Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 38: Three Idiots

Not long after, the spaceship arrived at Planet Poseidonia. Everyone headed straight to their autumn outing destination—the seaside.

Yuka, dressed in a swimsuit that looked almost like a sundress, slathered a thick layer of sunscreen on her face and body, and casually smeared some on Ayoi next to her.

Kenji, standing at the forefront, addressed the Combat Department students, "Your activity area is this stretch of beach. I’ll say that once again, no one is allowed to enter the water without reporting. Students from Atlantis Academy will be watching over you on the shore. If anyone is in danger of drowning, call out loudly for help, and they will rescue you."

"Now, free time starts. Come back for lunch in two hours; everyone must return," Kenji instructed, then added, "Dismissed."

He turned and walked away from the crowd, pausing briefly as he passed Yuka, ignoring her hopeful gaze, and quickly departed.

As soon as Kenji left, Yuka’s smile faded, and she lowered her eyes to the beach.

Ayoi grabbed Yuka’s hand, "Yuka, let’s dig in the sand!"

She waved at Alex, "Alex, come over!"

The trio found a less crowded spot and sat down. Yuka half-heartedly dug in the sand, then gave up on the childish activity and lay back on the beach, sighing deeply.

Ayoi, full of enthusiasm, built a sandcastle, while Alex caught crabs nearby, both engrossed like a pair of primary students.

Students from other departments also gradually arrived at Poseidonia, making the beach increasingly crowded.

"Wow, there’s a cat’s eye snail buried in the sand!"

"It’s squirting water!"

Yuka quietly moved away from those playing with the cat’s eye snails.

Her opticomputer vibrated. She picked it up and saw a message in the Combat Department chat group, which everyone had hastily joined on the spaceship.

[Hide-and-seek among the rocks, anyone interested? (Picture)]

The picture showed a vast expanse of continuous rock formations, complex in terrain, perfect for hide-and-seek.

Feeling bored, Yuka turned to Ayoi and Alex, "Shall we go?"

After they nodded, Yuka replied in the group: [Yes, three of us here.]

Several others joined in. The person who had initially suggested the game sent a location, and Yuka’s group stood up and headed towards the rocks.

The area was secluded, with no one else around the rocks.

After a tense and exciting dice roll, Donny, with the lowest score of one, became the seeker.

"One hundred, ninety-nine..." Donny counted down with his back to them.

Yuka and Ayoi ran towards a cylindrical rock they had noticed on their way over. It was hollow inside, a perfect hiding spot.

Alex hid behind a giant rock not far from the girls, ready to climb up and hide if necessary.

With only a few seconds left in the countdown, Toru suddenly appeared, panting and holding a long, slender object in his hand. Spotting Alex, his expression quickly shifted from relief to panic. "Alex, I think there’s danger here!" he exclaimed.

Startled, Alex asked, "What kind of danger?"

Between gasps, Toru explained, "This in my hand, it’s a spaceship detector I’ve been working on. Ever since the space pirate hijacking incident, I’ve been researching this device..."

Yuka interjected, her head peeking out, "Get to the point."

Toru hurriedly continued, "This device contains the identification of all legitimate spacecraft in the Alliance. It alerts when it detects a pirate ship!"

"It’s been beeping non-stop!" Toru said anxiously. "It stopped now because it’s out of power! But I haven’t set up the detection range yet, so I don’t know how far the space pirates are!"

Alex suggested, "Are you sure there are space pirates nearby? We should inform Instructor Kenji..."

He stopped mid-sentence. The cold barrel of a gun pressed against the back of his head. A space pirate, wearing a red mask, emerged from behind the rocks, his large hand pressing down on Alex’s shoulder. "Don’t move, and don’t make a sound," he ordered in a deep voice.

Two more space pirates, guns in hand, appeared and pointed them at Yuka and the others.

Toru, pale with fear, murmured, "I knew it..."

The pirate holding Alex continued, "Don’t even think of calling for help. Any attempt, including screaming, will result in us going to the beach and shooting people there."

Yuka’s face darkened.

"We only need to take him," the pirate said, patting the floating Alex. "Once we successfully take him, you’ll be safe. Now, stay quiet and don’t make a fuss."

"I have a question," Yuka suddenly spoke up. "Why are you taking him?"

The pirate looked at her, momentarily shocked by her boldness, then scoffed, "We take whoever we want. There’s no why."

But he indulged her curiosity, replying, "He’s from the royal family. As a hostage, he’ll bring a hefty ransom. Understand?"

The pirates had not been given a specific reason by their leader, so they assumed this plausible explanation. After all, even a less favored little prince from the royal family would be quite valuable.

"Then take me instead," Yuka emerged from the rock hollow, "I’m the daughter of Taira Hideki, the wealthiest man. You can’t possibly haven’t heard of him. My ransom would be higher than his."

This was a first for the space pirate; he squinted his eyes, making sure Yuka wasn’t armed before nodding to the pirate beside him. He then addressed Yuka, "Alright, come over."

A willing victim was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Yuka stepped forward, patting Toru on the shoulder as she passed him. She smiled at the pirate aiming the gun at her and whispered to Toru, "Don’t be afraid."

Toru, stunned, turned his head. His gaze fell on Yuka, overlapping with the image of the helmeted savior. Trembling with emotion, he called out, "Yuka! That was you!"

She looked back.

"Be safe..." Toru’s lips quivered.

Yuka gave him a reassuring smile, then resolutely walked towards the pirate.

Ayoi, as if waking from a trance, stood up and shouted, "I’m useful too! I know a shocking secret!"

She ran towards Yuka, yelling at the pirates, "I’m the daughter of the Beatrixs. I know the location of the Oniyon ore, a secret not revealed by your former leader before his death!"

Yuka, Alex, and Toru were stunned.

"I’m sorry... what? Who are you and what do you know?" Yuka asked.

Ayoi, now beside Yuka, was grabbed by another pirate, her hands bound.

Panting, she explained, "My parents were once master thieves. They heard about the location of an entire Oniyon ore vein from your former leader, worth billions. To avoid being silenced by you, they returned to the Alliance. Before they died, they told me the location of the vein, saying if the current space pirate leader ever tracked down and found me, I should tell the truth to save my life."

Ayoi bit her lip, her head bowed to hide the tears in her eyes. "The current Beatrix family who adopted me has nothing to do with it, and they don’t know this secret. Please don’t hurt them."

She looked at the lead pirate, saying, "I’ll go with you. Can you release my friends?"

The pirate, encountering such self-sacrifice for the first time, was speechless for a moment, then ordered, "Take them all!"

"Except him," the pirate glanced at Toru. The terrified nerd seemed worthless.

Yuka, Alex, and Ayoi’s hands were tied with ropes, and they were led forward. Yuka walked in the middle, with Alex and Ayoi on either side, their heads downcast.

Alex spoke in a low voice, "I’m sorry... If it weren’t for me, none of us would have been captured."

Ayoi added gloomily, "I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have acted impulsively. I didn’t think they wouldn’t spare even one of us."

Yuka found the situation ironically amusing. She turned to Alex, "It’s not your fault. Ayoi and I came voluntarily to save you."

Then she addressed Ayoi, "Well done, but don’t do it again."

She had thought that, given her experience in blowing up pirate ships, she could easily handle the situation if only she was taken alone. Now, with two more people to protect, Yuka sighed deeply, pondering how to save everyone without exposing her real strength.

The pirates led them to the shallow waters, signaling their comrades hidden on the beach to retreat. They boarded a speedboat parked by the sea and headed towards the deep sea.

The lead pirate pressed a button, and ripples appeared on the sea surface. The waves grew larger, surging in a roar as a massive spaceship emerged, splashing water all around.

People on the beach, witnessing this spectacle, cried out in shock.

"Get on quickly!" The pirates threw the drenched Yuka, Alex, and Ayoi onto the ship, then pushed them through the hatch.

The spaceship’s power source was ignited, and it slowly ascended. People on the beach screamed, many pulling out their opticomputers to frantically contact their instructors.

Kenji, touring Atlantis Academy, frowned as he checked his vibrating opticomputer.

A crack appeared in his usually calm demeanor. He summoned his mecha from a space button, piloting the silver-grey machine towards the beach.

He skillfully dodged the panicking crowd and fired a warning shot at the spaceship’s gun port, disabling half of its weaponry. "First warning!" Kenji’s voice boomed from the mecha’s speaker. "Release the hostages, and your lives will be spared!"

Inside the spaceship, Yuka heard Kenji’s shout. ’Kenji is a bit late,’ she thought.

Rescue seemed unlikely; they would have to rely on themselves. Their opticomputers had been destroyed by the pirates, and Yuka’s last-ditch message to Hideki, who was on a remote planet, might have gone unnoticed.

An orb object from Yuka’s pocket was confiscated.

"What’s this?" a pirate asked.

"A toy ball," Yuka replied, "Can I keep it?"

The pirate, holding the pink orb, examined it for a while. Finding nothing dangerous, he carelessly tossed it beside Yuka.

Meanwhile, Kenji, not receiving any response and unable to fire recklessly at the spaceship with hostages on board, watched helplessly as it flew out of sight.

He took a deep breath, calming himself, then retracted his mecha and took out his opticomputer. He asked in the group chat, "Everyone still on the beach and not taken by pirates, report immediately."

Toru, in a panic, replied, "Sir, Yuka, Ayoi, and Alex have been taken!"

Kenji paused while typing, then asked, "Anyone else?"

There were no others.

Turning to the shocked principal of Atlantis Academy, Kenji summoned the Alliance Army members responsible for the routine patrol of Poseidonia. "So none of you noticed a spaceship under the sea?" Kenji held back his anger. "What are the detectors for? And your eyes... never mind, just go."

Losing his composure was rare for him. He punched a rock in front of him, shattering it into pieces that fell into the sea.

After regaining his composure, Kenji messaged the highest-ranking Fleet Admiral of the Alliance to report the situation and take responsibility.

In his office, the Fleet Admiral, sipping tea and reading a report, choked upon reading Kenji’s message. He immediately called Kenji via video communication, shouting, "Hurry and pursue... Ah, it’s probably too late. Return now; I have important news for you."

Kenji nodded, ended the communication, and went to the beach to announce the cancellation of the autumn outing. He instructed everyone to return to the academy as quickly as possible. freёnovelkiss.com

As the principal of Atlantis Academy approached to apologize, Kenji stopped him. "It’s not your fault," Kenji said, a vein throbbing on his forehead. "Those from Alliance Army responsible for security patrols will answer for this and resign."

He led the remaining students of the Combat Department back to the academy and then proceeded to the office of the highest-ranking Fleet Admiral.