June 5, 1497, Age of the Sea Circle
Orion drank the bitter liquid he had prepared himself using various herbs.
With his talent in herbalism and dicine, it wasn't difficult to create all kinds of dicines capable of treating minor illnesses and ailnts.
This ti, he had prepared a hangover dicine, and it was the first ti he had taken it, as he didn't usually drink alcohol in his daily life and had never needed it.
Several hours had passed since he had fought Vasco Shot, and it was already evening.
He was currently inside his Pocket Dinsion, which he had entered as soon as he woke up, for safety reasons.
Orion checked his body and saw that there were no problems, except for the trendous headache caused by the hangover he was suffering from. But that wasn't a major problem, and it would be relieved with the dicine he had just taken.
He looked at the map and saw that the marker indicating Vasco Shot's position had moved again, and he was now in the capital city of this kingdom called Roux.
Simply recalling the battle with the drunken prince, he could only sigh bitterly. This ti, he had been a bit reckless, and it had almost ended badly.
There was a good reason why the system had issued a warning regarding the danger of the Nad Character Vasco Shot; his unconventional powers could affect Orion despite his high defenses.
Fortunately, the worst hadn't happened, and he had been able to escape the confrontation unscathed, though that was only thanks to Lucky Roux's tily intervention.
He didn't fully rember what had happened, but he knew he had been pulled from the battlefield by the scrawny boy, who was currently fulfilling his role as a slave, deep within the mine.
Orion hadn't expected Lucky Roux to be so fast that he could outrun Vasco Shot, and it was surprising to think that his monstrous use of Observation Haki wasn't his only talent; he was also physically gifted.
Looking at the quest screen, Orion read the latest addition, which had appeared a few days ago, after he decided to help overthrow the kingdom's royal family.
*Quest 12 - A Small Fla
Description: In this gigantic world, the Roux kingdom may be considered a tiny place, but even a small fla lit here can spread violently if given enough ti.
Objectives: Overthrow the Vasco royal family, freeing the kingdom from their despotic rule.
Reward: SP, Random Kingdom Building Box, Character Improving Card*
Orion watched the new quest thoughtfully, while waiting for Lucky Roux to return to the surface. He had noticed sothing about the system's functioning, or more precisely, about the system's missions: it seed like the system was creating missions based on his wishes or objectives.
He had noticed this for quite so ti, but hadn't given it much thought. Basically, the system gave out two types of missions: those that had nothing to do with his will, and got him involved in all sorts of situations, and those that arose from things he wanted to do.
This last mission undoubtedly belonged to the second category, since he would have tried to overthrow the Vascos even without a mission from the system.
On the other hand, missions like Guanhao's didn't appear after he decided to act, but rather tended to trigger his actions, and put him in a slightly more passive position.
Or at least that's what one might think at first glance, since Orion didn't see the matter that way. It was true that so missions appeared before he made a decision on how to act, and they seed to guide him, leaving him in a passive position. But he was the one who ultimately decided whether to undertake a mission or not!
The missions had no penalties for failure to comply, and Orion would never undertake missions that were truly against his will, no matter how good the reward.
From what he had concluded, the system always gave him missions that aligned with his desires, only that sotis the missions appeared only after he began taking action toward a goal, almost as if he were forcing the system to issue a mission.
On the other hand, the missions in which he seed more passive were missions that the system created based on a desire of his, but one that was more "vague."
So, his desire might be, for example, "I want to be stronger," and the system would create a mission to have him train with Roger, knowing that this would satisfy that desire.
You could say that the system functioned as a guide, channeling his desires and making them more solid, in a practical way.
Orion brooded over his thoughts for a long ti, until night finally fell, and the slaves returned to the surface to eat and sleep.
Lucky Roux received his crust of bread and ate it quickly, returning to his hut.
As soon as he entered, Orion opened a door in the air and pulled him into the Pocket Dinsion.
"I see you're okay. You have a pretty resilient body," said Lucky Roux with his usual calmness, and his eyes closed.
"It's thanks to you, thank you very much, Sixth!" said Orion, bowing his head.
"You don't have to thank ; after all, it's my fault you found yourself in that situation."
"Your fault? What do you an?" Orion asked in surprise upon hearing Lucky Roux's words.
"It's because I told you I'd join you if you freed all the slaves in the kingdom," the scrawny boy said, adding,
"Truthfully, I just told you that to make you give up. I didn't expect you to even try."
He sighed bitterly and continued his confession.
"Actually, I'm scared. The thought of abandoning my current life as a slave terrifies . I know a better future is possible, but I just can't take a step forward."
He paused briefly and concluded bitterly, "After all, I'm only good for running away."
Orion took ingredients from his inventory and began to cook, in front of Lucky Roux's surprised gaze, who hadn't expected such unusual behavior during the conversation.
“Don’t look at like that,” Orion said with a smile, adding, “It’s hard to think clearly on an empty stomach.”
Lucky Roux said nothing and just waited silently while Orion prepared a sumptuous al. The exquisite aroma of the food made the scrawny boy salivate, and his stomach growled angrily, demanding to be part of such a feast.
Orion finished cooking and served the food, inviting Lucky Roux to join him.
Lucky Roux was completely starved and wanted to throw himself at the food and stuff his mouth with the delicacies, but the guilt he felt for putting Orion in danger ant he didn’t have the nerve to eat the food being offered to him.
“If you really want to apologize, the least you can do is accept my food,” Orion said, his cheeks puffed out like a squirrel’s.
He had never realized it, but his 'Squirrel Cheeks' ability, which he had never used before, would activate whenever he ate a large amount, causing him to look very funny. Especially when he was in his natural child form, like now.
Lucky Roux finally accepted Orion's gesture of goodwill and began eating at full speed, enjoying the delicacies he had never tasted before and that were the most delicious thing he had ever eaten in his life!
"To tell you the truth, I already knew you were lying," Orion said calmly, still eating.
Lucky Roux's hand stopped in midair, and his attention shifted from the food to Orion again.
"I can also 'perceive' things just like you, although not on such a large scale. Still, my ability is good enough to know that you were just trying to get to give up with your request."
Lucky Roux lowered his head in embarrassnt.
“But you knew I was telling the truth when I told you I would do it, didn't you? You just thought I'd give up after seeing the situation in the kingdom and the power of the royal family,” Orion said, expressing what he had already perceived during their last encounter.
“Sorry, I—” Lucky Roux began to apologize, but was stopped by Orion with a wave of his hand, who then said,
“No need to apologize. I already knew you were trying to discourage from recruiting you. As for the reason? Never mind. The important thing is that I myself decided to go through with the plan to confront the Vascos. No one can bear the bla for my own decisions!” Orion said imposingly, and Lucky Roux felt that this boy was incredibly charismatic.
During his ti as a slave, he had never co into contact with such a person, and for the first ti in his life, sothing was awakening within him: the desire to dream of a better future.
After all, Lucky Roux was a scared boy. He didn't want to abandon what he knew, even though he knew there was sothing better waiting for him out there. His mind was simply so conditioned that he couldn't afford to let his hope blossom.
Orion continued his words.
"So you don't have to feel bad for , since everything that happens in my life is a consequence of my own decisions. No one can truly decide for us, and we must take responsibility for our own decisions."
Orion, who had been a philosophy professor in his previous life, was not an existentialist purist, and leaned more toward pragmatism, but it was necessary for Lucky Roux to listen to his words and truly understand the situation he found himself in. Only then could the young slave make a decision about the future. A decision which only he could make.
Orion's words had an effect, and the young slave's ntality began to slowly change. Although it would likely take ti for him to co to a conclusion, he would have to think hard before he could make the most important decision of his life.
anwhile, Orion would simply do what he had to do and demonstrate with his actions that his words were sincere.
“It's true that at first, my desire to free the people of this kingdom arose because of our agreent. But once I witnessed everything that was happening in this kingdom, that agreent faded into the background.”
“Don't get wrong, I still hope you'll decide to beco my subordinate, but now there's sothing more important to do. It's simply what I wish to do, and I try not to go against my wishes whenever possible!”
Orion wouldn't explain that he had sworn to be faithful to his convictions when he had received the Conqueror's Haki seed, and he didn't need to do so, because Lucky Roux could perceive his emotions clearly through his monstrous use of Observation Haki.
The two finished eating, and Orion stretched out.
There was nothing better than a good al after a bad hangover!
He looked at Lucky Roux, who was sitting there thoughtfully, and said:
“For now, just go back to your normal life. In the anti, I'll prepare the attack on the Vascos together with the rebels.”
He stood up and with a wave of his hand opened a door in his Pocket Dinsion.
“When the ti cos, I hope you'll join us for the final battle. I don't think you're only good at running away!” Orion concluded with a big smile.
Lucky Roux returned to his small, cold hut, while Orion left the place, preparing to et with the mbers of the rebellion and make plans for the future conflict.
………………………………………………………………………………………
June 7, 1497, Age of the Sea Circle
After confronting Vasco Shot, Orion t with the rebellion leaders, who now accepted him as an ally in their fight against the royal family.
Orion was undoubtedly the most powerful person in the rebellion, which had many mbers but few fighters.
After a day of discussion, Orion proposed a detailed plan, which was accepted by Roux's rebels. The attack would take place in a few months, and he would return with the necessary troops and weapons. In the anti, the rebels had to prepare the attack routes, gather relevant information on the Vascos and their movents, and, above all, avoid any rash actions that could jeopardize the mission.
Orion redesigned all his procedures and communication channels, and took it upon himself to eliminate the reports the royal family had on so of the organization's most notable mbers.
Then, he left them a Den Den Mushi, through which they would communicate if necessary, and returned to the nearby island where his subordinates and the people he had rescued on the way to Pacific Town were.
He had been gone longer than he had estimated, as he hadn't expected to have to participate in a rebellion in Roux, and the people he had rescued were growing impatient, fearing that he had abandoned them.
These people had suffered greatly, and Orion was practically their last remaining hope. If he abandoned them as well, they would most likely be unable to bear it and take so extre action.
Orion landed on the beach after using Geppo to move through the air and looked into the distance, where the two anchored ships were.
On these two ships, he was transporting all the refugees and recruits he had 'collected' along the way, and they were ships that had previously belonged to the pirate crews he had eliminated.
"Orion! You're finally back!" said little Kalifa, who was running at full speed across the sand, with a big smile that made her look quite cute.
“Kalifa, how have you been-” Orion couldn't finish his words, because Kalifa threw herself into his arms, interrupting him.
“Orion! Tell Hototogisu to stop talking nonsense. She says I'm not pretty,” Kalifa said with tears in her eyes, pouting.
“It’s true, she’s just annoying,” said Hototogisu, who had also approached with Kalifa, and was walking completely listless, affected by the bright sun. Even though she was wearing a hooded jacket to protect herself from the sun, her eyes still felt uncomfortable from coming into contact with it so clearly.
“You’re annoying! You’re the queen of annoying!” Kalifa said, waving her arm vigorously, clearly having lost her composure.
“Hototogisu, don’t fight with Kalifa,” Orion said, trying to stop the two girls from continuing their pointless argunt.
These two had clashing personalities, and if left unchecked, they could argue for hours. This usually ended with Kalifa crying in frustration at Hototogisu’s rigidity, who never backed down from her comnts.
“I was just telling the truth,” Hototogisu said softly, but she didn’t continue arguing with Kalifa. Orion was the only person she listened to, and she could accept his directive not to continue arguing with Kalifa, even if she believed she hadn't done anything wrong.
"Where are the others?" Orion asked, looking around and seeing that there was no one else nearby.
"Yukimura is training at a waterfall, and Helsing is there—" Hototogisu pointed to the side, but there was no one there.
The two girls looked at each other at the sa ti and imdiately ran off, as if they had rembered sothing important.
Orion followed them without a word, and after a few monts they reached a patch of palm trees. In the distance, Helsing was trepidatiously hugging her stuffed crocodile, while being surrounded by so suspicious-looking n.
Orion frowned and used Soru, imdiately appearing in front of the girl.
Seeing him appear out of nowhere, the n were startled and took a step back, uttering obscenities.
“Damn it, who the fuck are you? Are you trying to scare to death, son of a bitch?!” One of the n said in an aggressive tone.
Orion paid no attention to the n. He placed a hand on Helsing's head and asked,
“Are you okay, Helsing? What happened?”
Seeing Orion, who had suddenly appeared and was speaking to her affectionately, she felt she had found a safe place and threw herself into his arms.
The girl didn't say a word, as was her custom. If he hadn't heard her speak once before, he would have thought she was mute.
However, feeling the trembling of her little body and seeing that she was crying silently, Orion knew how scared she was.
“Hey, I'm talking to you, son of a bitch!” One of the n said, grabbing Orion by the shoulder. However, the next mont, he gave a loud cry of pain and fell to the ground clutching his hand.
“You shouldn't be so aggressive. If you're still in one piece, it's because I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt,” Orion said in an icy tone, after breaking one of the man's hands.
“Kalifa! Hototogisu! Co here!” Orion said, calling to the two girls who were standing in the distance, watching the situation with concern.
Seeing the two girls, the n's eyes lit up, but feeling Orion's piercing gaze, which regarded them as if they were a piece of trash by the side of the road, they didn't dare continue to look at the two girls and hurriedly lowered their gaze.
They hadn't realized it, but their legs were trembling slightly.
“Why did you leave Helsing alone? And why are you alone here without Yukimura?” Orion asked, sowhat upset by the girls' behavior.
They were Nad Characters and had trendous potential to beco so of the most powerful warriors in the world in the future, but unlike Gloriosa, who had a high level of combat prowess at a young age, they had no combat prowess at the mont!
That was why, before going to Roux, he had explicitly told them not to stray far from Yukimura, who was the only one capable of defending himself with his swordsmanship.
However, now he had arrived, and not only had he found them without Yukimura's company, but they had also left little Helsing, the weakest and most timid of the group, alone!
What would have happened if he had arrived too late to protect her from these damned degenerates? Just thinking about it made him mad!
The two girls lowered their heads, and even Hototogisu, who was normally very stubborn, admitted her mistake without a murmur. They could tell Orion was truly angry.
Actually, they had been in the company of Yukimura and the others just a few monts ago, but they were very bored and had decided to sneak off to explore a little. They didn't think anything bad would happen if they went and ca back imdiately, but now they found themselves in this awkward situation.
Orion stroked Helsing's hair and said in a friendly tone of voice.
"Helsing, don't worry, everything's fine. Wait here with Hototogisu and Kalifa for a mont."
The girl shook her head, unwilling to let him go, but finally, after a few monts of persuasion, she reluctantly agreed and stood next to the other two girls.
Orion opened a door to his Pocket Dinsion, and in an instant, he threw all the n inside and closed the door behind him.
The three girls stood there, waiting for Orion to reappear, but it was Yukimura who appeared first.
The teenager ca running at high speed, his katana in hand, a look of great concern on his face. He had lost sight of the three girls for a mont, and they had disappeared.
He knew that they, along with him, were the core of Orion's followers, and that if anything happened to them, he would be in deep trouble!
Seeing them standing there under so palm trees, Yukimura felt a great joy and ran over at full speed. However, before he could say a word, a door appeared in the air and Orion erged from the Pocket Dinsion. There was no sign of the n.
"Yukimura, you've finally appeared. I see that my instructions an nothing to you," Orion said, sowhat annoyed by the situation that had just occurred.
Yukimura imdiately knelt on the ground, and the wounds that had reopened on his palms from practicing with his katana ca into contact with the ground, staining it with blood.
However, Yukimura remained unfazed and sincerely apologized for his mistake.
Orion's heart softened, and he sighed.
With the system's grading of these Nad Characters, Orion sotis forgot that they were still small children. It was common for them to be mischievous, make mistakes, and put themselves in danger on occasions.
It was his job to guide them in the future and help them reach their full potential, and perhaps he didn't yet understand what it ant to be a good leader.
He, too, was inexperienced. He would have to apply himself more in the future and grow alongside his subordinates as quickly as possible.
Only by doing so would he be able to find his footing in the tumultuous, deep waters of this world.
He helped Yukimura up and patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry, just be more careful next ti, okay?" Orion said in a friendly tone.
Yukimura nodded vigorously and vowed it wouldn't happen again. The boy was quite solemn in his way of conducting himself in his daily life.
Orion took his hands and rebuked him for overtraining once again, telling him he had to take better care of his body or he would end up unable to wield a sword in the future.
He then treated his wounds, and together with the three girls, they returned to where the rest of the recruits and refugees were.
Now that he had completed his business in Roux for the ti being, it was ti to set off for Pacific Town. There wasn't much distance left, and he was already eager to arrive and see all his loved ones.
A few minutes after Orion and the others left the place, a group of corpses fell from high in the sky, crashing violently to the ground and becoming a pool of blood and human remains.
The scene was truly terrifying, and luckily no one was around to witness it.
On the system screen, so SP were quietly added to his reserve — a reward for cleansing the world of filth.
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