The Pavilion Detests the Scent of Blood
Five days is a length of time that feels both long and short. It was far too long to kill seven people, yet far too short for eight mages to be reduced to one. Stealing another’s magic required not only their consent but a considerable amount of time, since extracting their mana was a lengthy process. Therefore, if you wanted to survive, the first thought that came to mind was killing the others. This wasn’t the modern world. Unfortunately, commoners often witnessed death around them. Murder, killing, violence—these things formed the foundation of most commoners’ lives.
So the question was, who would die first? That was what I needed to consider. With no clues available yet, the most likely candidate was obviously Ophelia. No matter how closely Ariel stuck to her, they couldn’t spend every waking moment together. In the end, self-defense would be crucial, but Ophelia had no way to protect herself. Rulebook number ten stated that magic could only be used once per day. As long as that rule existed, Ophelia couldn’t cast any more spells today. It wasn’t even lunchtime yet. The wait until tomorrow would feel endless for her.
The fact that the seemingly clever Ariel had scolded Ophelia so harshly was probably because she understood this on some level. Still, for the same reason, Ophelia could distance herself somewhat from suspicion for any murders that might occur today. Even a twelve-year-old could commit murder with the right tools, but for a mage the most efficient weapon was magic. Killing without that tool was not an easy thing to imagine.
…I hate this. I really hate it.
To think I had to suspect girls I’d only met a day ago. It was truly awful.
Letting out a sigh, I headed down to the first floor. In the lobby, Terin and Evangeline were sitting together.
“Hmm, so your name’s Eva.”
“Y-yes…”
“How old are you, Eva? You look pretty young.”
“I-I’m fifteen.”
“Fifteen?! That’s really young!”
Terin stared at Evangeline with wide-eyed surprise, then noticed me and waved. Even in a situation like this, she was remarkably cheerful.
“Ah, Aina!”
“Hello, Terin. Evangeline.”
“H-hello…”
After greeting them, I sat down naturally beside the pair. Terin immediately poked my arm.
“Aina, did you hear? Eva’s fifteen.”
“Really? She is quite young.”
Veritas Academy did allow enrollment from age fifteen. But since only those who had properly awakened their magic could enter, the average age was closer to seventeen or eighteen. In that sense, Evangeline was something of a genius.
“But where are the others? I didn’t see anyone on the second floor.”
“They’re up on the third floor, apparently.”
“The third floor?”
“Yeah.”
Ah, right. It had opened last night. The third floor—the one that supposedly only opened for ‘special occasions.’ Then again, if the current situation didn’t count as special, what possibly could?
Honestly, the reason I could stay relatively calm was probably because none of this felt entirely real yet. And besides… there was still a path open that didn’t involve murder.
Of course, killing was faster and more efficient than stealing someone’s power. But it was impossible to weigh human lives in terms of efficiency. No matter how little time we’d known one another.
“So why are you two on the first floor?”
“Well, I felt uneasy. And Eva… actually, why did you come down?”
“I-I get uncomfortable when there are too many people around…”
Evangeline glanced nervously between us. Hmm. Was this her way of saying we were making her uncomfortable?
“I see.”
“Y-yeah… Hehe, hehehe…”
Terin had been watching Evangeline’s shy smile with a fond expression when something seemed to click. Her eyes widened.
“Wait—did you mean you’re uncomfortable with us too?!”
“N-no! That’s not it! You two don’t make me uncomfortable at all!”
“Really?”
At Terin’s bright “That’s a relief,” Evangeline nodded, her face looking like it might melt from embarrassment. It was like watching a gyaru trying to befriend an extreme introvert. Terin’s outgoing energy seemed on the verge of shattering Evangeline’s social shell.
“Anyway, have you read rule number seven?”
“Oh, right. My copy didn’t have a number seven. Did you two read it?”
“Ah, that. It wasn’t there originally.”
“It wasn’t?”
When I tilted my head in confusion, Terin nodded.
“I found out while talking with Maria. Apparently rule seven used to be replaced by rule 4-1.”
She’d actually talked with Maria? Terin’s sociability was impressive.
“…And now it’s appeared?”
“Yeah. Look.”
The Rose Pavilion detests the scent of a murderer’s blood.
If a murder occurs, the culprit must be found and cast into the incinerator within three hours. Should you fail, every person inside will be incinerated.
“Three hours, huh.”
“Pretty tight, right?”
“Not exactly easy.”
Even in the modern world with advanced technology, identifying a murder suspect could take hours. Of course the scope and administrative processes were different, but three hours was still an incredibly tight deadline. There were eight of us, all capable of using magic, and any spell could become a lethal weapon. Even my own specialty—Memory Magic—was no exception. Finding the culprit within three hours would be extremely difficult.
“Plus we don’t know each other’s specialties.”
“Why don’t we just reveal them now? Everyone together!”
“There’s no guarantee anyone would tell the truth.”
“S-she’s right…”
The one saving grace was that each person could only use magic once per day. There were probably ways around it if you thought hard enough, but for now all we could do was hope no one tried.
“There’s something I’m curious about, though. About this rulebook.”
“Yeah?”
“If one of us breaks a rule and dies, what happens to rule seven?”
“…That’s a good question.”
“If that were to happen, there would be no need to find the culprit. There would be no murderer to begin with.”
The voice came from above us. The dorm supervisor slid down a rope and landed neatly in front of us with a soft thud.
“…Eep!”
I ignored Evangeline’s delayed squeak and studied the supervisor carefully. Where had she come from? I’d been on the first floor the whole time and never saw the door open.
“Oh? Supervisor. What brings you here so suddenly?”
“Are you girls not going up to the third floor?”
“Hmm, why are you trying to push us up there? Don’t tell me you’re planning to kill us?”
Terin clutched her chest dramatically as she spoke. Her generous breasts jiggled and were promptly enveloped by her hands.
…They really are big.
“I am programmed to be unable to kill people.”
A golem’s ‘settings.’ Like a robot’s programming, except settings could never glitch. They were absolute.
“Besides, I can leave anytime I want. There’s no need for me to kill any of you.”
The supervisor placed both hands on her hips, flashing a perfectly painted, triumphant smile.
“…That’s not wrong, but it’s still annoying somehow?”
Terin kept smiling even as her brows furrowed. The supervisor responded with a blank face, hands still on her hips.
“Ha. Ha. Ha. Golem-like laughter.”
“Why do you feel the need to announce that it’s golem-like laughter?”
“Because I am a golem, of course?”
Her utterly confident reply made me swallow a sigh.
“…So why did you come down?”
“I was curious why only you three were still on the first floor.”
“…That’s it?”
“Yep.”
This golem called the supervisor really didn’t seem normal. She was made to look exactly like a person, yet everything she said screamed ‘golem.’ If she just kept her mouth shut, she’d be beautiful.
“So if we go up, you’ll come with us?”
“Of course.”
At Terin’s answer, the supervisor nodded and grabbed the rope she’d descended on. She began climbing back up with steady strength.
Couldn’t she just use the stairs?
As I looked up, my eyes landed on the supervisor’s plump backside. It was rather indecent.
Evangeline, who had been staring at that same firm rear, suddenly gave it a loud smack.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The three of us—well, two people and one golem—turned to stare at Evangeline in unison. Her face flushed crimson in an instant.
“What was that for?”
“I-I don’t know… I just wanted to try slapping it…”
“Hmm, as expected of someone so young—true to her desires!”
“…I don’t think that was a compliment.”
Terin gave a thumbs-up, which only made Evangeline’s face burn even brighter. She looked like she might explode.
“Well, since the supervisor said so, I’ll head up to the third floor.”
“Ah, I’ll come too. You seem trustworthy, Aina.”
“…Me?”
When I gave her a puzzled look, Terin simply beamed. What a strange girl.