E-Rantel's Santa Claus

* Albedo
* Demiurge
* Cocytus
* Aura Bella Fiora
* Mare Bello Fiore
* Protagonist
* Slimeko
* Solution Epsilon
* Entoma Vasilissa Zeta
* Yuri Alpha
* Hamsuke
* Fluder Paradyne
* Lupusregina Beta
* CZ2128 Delta

Re-Estize Kingdom* Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself
* Climb
* Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra
* Evileye
* Saint Clementine
* Gazef Stronoff
* Nfirea Bareare
* Nemu Emmot
* Lizzie Bareare
* Pluton Ainzach
* Giant Beetles
* Chaos Beasts
* Super Giant Sanitary Slime

## Outcome

Illness in E-Rantel is Cured

**E-Rantel's Santa Claus** (エ・ランテルのサンタ奇譚) was a game event in Mass for the Dead. It was released on December 13, 2021 to December 31, 2021.

## Background

A new lesion afflicts E-Rantel, which is about to advance research on the threats and Chaos Beasts common to all humankind. The miracle of the Holy Night does not occur in the "disease" that eats away the orphans. Those who have various thoughts in their hearts aim for a certain victory, and――

## Incident

In E-Rantel, where the recovery from Jaldabaoth's invasion is progressing, Princess Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself enjoys the peace from the demons with her friends while doing public affairs. At a suite with her associates, Climb, Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra, and Evileye, the princess notes that the city to be bustling with newfound energy which Climb attributes to emanating from the new section and is now spreading to the old section of the city. The new attitude of the city is seen by Lakyus to be the result of the exhibition tournament. Since that event a lot of progress has been made, Evileye cannot help but wonder if this is all the plan of the protagonist. The conversation drifts to the specialty items from the Sorcerer Kingdom that are all the rage, the "chocolate sweets." Renner has a plate of the confections and though they are a high class item from the foreign kingdom, these are a mass produced variant create to satisfy the demand. Lakyus tries one and has nothing but good praise for the sweet.

No one is more pleased than the head of the Adventurer's Guild. Lakyus reveals that there is a plan to make goods of famous adventurers and sell them as novelties at the guild in conjunction with selling the sweets. The princess thinks that it is a good ideas as it would create employment. There is even a prototype of a doll of the "Dark Warrior" in the works according to Evileye. Lakyus makes a quip to Renner that she would not be interested unless it was of Climb, which gets an embarrassed reaction from the bodyguard.

On what the protagonist is doing, Renner tells her friends that the adventurer has been focusing on research investigating Chaos Beasts and the Cracks and have used a lot of investment in the research facilities within the Kingdom. The Sorcerer Kingdom is funding the restoration of the city and resources to create a place to create countermeasures against the threats in the world. This in mind, the nations of the Kingdom, Empire and Theocracy are coming together which Renner hopes with yield some good results.

The progress made by the Sorcerer Kingdom makes Renner consciousness of the Kingdom's state affairs such as the numerous orphans. Though employment and reconstruction plans are underway, the princess wishes to avoid mistreatment of such children wo may be put into the labor force. To her researching the future of mankind is noble but bear in mind it is also important to nurture those who will bear the future. It would not be appropriate to have a foreign nation address the issue as it would be too irresistible to mold the minds of the younger generation to their views. Still the problem cannot be left unattended, but they face problems is getting orphans in the old section to trust the Kingdom's soldiers on a patrol. Climb recommends that they try to gain the children's' trust by being in plain clothes, but Evileye advises against that as it might cause the other refugees to mistake as a mugging.

There is also a rumor that there is a bad "illness" going around among the refugees and the princess wishes to reach out to those afflicted before it becomes irreparable. Detecting the sdness withing Renner, Lakyus offers to lend her party's help. Her team though is mostly spread out with Tina and Tia on a separate mission in E-Rantel, while Gagaran is out making preparations for another operation, leaving only Evileye to assist.

In the streets of old section of E-Rantel, as the sun is setting down, the protagonist is with Soi and Surako. The trio enjoy the calm street and take in the reconstruction efforts. Their destination is the E-Rantel's Cemetery where the E-Rantel Magic Research Institute is located. Before they can go any further, Saint Clementine comes by to greet them. The trio greet the saint who they tell that they are heading to the cemetery to cull the undead there. Clementine accepts there explanation and tells them that she too has been touring the old section to see how things have changed. Also she wanted to investigate a rumor of a red figure that was running on the roofs in the middle of the night. The rumor catches the protagonist's interest who asks for more information. Sadly the saint cannot give any more, only that the sighting have been witnessed by many in the old section. As Territory Guardian of the city the protagonist plans to take a look into it once his business is done in the cemetery. Clementine thanks him for his concern and adds that something of an illness has been spreading in the old section and hopes that too will be addressed. After she leaves the three Nazarick agents talk among themselves. The news of a epidemic is concerning but the rumor of the red figure at night draws some curiousity. Surako hearing the description of the figure wonders if it could be Santa Claus. Soi though dismisses the idea as the entity only comes during Christmas and humans of this world do not have such a custom. Still the news is suspicious but the protagonist decides to prioritize visiting the research institute first and then requesting the Adventurer's Guild to investigate this red figure. When the trio arrive at the gate of the cemetery it is already nightfall but that is good for them as it serves their ability as they intend to slay some undead on the way to their destination.

Finally reaching the E-Rantel Research Institute, the trio are welcomed by Nfirea, the director of the secret facility. Nfirea Bareare welcomes his benefactor, thanking the proxy to the Sorcerer Kingdom for providing valuable equipment, staff and resources for the institute. The protagonist waves away the thanks as institute is a investment aimed at the goal on unraveling the mysteries of the Cracks and Chaos Beasts. Soi adds that she has noticed that the institute is also producing new Purple Potions which have found their ways into the hands of the soldiers of the Kingdom, increasing their survival rate against the Chaos Beasts. Nfirea is highly enthusiastic that they have come and desires to show them the results of his research. The intensity of his passion unnerves the trio a bit as they follow him as he explains that Fluder Paradyne requires their aid in a small experiment.

The visitors are taken to the lower levels of the institute where Fluder is waiting examining his research subject: Gazef Stronoff. Fluder welcomes them before turning his attention to the chained feral Warrior Captain as he describes that despite the savageness of Gazef, he seems to he sane enough to recognize the protagonist as indicated by his reaction. The amount of contamination that Gazef has in his body should have overwhelmed and killed him, though its seems that Gazef is staying alive through his own will. To make an estimation, more data would be needed, hence Fluder asks Soi to fight Gazef. Soi accepts the task and has Fluder loosen Gazef's chains to allow him to move and fight. Once the duel is over, the feral human's is restrained back into his cell. From Soi's own perspective, she noted that compared to her previous battle with Gazef when he turned berserk, that he had improved. His physical impulses have declined and his physical condition is more stable. It appears that the institute's clinical treatment to cure Gazef Stronoff is paying off.

Though Nfirea is still not sure what type of drugs are affecting Gazef, and it is decided that further treatment be postponed until he can isolate what is causing Gazef to become more stable. Instead Fluder and Nfirea guess that they require a Contaminated Beast to aid them in their research as well as specimens of other Chaos Beasts in the laboratory so that the can aid in the clinical trials so that the researchers can obtain more data from all angles.

Surako deduces that some of the Chaos Beasts will be pitted against undead for Nfirea's experiments. Nfirea does not deny it and then goes to fetch some more materials for the next upcoming experiments and to inform Sophie Noia. Once he leaves the protagonist's companions. Soi and Slimeko feel that the young pharmacists is quite energetic on his research, though to the diplomat he detects that the young man is actually exhausted and pushing himself. Fluder agrees with that assessment as he has seen Nfirea grow exhilarated and irritated at times while experimenting and almost fatigue. The wizard can related to this behavior of course due to his quest to see the abyss of magic, though he at least has some more control over his obession. Knowing that Nfirea was trying too hard to get results, Fluder tried to convince him to take a vacation to no avail. The protagonist finds the news to be troubling and agrees to convince the director of the institute to take some leave as it would serve the institute no good if the director collapses from exhaustion.

Nfirea soon returns eager to resume work, but the protagonist who promises to secure new specimens once he distribute the new confections from the Sorcerer Kingdom to the city officals, asks Nfirea to take a good rest in the meantime. It has been awhile since Nfirea had returned home and while the institute is a highly confidential place, Nfirea's existence or lack of appearances in E-Rantel is not which will draw uneeded suspicion on his whereabouts. If rumors of him missing are discovered then their illgeal humans experiments will come undone. Nfirea counterargues stating that the utmost importance would be for him to remain then to keep the institute a secret. Though the argument is rejected as the protagonist wants to maintain a status quo and orders Nfirea to return home and rest at least until the new samples arrive. Nfirea reluctantly accedes to the protagonist's decision. Fluder finally seeing his young peer to take a vacation, ushers Nfirea away promising to handle the affairs of the institute in Nfirea's abscene.

After leaving instructions to the remaining staff at the institute, he returns home. Though it is late, Lizzie Bareare is awake and warmly welcomes him. The two catch up with Lizzie informing her grandson that the demand for medicine is skyrocketing due to a recent disease that is going around. On which cannot be easily cured by magic which is magic Lizzie's job difficult. Nfirea recalled hearing about it in a report, but did not pay much attention since it had nothing to do with Chaos Beasts or contamination effects. Lizzie goes on to explain that the disease causes symptons that reduce the effect of the person's natural healing and is not contagious. Though the source of the disease may have originated from Jaldabaoth. During an independent investigation by the Kingdom, those with the symptoms were in the same area and they were refugees from teh old section. It's specualted that they may have been infected by the demons. Right now the source is kept secret from the public so Lizzie advises Nfirea to keep quite about it. The temple is currently trying various methods to cure the disease, but so far other than high level magic, no other treatment seems to work. Those that cannot cure the mild illnesses are in dire need of medicines.

Their conversation is interrupted when Nemu comes, having been awaken when Nfirea returns. The young girl is glad to see her "older brother" back. At Lizzie's urging Nemu asks Nfirea to to take not get sick and try to rest. While Nfirea is oblivious to the concern for rest as to him he finds it inefficient to take a break for such as boring reason, he still allay Nemu's concern by stating that he will rest. Nfirea goes to bed, leaving Lizzie and Nemu alone. Lizzie asks if Nemu's concern for Nfirea is due to a Talent, but Nemu states that it is not the case as he just seems very tired. Additionally she is very worried about her friends and that she does not wish to lose any more of her family.

The next morning in E-Rantel, Clemetine greets the day with a smile with her young charges, which include Nemu, a boy and a girl. The saint is about to go thorugh another story for the children, when Evileye arrives. This is her second visit to see the children, who were intially scared of her due to her mask, but have since gotten used to her prescene. The magic caster brings a bag of gifts, containing a doll of the Dark Warrior, chocolate sweets and pictures of their hero. They are items from the Adventurer's Guild, some bing prototypes of their guild's newest product to supplement their operating funds. Clementine seeing the doll of the Dark Warrior jokingly asks if there are any plans for a line of typs based on Blue Roses. Evileye has not interest in such an idea.

Of the children in the group, Evileye recognies Nemu as being the ward of Lizzie Bareare. She asks a question to the girl on whether if any of her friends have gotten sick. As it so happens the boy Nemu is friends with is under the weather though he doesn't appear to be too concerned with it has he goes through the gifts from Evileye. Clementine agrees that such children should be resting at home, but most children are living people acting as their guardians. They are night workers so they don't permit the children to play inside so they can rest. In most cases if they are sick their guardians would not want them near them as they do not want to get infected otherwise they won't be able to work despite the disease not being contagious. And with colder weather coming in, those children might be worse off. Nemu sympathizes with other orphans as she was lucky to be taken in by the Bareare's but feels helpless. The problem though is bringing the orphans to the Bareare's pharmacy might be more harmful to the sick children due to the noxious chemicals and members of Blue Roses like Lakyus are not permitted to use healing magic unless compensated as per usual the rules of the temple. However such healing services are expensive and may not be available to service all the orphans. Additionally for E-Rantel, the reconstruction is not yet complete as many are still living in tents and temporary housing. If the city officials show favoritism to orphans it might cause a riot of disatisfaction among the citizens. Hence why the administration has been reluctant to solve the issue. The protagonist involvement has been proposed but Clementine advises against it as the hero is already managing other areas of the city.

On how to move the upper officials to address the epidemic among the children, Nemu suggests speaking with Nfirea to develop an effective medicine. There are rumors that a fruit bearing tree with the Lonegivty Fruit is effective against any disease and found in the Great Forest of Tob. Nfirea should be aware of it, though Nemy doesn't wish to trouble him, given the boy's poor health. Unknown to the group, their conversation is overheard by Soi who hides outside the alley.

At the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the protagonist and his team report the current status of E-Rantel to Momonga and the Floor Guardians. The details in the report involve Nfirea's condition and the request for additional samples for experiments. For the latter, the protagonist suggests acquiring a Contaminated Beast from the Azerlisia Mountains, which would require the cooperation of the Pleiades. Cocytus recommends the battle maids who helped solve the cold wave front incident. However of the three that were involved, Lupusregina Beta and CZ2128 Delta are in the field in the Baharuth Empire monitoring its activities, leaving only Entoma Vasilissa Zeta available. Momonga sees no need to recall them as the two undercover maids mission is vital, especially with Shalltear Bloodfallen's brainwashing incident being unresolved. Instead Yuri Alpha will join the mission to capture a Contaminated Beast along with Soi and the protagonist. Aura and her summons will also lend a hand to safely transport the beast to the Great Forest of Tob.

Soi at the meeting then takes the opportunity to present an issue that she overheard in E-Rantel. Momonga finds the news concerning the situation with orphans to be interesting, admitting that their living standard to be subpar. The protagonist as Territory Guardian of E-Rantel despite continuing efforts in securing food, clothing and shelter and mediating with humans still falls short in addressing all the issues. Howeveer Demiurge notes that if the protagonist takes an active involvement it might lead to conflict of domestic affairs. Excessive contact with the orphans might be seen as a way to imprint his ideals unto them by outsiders. Still the "disease" that is afflicting the orphans cannot be ignored. To the nature of the "disease", Demiurge hypothesizes that based on the symptoms, it is the effects of receiving bad status of resilence. When he invaded E-Rantel as Jaldabaoth, he was accompanied by a demon who had such an ability when he sighs. Originally it should have been a very midl effect and only gave others bad status for a short time but it appears in this world, humans are adversely affected by it with long-lasting effects. Those affected must have breathed the sighs in the air and the symptons manifested. Still to make sure that this will not happen again, Demiurge promises to interview the person responsible.

On how to cure the epidemic, Soi turns their attention to the Fruit of Longevity, which to everyone in the room was used as an ingredient for Aura's Valentine Chocolate treat. Based on what Kyuko said the nut was a rare fruit to humans and reserved for festivals and indeed is effective against diseases. And also enhances the growth of monsters like slimes. This information in hand, it is obvious more of the fruit needs to be retrieved to undo the bad status effects. Momonga gives Aura permission to go to the tree which bears the fruit to see if there is enough to collect for the humans. His willingness to aid human children confuses Mare and Shalltear. Albedo states that it is merely to keep the human in check as there is a possibility that the deficiency in aid will make the Sorcerer Kingdom and the protagonist become resented by the public. When Momonga adds that the welfare of children was paramount, being "national treasures", Albedo insidously thinks that her master intends to manipulate the children into loyal subjects for their kingdom.

Ignoring this, Momonga turns to the last item from the undercover adventurers' report, the "Red Shadow" that was seen in the old part of E-Rantel at night. Based on the description, the protagonist does not think it is too concerning and plans to use his authority as Territory Guardian to post a request at the Adventurer's Guild to investigate the rumor. Momonga agrees as Nazarick should not waste it resources on something so minor and then adjourns the meeting.

To secure the sample required by the E-Rantel Magic Research Institute, the protagonist, Soi, Yuri and Entoma journey to the Azerlisia Mountains. Their target is a bird-type Contaminated Beast, specifically a vulture as the institute had already worked with quadraped-type beasts. The target choice is a bit annoying to Yuri since it can use aerial combat. And even Soi agrees as such a task would require Narberal Gamma's assistance. Their task is more difficult as they would have to capture an airborne specimen rather than kill it. The protagonist knows this and plans out their collection plan as being to weaken the target first before capturing it using Entoma's thread. Soi presses on why a bird-type to the protagonist, who reveals that the idea was triggered by Surako's remarks on the Santa Claus-like entity in E-Rantel, who according to some literature in the library had the habit of eating birds on Christmas. Previously for Christmas, Nazarick sent him and a few others to hunt a winged beast creature like the Peryton, though a vulture was deemed to be an easier choice for as a sepcimen for Nfirea.

The group continue to walk up the mountain, noting that previously Entoma and her two other sisters used Christmas Costumes to trek up the mountain when it was freezing cold. At this point Entoma spots a nest of what belongs to a vulture. To make sure, Entoma uses her insect summons to check and confirms that the bird is there. The group then surround the tree and plan to shake down the tree to bring the beast to the ground. The shaking causes the vulture to be disturb and try to fly away but is knocked down by a focused punch from Yuri. There Entoma entangles it with webbing. The specimen would then be given to Aura so that it can be sedated. Since they are in the area, the protagonist is about to order the group to secure more samples, but Soi receives a priority [Message] from Surako.

Surako who had stayed behind in E-Rantel to post at the guild for information on the "Red Shadow" pleads for her partners to come back as she is dealing with a very angry reaction on her end. Sensing the desperation from Surajo, the protagonist and Soi allow Yuri and Entoma to continue the mission and hurry back to the guild in E-Rantel. There at the guild they meet a furious Evileye clutching a scared Surako. The short magic caster complains at their request they tried to make Surajo post as they made it appear like a bounty. Intially confused on her anger, Evileye brings them to a private room and tells them that she is the "Red Shadow" from the rumors. This only leads to more questions by the Nazarick agents which Evileye explains that she was sent by her leader to assist Princess Renner in ensuring the safety of the orphans in the city. The reason why she sneaked at night on rooftops was to be discrete in her involvement as if she were to independently move out on a job not approved by the guild she would be in violation of the rules. Even being an Adamantite adventurer she could still get penalized and her status lowered. In the end sneaking at night didn't work as her masked scared the children so she had to meet with them during the day in the end.

Evileye is investigating the illness found in city which is affecting the orphans and refugess in the old section. Adding that she heard from Nemu that while the disease is not life-threatening it still something terrible to deal with. Understanding that since the protagonist is a member of the Sorcerer Kingdom, he cannot intervene in the Re-Estize Kingdom's affairs , Evileye wonders if they could reach out to workers to help in the problem. However the issue is with politics, thus Evileye proposes that they can try and get some Fruits of Longevity in the Tob Forest though isn't sure if it is reliable. Now that Evileye explained her actions, she demands to know what the protagonist plans to do. For the request they made, the protagonist will explain to the guildmaster that the situation will be resolved by telling him that he already found the person in his request to avoid suspicion.

Pluton Ainzach arrives at the room, eager to speak with the protagonist on the prototypes of the goods from the Adventurer's Guild. He shows them the merchandise of Darkness themed toys, even a plushie of Soi. He adds that Evileye has been helping them by gathering feedback from the children the other day to develop new products. The guildmaster soon notices the protagonist's worredi face and asks what is wrong, though the homunculus states that he was merely thinking about the feedback from the children and how to use it to improve their happiness. Pluton though hopes to use the products to enhance the guild's image, which Evileye quips for profit and gain much to the veteran adventurer's embarassment.

After securing Contaminated Beasts in the mountains, by midnight they were delivered to the E-Rantel Magic Research Institute. As Darkness deliver a hemp drugged vulture to Fluder and Nfirea, Surako sees that Nfirea has still not improved in his condition. Despite Nfirea trying to brush aside their concerns, the protagonist feels a loss of failing Nfirea and apologizes to him as he feels he could have done something more to make Nfirea relax and rest. This makes Nfirea feel guilty on his refusal to rest. With some prompting from Fluder, Nfirea then decides to talk about his restlessness. His fear that his attitude is beginning to affect his loved ones such as Nemu is now making him see that he has been becoming more distanced and unhealthy. When he came home, his family do not greet him warmly with laughs, but now all he sees is fear and concern. The protagonist sympathizes and urges the pharmacist to take better care of himself for the sake of his family. To start bringing his family some positive news, Fluder recommends they tackle the disease the is plaguing the city and orphans. Not wanting to disappoint Nemu, Nfirea agrees and decides to leave early from the institute and rest.

The next day, Nfirea personally requests Ainzach to have some adventurers escort him to the Great Forest of Tob. His action is a bit of surprise by Darkness who is also present with Evileye. Nfirea wants to hire adamantite adventurers for a job which involves collecting the Fruit of Longevity from the forest to create a cure for the illness spreading among the orphans. Though never having seen the fruit himself, Nfirea's grandmother testified to him once that a group had once collected the item for a demi-human in a remote place. He knows what it looks like and that it can also attract powerful monsters. The task will be dangerous as not the forest is filled with Chaos Beasts and Contaminated Beasts. The protagonist is willing to lend his support as it is necessary since he has a relationship with the Wise King of the Forest to negotiate safe passage. Due the importance of the mission, Evileye offers to come as well and gives a discount to Nfirea for her services which Pluton permits under the pretense of protecting the guild' investment of future generations to bolster the guild' reputation. The group makes plans to move by tonight to make it to the forest the next morning.

Momonga gets a notification from the protagonist informing him of the developments in E-Rantel. Likewise Momonga tells the protagonist that Aura confirms that the tree of the Longevity Nuts does still bear fruit. Additionally a Super Giant Sanitary Slime like before has taken residence near the tree. The adventurer's convoy will be scheduled to reach the forest by noon tomorrow. By then Aura would have explained the situation to those in the forest of their guests. Albedo and Demiurge are thrilled at the news as now everything is going along their script for the people in E-Rantel. Not only will a cure be acquired, and the young be indoctrinated by the Sorcerer Kingdom, but also the director of the E-Rantel Research Institute will improve in his health for better efficiency. Everything is moving smoothly thanks to the Adventurer's Guild playing into the hands of the "Idol Plan" with their sponsored hero line products of the Dark Warrior though Momonga is clueless to its ramifications unlike Albedo and Dmeiurge.

At night on the road from E-Rantel, Darkness, Evileye and Nfirea ride to their destination. The group make some conversation over the upcoming battle that may ensue in the forest, given that there should be a Crack within and the potential number of foes they will have to fight. Nfirea is relaxed through the journey but does not look forward to being in the area as there are too many painful memories. When Surako suggests that he could try and visit what was left of Carne Village, Nfirea declines as he only wants to focus on finding a cure for Nemu's friends else he would not be able to face Enri Emmot. The protagonist recalls that his team had once took a commission to locate some items belonging to Enri at the behest of Lizzie to give Nfirea some closure and is disappointed that the keepsakes did not settle his broken heart.

By morning at Liziie's workshop in E-Rantel, Nemu is awake with Lizzie. Nemu hopes that Nfirea is alright on the mission though the old pharmacist assures her that her grandsone will be fine. Around the same time, the adventurers come face to face with the Wise King of the Forest Hamsuke. Both Eviley and Nfirea are in awe of the creature that the protagonist had tamed. Whilst the hamster is introduced to the newcomers, hidden in the forest, Yuri, Aura and Kyuko are watching the interaction. Their mission is to make it appear that the forest is still a dangerous place to thread, ensuring that no other adventurers are sent in the future. They take extra care due to one of the people they intend to fool is a member of Blue Roses.

The adventurers of Darkness then explain to Hamsuke their reason for coming to the forest. Hamsuke is well aware of the target of interest though warns the group that fruit of the tree is guarded by powerful monsters. Despite the warning Nfirea still wishes to continue to reach the tree. Seeing their resolve the hamster agrees to act as their guide through the forest.

Through the forest the party come across several Giant Beetles. Evileye using [Vermin Bane] to dispose of them and they continue on. Soi out of concerns warns Evileye that she should not exhaust her mana, at least until they get to the tree of the Fruit of Longevity though the short magic caster wishes to speed the journey. For now the group allow Evileye to handle all insect type monsters while Nifrea conserves his own mana reserves for the upcoming fight. Their progress is monitored by Aura and her party noting that Evileye does ot seem fazed by the monsters in the path to the tree. The group then decide to release the Chaos Beasts they summoned from Nazarick unto the party. They do not intend to kill the party, only to strike fear into the heart of the human Nfirea.

As planned the Chaos Beasts are set loose on the adventurer party. The protagonist and his team play along with the scenarion having secretly expected this by their allies. Nfirea intially freezes upon encountering the monsters in teh field but quickly reacts and uses a fireball to incinerate one to the shock of his comrades. Using his Talent Nfirea shows off his power to use multiple kinds of magic, skills whiched he honed to protect those closest to him. The display stuns the monitor team and realize that they may have failed in keeping humans away from the forest. Aura tells her friends not to worry as the protagonist will figure something out and so continue to observe the adventurers.

Once the Chaos Beasts are slained and the awe of Nfirea's talent is washed away, the grpup turn their focus to reaching the tree of the Fruits of Longevity. The grup still encounter more Chaos Beasts in teh forest which they fight and kill. Hamsuke though hails them for their efforts as they have helped cull the forest of the monsters infecting the forest. Sadly more will return once the Crack activates in due time. To brighten up the mood Hamsuke declares that they are close to the tree as indicated by the sweet smell in the air.

## Aftermath

The group encounters the Super Giant Sanitary Slime at the tree, which is defeated with the combined efforts of the adventurers and Nfirea. The three observers watching from teh shadows note that the party succeeded in their mission. Both Aura and Yuri then decide to depart and gather more ingredients for the upcoming "party", promising to save Kyuko something for later. Nfirea having acquired the Longevity Nuts can hardly believe that he has what he sought in front of them, until Hamsuke confirms that it is real and suggests to decot the seeds to make the cure as a friend suggested it was effective. The pharmacis takes the advice of the beast. Darkness are glad to see Nfirea taking an interest in something other than Cracks or Chaos Beasts, though its short-lived as Nifrea hopes that the fruit could be exlpored to decontaminate the Cracks. The protagonist though already knows that the fruit cannot be used in such as way as it was already experimented by Demiurge after Valentine's Day.

Surako raises a question if that it is alright to distribute such a rare item among children? Soi believes that it would be permitted by the temple as the fruits will be made into recovery items. And since the temple policy only pertains to people who use healing magic it will be grudingly allowed to pass their oversight. They would probably take action if the items were being publicly available, thus the group needs to come up with a method to give them to the children in secret. Evileye point out that if a person like her were to give them out, children will not willingly come to them as she looks suspcious enough. The protagonist has an idea for that though which involves Evileye and using the mysterious extsience of the "Red Shadow" she created.

The next night, back in the city, once Nfirea processed the nuts to make the cure, Evileye, Soi and the protagonist devise a plan to quickly distribute it to be children. Meeting on the rooftopsm Soi is in a Christmas Costume, which Evileye thinks is a bit impractical. However the two adventurers explain that they are using the witness accounts that saw Evileye sneak on the rooftops nights before to their advantage. Since no one had attributed the "Red Shadow" is Evileye, they will utilize the identity of the "mysterious person" to hand out the "gifts" to the children. Evileye has her own flashy costume, provided by the Sorcerer Kingdom for the occasion. To further differentiate the "Red Shadow" identity from Evileye's persona, it is recommended by the protagonist that Evileye remover her mask since no one has seen her face. Though there is a risk that they will be caught by the authorities, and implicate the Re-Estize Kingdom and Sorcerer Kingdom in the illegal scheme the members of Darkness believe the ends matter. Evileye had already explained the plan to Renner who gave her approval to proceed which Evileye must obey. Thanks to the protagonist being Territory Guardian he has all the security schedules so the risk of exposure is minimal. In case there is any complication, he has an agent, Yuri in her own costume, to prepare a distraction.

On the issue of distributing the medicinal substance to the children, the cure is contained in several sacks with cheap chocolate that the protagonist explains are "candy". The candy though contains the cure as it will make children easier to accept and take willingly. The use was previously tested by Fluder Paradyne who found it to be nourishing and a effective tonic. Also mixed with the candy are several dolls of the Dark Warrior which the Adventurer Guild will claim to be part of random distribution event as free samples for promotion. Thus they will avoid an uproar from the public about open distribution of the cure and prevent the adults guardians from exploiting the children. Hopefully it will spread awareness and also improve the children's condition. Once everyone is aware of their parts, the group then disperses to begin the operation.

At a later date when the protagonist returns to Nazarick to give his report the succesful operation, Momonga asks updates on Nfirea's condition. After getting out in the field, Nfirea now appears to be more invigorated in his research as is his motivation to eliminate the Chaos Beasts, but so far has repaired the boy's relationship with his family. As for the candy that was distributed to the city it seems that the bad status has been mostly lifted. The disease itself wasn't so serious as it could have been handled by the temple, though the latter was unwilling to excerise their ability to do so without an incentive. Luckily the Adventurer's Guild distributed candy provided an inexpensive way to improve the disease's symptons and add a therapeutic effect to the society. Though the temple may have some idea that the candy was from the Sorcerer Kingdom, they are unable to make an official compliant since they would be insulting the former in the eyes of the public. Demiurge comments that the dolls from the gifts have enthralled th children who have been reported to pray to the "Dark Warrior" for wishes hence furthering Nazarick's "Idol Plan". Not only have they ensare the hearts of a nation's "national treasure" but the economic implications of the Dark Warrior theme items will bring profits to the Sorcerer Kingdom. Other effects are seen as reporte dby the protaginist that the orphans in the care of their guardians are softening their attitudes to them. The news concludes with Momonga then directing everyone in the Round Table Room to head to a venue that has been prepared.

On the 6th Floor in the Amphitheater, a Christmas party is waiting to the surprise of the protagonist, which Momonga explains is a small consolation party for the protagonist and his team. For the effort in preparing the ingredients at the table an acknowledgement is given to Yuri and Entoma. The Pleiades maids save for Narberal all are present wearing their Christmas theme costumes and the sisters take time to enjoy themselves and praise each other on their respective projects for Momonga. Solution especially noted that Yuri took pleasure in the latest assignment in saving the orphans of E-Rantel, and even makes a suggestion to her older sister to ask Momonga to allow her to adopt a human guise to visit them. A toast is made by Momonga announcing a "Merry Christmas" which the NPCs responde in kind.

## References

1. ↑ *E-Rantel's Santa Claus Episode 0: Prologue*
2. ↑ *E-Rantel's Santa Claus Episode 1: Peace In The East*
3. ↑ *E-Rantel's Santa Claus Episode 2: Mankind's Hope In A Basement*
4. ↑ *E-Rantel's Santa Claus Episode 3: Everyday On The Street Corner*
5. ↑ *E-Rantel's Santa Claus Episode 4: Those Who Speak*
6. ↑ *E-Rantel's Santa Claus Episode 5: Nfirea's Anguish*
7. ↑ *E-Rantel's Santa Claus Episode 6: The Sullied Large Forest*
8. ↑ *E-Rantel's Santa Claus Episode 7: Complete Victory*
9. ↑ *E-Rantel's Santa Claus Episode 8: Holy Night's Red Shadow*