October 15, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle
"Thank you for your purchase, sir!" said the cheerful merchant, with a radiant smile.
"Thank you, it has been a pleasure doing business with you!" said Orion, extending his hand and shaking the chubby merchant's.
Then, to the surprise of everyone present, Orion made the mountains of supplies of all kinds he had bought disappear. On this occasion, Orion had spent a large amount of money buying materials for his kingdom at a low price.
He had found some merchants who had construction materials at an excellent price, so he had simply used most of his savings to buy them, and then he would send them to Pacific Kingdom through his Space Gate.
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have matters to attend to," said Orion with a smile and vanished without a trace.
The merchants looked at each other and sighed with relief. Their worst fear was dealing with overly powerful people, since you never knew if they would change their minds at the last moment and decide to just take their goods without paying a single Berry.
Orion used Soru and moved at high speed along the deserted beach until he reached the place where his three companions were waiting: Robin, Perona, and Alpha.
Half a month had passed since Alpha had joined the group, and during that time, Orion's adult mind had finally awakened.
It had been a pleasant surprise for him that his little self, despite not having the same cognitive capacity and experience, had been able to take charge of the situation successfully, even recruiting Perona and Alpha in the process.
Orion felt that no matter what form he was in, he was great! And he smiled exaggeratedly; if Robin could have heard his thoughts, she would have thought that his adult self and his child self were the same person after all.
Now that Orion was again in full condition, completely recovered, he had the confidence to resume his journey through the West Blue. Although Berserk Mode was deactivated, and would remain so for almost two years, Orion was not worried about it, since after his last use, he had decided not to use it again unless he was at death's door.
After all, the consequences of using it were too serious. This time he had been lucky that there was no enemy nearby at the moment the penalty occurred; otherwise it would have been easy for his enemies to kill him, with his special abilities blocked and his body in terrible condition.
Orion stopped in front of the girls and said with a smile,
"Are you ready to leave?"
"Yes, I want to see Kalifa already."
"No! I don't want to go. I want to stay with you!"
"Orion, I want sweets!"
The three girls gave completely different answers, and Orion felt a headache because of Robin's response.
The current plan was for the three of them to cross the Space Gate and return to Pacific Kingdom, while he would stay to deal with one last matter.
The problem was that Robin refused to leave and wanted to stay with him at all costs.
Orion could understand her feelings, since after spending so much time alone and being pursued by the World Government, she did not want to abandon the person who had saved her from that suffering. At the same time, she feared going alone to Pacific Kingdom. Although it was Orion's kingdom, it was a distant and strange place, and he would not be there with her.
Of course, Orion also did not want to send them alone, but right now he had no other choice, since the last task he had left in the West Blue required that he confront Laskey again!
A few days earlier, Orion had finally arrived at the place where the system had previously detected the presence of the Named Character Hina, but he had found that she was no longer there. Anyway, on the system's map, the marker indicating her position was moving at a constant speed, heading towards the Calm Belt.
Orion still wanted to go see her to find out what kind of person she was, but the problem was that two new markers had appeared beside hers, and one of them belonged to Laskey.
For a moment, Orion thought about simply not putting himself in such a problematic situation, and just returning with the three girls back to Pacific Kingdom, but then a new mission emerged on the system screen.
*
Mission 17 – Fertile Ground
Description: All entities in this world need favorable conditions to grow, whether plants, humans, or even societies.
Objective: Take the Named Character Olive as your concubine.
Reward: SP, 1 Random Skill, Random Skill Upgrade
*
The moment Orion saw the name and content of this mission, he couldn't help but curse.
"Fuck, this mission is pretty brutal!"
The way the system had written this particular mission was quite peculiar; although it was true that it maintained consistency with its usual style, it was the first time it had sounded so heartless to Orion.
Usually, even though the system showed no emotion, the way it issued missions to help people and improve the world made it feel much more humane and kind, but it was in these types of missions when Orion remembered the cold and calculating nature of the system.
Overall, one could say the system was just a tool without feelings, and it was good because the style of missions it gave, the direction of its missions, or the intention behind them were ultimately positive. In this mission, the final conclusion was probably also positive, but the way the mission was presented… had just been "quite peculiar".
Anyway, now that a mission related to the second Named Character who was with Hina had appeared, Orion couldn't just leave to avoid a confrontation with Laskey, which had led to the current situation with Robin.
Orion's idea was simple: he would stay to complete the mission involving Olive, and the three girls would return to Pacific Kingdom. That way, he could fight without worries if necessary, using his Pocket Dimension as an active weapon.
If the three girls remained inside his small personal dimension, he wouldn't be able to use it freely during the battle, fearing they might get hurt.
"Robin, we've already talked about this. I need to do this on my own," said Orion patiently.
Robin said nothing and lowered her head, knowing she was acting selfishly now. Still, she didn't want to be separated from Orion, even if it was dangerous for her. Being alone once again terrified her, and although she knew she wouldn't be alone if she crossed the Space Gate as Orion asked, she couldn't calm down. It wasn't rational, but pure emotion caused by the trauma she had lived through the past year that had changed her forever.
"Robin, I want sweets!" said Perona, taking her hand and looking at her firmly, and Robin couldn't help but laugh at the little girl's words.
Perona had not developed normally and couldn't speak fluently as a child her age should, so she couldn't express herself with complex sentences. There were only a couple of phrases she could say especially well, and "I want sweets" was one of them.
Perhaps her firm gaze said more to Robin than the words of the little girl holding her hand. Finally, Robin squeezed Perona's hand tightly and made the decision the situation needed.
"Alright Orion, I'll go to Pacific Kingdom as you want, but if you don't come back as soon as you finish your mission, I'll never forgive you!" said Robin pouting and looking totally cute.
"Of course, I swear on my life!" said Orion energetically pounding his chest, but immediately a small hand grew from the side of his neck and covered his mouth.
"Don't say something so irresponsible! Your life is the most important thing!" said Robin, somewhat angry at Orion's oath.
Orion nodded and then waved his hand in the air, making the Space Gate appear behind him.
"All right, you just have to cross this portal and you'll find yourselves in Pacific Kingdom. Don't worry, I already notified them you'll arrive and there will be people waiting for you," said Orion with a smile, trying to calm the nervous girls.
"Okay, then it's time for me to go see my sister!" said Alpha, running without hesitation and throwing herself into the portal.
Orion shook his head at Alpha's carefree attitude, then looked at Robin and said goodbye.
"I'll see you in a few days, Robin."
Robin took a few steps toward the Space Gate, walking hand in hand with Perona. However, before entering, she turned around and looking at Orion, said,
"C-Can I talk to your other self?" Her face was slightly flushed.
"Mm? You're talking now, we're actually the same person," said Orion trying to explain once again how his complex dual personality worked.
He had explained the situation before, after his adult mind had awakened again, but he thought maybe Robin hadn't fully understood and that's why he repeated the explanation.
"I know, but could you… make him appear?" said Robin in a low voice, clearly somewhat embarrassed by her request.
Orion didn't quite understand what she was thinking, but he agreed to her request anyway, since it was no problem to block his memories and transform into little Orion. Suddenly, Orion's eyes lost their depth and became pristine, indicating the change inside him, while his Age Change ability was undone, returning his body to its natural state.
Robin quickly walked to little Orion, who looked at her curiously, and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.
"Robin? Wha—"
"Shh, don't say anything! I'm just saying goodbye!" said Robin with rosy cheeks.
The two children held the position for a few seconds, and Robin took a step back, waved adorably, and jumped into the portal along with Perona. Only one phrase echoed in the air:
"Don't act stupid."
Little Orion was still very confused, not knowing quite what had happened, but at the next instant his eyes returned to their adult state, as his Age Change ability was activated again. Thinking about the confusion he had felt while in his child form, Orion felt great irritation, thinking he was much more stupid when he was a kid!
Then, Orion took out the materials he had recently bought and also sent them through the portal, completing his preparations.
Now, he could concentrate fully on completing the new mission that had arisen, and see what kind of person this woman named Olive was, for whom the system had issued a specific mission to make her his concubine.
Considering that the system used his desires as a source to generate missions, this woman should be quite special, thought Orion as he used Geppo to move away from the coast and took out his sailboat from his inventory to begin sailing towards Olive's location.
However, before he could start sailing, Robin and the other two girls successfully arrived at Pacific Kingdom, and new notifications appeared on the system screen.
*Ding*
* Mission 15 completed – Tragedy of Ohara (2)*
* You have obtained 2000 SP*
* You have obtained the special ability 'Un Fleur (incomplete)'*
* A main wife slot has been added to the companions screen*
* You have changed the future of Named Character (VIP) Nico Robin. You have obtained 25,000 SP*
* You have obtained the skill 'Archaeology (Level 2)' as an extra reward for high favorability with Named Character (VIP) Nico Robin*
* You have changed the future of Named Character Alpha. You have obtained 1000 SP*
Orion raised his eyebrows in surprise and remembered he had an incomplete mission related to Robin. With everything that had happened recently, he had forgotten this mission was still unfinished, even though he had begun traveling with Robin in the West Blue and she had implicitly accepted his company.
Orion never knew how the system determined the moment a person officially became his subordinate, or similar events, but seeing that the mission wasn't completed until he transported Robin back to Pacific Kingdom made him think that maybe fate had tried to separate him from the little genius if had he stayed with her in the West Blue.
Now that the system had recognized the mission was completed, Orion could finally sigh with relief, thinking Robin was out of danger, at least for now. He knew that with Robin's status, she would never truly be safe, at least not while the World Government held its power over this world, and that was something he planned to fix someday!
Looking at the amount of SP he got for changing the girls' futures, Orion once again understood the magnitude of the importance of someone like Robin, compared to a normal Named Character like Alpha, or even Perona.
Finally, he reviewed the two skills he had obtained. The archaeological knowledge was vast, and had been immediately recorded in his brain. Suddenly, Orion's knowledge about the history of this world increased exponentially, although this knowledge was more about ancient times and less about contemporary eras.
Additionally, Orion noticed that the historical information about this world was quite peculiar, full of gaps and dark points. It was normal in the flow of history that there wasn't precise information about everything that happened, but in the knowledge he had obtained through his new skill, Orion could perceive an external influence that had actively manipulated history, and he clearly had an idea of the dark hand behind this phenomenon.
Anyway, he felt this was an excellent reward, especially because it had been given by the system as an extra reward, due to Robin's high favorability, which already surpassed 90.
Regarding the other special ability he had received, it was the same one Robin could use thanks to her Devil Fruit, but with much less power. 'Un Fleur' basically allowed him to duplicate any part of his body once, but when Orion tried to do it, he realized he couldn't create something with too much surface area.
For example, it was impossible for him to create a complete hand, and he could only create a single finger at most, so at first glance this new special ability might seem useless. However, Orion didn't think so, and was very happy with it, thinking about possible future applications.
Not only could he create an eye or an ear like Robin did to spy on conversations and gather information, but even with just one finger he could use his Shigan, which could deliver a deadly attack if it caught someone by surprise. In the future, when he could use Armament Haki, this ability would shine even more!
Also, Orion's mind, which sometimes could stray into tangents very typical of someone with a powerful imagination and lateral thinking, thought of some exciting applications for this new special ability.
Perhaps he could use it during his attempts to increase the level of his skill "Marital Happiness" along with Giolla and Christina. Just thinking about it made Orion feel very motivated to finish his current mission and return home as soon as possible!
With a big smile, Orion adjusted the sail of his small sailboat and began sailing at full speed towards Olive's location, hoping to reach them before they arrived at the Calm Belt.
Meanwhile, on a large Marine ship sailing through the West Blue, a group of Marines was crowded against the prison door on board the ship, watching excitedly the person inside.
"Hey, don't push, you're going to squash me, damn it!"
"Who's the degenerate touching my ass?!"
"Move, damn it! You're blocking my view!"
Several different complaints could be heard from the Marines crowded against the door, and although the content varied, all expressed some kind of displeasure about their companions' presence in the place.
Suddenly, a sensual voice sounded from inside the room.
"Heeeey, guys. Could you help me? I'm very hot and sweating. Could one of you pass me a sponge? Please~"
Olive, who was inside the prison, took the edge of her shirt and stretched it slightly, showing a large amount of her beautiful skin, but without letting everything be seen completely. She had a special ability for this kind of flirtation, and she habitually used it to take advantage of all kinds of stupid men who could not resist the temptation and tried to put their hands on her.
"OOOh, let me through bastards! I'll be the one to help her!"
"You think I'll let you? Whoever wants to get through will have to beat me first!"
"Damn it! Who's the pervert touching my ass?!!!"
The Marines crowded against the door began to stir, and an accident was about to happen. They were all totally in love with the pirate captain's sensual body they were carrying as a prisoner, and wanted to put their hands on her sensual curves, even if it meant dying in the attempt!
Suddenly, a serious voice echoed in the place, calming the fiery feelings of the Marines like a cold bucket of water falling on them.
"What are you doing here? Are you planning to conspire with the prisoner? I have no problem killing anyone attempting to rebel!"
The Marines visibly trembled, then turned around to see the blond man dressed in an elegant suit who looked at them with an irritated gaze.
"Sorry, Mr. Laskey, it wasn't my intention."
"Mr. Laskey, please forgive my impertinence."
"Mr. Laskey—"
"Enough! Disperse immediately, or I will execute you for insubordination!" said Laskey angrily.
The Marines immediately began running in all directions, fearing that this famous CP9 agent would change his mind and liquidate them. Several tripped and fell to the ground, deciding to keep running on all fours to not lose time.
Finally, only Laskey remained in the place, and with irritation approached the prison door and said,
"You better behave if you want to stay alive. I don't have much patience, and I'm not in a good mood right now. Don't tempt fate."
Olive visibly trembled and immediately adjusted her shirt again and curled up in a corner trying not to make Laskey angry. She knew with whom she could act arrogantly and with whom not. Years of piracy had taught her to recognize danger and analyze people correctly, and she knew that the agent in front of her would not hesitate a second to eliminate her if she angered him, regardless of her tremendous beauty and sensuality.
Laskey was an elite CP9 agent, and had been raised since childhood like a robot, he had little interest in Olive's body, and the only reason he had two daughters was to increase his political power within his family.
Seeing that Olive was behaving, Laskey clicked his tongue and walked away without looking back. He was quite irritated because he had been assigned the mission to escort Olive to Impel Down along with the Marines of the West Blue.
Originally, this mission had been assigned to the rookie Stussy, but she had refused, saying she "had urgent matters to attend to"! Laskey, who was an agent who followed orders like a loyal dog, could not understand such audacity, and how Stussy was allowed to act freely, even though he knew she had a special status within Cipher Pol.
Although Orion did not know it, Gloriosa's actions had saved him from Laskey in their previous encounter. The reason why Laskey had left the Medici base after 10 days was because he had been called for this mission to escort Olive, otherwise he could have stayed waiting in the place for at least a month to see if Orion appeared.
The reason for his determined attitude was that he had information about Orion, since he had carefully read the reports of his daughter Kalifa's kidnapper. Through these reports, he had inferred that Orion probably could not cross long distances with his ability without having to re-emerge again and become exposed.
The fact that Stussy had refused the mission to escort Olive had forced Laskey to abandon his wait earlier than planned, which had allowed Orion to come out unscathed from the encounter with the CP9 agent. As for the reason Stussy rejected the order, it was simply because her little sister Gloriosa was acting recklessly, trying to cross the Calm Belt with the intention of going to Amazon Lily.
Ultimately, Gloriosa's imprudent actions ended up benefiting Orion
Laskey, who was completely irritated at being suddenly called to this mission, had been in a bad mood throughout the entire trip, and the Marines aboard this large ship were very afraid to provoke him.
There was only one person on this ship who was not afraid of him, and that was because she had been specially recruited by headquarters, and therefore Laskey would not lay a hand on her no matter how irritated he was.
This was the young Hina, who was currently looking at the blue waters of the West Blue, imagining her new life at the Marine Headquarters.
...
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