---
Snake set it on the desk but did not slide it forward.
"Before I give you this," Snake said, "you will answer one more question."
John nodded. "Ask."
Snake's gaze pinned him. "Why have you not asked me for money."
John's breath caught. Not because he had not expected the question. Because he had. And because the answer mattered.
"I do not want to owe you," John said. "Not like that."
Snake's eyes narrowed slightly. "You already owe me. Knowledge. Protection. Silence. Doors that open for you."
John did not deny it. "I owe you those things because I chose to become your disciple. That is a chosen debt. If I take your money, it becomes a chain debt. A debt that changes my spine."
Fizz nodded sagely. "Chains are bad for posture."
Snake stared at John for a long moment, then leaned back, amused and sharp at once.
"You refuse free resources from the most powerful man in this academy," Snake said.
