Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 126: Negotiation

After Nori’s interruption with borrowing money, Yuka felt a bit relieved from all these messy issues.

However, when she slipped out of the underground arena, walked onto the street, and touched the opticomputer in her pocket, she suddenly remembered the grudge between Ayoi and Alex, and her mood became heavy again.

Yuka was never one to run away. She opened the chat with Ayoi and asked while walking to the hotel, "How’s everything?"

It wasn’t until Yuka returned to the hotel and sat on the big bed in her room that Ayoi replied, "It’s fine now!"

Ayoi was a person that couldn’t keep things to herself for long. As soon as she walked out of the underground arena with Alex, she couldn’t help but tell him about Bartland and her parents’ death.

Alex was stunned at first, and after seeing Ayoi’s anxious expression, he told Ayoi that he knew.

"Then Alex told me, ever since he knew that Bartland only had intentions of using him and indirectly caused his mother’s death, he never saw Bartland as his grandfather but as a space pirate who had killed many," Ayoi sent a voice message. "He also said if I wanted revenge on Bartland, he would help me."

Yuka replied to Ayoi, "Understood," and sent a [pat pat] emoji.

It was a relief for Yuka that Alex had come to terms with it. She had feared they would turn against each other over this, causing her to lose two friends at once.

She breathed a sigh of relief but suddenly realized that Alex had grown from the timid boy, who couldn’t even make eye contact while speaking, into a man who dared to confront his childhood shadow, Fred, and firmly pursue what he wanted.

If one were to ask how Yuka felt now, it would probably be like a mother seeing her not-so-promising son suddenly doing well.

’...That’s weird.’

Yuka turned to look at the butler, who she always treated like a son and was now struggling to get out of her pocket and onto the bed.

Yuka never understood why she could establish a mental connection with the butler, thinking it was a high-tech product made by Nori. But knowing that the butler was the spirit of her weapon, these questions were answered.

In the Martial World, Yuka had seen others with their own spirits. If the weapon’s level and the master’s strength were high enough, these spirits could transform into human form, accompanying their masters.

The butler, being only a little over a hundred years old and without Yuka’s companionship for most of that time, lacked the opportunity to evolve. So, it couldn’t transform and was just a somewhat silly little orb.

’That makes sense.’ Yuka looked at the butler. It was now happily playing Candy Crush after connecting to the opticomputer.

Seeing Yuka’s eyes filled with sudden affection, the butler seemed puzzled.

...

The troubles of the day seemed to carry little weight on Yuka’s sleep at night; quite the contrary, the next morning, the butler had to use three alarms to drag her out of bed.

Yuka pulled the blanket over her head and mumbled to the butler, "Why wake me up so early?"

The butler replied, "Admiral Kenji sent you many messages. He’s asking where you are and wants to pick you up for a visit to the Alliance Army headquarters."

Yuka instructed the butler to send her hotel address to Kenji, then slowly sat up and went into the bathroom to freshen up.

After washing her face, Yuka paused at the sight of the face cream the butler pushed on her. After thinking for two seconds, she decided to apply some.

The butler was overjoyed, almost ready to set off fireworks to celebrate Yuka finally understanding the importance of a little refinement and taking care of her face .

To its greater surprise, Yuka even picked out a bright red lipstick from her backpack and applied it herself.

The butler thought Yuka was doing this to please others, but Yuka was actually influenced by the saying, "Lipstick is a woman’s armor." She had heard that bright red lipstick could enhance one’s presence, proving unbeatable at negotiation tables.

After getting ready, Yuka rejected the pink dungarees the butler had chosen for her and instead put on a black long skirt, stepping out of the hotel.

Yuka, with her bright red lips and black dress, exuded an aura completely different from her usual laid-back or the butler’s energetic and cute style.\

Walking on the street, she was unrecognizable as the popular Yuka from the internet. Several girls wanted to ask about her lipstick brand but were deterred by her formidable look.

Kenji soon arrived at the agreed location. Seeing Yuka like this, he was stunned for a long time. Even when Yuka opened the car door and sat beside him, he hadn’t snapped back to reality.

Noticing Kenji’s gaze, Yuka turned her head and asked with a smile, "Do I look good?"

"You look stunning," Kenji replied.

Yuka waited for a while but didn’t hear any further compliments from Kenji. Thinking he didn’t like her style, she pouted and turned away, no longer speaking.

In reality, Kenji was so mesmerized by Yuka’s stunning appearance that his heart raced, yet he was also filled with confusion.

Two minutes later, Kenji couldn’t hold back anymore. He turned to Yuka and asked, "Why are your lips so red?"

Feeling his question wasn’t straightforward enough, Kenji paused and added, "Is it because you’re feeling warm? Or sick?"

Yuka: ...

She sighed and beckoned Kenji with her finger. As he leaned in to hear her answer, she quickly planted a kiss on his face and whispered, "It’s lipstick."

Stunned by Yuka’s sudden kiss, Kenji stiffened, his ears visibly turning red.

He held his breath, awkwardly straightening up, and turned his head. In the reflection of the car window, he saw Yuka’s red lipstick mark on his face and couldn’t help but touch it.

But when he pulled his hand away, there was nothing on it.

Kenji seemed more confused now.

Kenji wondered what brand of lipstick the butler had chosen; it was incredibly durable and waterproof. With no choice, he had to walk towards the Alliance Army building with Yuka, sporting the lipstick mark on his face.

Despite the high professionalism of the Alliance Army patrolling around the building, seeing the usually stern and unapproachable Admiral Kuba with a lipstick mark, accompanied by a beautiful woman who might be his future sister-in-law, caused a momentary breakdown in their expressions.

"So that’s the real Admiral Kuba, huh? What a player."

Yuka noticed Kenji’s neck turning red, realizing he might get too embarrassed.

She kindly reminded him, "Ordinary tissues won’t work, you need makeup remover wipes to get it off."

Kenji muttered a "Hmm," and one of his subordinates, hearing Yuka’s advice, quickly ordered a pack of makeup remover wipes on the opticomputer. They managed to get the wipes just before entering the Alliance Army building, allowing Kenji to remove the lipstick mark.

As they stepped through the doors of the Alliance Army, the previously light mood vanished.

The long corridor seemed endless, surrounded by cold and stern silver-white walls.

The Alliance Army soldiers, emotionless and armed, stood guard along the path.

Kenji, having walked this path for over ten years, never felt anything unusual. But walking beside Yuka, he suddenly realized the stark contrast her red and black attire brought against the building’s indifference.

She didn’t seem like someone going for negotiations, but more like the sultry female assassin from movies he had seen, effortlessly claiming the enemy’s head, humming a tune on her way home, and even rescuing a stray cat on the street.

Yuka didn’t mind feeling out of place with the Alliance Army. After all, she was there to disrupt, not to join them.

The subordinates had already left, leaving Kenji and Yuka to walk side by side in silence through the corridor, with only the sound of his military boots and her leather shoes echoing in the hallway.

The "click-clack" ceased as they reached the conference room door. Yuka glanced at Kenji, who nodded at her, then verified his fingerprint on the door lock and pushed open the heavy door.

Inside was a large round table, already filled with people except for the seat nearest the door.

As the door opened, heads around the table simultaneously turned to look at the newcomers.

Without hesitation, Yuka walked to the vacant seat, pulled out the chair, and sat down.

Kenji positioned himself behind General Fleet Admiral, directly opposite the door, allowing him to make eye contact with Yuka.

Hideki was also present, seated in the third seat to Yuka’s left, with the other seats occupied by the commanders of the Alliance Army’s legions.

Yuka brushed her hair back and looked straight at the General Fleet Admiral, speaking in a calm tone, "Let’s begin."

General Fleet Admiral slowly asked her, "Do you still hold the opinion you had yesterday?"

"Yes," Yuka replied firmly. "I’ve made my choice and I won’t regret it."

The commanders of the Alliance Army exchanged glances.

General Fleet Admiral continued, "Even if you are elected as the next General Fleet Admiral, you won’t join the Alliance Army?"

"No," Yuka answered decisively.

"But your votes are almost equal to Kenji’s," the commander of the Fourth Legion remarked. "If we suddenly remove you from the candidate list, it will cause dissatisfaction among the Alliance people. But we can’t reveal the details of the agreement or the facts about you to the entire Alliance population."

Yuka smiled. Their apparent concern about the election was a facade; their real worry was about keeping the agreement’s content secret and preventing the Alliance people from learning the true nature of the Alliance Army.

"They can elect whoever they want; it has nothing to do with me. Setting aside the agreement, Alliance law still gives me the freedom to choose whether or not to be the General Fleet Admiral," Yuka said with a smile, kicking the metaphorical ball back into their court.

Seeing that approach was fruitless, the commander of the Ninth Legion spoke up, "If we agree to your demand to form an army, there must be a time limit. We can’t wait until the space pirates release the Queen, and the war is nearly over before your army is ready."

"So, what time limit are you thinking of?" Yuka asked, clearly interested.

Yuka swept her gaze around the table, a sardonic smile playing on her lips. Some people averted their gaze, while others glared at her in anger.

General Fleet Admiral spoke, "Half a month."

Before Yuka could respond, Hideki erupted in anger, "Half a month? I spend longer than that just negotiating a deal! Don’t push us too far!"

"Right now, you’re the ones asking Yuka to help you deal with the Queen. Don’t act so high and mighty," Hideki continued coldly. "I wouldn’t mind buying up all the top headlines on every website to broadcast the shady deeds you’ve done across the Alliance. I can afford it!"

The room fell into a tense silence.

In the quiet, Yuka tapped the table, pondering, then spoke, "One month is enough."

"But," Yuka said with a challenging smile, "as I’ve said before, I welcome others from the Alliance Army to join my forces. If anyone wishes to leave the Alliance Army, you can’t stop them from bringing their resources to join me."

Everyone’s gaze instinctively turned to Kenji.