The story of how I, who became the beloved child of Winter Fenrir, was healed from despair

Chapter 33: The Call in the Chamber of Sleep (Go to Hell)

(Christopher’s Perspective)

The princess sleeps peacefully, nestled within the silvery fur. Her serene face exudes a goddess-like beauty. (“What a marvelous sight…”) I sighed dreamily, and next to me, the unicorn made the exact same gesture. When I glanced at him sideways, he glared back at me fiercely. It seems I’m not particularly welcome in his presence. Although he’s given me water after meals and discreetly handed me medicinal herbs since unicorns don’t heal men, so maybe I’m not entirely disliked.

When such words were bestowed upon me by Lord Fenrir (as translated by the unicorn), a strange sound echoed through the cave. Beep beep beep beep… Beep beep beep beep…

I was about to ask what it was but held my breath. Lord Fenrir and the unicorn both became tense with killing intent. What is this? Could it be they’ve sensed another monster nearby!?

“Yes, sir!”

It seems they understood the situation. Lord Fenrir moved his tail aside, and the unicorn began searching around Lady Elle’s waist. Wait, what!?

“Here it is.”

In the unicorn’s hand was… a small, silver, rectangular object. What is that? I quickly realized it must be something from another world. The sound seemed to be coming from it. When Lady Elle started to groan, the two of them panicked.

“At once!”

Glare immediately understood Lord Fenrir’s intentions. He threw the device at me. Whoa…!? I somehow managed to catch it, but I broke into a cold sweat. This must be something precious to the princess, right? If I break it, I’m in serious trouble… Calm down, heart! And please, handle it more gently next time!?

“Take it over there! Get away from here!”

I felt a bit hurt by Glare’s tone… well, I suppose it was just a practical order. Still, he tends to speak rather harshly when not using formal language. I created some distance.

Glare covered Lady Elle’s animal ears with his palms and pressed her human ears with his arms. I can’t help but feel a pang of jealousy at the closeness between them… but no, I must compose myself! If the princess were in my place, she’d smile faintly and restrain her feelings. I tried to suppress my own emotions by imagining that. Love is a mental combat sport.

The sound suddenly stopped.

Lord Fenrir and the unicorn visibly relaxed.

“May I ask, what is this device? I have no idea what it could be…”

Lord Fenrir nodded, and the unicorn grimaced with great reluctance.

“Ah, well… it’s the source of all evil that torments Lady Elle.”

“Should we destroy it?”

I couldn’t help but let out a low voice. Lord Fenrir and the unicorn shared a moment of consideration, as if they were thinking, That might be a good idea. But then, Lord Fenrir shook his head.

“Damn. Allow me to explain on behalf of Lord Fenrir… That device is a communication tool from another world. Lady Elle had it with her when she ‘fell’ here. The sound we just heard is apparently the communication signal. Though we don’t understand the mechanism, it seems to facilitate conversations with people from faraway places.”

What an incredible tool. As a politician, I find it fascinating. But isn’t it causing Lady Elle distress?

“In her world, Lady Elle was forced to work to the brink of collapse, constantly. It seems this call is from that kaisha place. That sound is their signal.”

At this, Lord Fenrir let out a low growl, a beastly threat.

“…Prince, you’re gripping that tightly. I understand how you feel. Messages from Lady Elle’s parents also come through this device. That’s why, despite how much we despise it, we cannot bring ourselves to destroy it.”

“That is… a complicated issue.”

I managed to muster a response, but my earlier enthusiasm had waned. Sigh.

“The princess is loved by her parents, isn’t she?”

I confirmed this. Parents should love their children, but there are rare cases of abuse, even in the Kingdom of Felsnow.

“It seems Lady Elle’s biological parents do indeed love her.”

“That’s a relief…!”

I was somewhat reassured that this tool wasn’t solely causing her pain. …Or so I thought, but suddenly the atmosphere shifted. Wait, why is Glare raising his hand to chop me? What did I do!?

“Lord Fenrir is concerned that Lady Elle might still have lingering feelings for her parents in the other world. Not that it matters, as there’s no way for her to return there.”

“I-I see.”

That’s another complicated matter. But as I gazed at the princess, her face peaceful once again, I was certain that she must be happy now. I was about to say as much when…

Beep beep beep beep… Beep beep beep beep… That unpleasant electronic sound again!

Before we could even react, we all scrambled in a panic. When I saw tears welling up at the corners of Lady Elle’s eyes, I felt a surge of anger. Why must she suffer like this!?

“This is a communication device, right?”

I confirmed some symbols appeared on the device. I have a knack for understanding these sorts of things. I’m a jack of all trades, master of none.

Seeing that Glare was still covering Lady Elle’s ears, I touched the green flashing symbol. The display changed.

“ーーNoel Fujioka! How dare you not answer the phone immediately! Well, never mind that for now. Due to certain circumstances, your resignation has been revoked! This is an emergency special measure for your sake. So, report to work at once!”

A middle-aged man’s voice, barking orders. There were parts of his message I didn’t fully understand, but his overbearing tone was nothing short of infuriating. I glanced over to Lord Fenrir and Glare, and they nodded, confirming that Noel Fujioka referred to Princess Elle.

“Isn’t it customary to introduce oneself first?”

I responded in a cold voice. Apparently, my words were conveyed to the other side, as I heard a sharp intake of breath. The precision of this tool is astounding.

“ーーThis is Michinaga from the HR department.”

“Nice to meet you, Michinaga. I am Christopher Lea Sielfon. Noel Fujioka will not be returning to your world.”

“ーーWho are you, exactly? Are you… a relative?”

“Relative? Yes, that’s correct.”

“This situation is more convenient, so I’ll go with it for now.

‘Having a relative speak on your behalf? That’s not something a fully-fledged professional would do. Fujioka-kun still has a lot to learn about the real world. Can I speak to her directly?’

The man’s voice was tinged with frustration and irritation. Honestly, I’m the one who should be angry here!

‘I must decline. She’s deeply hurt right now and needs time to heal. I can relay your message, though. You’re probably calling to cancel the termination, right? There must be a reason behind it.’

‘…Very well, I’ll explain.’

The man’s voice calmed down a notch. I recognize this tone. He’s trying to soften his approach, hoping to win me over.

‘The major mistake that led to Fujioka-kun’s dismissal… It turns out her senior colleague was responsible for it. We reconsidered, realizing that someone as diligent as Fujioka-kun couldn’t have made such a mistake. We all worked overtime to thoroughly re-examine everything. The senior employee in question had been offloading most of their work onto Fujioka-kun, and wasn’t fit to be a mentor, so they’ve been terminated. We’ve prepared a welcoming environment to ensure Fujioka-kun can return smoothly. Our company can’t function without her. Her expertise is invaluable. Please, tell her to come back as soon as possible—everyone is waiting for her!’

What a load of crap. It’s obvious they just want to dump the blame on Princess El and overwork her again. They’re playing on her kindness and sense of responsibility. Sincerity? Without even an apology? How insulting!

‘I’ll pass on the message. Goodbye.’

Not that I actually will.

‘W-wait! Due to the mistake, a massive debt has accumulated, and only Fujioka-kun, who handled the specialized work, can resolve it in time. Our company will go bankrupt! Please, have her contact us by tomorrow morning at the latest, and come to work…!’

Looks like he sensed my mood. Hmph.

‘As I said earlier, if your actions are truly trustworthy, you can confidently wait until tomorrow.’

The person on the other end was speechless. Hm? The unicorn is beckoning me. He has a scary look on his face, with veins bulging on his forehead. I approach the unicorn and bring the device close to his mouth.

‘Go to hell.’

‘W-what!? What’s going on!? Bzzz! Bzzz! Manager! The main unit is malfunctioning, the communication system and data backups are all down…! What!? We can’t trace the communication history! It seems we’ve lost our customer data as well… The main unit is smoking, so probably all the terminals are toast… Is there no backup on the terminals!? Fujioka-san was the one managing that! She had all the passwords and such! But she’s just a regular employee!? Didn’t we just find out that her supervisor had dumped that responsibility on her!? And that same supervisor shredded all the paper records to cover up the evidence… Ahh! Damn it! Fujioka-san probably remembers everything, though. Christopher-san! First, contact Fujioka-kun immediately for the passwords, even if it means talking to her directly!’

‘Go to hell.’

‘Manager! This is serious, there’s a virus attack from outside… The security software isn’t functioning due to the system failure! Whaaaat!? The data’s gone, the systems are down, we won’t make tomorrow’s deadline… Massive losses… Am I going to be held responsible…? I worked so hard to get to this position. What’s happening!? We’re being flooded with complaints from our clients, they’re threatening to cut ties! President!?’

‘Go to hell.’

‘…This all started because of the financial shortfall! The president was taking too large a cut, and we couldn’t hire temp workers, so we had to make do with the current staff, who were doing unpaid overtime. Then we fired the SEs who maintained the machines, which caused the system breakdown! How dare you speak to me like that!? This company is finished anyway! Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz!’

The increasingly unpleasant noise must have been grating on the unicorn, who grimaced and shook his head. I fiddled with the device on a hunch, and the sound stopped. The connection was cut.

“Yes!”

We all exchanged glances, sharing the same feeling. The unicorn looked extremely pleased.

‘That was satisfying. It seems the unicorn’s curse was effective.’

‘Well done.’

I feel like I just overheard something unbelievable. Is this how the pure and righteous unicorn keeps his heart clean…? I’d better make sure I never seriously anger him.

‘It’s all right now.’

The unicorn released Princess El. His words likely echoed Fenrir-sama’s thoughts as well. The silver tail gently wrapped around Lady El, as if she were being enveloped in warm snow.

‘…For Princess El, Fenrir-sama must be like a soothing winter.’

Fenrir-sama tilted his head slightly, pondering. Then his blue eyes curved into a slow smile.

‘I hope I can be that for her. I trust you all will also be a source of comfort for El.’

The unicorn translated. Oh no! Fenrir-sama’s words are so beautiful they deepen my reverence for him…! I’m sorry for feeling a little jealous earlier. Even the unicorn was trembling with emotion. Our guide is so kind and sincere to his subordinates!

I bowed deeply with all my heart. The unicorn, who also bowed, met my gaze. ‘That’s not true!’ he said… Did Fenrir-sama just tease him, saying, ‘You two get along well’ or something?

‘Let’s discuss this machine. Come with me! You seem to know more about machines than we do, I admit that!’

‘Ah, okay.’

The unicorn grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and dragged me along. Ugh, I can’t breathe! Even through my fading vision, the snow-white colors of Fenrir-sama and the others were so beautiful that I was moved. Ah, I really can’t breathe!

The unicorn later apologized, and we ended up bonding, so I guess it turned out all right in the end. I was granted permission to call him Master Glare.”