I Became the Magic Tower Master's Experimental Mouse - Chapter 6

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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 thought the strange feeling would disappear after a good night’s sleep.
But when I woke that morning, something even stranger was waiting for me.
‘What is this?’
I sensed something odd in the corridor leading to the Tower Master’s Laboratory.
A group of apprentice mages had gathered in front of the door.
Four of them, including Oli, were milling about.
“Oh, there’s the Experimental Subject!”
I suppose I am a mouse, technically.
Yet despite my human appearance, they called me by that name without hesitation, greeting me with evident delight.
“H-hello?”
“So, um, well…”
“Did you, did you sleep well?”
Though they were all considerably taller than me, their youthful hesitation made them sound like chicks chirping uncertainly.
Each seemed to have something to say, and their overlapping voices grated on my ears—
‘If the Tower Master gets angry about the noise, I’m in trouble.’
Since it would be unfair to be scolded for something that wasn’t my fault, I decided to calm them down first.
“Quiet. Stop.”
I stamped my foot once, speaking in a firm tone.
“You’re too loud. One of you speak as the representative.”
At my decisive words, they looked at one another, whispered briefly, and settled on a representative.
“Right, so, I’ll speak for us.”
Oli stepped closer to me with an embarrassed expression and began to speak.
“Did you need something from me?”
“We wanted to give you this…”
Oli held out a small basket. It was filled with cookies and candy.
“We made them ourselves. Lili is really good at cooking, so it should taste fine! Oh, Lili is that one…”
Oli rambled on, pointing to a brown-haired girl standing behind the others with sparkling eyes.
“Oli, you need to speak more clearly! I was planning to introduce myself differently!”
Lili, caught off guard by the introduction, cried out with a frown.
“Wow, Lili’s shouting again!”
“Oli, you!”
“Agh! Help me, Leo!”
“Leo, you too!”
A blonde boy called Leo stepped between Oli and Lili.
“You’re too loud. This is why I hate moving around as a group. Anyway, I’m Killian.”
Killian brushed back his ash-colored hair as he spoke.
‘What a chaotic bunch.’
Had I been an ordinary child, I would have joined in their playful banter without hesitation, but I couldn’t afford to act below my mental age.
I stamped my foot firmly once more, with dignity.
“Does your shoe not fit properly? Why do you keep thumping around?”
I brushed aside Leo’s lighthearted question with a tilt of his head.
“Why are you giving me this?”
I ignored the commotion behind me and looked directly at Oli as I asked.
“We were so grateful yesterday… If you hadn’t been there, we all would have been in real trouble.”
“I see.”
So they weren’t just chicks—they were grateful chicks.
I nodded in acknowledgment.
And feeling my chest twitch oddly again, I pressed down on it and pointed at each of them in turn, confirming their names.
“Oli, Lili, Leo, Killian. That’s right?”
The four of them appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen years old.
“Yeah! You’re really smart. You picked them up so fast?”
Lili approached with joy lighting her face and embraced me tightly.
“W-what is…”
Caught off guard by the sudden hug, I blinked and tried to push her away.
But then…
‘What is this scent?’
Lili’s brown hair, tied in twin braids, brushed against my forehead.
A sweet, sugary fragrance emanated from her embrace, and I felt her warmth.
For some reason, all the strength drained from me, and I simply blinked while allowing myself to be held.
“I almost got hurt because of Martin. I’m really grateful.”
“You’re our savior. Now I understand why the Tower Master keeps an Experimental Subject!”
Followed by shy praise and cheerful voices.
A ticklish warmth spread through me, and my feet nearly left the ground.
‘This is strange…….’
It was a kind of warmth I’d never felt during my years as an assassin.
Unlike merely driving Martin away, my accomplishments back then were countless—yet none of it had ever earned me this.
‘No one ever held me like this.’
I had no memory of being thanked or acknowledged by anyone, so it felt awkward.
“Cookies…… thank you.”
I took the basket with uncertain words.
I knew such timidity didn’t suit me, but my voice came out barely above a whisper.
“Yesterday was really appreciated, but from now on, if anything dangerous happens, you have to tell us right away. Understood?”
Lili smiled brightly as she spoke.
Her tone was oddly familiar—it reminded me of what my grandmother used to say when I was small.
Behind her, Martin and Oli were arguing over grades when Leo burst into laughter, crowing about how Martin had resorted to scheming to solidify his first-place rank.
“Well, we’re off then!”
“Let’s hurry before the Master arrives!”
They scattered away in a flash.
When I entered the Laboratory, the Tower Master was already at his desk.
‘Did he…… hear all of that?’
I checked the time—it was past nine o’clock.
I’d expected a rebuke for being late.
Instead, without a word, he gestured with his chin toward the table where breakfast was laid out.
‘He didn’t even ask about the basket.’
Come to think of it, there was no way he hadn’t heard the voices outside the door.
He could have opened it the moment it struck nine and brought me in.
I glanced at him cautiously, then raised the basket slightly.
“The apprentices gave it to me. They were grateful for yesterday.”
“I see.”
His tone suggested he already knew—or didn’t care.
I was certain he’d allowed me to have that conversation with the apprentices all along.
“……You’re not confiscating it? I thought you’d say snacks not scheduled in the plan are forbidden or something.”
I gripped the basket handle and looked up at him, when a soft snort escaped him.
“Don’t presume.”
Was he telling me not to be so presumptuous as to guess his thoughts?
I pouted slightly before hopping onto the chair and starting breakfast.
“Ah—tonight, you’ll eat in Liz’s Room.”
“Yes? Why?”
“You don’t need to know. Take your time and chew thoroughly—don’t hurry back.”
Hadn’t he just avoided my eyes?
Something felt off, but I nodded anyway.
It wasn’t just the Tower Master who seemed off.
That evening, the air in Liz’s Room carried an odd tension.
At first, I thought it was just because the Tower Master had instructed her to increase my food intake.
But her behavior—”Eat a little slower since you’re full,” “Dessert should be savored,” and so on—was completely unlike her usual manner.
‘It’s as if she’s deliberately trying to drag out the meal…….’
I went along with whatever Liz wanted, and we returned to my room quite late.
Liz seemed unusually excited during the short walk to my quarters.
And the moment I opened the door——
“……What?”
My room had been completely transformed.
All the grand, adult-sized furniture had been replaced with charming, white children’s pieces scaled to my size.
The desk, chairs, wardrobe—everything fitted my proportions.
There was even a step stool by the window.
And beside the bed…….
“A…… bear doll?”
A soft brown bear with a purple ribbon sat there—nearly as tall as I was.
“Do you like it?”
What had once been a guest room for brief, distinguished visitors was now, unmistakably, a child’s bedroom.
I caught something rising in my chest and forced it back down as I looked at the colorful writing implements and toy boxes spread across the desk.
‘I’m not at an age where I should be playing with these things.’
But……
I couldn’t deny that I’d dreamed of having such things as a child.
A dream that had ended far too quickly, and by the time I’d spent all my hours fighting to survive, I’d already grown too old for this sort of thing.
I stepped slowly inside and brushed my fingertips across the bedsheet.
The bed, with its white round wooden frame, looked like something a princess from a fairy tale would sleep in.
The pink blanket was soft and wonderfully fluffy.
On the bed sat a small white Mouse Doll.
“The Tower Master has been in meetings all day, you know? He picked this out himself.”
The Tower Master picked this out himself?
I imagined him saying something like “with this infantile cream-colored desk,” and shuddered at the absurdity of it.
“Why?”
“He said that if your physical condition deteriorates from using a bed that doesn’t fit your frame, the experimental efficiency will drop……”
I tilted my head, running my fingers over the soft, round ears of the Bear Doll.
“This seems far too cute for efficiency calculations, doesn’t it?”
If he were concerned about efficiency, he would’ve just swapped the bed or bought any ordinary children’s bed.
Everything I’d been holding back since last night seemed ready to spill over, and I pressed my thudding heart, biting my lip hard.
“……Where is the Tower Master?”
“Um……”
At my question, Liz’s gaze flickered briefly toward the hallway.
When I picked up the Mouse Doll and stepped out the door, I saw the Tower Master standing there with a stern expression.
‘His face is clearly emotionless, so why……’
Did he look uncomfortable somehow?
“……Oh! Right! I haven’t finished the report I need to submit by tomorrow morning!”
As he and I stood there briefly avoiding each other’s eyes, Liz exclaimed in an oddly strained voice and rushed down the corridor.
Soon only the Tower Master and I remained in the hallway.
“Do you……like the room?”
“……Yes! I just heard that you made the arrangements yourself for experimental efficiency.”
I fidgeted with my fingers as I answered, unsure what to do with myself.
“If a Growing Subject’s skeleton becomes warped, the data will contain errors. This, too, is experimental equipment.”
“But……what if I grow any larger?”
“Your job is to grow vigorously. Furniture can be replaced.”
Having said that, the Tower Master covered my head with his palm, looking rather satisfied.
Yet in the same moment, as if acknowledging that even he found this situation strange, he turned away awkwardly and disappeared.
I stumbled back into the room and collapsed face-first onto the bed.
……This is serious.
If anyone discovers I have a heart condition, I’ll be cast out. I must keep it hidden.
I pressed down on my heart again and curled my back into a ball.
‘But wait—wasn’t my job supposed to be drinking poison?’

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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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