[System Notification: Emergency! Partner requires immediate assistance!]
I stared at the notification. "Are you kidding me? Now?"
[Relocation in 3… 2…]
"Wait, wait!"
I threw the towel away and looked down at Penguin, still around my wrist in his wristwatch form. "Send Penguin home first. Safely."
The System paused.
[Request acknowledged. Elemental will be returned to residence.]
Penguin blinked once before vanishing from my wrist.
Well, at least that was sorted.
[Relocation in 3… 2… 1…]
The bathroom dissolved around me, and I was suddenly in what looked like the hallway of a government building.
My legs nearly buckled from exhaustion, and I was acutely aware of how I must look. I'd managed to splash my face before the System whisked me away, but in the bathroom mirror it'd still been flushed from all the running. My hair was half-wet, my t-shirt stuck to my skin, and overall I probably looked extremely disheveled, holding a bundled-up hoodie in my left hand.
Llewellyn stood with his back against a wall, arms crossed, facing a middle-aged man in a pressed suit who was mid-sentence when I appeared.
"—regulations clearly state that all artifacts must be—" The man stopped, staring at me. "And who the hell are you?"
Llewellyn's eyebrows shot up when he saw me, before his expression smoothed out.
I stood straight, trying to ignore my burning muscles, and switched into professional mode.
"I'm Ryo. Llewellyn's partner." I extended my hand, which the man pointedly ignored.
"Detective Quentin Ó Néill, KARMA," he said coldly. "And I was just explaining to Mr. Hyland here that our data shows an unstable artifact was removed from the Guildford Distorted Realm."
Nobody in the whole world called Llewellyn "Mr. Hyland". That was just obnoxious.
The rest of his sentence caught up with me.
Shit!
KARMA (Knot Artifact Regulation and Misuse Agency) was a government-adjacent investigative agency established to tackle the black market for Knot artifacts. They mostly focused on tracking, regulating, and neutralizing the illicit trade and misuse of artifacts to keep the public safe.
Basically, they were the ones who shut down smuggling rings and illegal auctions, and made sure Destabilized Artifacts were properly contained.
As far as I knew, the agency was made up of highly skilled detectives who had previously worked on black market operations and artifact-related crimes, and who were rumored to have significant autonomy, relying on their own judgment in morally grey areas.
Well, at least in theory. Detective Ó Néill seemed one of those by-the-book types.
However, I was 99% sure he was talking about Penguin.
I kept my face carefully blank.
"That's impossible—I was there with him. The realm was mostly collapsed and there was definitely nothing there by the time we finished with the Knot."
"Is that so?" Ó Néill's eyes narrowed. "Then perhaps you can explain why we registered an Elemental fluctuation consistent with artifact removal?"
"Equipment malfunction," I said flatly. "Or perhaps you're picking up residual Magic from the Knot itself."
Llewellyn watched me with an inscrutable expression.
"KARMA's readings are never wrong," Ó Néill said icily.
"Then your interpretation of the data is flawed. We secured the area. There were no artifacts there. Are you even allowed to collect data on foreign soil?"
Ó Néill's jaw tightened, a muscle twitching near his temple.
"International cooperation agreement," he said coldly. "And I'm not about to waste time explaining KARMA's jurisdiction to civilians."
International cooperation agreement my boots. He was lying.
Ó Néill turned back to Llewellyn. "As I was saying before we were interrupted, any artifacts from Distorted Realms must be logged and submitted for stabilization. The regulations are clear."
Llewellyn was still by the wall, his expression giving away nothing. He glanced at me for a moment before looking back at Ó Néill.
"You've made your point, Detective," Llewellyn said. "If I come across any Destabilized Artifacts, I'll be sure to handle it through the right channels.""
Ó Néill's lips pressed into a hard line. "I'd prefer more than empty assurances. Your... activities have implications beyond yourself."
I managed not to roll my eyes.
"I'm sure KARMA has better things to do than hassle the one person who's out there fighting Distorted Realms. Unless you'd prefer to be the one neck-deep in a multi-Elemental storm next time?"
Ó Néill's gaze snapped back to me. "KARMA's concerns are precisely what they need to be. Mr. Hyland's status doesn't exempt him from following regulations."
The way he emphasized "status" made it clear what he thought of Llewellyn's reputation. There was a subset of people online who thought like him: people who considered Llewellyn's status as Innishae's national hero more of a liability for the nation's image than a point of pride.
"Besides, interesting, isn't it? A new partner showing up just when artifacts start walking."
Shit. Maybe I shouldn't have drawn the attention on me.
Had I just put Penguin in danger?!
"We're done here," Llewellyn said, pushing away from the wall. "Unless you have actual evidence of wrongdoing, Detective."
Ó Néill's expression hardened, but before he could reply, the door burst open, and another middle-aged man strode in, looking supremely pissed off.
"I wouldn't be harassing my people, if I were you, Ó Néill," he said with a lilt to his voice.
"Your people?" Ó Néill scoffed.
"Llewellyn came in on my ask for a debrief, so he did. Not for an ambush." The newcomer glanced at me. "And you are?"
"Er… Ryo," I said, suddenly thrown off my game. I recovered quickly and extended my hand. "Llewellyn's new partner."
"Oh, good," the man said, cryptically. "Been telling him he should get himself one of those. Grant Ó Lochlainn."
He shook my hand, then turned back to Ó Néill. "You've had your chat. Now leave them be."
Ó Néill pulled away slowly. "You're worse than him, but what's new," he said, before stalking out.
We watched him leave before Ó Lochlainn sighed.
"Sorry about that, boy," he said to Llewellyn. "Man's got the department's rulebook where his personality should be." He took his jacket off. "Cup of tea?"
"We're fine," Llewellyn said. "We were just leaving."
Ó Lochlainn nodded, then paused, giving Llewellyn a look. "Anything you think I should know? Off the record?"
I tensed slightly, but Llewellyn's face remained impassive.
"Nothing comes to mind," he said simply.
Which… I suppose from his end was true enough.
"Right." Ó Lochlainn nodded. "Well, off you go then. You know where to find me if that changes."
We left without another word, walking briskly through the hallways and down the stairs, until we stepped out onto the street.
The cool air hit my skin, making me shiver.
Once we'd put some distance between us and the building, Llewellyn stopped and turned to me, eyes narrowing.
"What happened to you?" His gaze swept over my disheveled appearance. "And what do you know about this situation?"
I ran a hand through my damp hair. "Just been exercising."
It wasn't exactly a lie. VR sessions at that intensity were definitely a workout.
His eyebrow arched skeptically.
"And the rest?"
Damn, what should I say? I didn't even know if the bond had taken yet or not, and I didn't want to risk Penguin's life.
I started walking again, trying not to wince as my muscles protested.
"It's probably better if you don't know."
Llewellyn's stare could bore a hole in my skull.
"That's not how this works."
Shit. I wanted to tell him, but I couldn't.
I didn't really think he was going to report Penguin, but I couldn't be sure either. What if I misjudged this? I'd just feel more comfortable knowing that the bond was stable first.
"Look, it's not something that affects you directly."
"Ó Néill cornering me like that suggests otherwise."
I suppose he had a point—but I still couldn't tell him.
I threw my hoodie over my shoulders, letting the sleeves hang loose over my chest.
"What's the deal with those two anyway?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away. "You work with Ó Lochlainn?"
"Occasionally. When the situation requires it."
I nodded. "And the other one? Always that charming?"
"Ó Néill believes everyone's hiding something," Llewellyn said, then glanced at me. "Sometimes he's right."
The pointed look wasn't lost on me.
"I'll tell you soon," I sighed. "Trust me. Just... I can't right now."
"Trust works both ways."
Well… damn it.
My expression might have shown something because Llewellyn's shoulders relaxed fractionally.
"Fine," he said. "But whatever you're hiding, make sure it doesn't bring KARMA breathing down my neck again."
I nodded.
Honestly, I was just glad he wasn't pushing further.
Though, now that I thought about it, that was weird. Why wasn't he pushing further?
Still, one has to count one's blessings, so I just said, "I'll handle it."
"You'll handle it," Llewellyn said, unimpressed. Maybe that hadn't been the right thing to say. "You look like you're about to pass out."
Since I couldn't tell him about Penguin, I might as well reveal something else, I suppose.
"Just overdid it at the Elemental Café," I admitted, embarrassed. "Got into a leaderboard battle with someone."
Llewellyn's mouth twitched slightly. Clearly that wasn't what he had expected. "Did you beat them?"
"For now."
I watched Llewellyn's profile for a moment before focusing on the road ahead. He seemed calmer.
I, on the other hand, felt like I hadn't slept in about two centuries.
"I'd better tell the System to get me home before I do actually collapse," I said with a yawn, swaying on my feet. The adrenaline from the leaderboard battle had completely drained away, leaving me exhausted and aching all over.
Llewellyn frowned, his brow creasing. Then, without a word, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
I watched as he unlocked it, then handed it to me.
Huh?
"Phone number," he said.
I stared, taken aback. "What?"
"Your phone number," he repeated, his expression unchanged. "Type it in."
Well, of all the things...
"Right," I said, taking his phone.
My fingers fumbled slightly as I typed in my phone number and saved it under 'Ryo'.
I handed the phone back.
Llewellyn took it and immediately tapped the screen. A second later, my own phone buzzed in my pocket.
When I pulled it out, I saw an unknown number calling.
Llewellyn ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket, looking satisfied.
"There," he said simply. "See you around." And vanished.
Well.
I scratched my head in bemusement. Two days ago I'd never expected this development, not in a million years.
I quickly saved the number. Then, with a yawn, I asked the System to get me home.