I Became the Magic Tower Master's Experimental Mouse - Chapter 29

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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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When I glanced back, Cassian was sprawled face-down on the bed like a frog, his face buried in the mattress.
He’d tried to move quickly but his strength had failed him.
“If you want a walk that badly, just say so properly from the start.”
I clicked my tongue with an exasperated sigh and approached him.
“……You have no sense of the situation.”
“Please. There aren’t many people with perception as keen as mine?”
Where would you find an assassin without situational awareness!
I snorted and hoisted Cassian clean off the bed.
When I, smaller than he was, exerted that much strength, his expression flashed with sudden surprise, eyes going wide.
“Wow, Pipi, that’s incredible……!”
Leo, who’d been peeking from the doorway, let out a small exclamation of admiration. His voice was naturally loud and his movements expansive, so it reached my ears with remarkable clarity.
‘Heh heh heh. All that training is finally paying off.’
This was all thanks to the Tower Master.
At some point, he’d begun reading through every parenting book in circulation, and he’d completely reorganized my schedule.
My schedule, which had always felt loose enough to question whether I should even be working, was now filled with free time scattered throughout.
‘Now I’m not afraid to practice writing or save people anymore!’
In those spare hours, I did things I couldn’t do in front of others.
Handwriting practice. Assassin training.
The exercises I did in front of the Tower Master were honestly just for health — actual combat was a different matter entirely.
The Magic Tower, where incidents occurred with almost eerie frequency, seemed to require nothing less than me regaining my old skills.
In other words: building the arm strength to hang from ceilings, conditioning my body so I could throw dozens of flying blades without muscle soreness…….
‘Next time, I’ll definitely protect everyone so nobody gets hurt.’
While I made that vow, Cassian finally recovered from the shock of weightlessness and fixed me with a glare.
“Hey……put me down right now!”
“Oh, right.”
I’d been holding him for far too long.
I gently lowered Cassian to the ground, his face flushed crimson with embarrassment.
“There’s no need to be so embarrassed. It’s only because you’re a patient with reduced weight, that’s all.”
I offered this advice with the sincere hope that he’d eat better.
‘I have my secret weapon today, too.’
Though I couldn’t replicate that transcendent taste, I’d brought along a bag of apple pie that Liz had given me, tucked in my pocket.
The real reason I’d hesitated slightly before accepting when the Three Musketeers suggested we all go for a walk was because of the apple pie.
The quantity was just a hair short, and I’d briefly let my appetite get the better of me.
Reflecting on that momentary lapse in dignity, I took Cassian’s arm and headed out through the door.
“You’re having trouble moving, so stop fidgeting.”
“You……impudent little test subject…….”
Cassian muttered his complaint quietly.
* * *
We arrived at the Magic Tower’s central courtyard where I exercised every day.
Excluding the unfortunate Ollie, the Three Musketeers plus myself and Cassian made quite a large group.
“Ah, refreshing!”
Lilly swung her twin-braided hair and stretched beside Leo.
Killian, who seemed to have come only to see Cassian, was strolling over slowly.
“You all need to exercise more. Otherwise you’ll end up like this.”
I mimicked the poor research slaves stationed in the Research Institute.
Faces pale and jaundiced from never seeing the sun, shoulders and backs wizened and bent like a tortoise shell — people cultivating mushrooms and decay.
“Me, I won’t be like that! Everyone said I’d grow soon!”
Leo, whose height still matched Lilly’s, protested loudly.
“Well, you’ll only grow if you eat well and exercise regularly.”
I shook my head side to side as I spoke.
From what I could see, everyone in the Magic Tower had the same body type, with only minor variations between them.
Only the Tower Master was comparatively tall with decent posture, but even he looked frail next to the external Behemoth, an outsider who towered above them all.
“……I’ve always enjoyed Swordplay training.”
When I turned back as if to make him understand, Cassian answered defensively.
“……This is only because I’ve been ill!”
I merely stared fixedly at his reed-thin wrists, and Cassian quickly covered them with his sleeves while explaining himself.
“I haven’t said anything.”
“Your eyes said it…….”
“Please don’t stare into other people’s eyes like that.”
I deliberately leaned my face close and blinked my eyelashes rapidly as I spoke.
At that, Cassian turned his head slightly away, heat rising to his face once more.
‘Ah, so that’s it. The pleading posture!’
Only then did I realize I had inadvertently unleashed the sparkling gaze that the Three Musketeers had taught me. Perhaps Cassian’s heart had softened as he looked at my face.
Just as I was about to pull away, I decided to practice my request while I had the chance.
“And going forward, would you please call me by my name correctly?”
“……Hmph.”
Cassian tried to ignore his softening heart and let out a scornful snort.
But it seemed his resolve had melted somewhat, because the sound came out more like a soft “whoosh,” utterly devoid of its usual sting.
“So you’ve already grown close to Cassian? He’s cold and blunt with us, but he’s gentle with you, Pipi!”
Lilly clapped her hands and exclaimed, her expression turning icy and curt when referring to herself, then breaking into a sly grin when looking at me.
Though Cassian had never truly acknowledged the Three Musketeers as people worth his attention, I’d never seen him wear such a tender expression before.
‘I should add foods that are good for the eyes to Lilly’s diet.’
I shook my head sympathetically, taking pity on someone so young already showing signs of vision trouble.
“It seems pretty ordinary to me,” I answered with a shrug.
At that, Killian shook his head firmly too.
“Stop talking nonsense,” Cassian said, addressing Lilly directly for the first time.
When Lilly’s expression fell, I elbowed Cassian in the ribs.
“Oops, my mistake. But please be kinder when you speak to others.”
I spoke without even attempting to hide that I was acting, and Cassian turned to me with displeasure written across his face.
“Why would I?”
“Because I’m worried about Cassian’s future, given your complete lack of basic social skills.”
I squeezed out another sparkling gaze as I answered.
At that, Cassian, who had been silent with his mouth firmly shut, tossed out a remark.
“Worried about our future, are you? So you’ve finally come to understand your position.”
‘What nonsense is that?’
I’d just criticized his lack of social skills, and now he was talking about “our future”—it made no sense at all.
Too tired to bother responding, I shook my head and looked around.
Spotting a bench nearby, I dragged Cassian over to it and made him sit down.
Though he was being supported, he seemed tired from walking properly for the first time in a while, and Cassian sat without complaint, looking up at me.
His upturned face seemed somehow gentler than usual, and my heart softened a little in turn.
‘This one deserves something special.’
With that thought, I pulled out the Apple Pies I’d been carrying in my pocket.
“Ta-da! I brought these, so let’s share them!”
As I opened my pocket, the golden-brown Apple Pies released a sweet, fragrant aroma.
Inside my pocket were exactly three.
For five of us to share, it was a decidedly awkward number.
‘My original plan was to split one half with Cassian and take one and a half for myself….’
Apple Pie was practically the taste of home to me, and my appetite kept flaring up.
From the very first Apple Pie my grandmother brought back from a house with an oven, through all those hard years of assassin work, it had been the only flavor that soothed my weary soul.
Fighting down the urge to stare at them sadly, I divided one into four pieces.
“Here you go.”
I distributed the quartered portions to the Three Musketeers first, keeping a quarter for myself.
Then I pulled out another whole one and handed it to Cassian.
“Young Master Cassian needs to grow strong, so please have this entire one.”
“……Hmm.”
Seeing his portion was the largest, Cassian let out an ambiguous murmur.
“Why are you eating so little? Oh, is the one still in your pocket yours too? But why do you look like that?”
Killian asked, puzzled as he looked at the small Apple Pie piece in my hand, then alternated his gaze between my pocket and my face.
I shook my head.
“I’m taking this to the Medical Office.”
“Ah….”
At those words, Lilly’s eyes suddenly glistened with tears.
“Thank you for remembering Ollie too, Pipi.”
“It’d be lonely to eat alone, so….”
But if you’re going to make that sad face, just eat it. You can have mine instead….”
Oh no. It seemed I’d let my expression slip again—the kind that looked like tears were about to fall.
‘So much for restraint….’
I shook my head with a bit more force.

“No, it’s his share. He grew up barely eating, so he needs it. I’m fine, truly.”
My body had a troublesome honesty to it, and my words only deepened everyone’s concern.
I’d meant to lighten the mood with something casual, but the Three Musketeers’ eyes had shifted—now they looked at me with an oddly pitying tenderness.
“Hmph. Worrying about everyone else’s portion but your own.”
Cassian’s cold voice cut through the peculiar, softening atmosphere.
“Since there’s no help for it, I’ll see to your share from now on.”
Yet despite the chill in his voice, the hand he extended held half an Apple Pie, cleanly broken off and offered to me.
‘He’s… sharing his Apple Pie with me…?’
I’d never known anyone to give me half of their own portion before.
I stood stunned, caught in a fresh and disorienting shock, my gaze fixed blankly on Cassian’s face.

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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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