Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre

***

“What’s this crumb?”

That statement was just a small cogwheel.

But I realized like a thunderbolt that it was a very important piece that organically connected all the cogs that were spinning in their respective places.

The moment I heard the name that the tower master of <Hirome> used to call the main character, I realized that I had been mistaken.

“What is that painting?”

“I’ll give my name exclusively to the crumb who became my first disciple.”

The interior of the Mage Tower is different from the game illustrations, and the heroic depiction.

A non-existent apprentice of the Mage Tower Master.

Why was I so convinced that the current Mage Tower Master was the <Hirome> Mage Tower Master, who would kill Belinda?

Even though I hadn’t met the Mage Tower Master yet.

With a stiff expression, Vivian cautiously confessed the events of the past to me.

“It happened about eight years ago. Rumors spread among fellow mages that Cheshire had narcolepsy. Every night at midnight, no matter how much Cheshire was called, there was no response. Cheshire would jump out of the Mage Tower and only return when it was daylight, not remembering anything about the previous night.”

“But I couldn’t believe it was narcolepsy because… I saw it.”

Vivian paused for a moment as if recalling that day, then continued.

“I saw Cheshire’s brooch rise to the 9th rank. And only once, at night, did I have a conversation with Cheshire, and he asked me to read him a note because he couldn’t read.”

“The way he spoke, the way he remembered things, and the amount of magic power that had changed so drastically. It was like…… someone else had taken over his body.”

It seemed as if someone else had taken over Cheshire’s body.

With that one statement, it felt like the gears in my head clicked together, making a turning sound.

I immediately contacted the Mage Tower and conveyed the story of a significant investment, and the Mage Tower Master responded promptly to my call.

Although I found myself in a situation where I had to meet the Mage Tower Master I had been trying to avoid, it was worth taking the risk.

If my speculation was correct, the current Mage Tower Master…

“It seems my apprentice has impressed you quite a bit. Promising such a significant investment, hehe.”

It wasn’t the Mage Tower Master who appeared in <Hirome.>

I swallowed my unease as I faced the Mage Tower Master, who had revealed themselves without hiding their face.

The current occupant of the position would soon retire for some reason.

And the new mage at the top of the tower will be the one who supports Belinda’s murder.

It was still only a hunch, but I thought I knew who it was.

Therefore, I needed evidence to support my speculation.

Only then could I accurately identify who was behind Belinda’s and my impending demise and prepare accordingly.

Seizing the opportunity when Cheshire left the tower for Leo’s lesson, I infiltrated Cheshire’s room with some unspoken approval from the Mage Tower Master.

Anything was acceptable.

If Cheshire, or rather, borrowing Vivian’s words, the ‘entity’ that supposedly took over Cheshire’s body every night, served as credible evidence for the next Mage Tower Master.

Finding that bundle of letters was indeed a stroke of luck.

The contents of the first letter, which had never received a reply, were extremely fierce.

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It was the note Vivian mentioned.

“He asked me to read him a note.”

“I read it to him, and at that moment, Cheshire looked extremely distressed…”

Recalling Vivian’s words, I continued to read the subsequent letters.

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It was a secret that Cheshire could not confide in anyone else, an ugly accusation against the tower lord.

My hands shook as I looked through letters and other miscellaneous materials.

It was a secret Cheshire couldn’t share with anyone and an indictment against the vile Mage Tower Master. Sorting through the various documents, including the letters, my hands trembled uncontrollably. I barely managed to take a breath.

“What I want is to kill a certain soul.”

Only now did Cheshire’s true intentions and plans become apparent. I carefully selected what I could intervene in, like removing a block from a precarious Jenga Tower, distinguishing what I must never touch.

And…

“You said you were going to tell me the truth. But do I have to study this kind of writing?”

I decided to show Keith, who had come to me through the window like a night guest, how to stabilize the precariously swaying tower.

***

I’ve often thought that the Mage Tower Master in <Hirome> seemed narrow-minded like a child.

However, now I realize that the Mage Tower Master is not narrow-minded but genuinely just a child.

He’s only awake for about four hours.

Keith, whose eyes were open eight times less than everyone else’s, was, unlike Cheshire, still only a child in mental age.

“So?”

I asked.

Perhaps that’s why. Though pretending, his face showed a light excitement similar to Leo’s when listening to a fairy tale.

I’d learned from teaching Leo to read that it’s best to pique his interest with a book that suits his tastes.

Today, after selecting and organizing a simple sentence for Keith to transcribe, I wrote a short question at the top.

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Keith immediately began to fumble with the question I had written, and then he wrote a response with crooked handwriting.

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It’s been a week since he learned to write, which is surprisingly fast.

Anyway, had I eaten anything before Keith came?

Since it was after midnight, there was nothing left to eat.

When I didn’t answer, Keith pointed to my mouth as if he knew everything.

“You smell sweet on your lips, you’re the only one who ate something good. Give it to me. I want some, too.”

A sweet smell on my lips?

I suddenly realized that what he was pointing at was the lip balm I’d put on to moisturize.

Upon closer inspection, it did seem to have a sweet fragrance.

After applying lip balm to my thumb with the moisturising balm and crooked my index finger to bring Keith’s face closer to mine.

I playfully pressed the tip of my thumb firmly against his lips as he stuck his head out defenselessly.

“……!”

“It’s not even that good.”

“T……Th….. this is outrageous!”

“What?”

Although it was just a simple prank, Keith, with his face and even his neck flushed, suddenly stood up.

“I’m leaving!”

“Keith.”

“I don’t know! I won’t come to see you again!”

With that, he opened the window and left.

“…….”

I was guessing Keith’s mental age at about twelve.

Come to think of it…..

“Is he old enough to be going through puberty?”

After all, I knew Keith would come back tomorrow.

I could vaguely sense it.

The reason Keith visited me every night wasn’t necessarily to find out the truth, but simply because he needed someone to talk to, just as Keith, not Cheshire.

He looked like a grumpy cat.

It didn’t take long for Keith to become a fairly proficient reader, thanks to consistent nightly tutoring.

To be honest, I’m not a very good teacher because I rely on the Belinda translator for anything.

So credit should go to the student in this case.

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After he grasped the basic patterns of writing, he quickly engaged in discussions to improve his reading skills.

I sensed that the time had come as Keith wrote Cheshire’s name firmly in his handwriting for the first time.

Despite sharing the same body, Cheshire and Keith had never communicated with each other, except for that one time.

‘No, they communicated just once.’

Keith, who opened his eyes in Cheshire’s body, spent each day feeling a little guilty for taking over his younger brother’s body, with the expectation that Cheshire would welcome him, and with relief that Cheshire was safe.

The first note he received from Cheshire, via Vivian, read.

[Get out of my body].

It was enough to tear Keith’s heart apart and make him tremble with betrayal and anger.

I knew that the years accumulated in silence would lead to misunderstandings and that those misunderstandings could lead to some kind of tragedy.

I couldn’t write a response until the ink dripped from the pen tip and left a dot on the paper.

Keith, who had been lying at an angle with his head on the desk, got bored of waiting and opened his mouth.

“Sister, why don’t you use magic?”

Who is he teasing? Not everyone had magic as a matter of course.

“Because I have no magic.”

I finally thought of something to say in response to Keith’s scribblings and gently moved my pen.

“But that thing on your neck is a magic stone.”

Keith said, flicking his earring once.

I glanced at all the accessories Keith was wearing.

Unlike mine, which were bright red like rubies, all the earrings and jewelry he wore were dark red.

Just by looking at it, it looks like another gem. I wondered if Keith was mistaken.

Therefore, I listened to Keith’s words through one ear and out the other and focused on nodding my head and moving my hands.

Trying to write while we talked was going to overload my brain.

“But you have to be careful with that thing, it can break.”

Yeah, yeah, his words flowed through one ear again. I scribbled a dot on a piece of paper and handed it to Keith.

Keith paused for a moment as he lifted the paper to check its contents.

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“Final Homework? Why final Homework?”

“Because now you know the truth and have gained the strength to deal with it.”

For a moment, Keith’s expression twisted into something as ferocious as the day they’d first met.

“The truth that Cheshire is trying to kill me? You called me every night just to tell me such an obvious thing?”

It wasn’t like that, and I wanted to tell him the future I knew right away, but I endured and kept my mouth shut.

This was a deep misunderstanding that could only be resolved if they faced each other fully.

All I could do was give Keith the means to talk to Cheshire. Therefore, I spoke firmly, almost harshly.

“It’s your last assignment, Keith. Make sure to check it, so you don’t disappoint me.”

Keith glared at me for a while and then left without a word.

The next day, Keith didn’t come to see me.

And the next day, and the next.

And a week later.

“Sister, isn’t the final homework too difficult? I cried doing it.”

When Keith came to see me again, I sensed that today would be the last day I would meet him.

Translator

lurelia
Known for turning pages faster than I move in real life. Warning: May suddenly vanish into fictional realms, leaving behind only a vaguely potato-shaped indent on the sofa.