Chapter Thirty-Seven: I'm a Cute Little Reindeer / Chapter Thirty-Eight: Today, We Do Whatever Santa Says

When Yuxian received Little Jeanne's training plan, he felt utterly miserable. Used to taking things easy, he despaired at the devilish schedule laid out on the plan.

Chiron's Pankration had ancient origins. It was the world's first form of mixed martial arts. Yuxian admired that kind of martial art as well, but when it came to actually learning it himself, he had no interest whatsoever.

Seeing Little Jeanne staring at him with a stern expression, Yuxian clasped his hands over his head and begged in a low voice, "Can I not learn it? With physical fitness like mine, I'll probably die of exhaustion before I even master it."

"No!" Little Jeanne rejected Yuxian without a second thought. She said solemnly, "It is precisely because Master's physical condition is so poor that you need to train even harder!"

No—!!!

Yuxian completely broke down. He immediately thought of asking Mash to plead for him. His junior was the most caring toward him; she definitely would not want to see him suffer like this.

However, after searching the entire Outer District, he still could not find Mash. At that moment, Yuxian understood that he could not escape his fate of being put through brutal training. His whole person instantly dimmed, and he lowered his head without a trace of spirit.

Little Jeanne followed behind him at an unhurried pace, her head held high. Her adorable big eyes never left Yuxian for a moment. Go ahead and struggle all you want, Master. In the end, you still can't escape the palm of my hand.

Over the following days, Yuxian suffered miserably every day. Chiron naturally spared no effort in teaching him, though Yuxian would rather he went a little easier on him so he could slack off now and then.

Every day began with Little Jeanne waking him at dawn and ended with him collapsing into bed at night, utterly exhausted.

Yuxian's physical condition gradually improved as well. Chiron was an experienced teacher. Every day, the plan he arranged for Yuxian was calibrated to the right level, fully squeezing out Yuxian's potential and allowing his body to slowly adapt to that intensity before gradually increasing the training volume and difficulty.

The result was that every day, Yuxian could only grit his teeth and barely complete the training. He could not slack off in the slightest.

In just one month, Yuxian could clearly feel the enormous changes in his body. His overall vigor had improved greatly, and he had more or less learned the basics of Pankration. He could not claim to have grasped its essence, but he had at least learned it.

Such results were probably due to Chiron's excellent teaching. After all, he was the famous Great Sage.

When Chiron told Yuxian that he had graduated, Yuxian shed tears of excitement. He decided to spend an entire day lying in bed to make up for all the hardship he had endured.

Compared with learning magecraft, this kind of pure physical training was so dull it made one despair. Yuxian did not even know how he had persevered. The effort and sweat he had put in to learn Pankration in such a short time were beyond what outsiders could understand.

Perhaps it was because he did not want to see the disappointment in Little Jeanne's eyes.

P.S.:

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My compatibility with Her Majesty is very good.

Umu! I am a Roman!

I'm a Cute Reindeer

The weather gradually turned colder, and before he knew it, December had arrived. So many days had passed since they came to this world. Now that everything had gotten on track, it was time to leave.

Though they were reluctant to part, no feast lasted forever. Parting was for the sake of a better reunion.

When Yuxian informed everyone of this decision, they all fell silent.

Everyone had made many new friends here. Leaving meant saying goodbye, so it was only natural that they felt reluctant.

Atalanta was the first to break the silence. She said, "I want to stay. I'm still worried about these children."

Yuxian could understand her decision. He comforted her, saying, "It's all right. You can return to Chaldea anytime. It's not as though we'll never see each other again, so don't feel guilty."

"Then I'll stay and help as well. With Jeanne-chan managing Master, I can rest easy," Chiron said with a smile.

His words made Yuxian roll his eyes inwardly. He had experienced Little Jeanne's terrifying strictness firsthand. She truly showed no mercy. If she said he had to get up at five, he absolutely could not delay until five-ten. Her strictness had made Yuxian cry.

The others all said they would leave with Yuxian. Though they also had their own reluctance, Yuxian was more important than anything else. There was no reason to leave his side because of other people.

Now that the decision had been made, the only remaining question was when to leave. Yuxian planned to give everyone a few days to say goodbye to their friends and set the departure for one week later.

At that moment, Little Jeanne tugged at the hem of his clothes and said hesitantly, "Christmas is coming soon..."

Yuxian froze when he heard that. Without realizing it, the year was about to end. The date he had set for departure was only around ten days before Christmas. Seeing Little Jeanne like this, he reached out and rubbed her head, smiling. "Then we'll leave after Christmas!"

Christmas might have been just an ordinary holiday for everyone else, but it held extraordinary meaning for Little Jeanne.

She was a Heroic Spirit born because of Christmas, a being who could be called a Christmas Eve miracle. Therefore, she was exceptionally sensitive to the holiday. With only a little over ten days left before Christmas, she could not let it go no matter what. That was why she had pleaded with Yuxian, hoping they could celebrate a happy Christmas here before leaving.

Everyone understood Little Jeanne's feelings. No one objected, and they were willing to indulge her small wish.

"Need any help? I can handle the job of being a reindeer!" Yuxian pointed both hands at himself, his face beaming with a smile.

"Then let's help fill Santa Claus's gift bag!" The others responded one after another, deciding to participate in this Christmas celebration.

Over the next few days, everyone began busily preparing for Christmas. They were all looking forward to and delighted by the prospect of spending an unforgettable Christmas together.

Mash helped buy presents. The gifts in Santa Claus's bag did not appear out of thin air. It was more like a dimensional pocket that could store many things, which could then be handed out one by one to children as presents on Christmas Eve.

The others decorated the Outer District with Christmas trees, Christmas bells, colorful flags, and more, hanging and arranging them everywhere. The entire Outer District was suddenly filled with festive cheer.

When the children saw those beautiful decorations, they happily ran around and played. They had never spent Christmas so joyfully in their lives. Every child eagerly awaited Christmas Day, their smiles never fading as they imagined what that wonderful Christmas night would be like.

Although Yuxian had said he would be a reindeer, delivering gifts door to door was far beyond what he could manage. Yet he did not want to disappoint Little Jeanne.

He called Kisaragi Tendo and asked for her help. If they wanted every child in the Tokyo Area to receive a Christmas gift, handing the task to the government would clearly be more efficient and faster.

Kisaragi Tendo found his request rather strange, but she did not refuse. No matter what, Yuxian had helped the Tokyo Area survive a crisis of extinction. Both emotionally and logically, she should help him, and his request was not difficult to fulfill.

After hearing about Yuxian's request from Kisaragi Tendo, Seitenshi took the initiative to show her support. After several major incidents that had shaken public morale, she also needed a grand event to dilute the fear in people's hearts. This Christmas was an excellent opportunity.

Seitenshi's assistance was straightforward. She provided Yuxian with a large number of children's gifts and had the central square of the Tokyo Area decorated, inviting everyone to celebrate Christmas together there on Christmas night.

She would also arrange for dedicated personnel to deliver the gifts to children door to door.

Though such an arrangement made it seem like Yuxian was slacking off, it was still much easier than having him and Little Jeanne personally deliver presents door to door.

Yuxian explained Seitenshi's arrangements to Little Jeanne. She was somewhat dissatisfied that the reindeer had made decisions on his own without consulting her, the Santa Claus, but she ultimately accepted the arrangement. After all, the reindeer was simply too weak, and even she, Santa Claus, had no choice.

Time passed quickly, and Christmas arrived in the blink of an eye. The entire Tokyo Area was filled with Christmas cheer. All kinds of Christmas decorations could be seen everywhere on the streets, and the sound of jingling bells never ceased. People relaxed on this rare occasion, and laughter could be heard everywhere.

Little Jeanne put on her Santa Claus outfit, took out Santa Claus's sleigh, and also prepared a reindeer costume for Yuxian.

When Yuxian saw the reindeer costume Little Jeanne had prepared for him, he asked weakly, "Can I not wear it?"

He was deeply conflicted. When he agreed to be a reindeer, he had never considered this possibility. The outfit was simply too embarrassing, and he found it difficult to accept.

"No! A reindeer has to look like a reindeer!" Little Jeanne refused without even thinking.

How could he be a reindeer without wearing reindeer clothes? Just as she did not usually wear Santa Claus's clothes, once she became Santa Claus, she had to wear this outfit. It was a matter of conviction and ritual.

Mash covered her mouth and secretly laughed from the side. She was also looking forward to seeing Yuxian in the reindeer outfit. She had even prepared a camera, planning to capture this moment as a keepsake.

No matter how carefully Yuxian calculated, he had failed to account for this. He wanted to refuse, but seeing Little Jeanne's earnest expression, he could only take the reindeer costume and go change.

It was Christmas today, so it was too late to back out. Yuxian could only grit his teeth and accept it. If he retreated at the last moment, Little Jeanne would probably explode on the spot.

A reindeer it was. It was a special experience, after all!

Yuxian comforted himself. Thinking about it that way, he found it was not entirely unacceptable. He had to admit that his ability to adjust his own mindset was rather strong.

Today, Everything Listens to Santa Claus

On Christmas Day, Little Jeanne was especially energetic. She darted back and forth between rooms, organizing gifts one moment and checking the mirror the next to see whether her clothes were properly worn.

She even scrubbed the sleigh inside and out. It was clearly not dusty, yet she still polished it until it gleamed.

Gretel and Jack came to ask her to play with them, but she rejected them without a second thought and continued doing utterly unnecessary preparations.

Seeing her like this, Yuxian knew she was nervous. He had experienced that feeling before, so he comforted her. "Don't be nervous. We're just delivering presents. It'll be easy."

"When was I nervous?" Little Jeanne immediately denied it.

She would never admit she was nervous. She had experience being Santa Claus. She was already a mature Santa Claus.

"Yes, yes, you're not nervous. I misspoke. What I mean is that you should rest a little. You'll have to stay up late delivering gifts tonight. If you collapse from exhaustion, the children won't get any Christmas presents!" Yuxian changed his phrasing to soothe her.

He sat on the sofa while Little Jeanne paced back and forth before him. Unable to bear watching any longer, he patted the empty spot beside him and told her to sit down and rest for a while.

Little Jeanne listened to Yuxian and sat down, but she still twisted and fidgeted anxiously, unable to settle down at all.

Yuxian pulled her into his arms, placed her on his lap, and gently patted her back, helping her relax.

At first, Little Jeanne was a little embarrassed and struggled to get up, but Yuxian firmly held her down and would not let her leave.

Gradually, Little Jeanne stopped struggling. Her whole body relaxed, and she lay obediently on Yuxian's lap.

Once her taut nerves relaxed, she quickly fell asleep.

Yuxian felt a little sorry for her. Little Jeanne probably had not slept well last night. She had been tense and excited the whole time, which was why she fell asleep so easily.

He sat there without moving, afraid that even the slightest motion would wake Little Jeanne.

Whenever someone came in, he put a finger to his lips, signaling them to stay quiet so Little Jeanne could rest properly for a while.

This child always acted strong and thought of others in every way, but she herself was still just a child, still at an age when she needed to be spoiled and allowed to play.

Soft breathing entered Yuxian's ears. Little Jeanne slept especially soundly on his lap. Being beside Yuxian gave her an unprecedented sense of security, and nothing troubled her anymore.

The sky gradually darkened, and night was about to arrive. Yuxian had held the same position for too long. His legs had gone numb from poor circulation and lost all feeling, yet he still did not wake Little Jeanne. He wanted her to sleep a little longer.

After a little while longer, Little Jeanne finally woke up. She hurriedly got up, looking completely at a loss, which made people smile.

Because he had maintained the same position for too long, Yuxian's legs were numb, and he could not stand up for the moment.

He rubbed his thighs with his hands to ease the numbness, and only after quite some time did the feeling gradually return.

Seeing this, Little Jeanne said apologetically, "It's all my fault for falling asleep and making Master take care of me."

Yuxian smiled. "Jeanne-chan usually takes care of me, so let me take care of Jeanne-chan once in a while. Besides, I'm a reindeer today!"

Little Jeanne was deeply moved. She stared blankly at Yuxian with wide eyes, not knowing what to say.

The smile on Yuxian's face widened as he continued, "Oh my, Jeanne-chan looks so tiny, but I never expected you to be this heavy!"

"Reindeer! It is very rude to discuss a lady's weight!" Upon hearing Yuxian's evaluation of her weight, Little Jeanne immediately returned to her usual stern and serious manner and loudly protested.

"All right, all right, I was wrong!" Yuxian readily admitted his mistake.

Little Jeanne did not dwell on the issue. After Yuxian's joking, her mood quickly recovered. Seeing that it was getting late, she hurriedly said, "Reindeer, it's time to start working. Hurry up and change!"

Yuxian reluctantly returned to his room and put on that reindeer outfit. He dawdled for a long time before finally coming out.

"Wow! It's a reindeer!"

"Mr... Mr. Reindeer looks so cute!"

"Mhm! I also think Master has a talent for being a reindeer!"

When Yuxian came out in the reindeer outfit, he discovered everyone was waiting outside. Their gazes repeatedly examining him made him feel utterly embarrassed.

Mash and Chiron in particular looked as though they could barely hold back their laughter, making him wish he could immediately crawl into a hole.

In embarrassment and anger, he said, "What are you looking at? Next time, I'll make all of you be reindeer!"

"Oh my, that won't do. Master is the reindeer personally chosen by Santa Claus. We don't have the chance!"

Yuxian shot a sideways glance at him. He had not expected Teacher Chiron, who was normally such a proper role model, to be the most vicious teaser at a time like this. How hateful!

Only under Yuxian's fierce glare did everyone finally stop teasing him. Then Chiron got down to business. "Seitenshi has invited all the children in the Outer District to celebrate Christmas together in the central square. Atalanta has already set off with the children. We should head over as well. It would be impolite to keep people waiting."

Yuxian had already known that Seitenshi had arranged a Christmas event in the central square, but he had not expected her to personally invite the children to celebrate with everyone.

Naturally, Yuxian would not refuse such a kind gesture. It was a good thing. It would allow the children to enjoy Christmas and also bring the Cursed Children and ordinary citizens closer together.

In the present Tokyo Area, there was no need to worry about safety. Outside forces did not dare act rashly, and a large number of local thugs had been eliminated during the Aldebaran incident. Security in the Tokyo Area was exceptionally good.

By the time Yuxian and the others arrived at the central square, quite a few people had already gathered there.

The place had been decorated magnificently. Everything sparkled brightly, making it feel nothing like nighttime.

The children were drawn to the beautiful scenery and ran around the square. Among them, Yuxian spotted Kohina in a new outfit, happily playing with everyone. However, he did not see Hiruko Kagetane. Who knew which corner he was hiding in this time, observing from the shadows?

Yuxian let several children go play on their own, then walked toward where Seitenshi was and went to greet her.

Little Jeanne did not leave. She followed closely behind Yuxian, afraid that the reindeer would run away the instant she looked away. Santa Claus could not do without her reindeer.

"Yuxian, you truly still have a childlike heart."

Seeing Yuxian dressed as a reindeer, Seitenshi covered her mouth in surprise and chuckled softly.

Yuxian noticed that everyone's attention was focused on him, and several dark lines appeared across his forehead. He did not want to speak.

"Reindeer, be polite!" Seeing Yuxian remain silent, Little Jeanne reminded him from behind.

It would have been better if Little Jeanne had said nothing. Once she spoke, Yuxian became even more embarrassed. He could only smile awkwardly and say, "Merry Christmas, everyone!"