Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 42: Cards On The Table

"Actually, it’s like this," Yuka’s mind raced, "He is... well, he’s my dad’s cousin’s third uncle’s daughter’s eldest grandson. Technically, he should call me ’aunt,’ but we are really close, so he’s joking around like that..."

Snakehead was very confused.

After Yuka finished speaking, she anxiously watched the expressions of the two people opposite her.

Ayoi’s face read, ’You’re seriously making this up,’ while Alex’s face was more, ’I won’t buy a word of you.’

Yuka: ...

"Alright." Yuka covered her face, giving up lying. "This is actually only the second time I’ve met him. The first time, he tried to rob me, and I beat the hell out of him."

Yuka sighed, ready to face whatever came next, and looked up at them.

She put on a smile again, extended her hand, and said, "Let me introduce myself again. I’m Taira Yuka, both S in physical strength and psychic power, skilled in hand-to-hand combat with cold weapons. I’m at UUA studying mecha specialization because I’ve never been to school before. I was forced to come here, and my dream is to laze around at home."

Ayoi, with an innocent look, stepped forward and seriously shook Yuka’s hand, "I’m Ayoi Beatrix. My physical strength is barely an A, but my psychic power is S. I’m good with firearms and maintain an accuracy rate of over 98% in tests. My dream is to join the Alliance’s First Legion."

Alex, with a complicated expression, came over and shook hands with Yuka, "I’m Alex O’cassy. My physical strength is also barely an A, and my psychic power is S+. I’m good at... coordinating with teammates. My dream is to completely break away from the royal family."

Yuka and the others shared a smile, completely relaxed. freewebnøvel.com

Snakehead, standing nearby, was stunned upon hearing Yuka’s physical and psychic power levels. He trembled, fearing Yuka might silence him permanently.

They continued walking, with Snakehead instinctively keeping his distance from Yuka. Seizing the opportunity, Ayoi quickly moved closer to Yuka and quietly asked, "Yuka, you’re so strong, why don’t you want to stay in mecha specialization or join the Alliance Army?"

Yuka met her clear eyes, momentarily lost in thought. She reminded Yuka of her best friends in her last life. The girl’s also a warrior, and a real one.

Back then, the girl had looked at Yuka with the same eyes as Ayoi’s, yet pushing Yuka into the insectoid nest, to face the raging Queen with a damaged weapon, all alone.

’What did the girl say again?’ Yuka pondered. ’Oh, right, she had said, ’Yuka, you’re so strong, why don’t you go kill the Queen yourself? Why can’t you take everyone else and instead make us all face danger together?’

"Yuka?"

Ayoi, seeing Yuka suddenly space out, asked worriedly, "Yuka, what’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing," Yuka regained her composure and smiled at Ayoi. "I... just don’t have such grand ambitions. I just want to live an easy life."

"Oh, that’s good too!" Ayoi said happily.

Yuka looked at Ayoi and thought, ’Well, I hope this time, it will be different.’

Ayoi and Alex were different from those in her past life. They risked their lives to save her, protect her, understand her choices, and fought alongside her, rather than betraying her and leaving her to fend for herself.

Nearby, Snakehead cautiously suggested, "Um, ma’am? we’re almost at the arena. Maybe you all could rest outside before going in?"

Yuka nodded, responding, "Don’t call me ma’am, just call me Yuka. By the way, what’s your name?"

Scratching his head, Snakehead replied, "I’m an orphan, I don’t have a name. People just call me Snakehead, so that’s my name."

"How did you end up here?" Yuka continued, "Weren’t you the ruler on that previous planet?"

"Well, it’s a long story," Snakehead answered. "Something happened on that planet, something related to space pirates. The Alliance Army came and cleaned up thoroughly, and us folks couldn’t stay there anymore. We had to find another way."

Pointing to a nondescript black shop with no sign, Snakehead said, "Here we are, this is the place."

He led Yuka and the others inside, shouting, "Chris, time for food!"

"Do you also want a room for the night?" A burly man with a cigarette dangling from his lips emerged, eyeing the group.

"Yes," Snakehead replied, grudgingly pulling out three black coins and handing them to Chris.

Seeing this, Yuka said, "We’ll pay you back later."

Snakehead waved his hand dismissively, "No need, consider it a token of my respect... to you."

He wasn’t foolish. With these three, especially Yuka with her double S rank, by his side, he wouldn’t worry about a few black coins.

Chris, biting his cigarette, surveyed Yuka and her companions, then turned and tossed them three keys, "The three rooms on the second floor are yours."

Yuka smoothly caught the keys and distributed them to Ayoi and Alex.

"We’ll rest first," Yuka told Snakehead, "and head to the colosseum in the evening."

"Alright, I’ll come and get you in the evening," Snakehead nodded.

Yuka and the others ascended the stairs and went to their respective rooms.

After a quick shower in the small bathroom, Yuka changed into fresh clothes and lay down on the narrow, hard bed. She took out the long-quiet butler from her pocket.

The butler rolled in her palm, comforting her by nudging her fingers, "Don’t worry, Master. They are your good friends. They won’t reveal your real power and true identity."

"It’s not that I’m worried about," Yuka said.

"You won’t be taken to mine either!" the butler asserted, "A lady should not wield a pickaxe! At most, a pink one!"

Yuka, "...that’s not the issue either."

"What are you worried about then?" the butler asked.

Yuka pondered and said, "I’m trying to figure out who’s behind this planet, and why they can be so brazen. Even if the Alliance Army can’t reach here— this planet is still within the Alliance’s domain. Plus, it’s a whole Oniyon ore vein we’re talking about. How could the Alliance not know about such a big deal?"

"Could it be related to the space pirates?" the butler speculated. "Maybe those who wanted to report or blow the whistle were killed by the pirates backing him, or locked up in the mines?"

"It’s too early to say for now. That old man mentioned earlier that the ruler of this place would go to Capital Octoxis at the end of the month. Since they can enter Capital Octoxis, they must be using a legitimate spacecraft, otherwise, the Alliance Army would shoot it down," Yuka reasoned and said. "If it’s not an official public spacecraft, then it must be a privately owned one with a registration number..."

"I know!" the butler interjected excitedly, "Just like our family’s ship! Private ships only have registration numbers if they’re issued by the military."

"The military?" Yuka sat up, focusing on the butler. "Our family has connections with the Alliance Army?"

That ship was a gift from Hideki for her tenth birthday. Yuka wondered, ’Does this mean Dad has had close ties with the military for at least eight years?’

The butler twisted awkwardly, "With the scale of your father’s business, it’s normal to have connections with the Alliance Army, right?"

Yuka reluctantly accepted the butler’s explanation, planning to ask Hideki directly once she got her opticomputer. Also, she suddenly realized that she still hadn’t received an answer from her father about Nori’s matter.

Closing her eyes, Yuka instructed, "Wake me up in two hours."

"Of course, Master," the butler replied.

Two hours later, Yuka opened her eyes, stuffed the persistently beeping butler into her pocket, left her room, knocked on the doors of the adjacent rooms, and then went downstairs, casually picking a chair to sit in.

Chris emerged from behind a small door with three large bowls of clear soup noodles, set them on the table without a word, and left with his cigarette.

After the trio finished eating, Snakehead arrived to lead them to the arena. They were at the very bottom level of the Colosseum, and the arena was located in the middle of this floor. It resembled a horizontally scaled version of the Colosseum, with many levels, but they could only see the first one for now.

"Yuka," Snakehead finally settled on a middle-ground nickname, "to leave, you have to fight your way up, level by level. Reaching the top will let you meet the boss, who will then send you to Capital Octoxis. But all three of you have high psychic power levels, so you might skip a few floors..."

"But it’s hard to say now," Snakehead continued. "Since that Pneyon thing appeared, the psychic power level requirements for mecha pilots have dropped. The boss doesn’t seem to value psychic power as much as before."

"Mecha?" Yuka caught the key word. "So, the boss is looking for people who can pilot mecha?"

"Yes," Snakehead answered. "But he also wants fighters to serve as his bodyguards."

As they spoke, they entered the arena.

To get in, they only needed to gently push the small door in front of them—

A strong smell of blood and sweat hit them, along with a mix of curses and cheers. Ayoi and Alex’s faces changed color, almost throwing up.

Yuka, unfazed, asked Snakehead, "What are the rules?"

Snakehead explained, "The arena has both solo and team battles. Team battles require three people. You can’t attack until the battle starts..."

After he finished detailing the rules, he looked at Yuka and the others.

Yuka hesitated and muttered, "I feel like these rules..."

Ayoi smiled, "Are similar to the underground mecha fights..."

Alex chimed in, "Very much so, aren’t they?"

"That’s right, the battles involve piloting actual mecha. Whether you live or die depends on luck and your own strength," Snakehead added. "Those who can’t pilot mecha fight hand-to-hand."

Yuka was about to ask where so many mecha came from for the battles, but then she remembered the planet’s abundance of Oniyon ore and wasn’t surprised anymore.

Just as a match began, Yuka and her friends stood near the arena to watch.

The two mecha pilots were clearly beginners, wobbling as they moved, but their actions were decisive, aiming every punch at the opponent’s cockpit.

The pilot on the left seized an opportunity, knocking the other mecha onto the arena floor, then smashed a fist into its cockpit, pulling out the pilot with a mechanical arm and raising him high for the audience to see.

The crowd below whistled and cheered, interspersed with a slew of vulgarities.

After showing off enough, the left mecha’s pilot threw the person in his hand violently onto the ground.

Ayoi and Alex instinctively shut their eyes.

Yuka quietly watched as the defeated pilot lay twisted on the ground, reaching out in pain for help. His blood splattered onto the faces of the spectators, who became even more excited, screaming louder, completely indifferent to whether the person was alive or dead, and chanting the name of the winning pilot, urging them to kill in the next round.

Yuka lowered her gaze.

The person on the ground soon stopped moving and was carried away by staff in black vests, leaving only his blood on the arena floor.

Snakehead frowned and said to Yuka and her companions, "That’s how it is here... killing a rival means one less person to compete against on the way out of here."

"If you decide to compete, you only get three chances at first. Win a match, and you earn a black coin. If after three matches you’re still alive but haven’t won any, and don’t have a black coin, you’ll be sent to the mines. After these initial chances, if you lose all your black coins, you’re also sent to mine."

He asked, "Do you... still want to participate?"

Yuka turned to Ayoi and Alex. If they entered the competition, there was only one path forward: to win. Losing meant death, or being sent to mine, never to leave this place.

Ayoi and Alex nodded, "Yes."

They couldn’t just wait for their fate.

So, Yuka told Snakehead, "We’ll go for the team battle."

Snakehead was taken aback, not expecting them to choose to fight together. "Team battle? Few choose that, as no one trusts each other in this dog-eat-dog world. You can go straight to the third floor... Oh, and from the third floor, the mecha are equipped with firepower."

Ayoi, who had been concerned about the mecha only having melee weapons, said happily, "That’s great, I can be more helpful now."

Snakehead looked at their calm demeanor, wondering if they were the ones out of place or if it was him. ’Why aren’t they panicking?’

He led them to the elevator to go upstairs, pressing the button for the third floor. "These floors are open for anyone to watch the fights. Fighters need the boss’s approval to move up. The boss monitors the entire Grand Coliseum. If someone catches his eye, he’ll send someone to take them up for higher-level battles."

Exiting the elevator, Yuka and her team approached a man in a black vest near the arena.

"We want to participate in the team battle," Yuka stated.

The man in the vest gave them a once-over, "First, check your compatibility with the mecha. Don’t bother if you can’t even walk steadily in one."

Ayoi and Alex glanced at Yuka, a bit concerned.

Yuka, feeling slightly aggrieved, insisted, "I can walk steadily."

She could do more than just walk — she could perform a front flip with a Thomas salto, a 360-degree aerial spin, and land smoothly.