I Became the Magic Tower Master's Experimental Mouse - Chapter 71

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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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After uncovering the truth through measures to root out the traitor in the estate,
Aquila, recovering with knightly swiftness, had left the Magic Tower.
And the very next dawn, the Tower Master departed in a Travel Carriage. That had been several days ago already.
‘Damn it. He just left without me.’
It wasn’t as if I couldn’t have woken at that hour.
Liz insisted the Tower Master had simply refrained from waking me out of consideration, but truthfully, I felt nothing but disappointed.
He never even explained what this supposedly important request was supposed to be!
‘What could this important request possibly be?’
That thought had occupied my mind ever since.
Could he be firing me?
‘No, if he were letting me go, he’d notify me, not ask a favor.’
A pay cut?
‘Has the Magic Tower’s finances taken a turn?’
If it weren’t that… was he trying to take something back from me?
‘Trying to take my room, my things…?!’
If that were the case, I’d have to negotiate professionally and secure my share.
I clenched my fists tight, considering what I’d concede and what I’d demand at the negotiating table with the Tower Master.
But for all my speculating, it led nowhere.
‘Why is everything so quiet now?’
Something felt dreadfully dull.
I rolled around on the bed like a log.
Though I hadn’t spent my usual free time exclusively with the Tower Master, somehow I felt listless.
“Kwuuu.”(So sluggish.)
“You’re telling me.”
I sprawled out on the bed next to Kasian, arms spread wide.
“Kyuu-ung, kwuuu!”(Not me—you’re the problem!)
“What are you saying? You’re lying right here with me…”
I nudged Kasian and pushed him aside, muttering.
Kasian tumbled backward and glared at me in protest.
“Kwu, kwuaa! Kwuu-uuung!”(You—how dare you! What do you think you’re doing?!)
Kasian barked indignantly before flopping down and exhaling a heavy sigh.
“Kwu-ung. Kwuuu-ung.”(It’s boring. Everything’s boring without the Tower Master.)
“Wait—you feel that way too?!”
I brightened immediately, feeling finally that someone understood my heart, and looked at Kasian warmly.
Kasian shook his head as if pitying me and answered.
“Kking, kwuu-ung!”(That’s not what I meant—I’m talking about you!)
“What? I just feel like something’s missing, you know.”
“Kwu-rrr-ung…”(But I’m right here…)
Kasian whimpered, then suddenly sprang up and kicked at me repeatedly.
“Kwu-ung! Kwuuu-ung!”(Get up! Let’s go for a walk!)
“Eegh…”
“Kwu-kwu-kwuuu-ung!”(If you don’t, I’ll tell the Tower Master everything!)
In the end, I was coerced out of bed by Kasian’s threats.
Only after I picked him up, left the room, and began walking did it occur to me that even if I wanted to report him to the Tower Master, the two of us couldn’t communicate right now anyway.
‘Well, I’m already out.’
Since things had come to this, I might as well explore places I don’t usually visit and see if any memories surface.
‘Though I’m a bit afraid something unexpected might crop up…’
I moved slowly, wandering through every corner of the Magic Tower.
“Kwuu-ung…?”(This isn’t our usual walking route…?)
“Since I’m feeling a bit bored, I thought I’d do some exploring.”
The Tower staff, who’d grown somewhat lax since the Tower Master vanished, wouldn’t much care where I roamed about.
“Kwuuu-ung.”(I’ve never been this way before.)
“I haven’t been here much either.”
The Magic Tower had a few places where people rarely ventured.
The most notable was the Storage Room where Ollie had been confined not long ago, and this corridor I was now walking through with Kasian was much the same.
The common thread was that they contained aging facilities.
Liz had brought me here on my first day in the Tower, but she’d mentioned that almost no one ever came to this place.
‘The Old Archives.’
Only the person in charge of the archives came by occasionally, and with nothing but the oldest materials, it was practically abandoned.
“Whimper.” (This place is eerie.)
“Are you frightened?”
“Screech!” (What was that sound!)
I pretended not to notice Kasian putting on a brave face as I stood before the Old Archives.
“Growl, whine…….” (Why did we even come here……?)
“It seemed like you were scared, so……”
As I let out a small giggle, Kasian’s tail thumped against my forearm.
‘Hmm…….’
A lock hung on the door to the Old Archives.
‘That one seemed weak somehow……?’
I stared blankly at the lock and gave it a casual tug.
Suddenly it opened, and the lock fell away.
Clang!
The metal lock struck the floor with a small sound that echoed through the Corridor.
“Screech!” (You scared me!)
Kasian shrieked, scales bristling on end.
And then I began to trace over a thought that had surfaced unbidden.
‘Weak, you said……?’
How did I know that?
Liz had clearly told me not to go inside and to turn back from where we were…….
‘It’s here!’
One of the few instances of déjà vu I’d felt in the Magic Tower.
Only then did my eyes snap open. I grabbed the lock and hurriedly pulled the door open. The scent of aged paper rushed in.
“Growl?” (No dust?)
“The Purification Device is always running.”
I shrugged and switched on the light, then surveyed the interior.
With so many old documents and books, there were no windows here either. There were only shelves and desks.
I walked slowly between the shelves, and then at some point, I stopped.
‘Aquila, you were holed up here again.’
‘No, you can’t just barge in like that! If the books get damaged, I’ll be thrown out!’
‘……A man’s voice and my own?’
As I heard the voices, my head throbbed slightly.
‘This is strange…….’
I gripped the bookshelf tightly to keep from swaying.
‘Haha, if you get thrown out, want to come stay at my place?’
Each time I heard the man’s voice, my heart rate spiked.
‘Did I meet someone in the Magic Tower?’
A clear sense of déjà vu—as though I’d had frequent conversations with someone here—reverberated through my entire body.
Just a little more.
Just a little more, if only it would come to me…….
“Whine! Growl, growl!” (Hey! What’s wrong!)
Kasian’s urgent cries from within my arms snapped me back to myself.
Cold sweat had beaded across my forehead.
My grip on the bookshelf had already loosened, and my legs had given out—I was sitting on the floor.
“……It’s nothing.”
“Whine, whine! Growl, growl!” (Something’s wrong! If you’re not feeling well, let’s go back!)
“Really. It’s just…… um.”
The throbbing in my head continued, and it didn’t feel right.
I wondered if a little patience would bring the rest of the memory back, but the pain that followed—like an axe cleaving my skull—was too much. I stumbled to my feet.
I forced a smile so Kasian wouldn’t worry, then bolted from the room.
‘I think…… I must have taken a job at the Magic Tower.’
Whether it was a real position or an undercover assignment.
“Sigh…….”
I only wanted to recover my memories more clearly, but with a headache this severe…….
‘Next time I should bring some painkiller and try again.’
Once I’d left and put some distance between us, it improved somewhat, but it had been an absolutely terrible pain.
As I limped back to my room, I suddenly encountered Liz coming up the stairs.
“Aquila, you don’t look well. Are you still feeling down?”
“I’m not down…….”
“That’s a lie! You’ve been looking down in the dumps ever since Tower Master left.”
Liz peered at me with concern, then suddenly gasped. “Ah!”
“You’re still going to that weekend plan, right? I really should take you along.”
“I mean… I don’t think I really need to go. When you think about it, you’re just hanging out with your friend.”
I waved my hand in protest.
Liz shook her head and placed her hands on her hips, pressing the invitation again.
“No way. The Tower Master told me to keep a good eye on you. If you keep moping around, I’ll be the one who gets in trouble!”
“I’m really not depressed, though…?”
I denied it with a shake of my head, unwilling to accept that I’d become gloomy just because the Tower Master was gone.
But the more I insisted, the more Liz gazed at me with pity, and my shoulders instinctively hunched inward.
“B-but I can’t exactly bring Kasian along either…”
“…Grooooowl. (…It’s just one day. Go and come back.)”
‘Am I really depressed?!’
So depressed that Kasian was willingly letting me go?
“W-wait, do I really look that bad?”
“Yeah, well, your appetite’s the same at least—thank goodness—but you’ve been drooping around nonstop.”
I think that was just because I’m greedy…
I finally nodded in agreement.
At the very least, I thought I should at least pretend to go out and come back, so that Kasian wouldn’t worry about me like this.
* * *
The weekend finally arrived.
Reluctant as I was, I followed Liz out.
“Nice weather, isn’t it, Aquila?”
“It is.”
I agreed readily and walked through the streets with Liz.
The weather was genuinely clear, and the streets were crowded with people enjoying the weekend.
Liz chattered away like a lark the entire walk.
“So, I first met this friend at the Bakery, right? I’d grabbed the last Salt Bread, and she was eyeing it too. So we split it and ended up becoming close.”
“A friendship that started with Salt Bread—that’s something.”
“Right! And it turned out our tastes matched perfectly? We like the same kinds of bread, and we have the exact same café preferences!”
“That’s interesting.”
“I know, right? I’ve never gotten close to someone so fast before, so it’s a bit surprising to me too.”
Liz laughed happily.
Well, if she’d targeted Liz, she would’ve researched everything thoroughly—but that couldn’t be the case, so.
I nodded, thinking it was quite a remarkable coincidence.
“Oh, there it is!”
We passed through the Plaza and turned into the Eastern Alley.
Between the quaint little shops, an exotic store came into view.
“Come on, let’s go in!”
Liz briskly took my hand and opened the shop door.
‘…Huh?’
And the moment I saw the person waiting inside.
I froze as if cold water had been poured over me.

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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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