke up, there would be no way to recover. As adults, they cannot deprive children of their dream of Santa Claus.

「It’ s okay, just put it down and quickly leave…….!」

That’s what Minato told herself. If she was that worried about it, she doesn’t really have to force herself to leave a present at his bedside. But ever since she had been welcomed into the secret underground base of the Ark Dominion, Minato had been very grateful to Rintaro and Samecchi.

The fact that she was offered a place to stay and was accepted by everyone seemed to have reduced her “attacks” considerably. She may not be able to repay the debt of gratitude in this way, but she was motivated by a pure desire to do what she could.

「It would be too much to give something tangible……. I tried to make a food that would last for a while, but I wondered if they would like it…….?」

Just then, she heard a voice from the bed.

「Umyun…… Perverted Aniki(Aniki no Ecchi), ssu……」

「Dokii!」

The flea’s heart jumped, and the debabōchō[1] popped from around her heart. Minato managed to pick up the weapon before it tumbled to the floor.

At this point, let’s explain once again. As the name suggests, Minato, or Swordminas, is a mysterious being with a surprising constitution, and when she is startled, knives fly out of every part of her body.

「……Wh, What, so it was just sleep-talking……!」

It’s also possible for her to be “sleeping” but not asleep. A bed is not just a place to sleep.

If she had snuck into the room in the middle of such “love affair”, it would have been a very unpleasant story. The room was dimly lit, so she couldn’t see much, but both Rintaro and Samecchi seemed to be sleeping soundly.

It was dangerous… Minato had completely forgotten that possibility. In general, on Christmas Eve, this time zone is called the “Six Hours of Sex”. It wouldn’t be weird if they were to “do things”.　

Minato stroked her chest in relief, and got startled.

「Awawawawa……Hauaaaaa!?」

Her tight Santa costume was ripped open from the chest, including her underwear. There was only one reason for this: the knife that had just popped out of her chest.

「Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh, What kind of shameful outfit am I dressed in……!?」

She hurriedly pressed her chest, but the costume didn’t fit her body in the first place. The figure was too sensational to be Santa Claus.

On Christmas Eve, it is okay to deliver presents to the bedroom because Santa is a grandpa. On the six hours of sex, a maiden who had no clothes, sneaking into the bedroom quietly is generally called “night crawling”.

「L-L-L-Let’s just leave the presents and get the hell out of here!　Let’s just do that!」

Minato hurriedly took out the gift she had prepared. The sweet scent of the gift spreads softly through the pretty wrapping.

Minato’s gift was a homemade cookie filled with butter. People tend to say that it’s not compatible because she’s tall, but the truth is that she’s good at baking. Because she is timid, she is good with her hands and is skilled at doing things according the manuals.

This time, in addition to the cookies, chocolate sauce and strawberry jam were prepared as accompaniments. Of course, everything from the garnish to the packaging was handmade by Minato.

Minato put the present on his pillow so as not to wake Rintaro and the others. In the darkness, she could vaguely see Rintaro’s sleeping face.

「Uun…… I beg you, please spare my life……」

The man was saying something pathetic in his sleep-talk.　

Looking at it this way, it’s hard to believe that this is the mysterious being that single-handedly destroyed the strongest hero, Victor Ranger.

And yet, in reality, he is the most powerful and villainous mysterious being in history, having single-handedly attacked the forbidden underground facility at Hero Headquarters and completely destroyed eight robots. No one had ever thought of freeing the Tokyo-Saitama area, the home of the Hero Headquarters, from its oppression before.

She was surprised to learn that the man who had saved her life had managed to do so. If it weren’t for Rintaro, Minato herself would still be undergoing torturous experiments in that dark underground detention facility.

「Thank you Rintaro……. Merry Christmas.」

Minato placed her lips quietly on the sleeping Rintaro’s cheek.

She didn’t know herself why she did it. If a reason had to be said then, as Minato herself is a very timid person, the courage she received from him must have overflowed a little.

Putting her hand on her hot, flushed cheek, Minato decided to leave the bedroom.

The ironclad rule of Santa Claus is to leave no evidence other than presents. Especially, you can’t something very very dangerous like a Debabocho. Minato was awakened as a mysterious being through acquiring, but she has gotten accustomed to her constitution of “increasing luggage” on her way back and forth.

And that’s when.

「It smells so good……. Itadakimasu……」

Gaburi!!

A sharp pain shot through Minato’s butt.

「ーーーーーーーーーーーーー~Tsu~tsu~tsu~tsu~tsu!!!??」

The sweet smell of the cookies caught the sleepy shark and fished her out. Sword Minas jumped up with an inaudible scream.

Sword Minas flailed about in pain. Blades flew apart, an astronomical telescope collapsed, a steam iron flew through the air, and a jar of strawberry jam that she had prepared as a present cracked with a clink.

「Pigyaaaaaaaaaaaaa! ! !」

「Wh- What what!?」

Rintaro, who had been sleeping soundly, jumped out of bed at the commotion. As soon as Rintaro reached for his bedside glasses, Sword Minas managed to pull Samecchi off of her. The jam-covered Samecchi, laid on the floor, and was surprisingly still breathing softly in her sleep.

「Exactly what is going on!??」

When Rintaro put on his glasses, he saw a horrific scene.

In the dimly lit room, a reddish liquid (jam) dripped down. There was a tall woman standing there, breathing hard with a debabōchō in her hand, her eyes glistening with murderous intent. The woman was dressed in a tattered, almost half-naked, bright red outfit, and her eyes were vacant, as if she was about to cry.

And at her feet was the scarlet-red figure of Samecchi, rolled over haphazardly and not moving a muscle.

By all accounts, it was the scene of a bizarre murder.

「Haa, Haa…… Rintaro, I’m sorry, but…… Please sleep for a little longer……」

「Hiiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa！！！！！」

A man’s scream that sounded like a silk ripping echoed through the night of Christmas Eve.

[1] Deba bocho are Japanese style kitchen carvers used to cut fish, as well as chicken and meat.