Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 37: Fixing The Doll

The three people once again got on the transport to the city center.

Ayoi, sitting beside Yuka by the window, asked in admiration, "Yuka, that was so impressive just now! Have you trained in combat before?"

Yuka blinked and replied, "Not really, I just focused on agility because I hate getting tired."

Ayoi looked puzzled.

Yuka chuckled and explained, "I’ve trained in dance and gymnastics, so my movements are quite flexible. The opponent’s attacks were actually pretty slow, so I could dodge them easily."

Ayoi had an aha moment, "Ah, I see."

They fell silent for a while, then Ayoi turned to Alex and asked, "How did that doll end up with your brother?"

Alex replied, "It must have been my roommate who gave it to him."

Only his roommates would have access to his room, and only they would know where the doll was kept. Alex had always known that his roommate was one of Fred’s spies, but he had naively thought that at school, Fred would be more restrained and not bully him as before.

Ayoi asked, "Can you get your roommates replaced? Or can you move to another dorm room?"

Alex answered, "Actually, yes. I talked to Toru, and he said he’s living alone. I can move in with him when I go back."

Ayoi nodded, then, noticing their destination’s small street, hurriedly told the driver, "Sir, stop here, we’ll get off here!"

Exiting the Lev, Ayoi shared while walking, "That shop is an ancient embroidery store hidden in an alley. My mom visited it once when she was making clothes. It’s said that in the pre-space era, such embroidery shops were rare, mainly taking custom clothing orders."

They walked through the alley and stopped in front of a deep red wooden door.

Yuka pushed open the door and entered, first noticing the colorful fabrics hanging on both sides.

"What do you like?" a voice asked.

The three turned to see the shop owner approaching.

Recognizing the familiar faces, Kishi expressed brief surprise but continued with a smile, "Oh, it’s you guys. What brings you here?"

Alex lifted the doll in his hand, "Ms. Kishi, do you have fabric like the doll’s dress?"

Kishi took the doll, felt it, and told him, "We do. This is silk, and we don’t have much left in stock. Silk, woven from silkworm threads, was precious even in the ancient times. Nowadays, almost no one uses it, but luckily, we still have some left. Come and choose."

She led Yuka and her companions through another small wooden door into a dimly lit room.

Inside the small room, there was an ancient sewing machine at which an old lady was seated, slowly stitching clothes. Kishi walked closer to her and asked softly, "Grandma, where did you put that batch of silk we have?"

The old lady looked up, pushing her reading glasses up her nose, and pointed towards a cabinet nearby. Kishi then took out three rolls of colored silk from the cabinet and asked the three, "Which one would you like?"

Alex chose a pale blue one. Kishi added, "Since Grandma is here, you can tell her what kind of dress you want. She can make it for you."

Alex handed the doll to the lady. Then he showed a picture and said, "Ma’am, can you make a dress like this?"

After examining the picture briefly and glancing at Alex, the old lady asked, "Are you from the royal family?"

Before Alex could respond, she continued, talking to herself, "They all like to come here, the old, the young, and now even the little ones. This doll was made by me for your mother, her father..."

Kishi, with a deepened smile and a louder voice, interrupted, "Grandma."

The grandmother paused her reminiscing and simply told Alex, "I can make it. You go wait over there."

While Alex waited, Ayoi and Yuka stepped out of the small room to browse the colorful fabrics outside. Yuka, picking up a black fabric in the corner, felt something underneath with her left hand. There was a noticeable bulge under the pile of fabrics. She paused, then discreetly lifted a seam to peek underneath.

A black metal piece, the size of a pigeon’s egg, lay quietly among the fabrics. When Yuka touched it, her psychic power enveloped it, transforming it into a star.

This metal felt slightly different from the usual Oniyon, as if Yuka’s psychic power had to pass through a thin membrane before shaping it. ’Could this be the new Pneyon?’ she wondered.

She quietly replaced the fabric.

"Do you see anything you like?" Kishi suddenly appeared behind Yuka, asking with a perfectly timed smile, "Do you fancy the black fabric you’re holding?"

She stepped forward, taking the fabric from Yuka’s hands and subtly positioning herself between Yuka and the pile of fabrics hiding the Pneyon.

"If you like it, come with me. I have photos of sample clothes. You can choose and see if a nice dress can be made from this fabric," she suggested.

Yuka nodded, playing along, "Sure, let’s see."

Kishi, noticing no sign of suspicion on Yuka’s face about the hidden Pneyon in the fabric, relaxed slightly. She beckoned Ayoi to join them, "Come and have a look too."

Yuka eventually decided to have the black fabric made into a scarf. Kishi, looking at the unremarkable black scarf, held back any comments.

The wooden door creaked, and Alex showed up with the newly dressed doll, a bright smile of relief on his face. After settling the bill, Yuka and her friends were about to leave when a man entered the shop.

This man was tall and muscular, his every step seeming to shake the floor. He wore a black mask and a hat with a low brim that concealed his forehead, leaving only his eyes visible. Kishi’s smile froze for a moment at his sight but quickly resumed, as she softly asked, "What can I help you with today, sir?"

Yuka noticed Kishi’s momentary stiffness and scrutinized the man.

The tall man remained silent, his gaze fixed intently on Alex, or more precisely, on the doll in Alex’s hand.

"Where did you get that?" the man asked in a hoarse voice.

It took Alex a moment to realize he was being addressed and hurriedly replied, "It’s a keepsake from my mother. Someone brought it to me."

"What’s your name?" the man continued.

Alex, slightly taken aback, answered, "I’m Alex O’cassy."

The man’s breathing faltered slightly. He reached out towards Alex, but Alex instinctively stepped back.

Kishi quickly intervened, stepping in front of Alex and speaking with a smile, "Are you here to pick up something you ordered last time, sir?" emphasizing the words "something you ordered."

The man seemed to regain his composure, withdrawing his hand and replying gruffly, "Yes."

The man followed Kishi through the back door, but before entering, he turned to give Alex a meaningful look.

Yuka, observing Alex’s puzzled expression, took another careful look at him. It wasn’t until after they left the shop that Yuka understood the source of the uncanny familiarity she felt. The man and Alex shared the same shade of green in their eyes.

Back on the Lev, Ayoi, with Alex’s permission, admired the doll’s beautiful new dress. She asked Alex, "Did you know that man just now?"

Alex shook his head, "I don’t know him. I’m not sure why he wanted to talk to me."

Yuka turned to Alex and asked, "Do you remember anything about your grandfather?"

Puzzled by Yuka’s sudden interest in his grandfather, Alex truthfully responded, "I don’t have any memories of him. I heard he passed away shortly after I was born, but I’ve seen his pictures on the interstellarnet. He was very handsome."

Yuka hesitated before expressing her condolences, "I’m sorry for your loss."

Alex shook his head, "It’s okay." He had long since stopped being saddened by these matters.

Yuka pulled out her opticomputer and searched for photos of Alex’s grandfather, the former Admiral of the Alliance Army, Bartland. Most photos were in black and white. Yuka flipped through them and asked the butler, "Can you find a color photo?"

The butler quickly searched the interstellarnet and projected a color photo onto Yuka’s screen. In the picture, a young Bartland had neatly combed back black hair and sharp green eyes that stared directly at the camera.

Yuka closed the image, but the image of those eyes lingered in her mind. While a pair of eyes alone wasn’t enough to confirm someone’s identity, Yuka wondered if the man they encountered could indeed be Bartland.

She wondered, ’If so, could the rumors that Bartland was the current leader of the space pirates be true? What’s he doing in Capital Octoxis? Is it about the Pneyon?’

"Yuka?" Ayoi brought her back to reality, "Here we are."

Yuka got out of the Lev with them and returned to their dorm to prepare for the next day’s autumn outing.

The butler nagged, "Sunscreen! Don’t forget sunscreen!"

Annoyed, Yuka tossed a couple of sunscreen bottles and some facial masks into her bag to appease the butler.

The following morning, Yuka and Ayoi stood at the back of the queue and boarded the Combat Department’s spaceship. They sat together, and soon after the spaceship took off, everyone around them was watching movies on their opticomputers. Ayoi leaned over and asked Yuka, "Do you want to watch a show with me?"

Yuka was about to agree when she caught a glimpse of deep blue in her peripheral vision. She quickly pulled out her sunscreen and eye mask, and said weakly to Ayoi, "Sorry, I need to apply some sunscreen and then take a beauty sleep."

Ayoi, confused, asked, "But there’s no UV here, and isn’t beauty sleep supposed to start at 10 pm?"

Yuka earnestly replied, "My skin needs special care."

As Kenji passed by, Yuka looked up at him with pitiful eyes and said, "Sir, my heart is beating so fast, I think I’m getting spaceship sick or something. I can’t even walk straight. Am I unfit to pilot a mecha?"

Yuka, with a sniffle and red nose, played the part of a distressed student, "I should leave the mecha specialization sooner. I’m just holding everyone back; I’m not suited for the Combat Department anymore."

Kenji, faced with Yuka’s melodramatic display, felt as if every strand of her hair was broadcasting a message of wanting to change her major. He then half-jokingly challenged her, "How will you know if you don’t try? Everyone has potential. Maybe in a moment of extreme anger, you could break through your limits."

Yuka’s reaction was immediate. She switched tactics, grabbing the hem of Kenji’s clothing and looking up at him with a pitiful expression.

She performed the number one move from the "Gestures of the Damsel in Distress" as voted on the interstellarnet: biting her lower lip gently, eyes slightly widened, eyebrows knit together, pouting cheeks, and a voice filled with grievance, "Sir— you promised to help me apply for an early specialization transfer. How can you go back on your word?" freewebnσvel.cøm

There was supposed to be a follow-up line, something like "You bad boy," but Yuka couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Observing Kenji’s face shift from green to red to white, Yuka couldn’t decipher his inner turmoil. Finally, Kenji said indifferently, "We’ll see about that."