It was a busy downtown area they arrived at. Milanor exited the door following Naya and noticed that they were in an alley nestled between buildings. He turned his head to the left and saw a very busy street. Dozens of people could be seen passing by each second.
"Well, this feels a lot better. I guess it will be difficult for them to find me here," he said to no one in particular.
Before he took a step toward the street, Naya called him.
"Wait," she ordered while putting down the box she had carried this whole time. Then, suddenly she began to take off her cloak.
"Huh?"
Dumbfounded, Milanor did nothing and just stared at her.
'I know she's petite, but... Dang, my gut feeling was right,' thought himself as he viewed her with eyes as wide as the galactic center.
Beneath the cloak were a tidy white blouse with black dressings at the collar, button line, and cuffs. Neat, fashionable, and wouldn't be out of place in a girl's magazine. It wasn't the sort of garment a slum denizen would wear. Not the kind of sort the people in this area commonly donned, either.
She also wore short, black pants, something that spacers very rarely saw upon. He heard that it was trendy among planet dwellers but he never actually confirmed whether that was a fact or not. The white socks Milanor glimpsed above her feet covered way up to her thighs, finalizing the view with a solid PUNCH.
"..."
Passerby, beware of a speechless young man on the side street. We will deal with this traffic obstruction immediately.
"Here," Naya dusted the cloak once and offered it to him. "Wear this to disguise your clothes. Those men might identify you with it."
"Ah, I-I see. Makes sense..." Milanor took the cloak as he watch her re-slung her bag across her shoulder.
"D-Do you want me to take off my coat and—"
"Don't need it," she interrupted him with disturbed eyes. "C'mon, follow me."
Naya picked up her box again and started walking. Milanor hurriedly put on the cloak while following her. It was a bit stuffy wearing two layers of outerwear, but he just had to deal with it.
They entered the street and immediately struggled to keep together against the wave of people. Milanor craned his head up and saw in the ceiling (actually the bottom side of the asteroid's surface) a sign indicating "Sector 4."
'Tch. Miledi said she was going to Port 12... I don't know where that is but I doubt I am anywhere close,' he grumbled. Although he was thankful enough that he could get out of that twisted maze intact so he couldn't complain much.
"There," someone tugged his hand. It was Naya, indicating with her index finger toward a café in a corner of the street. "Let's rest up there and figure out a plan."
"Oh, alright," Milanor nodded. They then crossed the street, bumping against someone else two or four times as they did.
"Whew. The population density here is insane," he griped while wiping off the sweat on his forehead. They reached the café and headed inside.
As he entered, he suddenly had a disturbing feeling, like he had forgotten something. Something important...
Another practical example of selective amnesia, everyone. Please take note of this tendency for all of your future reference.
"Welcome! Welcome to Honey Moon! May you enjoy your visit!" a VI doorwoman welcomed them with a spirited voice.
The café covered a pretty wide ground and seemed to be very popular as most of the tables were occupied. There was faint music playing, giving the place a relaxing ambiance.
"For two," Naya quickly gestured toward a waitress.
"Affirmative, ma'am! Table for two, please follow me!" the equally hyped waitress led them to their table.
Along the way, Milanor kept having a nagging feeling that something was off, but he couldn't pin it on anything. They reached their table with him looking disgruntled, worrying the waitress.
"T-The menu console is on the right, sir and ma'am! We will await your orders, but please take your time! ...P-Please enjoy your stay!" the waitress bowed and left.
"What's with your face...? Knock it off, you're scaring them," Naya chided him as they sat, facing one another. She set her box snuggly beside her. "Something bothering you?"
"Hmm... Not really... Just that something doesn't feel right. Somehow..."
"...What?" she narrowed her eyes and looked around. The café was filled with a lot of customers, happily chattering away. Most of them were in a group of two, consisting of a man and a woman. Seemed like the place was a popular date spot.
"Nah, it's not about the place. It's from my end... I feel like I forgot something important," Milanor said while scratching his head and looking around like Naya.
From an outsider's perspective, the two of them would look like a typical couple on a date just like everyone else... if only Milanor didn't wear a cloak that looked so baggy anyone would feel stifled just looking at him.
"You know... I don't think this cloak served its purpose," Milanor commented.
True enough, he wore it as some kind of disguise, but in all reality, wearing it made him stick out like a very sore thumb. A thumb with serious inflammation, he might add. It was sweltering under all of that fabric. The color didn't help much either...
All in all, he looked like a substantially noticeable thumb, its nail adorned with striking purple polish.
"Then you got a better idea? I think you already know, they got eyes everywhere."
"I think so too, don't get me wrong. I appreciated you helping me," Milanor admitted honestly. "But this bugging feeling I have just won't go away..."
"If it was so important, you wouldn't forget it in the first place. Whatever, just order something," she retorted and touched a holographic console on the side of the table, opening up the menu.
"Yeah, I guess you're ri—"
Ring Ring Ring
A ringing sound resonated from Milanor's left hand. It was an incoming call, probably from Miledi. Perfect, he thought. He wanted to contact her soon anyway.
As he checked, he found his guess was on the mark. "Hey, you," he connected the call.
"Captain, is the situation on your end calmed down?"
"Yeah, it's pretty fine now... What do you mean by my end?" he had a bad feeling from the way she worded it.
"Milady interrogated me just now. About your whereabouts and what you're doing."
"And...?"
"As you have rightfully guessed, I, the noble and humble servant that I am, wouldn't want her to worry about your safety. I had ignobly deceived her by telling of your saccharine adventure with a local girl, as I had professed earlier."
"..."
"She would very like to have some choice words with you when you return."
"And this is better than making her worry how?" he messaged between his eyes. "I think you just made the situation worse."
"That remains to be seen. Regardless, I am very pleased to hear you are safe and sound," she said, her tone as flat as ever, not sounding worried in the slightest.
"I had my doubt about that. And... Ah, forget it... Look, I need to tell you something," Milanor said, irked. He turned toward the opened menu that hadn't been touched, as Naya had withdrawn her finger and was now listening in.
He peered toward the beverages option, and then it dawned on him.
"Ah..."
"Hmm...?"
"Captain?"
"AHH...!?!?"
S** *f * M****r****er!
Looking at the price accompanying the drinks' name, Milanor remembered why he was being chased around by muscle-bound man-hounds in the first place. He cradled his head, having finally found out what had nagged him so much.
'I have no credits! None!' He screamed inside his head. He doubted he could afford even the cheapest drink on the menu.
He was thirsty of course, having run around so much in the last few hours. Also, not ordering anything, even the cheapest drink, would feel very humiliating. He was sure the staff would give him some glares later.
If he HAD to order something, then it would have to be on Naya's creds. At least this way, he wouldn't have to work himself out debating that eternal question of who should pay. 'I've got this,' definitely wasn't something he was capable of saying at the moment.
"That's not the problem here, darn it...!" He wanted to smack his hands onto the table, but he restrained.
"What're you so anguished about?" Naya asked, a punch in the gut. "You look ridiculous." Double punches, for good measure.
"Captain, you have someone else with you? That voice from before..." Miledi said something, but she was sadly ignored.
Milanor raised his head to look at Naya, a puzzled expression on her face. With hollow eyes, he said, "I have no credits..."
"Hm?"
"No money...!" he wanted to yell, though he kept it hushed with sheer effort.
"T-That so? Well, if we agreed on my job then you'll receive payment later so isn't it fine?"
"You don't get it," he manipulated his PAW with clenched teeth. "Look! Look at this outrageous account!" he showed her his holographic display.
It exhibited Milanor's bank account in all of its glory, which was nonexistent as it listed a pitiful 23 credits on his balance.
What an alarming presentation. The monetary density of his financial vault was almost as low as the intergalactic medium. If the two systems were to somehow be joined into one, there would be barely any diffusion. It would be an instantaneous equilibrium.
The reason why he even still had 23 was that he highly preferred round, clean numbers like 10.000, 100.000, 200.000, and such...
A pained look had shown on Milanor's face when he recalled his betting numbers.
"I can't even afford that 35 credits Plain Hubble, and that's the cheapest drink!" he cried. "Wait, forget that! Do I have to walk all the way to my ship?! What about the ticket tax?! How am I supposed to pay the Port Fees?!" He slumped onto the table.
"..." Naya watched him with astonishment.
"Captain... Even I, the most tolerant and virtuous servant that I am, found this unsightly," said Miledi through the comm. "However, worry not, for as insightful as I am had I prepared contingency in the ca—"
"Here."
"Hmm?"
Naya interrupted Miledi, activating the holotab that she took out from her bag. Milanor peeked at her from his slumped position.
"Until we reached your ship, I'll pay for everything. If I found the thing satisfactory, then I'll offer you the job," she said and then showed him her screen. "The payment gonna be in advance, how about it?"
"...No way."
It was a sight so unbelievable that Milanor thought something was wrong with his eyes.
Her balance showed a whopping 70 million credits.