Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 46: Her Issue

The spaceship shuttled through space, and as soon as a signal was received on board, Kenji took out his opticomputer and sent a message to the Alliance Army.

He briefly described the situation, emphasizing the manufacturing of Pneyon on the planet and the infiltration of the Alliance Army.

General Fleet Admiral, infuriated, smashed his favorite table and immediately ordered all departments to inspect their subordinates, comparing them against past criminal records.

Most problematic individuals were found in the Population Census Bureau and the Crime Investigation Bureau. The General Fleet Admiral, enraged, swiftly purged the moles within the Alliance Army, ordering their immediate detention for intense interrogation.

This massive search operation drew public attention, and despite the military’s quick explanations, it caused panic among some. The four people on the spaceship were oblivious to these events.

Yuka knocked out the ruler of the Grand Coliseum with a punch. Then, she held the butler, sat down in a corner of the ship with Ayoi and Alex, and introduced the butler to them.

The butler extended its short electronic hand, waving and saying, "Hello."

Ayoi and Alex, intrigued, touched the butler’s body and responded, "Hello." Though curious, they decided not to Yuka about the butler.

Yuka had them bring out their newly acquired opticomputers, and the butler disabled the surveillance systems in them, reverting them to their factory settings. They logged onto their interstellarnet accounts, reported their safety to their families, and played games together.

Through gaming, Ayoi and Alex really realized how bad Yuka was at shooting.

After several hours, they finally returned to Capital Octoxis. Kenji picked up a dedicated communicator to contact the operator, informing them of the ship’s landing in five minutes and asking for the landing location.

The operator promptly responded and opened the landing area. Kenji guided the spaceship to a gentle landing. Yuka and the others put away their opticomputers and followed Kenji out of the cabin.

Just before opening the cabin door, Yuka quietly adjusted the collar of her coat, covering her face.

Outside the door, the Alliance Army awaited, guns drawn and aimed at Yuka and her companions.

Kenji signaled to the Alliance Army that it was safe inside the spaceship. The team quickly bypassed Yuka and her companions, entering the cabin. They dragged out Blackvests and the still unconscious boss, escorting them out of the cabin and into a vehicle, ready to transport them to jail.

The media, kept at bay by the Alliance Army, eagerly began photographing Yuka and her friends as they emerged, cautiously avoiding capturing Kenji in their shots. The photographers focused on Yuka’s group instead.

Alex and Ayoi now understood why Yuka had covered her face. They quickly pulled up their jackets to cover their lower faces, leaving only their eyes visible to watch their way out so that they wouldn’t fall on their faces in front of the cameras.

Before Yuka and her friends had even completed their walk to exit, the interstellarnet’s headlines were ablaze with eye-catching titles like "Three Students Return Safely" and "Admiral Kuba Kenji Showed Up," accompanied by photos of them awkwardly avoiding the cameras.

Suddenly, Yuka’s gaze sharpened. She thought she saw a woman in a light green dress among the onlookers, whose walk and silhouette resembled Kishi’s. However, the woman hurried away and soon disappeared into the crowd.

Kenji turned to them and said, "I’ve arranged for a transport to take you three back to school."

Yuka shook her head, "No need for me. I need to speak with my dad and will ride back with him."

She then turned to Ayoi and Alex, "You guys go ahead."

After they nodded and left with Kenji, Yuka pushed past the photographers and ran towards a familiar Lev parked nearby.

As soon as she settled in the vehicle, her father Hideki, sitting beside her, asked worriedly, "Yuko, are you alright?"

Yuka reassured him with a smile, "I’m fine, Dad."

Relieved, Hideki replied, "Good to hear."

Yuka then brought up Nori, "Dad, about Nori, you never answered my..."

"Nori is a good person," Hideki interjected. "I’ve known him for a long time. He might be a bit grumpy, but he’s not a bad guy. He’s very knowledgeable, which is why I chose him to be your tutor."

Yuka remained silent.

Hideki suddenly said, "Yuko, I hope you can be yourself."

Puzzled, Yuka tilted her head, smiling gently, "Anything wrong, Dad? Why do you say that?"

Hideki looked at her with a complex expression, "I know you’ve always tried to act like a lady in front of me, but that’s not the real you, right? I’ve thought about how nice it would be if you were just a gentle and fragile girl, so you wouldn’t get involved in all these troubles. You could live a happy, carefree life."

"But I know that’s not who you are," Hideki sighed, indicating his understanding of Yuka’s true nature. "If you want to know about our family’s history with the Alliance Army, I can tell you now."

Yuka’s smile faded, and after a brief silence, she asked, "What will it cost me?"

Hideki looked at her with a tender gaze and replied, "You don’t have to pay anything. No matter what choice you make, I will always support you and take care of you for life."

Yuka bit her lip, glancing back at Ayoi and Alex, who were already seated in their car. She realized that once she knew what Hideki was about to reveal, her life would undergo a drastic change.

Turning back, she clenched her fist, torn between her newfound, honest friendships and the start of her college life, not wanting to lose it all.

Yuka, pondering, asked Hideki, "Can I choose not to ask now? Can you tell me when I’m ready to know in the future?"

"Of course," Hideki replied, secretly hoping she would never need to know.

Hideki gazed at Yuka, his daughter, who could have lived a naive and pampered life like other young ladies, rather than being used as a tool or a so-called ’hope’ by the old men of the Alliance Army. She had her own life, her own path, not as a tool or as their ’hope.’

He respected Yuka’s choices completely.

Changing the subject, Yuka asked Hideki, "Dad, have you finished your business? Will you be leaving again soon?"

Hideki smiled, "I’m not done yet, and I’ll be leaving soon."

He casually transferred a large sum of money to Yuka’s account from his opticomputer, expressing his concern, "Yuko, don’t skimp on yourself, don’t go hungry, and don’t hesitate to spend money. Dad has plenty!"

"Okay," Yuka replied.

Hideki instructed the driver to stop the Lev at the entrance of Yuka’s school. He reminded her, "Yuko, remember to be happy. Happiness is the most important thing. Don’t ever let yourself suffer."

"I understand, Dad. Goodbye," Yuka nodded again.

After a meaningful glance and a mutual smile with her father, Yuka watched Hideki leave in the Lev and then turned to enter the school.

The butler asked, "Master, why didn’t you ask just now? Didn’t you join the underground races to find an ’answer’?"

Yuka replied, "The question my dad was talking about is different from mine." Her question at the underground races was about why she came to this world in the first place.

Although rumors about transmigration and rebirth had always existed, no one had ever confirmed them. Yuka don’t understand why it was her who had transited from a martial world to an interstellar era. And why, even in this interstellar age, she had to deal with the detestable space pirates.

However, these questions were not something Yuka could share with the butler. She didn’t have the mood to dwell on them either, especially as she entered the school and felt all eyes on her.

She had a bad feeling and checked the school’s online forum on her opticomputer. As expected, it was filled with posts about their abduction by space pirates and subsequent rescue by Kenji.

Some students expressed relief at their safe return, while others criticized them, claiming they were a disgrace to UUA. They argued that if it weren’t for their capture, Admiral Kenji wouldn’t have had to risk his life to save them.

Others defended them, saying that being captured by pirates wasn’t their choice and it was unfair to blame the victims.

The debate intensified, with some pointing out that their decision to play hide-and-seek at the Reef Beach led to their capture. In response, others argued that it wasn’t their idea to go there in the first place.

The forum turned into a battlefield of opinions, with the moderators struggling to keep up with deleting posts. Eventually, they had to silence users and finally shut down the forum, planning to reopen it once everyone had calmed down.

Back in her dorm, Ayoi, visibly upset, told Yuka that they were being criticized on the forum. Also, Ayoi knew they couldn’t fully defend themselves, as it was true that Kenji had come to rescue them. And before she could formulate a response, the forum was shut down.

Yuka consoled Ayoi, "Don’t worry, they just can’t see the truth. You and Alex will prove them wrong with your strength and fight back hard."

Yuka wasn’t too bothered, finding the situation a convenient cover for maintaining her weak facade.

Ayoi, pouting, opened her messages and, with wide eyes, said to Yuka, "UUA’s president wants the three of us in his office."

Looking a bit scared, she asked, "He’s not going to lecture us, is he?"

Yuka, considering the president’s outgoing and humorous nature, thought it unlikely they would be reprimanded.

When she and Ayoi arrived at the principal’s office, Alex was already there.

The president, smiling and holding a cat, invited them to sit. "Relax, it’s okay. Don’t mind what the other students are saying. I’ve instructed the forum’s moderators to warn them against posting harmful comments that may poison the campus air. They will lose credits for such behavior. I know you three are good kids. You must have been scared by the recent events, right?"

The trio shook their heads and said they were fine.

The president, still smiling warmly, continued, "Good to hear. You must be aware that the Alliance Army has been capturing traitors within its ranks recently? Things are quite dangerous outside, so the school has decided to close for a week. This information hasn’t been announced to the other students yet, but I wanted to inform you first. What do you think about this?"

After exchanging looks, the trio responded, "That’s a good idea."

"That’s good," the president said. "The school’s decision is for your safety. It’s just for a week, then you can go back to freely enjoying your time outside."

After Yuka and her friends left, the president picked up a communicator from his desk. On the screen, General Fleet Admiral greeted him cheerfully, asking, "How is it? Is that child a promising candidate for the Alliance Army?"

The president, scoffing and stroking his white cat’s chin, replied carefreely, "Nonsense! My student will do whatever she wants in the future. I’m warning you, don’t push her!"

General Fleet Admiral quickly gestured in negation, saying, "Of course not, I haven’t even made contact with her yet."

The president’s expression softened as he said, "Whatever agreement you had before, I don’t know and don’t want to interfere. But as long as Yuka is a student at my school, I will protect her. None of you can interfere."

"Of course, of course," said General Fleet Admiral. "Let’s change the subject. Old friend, when will you join us for a drink?"

"I’m practicing self-discipline now, no more drinking. I’m going on a trip tomorrow, so don’t bother looking for me. Goodbye." After ending the call, the president messaged Hideki about General Fleet Admiral’s call.

Hideki bluntly transferred eighty million astracredits to him, marked as a donation to the UUA. The president, smiling contentedly, accepted the money. Humming a tune and carrying his cat, he left his office to continue his journey around the Alliance territories.

Meanwhile, Kenji was busy within the Alliance Army.

The recent purge had unearthed unexpected connections; several high-ranking officers were implicated.

As Kenji studied the list, his subordinate handed him a confession from a prisoner. The name "Deadman" hit him like a hammer, causing a throbbing pain in his temples.

Breathing erratically, Kenji rubbed his aching head. A subordinate informed him, "Admiral, now we know for sure that this planet belongs to the space pirates. It was bought anonymously. We traced the buyer’s information, but it led to a nonexistent person. At the population bureau, some staff related to the space pirates escaped, and we are pursuing them. The rest who were captured have confessed their connections to the space pirates."

Kenji, running his fingers along the edge of the table, asked, "Whose ship was it?"

The subordinate replied, "The ship belonged to... Bartland."

Upon hearing the expected name, Kenji closed his eyes briefly to steady his emotions before continuing, "After Bartland’s death, wasn’t the ship’s identification removed from the Alliance’s fleet system?"

The subordinate cautiously answered, "No, it wasn’t. Because there were space pirates within the ship management bureau."

This loophole allowed the space pirates to freely fly between Capital Octoxis and the outer Alliance star systems, transporting people, Oniyon, and Pneyon without detection by the Alliance Army.

The subordinate, visibly concerned, added, "Admiral, with so many positions now vacant after the cleanup, the Third Legion is eager to fill them. They have already managed to place a few of their people. We need to fill these vacancies quickly, or else..."

Kenji, massaging his temples and barely holding his frayed nerves together, took a deep breath and instructed, "Give me the list. I’ll select the candidates tonight."

"Right away, Admiral," the subordinate responded promptly.

After a night of intense work, Kenji was drained the next day. His students sensed this change, feeling his somber mood, and they kept their distance from him.

Kenji, following routine, led them to the white classroom for this week’s mecha operation practice.

Yuka activated class mode and walked into the familiar grassy area.

Kenji stood in front of them and announced, "Today’s practice is mecha hand-to-hand combat. You need to fight your opponent in close combat using the mechas. The first to pin the opponent to the ground wins."

This mecha combat training was similar to the physical training they had received from Instructor Yonda, with opponents being automatically matched by the system.

The students summoned their mechas and waited for Kenji to call out their names.

Ayoi and Alex, having improved significantly in various skills after their life-and-death battle at the Grand Coliseum, successfully defeated their opponents. This achievement reduced the prejudice others had against them.

When it was Yuka’s turn, Kenji intentionally stood close to her to closely observe her performance.

Her opponent, a confident boy specializing in infantry, charged at Yuka, extending his mechanical arm towards her. The boy raised his arm high, leaving his body unprotected and riddled with openings. Kenji assessed the boy’s flaws before shifting his attention back to Yuka.

Yuka stood still, and at the very moment the boy’s mecha was about to make contact, she suddenly fell backward, hitting the ground and rolling over.

The boy was baffled. ’Did I even touch her?’

Kenji almost broke the scorekeeper in his hand. Taking a deep breath, he asked Yuka, "Why did you fall?"

Sitting up and deactivating her mecha, Yuka replied, "His momentum was too strong; it scared me."

Kenji, closing his eyes momentarily, said nothing further and waved for Yuka to step aside.

Fred immediately approached Yuka, mockingly saying, "Just as I thought, a vase is still a vase, scared stiff by the opponent. You must have been a real drag when Mr. Kuba rescued you, right? A burden?"

Before he could finish, he noticed Ayoi and Alex looking at him with pity. They knew that if Yuka wasn’t pretending to be weak, she could easily outmatch several of his kind with a single punch.

Irritated by their gaze, Fred snapped, "What are you looking at?!"

Ayoi and Alex averted their eyes, pretending nothing had happened.

Fred, visibly agitated, sneered, "She should just get out of the Combat Department! She’ll never make it into the Alliance Army!"

As he turned around, he was met with Kenji’s stern and displeased expression.

Fred, confused, wondered, ’Did I say something wrong?’