Red clothes and hat, a lush white beard.
A jolly old man with a large sack of gifts slung over his shoulder, hopping from chimney to chimney—Santa Claus.
The origin of this character was Saint Nicholas, a bishop who once went around doing good deeds for people.
It is said that Bishop Nicholas secretly left marriage funds at the ho of three sisters who were so poor that they were at risk of being sold into a brothel because they couldn’t afford a dowry.
Since then, people began calling those who showed charity to others "Sinterklaas," which is the Dutch pronunciation of Saint Nicholas. And ss Christmas traditions spread worldwide around the 19th century, this na evolved into today’s "Santa Claus."
However, Santa Claus did not always have the friendly image he does now.
In his early depictions, Santa Claus, fitting his status as a saint, was portrayed as very solemn and strict.
The transformation of Santa into the cheerful and approachable grandfather figure we know today happened through Coca-Cola’s advertising.
Struggling with declining winter sales, Coca-Cola adopted Santa Claus, a symbol of Christmas, as their mascot.
They dressed Santa in the red and white colors of the Coca-Cola logo, giving him a uniform look, and launched ads with him as a jolly old man who climbed down chimneys.
The ads showed him as a grandfatherly friend, arriving to deliver gifts to children, getting caught sneaking a Coke from the fridge, or playfully stealing their snacks.
This campaign was a huge success, and Santa Claus beca an inseparable figure in Coca-Cola’s branding.
Every winter, he would appear in their ads, gulping down bottles of Coke.
To combat the winter sales slump of our cola, the idea I ca up with was none other than Santa Claus.
Of course, the original inspiration for Santa Claus—Bishop Saint Nicholas—did not exist in this otherworld.
But that didn’t bother much.
’If it doesn’t exist, I’ll just create it.’
After all, Taito, the iconic character of corn flakes, and Bolitur, the mascot of coke, were both original creations.
And this world was the perfect environnt to introduce a fictional character like Santa Claus.
"Aria, when does the resting season start?"
"In two weeks."
"Perfect."
In this world, there is a period when everyone stops working to take a break.
That is the "Resting Season," which takes place in the last month of the year.
When the resting season begins, even nations at war cease fighting, and the continent falls into a state of tranquility.
At first glance, it might seem like a Church-designated holiday, but amusingly, the resting season was actually created by warring nations.
Since it was impossible to continue battles in the cold winter, they needed ti to regroup and prepare to resu in the spring—thus, the resting season was born.
In other words, it was a "war preparation period."
Since they couldn’t openly call it that, they wrapped it in a more palatable term—"Resting Season."
Despite its origins possibly reeking of bloodshed, the resting season beca a aningful ti for the continent’s people to close out the year.
Before the resting season starts, people write their wishes on letters and send them to the Church.
While this is rely a year-end prayer hoping for good fortune in the new year...
’It’s the perfect setup for Santa Claus.’
A jolly old man who jumps down chimneys to deliver gifts to children—Santa Claus.
The resting season was an ideal stage for Santa Claus to make a grand debut in this world.
Gathering the necessary props wouldn’t be difficult either.
Red clothes, a red hat, a big sack, a sleigh, and reindeer...
I grabbed so colored pencils and began drawing all the features of Santa Claus that I rembered.
"This will be the new mascot for our cola."
"This?"
"Yeah."
Aria took my quick sketch, which focused on just the key points, and clicked her tongue.
"It’s astonishing as always."
"That good?"
"Yes, if you don’t explain it, no one would recognize this as a drawing."
"...."
"Is he a different species?"
"No, he’s human."
"Then why is he covered in red... is this blood?"
"It’s not blood. It’s a red hat and red clothes."
"Why did you alternate white and skin tones on his face?"
"...The white part is his beard."
Aria ticulously asked questions about my drawing and reinterpreted its features as she redrew it.
The Santa that erged from Aria’s hands was unmistakably Santa Claus—recognizable by anyone.
It was as if she had seen the real Santa and painted him.
I guess that ant I had explained it well enough.
"Senior, what exactly does Santa Claus do?"
"He’s an old man who delivers the gifts children wish for during the cold winter."
"So, he’s a winter saint for children."
"Exactly."
Aria was spot on.
In England, Santa Claus is even called "Father Christmas"—the "Christmas Grandfather."
"Are you planning to make Santa Claus a hot topic and turn him into the new mascot for our cola?"
"Yes, I think if a figure who grants wishes during the resting season appears, it could draw a lot of attention."
Resting season letters are simply small personal hopes.
People know well that the Heavens are unlikely to grant them.
But what if a character like Santa Claus appeared and scattered those small wishes around?
’It would cause an uproar.’
In this world, where material abundance was not yet common, the concept of "giving" to others was still unfamiliar.
The idea of an individual, rather than an organization or nation, going around performing acts of charity was considered quite an "eccentricity."
In fact, this was precisely how Santa Claus beca famous in my previous world.
"We need to investigate the wish letters hanging in the chapel and start preparing gifts," Aria said.
Having worked together for so long, Aria imdiately grasped my intention.
After that, we spent so ti preparing Santa’s props and gifts.
The existence of the mystical power of "magic" in this otherworld made creating Santa much easier than in my previous life.
And so, after a week, everything was ready.
We had a sack filled with gifts reflecting the wishes of children collected from the chapel, a Santa costu, and even a sleigh, which I managed to procure with the help of Count Trion.
Since we limited the gift distribution to just the "capital," preparing presents for a few hundred people didn’t cost as much as I had expected.
As an investnt, this much was nothing.
But above all, the most surprising part was...
"Can it really fly?"
"Yes, it’s no big deal."
The one who answered so nonchalantly was Orca, the White Dragon, a beautiful girl with white hair.
I had summoned Orca through Iberkina and asked if she could make the sleigh fly.
Her casual answer left astonished.
For Orca, making the sleigh soar into the sky seed as easy as breathing.
However, according to what I knew, levitating both a sleigh and people into the air was a feat that even high-ranking wizards had to put significant effort into, considering the imnse weight it needed to support.
It was not a problem to be taken lightly, unlike how easily Orca had responded.
Iberkina, seemingly displeased with my surprised expression, pouted.
"...The spirits are doing all the work."
"But I’m the one controlling the spirits, so technically, I’m the one doing it, right?"
"Hmph," Iberkina turned her head away, still sulking.
’They still don’t get along, huh?’
I’d heard that when Iberkina was just a hatchling, Orca used to play pranks on her by hiding food.
It seed Iberkina still hadn’t let it go.
Anyway...
"Can I try riding it?"
"Sure, go ahead."
It was a quiet night when everyone else was asleep. The sleigh stood ready in the garden of our Magic Tower.
’It feels wrong to ride it alone.’
I couldn’t experience such a rare opportunity by myself, so I woke up Aria, Ranya, and Zion, dragging them outside.
"Mm, Yuri, what do you an by riding a sleigh?"
"You’re saying we’ll fly through the sky on a sleigh?"
"Senior, are you feeling, okay?"
Having been woken from their sleep, all three of them looked puzzled.
Seeing Zion blurt out whatever ca to mind, I felt a sense of accomplishnt.
At that mont, Ranya spotted Orca in the garden and seed to wake up completely, startled.
"...A d-dragon!?"
"Gasp!"
Zion was equally shocked, though Aria, already familiar with Orca, didn’t seem too surprised.
"I called her over. She’s here to help us make the sleigh fly."
"That’s right, I agreed to help," Orca said cheerfully.
Thanks to the positive impression from our first eting, she seed quite fond of .
"S-Senior, is she really a dragon?"
"Yeah."
Since they had already seen her, I admitted it without hesitation.
"It’s not a dream, so don’t slap yourself."
I stopped Zion from smacking his own cheek, while our Tower Master stamred,
"B-but what are you planning to do with a dragon?"
"It’ll be fun, so just hop on."
As I climbed onto the sleigh, Iberkina quickly took the seat next to .
The other three hesitantly followed suit.
Since I had given them a heads-up before coming out, everyone was bundled up in warm outerwear.
"Alright, here we go."
Orca, who climbed on last, announced cheerfully.
Whoosh—
In an instant, a breeze swept over us, and a presence quietly appeared at the front of the sleigh.
I recognized it as a spirit, similar to those I’d seen among the elves.
Though I couldn’t see its form, the energy it exuded suggested it wasn’t an ordinary spirit.
And then...
"W-whoa...!"
With Ranya’s surprised voice, the sleigh lifted off the ground.
Flap—
The fierce wind tousled our hair.
A full moon hung round in the sky, casting its light upon us.
’It’s working.’
Looking down at the capital’s scenery unfolding below, I couldn’t help but smile.
Delivering gifts from this sleigh?
Santa Claus becoming a legendary figure of the resting season was practically guaranteed.
And if that Santa starred in a cola comrcial...
’It’s ga over.’
Now, it was ti to find the most important part—the one who will as "Santa Claus" himself.
***
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