Narnia's Santa Claus.
The moment Ino saw him, he immediately recognized the old man's identity.
But then he remembered the dwarf's parting words and felt a slight unease.
After all, this Santa Claus was the most mysterious figure throughout the entire story.
Although his appearances were few, each one was at a crucial point in destiny.
Santa Claus was the first to herald the coming of spring in Narnia, and he also helped the protagonists grow.
In the forest, he gave Peter the lion's sword and shield, predicting they would soon be needed.
Indeed, it wasn't long before the shy young man used the sword to complete his first battle, laying the foundation for his transformation into a true king.
He gave Susan a bow and arrow, and a horn that could summon help at any time, saying that blowing the horn would bring assistance no matter where she was. This, too, was fulfilled later.
The most outrageous gift was Lucy's—a bottle carved from diamond, filled with nectar extracted from the fire-flowers of the Sun Mountains. No matter how severe the injury, just one drop would heal it.
After the final battle, Lucy used it to save countless wounded people, regardless of whether they were friends or foes.
Santa Claus's appearances were always timely and fitting.
All these things made it hard not to think deeply about him.
…
Although these thoughts raced through Ino's mind, only an instant had passed in reality.
Quickly, he decided not to provoke Santa Claus.
He would accept whatever Santa wanted to give him and wouldn't force it if there was nothing.
After all, he didn't want any more trouble before his return.
With that in mind, he stood up and greeted, "Merry Christmas, sir. You really didn't need to make a trip. You could just leave the gift for next year."
"Next year? I'm afraid I won't find you next year!" Santa Claus said with a smile.
Alright... Although winter had passed and spring had come to Narnia, Ino felt a chill in his heart.
"Hahaha! Don't overthink it. I'm just here to deliver gifts, although…"
Santa Claus paused, glanced around, and continued with a laugh:
"Although someone has already prepared gifts for you, those are other people's gifts. What I give are true Christmas gifts."
With that, Santa Claus took out a large red velvet bag from his sleigh, packed full, about half his height. No one knew what was inside.
"Huh? I can't find your gift... But no worries, child. Tell me what you want. After all, I have a hundred years' worth of backlog."
Faced with Santa's question, Ino wanted to retort that if he wasn't sincere, he shouldn't bother. It felt awkward.
Santa Claus unable to find a gift? Pure nonsense.
Despite his inner complaints, Ino showed no sign of them. Instead, he politely declined, "Sir, I really don't want anything. If you can't find it, that's fine."
"How about some nectar from the fire-flowers? I happen to have a small bottle! Or perhaps some books from the earliest times? Heaven knows why no one likes to read anymore. These books have been gathering dust at the bottom of my trunk…"
Santa Claus babbled on.
As he spoke, he took out gift after gift, soon covering the ground with many items, including a purple crystal staff identical to the White Witch's.
Seeing the dazzling array of items, Ino's heart couldn't help but race.
Wow... there wasn't a single ordinary item here. If classified as game equipment, these would all be legendary or epic tier.
The purple epic items wouldn't even make the cut.
What intrigued him most were the three books emitting icy blue, glowing green, and dark black auras.
Just as Ino was about to speak, something fell on his foot.
Instinctively, he looked down...
An ancient six-sided die appeared at his feet.
Perhaps the bag hadn't been reinforced for a long time, or maybe the vigorous movement caused it to fall out. Regardless, the divination die had slipped out.
As he bent down to pick up the die, the image of Hans appeared in his mind.
'…Everything you desire actually controls you.'
The bard-like voice echoed in his mind.
After a brief moment of distraction, Ino calmly picked up the fallen die and carefully put it back in his pocket.
When he looked up again, his face was full of a warm smile.
"Since you're letting me choose, could you give me a pair of cashmere socks? I prefer keeping my feet warm in winter over anything else."
"Oh, I told you, I'm just here to deliver gifts." Santa Claus seemed to have noticed something and explained.
"Since you've chosen, your wish will be granted."
As he spoke, Santa Claus opened his bulging bag again and took out a pair of cashmere socks with red Christmas trees on them.
The moment Ino took the socks, he made up his mind to gift them to Dumbledore this Christmas. Just holding them made him feel uneasy.
He also felt like giving Santa Claus a piece of his mind. How deep did their grudge go to set such a big trap?
This wasn't just digging a pit; it was like oil drilling, relentlessly digging down.
…
"Alright, since the gift is delivered, I should be going!"
At some point, Santa Claus had packed up the items and was already seated in his sleigh.
"I must say, you're a lucky child. I look forward to meeting you again."
With that, he whipped the reins, and the six reindeer leaped forward. In a blink, Santa Claus's figure had disappeared from the valley.
After he was completely out of sight, Ino collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon.
It took him quite a while to recover.
As he regained his composure, he seemed to realize the problem.
Once, he had performed a divination upon first arriving at the White Witch's castle, and the result had been promising.
But it was this promising divination that lulled him into complacency. He almost fell into a trap just now.
In hindsight, Santa Claus's appearance wasn't dangerous. He had repeatedly stated he was only delivering gifts.
The choice of the gift was left to Ino. If anything went wrong, it would be due to his own greed. A diviner's own variables are never within the scope of divination results.
"Sigh, little one! I want to go home, back to Hogwarts. This is too complicated. Even Quirrell is more lovable and straightforward…"
Ino turned to the little wood elf, who had been watching the whole time, and voiced his innermost desire.
___