Chapter 478: Presents Made With One’s Heart and Soul
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The two little girls scurried towards him excitedly. Then, as if they had reached a tacit agreement before this, they stood by each of his sides and grabbed onto Baiyi’s gauntlet, chirping, “So, how was it, Big Meanie?”
“Well…” Baiyi began, his voice laced with hesitance before he squeezed the two children’s hands and led them back to his garden. “Let’s talk about it while we rub our elbows with grease, shall we?”
With that, he let go of their hands and bent down, picking up one of the maltreated flowers from the ground, wincing a little at the devastated state it was. After brus.h.i.+ng the dirt and bits of gra.s.s off from the stalk, he straightened it and meticulously planted it back into the flower’s corresponding tin can.
A keen observer might notice that tending to his plants was likely the only time Baiyi would use his own hands instead of using his mana.
The two little girls s.h.i.+fted their eyes from the big guy and back to the garden, the memory of how this garden was before their rough playtime sprang into their minds. Feeling increasingly bad, they hurried over and joined him.
Santa mimicked Baiyi’s action and cupped her hands around another animal-themed tin can, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to remember its exact placement. Meanwhile, Anna crawled on all fours on the lawn to pick up bits and pieces of junk food sc.r.a.pes they had left.
Baiyi turned and enjoyed the sight of the two childishly trying to help, but his watching pleasure was cut short as soon as his eyes caught Anna’s backside; apparently, the girl’s skirt was too short to properly cover her as she crouched on all four.
Unhappily, he forced his head away before his eyes could make out the pattern of the little girl’s underwear. He was sure that somewhere out there, some perverts were probably screaming about wanting to trade places with him right now… [1]
While they were working, Baiyi casually recounted the exchange between himself and Laeticia as the two girls listened, bobbed their heads at occasions, and continued their ch.o.r.es. It was a scene straight out of an idealistic picture of family bonding.
“Sounds to me everything is okey-doke for my big sister now, right?” Santa wondered out loud as she ran towards a tall flower stand, an elephant-shaped tin-can in her hand.
She swung the tin-can above her head, stood on her toes, but even with her hands stretched long and her face practically reddening, her elephant tin-can did not come any closer to the targeted tier; All she did manage was to let out low whimpers from the exertion.
After watching her in amus.e.m.e.nt for a while, Baiyi crouched near her to grab onto her black silky socks-clothed legs from below then lifted her up. With the new aid in height, Santa finally set the tin-can on the stand with a satisfying thud .
How did the brat even manage to take these tin-cans down in the first place? Out of the corner of his eyes, Baiyi spied the stand more closely and found a series of dusty black shoe prints crawling all over it; once again proving that when kids were determined to make a mess out of anything, they would always find the way to do it against all odds.
Instead of putting Santa down, he decided to let the girl perched on his shoulders as if he was her mobile, human-shaped ladder. Meanwhile, seeing their arrangement, Anna stood up from the lawn — brus.h.i.+ng bits of plants and mud off her long white socks — and grabbed the next animal-themed tin-can. Then, she pa.s.sed it to him, who then pa.s.sed it to Santa. Finally, with Baiyi’s instruction, she set it back on its original spot on the flower stand.
It was like a scene from a bizarre advertis.e.m.e.nt about domestic life: a masked father, who was somehow donning a full set of armor, patiently and tenderly instructing his two young daughters to help him out with his garden.
As Little Santa wriggled in his arms, her tender skin pressed against his coa.r.s.e armor body, Baiyi watched Little Anna ran to-and-fro in her stout legs as she hurriedly carried more pots in her hands. It was like paradise to him; he was sure that he had reached his loli enjoyment quota of the day. If he were to die right now, he would have no regret…
Baiyi resumed their previous topic. “Unfortunately, Big Sister Cia’s problem isn’t something that could be solved with good sleep, which, by the way, was . The core of her problem remains unsolved.”
“But… But what else can we do?” Santa turned her head sharply, her golden eyes widening in an inquiring look.
“I’m afraid we’ll have to leave her to it on her own. The best we could do is to provide her the morale to go through this crisis.”
“You mean, we just have to make sure she’s happy?” Anna asked innocently as she hurried over to them with a cat-shaped tin can in her arms.
Santa caught the can from Baiyi’s hands and raised it above her head, waiting for Baiyi to lift her high enough to set it back to the topmost tier. Baiyi did as she expected, and the girl gingerly set the last piece down. Alas, the flower stand was finally fully restored.
Despite that, she remained in Baiyi’s arms; she would not like to admit it out loud, but it did not feel too bad to be carried around like that…
She remarked regrettably, “Too bad Christmas doesn’t exist in this world, or I’ll definitely give Big Sister Cia the best present she had ever received, and she will be so, so happy!”
Seeing how comfortable Santa was made Anna positively green. Not wanting to be left out, she looked up at Baiyi pleadingly and spread her arms wide wordlessly, which of course made Baiyi’s heart blossomed in jubilance.
“You don’t need Christmas to give anyone a present. Any suitable occasion would do,” He managed as he heaved the other girl up with another arm.
“You think so? …Oh no! I just remember! I haven’t brought my Santa Clause stash with me when I came here. It’s where all of my presents are!” Santa cried, her lips pursing in dismay. “What can I even give her now?”
“You know what? A gift made by your own hands will always triumph anything someone else made. You may not have your Santa Clause stash, but you could make something with your own hands and heart,” Baiyi suggested.
With the two still resting in his arms, he sauntered to his chalet and headed to his Magus Lab, not to do anything ranging from the inappropriate to the most degenerate towards two innocent little girls, mind you. He was simply planning to use his lab as a makes.h.i.+ft workshop where he could guide them into making the best presents the girls could imagine.
Not only would the gifts bring a smile back to the tired Saintess’ face, but they would also serve as a reminder for the confused girl that she was never alone.
For the next few days, the two little girls would be present in Baiyi’s house as early as the first ray of sunlight so that they could throw themselves completely into their gift-making project. They were so ardent in their work that sometimes, Baiyi himself had to bring them meals and remind them to eat. Then, whenever the Fifth Walker happened to be outside tending to his affairs, the girls would be sitting by his front door and wait for him to come home.
Meanwhile, Santa had taken up the role of an informant reporting Laeticia’s changes to Anna and Baiyi every day. According to her, Big Sister was still p.r.o.ne to pensiveness or even gloominess at times, but at least she was starting to sleep better and easier.
Baiyi had then rubbed the girls’ head said encouragingly, “She will definitely get better once she received the gifts the two of you had made!”
A week pa.s.sed.
Laeticia found herself a surprised recipient to two presents lovingly made by two youngest members of her family. Although the idea of the gifts was of the girls’ alone, Baiyi had managed to guide them with suggestions to make it better.
“This… Is this…?” Laeticia breathed, her eyes widening as her pupils glided through an incredibly lifelike sculpture of a natural wonder: on one end, a field of golden sands stretched, while directly opposite it the wide, turquoise blue sea. In the middle where the two natural marvels met was a single white door that was slightly ajar, allowing the observer to take in the full dauntlessness of the ocean and the blue sky above it when they peeked through the door.
According to Baiyi, the meaning this sculpture wanted to convey was that sometimes, all it takes to make one feel better was to just look at the boundless sea and be reminded that there would always be enough s.p.a.ce for one to spill their heart and anguish out, rather than to coc.o.o.n it within one’s heart.
“I name this… The ‘Door to the Ocean’! I’ve always believed that if you could just push open the door that separates yourself from the world, you’ll find the sea gently waiting for you, happy to take in your happiness and sorrow,” Santa explained. “Do you believe in that, Big Sister?”
“Who else’s dream should I believe in, if not my own sister’s?” Laeticia pulled Santa into her embrace and rubbed her cheeks on the girl’s face in glee, her face glowing with a fulfilled smile.
They parted only after a good few minutes and turned their attention to Anna’s gift: a full-body dress made from wispy white satin. Attached to its collar was a long, white habit reaching all the way to the wearer’s ankles. Then, to complete the look of an ethereal G.o.ddess, the dress even came with accompanying headdress made from a black hairband and a few black flowers.
What was the deeper meaning behind this dress? Truthfully, there was none; Baiyi just thought that any girl would love to receive a beautiful dress as a gift any time of the year, a sentiment that Anna obviously agreed to. She had immediately launched into sewing the best dress she could imagine, and with the help from expert seamstresses like Nota and Attie, she finally completed the dress exactly as envisioned.
“Um, I made it after the dress my sisters wear. They were real, powerful G.o.ddesses, though I’m kinda just, well… Anyway, you remind me of a G.o.ddess too, Big Sister Cia. Kind, beautiful, and graceful. So I really thought you are perfect to wear my sisters’ dress and I hope… I hope you’ll be my sister here,” Anna reasoned with a sheepish smile.
Laeticia’s eyes were watering when she pulled Anna into her, the three locking arms together into a heartwarming huddle.
Hiding his presence using the invisibility technique he had learned from Lady a.s.sa.s.sin Walker, Baiyi watched their interaction quietly, pleased. ‘Hopefully, you’ll feel much better now, Laeticia, he thought. And hopefully, this will strengthen your resolve to remain with us.’
On the very next day, Santa was practically sprinting towards Baiyi to report that Big Sister Cia had changed. A new set of determination now dawned on her face, replacing the shadows that had plagued her for weeks as if she had finally made a decision. In fact, she had seemingly returned to her previous happy, carefree self!
“That’s wonderful news!” Baiyi chimed, feeling a large load lifting from his chest. He may not know how Laeticia managed to solve this crisis of faith. He even wondered if she ultimately adopted the Cleric’s ridiculous mental gymnastics and separated her faith from the doctrines, but it was a welcome and positive change nonetheless. At least for now, he no longer had to worry that she might snap and descended to the deep end… As long as her petty G.o.d leaves her alone and does not try to mess her up again, that is.
“I must thank you, Big Meanie. It’s all thanks to you that she’s alright now!” Santa said happily.
“Well, if you’re really grateful, you could repay me by not calling me Big Meanie from now on. Please refer to me as… Er, Mr. Hope,” Baiyi said hesitantly before offering a pa.s.sable address.
“Mm-hmm,” Santa nodded docilely. “But there is one thing more I could do to show you my grat.i.tude. Allow me to pamper your ears with my voice!”
She closed her eyes, stood on her toes, and started humming softly, “‘Twas a peaceful night, filled with wondrous, festive moments worthy of our celebration! Let us adorn this Christmas with a heartfelt ode! On the count of one, two, three… Jingle bells, jingle bells! Jingle all the way~~”