diff --git a/strix/tools/output_store.py b/strix/tools/output_store.py
index 11de2528..feb170ba 100644
--- a/strix/tools/output_store.py
+++ b/strix/tools/output_store.py
@@ -33,6 +33,14 @@ _DEFAULT_STORE_DIR = Path.home() / ".strix" / "tool-output"
 # instead of returned whole.
 _PAGE_MAX_BYTES = 50 * 1024
 
+# Appended to a non-final page so the agent can request the next one. Its bytes
+# are reserved out of the page budget so a full page plus this hint still fits
+# ``_PAGE_MAX_BYTES``.
+_CONTINUATION_HINT = (
+    "\n\n[... more; call read_tool_output("
+    'output_id="{output_id}", offset={offset}) to continue ...]'
+)
+
 # Single-key holder so the configured path can be swapped per scan without a
 # module-level ``global`` rebind.
 _config: dict[str, Path] = {}
@@ -243,12 +251,16 @@ def read_stored_output(output_id: str, *, offset: int = 0, limit: int = _PAGE_MA
     size = path.stat().st_size
     if start >= size:
         return ""
-    # Floor at 4 bytes (the max UTF-8 char length) so a page always makes
-    # progress past a single multi-byte character.
-    budget = min(max(4, limit), _PAGE_MAX_BYTES)
+    # Reserve the continuation hint's bytes so a full page plus its appended
+    # metadata still fits the ceiling (retrieval bypasses the result wrapper).
+    # next_offset can never exceed the file size, so formatting with ``size``
+    # is an exact upper bound on the hint length. Floor content at 4 bytes (the
+    # max UTF-8 char length) so a page always makes progress past one char.
+    hint_reserve = len(_CONTINUATION_HINT.format(output_id=output_id, offset=size))
+    content_budget = min(max(4, limit), _PAGE_MAX_BYTES - hint_reserve)
     with path.open("rb") as handle:
         handle.seek(start)
-        chunk = handle.read(budget)
+        chunk = handle.read(content_budget)
 
     has_more = start + len(chunk) < size
     if has_more:
@@ -262,8 +274,5 @@ def read_stored_output(output_id: str, *, offset: int = 0, limit: int = _PAGE_MA
         chunk = _trim_incomplete_utf8_head(chunk)
     shown = chunk.decode("utf-8", errors="replace")
     if has_more:
-        shown += (
-            "\n\n[... more; call read_tool_output("
-            f'output_id="{output_id}", offset={next_offset}) to continue ...]'
-        )
+        shown += _CONTINUATION_HINT.format(output_id=output_id, offset=next_offset)
     return shown
diff --git a/tests/test_output_store.py b/tests/test_output_store.py
index 5aba71aa..0541971a 100644
--- a/tests/test_output_store.py
+++ b/tests/test_output_store.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import re
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
 from strix.tools.output_store import (
+    _PAGE_MAX_BYTES,
     bound_and_store,
     bound_text,
     configure_output_store,
@@ -125,6 +126,21 @@ def test_read_stored_output_paginates(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     assert "offset=10" in page
 
 
+def test_read_stored_output_page_including_hint_stays_within_ceiling(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    # A full non-final page plus its continuation hint must not exceed the page
+    # ceiling — retrieval bypasses the general result-bounding wrapper.
+    configure_output_store(tmp_path)
+    text = "x" * (_PAGE_MAX_BYTES * 3)
+    output_id = re.search(
+        r'output_id="([0-9a-f]{32})"',
+        bound_and_store(text, max_lines=4, max_bytes=1_000),
+    )
+    assert output_id is not None
+    page = read_stored_output(output_id.group(1), offset=0, limit=_PAGE_MAX_BYTES)
+    assert "more;" in page  # a hint was appended (non-final page)
+    assert len(page.encode("utf-8")) <= _PAGE_MAX_BYTES
+
+
 def test_read_stored_output_pages_long_lines_losslessly(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
     # A single line far larger than the page budget must be split across pages
     # (never returned whole), and paging forward must reconstruct the output