A bit of cultural background. In Japan, Christmas is a very romantic holiday, wherein married couples would often go on dates, while younger people take the opportunity and confess to their significant others. It's similar to Valentine's day, though somewhat less commercial. If someone in Japan asks to meet you in private on Christmas, you can bet they plan on confessing to you. It's also a common holiday to propose on.

If you wish to avoid spoilers, now is the time.

You must ignore this particular rhyme.

Just a few more lines to pad it out

Skip it now, or the secret is out

Just once more, for all of my friends,

It's Christmas of course, and it's a far-off end

Kazuma went to Chris' house next

The friendly thief who was secretly Eris

The goddess of fortune who he knew so well

Who also had a padded bra, which the fanbase will tell

Kazuma walked up to Chris' one-story residence. There wasn't that much in terms of holiday decorations, but he figured the thief would have better things to do.

Now that I think about it, Chris has a pretty nice house for a thief. Then again, she's only a robber in name, and she's technically still an adventurer. It's kinda weird how that class is…

As he knocked on the door, he couldn't but overhear Chris struggling with something. At first, he thought she was trying to move her tree.

"Hey, need any help in there?" he said. What he heard next was quite a shocker.

"GET IN THERE, YOU STUPID DEMON!"

"Uh…"

"Honestly, which hair-brained god thought it was a good idea to cram a demon into a reincarnate's arm as a cheat item? You expect someone to wear magical bandages all the time? People need to take baths!"

"Chris?"

"And another thing… Wait, Kazuma?"

After an unholy screech filled the air and what could only be Chris throwing something heavy into a deep hole, there was the sound of her walking up the stairs before finally opening the door, sweaty and exhausted.

"Oh… hey… Kazuma." She said between pants. Her face was red and something had messed up her hair. "What… brings… you here?"

"Uh… Are you in the middle of something with your boyfriend? Because if that's the case, I can always come back…"

"Oh, no, it's fine!" She chuckled. "I'm just… uh… renovating! Yeah, that's it."

"Then why was there…"

"It's a secret!" Chris said quickly.

"I guess that makes sense…" Kazuma nodded.

It's a secret(Thief skill): A powerful charm effect that immediately causes a person to ignore a previously obvious statement or detail. The success rate depends on luck.

As Chris straightened out her hair and dusted off her clothes, Kazuma continued with his task.

"I came here to invite you to the Christmas party we're having next week. It's a potluck, so bring some food."

"Sounds great!" she said. "You can bet I'll be there. Just don't leave me out at the karaoke table. I've got a killer singing voice."

"Don't we all…" Kazuma rolled his eyes. "Anyways, see you then.

"Bye!"

As Kazuma went to find Dust and his friends,

His mind wandered to his red-eyed companion.

He knew that Santa couldn't possibly come

And finding that out would ruin her fun

Perhaps he should fake a few more presents to buy

But would it be worth it, if she's living a lie?

Questions bombarded the young boy's head

No visions of sugar plums remained over his bed

Yet he couldn't let her magic be taken as well

Into a constant debate, his thoughts they had fell.

Following that, Kazuma dropped by the guild to invite Dust before heading back home. Already, his archwizard excitedly ran up to greet him.

"Kazuma, Kazuma!" she cheerfully said.

"Yes, I'm Kazuma."

"Did you invite everyone?"

"Yeah, the usual." Kazuma listed the guests on his fingers. "Wiz, Chris, Vanir, Dust…"

"What? You invited a lich and a demon?" Aqua glared at him. "On a holy day?"

"They should enjoy this day just as much," Kazuma stated, before glancing about the room. Aqua had spared no expense in her decorations; lights adorned every wall, miniatures of sleighs and reindeer adorned the mantle, scentless candles glowed from various spots, and a delicious scent wafted from the kitchen.

"Wow, you've outdone yourself, Aqua."

"EH?!" Aqua did a double-take before grinning confidently. "Hee hee, the Hiki-NEET complimented me!"

"Why do you always make me regret it…?"

"Ehh… KAZUMA!"

"Darkness walked out of the kitchen and hung up her oven gloves.

"Oh, you're back," she said. "Welcome home, Kazuma!"

"Hey, Darkness!" said Kazuma. "Oh, something smells nice."

"That's dessert!" said Aqua, smiling again. 'The gifts are wrapped, I've prepared the itinerary, and the dinner is ready to be cooked! We're all ready, a week in advance!"

"Excellent!" said Megumin. "I can't wait to celebrate Christmas with all of you! And all the friends we've made over our adventures!"

"Everyone chuckled in amusement, eager to enjoy the holiday. Kazuma couldn't help but notice Megumin's glowing eyes flashing him a loving glance now and then.

The week passed without much event

Which was somewhat unusual for Kazuma and friends

When the day of the party came on Christmas eve

The first to arrive was not invited, actually.

"I'll get it!" Megumin excitedly ran to the door when the guest knocked. She didn't immediately stand out, but her voice was a dead giveaway.

"Greetings, Miss Megumin." the young blonde-haired girl smiled. "I hope you won't mind. I heard you were having a potluck, so I brought some vegetable tempura…"

"IRIS?!"

"Shush!" the princess quieted the four of them. "I'm Alice, remember?"

"Oh… right." Megumin cleared her throat. Iris Stylish Sword Belzerg was the kind of person who you'd think you could recognize from a distance, but now she was dressed in a plain blue dress as opposed to her formal gown. Her makeup was also gone, though Kazuma hadn't actually known she wore makeup, so it was quite drastic to see his sister-figure with a duller skin tone and a ponytail instead of her usual braids. She also carried a covered basket.

"Iri-I mean Alice, what are you doing here?" Kazuma said. "Should you be doing… things with your dad?"

"Father says he'd like for me to experience a different side of Christmas Celebrations. Broaden my cultural views, as he said. So, I decided to spend Christmas Eve with some of my favorite Adventurer friends! If that's alright with you, of course."

"Erm…" Darkness tapped her chin. "I suppose there;'s no harm in it. But we will be having quite a few guests over tonight, Iris. Are you sure you don't need a better disguise?"

"Oh, there is no need to worry about that, Cousin." Iris smiled. "I walked through the entire town today, and not a single person recognized me. Some even smiled and wished me a merry Christmas."

"If that's the case, we'd love to have you at our party," said Kazuma. "We've got plenty of chairs and space in the ballroom."

Note: During older periods, it was considered strange not to have a ballroom in your mansion.

"Really? Thank you so much, onii-chan!" Iris smiled innocently.

Darkness beamed and walked over to her cousin.

"It's been a while since we've had a Christmas together, hasn't it, Iris?" said Darkness. "I'm very much looking forward to it."

"As am I, cousin." Iris smiled innocently.

Kazuma chuckled. She might be terrifyingly strong, but she was still young. That reminded him of something. As if to answer his question, Megumin asked,

'What did you ask Santa for this year, Iris?"

"Blessings for the kingdom," she said. "Same as every year. My family thinks of it as our obligation as nobles."

"...I can see why you're father doesn't go around telling people that." Megumin shuffled off.

"Megumin!" Darkness glared at her.

He probably just doesn't mention it because the king of the realm would look ridiculous talking about Santa Claus.

"Where should I put the food?" Iris lifted the basket.

"Right here," Kazuma said, leading her down the hall.

And so Kazuma acknowledged this unique instance

Where they would celebrate Christmas, along with a princess

Just as Aqua recited a holiday rhyme

The next of the guests, it was when they arrived

"Oh, hey, Yunyun!" Kazuma said as he answered the door.

"Hello, Kazuma!" Yunyun beamed, magically levitation g a moderate-sized turkey into the house behind her. "Thank you for inviting me, I know you didn't say anything about gifts, but it only seemed fair that I bought a few… PRINCESS IRIS STYLISH-SWORD BELZERG?" she exclaimed.

Kazuma slapped a hand over the Crimson Demon's mouth.

"Shush!" he said. "I didn't know you knew her."

Iris glanced over and smiled.

"Ah yes, the future leader of the Crimson Demons, Yunyun." she clicked her fingers. "We met during a diplomatic meeting."

"She's my cousin," said Darkness. 'And the only family I'll be spending Christmas with this year…"

"Oh, that's fine, nice to see you again!" Yunyun then hoisted a canvas sack over her shoulder, no larger than a melon, and reached inside. "Now, I have something special for everyone…"

"Ooh, did you burning some little party trinkets?" Aqua excitedly leered inside.

"Nope, this is a Bag of Holding!" Yunyun started pulling out a series of disproportionately large presents. "This one's for Meugmin, Darkness, Kazuma, Aqua… and here's your's Iris!"

"Thank you!" Iris took her gift and set it aside.

"Wait, how did you know to get a present for her?" said Kazuma.

"I didn't want to leave anyone out." Yunyun smiled. "I also didn't' know who many guests you were having."

"Then exactly how many gifts did you buy for…" Aqua was about to ask, but Darkness covered her mouth.

"Thank you most kindly, Yunyun." she smiled. "Megumin got this for you."

Megumin presented a smaller but well-wrapped gift; Yunyun's crimson eyes lit up.

"Megumin, you shouldn't' have!" she gleefully took the box and set it beside her. 'This reminds me of the seventh-grade gift swap!"

"Ah yes…" Megumin happily reminisced back to her school days. "That was the year you did an entire rendition of The Little Match Girl all by yourself!"

"...What?" said Kazuma.

Yunyun blushed as Megumin began to recount the events.

"The drama club refused to give her any roles because they thought her acting would be terrible, lack of Crimson Demon values and whatnot. So they just gave her ten minutes on stage by herself before the actual play and told her to find a way to entertain a crowd for that long. I think they thought she would recite poetry or a song, but she did an entire play by herself! She just kept swapping out pieces of costumes for the characters! And she nailed it!"

"It wasn't that hard. It was only a week or so," said Yunyun, trying to hide her reddening face.

"A week in which you didn't do anything except rehearse perpetually?" said Megumin. "Because nobody invited you to their Christmas parties because you'd be a damper on the…"

"AAAAGH, I don't know what you're talking about!" Yunyun covered her friend's mouth. "Besides, they gave me a standing ovation!"

"It's true. It turns out solo theatre is a bit of a lost art. After that, nobody remembered the actual play."

"...Interesting story, Megumin."

A little bit later.

"We brought omurice!" Wiz said as Vanir and she entered.

"And cake!" the demonkin said. Kazuma immediately made a mental note to avoid eating said cake.

"Hi, shopkeep!" said Yunyun. "I didn't know you and Vanir were dating."

"EH?" Wiz flushed surprisingly red for someone who lacked a pulse. "I don't… I mean… We're not…"

"Indeed, the Crimson Mage who spent two whole years talking to her reflection out of loneliness!" Vanir cackled.

Every drop of blood drained from Yunyun's face as she fainted on the spot.

"...Is she okay?" said Iris.

"Too far, Vanir. Too far." Megumin said.

"Oh, it's you again, Alice," said Wiz.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, shopkeeper."

"Please, call me Wiz."

"Okay," said Iris.

Just as they set their food down, Kazuma heard a familiar voice from right behind him.

"Heya!" Chris cheerfully piped as she appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

"GAH!" Kazuma yelped and jumped half a meter in the air. "Chris, where did you come from?"

"I just picked the lock on your backdoor and Lurked in." Chris chuckled. "Easy as pie. Speaking of which, I made mince pies."

"That's breaking and entering!" said Kazuma. "Also, thanks, I didn't know you baked."

"That's a secret," Chris said as she set them on the table. "Anyway, it's not breaking and entering if you invited me! It's just entering!"

"...Dang, she's good," said Megumin.

Later...

"Ah, Dust! Keith! Taylor! Rin!" Kazuma welcomed his fellow adventurers.

"Yo, Kazuma buddy!" Dust chuckled. "Thanks for inviting us here. Your party members have questionable personality traits, but they're cute enough to have some fun with!"

"Excuse me?" Rin glared at him. "Are you perhaps implying that I'm not cute?"

"Of course you are, but you're off-limits, so I stopped thinking about that." Dust bluntly stated.

"Uh… Dust?" Keith tapped his friend's shoulder. He indicated the presence of Wiz, Yunyun, Chris, and Iris. He smirked and said, "Looks like this party just got a lot better."

While Keith flashed a movie-star smile at Chris, Dust had other concerns.

"Iris? What are you doing here?"

"...Uh… It's pronounced Alice, Dust," she said. "I know we only met once, but you really ought to know my name by now."

"Oh… right. Alice." Dust chuckled. "Nice to see you again."

The two of them shared a laugh, while Taylor gave them a confused glance.

"...Anyways, I brought soba, Rin brought baguettes, Keith brought rabbit stew, and Dust bought… well…" He awkwardly gestured to a pack of beer.

"Nice!" Aqua quickly hoisted it and brought it to the table. "I already brought plenty, but you can never have too much alcohol!'

Yes, you can! It's easy to have too much alcohol!

"My sentiments, exactly!" Dust confidently stated.

Oh gosh, it's like Aqua standing between mirrors.

"So, your calling is a thief, I see?" Keith was quick to appear by Chris' side and lean seductively on the wall. "Cause you just stole my eyes away."

"Oh, are you serious?" Chris glanced him up and down. "Alright, let's see where this goes."

So our heroes enjoyed in some holiday bests

There were food and stories to share with their guests

The boys tried to flirt with wordy exhibits

Which met with groans, save for Keith and Chris

When Dust tried to hit on Megumin

Kazuma was quick to put his fist in him

What followed was embarrassing, but entertaining too

In this wonderful world, where anything can do

Now, of course, dear reader, there's more to be told

So sit back relax, and let the story unfold

Last chance to suggest songs! I imagine there will only be one more chapter, possibly two.