The pool was dry. Only the source remained, still trickling out water at a painfully slow rate. The entire reservoir she had painstakingly built up was gone without a trace.

"What the hell! Where’s my spirit spring water?!" Suzy cried out in disbelief.

The moment her voice fell, a white blur leapt lightly out from the depths of the space.

It was a snow-white kitten, fluffy and tiny, no bigger than two fists––that was what her system looked like when taking a physical form. Its glassy eyes looked up at her innocently.

Something dangled from its mouth.

It padded over at an unhurried pace, dropped what it was holding at her feet, and looked up at her.

"H-host... it did it," the kitten said, sounding a little guilty.

It was a small white snake.

Suzy looked down. It was the same one she had taken into her space earlier.

The kitten had been holding it by the back of its neck. Now the snake lay limp on the ground, its body slack, barely moving, looking utterly pitiful.

As soon as the kitten released it, the little snake collapsed completely, flicking its tongue weakly as if trying to complain.

"Kitten? What’s going on here?"

The kitten lifted a paw, pointed at the snake, then at the spring. "Host, it drank it all."

"It? All of it?!" Suzy grabbed the little white snake.

The tiny creature lay boneless in her palm, its belly round and swollen like it had swallowed a whole watermelon.

When it saw her, its red eyes blinked, and it flicked its tongue in a small, almost flattering gesture, lightly brushing her finger.

Suzy sighed.

So it knew how to act cute.

She flipped it over and pressed its bloated belly. The little snake wriggled, then let out a tiny watery burp.

A faint fragrance of spirit spring water drifted into the air.

"See? It drank it!" The kitten said indignantly.

Suzy’s frustration soared.

"You drank it?" she stared at the snake in her hand.

The little snake shrank into itself guiltily, curling up until only the tip of its tail was visible, trembling slightly.

The kitten looked downright gleeful.

Suzy took a deep breath. Then another.

That was spirit spring water. She didn’t even know whether to be angry or not.

Getting mad at a snake, she figured, would be pointless. For the first time, she truly regretted bringing it into her space.

"Do you even know how precious that water is?" she poked its tiny head.

The snake shrank further, letting out a faint hiss that sounded almost like an apology.

Should she just throw it out?

But the moment that thought crossed her mind, a voice suddenly appeared in her mind: 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"I... I was wrong."

A voice? Where had that come from?

A question mark popped into Suzy’s mind as she looked around instinctively.

It didn’t sound like the system. For a moment, she thought she must have imagined it.

She waited a bit longer, but heard nothing else.

The silence only convinced her further that she had misheard.

So she prepared to continue what she had been about to do earlier—get rid of the culprit that had drained her entire spirit spring.

But just as she was about to act, the voice rang out again in her mind.

"I was wrong! Don’t throw me away! I know I was wrong..."

This time, it was a clearer, softer, almost childlike voice, with a strangely adorable tone.

Suzy froze. Then her gaze slowly dropped to the little white snake in her hand.

If she wasn’t mistaken... the voice in her head was coming from this thing.

She lifted it back up in front of her and stared straight at it.

Those tiny, bead-like red eyes glimmered faintly, its tongue flicking in and out. Somehow, she could even detect a hint of innocence in its expression.

"That voice just now... was that you?" Suzy asked.

Sure enough, the next second, the voice echoed again in her mind. "It was me! It was me! Master!"

Suzy let out a short laugh. "Who’s your master?"

Since when did it get to decide that?

She had only taken it into her space. She had never agreed to become its master.

Back then, she kept the little thing for two reasons. First, it seemed clever and interesting. Second, she figured it might come in handy one day against Wendy.

After all, Wendy was afraid of snakes. Keeping one around might prove useful.

But what Suzy never expected was that this thing would drink her entire supply of spirit spring water.

"Uu..." The little creature let out a pitiful whimper.

Suzy was just about to scold it when a sudden realization struck her.

Wait. That’s not important right now. Why can this thing talk?

And more importantly... it has a mind of its own?!

At this point, Suzy no longer cared about the fact that it had drained her spirit spring. The real issue was that this snake had awareness.

Was it some kind of spirit creature?

"How are you speaking in my head?" she asked.

"I don’t know," the little snake replied innocently. "After drinking... I just could."

Ever since it drank the spirit spring water, its awareness had gradually awakened. The feeling was impossible to describe. It was simply... magical.

"Drinking..."

Suzy murmured under her breath, and the realization slowly dawned on her. It was most likely the effect of the spirit spring.

After all, it had consumed so much of it. Developing intelligence didn’t seem that strange.

With everything she had already witnessed through the system, Suzy accepted this explanation surprisingly quickly.

A snake with intelligence... one she could communicate with...

That could be incredibly useful.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"I’ll let you stay here," she said, "but from now on, you must listen to me."

"I will! I will, I promise!" the little snake said quickly.

"First rule. No more stealing my spirit spring water."

The snake fell silent for a moment before answering reluctantly, "I... I understand. I won’t steal it again."

Even so, the spirit spring water had been so delicious. Sweet, unlike anything it had ever tasted.

It felt a twinge of regret, but if agreeing meant it could stay, it would endure.

Suzy didn’t press too hard. "Of course, if you behave well, I’ll reward you with some."

The snake’s tiny red eyes lit up instantly. "I understand! I’ll behave!"

Suzy nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "Are you venomous?"

The snake hesitated, as if thinking, before answering weakly, "Yes... but I won’t hurt you, Master."

Suzy’s eyes gleamed.

Venomous was good. If it had venom, it could be used as a hidden weapon.

"How strong is your venom?" she asked.

The snake froze for a moment. "I... don’t know."

It had never bitten anyone.

Before this, it had just been an ordinary pet snake. Yes, it had venom, but not particularly potent. Even if it bit someone, it wouldn’t be fatal. At most, it would cause mild swelling and numbness.

"In that case, wait here." Suzy turned to the kitten, who was crouched nearby. "Kitty, go catch me a chicken."