Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 60: Hidden History

Yuka stood up from the training pod and noticed Fred beside her, his face gloomy and his fists clenched. "Fighting is prohibited in school," she kindly reminded him. "Or else, you’ll be expelled."

Fred’s expression darkened further. He huffed loudly and walked towards Alex.

Startled, Alex instinctively took a defensive stance. Fred’s outstretched hand halted mid-air. He scoffed coldly and tossed a space button to Alex.

Alex, in a rush, caught it, hearing Fred say, "This is what you wanted. Remember your promise and never return to the palace again."

Alex gripped the space button tightly, his lips pressed together as he nodded, "I will."

After Fred left, Ayoi and Yuka approached Alex and left the classroom with him. Under their curious gazes, Alex spoke softly, "This belonged to my mother, an old-style mecha... She was also a soldier of the Alliance Army."

"Wow, that’s impressive," Yuka and Ayoi exclaimed.

The Alliance prohibits private ownership of mechas, so Alex couldn’t easily show it to them. He pocketed the space button and suggested to Yuka and Ayoi, "Remember Mr. Kuba said we could modify the training mechas ourselves? Toru is coming back from the autumn camp; we could ask for his help."

"Can he modify mechas?" Ayoi asked doubtfully. "But he’s in the same grade as us."

Modifying mechas wasn’t something everyone can do. It required frequent interaction with mechas, knowing each part, and understanding their operational modes.

Ayoi’s skepticism was understandable. Most people in logistic specialization didn’t acquire the mecha maintenance and modification certificate even after graduation.

There were few masters of modification within the Alliance, and they are all over thirty years old. It was normal for them to suspect that Toru, a peer of theirs, could a proper modifier.

"He really can," Alex replied confidently. "He already got the modification certificate, issued by the head of the Alliance Science Academy himself, during the autumn camp."

"Does he charge a lot?" Ayoi inquired.

"I’ll ask," Alex said.

He messaged Toru on his opticomputer, and Toru replied quickly, "Sure, sure! I won’t charge!"

Yuka suddenly remembered she had categorized Toru under her rarely contacted list. She opened her opticomputer and moved him out of that category. As soon as she clicked on his communication avatar, over 99 messages from Toru appeared.

Yuka was overwhelmed.

She skimmed through them, most of which were thanking her for saving his life and offering help with anything she needed, promising to do his best.

Yuka pondered before replying, "There’s nothing I need for now. Thanks for offering it though."

"No, no," Toru quickly responded. "Please let me do something for you! I just told Alex, I’ll modify your mechas for free. You can trust me and my skills, and I’m sure you’ll be satisfied!"

Unable to decline Toru’s enthusiasm, Yuka eventually agreed.

Before meeting with Toru, Yuka had to face the theoretical exam. Professor Pickle, as strict as ever, said, "Based on the last quiz, I understand your abilities are quite average. So, for this midterm, I’ve lowered the difficulty and added a high-value subjective question. As long as you write something reasonable, I’ll give you some marks."

He distributed the exam papers to everyone’s opticomputers and activated the anti-cheating mode, then began to proctor the exam by walking around the classroom.

Yuka browsed through the pages, completing the objective questions worth sixty points first, then stared blankly at the remaining forty-point subjective question.

Professor Pickle once again approached Yuka. He remembered her as the only student who scored full marks in the last quiz, a rare and evidently diligent student.

With a special attention reserved for promising students, Pickle stood beside her seat, curious about what question had stumped her.

Yuka gazed at the question [Please discuss freely on the final battle between the Alliance Army and the Insectoid Queen - the Battle of Honor] on her paper and began to space out.

Her knowledge of this historical event came from two sources.

The first was Hideki. He was in the living room having a video call with a partner while Yuka was eating her nutritional paste at a nearby table. She overheard the person on the other end asking Hideki, "Mr. Taira, about that planet where the final battle between the Alliance Army and the Insectoid Queen took place, is it now part of your assets?"

Hearing the words "the Insectoid Queen," two-year-old Yuka accidentally spilled her food. While the household robot hurried to clean and change her, Yuka pushed it away, attentively eavesdropping on Hideki’s conversation. Soon after, she quietly stole an opticomputer and searched the interstellarnet, learning some facts about the historic battle.

The content of history books may not always be accurate. This was Yuka’s conclusion after hearing Hideki’s words and then examining official documents.

According to official statements in history books, the final battle between the Alliance Army and the Queen occurred outside the Alliance star system. The Alliance’s General Fleet Admiral, leading all thirteen legions, engaged in a fierce battle with the Queen, narrowly winning at a high cost with thousands of warriors sacrificed. It was described as a devastating war.

However, Hideki narrated a different story. The battle, as per his account, happened on a fringe planet in the Alliance star system, not far from Capital Octoxis. During the critical phase of the war, the royal family and their followers fled, leaving the then-imperial citizens unarmed and exposed on the frontlines.

The aftermath was a field of corpses.

Yuka couldn’t find this part of history anywhere; it seemed to have been erased.

Another source was Nori. That day, while Yuka was solving geometry problems, Nori mockingly commented on her intelligence, comparing it to an insectoid’s. Yuka, curious, asked, "What insect?"

Realizing his inappropriate analogy, Nori was reluctant to elaborate but eventually explained to Yuka about "the Queen."

Yuka then asked about the royal family’s actions during that time and why no one resisted or mentioned it later. Nori fell silent for a moment before softly responding, "Yuka, this world isn’t that simple."

From Nori’s explanations, Yuka learned about the other side of the story. Before the war, humans and insectoids were in a delicate balance, each wary of the other, with periodic casualties on both sides. The Queen’s sudden uprising was triggered by the Science Academy’s success in creating the first mecha with Oniyon and their unauthorized experiment on the Queen’s planet.

Feeling threatened, the Queen ordered her offspring to strike against humans first. The Empire, at that time, was unprepared for such an attack.

"I shouldn’t say this," Nori said gravely, "but the number of people who died because of the Science Academy’s rash decision wasn’t fewer than those sacrificed by the royal family as human shields."

"And the Imperial Legions, once seen as saviors, were caught in severe internal strife."

Mecha, as a novel type of individual weapon back then, threatened the existing weapons system and affected the interests of many, causing some to face financial ruin. Businessmen cooperating with the military sensed the shift in the wind and withdrew their financial support.

Old-school legion leaders started clashing with the younger ones who supported the widespread use of mechas. They were uncompromising and even resorted to brawls within the legions. The then General Fleet Admiral, unable to stabilize the situation, took a portion of the willing warriors to the battlefield, hoping to first eliminate the external threat.

With such severe internal strife, they failed to eradicate the insectoids and instead suffered greater human losses. As the insectoid attacks intensified, people began to realize that if they didn’t stop the internal conflicts and resolve their immediate insectoid issue, humanity might face extinction.

Consequently, after a joint conference, a consensus was reached among the three factions. Scandals involving the royal family and the Science Academy were suppressed. In exchange, the royal family had to provide financial and material support to the legions, and the Science Academy was to cooperate in producing enough mechas for the war.

The internal conflicts within the legions were temporarily set aside, and both new and old weapons were deployed on the battlefield.

"Later, the legions gained excellent reputation among the public and, supported by abundant resources and powerful military strength, naturally became the dominant force among the three factions," Nori said. "That’s the whole truth about the so-called Battle of Honor, a milestone that humanity should always remember... Hah, disgusting."

Yuka continued working on her problems expressionlessly.

Indeed, it was disgusting.

"Can’t you do this question?" Professor Pickle finally couldn’t help asking softly. "Just write anything down, even your own thoughts."

Yuka thought, ’if I write down my actual thoughts, I’ll be locked up in an Alliance prison for life by tonight.’ She smiled at Professor Pickle and continued staring blankly at the table, indicating her inability to answer the question.

Sixty points were already enough for her.

Feeling let down by the students he took pride in, Professor Pickle adjusted his glasses and walked away with a heavy heart.

After the exam, Yuka handed in her paper and left the classroom. Alex and Ayoi followed. Alex said, "Toru is back. Mr. Kuba just announced that before the exam, we’ll all get time to modify our mechas. They’ll even provide some Oniyon, starting tomorrow!"

"Toru suggests that we all meet today to discuss our ideas. He wants to know how we want to assemble the mechas and see if it’s feasible. If not, we’ll change plans in time," Alex explained. "The meeting is... by the playground."

Yuka and Ayoi nodded in agreement.

In the afternoon, Toru, holding his opticomputer, eagerly explained how to install the components for maximum efficiency, frequently sneaking glances at Yuka.

His attempts at subtlety didn’t go unnoticed, and Ayoi and Alex quickly caught on, giving him warning looks.

Yuka sighed and explained the situation to Ayoi and Alex, asking Toru to stop staring at her.

Ayoi and Alex were shocked, exclaiming in unison, "That old man blowing up the spacecraft was actually you?!"

The absurdity of the situation seemed less so when it involved Yuka; in fact, they felt like this was the only reasonable explanation.

Ayoi and Alex thought with mixed feelings, ’No wonder Yuka was so proficient at blowing up ships; she had already done it once before.’

Toru, a bit embarrassed, scratched his head and continued, "So now, Yuka needs to adjust the mecha’s agility, Ayoi needs a mechanical arm that can hold more ammunition, and Alex needs a switchable mechanical arm... plus, you all need an inbuilt communication system for your mechas, right?"

The three nodded in agreement.

Toru quickly noted their requirements and showed them his design. With their approval, the modification plan was set.

"Oh, right!" Toru suddenly remembered. "I added a range-finding device to the detector I showed you last time. I’ll install it in your mechas as well, so if space pirate ships come, you’ll be the first to know!"

The trio thanked him, and Toru, still a bit shy, waved his hand and left with his opticomputer.

The next day, they all gathered in the underground parking garage, waiting for Kenji to release all the mechas. Yuka noticed that not many students had managed to find a master modifier.

Donny was accompanied by the Alliance’s best current modifier, a man with a professorial demeanor and a monocle. She frowned slightly upon seeing Toru standing with Yuka’s group and said something to the man before approaching them.

"Is this your modifier?" Donny asked.

"Yes, that’s me," Toru replied.

"You?" Donny’s brow furrowed deeper, then she tactfully asked Yuka’s group, "Do you need help? I can let my modifier do yours..."

Before she could finish, they were interrupted by an unexpected voice.

Fred approached and arrogantly said to the group, "They could only afford such a counterfeit modifier."

Toru, facing such humiliation for the first time, was so infuriated that he whipped out his qualification certificate, nearly thrusting it into Fred’s face.

The master modifier brought by Donny paused in surprise, then eagerly walked over and excitedly shook Toru’s hand, exclaiming, "It’s you!! You’re that youngest genius, the one who got the qualification certificate at the youngest age!"

He engaged Toru in conversation, and the two quickly found common ground, chatting enthusiastically.

Donny, taken aback for a moment, then apologized to Yuka’s group, "Sorry, my mistake. I’ve never seen such a young modifier before. He seems to be from our academy, right?"

"Yes," Yuka nodded.

Yuka observed as Fred’s face shifted from pale to red, before he hastily turned and left. She asked in confusion, "Why does he keep coming here just to embarrass himself?"

Alex was feeling complex emotions. It seemed like ever since Yuka arrived, Fred had been constantly humiliated. While Alex was pleased to see Fred like this, he also worried that Fred might seek revenge on Yuka elsewhere.

Yuka, as if reading his thoughts, shrugged and said, "If he doesn’t mess up with me, I certainly won’t do anything to him."