I Became the Magic Tower Master's Experimental Mouse - Chapter 77

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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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The master observed the approaching lights from a distance, counting them with her eyes, then shook her head.
“Lucky break, little one.”
She let the cigarette slip from her fingers to the ground and stamped it out beneath her heel.
‘She’s planning to run.’
The master was an assassin through and through—not the sort to entangle herself in a confrontation with a crowd.
Liz and I pressed ourselves against the wall.
‘There’s no point in making a scene here trying to capture her…….’
I needed to get Liz to the Magic Tower safely; there was no reason to take unnecessary risks.
“See you next time.”
The master smiled at me with her eyes and vanished in an instant.
‘……She’s gone.’
It was a stroke of fortune.
If the master could slip away like that, then these people couldn’t be assassins.
‘Though I’ll admit, I’ve never seen assassins move about in a crowd carrying torches.’
Still, there was no harm in being cautious.
I gripped Liz’s wrist and stared quietly ahead, ready to bolt backward if needed.
“Pip!”
In that instant, a familiar voice cried out from between the lights.
With a desperation that sounded nearly torn from his throat, one torch broke from the crowd and came rushing toward us.
The boy whose white hair and golden eyes blazed crimson in the orange torchlight was someone I knew.
“Cassian……!”
The human form I hadn’t seen in so long.
Not the small Celestial Beast that used to chirp softly from inside the basket, but a boy a full head taller than me was running straight at us.
“Pip. Pip……!”
He stopped just short and pulled me into a tight embrace.
In Cassian’s arms, I finally felt safe.
The people from the Magic Tower had come all this way searching for Liz and me.
‘Thank goodness…….’
Even with enemies still nearby, my guard wanted to crumble.
“……Who did this.”
After holding me close and exhaling heavily, Cassian released me and asked the question.
His eyes swept over me rapidly, and he shuddered.
“Sorry?”
“Whoever did this to you.”
A low growl rumbled from deep in his throat.
Human in form, yet still a Celestial Beast.
“……Well, there’s been a lot that happened. When did you transform back into human form?”
“Is that what matters right now?”
Cassian’s face hardened with indignation.
“You’re right, it isn’t.”
I let out a thin laugh.
“Really…… seeing me like this must upset you.”
Liz murmured beside me, her eyes scanning my appearance.
Apparently I looked far worse than I realized.
I managed a bitter smile and waved toward Bedel and the other Magic Tower members.
Bedel approached with his face drained of color, alternating his gaze between Liz and me.
“Are you hurt?! For gods’ sake…… you look like you’ve been torn apart…….”
I was startled by the fierce gleam in Bedel’s eyes.
He was clearly worried, but there was something almost feverish about it.
‘Bedel worrying about me like that. Were we really that close?’
I felt somewhat bewildered.
Perhaps the hardship we’d endured together on the journey had forged a deeper bond than I’d realized…….
In any case, I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck and pointed toward the single-story house we’d escaped from.
“There might still be kidnappers inside that house.”
At that, the guards who’d followed Bedel immediately rushed in that direction.
Moments later, they returned from checking the interior with puzzled expressions on their faces.
“It’s empty.”
“Empty? But there should be two unconscious men, and a woman tied up in the basement…….”
Liz protested in bewilderment.
But the guard said there was no one there—only traces that people had been present.
All we could confirm was that the room on the first floor, which we hadn’t managed to check, had an exit to the outside.
‘How on earth did they manage it in such a short time…….’
To recover all three unconscious adults and vanish in that window of time.
A chill ran down my spine for a moment, but Cassian took my hand and whispered soothingly.
“Let’s go home.”
I nodded silently.
* * *
On the way back to the Magic Tower, I couldn’t stop trembling.
The tension had barely released, and the combination of exhaustion and anger left me reeling.
As I shook uncontrollably, Liz—worn out herself—led me to the bathhouse.
“I’m so sorry. I should have acted more carefully…….”
Just as on my first day at the Magic Tower, Liz submerged me in warm water and washed me from head to toe.
The whole time, her eyes were red-rimmed.
Tears streamed down Liz’s cheeks as she poured water over me.
“I deliberately deceived you—how could I have known…….”
I shook my head.
Since the outing itself had been meant to comfort me in the first place, I had no intention of blaming Liz regardless of how things turned out.
“Without you, I never would’ve escaped that house today.”
Cassian had said in the carriage that he’d simply followed the direction he felt from me—some mysterious ability of the Celestial Beast, it seemed.
Still, I couldn’t be certain he would have found the exact house we were in, so our escape on our own power was the right call.
“If it weren’t for me, there would’ve been no need for such an escape in the first place…….”
“Then consider it even—you can treat me like a princess and bathe me.”
I shrugged lightly and splashed water playfully.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Liz laughed and carefully cleaned away the bloodstains and dust from my body.
After making our peace (or something like it), Liz kept stealing glances at my hands.
‘Is she worried about the Detoxification now?’
With one problem solved, curiosity was bound to resurface.
I lowered my voice and whispered.
“I can transfer poison from someone else’s body into my own. Of course, poison doesn’t work on me, so that’s the end of it.”
Liz’s eyes widened.
“The Tower Master told me not to tell anyone. So only the Tower Master, Cassian, and I know about this.”
“……Ah.”
Understanding dawned slowly across Liz’s face.
“So you and he detoxified Bedel together. That’s why he’s been acting that way…….”
The Tower Master’s name truly was a universal key.
Liz didn’t press further, simply squeezing my hand tightly.
“I’ll keep the secret. Don’t worry.”
* * *
The next day, I woke only after the sun had reached its zenith.
I’d thought I might be coming down with something, but after sleeping deeply, I felt perfectly fine upon waking.
“Cassian, good morning—oh, that’s right.”
I caught myself as I habitually greeted the basket sitting on the nightstand.
Cassian had returned to human form, so he’d been sleeping in his own room since last night.
Having forgotten that, it showed just how accustomed I’d become to his presence.
‘I should ask him to have lunch together.’
Being apart for just a short while after spending every moment together felt oddly hollow.
So I went straight to Cassian’s room, but it was surprisingly empty.
‘Where did he go?’
Not in the Cafeteria, not in the Library…….
Wondering if perhaps he was taking a walk, I headed to the Backyard and finally spotted him there.
“Are you doing Sword Training?”
This was the first time I’d seen him properly training, rather than just swinging a Wooden Sword a few times when showing off the Training Ground.
I called out from a distance and approached, then froze when I saw his hands.
“What are you doing!?”
His hands were bright red, blistered in places from how long he must have been practicing.
As I rushed toward him, Cassian lowered the Wooden Sword and glanced back.
“Hello.”
“Not hello—let me see your hands! Doesn’t it hurt? What were you suddenly thinking!?”
I snatched Cassian’s hand and scolded him at once.
Cassian answered with a gloomy expression.
“……This is nothing.”
“Nothing at all! We need to get medicine on those wounds right now.”
“I’m going to train.”
“Why on earth all of a sudden?”
At my question, Cassian twisted his lips and muttered.
“Yesterday…… when you were dragged away, I was sleeping inside a basket.”
“Well…… you didn’t know there was trouble, so that couldn’t be helped.”
“To be honest…… I could have changed back a long time ago. But while I was in my Celestial Beast form by your side, it felt easier, so I just… kept going like that.”
Then I remembered the Healing Tower Master, who had wondered why he hadn’t returned to human form once he was fully recovered.
“Why exactly…… no, actually, it’s your choice, so you’re free to do as you wish.”
“Still…… if I hadn’t used that excuse, I could have followed you yesterday.”
“……You’d have just become another hostage. Besides, you’re still only nine years old.”
Cassian nodded at my words.
“That’s why I’m going back to Sword Training. Honestly, I’ve just been playing around all this time…….”
That wasn’t entirely wrong, but I wished Cassian wasn’t thinking this way because of me.
Yet Cassian’s eyes were very serious. It didn’t look like he’d listen even if I tried to stop him.
‘……I suppose I owe him thanks for this.’
At this point, could we really be called truly close friends?

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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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