I Became the Magic Tower Master's Experimental Mouse - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“I have a question!”
The Tower Master paused his writing and waited for me to continue.
“Why is… the Duke’s heir a secret?”
Only the Tower Master and I knew of Cassian’s existence.
If everyone in the Magic Tower worked together on a cure, we might find a better way forward—so I couldn’t understand why he’d been hidden all this time.
“He’s the heir to the Duke’s House. If word got out that the heir has become addicted, Behemoth would be destabilized.”
The Tower Master answered lightly, tapping his pen.
“…Hmm? You already knew he was the heir? You didn’t seem surprised.”
“Well…”
I faltered for a moment, then quickly made an excuse.
“You wouldn’t personally care for just anyone, would you?”
The Tower Master’s eyes narrowed briefly at my words before he nodded.
“In any case, enemies always target a family’s weaknesses first. So we seal off the information.”
“Then you don’t trust the people here at the Magic Tower either?”
“Humans cannot be trusted.”
The Tower Master’s expression was as cold as always.
I noticed his distrust of mankind and tilted my head further in confusion.
“But that’s Behemoth’s weakness, not the Magic Tower’s problem, is it?”
For someone who distrusted humanity so thoroughly, wasn’t he being awfully lenient toward the Duke’s House?
At my question, the Tower Master hesitated briefly before responding with a small hum.
“If it becomes known that there’s a poison in circulation that the Magic Tower cannot detoxify, it will cause great chaos. So I’ve decided not to disclose it.”
As he spoke, the Tower Master’s face seemed distinctly displeased.
‘Ah, he’s worried we won’t be able to cure Cassian!’
The Tower Master’s authority would suffer, and indeed, if the existence of such a poison became public, worse things might happen.
But it’ll be fine now! With a genius like me around!
I puffed out my chest proudly and nodded in satisfaction.
“Don’t make strange faces. I need to prepare a meal.”
The Tower Master stood up, muttering as he left.
‘What’s wrong with my expression!’
* * *
After the night passed, it was around lunchtime the next day.
Finally, the fever broke completely, and I was released from the Tower Master’s Personal Quarters.
“Skip your walk today. Eat lunch at the Dining Hall.”
Just as I was about to leave, the Tower Master glanced up from his documents and spoke quietly.
“Why… um.”
Perhaps from days of watching over me so carefully, the Tower Master looked busy.
I wanted to ask why I shouldn’t walk and had to eat separately, but I didn’t want to break his concentration, so I simply slipped out of the room.
‘Hmm, how do I get to the Dining Hall from here?’
I knew the way from my own room and the Tower Master’s Office to the Dining Hall, but this was my first time navigating from his Personal Quarters, and I was confused.
‘Should I head down this way?’
Going down one floor along the Corridor, I found myself not at the Dining Hall, but in the Reception Room area—somewhere I rarely visited.
One of the large doors that was usually shut stood slightly ajar, and I could sense people moving inside.
‘Who’s visiting?’
For ordinary guests, they wouldn’t be shown all the way to the Reception Room; they’d be received on the first floor. This must be someone important.
‘Well, it’s none of my business.’
More than that, I was curious what they’d be serving for lunch today.
I walked quickly down the Corridor when the Reception Room door suddenly swung wide open from inside.
“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll bring the Tower Master shortly.”
Hearing a voice from within the Reception Room, I found myself peering inside without thinking.
In the center of the Reception Room stood a man of extraordinary height.
He was dressed in a deep blue overcoat, with slightly coarse golden hair.
‘…He’s massive.’
His silhouette looked just like a bear.
He was so enormous that the body of the person responding to him on the opposite side was completely hidden from view.
As I stared up at him in a daze, the man slowly turned to face me.
His eyes were a clear, rich golden honey color.
It was a color I’d seen before somewhere.
‘…Where have I seen that?’
I was searching my memory while staring intently at him when the man spoke first.
“Who are you? When did the Magic Tower start keeping children so young?”
His voice was surprisingly soft, though it carried no warmth.
‘Well, what do I do?’
It would be awkward to dodge when someone was asking directly.
From what the guide had said about the Tower Master arriving soon, this visitor must be someone quite important.
‘If I’m rude to him, it might put the Tower Master in a difficult position.’
I stepped forward and introduced myself carefully.
“Hello! I’m Pipi, the Magic Tower’s experimental subject. Are you a visitor?”
“……Experimental subject?”
“Oh my, Pipi!”
The visitor’s brow furrowed slightly, and the guide who had been standing behind him suddenly rushed forward.
“Liz, hello.”
I greeted her warmly.
“So you can finally move around? Oh, I need to hurry to the Tower Master…….”
Liz gestured with her eyes for me to head back the way I came, then dashed off.
This visitor was clearly someone important indeed.
“Well then, I should be going…….”
I turned to leave the visitor and head back to the Dining Hall.
“Wait. What do you mean, experimental subject?”
“Just what it sounds like? I’m a poison experimental subject at the Magic Tower. The Tower Master gave me this nickname himself.”
I answered proudly, beaming with pride.
His expression only grew more rigid.
‘……Huh, why that look?’
Being an experimental subject at the Magic Tower isn’t exactly a disreputable profession.
As I puzzled over it, the visitor asked again.
“The Tower Master is using you as an experimental subject?”
“Yes!”
“……How old are you?”
“Six years old.”
The air in the Reception Room suddenly turned cold.
His golden eyes darkened slightly, and his voice changed in a strange way.
“Are there any other children in this tower?”
“Well, there are the senior apprentices.”
“Are those children also being used as experimental subjects at the tower?”
“No, no, that’s just me. Only I can endure it.”
I answered cheerfully, rubbing the bridge of my nose.
“……I see. Is what Liz said earlier — that you can finally move — also related to the experiments?”
“Gasp.”
I instinctively covered my mouth and blinked in surprise.
It happened because I was performing Detoxification on Cassian instead of experimenting, but what should I say?
It’s a secret I haven’t told anyone inside the tower, so I definitely shouldn’t tell an outsider.
I shook my head earnestly and lied.
The visitor’s brow furrowed even deeper.
‘……Why did the atmosphere suddenly become so heavy?’
I wondered if I’d made a mistake and quickly ran through my mind.
I’d bragged about everything I could, my introductions were clear and proper, and I hadn’t said anything rude.
“……How do you live here?”
The visitor bent one knee to meet my eye level.
When the enormous man suddenly drew close, I felt the urge to leap straight up to the ceiling in shock.
Of course, my untrained body couldn’t manage it, so I had to hold back.
“I live wonderfully! I’m told I need to maintain the right physique to be a perfect experimental subject. So I eat five meals a day, exercise hard, go on walks, and do experiments.”
“……Five meals.”
“Yes! Before I came to the Magic Tower, I struggled to eat even one meal a day. Now it’s truly paradise!”
“……Paradise?”
Every time the visitor repeated a word, the air grew heavier.
“……Do you undergo experiments often?”
“Yes, every day! The pay is really good, and it’s truly a wonderful workplace!”
Our workplace is the best.
I answered confidently, emphasizing that there’s no workplace as perfect as this, and that my employer, the Tower Master, is truly a wonderful person.
‘……Huh?’
But the moment I saw the visitor’s expression, I sensed something had gone terribly wrong.
Before I could even grasp the situation, the man moved first.
A massive hand came to rest on my shoulder.
“Tell me honestly, little one.”
“……Yes, yes?”
“What is the Tower Master doing to you? You don’t need to be afraid. I can take you away from this place—”
“Wait! No, wait!”
I raised my hands urgently, cutting him off.
“Why are you insulting the Tower Master? He’s truly a good person!”
I was anxious that this possibly important visitor would form a bad impression of the Tower Master.
The people of the Magic Tower already misunderstood him as someone cold and frightening, and I couldn’t bear for that to happen again…….
“It’s all right. If you’re speaking out of fear—”
“I’m telling the truth!”
I stamped my feet and spoke from the heart, but the visitor didn’t seem to believe me.
‘Oh no, this is bad.’
To turn the situation around, I rattled off everything I could think of—from the Magic Tower’s perfect experimental subject recruitment conditions to its marvelous environment—but the visitor’s expression only grew more bleak.
“I’m, I’m serious…….”
I was on the verge of tears from sheer frustration when the man simply lifted me off the ground.
“Let’s leave this place first. We can talk more calmly once we’re somewhere safe—”
That was the moment.
“Release that hand.”
The air in the Reception Room froze solid.

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