I Became the Magic Tower Master's Experimental Mouse - Chapter 19

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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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* * *
That night.
I changed into my nightclothes as usual and sat on the edge of the bed, arranging the Guardian Talisman carefully on the bedside table.
‘……It’s beautiful.’
I seemed to have developed an eye for accessories.
‘Once I receive a thousand gold, maybe I’ll set some aside and buy a necklace or hair ribbon.’
During my years as an assassin, I never wore anything decorative.
They were cumbersome and could identify me.
I was too young to use the Seduction Technique anyway, so I relied on brute force instead—there was no need to adorn myself.
Though this necklace wasn’t studded with gems, having an accessory of my own filled me with an oddly warm satisfaction.
‘Since I have this, I should be even nicer to Cassian.’
I was thinking precisely this when it happened.
Knock, knock.
Someone had come to my room.
‘Who would that be at this hour?’
Everyone knew this was my sleep time, so no one ever sought me out then.
“Who is it?”
I didn’t open the door, asking for identification first.
Though I knew no one in the Mage Tower meant me harm, it was a habit.
“It’s me.”
“Tower Master?”
Only then did I open the door, and there stood the Tower Master holding a small box in his hand.
‘……What is this?’
From the circumstances, it seemed meant for me.
I tilted my head in confusion, and the Tower Master’s gaze lingered long on the Guardian Talisman resting on the bedside table.
“……I have something to give you for a moment.”
His voice carried an oddly ominous tone.
“What will you be giving me?”
In response, the Tower Master handed me the box first.
As I accepted it dutifully, he gestured with his eyes for me to open it at once.
Inside the box lay a small necklace.
It was a necklace with a violet gem, and within the gem was inscribed—in tiny, precise detail—the emblem of the Poison Tower.
“……Wow.”
How had he carved a pattern into the inside of the gem?
It was intricate in a way entirely different from the Guardian Talisman’s craftsmanship.
I held the gem up to the light, tilting it in the air.
The emblem within the violet stone glimmered with an extraordinary luster as it caught the flames.
“What is this?”
“A necklace that senses poison.”
The Tower Master answered in an even tone.
“It senses poison?”
“Yes. If it’s a toxic substance registered with the Tower, the gem will change color when any poison exists in your vicinity.”
“What is the detection range?”
“……A fine question. I wish all the mages in the Tower asked me such things.”
The Tower Master’s eyes gleamed with a satisfaction usually reserved for appraising exceptional talent.
There was a peculiar hunger in that gaze—I had the sudden dread that if he caught me, I’d be locked in his laboratory for the next decade.
“Roughly this distance. It detects within a radius about the size of the space between you and me.”
The Tower Master stepped back a few paces as he explained.
The range was wider than I’d expected.
Of course, the function wasn’t vital for someone like me who couldn’t be poisoned, but it might be useful for detecting in advance whether someone wished me harm.
“But why are you giving this to me?”
Was there someone in the Tower trying to harm me?
Bewildered, I asked, and the Tower Master’s body stiffened for a moment.
‘Hmm? His eyelashes seem to be fluttering a bit more than usual.’
He answered in a slightly embarrassed tone.
“Today you performed demanding additional duties requiring considerable power, and you moved one of the Tower’s major benefactors deeply. So it is only fitting that I reward you as well.”
“……You mean detoxifying Behemoth’s young master?”
It may not seem vital to me alone, but to anyone else it would appear a treasure beyond measure—and he was simply giving it to me as a reward?
“Since it bears the Poison Tower’s emblem, other towers will treat you with proper respect accordingly.”
The Poison Tower was not the only Mage Tower within the Empire.
There were several: towers devoted solely to Elemental Magic, towers of the Enchantment School, towers for the study of Dark Magic, and more.
Given that mages led relatively insular, introverted lives, “proper and deserved treatment” would prove quite a convenient function.
At minimum, mages from other towers wouldn’t flee the moment they caught sight of me!
“So, you see, having multiple functions makes it considerably superior to the Guardian Talisman.”
The Tower Master fastened a necklace around my neck as he spoke.
‘Wait just a moment.’
Could he have brought this because he didn’t care for the Guardian Talisman…?
I tilted my head back, studying his face intently.
“You’re not suggesting I abandon one of them, are you?”
The Tower Master fell silent for a moment.
Then he shook his head rather quickly.
“That’s not it, but in any case, the Guardian Talisman isn’t particularly beautiful to wear around every day. This, by contrast, looks far more like an ornament a woman would choose.”
‘And it’s practical,’ he added, as though to reinforce the point.
“So make sure you don’t remove it, even when bathing.”
I blinked, feeling the small chain settle against the nape of my neck.
“The Guardian Talisman’s craftsmanship is quite lovely, though.”
I narrowed my eyes, pressing gently to discern his true meaning.
“It’s nine oh-five.”
The Tower Master countered by noting that my bedtime had passed five minutes ago, then shut the door and vanished with a flourish.
‘What on earth?!’
I couldn’t fathom what sudden impulse had moved him to gift me a necklace, so I stood rooted in place, blinking dumbly for several seconds.
Finally, I extinguished the lamp and trudged back to bed, collapsing into it with a soft thud.
‘To be honest, I’m not fond of either of them.’
What I truly wanted was a hair ribbon—something to keep my hair neatly tied.
A shimmering jewel attached to it would be even better.
I suspected I’d need to spend some of my thousand gold on a hair ribbon.
‘Though I should choose one with a violet stone—something that suits me.’
* * *
Several days later, in the morning.
Leo found his way to my room.
“Leo? Where are your friends?”
Only one of the Four Musketeers visiting—an unexpected choice that sparked immediate curiosity.
“Heh, hehehehe. We’ve finally been assigned a new task!”
“Oh?”
“Liz finally handed us an actual job to do!”
“Wow, congratulations!”
I understood the import and clapped my hands together as I stood in the doorway.
Being handed a task as apprentices likely meant they were on the verge of becoming formal mages!
“So that’s why you came? Is the task to escort me somewhere?”
I let Leo savor his moment of pride before asking.
He then produced an impressively thick envelope.
“No! We check the messenger birds each morning, then walk through the tower delivering letters to people. We’ve divided the sections among ourselves.”
He handed me the envelope while explaining.
Leo, who had inherited the Tower’s odd jobs from Liz—the youngest who usually handled such matters—wore an expression of barely contained excitement.
Eager to deliver the remaining letters, he practically vibrated with impatience, so I signed the registry to confirm receipt and closed the door.
‘It really is addressed to me.’
Did anyone know I was in the Poison Tower well enough to send me a letter?
Before opening it, I examined the envelope first.
‘Hmm, no signs of tampering.’
Even when held to the light, I detected nothing unusual—no sharp objects, no poison residue in the envelope itself.
The front read “To Miss Epiphany” in proper script, so it had found its rightful owner.
Yet there was one thing.
One detail that troubled my mind.
‘The Four Musketeers must not have recognized it.’
The seal pressed into the wax that bound the letter belonged to Behemoth.
Had they recognized it, they surely would have reported it to Liz first rather than handing it directly to me.
Thanks to their oversight, the envelope remained completely undamaged.
“Now then…”
I carefully broke the seal and withdrew the contents.
The envelope felt quite thick, and indeed it contained two smaller envelopes inside.
One was addressed “To Miss Epiphany,” and the other “To my son Cassian.”
‘My son…’
There was a fifty-fifty chance it came from the Duke or the Duchess.
But the handwriting was so bold and confident that it seemed far more likely to be from that broad-shouldered Duke.
[To Miss Epiphany.
The fierce summer sun has lost its edge, and the Garden is now ablaze with enormous, magnificent dahlias marking the tail end of the season.
I am Behemoth’s wife…]
‘Wait? That’s wrong…!’
After the Duke’s visit, I’d happened to hear that the Duchess had been in poor health and was refraining from going out.
But for her handwriting to be this spirited and flowing.
‘They say you can read a person’s nature just from their script.’
The memory surfaced of something an old forger used to say back in my days as an assassin. That old man must have been a liar.
I clicked my tongue and quickly read through my own letter.
‘Hmm. It’s praise.’
The main content was a deep expression of gratitude for saving Cassian.
It also included an invitation, saying that once Cassian had fully recovered, she would very much like to give me proper hospitality and hoped I would visit the Duke’s estate at least once.
There were wishes for my health, and one special request as well.
‘She wants me to read Cassian’s letter to him?’
It wasn’t a difficult request at all.
Somehow she’d divined my exact nature with surprising accuracy, and even included a rather thick Slab Chocolate as compensation.
“This is something I can definitely do.”
The sweet aroma was already wafting through the air—it had to be masterwork chocolate.
‘Coming from the Duchess herself, it’s bound to be delicious.’
In this life, I’ve grown quite close with fine food.
I was genuinely grateful I’d decided to go back in time!
Knock, knock.
Just as I was savoring the thought, someone knocked on the door.
“Pip, did you oversleep? The Tower Master is looking for you!”
“…Oh, right! I’m coming now!”
Damn, I’d lost track of time reading the letters.
I hesitated for just a second, then broke off a corner of the chocolate and popped it into my mouth.
‘I’m definitely going to get scolded for being late. I need to sweeten my mood with something sweet.’
* * *
After reporting the situation to the Tower Master, I went down to the Basement with the letter in hand, arriving just in time for the experiment period.
As usual, I took Cassian’s hand and neutralized the poison.
Then I opened the envelope to take out the letter.
Flash—!
‘Huh? Didn’t that necklace just gleam differently than before…?’

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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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