Penguin looked up from my pocket.
"Yeah, we're about to meet Llewellyn. Try not to set anything on fire, okay?"
I made my way through the evening crowds. The lights along the promenade grew brighter as the sky darkened, reflecting off the water.
The Jeongdae Express was at the far end.
As I got closer, I realized Llewellyn was already there, staring at me pointedly. I didn't know how I hadn't noticed him before. He looked surprisingly casual in blue jeans and a simple black sweater under his brown coat, but his expression was anything but relaxed.
Something suddenly occurred to me. I frowned.
"How are the adoring masses not hounding you already?"
Llewellyn gave me a pained look. "I'm using an artifact," he said.
Oh? "Like, to hide your features?"
"More or less. It just makes me unnoticeable."
That must have been why I hadn't seen him at first.
I thought about it. This might actually come in handy for Penguin too. "Could we use one for him as well?"
Llewellyn took two off his inventory and tossed them to me without comment.
I used them immediately. Nothing seemed to change, but I assumed they were doing their job.
"Show me," Llewellyn said without preamble.
We sat on a bench and I carefully lifted Penguin from my pocket, setting him on the bench between us.
Penguin blinked up at Llewellyn, then ran back toward me, hiding inside the flap of my coat.
"Hey, hey," I told him. "Llewellyn is a friend. He won't hurt you."
Llewellyn looked at me with a displeased expression, then watched me pick up Penguin again and hold him.
"I can't believe this," he muttered.
"What?" He hadn't even seen Penguin's transformations yet.
"Do you have any idea how powerful that is?" Llewellyn's voice was low, his gaze fixed on Penguin who was now peeking out from above my hand.
"I mean, he can transform into different Elemental forms, but—"
"That's not a pet. That's raw Elemental Magic that somehow gained sentience. It's outside any System scale I've ever encountered."
I looked down at Penguin, who chirped innocently.
Well. What do you even say to that?
Penguin chose that moment to transform into a fire fox.
"He likes pancakes," I offered.
Llewellyn closed his eyes briefly.
"He's been perfectly well-behaved. We've bonded."
"You've bonded," Llewellyn repeated flatly. "With an unclassified, potentially catastrophic Elemental entity that you smuggled out of a Distorted Realm."
Penguin yipped softly, flames dimming as if he understood he was being discussed. He turned back into his penguin form and ran toward my pocket again, trying to get in.
"He's not dangerous," I insisted. "Look at him."
Penguin huddled deeper into my pocket, only his eyes visible as he peered cautiously at Llewellyn.
Llewellyn gave me a look. "That's not a point in his favor. It appears harmless while containing enough raw Elemental Magic to level half the country."
"But he hasn't," I pointed out. "And he's had plenty of chances."
"That's not—" Llewellyn cut himself off. "I can't believe Ó Néill was right. This isn't like taking in a stray cat. It's like finding a bomb and deciding to keep it as a paperweight just because it hasn't detonated yet."
Penguin chirped in protest from my pocket, sounding almost offended.
"He understands you," I said. "I think you hurt his feelings."
"It doesn't have feelings. It's pure Elemental Magic."
"How can you be sure?" I rubbed Penguin's head. "He was shaking when I found him. And the System clearly said he has preferences."
Llewellyn's face did something weird. "The System is tracking it?"
"The System asked me to bond with him in the first place."
That seemed to throw him. He stared at me, then at Penguin.
Then he seemed to pull up some windows and navigate through something.
"This is..." He trailed off, brow furrowed.
I watched as Llewellyn scrolled through several System windows I couldn't see, his expression shifting from concern to confusion.
"This makes no sense."
Penguin peeked out from my pocket, chirping softly. He seemed to sense the shift in Llewellyn's tone and cautiously emerged a bit more.
"I told you," I said. "He just wants to explore. And cuddle, mostly."
Llewellyn studied Penguin. After a moment, he extended his hand, palm up, and waited.
Penguin stared at Llewellyn's hand, then at me as if asking if it was safe.
"It's okay," I told him. "He's just being grumpy because he cares about safety."
Penguin looked unsure for a moment, then waddled forward onto Llewellyn's palm.
Llewellyn lifted him carefully, looking like he knew how to handle small animals.
"…He is deceptively endearing," he muttered. "I suppose if the System is actively monitoring it you're probably fine for now." He gave Penguin a small belly rub. "But if he shows any signs of instability—any at all—you contact me immediately."
"Fine," I said, leaning back and watching Penguin chirp under Llewellyn's touch. It was oddly satisfying to see. "He's been stable so far."
Penguin wobbled in what looked like agreement, then transformed into his fire fox form right in Llewellyn's palm, the small flames licking harmlessly at Llewellyn's skin.
Llewellyn simply raised an eyebrow and started scratching behind the fox's ears.
The flames flickered happily around his fingers without burning him. They had likely not meant to burn in the first place, but even if they did, with his level of Elemental Mastery they'd probably feel like a gentle breeze.
"I'd still like some friends of mine to check him out," Llewellyn said. "They have experience with unusual artifacts and entities."
"Friends? You have those?"
He gave me a flat look.
Penguin transformed back into his penguin form and hopped from Llewellyn's palm back to my lap, settling there comfortably.
"They're colleagues," Llewellyn clarified, lowering his hand on his jeans. "People I trust to be discreet and thorough. They won't report to KARMA or any other agency."
That was a relief, but still.
"What if I say no?"
Llewellyn gave me a look that somehow managed to be both deadpan and exasperated.
"Then we'll have to presume to look forward to a catastrophic fallout when your pocket-sized Elemental bomb decides it's time for us to become pancakes."
Penguin chirped indignantly from my lap.
I sighed. "Who exactly are these friends of yours?"
"They specialize in unusual artifacts and entities. They're somewhat unconventional, but great at what they do."
"Unconventional how?"
"They operate outside official channels and are very good at bending the rules and getting away with it. I trust them."
Coming from Llewellyn, that was practically a glowing recommendation. I looked down at Penguin, who was now curiously watching a group of teenagers further down the promenade as they crowded around a refreshments kiosk.
"Fine," I relented. "But I'm staying with him the whole time. And if they try anything weird—"
"They won't." Penguin nuzzled against my hand. "I'll set it up. In the meantime, keep a close eye on him. If he shows any signs of instability—"
"I know, I know. Call you immediately."
Llewellyn nodded, seemingly satisfied.
I expected him to get up and leave, but he just settled more comfortably on the bench and looked toward the sea, like he was still weighing something.
Well, what was I supposed to do? The evening air was pleasant at least.