The Music Speaks

It would be wrong to say that the dynamic camouflage feature of the suit is invisibility in the way Rowan’s [melody] is. From what I understood, his ability does not allow rays of light to reflect off his body, they simply pass through him, rendering him invisible to the human eye.This did make me wonder how he was able to see at all, but I did not care enough to ask him. It could also just be that he doesn’t see at all, who knows?

Either way, my suit is different. Light still reflects off it. If it didn’t, I’d be in possession of a magical item. While walking here, I asked S.O.N.G. how several features of the suit operated which makes the fact that I did not realize the camouflage was activated even more embarrassing. Its answers were rather technical, but while I am no engineer, I managed to grasp the important concepts behind the inner workings of this feature at least. My understanding goes as such; it uses extremely advanced technology to analyze and reproduce the surrounding environment with incredible precision. It does this so that the wearer appears absent from view at any angle, when in reality they are simply blending in with their surroundings. Evidently, it was not lying, even in broad daylight, I am undetectable. I could make noise to attract attention but those enjoying their time in the restaurant might believe it is haunted. I could also simply deactivate the camouflage, but that would cause more than a few surprised faces. Even if the society I live in consists of individuals who have transcended human limits, having others see me appearing out of thin air might cause unnecessary headaches.

With this in mind I walk in, still unseen, and head to the bathroom. Thankfully there is no one inside when I enter, otherwise I would have had to wait for the opportune moment to enter a stall. I place myself in front of the mirror and I command S.O.N.G. to deactivate the camouflage feature. It comes undone and my figure is revealed for the first time in many hours. I am still wearing a tight, black full-bodysuit. The face I wear is also not my own, I had forgotten that I had engaged this feature of the suit as well when fighting that first group of [enlightened]. The face I currently use is not exactly handsome, at least not better looking than mine. I could keep it to conceal my identity, but I decide to remove it. Right now, I am no longer on a mission, I am simply enjoying my time in the Aetheria district.

The next problem is my clothes. Wearing a skin tight full bodysuit does not exactly fit with current fashion trends. When I initially activated the badge which contained the suit, it jumped out and evelopped me. It did that so precisely that it felt as though I was nude and the suit was an extra layer of skin. This is strange when considering that I was in fact wearing real clothes before donning the suit. Even now, I cannot feel them under it.

“S.O.N.G. what happened to my real clothes, before I was wearing you?”

“They were vaporized!”

‘...’

“...Can you make me new ones?”

“Command registered - Activating tactical enhancement: Disguise. Do you have a preferred style?”

Fashion does not happen to be one of my interests.

“No, anything is fine.”

The suit morphs into a long flowery dress. It covers me from my shoulders to my feet, the bottom nearly touching the floor. I sigh loudly. By now, I should have learned that any inquiry made to S.O.N.G. should be precise.

“...Let’s go for clothes men tend to wear.”

It now morphs into a simple checkered shirt and a pair of shorts that leaves my legs exposed from half of my thigh to my ankles.

“...Why don’t we go with something more… young?”

This time, it morphs into a simple T-shirt and a pair of genes.

‘That’ll do I guess’

I step out of the bathroom and return to the lobby, unnoticed. Within a minute, a waiter acknowledges my presence and seats me at a table on the outdoor terrace.As of now, it is relatively empty, only one other couple, a lone man and I sit in this region of the restaurant. I order a large plate of meat lasagna and eat it as if I had never eaten anything else in my life. Each bite is taken before the former one has gone through my esophagus. I fill my mouth with food until it can take no more, then take a sip of water to flush the whole thing down. I repeat this process until the plate is empty. Though my manners are lacking, I am no beast, I refrain from licking the plate clean and set my silverware down once I am done.

A waitress clears my table and returns with a machine displaying the bill. She states that the price amounts to around fifteen notes which is fair in this economy. I bring up my wrist to transfer the total amount of notes. I generally store them in my personal watch which also contains the rest of the funds given to me by DaiKar during my first mission. In it, there should be more than enough to cover for this meal. However, once my wrist reaches the machine, nothing happens, the notes are not transferred. I am not wearing a watch.

‘Right!! I left it at home!’

The waitress observes me, confused. My complexion pales, embarrassment is starting to set in. Without my watch, I cannot pay for this meal. If I cannot pay, the restaurant will have no choice but to contact the authorities and this will complicate things. I can tell them that I simply forgot my watch at home but it will be hard to explain how I found myself in this district which is so far from it. They will ask questions and I will not be able to answer them.

The gears in my mind turn almost as fast as when I was faced with Soulweaver. I could run away, leaving my tab unpaid but that seems wrong. I could beg one of the other customers to pay for me with the promise to reimburse them, but I would rather keep this as the last, desperate option. The waitress is not so kind as to let me think indefinitely.

“Um, sir, how will you be paying?”

I offer a polite smile.

“Haha.. it’s just that…. I’ve forgotten my watch, you see, can you put this on my tab?”

She reciprocates with an awkward smile.

“I’m sorry, but this restaurant doesn’t really offer that kind of payment option…”

‘Damn it…’

I do not answer, still attempting to identify a solution. I conclude that I must ask S.O.N.G. if it contains any sort of currency. I type on the now dissimulated interface on my forearm and plead with it to give me funds while the waitress stands besides me, uneasy. Unfortunately, S.O.N.G. is unable to help me, no funds have been added to it. Why would there be? I am certain this suit has a function to do such a thing, but we were heading into a forest, we had no need for money. The waitress speaks to me once more.

“M-maybe I can get the manager and we can work something out..?”

“...We don’t need to go there, just give me a few mo-”

An exquisitely beautiful older lady enters the terrace. She wears a green black sleeveless turtleneck tucked into a circle skirt which reaches her knees. Her face is adorned by a set of heavily tinted sunglasses and blood red lipstick. A luxurious beige handbag hangs from her forearm, swaying with every step she takes. She approaches my table and interrupts me.

“I’ll pay for him.”

She taps her wrist against the waitress's machine and my bill disappears, as if it had never existed. I attempt to express my gratitude.

“Thank yo-”

“You were at the Lounge last week weren’t you?”