43: Exploring the Magic World part 3.

"Relax, this world is protected, those things won't sense you, but try never to mention the Fae in unprotected universes, or they will harass you constantly. They are as terrible as those old gods," said Jorgen, remembering a bad experience in his youth. 

He explored the Omniverse when he was younger, unaware of how dangerous it was, relying on his physical strength and incredible magical power to solve his problems, until he accidentally got involved with a Fae. 

That was the worst year Jorgen could have lived in his whole long and eternal life, so he developed a hatred for those pesky critters, but even though his strength had grown, he preferred to just walk by when those beings were involved. 

"You can trust my version in the Omniverse, some of them are Fae and they are nice. So stay calm," Santa said with a smile on his face. 

Knowing the Omniverse was normal for powerful beings, it was more than obvious that Santa Claus was one of them, and although it was new at first, he had lived a long time, so the amazement was not so much. 

Unlike many beings, the Fae are not a nuisance to him, plus Santa Claus is something of a symbol of joy, and since these guys like to be happy, they more or less get along. 

"They just give me the creeps," Samus said with a self-deprecating smile on her face, but her heart was in overdrive. 

She didn't want to mess with those things, and noticing that Ciri didn't know much about these creatures or their antics, she patiently explained. During the trip, Jorgen and Santa did their part, and even Samus came to understand these beings much better... which increased her fear. 

But on a lighter note, the environment was getting colder and colder, and some snowflakes were falling on them, but strangely, the low temperature didn't seem to be uncomfortable, even if you were a normal person, you could be here without even shivering. 

"Why isn't this cold... 'cool'?" asked Samus, curious about the strange phenomenon she was experiencing. 

Even though her body had been gradually upgraded, it wasn't as if she could ignore the cold temperatures of the North Pole, where Santa's workshop was classically located. Although she felt that she had crossed several spatial layers, she was not in the human world.

She was probably in a subspace that belonged to Santa, but she wanted to hear this information from this being, so she asked her somewhat strange question, but Santa understood. 

"Oh, that's so visitors don't catch cold, you know, some kids are curious and sneak into my sleigh. I don't just give presents on Earth, you know, other planets have the Christmas spirit in them," the explanation left Samus a little confused, and she couldn't help but ask again. 

"Do other planets have Christmas? Isn't that a human invention?" Samus' questions made Santa burst out laughing. 

"I told you, didn't I? The spirit of Christmas is not limited to gifts, it's not limited to humanity, it's not limited to celebrations. It's about sharing happiness with your fellow man. When you help somebody or when you give advice to somebody, you are celebrating the Christmas spirit.

It's not something limited to mankind, but every civilization adapts it to its style and culture, so I have to adapt my own space for the different bodies of the hundreds of kinds of life out there." When Santa Claus said this, his sleigh landed in an open space. 

A funny thing to mention is that there were elves with light signals to indicate and direct Santa's descent. Soon these elves were taking care of the reindeer, separating them from the vehicle and leading them to the stables. 

Everyone dismounted, allowing Samus and Ciri to admire the view around them. There were many houses, like a village, all decorated in red and green, with colored lights.

There was a beautiful aurora borealis in the sky, as well as many, many constellations, but something strange was happening to those stars. Both Samus and Ciri were seeing the same stars they would see in their respective worlds, something they noticed when they tried to show them to each other. 

"How does that happen?" asked Ciri, who didn't quite believe that magic could do such a thing.

"Oh, it's simple, you can do it when you reach a certain level of power, you have the talent for it, young Ciri," Santa replied to the girl, deftly dodging her question. 

He did not want to answer, mainly because he knew how alchemists and wizards handled themselves, he did not want to be burdened with questions from the two young women, he was too old to withstand such a bombardment. 

Soon, a woman with white hair, a red dress, and black glasses approached the group with some annoyance on her face. She seemed to be busy as she held a tablet in her hand and kept tapping on the screen.

"Santa! You left all the work for me!" the woman approached the group and looked at the bearded man with an eternal smile on her face. 

"Oh, it's not the Christmas season, don't forget to tell me father, daughter," Santa said, causing the woman to grit her teeth and stomp her feet several times in annoyance. 

Nora was tired of being the one to judge the good children of the world. So many of them were bad, maybe because of video games, who knew, but there were so many of them and more and more of them.

Other civilizations to which Santa Claus delivered gifts had very limited numbers of children, a rather strange phenomenon in this universe, something that even many brilliant minds in the universe have studied and debated. 

As if humans had been blessed by the goddess of fertility, the human population grew and grew, but strangely, fewer and fewer children believed in Santa Claus. 

"We're not in the Christmas season, but as if we were, when are we going to take down the infamous Polar Express? It just takes up space," the woman complained, showing annoyance at the mention of the vehicle. 

Some genius elf came up with the idea of basically kidnapping children at midnight on December 24th to supposedly change the minds of those who no longer believed in Santa or were bad children. 

It didn't work, kids are restless and destructive, and every year they have to give the Polar Express extensive maintenance. Besides, it didn't seem to bring about any improvement, it was just a hulk with space abilities for no purpose. 

"Let's discuss that later, I came with these young ladies to show them a part of the magical world, they are important guests," Santa waved his hand carelessly at his daughter, causing her to turn red with annoyance. 

"Yes, I know they are important guests, I even have reports on both of them, as well as an evaluation of each, they are good girls, at least in this universe," Nora said, glancing at Samus. 

How could she not see a person who almost committed suicide when she saw the essence of a superior being when she was a mortal? It became a known fact throughout the magical worlds, and even the Fearland types realized that telling knowledgeable types about Samus' actions would cause them to fear. 

Then she looked at Ciri, knowing that the girl before her was the younger, deadlier, more innocent version of the ruthless Lady of Space and Time, who was well respected by many powerful beings in the Omniverse. 

That was the only reason she looked at them because otherwise, invited or not, she wouldn't look at them, because she was too busy being a woman because of her careless father, and at that moment the old man was showing the two young women to a group of elves in the distance. 

"I still remember the day I met the first elves, I was looking for good helpers to create good gifts for those who still believe in the true spirit of Christmas. 

It was spectacular, I never knew there would be a germ of life on a comet, and maybe because they are mostly made of ice, they like low-temperature environments," said Santa with a fond memory in his voice.

At that moment, the group of elves noticed the look on his face and gave him a nod. 

"They're a magical race with unsurpassed craftsmanship, but don't tell that to dwarves or high elves, they tend to get cranky when they hear that," Santa joked, making Samus and Ciri laugh. 

"Ah, dwarves and elves never change, no matter what the universe, do they?" asked Ciri humorously. 

"You know, those stereotypes are burned into them," Samus replied, somewhat amused by the situation. 

"But these elves, though short and with pointed ears, are not as heavy as those guys. They are gentle and kind, each object is made with love," clarified Santa Claus, someone who could appreciate the effort and work of the elves in his 'workshop'. 

Sure, he paid them and all, but the things they made for those children were really from the heart, only then would a gift be suitable for a youngster the elves reject any object made out of mere frivolity. 

Even the automatic gift box is something they would only use at the last minute, preferring to do everything by hand. Of course, when I talk about hands, I am also talking about the innate magic they possess. 

As magical creatures, it is more than obvious that they have their abilities and a unique magical heritage that belongs to their race. Although the toys they made were not magical objects, each of them was truly unique in its way. 

"I'd like to discuss some skills with them," Samus said, interested in this race of natural craftsmen. 

As an alchemist, how could she give up crafting? It was one of her hobbies, a way to rest her mind and relax. Sometimes, just taking a piece of wood and turning it into something completely different had its charm. 

She wasn't very good at other artistic branches, but she felt that elves were more to her taste, so it would be nice if she could ask them for some useful tips on creating objects. 

Who knew, maybe they could give her inspiration for some new alchemical work in the future. Santa saw the curiosity burning in Samus' eyes and smiled, understanding the temperament of wayward children, how could he not see the blonde's longing?

"All right, but first let's stop by for a hot meal. My wife makes the best venison in the entire magical world," the man boasted, not noticing the strange looks Samus and Ciri were giving him. 

"Aren't reindeer and deer similar?" asked Ciri quietly to Samus. 

"They look almost the same, I thought that's why I don't eat them, but I would never deny eating meat, or my mother would punish me," Samus replied, true to her Amazon heritage, she would not limit herself to thinking too much about things like the type of meat, unless it was human, of course. 

'That reminds me, that damn robot might have already arrived on Planet Amazon, I won't let my sisters be manipulated by someone like that,' although Samus didn't discriminate against machines she respected them a lot if they had a conscience, she didn't like manipulators or cheats. 

Because of that, she would probably have a conflict with Bender, even though he usually only takes advantage of the unwary and doesn't do much damage to people close to him, only to others, but she would still have to talk to him about it. 

That, and see how she could fix his factory error. Because she felt a little sorry for Bender in this matter.

'Right... 'Should I revive Seymour? Ah, I'll think about it later.'