I Became the Magic Tower Master's Experimental Mouse - Chapter 10

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

“Pipi! The fairy of my vacation!”
“You’re really all better now!”
From gratitude over the new day off I’d created, to strange comments about enshrining me as a guardian deity of incidents and accidents for solving the Purification Device situation—I was overwhelmed by the goodwill pouring down around me.
I felt flustered by it all.
“Pipi, drink this. It’s Orange Juice.”
As I hesitated over where to sit and slipped into a spot next to Lizzie, Ollie across from me handed me a glass of juice.
“Haha, what Pipi really loves most is this super-premium Apple Juice, right?”
At that, Lizzie shook a bottle of juice that glowed with transparent gold, smirking at us.
The usually gentle Ollie’s expression turned slightly prickly.
“Would you like a pastry?”
“What about peanuts? Mice like nuts, don’t they?”
The other mages all stopped their conversation at once and turned their attention to me.
‘That’s a stereotype.’
I corrected it silently in my mind and instead politely picked up one piece.
Everyone was so eager to look after me that I had to accept out of courtesy.
Even Lily, who’d been quietly eating her salad, tried to give me lettuce leaves, saying, ‘You’re supposed to eat greens before the meal, you know!’
“Let me see—is this the experimental mouse?”
Shortly after, an elderly man I’d never seen before approached, his beard long and white.
“Ah, Second Elder.”
Lizzie stood and bowed. I got up too and blinked my eyes in the same direction.
“Have you finished your experiments? I heard you said you’d absolutely never leave the laboratory…”
“Tsk, the Tower Master said he’d take away my laboratory room if I don’t absolutely attend the Gathering.”
The Second Elder, who muttered in a small voice, studied me intently.
Just as I was blinking under the weight of that piercing gaze, a long staff suddenly came flying at the back of the Second Elder’s head from behind.
“Third Elder, you crazy old hag!”
“What, is the little thing too pretty and you’re dazzling its eyes?”
The Second Elder snapped his head around to dodge the staff’s attack, glaring at the elderly woman who’d appeared behind him.
The gruff-looking old woman was the third of the Magic Tower’s three Elders.
“Using such a tiny baby as an experiment subject—the Tower Master really isn’t in his right mind. Say, little one, want some caramel?”
At the appearance of these two distinctive old folk, all the mages nearby visibly turned their heads away and held their breath.
‘Lizzie definitely said something right before the Gathering…’
The Elders of the Magic Tower were ancient beings who’d lived over a hundred years, and since they had such strong likes and dislikes, they gave me a flowery, roundabout warning to be careful.
“How shameless, carrying on like that in front of children. Tsk, tsk. Still, didn’t that little one solve the Purification Device problem?”
Finally, the First Elder appeared with his leisurely demeanor, and I quickly bowed my head.
“Hello. I’m Pipi.”
“A Poison Immunity, really! Child, is it true? Could you give me some hair and blood as a sample?”
“Crazy old hag! If you’re going to say things like that, get yourself back to the laboratory!”
Instead of acknowledging my greeting, the Third Elder and Second Elder started bickering again.
My head was spinning from the excessive attention I’d been receiving.
Whatever else, Lizzie had definitely been right that it wasn’t entirely pleasant to receive the Elders’ attention like this.
Unable to do anything about it, I stood there awkwardly.
“Enough.”
A low, authoritative voice cut across the Dining Hall.
“Old woman, that’s it. It’s done.”
“Ah, well, that settles it.”
The Third Elder, who’d been fussing all along, and the Second Elder, who’d been acting obstinate, suddenly fell silent.
As if they’d never surrounded me at all, they slipped away and sat down in empty spots far away.
The mages who’d ended up sitting next to them looked disgruntled.
“Do not entertain any thoughts of taking physical samples from my experimental subject.”
It was a polite statement in formal speech, but the tone and expression made it sound less like respect and more like a threat.
The Tower Master stepped in front of me lightly and, as if it were the most natural thing, plucked the pile of snacks from my hand and shoved them into his robe’s inner pocket with a clatter.
“This child is still recovering, so don’t all crowd in at once.”
At the Tower Master’s single warning, the mages closed their mouths.
Soon a large hand slipped under my armpit.
The Tower Master lifted me up and set me down with a thump next to his place at the head of the table.
Right there in front of everyone, I was moved like a piece of luggage, swinging my legs and holding only Apple Juice!
“My seat is over there…”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
The Tower Master scoffed as if he’d just heard an absurd joke.
I sipped from a large cup of juice to hide my face.
From somewhere distant, I caught the faint murmur: “Could she be the Tower Master’s secret daughter?”
Embarrassed, I had to keep my head down and pretend to drink for quite some time.
The atmosphere that had begun with everyone watching the Tower Master and the Elders’ moods loosened remarkably once the alcohol started flowing.
Everywhere except near the Tower Master, that is.
As the mood grew livelier and the chatter more boisterous, the mages sitting near the Tower Master all began to fidget and shift their seats.
“Feel free to move about and enjoy yourselves.”
At his permission—delivered so quietly that those around him caught the hint—the mages rose and slipped away, leaving the area suddenly peaceful.
I frowned slightly at the Tower Master drinking his alcohol, then whispered a soft question.
“You don’t like alcohol?”
“Hmm?”
The Tower Master raised one eyebrow at my question.
“I’ve noticed that one glass never seems to disappear, and whenever you pick up the cup, your eyebrows do this—” I scrunched my brows together in an exaggerated expression of displeasure. “—like that.”
I demonstrated by furrowing my eyebrows as if angry.
The Tower Master answered in an irritated tone.
“Alcohol clouds one’s reason. It’s a substance you pay for in exchange for becoming barbaric.”
“Then why don’t you just not drink it?”
At my question, the Tower Master let out a suppressed sigh.
“There are circumstances that come with being an adult.”
As predictable as always.
Those in high positions tended to believe that drinking cocoa would diminish their authority, while strong spirits elevated it.
Of course, I couldn’t deny that alcohol suited the Tower Master’s cold, imposing atmosphere.
It seemed the Tower Master, though not eager, was willing to drink at least one glass for the sake of propriety.
I myself believed that true authority came from a place where no one could interfere even if you sucked on a pacifier.
In my days as an assassin, once I’d established myself, I’d only indulged in delicious, sweet beverages.
‘But I still have the old tricks I used back then.’
I lowered a cup below the table and poured Apple Juice from the glass beside me.
The golden liquid could easily pass for colored liquor at first glance.
“Please, have this.”
I handed the Tower Master the fake alcohol that smelled sweetly fragrant.
“…It’s sweet.”
It sounded almost like a rebuke.
But from that point on, the Tower Master drank nothing but the Apple Juice I offered him for the rest of the gathering.
“How remarkable!”
Suddenly, a drunk mage from across the way spoke, looking at us.
“The Tower Master and Pipi really do look alike, don’t they?”
“What?”
“Look! When you’re both like that, your expressions are identical! You even furrow your eyebrows the same way!”
“Your personalities are similar too.”
Everyone, moderately drunk, giggled at this.
Each time the Tower Master’s cool gaze landed on me, I flinched slightly.
“Like father and daughter, maybe…?”
The Tower Master then let out a dry cough.
“Talking nonsense.”
The Tower Master scolded them harshly, though somehow he didn’t seem truly angry.
“I have no lost daughter.”
Sensing my subtle, hopeful gaze, the Tower Master spoke flatly.
His tone suggested that neither lost nor found—he simply had no daughter or wife to speak of in the first place.
“I married magic instead.”
Judging by the fact that he couldn’t even recall a moment of youthful passion, he truly had dedicated his entire life to magic.
‘Still, lost parents? There’s no way I’d meet them by such perfect coincidence on the street.’
Since I’d been picked up as an infant from the roadside, I’d harbored a small hope, but clearly it wasn’t meant to be.
I thought I’d let go of such expectations entirely, but maybe I hadn’t really.
Somehow having something given and then taken away left me feeling slightly deflated.
‘Or… did I want the Tower Master to be my father?’
And yet I’m a full-grown adult inside!
I comforted myself inwardly, pushing away such unpleasant thoughts.
The Tower Master, who had been observing me intently, asked slowly.
“Is there something you want?”
“Pardon?”
“I intend to reward your service. Tell me what you desire.”
I nearly dropped my spoon mid-bite of sweetly prepared corn.
A reward?
It struck me then that I’d been counting the ceaseless goodwill and attention of others as a reward in itself.
Kindness returning as kindness—what a remarkable world this was.
“……The Basement.”
“The Basement?”
“Yes. When I went to repair the Purification Device. It felt like there was someone else in there.”
I glanced about to ensure no one was listening, then spoke quietly.
That day, I’d spent quite a long time in the Basement.
And in doing so, I’d naturally come to sense it: that someone else occupied this space besides myself.
From the traces—the scent of blood and poison, the shallow breathing—it seemed not to be a full-grown adult. These were unmistakable signs, however faint.
‘That he kept everyone away from the Basement……’
It meant the Tower Master was likely concealing that person’s existence deliberately.
“Everyone from the Magic Tower came today, but that person didn’t. So I want to go bring them something delicious.”
In truth, it wasn’t some sense of loyalty toward someone whose face I’d never seen. I simply wanted to solve the curiosity I’d been unable to put to rest.
That poison scent I kept almost recognizing had been coming from where that person was.
So really, it was nothing but a selfish statement dressed up as kindness—yet the Tower Master’s eyes wavered.
Seeing his gaze soften as if watching a remarkably good-hearted child, I felt an unexpected discomfort bloom in my chest.
“Only if I accompany you.”
“Of course!”
I swore to myself I would keep the secret.
“If I judge it dangerous, I’ll have you withdraw at once.”
At his warning, I nodded obediently.
“And another thing.”
What now?
The Tower Master rose from his seat, his expression turning grave as he withdrew a Pocket Watch from his pocket.
“Enjoy yourself without interfering with tomorrow’s schedule.”
“Pardon? You’re leaving already?”
The Tower Master’s almost threatening remark drew every eye in the room.
“My test subjects need their sleep soon.”
……Wait, wasn’t he about to leave right now?
I looked toward the Dining Hall’s clock with a confused expression.
8:50 p.m. Bedtime really was in ten minutes.
Cutting through the flood of farewells—
I found myself hoisted by the Tower Master’s side and forcibly whisked away from the Gathering.
* * *
The Tower Master led me down the Basement corridor.
‘I knew it!’
No matter what people say, he wasn’t the stubborn sort after all!
“The child in here—”
‘Must be from the Behemoth Duke Family, obviously.’
The family crest visible outside, the fact the Tower Master tended to them personally—surely someone of importance to the ducal house?
“……No, it’s better not to know their status.”
That was what the Tower Master said.
But as I gripped his hand and crossed the Barrier, getting a proper look at the child’s face—
‘What do I do?’
There was no way not to recognize them.
The silver hair, nearly luminous white, was unmistakably theirs.
It was the Behemoth Young Duke.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————