Transmigrated to the Interstellar Era to Raise Mermaids GL - Chapter 35
While He Jia was battling an internal struggle, she heard Orsa knock on the door again and say, “Once you’ve chosen a room, come downstairs to eat with me!”
She breathed a huge sigh of relief. Looking at the golden sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she realized how adventurous and eventful the day had been, and it was already sunset.
The moment He Jia stepped out of her room, Orsa took her hand and led her downstairs, guiding her through the magnificent corridor on the first floor to the dining room.
The long dining table, capable of seating twenty people, was laden with a sumptuous feast. From roasted meat and seafood to cakes and soups, everything was available. The fragrant food looked even more vibrant under the crystal chandelier overhead. He Jia heard her hungry stomach rumbling.
At noon on the spaceship, she was too worried about Orsa’s safety and had only casually eaten some bread to fill her stomach. Now, with her appetite fully stimulated, she felt hungry enough to eat a whole cow.
Orsa led He Jia to two seats on the same side of the dining table, signaling the robot standing nearby to set their cutlery.
He Jia looked at their touching arms in confusion: “Shouldn’t you be sitting across from me, or at the head of the table?”
Besides, this intertwining of hands severely limited her movement at the table!
“But you said that dating starts with holding hands.”
Orsa picked up a spoon with her left hand, elegantly and calmly scooping up a spoonful of appetizer soup: “I can use my left hand. Let’s eat!”
“You, you, you, how could you…”
He Jia’s face instantly turned crimson. Could this person sense what she was thinking, even on land?
That was too frightening!
“I heard it when I was standing outside the door.”
Orsa slowly wiped the corner of her lips with a napkin. She turned her head and looked at her, saying: “Don’t worry, merfolk can only use mental power in the water. Otherwise…”
She slowly leaned closer, gently touching He Jia’s forehead with her own. Her warm breath sprayed on He Jia’s delicate nose tip: “I could directly make you speed up.”
He Jia stared unblinkingly at her eyes, which were so close. She felt as if she was being drawn into that deep, azure ocean. Following the bizarre train of thought she was being led down, she asked: “Then do we have to hold hands throughout the meal?”
“Mm, we must complete the first step before we can let go.”
Orsa’s thin lips, which had just been wiped with a napkin, looked particularly vibrant and rosy, trembling slightly before He Jia, as if silently tempting her.
Kiss her, kiss her…
She suddenly pulled her left hand out of Orsa’s grip. She wrapped her arm around Orsa’s shoulder and the back of her head, pressing her own soft lips onto Orsa’s. Before Orsa could react, she hastily sat back up straight. Holding a fork in one hand and a knife in the other, she attacked the fragrant charcoal-grilled lamb chops in front of her with both hands.
“…I thought the next step would be a hug.” Orsa felt a little annoyed that the treat within reach had slipped away.
He Jia seemed to not have heard anything and continued to cut her food diligently. She cut all the ribs off the bone, put on a glove, and ate a piece with great relish: “Aiya, it’s much more satisfying to eat with both hands! Mm-hmm, these lamb chops are baked to a crispy perfection with pepper, so delicious. You must like them too, come and try!”
Orsa looked at her flushed earlobes, her eyes squinting with a light chuckle.
At this rate, she would soon get to taste what those small, soft earlobes tasted like.
After they had both eaten their fill, Orsa asked the robot to bring a box and handed it to He Jia: “For you to use.”
“What is this?”
He Jia picked up the soft, transparent little object, observing the two small protrusions on it with wide eyes.
“A water-oxygen converter.” Orsa said: “Insert it into your nose, and you can breathe freely underwater.”
He Jia put the silicone-like product on her nose, half-skeptically.
Although something was plugged into her nose, there was no feeling of blockage at all, which made her want to go to a pool and try out this high-tech product of the interstellar age.
Orsa was just about to invite her for a swim to aid digestion when she suddenly saw the old butler, accompanied by Joanna, rush in from outside, wearing a tailcoat.
Joanna wiped her sweat and hastily saluted Orsa: “Your Highness! Seeing the spaceship land at your palace, many people have gathered at the palace gates asking if you’ve returned. We can barely hold them back! The entire Noble Street is now completely gridlocked. Could you please go out and show yourself to calm the crowd?”
“Her Majesty and Duke Jonathan have also been video calling you constantly. Hearing you say you wouldn’t see anyone today, Duke Jonathan was so angry he said he’s sending a helicopter to pick you up.”
The old butler also said with a troubled expression: “Your Highness, I really don’t know how to refuse them.”
“Alright, raise the podium above the palace. And activate the aerial defense system. No flying vehicles are allowed over my palace.”
Orsa had not appeared anywhere on the Prime Star for a while, so naturally, all sorts of rumors would spread. The best way was for her to personally make an appearance and dispel the public’s suspicions.
She stood up and faced the mirror in the hall, letting the butler tidy her appearance. Then, she pushed He Jia, who was standing behind her, in front of the mirror and said: “Also, attend to He Jia. She will go up with me.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The butler, wearing white gloves, expertly took a large, fine-textured brush and swept it over He Jia’s face and clothes, then began to touch up her makeup.
He Jia, being primped like a doll, stiffened with nervousness. She looked at Orsa standing behind her in the mirror and asked: “Why do you have to take me too?”
She wasn’t ready to show herself to everyone on Mus Prime Star so quickly!
“There are media people staking out my door every day, and they are more familiar with every corner of my home than I am. They will know you are living here sooner or later. It’s better to use this opportunity to directly tell everyone that you are the Earth language tutor I hired.”
Oh, right, right, her public identity was Orsa’s private tutor!
He Jia instantly felt much more at ease. She saw her reflection in the mirror: her makeup was subtle and comfortable, and her creamy-white suit looked gentle and amiable. All that was missing was a pair of glasses, fit for a teacher, to complete the perfect look!
Orsa crossed her arms, met He Jia’s gaze, thanked the butler with satisfaction, and took her hand, walking toward the elevator that led straight to the top-floor podium.
Only after stepping out of the elevator did He Jia realize that the palace’s circular roof could open up like petals, with a large, retractable podium in the center. They stood on the platform, slowly ascending into the air. As the surrounding lights illuminated, she saw the grounds outside the palace were densely packed with people.
People on the street also looked up at the podium above the palace.
Orsa took a few steps forward to stand at the microphone. The automatic lights around the podium focused entirely on her, making her glow as if plated in gold foil. Her striking military uniform against the night sky looked as magnificent, dazzling, noble, and extraordinary as a blue peacock displaying its tail feathers.
“It really is the Great Princess! I said, who else could warrant an escort of four large warships! We’re so lucky we rushed over early to get a good position. Quick, open your cameras and film Her Highness 360 degrees!”
Before the media person could finish, a transparent protective shield suddenly rose around the palace, blocking all the media helicopters circling in mid-air who wanted to get closer to Orsa, including the one Duke Jonathan had sent to confront her.
“Wuwuwu, this is wonderful! Many media people staking out the military were saying they hadn’t seen Her Highness for three months and that she must be seriously ill! I was so worried, checking the news online every time I woke up. Now that I see Her Highness is fine, I can finally sleep soundly!”
“Her Highness seems a little thinner, but that makes her look even more cool, noble, and beautiful! I should say, Her Highness looks beautiful no matter what. I can never get enough of looking at her!”
“Hey! Look, isn’t there another person standing behind Her Highness? She’s not wearing a military uniform, so she doesn’t look like a subordinate, and she doesn’t seem to be from the Laceia family either?”
“I, as the sixth branch president of Her Highness’s fan club, inform you that this person has never appeared within ten meters of Her Highness before! She might be her new secretary… Ahhhh, Her Highness actually turned and smiled at her, and Her Highness is holding her hand! Who is she, who is she? I need all her information within three seconds!”
Orsa pulled He Jia, who was hiding behind her, to stand by her side. Looking at the excited crowds below and the countless flashing cameras pointed at her, she announced loudly: “Good evening. I am Orsa Laceia. I was indeed away from Mus Prime Star due to illness for a period, but I have now fully recovered. Thank you for your concern!”
Hearing a wave of thunderous noise erupt from the crowd, Orsa motioned for everyone to calm down and continued: “While recovering on an alien planet, I met this lady beside me. Her name is He Jia, and she is an Earthling from the Solar System. Under her influence, I developed a very strong interest in Earth culture and am currently learning Earth language from her.”
The crowd fell silent again. Everyone was trying to process the amount of information in Orsa’s statement, momentarily failing to understand what exactly He Jia’s relationship with her was.
“I have always believed that the Mus Star System knows too little about other star systems. My experience leaving Mus Prime Star further strengthened this view. In the future, I will dedicate myself to promoting cultural exchange between the Mus Star System and other star systems. I hope everyone will also open their hearts and be more harmonious and friendly toward my Earth language tutor and all alien visitors!”
After listening to the Great Princess’s official statement, the public finally grasped the keyword: tutor.
“Phew… that nearly scared me to death! When I heard the first sentence, I thought Her Highness was going to introduce her significant other!”
“Yeah! She’s just a language tutor. Why would Her Highness introduce her specifically! And they’re standing so close, shoulder to shoulder. Ignoring what Her Highness said and just looking at the scene, one is elegant and aloof, and the other is gentle and cute—they really look like a match made in heaven… Aiya, what nonsense am I rambling!”
“Didn’t Her Highness say so! She’s very interested in that Earth culture and wants to promote cultural exchange between star systems, so she’s personally setting an example! I wonder where that Solar System is and how far it is from us. But anything Her Highness thinks is good must be good. I’m going to learn Earth language too!”
“Right, right, right! Which of the policies and laws Her Highness promotes isn’t for the good of everyone? As long as Her Highness likes it, I like it! Whatever Her Highness decides to do, I will certainly support it!”
Orsa’s remarkably keen hearing caught the crowd’s conversations. Seeing that everyone had more or less processed the information, she handed the microphone to He Jia and said to her: “Say hello to everyone and promote yourself!”
He Jia was incredibly nervous, seeing all the cameras and spotlights fiercely flashing at her. Remembering the mission Orsa had entrusted to her to promote Earth culture on Mus Prime Star, she tried to calm down and offered a radiant smile: “Hello everyone, I am He Jia.”
Seeing the crowd applaud her very respectfully, He Jia wasn’t sure what to say next to avoid an awkward silence.
She suddenly noticed many people on the street holding fans with Orsa’s portrait, light boards with Orsa’s name, and wearing unified support attire. Her eyes rolled, and a brilliant idea struck her: “You must all be very interested in why the Great Princess wants to learn Earth language, right? It’s actually because she really loves listening to stories from Earth. So, does everyone want to know what kind of stories Orsa… Her Highness likes to hear?”
“Yes!!!” A deafening roar instantly filled the sky over the Imperial Capital.
As expected, fans would enthusiastically engage with anything concerning their idol. After all, she was helping Orsa in the end, so she might as well use Orsa’s star power to instantly boost Earth’s profile among the Mus Star people!
“Then I will now tell everyone a bedtime story that the Princess loves to hear, shall I?”
“Yes!!!” The crowds became even more excited and energized.
He Jia had interned with kindergarten children before, so simple and universally popular short stories like various national fairy tales or One Thousand and One Nights were readily available to her. So, she cleared her throat and, standing on the podium above the palace, spoke with emotion and expression to the live audience and all Mus Star people watching the media broadcast: “A long, long time ago, there lived a little mermaid in the ocean. One day, while swimming on the surface, she rescued a Princess…”