I Became the Magic Tower Master's Experimental Mouse - Chapter 23

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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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“Good afternoon, my lord.”
The next day, in the early afternoon, I entered the Basement with the Tower Master.
‘……Wait?’
Cassian was propped up on the bed at an angle, leaning against a pillow.
Just yesterday he’d been flat on his back, staring at the ceiling — but today he’d moved, even if only slightly!
Watching a patient who’d lain motionless every day manage even the smallest shift filled me with an unexpected surge of emotion.
“……You’re late.”
Cassian tossed out the words as if they meant nothing.
His voice sounded worn, drained of strength.
“Pardon?”
“You said you’d come back.”
Cassian’s lips puckered slightly, like a bird’s beak.
“I come at this time every day, don’t I? Isn’t that right, Tower Master?”
“……Yes.”
The Tower Master nodded in agreement.
My schedule is precise. My visits to Cassian are set for noon to half past twelve.
I finish the Detoxification by one o’clock.
“You promised you’d report back! You even told me to hurry…….”
“Of course I meant I’d come according to my regular schedule. I did come back, didn’t I?”
I shrugged as I spoke.
At that, Cassian’s face twisted as if he might burst with indignation, his nose scrunching up sharply.
“You…….”
“I……?”
“You……. What’s your name?”
Cassian clenched his teeth slightly, fumbling for words before asking.
“It’s Epiphany.”
“……That’s quite a grand name.”
He didn’t say ‘a rat like you’ this time, but it was clear he was thinking it — such a pretentious name for a mere rat.
“That’s strange.”
Just as I was about to bristle, Cassian suddenly turned his gaze away and murmured softly to himself.
“……Epiphany.”
In that moment, my ears perked up. Though his voice had been barely a whisper, something about it stuck with me.
‘I was unsure before, but it seems he doesn’t actually dislike me after all.’
Perhaps he was simply loud-voiced by nature.
With that thought, my heart grew kinder toward him.
I signaled to the Tower Master with a glance that I would proceed with today’s Detoxification, then settled quietly into my chair.
Then Cassian reached out as if searching for something, his hand fumbling across the bed, until he finally grasped my hand.
‘Hm?’
Of course, my hand was something he would need to hold eventually anyway, but…….
‘It doesn’t look like he realizes he’s even holding it.’
I stared down at our joined hands, but Cassian seemed oblivious, continuing to murmur things like “It’s hard to say” to himself.
Still, I noticed his furrowed brow soften slightly — he appeared to be enjoying the warmth.
“Hah.”
When I began the Detoxification, he finally seemed to realize he was holding my hand, and his eyes turned toward me.
“Shh.”
The Tower Master, who had been watching, gently pressed his index finger to his own lips in warning, ensuring Cassian wouldn’t disrupt my work.
I steadied myself and began drawing the poison from Cassian’s body in earnest.
Cassian’s body squirmed as if his senses were confused, while he gazed intently at our clasped hands.
‘Heh heh, let me show him what I can do.’
This was my first time using my ability while he was in full command of his senses.
Once he’d witnessed the full extent of my Detoxification power, he wouldn’t be able to look down on me or boast anymore.
Feeling the poison draining away smoothly through my channels, I felt an unmistakable thrill of pride.
“Stop. When you concentrate, you can’t cut off the ability immediately.”
“Oh!”
How much time had passed?
Just as the allotted time was ending, the Tower Master placed a hand on my shoulder to interrupt my ability usage.
‘Ugh, how frustrating…….’
I’d meant to show him something impressive, but instead I’d revealed that I couldn’t even control my own power properly — a real embarrassment.
I pouted and yanked my hand away.
“Huh?”
But Cassian didn’t release my hand, so his body drifted along with my pull.
“……Not yet, not yet.”
“But we’re done?”
I blinked blankly and waved my hand.
His arm stayed firmly clasped, but fluttered helplessly at my motion.
“The test subject needs to rest now. Any more and your body will suffer strain.”
“……Test subject?”
At the Tower Master’s words, Cassian tilted his head slightly.
I straightened my shoulders and stretched proudly.
“It’s my official title here at the Magic Tower.”
Cassian’s eyes darted between me and the Tower Master in bewilderment.
‘I was sure I hated being called that when I first arrived…….’
So why did I feel so proud of it now?
Perhaps because when those words left the Tower Master’s lips, there was nothing insulting about them at all.
“Anyway, let go already. Why is your grip so strong……?”
Patient or not, a beast is still a beast.
Judging by how my hand wouldn’t come free no matter how much I squirmed.
I glared at Cassian.
If this made us fall behind schedule, the Tower Master would be in a foul mood!
“……It’s cold. So cold that I need to hold a hand.”
Cassian said it flatly, with a sullen face.
I asked, bewildered by his words.
“But my hand’s colder than yours?”
For as long as I could remember, my body temperature had been unusually low for someone like me.
No amount of exercise made me sweat, I occasionally suffered heatstroke in summer, and endured cold extremities in winter.
The fact that I didn’t sweat meant I had no body odor, which made assassin work incredibly convenient—but it also meant I was vulnerable to temperature-related illnesses.
By contrast, Cassian seemed to have a naturally warm constitution.
Holding my hand would only make him colder…….
“Your hand is so warm, so why are you cold? Tower Master, could he be running a fever?”
“……Hmm, there’s no fever.”
The Tower Master stopped his note-taking as he observed me, approached, and answered while pressing his fingers to Cassian’s forehead.
“……Tch.”
Cassian glared at me fiercely. He even looked resentful.
The Tower Master released Cassian’s hand without sympathy, his mouth curling into what looked more like a smirk.
“Here. I’ll get you another blanket.”
He then retrieved a fresh blanket from the linen closet and draped it over Cassian’s body.
‘Is it the basement making him feel the cold? It’s summer.’
I watched Cassian sympathetically, flushed red as if fevered, buried under two layers of blankets with only his face exposed.
“Let’s head up then.”
“Yes.”
I followed the Tower Master out of the Basement.
Before I left, I noticed Cassian watching me with that resentful expression.
‘He must be bored being alone all day…….’
* * *
“Test subject. Have lunch at the Dining Hall. I have matters to attend to, so I’ve asked Liz to look after you today.”
The Tower Master said this with an annoyed expression before vanishing.
‘What’s going on?’
I was puzzled for a moment, but my pace brightened at the thought of enjoying the Magic Tower’s finest benefits.
Every meal, tailored to my nutritional needs, was a welfare benefit like no other.
While heading toward the Dining Hall, I ran into one of the Four Swordsmen in the Corridor.
“Oh, Oli. Hello.”
I approached quietly from behind Oli and greeted him.
“……Oh.”
Oli lowered his head with a somewhat withdrawn expression.
‘Just now—didn’t his feet move first?’
Oli always failed to hear my footsteps, so he’d invariably startle whenever I appeared from behind.
‘……Or maybe not?’
A coincidence could happen once in a while.
I shook my head and drew closer to Oli’s side.
“Are you heading to the Dining Hall?”
“Ah… yes.”
Oli nodded with a faint smile.
“Where did everyone else go?”
“Who knows… they’re all scattered about their own tasks at the moment.”
So he’s going to the Dining Hall after finishing that letter-delivery errand?
I nodded in understanding, and the conversation died away.
With only one of the Four Swordsmen present, silence tends to settle in like this…
‘…Wait. Something’s off.’
There’s been a faint wrongness to things ever since earlier.
I lifted my gaze to study Oli’s face.
“Is something bothering you today?”
Oli wasn’t usually the silent type.
Thinking perhaps his mood had soured, I moved a step closer to him.
“If you’d like, you could touch my tail again—”
I recalled how Oli had shown interest in my thick, soft tail before, and was about to extend the offer.
A faint scent brushed past the tip of my nose.
‘What is that…?’
A scent so faded that ordinary people could never detect it—nearly erased entirely.
Yet my sensitive nose had caught it.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m not in a bad mood, just feeling a bit sluggish. I think I might be coming down with something.”
Oli declined gently, unaware that my mood had sharpened.
“Oh! You should ask Liz for some medicine!”
I looked at Oli with concern, grasped his wrist, and strode purposefully toward the Dining Hall.
Though Oli seemed somewhat flustered at having his arm seized, he followed along in his usual hesitant manner without protest.
I chattered away to Oli about this and that, and then casually probed further.
“What experiment did you do during this morning’s session? Did Liz scold you again today?”
“Hmm? No. Today was an easy experiment.”
Oli told me about the experiment he’d conducted that morning.
He said it involved extracting poison components from the Yellow Umbrella Jellyfish Mushroom.
After listening to his account and chatting about various other things…
“By the way, Oli—did a carriage arrive from outside today? The Tower Master ordered some supplies for me…”
“Hmm? No. Nobody came today.”
Oli shook his head.
I pouted slightly with a soft hum.
‘So he didn’t have contact with anyone from outside. Then…’
There’s a familiar tobacco scent coming from Oli…
‘But nobody smokes tobacco inside the Magic Tower—the elders hate it.’
And there’s no scent of soap either…
Naturally, I can’t detect the smell of experimental chemicals.

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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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