The Eighth Girl
I stared at the rules posted in the Rose Pavilion, the dormitory for wizard students, and wondered why such a thing was even necessary. The answer was simple enough. It had to be because of the wizards’ experiments. Given Veritas Academy’s long history, the sheer number of experiments conducted here must have turned this building into something closer to a dungeon. In truth, it probably wasn’t just the Rose Pavilion—other dormitories were likely the same. The only difference was that this one was an old, run-down structure, making magical repairs a little more difficult. Besides, the rules themselves weren’t that hard to follow. I just needed to memorize them properly.
Lying in bed, I read through the rules one more time. Some parts were a bit strange, but I committed the entire contents to memory. For someone who had learned Memory Magic, this much was easy. At least when it came to memories I was consciously processing, anyway.
While I was blankly staring at the ceiling, the surroundings suddenly grew noisy. A low, rumbling sound—ku-gu-gu-gu-gu—like something was shifting. I shot upright, grabbed my lantern, and stepped outside.
“W-what’s going on?”
“Kyaaah—!”
“What in the world is that sound…?”
“…”
Four of us had poked our heads out, including myself. Two girls I’d never seen before, and Maria. The two unfamiliar girls weren’t carrying any light sources, but Maria held a candle.
“Ugh, that’s bright. What’s with the lantern?”
The girl who had burst out of the room next to mine asked, looking at me. She had striking shoulder-length bobbed hair.
“Ah, the rules said to carry a light source at night.”
“It says that? Where?”
“Huh? In the rulebook. Haven’t you read it?”
“…No. Not yet. I just got here.”
The girl shook her head and shuffled a little closer to me.
“You’re in the room next door, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Leah Blington.”
“I’m Aina Cromwell.”
Leah flashed a bright, easygoing smile, glanced at my lantern, then looked toward the two girls who had opened their doors.
“And you two?”
“…”
Maria, who had been quietly watching the three of us, simply closed her door again. The remaining girl stared at Leah and me with teary, trembling eyes.
“H-hiik… I-I’m Evangeline Jello….”
“Evangeline?”
“Hik! M-my name is too long, right? Y-you can just call me Eva….”
“Sure. Nice to meet you, Eva.”
Leah nodded and gave Evangeline a wide grin. The younger girl flinched at the smile and quickly lowered her head.
“The one who just went back inside is Maria Yerenika.”
“Oh, you already knew her?”
“We only just got introduced.”
Leah nodded at my answer and brought Evangeline over to stand beside me.
“So… what do you think that sound was?”
“Not sure. It sounded like the building itself was moving.”
“…”
Evangeline swallowed hard, glancing back and forth between Leah and me before lowering her head again. I was about to call her name, wondering if she had something to say, when Leah nudged me.
“Hm?”
“…Look over there. The third floor.”
“Huh?”
The third floor? The rules had clearly stated it wouldn’t open unless something special happened. Should we go up and check? But something about heading up there right now felt wrong. It was still the middle of the night, and the rules kept nagging at me. The phrase “special event” written in the rulebook. Most of the rules had been written under the assumption that such an event would not occur. Yet right now, something clearly had happened.
“…For now, we should just get some rest tonight.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. That sounds good. I’m getting pretty tired too.”
“Y-yeah….”
After watching the two of them return to their rooms, I stood for a moment in the now-silent hallway. A sudden wave of unease washed over me, and I quickly shut my door. It felt like goosebumps were crawling up my back. Ugh.
I turned off the lantern, staggered back to bed, and collapsed. For some reason, I had a feeling I’d be able to sleep well.
The next morning, I clutched my growling stomach and headed down to the dining hall. Two girls were already eating there—different from the four I’d met last night. The Rose Pavilion was supposed to house exactly seven residents, so… were these two the last ones?
I shifted my gaze away from them and checked the menu. Bread, soup, salad, and bacon. A proper breakfast spread. I took a spoonful of the hearty soup filled with plenty of ingredients and felt like it was curing a hangover. Not that I’d drunk anything last night. Besides, I wasn’t even old enough to drink. Still, having been something of a drinker in my previous life, the feeling brought a strange sense of nostalgia.
I polished off the white bread, salad, and bacon, then patted my full belly. Normally I wouldn’t eat this much, but after starving for nearly an entire day yesterday, it seemed my body had demanded more.
“I wonder who prepares the meals…”
I’d read the rules yesterday, so I had no intention of questioning it, but I was still a little curious.
“Are you wondering about that too?”
I looked up at the calm-sounding voice behind me. A girl with a composed expression was looking at me. Her neatly braided dark blue hair left a strong impression. She adjusted her glasses slightly and sat down beside me.
“I’m Ariel Haden.”
“I’m Aina Cromwell.”
Was she the type who liked proper introductions? When I returned the greeting, Ariel’s eyes curved gently. She looked a bit cold at first glance, but her personality seemed warmer than expected.
“Ophelia. You should introduce yourself too.”
“…Hmph. Why should I bother introducing myself first to a mere commoner?”
The strangely arrogant tone, and the way she said “commoner.” Wasn’t the Rose Pavilion supposed to be for commoners only?
“I thought only commoners could enter the Rose Pavilion?”
“Umm, Ophelia is a fallen noble,” Ariel explained, looking a little embarrassed as she gently touched her own cheek. She then brought Ophelia over with quick steps. The girl had beautifully maintained, flowing silver-white hair and striking golden eyes.
“She acts prickly on the outside, but she’s actually very warm-hearted.”
“W-who are you calling warm-hearted!”
“You.”
“…Hmph!”
Ophelia whipped her head away, glared at me, then quietly opened her mouth.
“Commoner. I shall grant you the honor of hearing my introduction.”
“…Umm, I’d rather not.”
“Wh-what?”
My blunt reply seemed to stun her. Ophelia stared at me blankly. Seeing the utter bewilderment filling her golden eyes, I let out a small laugh and extended my hand toward her.
“I’m Aina Cromwell. Nice to meet you.”
“Huh? Oh… I’m Ophelia Dervon of the fallen Baron Dervon family.”
“I see.”
The lack of a middle name confirmed she really was from a fallen noble house. The baron title was probably from before their downfall. If it hadn’t been that long ago, she would have been taught to include her middle name in introductions from a young age. Which meant the Dervon barony had collapsed quite some time ago. Having pieced that together, I offered a gentle smile. Poor girl.
“…Something about the way you’re looking at me is really annoying.”
“Ophelia. Are you trying to pick a fight over something weird again?”
“N-no! This time it’s real!”
Ophelia waved her hands in panic as Ariel stared at her suspiciously.
“Are you from a noble family too, Ariel?”
“No. Ophelia and I have been close since we were little. Childhood friends, you could say.”
“Ah, I see.”
Even though we’d only just met, Ophelia’s personality clearly wasn’t easy to deal with. The fact that Ariel could interact with her so casually must mean they really had been friends since childhood.
“It’s interesting that two childhood friends both got into the same academy.”
“Right?”
Veritas Academy mainly accepted those who had awakened to magic that was useful in everyday life or close to supernatural abilities. Like my Memory Magic. The odds of two friends of the same age both awakening to magic were already extremely low, and the fact that neither of them had awakened to offensive magic made it even more unusual.
“So that makes seven of us, huh?”
“Seven?”
“Yeah. It was written in the rules. Only seven students can reside in the Rose Pavilion.”
“Hmm… now that you mention it, I think there was something like that.”
“Nobles don’t read that kind of thing.”
Ophelia answered so confidently that I could only shake my head and turn my gaze back to Ariel.
“Hey, commoner. What’s with that reaction?”
“The four I met yesterday—Terin, Maria, Leah, and Evangeline. And now you two. That makes exactly seven.”
“…Excuse me? Maria?”
“Yeah? Why? You know, the one with long black hair and a pretty face.”
“…I haven’t seen anyone like that.”
“…What?”
Ariel’s reaction and Ophelia’s answer made me frown. A strange sense of déjà vu washed over me. The third floor that only opened during special events, and the sound we heard last night.
“The girl we met was named Clarisse Braham. She had brown hair.”
“…Which means.”
“There’s an ‘eighth’ girl, it seems.”
Ophelia tilted her head at our conclusion.
“What’s the big deal? Must be a mistake. Or are you worried someone’s going to get kicked out?”
Considering the unease I’d felt last night, that would actually be the best-case scenario. But my instincts were telling me this was far from over.
“That can’t be it. There are so many rooms in the Rose Pavilion…”
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gung—!
Before Ophelia could finish speaking, the entire Rose Pavilion began to shake. The deafening roar, like an earthquake, made the two girls scream.
“Kyaaaaah—!”