One Piece: Global improvement system 22: First meeting with Doll

July 16, 1496, Age of the Sea Circle

"Give two of those apples too," Julia said cheerfully to the fruit stand vendor.

She had co to pick up a dress from the tailor's shop in the center of town, and now she was returning ho to keep Doll company.

Julia had grown up without a mother, and her father had worked at Doll's mansion since she was a child, so the two had been friends since they were young. Although over the years she had co to understand the disparity in their social status, their relationship remained close.

The vendor gave her the apples, and she thanked her with a smile and paid her with a few coins. These kinds of fruits were not expensive in this area of ​​the South Blue, and could basically be bought for just a few berries.

Julia quickened her pace to get ho as quickly as possible. She knew Doll was waiting for her to work in the gardens, and that by order of her parents, she couldn't do any work that would require her hands to co into contact with the earth. Therefore, she wouldn't be able to do much if Julia wasn't there to assist her.

She decided to cut through the back alleys of the comrcial district, where there were almost no people present and she could run freely. However, only a few minutes after entering the alleys, she noticed a group of people approaching at high speed.

She tried to run and escape them, but after a few monts, she was cornered by the group and forced to stop.

She looked at the n, who were dressed in soldier uniforms and didn't appear to be part of the militia. They were probably rcenaries, or the personal ard forces of so powerful family in the city.

The sound of footsteps approaching slowly could be heard in the quiet alley.

Finally, a young man with an arrogant expression appeared in front of her. The soldiers stepped aside to let him pass, bowing respectfully.

"You must be the gardener. Do you know what cri you committed?" the young man said in an arrogant voice that would make anyone who heard it want to punch him hard in the face.

"Cri- Cri? What are you talking about?" Julia responded nervously. She wasn't good at interacting with other people, much less a young aristocrat.

She was part of one of the most powerful families in Beru City, even though she was a re servant, so she was familiar with the despotic behavior of such individuals. The younger mbers of these aristocratic families were especially arrogant and ruthless.

"I see you have no manners at all, but that was to be expected; you are a simple peasant, after all. You're not much different from a monkey in my eyes," the young man said with a disgusted expression, as if he were looking at sothing unpleasant.

"I- I am Miss Doll Korn's personal servant…"

"Silence! How dare you try to ntion your status in front of ? I am Alaris Grone," the young man replied aggressively.

Julia was greatly frightened by Alaris's heated reaction and took a step back in fear, but her back hit the cold wall of the alley. There was no escape; she was completely surrounded by the group of soldiers.

Alaris sighed, trying to calm himself. He hated having to deal with Julia face to face, but this was an order from Hannyabal, and he needed to show his face. Only then could he send an effective ssage and gain the favor of the city leader's son. As for the Korn family's anger and possible retaliation for abusing one of their servants? That didn't worry him in the slightest. Hannyabal would have his back, and the Korn family would never enter into conflict over a re maid.

"Heh, you've offended soone you shouldn't have, and for that you must pay the price. Lord Hannyabal has ordered that no one may interact with Doll until he orders otherwise. Isn't Lord Hannyabal worthy of ordering you around?"

When she heard that the source of her current dilemma was Hannyabal's orders, Julia paled. She knew very well that with the other party's power, it was easy to take care of a maid like her. As long as it didn't go too far, the Korn family wouldn't do anything about it if the incident involved the son of the city's highest authority.

"I see you're ready to accept your punishnt. I hope you don't forget in the future that Lord Hannyabal's orders are the law in this city. If you continue to insist on interacting with Doll, the next ti the outco may be much worse, haha."

Julia felt her legs give way, and she fell to the ground. The soldiers around her were unfazed. They wore solemn expressions and showed no emotion. They were only following their young master's orders, and even if they didn't want to harm this young girl, they had to obey them.

"Very well, what punishnt should we give you? If I'm too rciful, Lord Hannyabal might be displeased. Hmm, well, I think we'll just break your hands and cut out your tongue. That way you won't be able to help Doll with the gardening or talk to her. Seems like a fair punishnt, right? Go ahead guys, ti to work."

Julia's eyes filled with tears, as the soldiers stepped forward to carry out their master's orders.

However, before they could take action, a figure appeared out of nowhere at high speed, interposing itself between the group of soldiers and the girl.

The figure was obviously Orion, who had been following the young man's movents since morning. He had seen him lead the group of soldiers and surround Julia in this deserted alley, and he had overheard the conversation between the two.

Finally, when he saw Alaris give the cruel orders to his soldiers, he decided to take action and put an end to this farce.

With the cutlass in his hand, he saw the group of soldiers looking at him curiously and already drawing their swords.

The group of soldiers wasn't very large. There were only five soldiers, and they didn't seem very strong, being at the level of a low-level marine recruit.

With Orion's current power, these types of soldiers were easy to eliminate.

He wasn't planning on carrying out a massacre here anyway. For starters, it would terrify Julia and be counterproductive to his goal of establishing a connection with Doll. On the other hand, if he made a big scene here, he would likely put Rouge at risk, and he wouldn't be able to stay on the island for long before having to escape to ensure the safety of his master's wife. If he were alone, he wouldn't have to be so careful, but with Rouge in the mix, things changed.

Orion kicked the ground and his body disappeared from the soldiers' vision. His speed, which had been increased thanks to his passive ability, was too high for these soldiers.

Orion used the blunt side of his cutlass and easily immobilized the group of soldiers, who fell unconscious to the ground, unable to offer any resistance.

After being beaten for months by his master Roger, it was nice to erge victorious from a fight once again!

It was also the first ti he had fought since his training, and he could finally truly perceive the advancent of his skills. Right now, even without using his ability to transform his body into that of an adult, he had no trouble taking on "normal"-level soldiers. Probably all marine officers below the rank of lieutenant would be no match for him, and he would definitely have no problem wiping out an entire crew of pirates of the level that had attacked Pacific Town so ti ago, even if the crew was much larger

If he could learn to use Haki, his fighting power would increase exponentially, and he would finally be able to sleep peacefully at night. Unfortunately, there was still a long way to go before he could master Haki, even if he had the new ability that enhanced his talent in that area.

Feeling his strength increase was always a reason to rejoice, but now there were other things to take care of.

Orion looked at the young aristocrat, who was looking at him tremblingly with a pistol in his hand.

He had had a few experiences fighting against firearms, and while he didn't fear the destructive power of these rudintary pistols, he didn't want to end up injured through carelessness.

Before Alaris could pull the trigger, Orion had already appeared behind him at full speed, and with a swipe of his sword, the young man collapsed, as did his subordinates.

Orion approached the frightened Julia and extended his hand with a smile.

"Are you okay? Can you stand up?"

Julia looked in surprise at the little boy in front of her and tentatively extended her hand, a little nervously.

With Orion's help, she managed to sit up, and her mind finally finished processing everything that had happened. Seeing the group of n unconscious on the ground, she felt a great relief in her chest. She knew she had narrowly escaped a terrible fate.

Still with tears in her eyes, she bowed heavily and thanked Orion for his help, over and over again.

Orion simply patted her shoulder and comforted her as best he could, then offered to escort her ho, which Julia accepted without hesitation. She was still a little terrified, and she felt much safer with Orion by her side.

They began walking toward Doll's family mansion, and along the way, Orion managed to get the girl to relax a little. They talked about life in Beru City, and Orion told her a few things about himself, though nothing too important.

Finally, they reached the gate of the mansion, and Julia said goodbye to him.

Although she had a good opinion of Orion because he had saved her, he was still a stranger, and she wouldn't invite him into the Korn mansion. She didn't have that authority.

Orion simply smiled and said goodbye to her, telling her he would be in the city for a few more days, and that if she wanted to find him, she could go to the large plaza not far from here. It was the sa plaza where he had seen Hannyabal and the other young aristocrats earlier.

Julia nodded enthusiastically and ran into the mansion, while Orion returned to the inn. The first contact with Doll's social circle had been completed, now he would have to wait and see if he could et this Nad Character in the next few days. If it didn't work out, he would have no choice but to leave and try another ti.

..............................

Doll was sitting at a large desk, practicing calligraphy, when Julia burst into the room.

"Sorry I'm late, Miss Doll. I had a problem along the way," Julia said, placing the dress she had gone to pick up on the table.

"A problem?" Doll looked at her only friend, raising her eyebrows. She imdiately realized that Julia wasn't in the best state of mind. Her body was trembling slightly, although she tried hard to hide it.

"What kind of inconvenience? Tell in detail."

Julia hesitated a little, but finally decided to tell her in detail what had happened. After all, it was important information, and she couldn't hide it, even if she didn't want her sensitive friend to worry about it.

Doll listened carefully to Julia's story, her brow furrowing very slightly, almost imperceptibly.. Her upbringing prevented her from showing too much emotion in her expressions, as that wasn't worthy of a woman of her stature. Perhaps only when she was listening to music or tending to her plants did she lose control of her expressions and display a more genuine countenance, befitting a girl her age.

"Hannyabal?" Doll sighed..

She was tired of being bullied by this strange boy who looked like an adult. All her life, she had suffered bullying from others. When she was little, all the children treated her badly and bullied her for her behavior and appearance. As she grew older, only the girls continued to bully her, and the boys began to confess their love for her.

She had no interest in the boys' confessions of love and tried to ignore the girls' bullying just as much. However, Hannyabal's presence was different. His influence among the aristocratic group was incredible, and his personality was very arrogant and capricious. Since Hannyabal had declared that she would be his wife, Doll hadn't had a peaceful day. Her family would do nothing about it, as they considered it a ga between the children of their families. After all, Hannyabal's actions had no serious repercussions, at least not in the eyes of adults.

Doll knew that even though Hannyabal had declared his sovereignty over her and his family was seeking to unite them to establish an alliance, such an ambition was dood to fail. In reality, she was already engaged, although no one in the city knew it.

Her father had agreed to a betrothal to a prince from a nearby kingdom, and once the marriage was finalized, her family would gain the backing of a powerful kingdom and change the distribution of power in the city. In the future, the Korn family would likely beco the most powerful in the city, and she would be a key piece in achieving this.

Julia saw that Doll was a little depressed upon hearing about Hannyabal's aggressive actions, so she tried to cheer her up by changing the subject. She began talking about Orion, his strange appearance, and so curious things he had told her along the way.

Listening to the interesting stories about the world outside Beru, Doll's eyes lit up, and her curiosity about this "Orion" her friend ntioned increased exponentially.

Finally, Julia told her that Orion had said she could find him in the square in the next few days, and Doll remained silent, thoughtful.

..............................…

July 17, 1496, Age of the Sea Circle

Orion was in the square, sitting on the grass and enjoying the morning sun.

In the distance, he saw two people approaching. On the left was Julia, whom he had saved yesterday in the alleys, and on the right was a beautiful girl with long, silky hair, porcelain-white skin, and soft, delicate features.

It was easy to deduce that this person was undoubtedly the Nad Character "Doll." She truly lived up to her na.

The two girls approached him, and Julia took the initiative to greet him.

"Hello Orion! I ca to see you!" the girl said cheerfully. She was in much better condition than yesterday. Beyond her optimistic personality, Doll's presence gave her confidence and made her act less nervous.

Orion greeted her with a smile and then looked at Doll, who was looking at him curiously.

"Hello, my na is Orion Lysander. Nice to et you," said Orion, extending his hand.

Doll placed her hands on the sides of her long white dress and bowed formally. This was the greeting used by the aristocrats of Beru, and it was considered the most respectful.

Orion nodded and retracted his hand. Every place had its own customs, and evidently, people here weren't accustod to shaking hands when greeting.

"My na is Doll Korn. Nice to et you."

"Orion, tell Doll about your trip around the South Blue!" Julia said enthusiastically.

The two girls sat down next to him on the grass, and Orion began to chatter away, telling interesting stories.

Of course, he hadn't had that many adventures since he ca to this world, so he simply recounted various anecdotes about his teacher, Roger, while the two girls watched intently.

Doll's eyes lit up, and although she didn't show any exaggerated expression on her face, if one paid attention, one could notice that her fists were tightly clenched, betraying her excitent.

Orion took this opportunity to size Doll up.

At first glance, the girl was a high-society lady, very polite and noble. She didn't make any grand movents when she spoke, and her expressions were always light and graceful.

"Doll, Julia told your favorite hobby is gardening," Orion said, trying to get the girl to talk a little more about herself.

Hearing Orion ntion a topic she liked, the smile on Doll's face deepened, and she began to talk about her gardening experiences.

Orion listened attentively as she spoke of her flowers as if they were her children, and how she and Julia had a large garden full of beautifully colored flowers.

Orion's impression of Doll was that she was a simple girl, without many deep thoughts. She lived her life according to her parents' wishes, and one could say that this beautiful girl was sowhat boring.

After talking for a long ti, Doll looked at Orion with so hesitation and finally said:

""Orion, would you like to visit my house tomorrow? That way, I can show you my gardens.."

He hadn't expected to receive an invitation from Doll, so he was briefly surprised. However, he imdiately regained his composure and gladly accepted the invitation. After all, it would be a good opportunity to continue learning more about Doll and her environnt.

Orion and the two girls talked for hours, and the familiarity between them grew considerably. Doll, who for a long ti had only had one friend to talk to, finally found a second person to socialize with, which put her in a very good mood.

However, the harmonious atmosphere didn't last long, as a group of unwanted guests appeared in the plaza.

"Lord Hannyabal, that's the boy who attacked ! Because of him, I couldn't carry out your orders," ca the irritating voice of Alaris Grone.

"Oh? That little shit defeated you? You're quite incompetent, aren't you?" Hannyabal replied disdainfully. Then he approached the group of three and fixed his gaze on Doll.

Just seeing her beautiful face, Hannyabal's eyes transford into two hearts, and he tried to start a conversation.

"Doll, you've finally decided to co out of your seclusion! Are you ready to accept my marriage proposal?"

Hannyabal completely ignored the presence of the other two individuals. In his eyes, they were unimportant people.

"Hannyabal, I've told you many tis that I won't accept your proposal. Now if you'll excuse , I have to attend to my afternoon classes."

Doll stood up and greeted Orion with a respectful smile. Then, without even looking at Hannyabal and the rest of the young n, she and Julia headed off toward her mansion.

Hannyabal stared at Doll's back with fanaticism in his eyes, and swore he would get her no matter the cost! Then he turned around, intending to teach the little boy who had dared to oppose him a lesson. But he found no one; Orion had already silently left.

On the roof of a nearby house, Orion was leaning against the tiles, staring at the sky and thinking.

"It's best not to have contact with Hannyabal. Just seeing him makes want to punch him in the face, which could lead to trouble. As for Doll... There doesn't seem to be any problem with her; perhaps she's just a little distant, so interactions with her aren't too interesting. But it would certainly be worth establishing a connection with her. In any case, there's no rush to do so. I think I'll go to her house tomorrow as I promised today, and the day after tomorrow I'll leave for Pacific Town."

Orion stood up, dusted off his pants, and started heading toward the center of town. He needed to prepare a couple of things for tomorrow.

anwhile, Doll was walking ho with Julia, her mind sowhat distracted, thinking about tomorrow's eting with Orion.

In reality, she hadn't invited him simply to see the gardens, but rather hoped Orion could help her with sothing.

Due to her routine and lifestyle, she was completely isolated in her daily life, only having contact with Julia and a few teachers. She had never co into contact with anyone "from the outside world," and she considered this a good opportunity to finally acquire sothing she had longed for: Tone Dials.

Since she had acquired the Tone Dial with the rock song, it had beco her greatest treasure and also her biggest secret.

In her daily life, this was the only treat Doll had allowed herself over the years, which demonstrated how important this object was to her.

Now that she had t Orion and established a friendly relationship with him, she was ready to reveal her biggest secret and ask him to help her search for more similar tone dials in the outside world.

Beru City wasn't a small city, and it was arguably a major trading center in this area of ​​the South Blue, but even so, for the past ten years, only one tone dial had appeared.

If she wanted to acquire new rock songs, the only option was to place an official order with the trading companies or go to other islands to purchase them. These two options were impossible for her, who was like a canary in a cage, so Orion's appearance gave her the chance to finally fulfill the desire she'd had for many years to acquire more songs.

Orion wasn't part of the city, and would be leaving soon, so she didn't consider it a problem to expose her little secret if it ant she could obtain new tone dials.

Thinking that the next day she would finally be able to share her secret with soone, Doll felt butterflies in her stomach, and a slightly bigger smile than usual spread across her face.