Now was the time for cleaning. Thankfully there was not much blood. Only the bath needed a little scrub, and then Cyril washed himself again.
Atheris during this time completely refused to move from Cyril.
Whenever he dropped her on the ground, she would always get sad and stare at him with a teary look.
Cyril had no other choice but to let her stay coiled around him while he did other things.
When he needed to have his neck free, she would simply slither to another place, but not on the ground.
"How cute! She is so attached to you." Rhamn couldn't get enough of this new friend and constantly talked about her and with her.
Atheris was a rather affectionate snake, but Cyril still took notice of how hostile she was to Tigris and Morpho.
That might've been on purpose, right? He made a guess.
Rhamn stopped playing with Atheris and pursed her lips. "I am not sure myself. It is possible, maybe because we wanted to make a rival for Morpho that left a mark during the creation process, and now Atheris is way more competitive as a result."
There is nothing wrong with that. Cyril nodded with confidence.
A bit of competitiveness will not harm anyone, he thought.
...
After finishing with the cleaning, Cyril moved outside of the villa, there were a few things he wanted to test.
Morpho and Tigris both had unique abilities, though the tiger didn't use them much, and Atheris was most likely the same.
While Cyril didn't want to immediately force the snake to fight alongside him, he was at the very least curious about what she could do.
Once outside, he found Ophelia again, who was still working in the garden.
She said my mother also had a voice speaking to her... Cyril thought of this matter again and decided to ask a question.
"Ophelia, did my mother have a hobby of collecting magic creatures?"
He suspected that his mother was the same kind of human—or not—that he was. So Cyril was suddenly curious if she too had created a few magic creatures during her life.
The maid tilted her head. "I've never met with her, but nothing I've heard implied that she liked having pets."
Seeing Cyril furrow his brows, she said with concern, "Is there something wrong? Please, don't be disappointed if your hobbies are different. I am sure there will be other resemblances."
It seems she misunderstood a little.
"I am not worried about that," he helplessly replied. "It's nothing, just something study-related."
Ophelia nodded without a change in her expression and wanted to go back to gardening. She was already finishing up by now. It looked beautiful before, and now a certain orderly flavor was added in.
How did she even misunderstand it like that?
"Her face is so cold and elegant, but her behavior is really not." Rhamn shook her head.
Cyril could only ignore it.
At this moment, from underneath the jacket he was wearing, a certain green snake poked her triangular head out, meeting the gaze of Ophelia.
The maid grew silent, her face blank.
Atheris became hostile and hissed threateningly, causing Cyril to grab her, which immediately calmed things down.
"You have a new magic creature, Master?" Ophelia ignored the little snake, staring at Cyril with her usual cold face.
"Yes, I received her just recently. Her name is Atheris." He raised the snake's head closer to her so she could take a closer look.
Atheris didn't struggle and stayed docile, though her vertical pupils showed contempt whenever they met the maid.
Ophelia stayed incredibly still until the snake was out of sight again.
"I apologize, I still have to finish my work. I'll be going now." Then she said it and quickly left, going for another part of the garden.
"She can't be scared of snakes, right?" Rhamn stared at her departing back with suspicion.
That can't be. Ophelia doesn't know the meaning of the word fear. Cyril confidently replied.
...
Perhaps they were being cautious of Atheris for now, but Morpho and Tigris didn't ride on Cyril's shoulder like usual, instead using their own means to follow along.
Everyone reached a relatively open space and stopped.
Cyril turned to look at Atheris. "Can you come out? I am curious what you can do."
The snake slowly poked her head out and stayed still for a few seconds, sticking out a forked tongue in thought.
After a few moments, she nodded and reluctantly slithered down on the ground.
Despite the almost spiky appearance of her scales, they didn't hurt when she moved.
Slowly Atheris moved a short distance away and turned around, staring at Cyril and the rest.
She opened up her mouth, showing two sharp fangs. Through them a few drops of liquid fell to the ground.
With that done, she quickly began slithering back towards Cyril.
In no time at all she was back, coiled around him.
"You are done?" Cyril didn't resist, only his voice turned confused.
Is it a special venom? He made a guess.
"Not right now... It's the usual deadly poison." Rhamn said without any disappointment.
Right now?
"Atheris told me she can absorb other poisons and then imitate them to full extent with her venom... She has very good control over this venom and might create her own in the future." Rhamn quickly relayed what she found out.
I see...
"Very impressive," Cyril warmly said towards the green necklace he was wearing right now.
Atheris flicked her tongue a few times, radiating comfort and happiness.
While it wasn't the most explosive ability out there, there certainly were uses for it.
Cyril tried not to feel disappointed over this discovery.
"Come on! Our Atheris's ability is definitely one of the strongest out there. We'll make sure of that!" Rhamn defended the snake with all her strength.
"Besides, she has two other abilities, though we are not sure what they are."
Three abilities total? Cyril looked at the snake with some surprise.
Morpho only had one, even though it was a very useful one, and Tigris had two.
Is it because my body's 'quality' has increased? Cyril guessed. Morpho was the very first creature that appeared after consuming the Dragon's Blood potion.
Then they found the Black Tulip, and after that Tigris appeared. It was hard not to make such a connection.
"Undoubtedly," she confirmed with a nod.
That's good then.
Perhaps there was even more to look forward to from any creatures that will appear in the future.
Reading similar thoughts go through Cyril's head, Rhamn warmly smiled.
...
Since you can alter my flesh significantly enough to turn my hand into a ghoul's claw, can you make me secrete venom through my teeth as well? Cyril suddenly asked.
"...Yes." Rhamn replied with a weird look in her eyes that seemed to ask, 'Why?'.
I don't actually want to do that, I am just curious.
"I know," she said, though her face didn't change its expression.
Occasionally her ability to read his thoughts brought some trouble, like now, but Cyril was a lot more thick-skinned in front of Rhamn now.
So he calmly ignored her and went back inside the house, followed by Morpho and Tigris.
The two shot each other a glance as they moved, they felt a similar emotion right now.
They were a bit wary of Atheris at this moment. She didn't seem like the easiest creature to get along with...
Though Morpho reassured herself that this was exactly what she needed.
Besides, Atheris was a similar being to them, she was someone from 'their side of the fence,' which made her better than some human already.
...
With this finally finished, Cyril went to study. Though not only him this time.
Tigris was glued to his notes on illusion magic, eager to get useful during a fight.
Morpho, after seeing the mighty tiger succeed in casting spells, decided to try learning too.
However, not long after, she gave up and went outside to practice Selene's technique.
Atheris still refused to go down from Cyril, so he had to study with her coiled around him.
He could only use this opportunity to teach the serpent a little bit.
Cyril and Rhamn tried explaining some of the magic fundamentals to her to see the reaction.
Atheris listened to them with a comfortable and happy mood, though it didn't seem like any information remained in her triangular head.
This snake seems to be a bit silly... Cyril helplessly sighed, staring at the pure golden eyes of the serpent.
"Don't call her that, it's rude." Rhamn defended her creation as usual, though her voice was a bit weaker this time.
Since she wasn't interested, Cyril didn't try to force knowledge onto her and returned to studying himself.
Then, there was the usual practice of the Dragon Art, and soon he was ready to finish his day.
Cyril's mana was still getting improved during this time from the Black Tulip.
With an optimistic mood, he washed up and got ready for sleep.
Morpho returned from her training and went back to her terrarium.
This time Tigris didn't climb onto the bed, instead opting for the cat bed nearby.
This was because Atheris was still attached to Cyril.
I'll think about this tomorrow. Cyril threw the matter out of his head for now.
The snake was just created, let her have her way for now.
So he ignored her and went to sleep.
Good night.
"Good night."