I Became the Magic Tower Master's Experimental Mouse - Chapter 32

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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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* * *
“Magic Tower Master, may I come in?”
I knocked on the office door, and permission was granted from within.
As I entered the room, a man with bronze-colored hair hanging shaggy below his eyes stood before the desk.
‘A man wearing round glasses through which you can’t see his eyes! So that’s Dave.’
Recalling what Liz had told me about her seniors, I bowed respectfully—and Dave startled as if struck by lightning.
“You can head out now, Dave.”
“Y-yes, yes, yes…”
Dave bolted for the door faster than the speed of light.
“What brings you here?”
As I tilted my head, the Magic Tower Master smoothly relocated a stack of documents on his desk and asked the question.
In response, I lowered my voice and spoke seriously.
“Magic Tower Master, is the Magic Tower perhaps an area of extraterritoriality?”
“It most certainly is not. Have you committed some crime?”
“Since my sixth birthday, I’ve pledged myself to live as a law-abiding citizen of the Empire.”
This is the truth.
After returning, I’d resolved to abandon my old ways—the murders, the kidnappings, the tax evasion, all the wickedness that fueled the underground economy.
“And the Empire does have labor laws, doesn’t it?”
“Which is why the Magic Tower receives an inspection roughly once a year.”
“Hmm… isn’t the frequency rather too infrequent…”
As I muttered this seriously, the Magic Tower Master furrowed his brow.
“What sort of sophistry are you leading toward?”
“Have you looked at Liz’s face today?”
“She seemed her usual self to me.”
“Truly?! Any fool can see she’s running a fever!”
I’d known it the moment I saw Liz’s face!
Since she’d been staggering all day anyway, I’d already placed a cloth dampened with cold water on her forehead and the back of her neck before coming upstairs.
“At that rate, she should take a rest… no, wait. If Liz is out of commission, the burden falls everywhere else…”
“Don’t you think Liz has simply taken on far too much work? If the Magic Tower can’t function without her, that’s a serious problem!”
I glared at the Magic Tower Master with the eyes of someone regarding an unscrupulous employer.
To me, he was the kindest of masters—yet to someone else, he could become a living nightmare. It was truly a shame.
‘It wasn’t long ago that I told him to ease up on her, and now he’s right back to the old ways…’
No matter how much I told Liz and the others that the Magic Tower Master was decent and good, no one would ever believe it!
‘I can’t let this misunderstanding continue.’
I glared at the imposingly high desk, then jumped with all my strength and brought my hand down with a bang.
“If you keep saying things like that, I’m filing a complaint! You need to hire more staff!”
The Magic Tower Master fixed me with bloodshot eyes, as though utterly drained.
“We’re always recruiting.”
The mages of the Magic Tower held a unique position—they worked as researchers and laborers, yet were simultaneously disciples of the Magic Tower Master and the elders.
Though the Poison Magic Tower did earn well, it was impossible to escape its reputation as an unpopular school.
People occasionally died in their research, so if someone had talent for magic, they’d naturally pursue a different school rather than become a Poison mage…
‘After all, mages everywhere make good money.’
I crossed my arms and stood with confidence.
I’d already known the Magic Tower Master wouldn’t be forthcoming!
“Which is exactly why I’m here! Please give me some of Liz’s work!”
This was nothing less than proof of my affection for Liz.
I’d never even imagined volunteering to take on work for free.
It spoke to how deeply I’d come to pity her plight.
“…You’re asking me to give you some of Liz’s work?”
The Magic Tower Master’s hands, which had been organizing the desk, stopped cold.
“Yes. The apprentices have been sharing some of Liz’s duties already, haven’t they? I can do it too!”
At that, the Magic Tower Master regarded me with a curious expression for a long while.
“You ought to rest properly…”
“My current schedule is easier than what ordinary commoner children do helping with housework!”
His face held a strange mixture—perplexed, yet somehow seeing me as admirable.
After a long silence, the Magic Tower Master finally spoke.
“…If it’s work without danger, then just one task.”
“Really?!”
I leapt up with a laugh.
The Magic Tower Master watched me laugh with unbridled joy, rubbing his chin with a troubled expression.
“I wanted to see you happy, but this wasn’t quite the direction I had in mind…….”
“Either way, as long as the result is good, that’s what matters!”
Elated, I bolted from the room to tell Liz the news.
And so my new duty fell upon me: guiding visitors who came to the Magic Tower to Liz’s office.
During the hours I spent in the Lobby, it freed Liz to rest or attend to other matters.
I was the Magic Tower’s mascot, they said—there to greet guests and brighten their spirits.
‘Mascot, of all things!’
The title seemed dubious at first, but if it helped Liz, that was all that mattered.
I resolved to do my best and clenched my fists with determination.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the shadow of the Empire.
A man drummed his fingertips slowly against a table.
Before him lay a report on two subordinates who had not returned. The document was marked with the seal of secrecy—a handprint and boot impression stamped across its surface.
“……Both of them. If there’s been no word this long, I should assume they’ve failed.”
The thought of the higher-ups demanding results made his stomach churn.
He lit a cigarette and rubbed his temples where pain was beginning to throb, lost in thought.
Touching the Magic Tower was always delicate work.
One direct probe had resulted in complete failure, so clearly the same approach wouldn’t work again.
Besides, the Magic Tower would be on high alert by now.
“Contact the Information Guild.”
He pushed the report toward his subordinate, who stood trembling at attention, and issued his command.
“Have them place someone inside the Magic Tower to scout the situation. Find out if the Small Duke is still alive, and whether there’s any suspicious activity within.”
* * *
A month passed.
I had become an excellent mascot for the Magic Tower.
At first I’d thought the title dubious, but once I actually tried it, the work suited me surprisingly well.
‘And I’ve got this special custom chair that everyone envies.’
The biggest challenge to my suitability for the role, after I became mascot, was my small stature.
Since Liz’s old desk was far too high, on my first day I’d sat in her chair only to discover that visitors couldn’t see me—I’d simply vanished from view.
Eventually the Magic Tower Master, deeply exasperated, brought me a custom-made chair.
It was a wonderfully ornate, brightly colored mushroom-shaped seat. The tall, domed cap was a cheerful yellow and caught everyone’s eye.
“Hop!”
Whenever I climbed the little steps attached to the chair and settled onto the plush cap, people nearby would coo over how adorable I was.
Honestly, the chair looked so different from a proper desk that I felt it somewhat marred the aesthetic…….
‘And yet they call it a popular feature. Strange.’
Apparently the Poison Magic Tower became more appealing when people saw a mouse-kin sitting in a mushroom chair—it made the whole place seem less menacing.
Surprisingly, after I took on the greeting duties, the Magic Tower’s popularity grew.
Mages began showing up in the Lobby just to visit.
Apprentices naturally, but occasionally even senior mages would stop by to give me snacks.
Cassian had recovered enough to move about on his own, and whenever he happened to come down to the Lobby, he’d grumble sourly for no clear reason.
And here’s the remarkable part!
The number of visitors with no real business at the Magic Tower had actually doubled in a single month.
‘……From one person a week to two.’
The Poison Magic Tower was a place people supposedly feared and avoided, yet here they were, coming to see it because of one little mascot. The world truly was mysterious.
As a result, instructions came down to carefully monitor the visitor logs.
According to Liz, I was to keep a close eye on each person who came, watching for anyone sneaking in to spy on the test subject.
“Good grief.”
Sitting in my chair and swinging my legs and tail, I pulled a milk bottle from my bag—the one I’d brought from lunch.
‘Strangely, my mouth gets bored up here.’
Perhaps that was why a small side table had been built into the curve of the mushroom cap beside my seat—somewhere to set snacks and drinks.
I was sipping my milk when suddenly the Communication Device on the side table flickered and chimed.
“Yes, who is it?”
—Pipi, everything alright?
“Liz, nothing’s happening here. No one. I’m bored.”
—Should I come help?
“There’s nothing you coming here would solve. Just rest.”
I was handling everything fine on my own, so why call?
Besides, I’d already set up a Communication Device in Liz’s room so she could reach me if anyone showed up!
Liz laughed sadly as if joking, saying “Our Pipi is so cold……,” and ended the call.
After all, Liz was the one powering the Communication Device in the lobby, and I’d hoped she wouldn’t have to expend her precious Mana on mere chitchat.
I hung up and sat back down to review today’s visitor log.
‘So today the Blue Blacksmith Combination came and went.’
They were a blacksmith guild from the West of Empire, and it seemed they occasionally needed compounds or poisons for use in their forges.
Since they’d visited this morning, there was no need to see them again.
‘The Blue Peony Merchant Guild is due this afternoon.’
A regular delivery matter.
Despite its name, it was a legitimate merchant guild with no harmful dealings, and they were based in the Northeast Region, a highland area.
Since we received multiple medicinal ingredients from them, I’d been told to always call Liz when they arrived.
‘Until then, I’m free!’
I pulled out the book I’d left beside my hat beforehand.
‘My heart’s racing.’
It was the Complete Guide to Merchant Conversation, which I’d borrowed from the Magic Tower library—though I’d “borrowed” it in a somewhat creative way—and I’d been finding it fascinating lately.
It was full of practical techniques like “psychological tactics to silence dissatisfied customers” and “secret methods to loosen a customer’s purse strings.”
‘If I’m going to play the mascot role well, I ought to master some conversational techniques.’
I was in the middle of memorizing lines to use whenever a genuinely difficult customer showed up, but so far all the visitors had only asked for directions—they’d been nothing but courteous.
I was just getting absorbed in the book when the door suddenly swung open.
“We’re from the Blue Peony Merchant Guild~”
A middle-aged man with a gentle, weathered smile entered and greeted me with a chuckle.
Regular delivery visits came every two weeks. I’d seen this gentleman two weeks ago.
Beside him stood a young serving girl who appeared to be still learning the trade.
“Hello.”
I returned his greeting with a bright smile.
Then the servant girl greeted me in return.
“Hello to you. I’m Emily… that is, I am! I’m learning the trade at the Blue Peony Merchant Guild. I look forward to working with you.”
“This girl’s a hometown kid learning the ropes, so to speak. She’ll just quietly follow along.”
“Yes, I’ll call the mage for you.”
I replied smoothly and activated the Communication Device, but something felt off inside.
‘…There’s something strange about that girl.’
I’d caught something suspicious in her manner.

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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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