The Uninvited Eighth Girl
"Under the desk!"
Recalling the earthquake evacuation tips I'd learned in my previous life, I shouted, and the two others followed me under the desk. Three minutes later, the Rose Pavilion—which had been shaking with a deep rumble—finally stopped moving. After confirming that nothing seemed broken despite the intense vibrations, I crawled out first.
"...What the hell is going on?"
"I-I'm not sure…."
"L-let's go outside first! The others must be worried!"
Ophelia dashed out the moment she spoke. Ariel and I hurried after her frantic figure.
Outside, people had gathered in the first-floor lobby. Terrin, Maria, Lea, Evangeline, and even Clarisse, whom I'd only just heard about. The atmosphere was oppressively quiet. Terrin swallowed hard.
I walked over to her.
"Terrin."
"Ah, Aina!"
She had been turning deathly pale from the tension, but her face brightened when she saw me.
"What's happening?"
"Who knows? The dorm supervisor told us to come to the first-floor lobby, so we came out."
"All the other girls too?"
"Yeah."
Seeing her nod vigorously, I scanned the room for the supervisor. But she was nowhere in sight.
"So where is this supervisor who called you?"
"Huh? Wait, when did she disappear?"
Terrin looked around in confusion as the two who had been with me in the dining hall approached from behind. The moment they quietly sat down, someone opened the Rose Pavilion's door and stepped inside.
"Ah, Supervisor!"
"...The supervisor? That thing?"
Terrin's outburst forced me to doubt both my eyes and ears. That was the supervisor?
"It's a golem."
"Huh? A golem?"
"Yes."
It was crafted far more intricately than the golems I'd seen during admission, yet it was still a human-shaped golem. However... Golem magic circuits were usually twisted in unnatural patterns unlike a human's. This one possessed extremely human-like circuits—except for a single section in the heart area.
"...It's convincing enough to mistake for a human."
The circuits were so precisely made that even I, with my memory magic, would struggle to detect the artifice.
"Welcome to your stay at the Rose Pavilion, everyone."
"We already did the greetings yesterday."
"The abnormal phenomenon currently occurring in the Rose Pavilion stems from only one cause."
The golem continued, ignoring the objection. Lea bit her lip after having her words brushed aside.
The cause is the uninvited resident. The eighth girl.
"...An uninvited resident?"
"Yes. You all must have received invitation letters."
"The ones that burned the moment we read them?"
"...."
I clicked my tongue inwardly. If the culprit was among us, that comment might have tipped them off. I glanced at the speaker. Maria simply stared at the supervisor with a blank face, as if the words held no deeper meaning. Still, if someone had infiltrated with a purpose, they would naturally possess at least that much information.
"Yes. One of you has taken up residence here without receiving that invitation."
"I see. So what does that matter? Can't we just kick them out?"
The supervisor golem answered Ophelia's question with an expressionless face.
"It does not end with a problem of that level. A full day has already passed since the uninvited resident entered."
"Wait, Supervisor. Does 'a day' mean twenty-four hours?"
"No. It refers to before midnight."
Tsk. I clicked my tongue softly and shook my head.
"Why ask that?"
I gently pushed aside Terrin, who had whispered the question, and answered quietly.
"If it meant twenty-four hours, we could investigate yesterday's move-in times to find out."
"Oh, right."
"From this morning onward, the Rose Pavilion has become a place where 'humans' cannot enter or exit."
At that shocking declaration, Ariel shot up from her seat behind me.
"What? But the supervisor just walked in through that door!"
"I am not a person."
"Huh?"
"What?"
The flustered students moved toward the supervisor, but she cast magic with an expressionless face and forced them back into their seats.
"I am an artificial golem created for this Rose Pavilion."
"...I-I see. How fascinating."
"W-wait. Then what you said is really true?"
Ophelia approached the door, grabbed the handle, and pulled. She pushed. The door refused to budge. Flustered, she gathered her mana and struck it with a massive telekinetic force.
Kwaaaaang—!
A tremendous explosion rang out, yet the door remained completely intact.
"...N-no way."
"No way is you! Idiot!"
Ariel smacked Ophelia on the head. The refreshing blow made me clap without thinking.
All students may use magic only once per day.
"Uh... what?"
"You just wasted your one chance for the entire day!"
"Now, now, Ariel. We'll only be inside the dormitory anyway. When would we even need magic?"
I calmed the axe-eyed Ariel until she let out a heavy sigh.
"I suppose...? It's just a little unsettling."
"Then may I continue the explanation?"
Ariel nodded at the supervisor's question, and the golem proceeded.
"There is only one way for you to escape the Rose Pavilion."
"One way...?"
The only escape is to steal another mage's power or kill them.
Only one mage may remain.
"...What?"
The students exploded with various reactions. Some argued with the supervisor. Some cried. A few stared blankly into space as if none of it concerned them, while others kept repeating, "This is a lie, right?"
I was none of those. I simply held my trembling heart in check and slowly repeated the words to myself.
Steal another mage's power or kill them.
Stealing power. Taking a mage's mana was simple if the other party consented. But no proper mage would ever agree. Most would rather die than lose their magic. It wasn't merely pride. The 'universe' a mage witnessed while learning magic was their source and their reason for living. Losing that driving force by having their magic stolen was no different from death.
"If there is not only one mage left in the pavilion by the time the semester begins in five days, the Rose Pavilion will incinerate all living beings inside."
"Incinerate means…."
"Exactly what the word implies."
"...."
In other words, kill or steal magic until only one mage remained. The revelation was so shocking I couldn't speak.
The Rose Pavilion dislikes murderers.
"...So we're supposed to resolve this as peacefully as possible."
"If possible."
The emotionless tone somehow sounded like a declaration that it was impossible.
"The Rose Pavilion can tolerate a murderer for three hours. Once that time is exceeded…."
"S-surely not incineration again…?"
"Yes."
When the supervisor nodded, Evangeline shuddered with a small "Hiiik."
"I will provide further details when the situation arises. I am busy, so I will take my leave."
With those words, the supervisor opened the door and vanished. Lea dashed after her and threw herself toward the gap, only to be repelled as if hitting an invisible wall. The sight served as definitive proof that no one could leave.
"...Damn it."
Lea stood up after spitting the curse, glanced at us, and left the lobby first.
Back in my room, I collapsed onto the bed.
The eighth girl. Who could it be? Since she had entered without an invitation, she must know she is the eighth. In that case, she might know something about the Rose Pavilion itself.
After organizing my thoughts, I stood up. To identify the eighth girl, I first needed to learn about the other girls.
The first one I chose to investigate was Clarisse Braham.
A girl I had never met before. I had seen her face in the first-floor lobby earlier, but she hadn't spoken a single word. Even Maria had said something.
She was extremely taciturn—beyond mere mystery. It might prove difficult, but I decided to start with her.
"Hi."
"...."
When I flung open the door to Clarisse's room, she glanced at me before turning her gaze back out the window.
Even from someone so quiet, certain things could be read: expressions, behavior, the range of their actions. Especially their 'personal space.' That was exactly why I had opened the door without knocking.
The room carried a distinctly gloomy air. The furniture and layout were identical to the others, yet something felt different. Whether it came from the resident's aura or another reason, I couldn't tell.
The only clear difference was the faint rose scent that lingered. There were no actual roses, so where was the fragrance coming from?
Having entered without permission, I quietly began examining the room. Clarisse paid me no attention. Or perhaps she was simply tolerating it. Either way, it worked in my favor.
While I was looking around, a voice suddenly spoke right beside my ear.
"You're lucky."
"Hiek?!"
I jumped in surprise. Clarisse stared at me with a blank face.
"W-what was that for?!"
"...."
After watching me for a moment, Clarisse returned to her bed and lay down. Lucky? What did she mean?
Invading another's room will cause one to fall into the space.
"...Ah."
I had forgotten. The earlier revelation had been too shocking. Speaking of which, rulebook number seven. I was certain no such rule had existed before. Why was it coming to mind now? I should have asked the supervisor while she was still there.
Having finished searching the room with no findings, I looked at Clarisse. She remained expressionless, still staring out the window. I wanted to say more, but it seemed pointless, so I left the room.