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 - Black Mist and the Memory of the Sun
"Wake up, my property! It's morning! Time for meat!"
A soft, fluffy weight pressed down on Oz Bezarius's face. The black rabbit plushie, Alice, was sitting on him again, smothering his nose and mouth.
"You... would it kill you to learn how to wake someone up normally?"
Still half-asleep, Oz scooped Alice up and sat upright. The morning sun streaming through the window glittered off his sleep-tousled blond hair.
A week had passed since Sharon warned him on the rooftop—"That rabbit is a remnant of a story."
By now, Alice had settled in completely as a resident of the Bezarius household. She woke Oz by sitting on his face, monopolized the meat at breakfast, and burrowed into his bag on the way to school. Ada would tilt her head and ask, "Alice, are you really a rabbit?" while Oscar declared, "Right, let's grill meat again today!" The lively mornings had continued every single day.
"Bacon! Sausages! Ham! Hand it all over!"
Alice bounded into the dining room and hopped up and down on the table. Ada giggled and placed a sausage from her own plate in front of Alice.
"Alice, you're especially energetic today."
"Anyone who eats meat gets energetic! This is a universal truth!"
"I feel like I hear that logic every single morning."
Oz laughed and bit into his toast. The scrambled eggs Gilbert had made were fluffy and delicious, as always.
"All right, barbecue after school today! I'll prepare triple the meat so we don't lose to Alice's appetite!"
Oscar laughed heartily. His towering frame—over six feet—looked especially large against the morning sun.
"Uncle, triple really is too much."
"It's fine, it's fine! When you're young, meat is what you need!"
"You really are a good guy. I like you more and more."
Alice thrust a gravy-covered paw toward Oscar. He shook it happily.
Oz watched the scene, a smile tugging at his lips.
(Nothing happened this past week.)
Sharon's warning. The voice he'd heard in the night, calling for Alice. Maybe it had all been his imagination. The days had been peaceful enough to make him think so.
But.
Something pricked at Oz's chest.
(Is that really okay?)
Without an answer, Oz shoved the last of his toast into his mouth.
The fastest route to the academy was along the riverside promenade by the Lumen River.
The morning air was cold and clear, and the river's surface sparkled, reflecting the sunrise. In the distance, the clock tower of Latowidge Academy rose white against the sky.
"Hey, property. Walk more carefully. You're shaking me around."
A muffled voice came from inside Oz's bag.
"Deal with it. You're the one who climbed in."
"Shut up. I'm not coming out until I've bought meat buns."
"You're planning to buy out the whole shop again? The owner's going to cry."
"Those meat buns are delicious. I'll eat them all. Obviously."
Oz smiled wryly. All week, the shop owner had been nursing a stomachache thanks to Alice. Today, the meat bun battle would begin again.
They passed through the main gate and changed into indoor shoes at the shoe lockers. The hallway was bustling with students arriving for the day.
"Hey, Oz. Your bedhead's something else today."
"It's my charm point, isn't it?"
Oz tossed back a quip and headed for his classroom. He felt Alice stirring restlessly inside his bag.
That was when it happened.
The air in the hallway suddenly turned cold.
On a summer morning, no less—a chill like an open refrigerator crept up from the floor.
"...Huh?"
Oz stopped in his tracks.
At the end of the hallway. In front of the emergency exit. Something black stood there.
It had a human shape. But it wasn't human. Black mist, forced into the form of a person—that kind of shadow. Its outline wavered and blurred, and smoke-like tendrils rose from where it touched the floor.
"W-what is that...!"
"This is bad—run!"
Students around them screamed and broke into a run. The hallway descended into chaos.
The black mist slowly turned toward them.
Two red lights flickered to life where its face should be.
"...A...li...ce..."
A voice. Hoarse, like the sound of wind.
Inside the bag, Alice shuddered.
"...Hey, property. Is this..."
"Quiet. Don't move."
Oz clutched the bag to his chest and took a step back.
(So that's Grimheart's shadow...!)
Sharon had told him. Remnants of a story. Black mist that hunted Alice. And now it was right in front of him.
The black mist warped and twisted.
The next instant—
It shot toward them like a bullet.
"Whoa!"
Oz dodged on instinct. The mist grazed past him and slammed into the hallway wall, scattering—but it immediately regrouped and reformed.
"Let go! I'll fight!"
Alice tried to leap from the bag. Oz pressed her back down.
"Idiot! Like I'd let you put yourself in danger!"
Oz shouted and ran, Alice still in his arms.
He sprinted down the hallway. Behind him, the black mist gave chase. Crawling along the floor, sliding along the walls, it picked up speed.
"Hey, property! I can fight! There's no need for you to run!"
"Shut up! That's not the point!"
His breath came short. His heart pounded. Alice trembled with anger in his arms.
(Damn it—where do I go—)
He raced down the stairs. The moment he hit the first-floor hallway, another shadow appeared in front of him.
A second one.
"...A...li...ce..."
The two black mists closed in from front and back.
"Damn it...!"
Oz pressed his back against the wall, shielding Alice.
(What do I do? What can I—)
That was when it came.
"My, my. Laying hands on a cute little rabbit right in front of me—how bold."
A voice like ringing bells echoed through the hallway.
He turned. There she was.
Chestnut curls falling in soft waves. Pale violet eyes. Wearing her usual elegant smile—Sharon Rainsworth. Dressed in her Latowidge Academy uniform, something small clutched in her hand.
"You've got some nerve. Perhaps you need to be taught a lesson."
Still smiling, Sharon raised one hand.
The air around her began to sparkle. Particles of light swirled upward, filling the hallway.
Resonance magic. The power to communicate with and interfere with remnants of stories. Sharon had possessed the gift since childhood—the ability to speak with story remnants.
"You don't belong here. Be good and disappear."
The light enveloped the black mist.
The mist writhed in pain. Its outline distorted, its form beginning to crumble.
"...A...li...ce..."
The mist resisted, its red lights flaring brighter.
"...My, you're stubborn."
Sharon's smile tightened slightly. The membrane of light was being pushed back.
(This is bad. Sharon can't hold them off alone...!)
Oz gritted his teeth. Something—there had to be something he could do—
"Well, well. This looks dangerous."
A leisurely voice cut in.
A man appeared from around the corner of the hallway. Silver-white hair tied back, left eye hidden behind his bangs—Break, servant of the Rainsworth household.
He crunched on a candy and smiled brightly.
"Young master, that was quite a run. I'd say your PE grade just went up."
"This isn't the time for that! Help us!"
"Yes, of course. I couldn't very well stand by and let the young lady's friend die, now could I?"
With that, Break swept his right hand to the side.
A slender sword had appeared in his grip.
"Now then—"
Break stepped forward.
The next instant.
He vanished.
"—Huh?"
By the time Oz realized it, Break was standing before the black mist.
A single flash.
The sword sliced through the mist.
"GYAAAAAAAH!!"
The black mist burst apart with a death cry. Black smoke poured from the severed edges, and the mist dissolved before their eyes.
The other one met the same fate.
Without even turning around, Break gave his sword a single swing. The second mist was cut down just as easily.
"Goodness. That was a nice bit of morning exercise."
Break sheathed his sword and popped another candy into his mouth.
"...What did you just do?"
Oz stared at him, dumbfounded.
"What did I do? I just cut down some shadows. Could the young master not see me move?"
"No, I didn't see a thing."
"That's a shame. It was quite a nice move, if I do say so myself."
Break smiled cheerfully.
"Clown! Don't say unnecessary things!"
Alice shouted irritably from Oz's arms.
"Oh, Miss Alice. I'm glad you're safe."
"Of course I am! I wouldn't lose to the likes of them!"
"I'm sure you wouldn't. But the young master protected you, so why not thank him honestly?"
"...Shut up! I don't want to hear that from a clown!"
Alice turned her face away with a huff.
Sharon let out a relieved breath and smiled.
"I'm so glad you're both safe. Oz, Alice."
"Sharon...what are you doing here?"
"Fufu. I had a bad feeling since this morning. So Break and I were on our way to your classroom."
"The young lady's intuition is rarely wrong."
Sharon approached Oz and gently stroked Alice's head.
"You must have been so scared. It's all right now."
"...I wasn't scared. I was going to fight. This one just ran."
Alice buried her face in Oz's chest, as if escaping Sharon's hand.
Oz smiled wryly.
(So Alice really isn't good with Sharon.)
Sharon watched this and giggled.
"My, my. You're so attached to Oz. I'm almost jealous."
"Wha—! I'm not attached! This is, um, a matter of positioning!"
"Yes, yes. Of course it is."
Sharon laughed happily.
After that, the academy was in an uproar for a while.
No one could identify the black mist that had appeared in the hallway. The teachers came to ask questions, but Oz and the others simply said they "didn't really know."
The general student body knew nothing about story remnants. Latowidge Academy's hidden side—the existence of the Narrators—was kept secret.
Lunch break.
Oz had come to the rooftop alone.
Actually, not alone. Alice was in his bag.
"Hey, property. Explain what happened earlier."
Alice poked her head out of the bag and glared at Oz.
"Earlier?"
"Don't play dumb. Why did you run? If I'd fought, I could've wiped out a shadow like that in an instant."
Alice leaped from the bag and sat facing Oz. Her bright red bead-like eyes glowed with anger.
"...Because I didn't want you to fight."
Oz leaned against the fence and looked up at the sky.
The sky, beginning to carry a hint of autumn, was high and clear.
"Why? I'm strong. Much stronger than you."
"That might be true. You're a plushie with ridiculous strength."
"I'm not a plushie!"
"Yeah, yeah. But that's not the point."
Oz placed his hand on Alice's head.
"I didn't want to see you get hurt."
Alice went still.
"...Why?"
"Why? Because you're my property, aren't you?"
"...Huh?"
"You're the one who called me that. So that makes me your property too. Protecting your owner is only natural, right?"
Alice's mouth fell open.
Then her face turned red, fast.
"...W-what are you saying?"
"What? Just stating a fact."
"...Don't say things like that so casually. People will get the wrong idea."
"The wrong idea about what?"
"...Shut up! Idiot!"
Alice turned her face away sharply.
Her ears were bright red.
(...She's got a cute side after all.)
Oz barely suppressed a grin.
A short distance away, two people were watching.
"My, my. Ah, youth."
Sharon smiled, leaning against the railing.
"Being young is wonderful. I wonder if I was that bashful back then."
"Break, you're plenty young even now. On the outside, at least."
"Young lady, was that a compliment?"
"Who knows?"
Sharon laughed and looked up at Break as he crunched on his candy.
"...But I really am glad. That Oz is safe."
"Indeed. The young master is quite quick on his feet. First-rate at running away, at least."
"Oh, how cruel. If Oz heard that, he'd be angry."
"He can't hear us. Right now, the young master's head is full of Miss Alice."
"...Yes, I suppose so. Oz has started making a face like that."
Sharon's pale violet eyes softened.
"Before, even when he smiled, he always seemed to be looking somewhere far away."
"...Yes. If the young
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