Oz Bezarius just wanted a normal first day of the new term at Latwidge Academy. Instead, he overslept, nearly tripped over a parade of black cats, and arrived at his desk to find a fluffy black rabbit plushie with a name tag reading "Alice" and a serious attitude problem.
The plushie talks. It demands. And according to it, Oz is now its property.
As a member of a family of Storytellers—those who wield Echo Magic to breathe life into objects—Oz knows the strange rules of his world better than m
Pandora Academy: After-School Aviss - The Steamed Bun Battle and the Young Lady Behind the Smile
Morning.
Or, more accurately, it was still far too early to call it morning.
Oz Bezarius woke to a strange weight pressing down on his face. Something soft and fluffy was smothering his nose and mouth. It was hard to breathe.
"...Mm, what the hell is this?"
He reached out with sleep-blurred eyes. His fingertips brushed against soft fur. Black, fluffy, with long ears—
"Wake up, my property. It's morning. Feed me meat."
Alice was sitting proudly on top of Oz's face. For a stuffed rabbit, she was surprisingly heavy. Oz lifted her with both hands and slowly sat up.
"Why the hell are you sitting on my face?"
"To wake you. Because you wouldn't get up."
"There's a right way to wake someone up. Normally you'd tap their shoulder, or call their name by their ear."
"I called you. I called you over and over. You still wouldn't wake up, so I sat on you."
Alice puffed out her chest, her bright red bead eyes glinting. Oz heaved a deep sigh and checked the clock by his pillow. It was only six-thirty.
"...Isn't this a bit early? School starts at nine."
"I'm hungry. Feed me meat. There's leftover bacon from yesterday, isn't there?"
"You ate all of that last night."
"I didn't. I know you hid some. In the container at the back of the fridge."
Oz scratched his head. She was right—last night, he'd hidden a little of the bacon Gilbert had made, so Alice wouldn't eat all of it.
"You've got a good nose. For a rabbit."
"I'm not a rabbit! I'm Alice!"
Alice leaped down from Oz's hands and hopped out of the room. That small backside of hers looked, by any measure, like a stuffed rabbit's.
(Day three, huh.)
Oz looked out the window. Morning in Lumenfield was peaceful again today. The clock tower of Latwidge Academy, rising at the center of the academy city, gleamed white in the morning sun.
Three days had passed since Alice had taken up residence at the Bezarius estate.
The Bezarius family dining room was noisy again this morning.
"Time to eat!"
Alice leaped onto the table and plunged her face into the plate of bacon. Or rather, she pressed her stuffed-rabbit muzzle against the plate and made chewing motions. He had no idea how it worked, but the bacon on the plate vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Alice, you really do only eat meat, don't you?"
Oz's little sister, Ada Bezarius, said with wide eyes. She was a gentle-natured girl with a somewhat unusual hobby—a love of the occult. Even this morning, carefully spreading blueberry jam on her toast, she watched Alice's eating with great interest.
"Meat is justice. Meat is the center of the world."
Alice mumbled around a sausage.
"Meat is the center of the world—what kind of logic is that?"
"I don't need logic. Good food is good."
"Right then, today I'll grill three times the meat!"
Oz's uncle, Oscar Bezarius, stood up with a hearty laugh. The current head of the Bezarius family, he stood over six foot two, with a cheerful, down-to-earth personality. A ladies' man and a hopelessly bad chess player—in some ways, a disappointing adult.
"Uncle, three times really is too much to grill."
"It's fine, it's fine. If it makes Alice happy, a slice or two of meat—or three or four—is nothing!"
"You're a good one. I like you."
Alice thrust a gravy-covered front paw toward Oscar. She seemed to mean it as a handshake.
"Hahaha, a handshake? How cute."
Oscar wrapped Alice's paw in his big hand.
"Hey now, you're getting gravy all over me, Uncle."
"Don't worry about it. It'll wash off."
Oz smiled wryly and put the leftover rolled omelet on his plate into his mouth. It was from the lunch Gilbert had made. Gilbert was a good cook and made Oz's lunch every day. He hadn't shown up yet this morning, but he'd be coming to pick Oz up soon.
"Hey, my property. Hand over that egg too."
Alice was staring fixedly at the tips of Oz's chopsticks. Her bright red eyes gleamed like a carnivore eyeing its prey.
"What, the egg too? Are you really a rabbit?"
"I keep telling you I'm not a rabbit. Besides, eggs are part of the meat family."
"No, eggs aren't part of the meat family."
"Don't be so picky. Hand it over."
Alice hopped up and snatched the rolled omelet right off Oz's chopsticks. It was a dazzling bit of sleight of hand.
"Hey, you!"
"Delicious. Eggs aren't half bad either."
Alice chewed the omelet contentedly.
(This one's a real glutton...)
Oz sighed in exasperation, but he was smiling, somehow enjoying himself.
After breakfast, as Oz was changing into his uniform, there was a knock at the door.
"Oz, I've come to get you."
A familiar low voice. It was Oz's best friend and servant, Gilbert Nightray.
"Oh, Gil! Morning!"
Oz opened the door. There stood a tall young man with black hair loosely tied back. His golden eyes confirmed Oz's presence and showed just a hint of relief.
"...Your bedhead's terrible today. At least you didn't oversleep."
"Shut up. I woke up properly, didn't I?"
"Because I woke you. Be grateful."
Alice poked her head out from Oz's shoulder.
"Whoa, you're on his shoulder again?"
Gilbert took a slight step back. He was bad with cats. And he was bad with rabbit-shaped creatures too. More precisely, he was bad with fluffy little animals in general.
"Seaweed, what are you backing away for? Are you scared of me?"
"Who's Seaweed? And I'm not scared. I'm just keeping a little distance."
"Gil, your face is twitching."
"It is not."
Oz laughed, enjoying Gilbert's reaction. This was his daily routine—teasing his best friend and savoring the response. An unchanging morning scene, going on for over ten years.
"All right, let's go. We'll be late for school."
Oz picked up his bag.
"I'm coming too. Put me in your bag."
"Huh, you fit in the bag?"
"Of course. I'm your property. You're my property. So naturally we stay together."
"I don't really get that logic, but fine. Here, I'll put you in, so behave yourself."
Oz opened the zipper of his bag. Alice hopped in and neatly curled herself up inside.
"Don't you dare close the zipper on your own. I won't be able to breathe."
"Do stuffed animals even breathe?"
"We do. I do."
Oz laughed and zipped the bag only halfway.
"...You're really taking her with you?"
Gilbert said with a complicated expression.
"Well, if I leave her home, who knows what she'll get up to. Last time she left the fridge open and melted all the ice cream."
"That's because you hid it. The rule is, whoever finds the ice cream eats it."
"What kind of rule is that?"
"...Sigh. Fine. Don't blame me if something happens."
Gilbert heaved a deep sigh.
Latwidge Academy was as beautiful as ever.
The red-brick school building glowed a deep color in the morning light. Passing through the main gate, there was a flowerbed planted with flowers of every color, and beyond it, the main building with its clock tower.
"Morning, Oz!"
"Morning, Oz!"
Girls passing by called out to him. Oz waved back at each of them with a smile.
"Morning, ladies! Beautiful as ever today!"
"Oh, Oz, you charmer."
"Sweet-talker, as always."
The girls walked off giggling.
"Hey, my property. What did you just say to those women?"
A muffled voice came from inside the bag.
"Nothing, just greetings."
"Don't lie. I heard you. You said 'beautiful.' What's beautiful about those women? Are your eyes broken?"
"You can see from inside the bag?"
"I can see. I can hear. I can smell. So don't go calling out to other women right in front of me."
"Are you... jealous?"
"I am not! I just can't stand my property talking to other women without my permission!"
Alice's voice bounced around inside the bag.
"Yeah, yeah, understood."
Oz walked down the hallway, laughing.
That was when it happened.
"Kyaaa!?"
A girl who'd just passed by suddenly screamed.
"W-what!?"
Oz turned around. The girl was pointing at his bag, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.
"Th-the bag... there's a rabbit coming out of the bag..."
"Huh?"
Oz looked at his bag. Through the gap in the zipper, Alice's black ear was poking out.
"Hey, Alice. Your ear's sticking out."
"Shut up. It's cramped in here. Let me get some air."
Alice wriggled and poked her face out. Her bright red eyes scanned the students passing through the hallway.
"Whoa, what is that!"
"The stuffed animal is moving!"
"Isn't that a cursed doll!?"
The students began to murmur and stir.
"Ah—this is, well, you know. Kind of like my pet."
Oz laughed it off.
"I'm not a pet. I'm your owner."
"Hey, just keep quiet for now."
"I won't. I only stated a fact."
"Oz, do something about that rabbit!"
Gilbert raised a panicked voice from behind. Like cats, he was bad with fluffy little animals. Every time Alice poked her face out of the bag, his expression stiffened.
"Seaweed, shut up. This has nothing to do with you."
"Who's Seaweed! And it has plenty to do with me. When you cause a commotion, I'm the one who has to clean it up."
"Gil, calm down. Come on, Alice, don't stick your face out so much. You'll startle the other students."
"Anyone startled by my face is the one who's wrong. I'm this cute."
"You're saying that about yourself?"
"It's a fact."
Oz laughed and pushed Alice's head back into the bag.
"Don't push! Handle me gently!"
"Stay put until class is over. Got it?"
"Fine. But at lunch, you feed me meat."
"Yeah, yeah, I promise."
Oz left the zipper just slightly open.
When he reached the classroom, Oz set his bag on his desk.
"Morning, Oz!"
"Morning, Oz!"
Classmates greeted him one after another. Oz answered every one with a smile.
"Morning, everyone! Nice weather today!"
"Hey, my property. Let me out. I can't breathe."
A muffled voice came from inside the bag.
"Hold on a little longer. I'll let you out after homeroom."
"Let me out now. Otherwise I'll chew through the bag from the inside."
"You can do that?"
"I can if I try. Want me to?"
"Okay, okay. I'll let you out now, just wait a second."
Oz reluctantly opened the zipper. Alice hopped out onto the desk and sat herself proudly in the center.
"Phew, finally some fresh air. Cramped and dark—the worst."
"Sorry it's so cramped."
"Oz, don't put that rabbit on your desk. It stands out."
Gilbert said quietly from the next desk over.
"Seaweed, you're so noisy. I like it here. This desk is my spot from today on."
"Your spot is the garden shed at Oz's house."
"I like that place too, but I like this one as well. Got a problem?"
"A big one."
"You two sure are lively in the morning."
Oz looked back and forth between Alice on the desk and Gilbert at the next desk, laughing.
Just then, the classroom door opened and the homeroom teacher came in.
"Good morning. Let's begin homeroom."
"Hey, Alice. The teacher's here, so hide under the desk for now."
"I won't hide. I stand proud."
"Please, just hide. If the teacher finds you, it'll be a whole thing."
"What do you mean, a whole thing?"
"Like you getting confiscated, or my parents getting called in—that kind of thing."
"Confiscated... you'd be taken away from me?"
Alice's bright red eyes wavered slightly.
"Well, there's a chance of that."
Alice fell silent for a moment. Then, sulkily, she hopped down under the desk.
"Fine. Just for today. I'll hide, just for today."
"That helps."
Oz watched Alice vanish under the desk and smiled faintly.
First period was modern literature.
The teacher's voice reading from the textbook echoed quietly through the classroom. Oz turned the pages of his textbook, occasionally glancing at Alice under the desk.
Alice was leaning neatly against Oz's leg under the desk, staying still. Every now and then she wriggled and poked at Oz's shoe with her front paw.
(She must be bored.)
Oz smiled wryly to himself.
That was when it happened.
"I'm bored. Give me meat."
Suddenly, a clear voice rang out from under the desk.
The classroom went silent in an instant.
"...Who was that just now?"
The teacher
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