December 31, 1497, Age of the Sea Circle
"How has your family adapted to their new lifestyle?" Orion asked, taking a sip of tea.
"At first, it was a bit hard for them to get used to their freedom, but they're doing much better now. I've never seen them so happy and excited, so they're definitely doing great!" Lucky Roux replied while munching on a piece of roasted at.
Roux's appearance had changed over the past few months. He was no longer a skinny young man. His passion for food had led him to reach an ideal weight for his body type. Although Orion feared that if he didn't monitor his food intake, he might end up overweight soon.
"Good to hear that, Roux. If you ever need my help with anything, don't hesitate to ask," Orion said with a smile.
"Hey, hey, hey, I should be the one offering help! I still owe you big ti!" Roux exclaid with a wide grin.
"There's no need to talk about debts between friends. I'm the king of this place, so it's my responsibility to look after the well-being of my people."
Orion played his trump card, and Lucky Roux had no choice but to admit defeat. Still, inside, he resolved not to miss any opportunity to help Orion and repay him for everything he had done for him and his family.
Lucky Roux's family wasn't very large, and they all lived together in a big house they had built themselves. After settling here as free people, they began working on the farms—sothing they were already used to.
Lucky Roux, on the other hand, was a direct subordinate of Orion, and for now, his only job was to train and get stronger. He was undoubtedly the most talented person under Orion's command, so Orion had high hopes for his future.
Also, in his free ti, Roux had taken up cooking, discovering it was his passion. He loved the process of making delicious food with his own hands, and from ti to ti, he would invite Orion over to cook and eat together—just like they were doing now.
"Shouldn't you eat a little less now? Tonight's the New Year celebration—you wouldn't want to be out of commission before tasting all the dishes everyone's been preparing, right?" Orion asked.
"Don't worry! My ability to devour delicacies is unmatched! When the ti cos, I won't fail!" the boy with the dark glasses replied with all seriousness, as if talking about a crucial mission.
In this fantastical world, New Year wasn't celebrated like in Orion's previous life, or at least he hadn't co across any such tradition in this part of the world.
So he had decided to host a grand festival himself, to welco the new year and start forging a tradition. He believed it was important for the people to have events like this, which gave them a sense of belonging and fostered harmony among the kingdom's residents.
Most of the people here had started from zero after losing everything, and it was necessary to hold a grand celebration to remind them that despite it all, the future was still full of hope. It was the perfect opportunity for people to relax and enjoy the joy of being alive.
Besides, if he managed to establish a New Year tradition, maybe one day it could beco a tourist event or even spread to other places.
People in this world definitely needed any excuse they could get to unwind and celebrate life. If he could contribute to that, Orion would consider it a win.
Slam!
Suddenly, the door swung open, and Lolo rushed in with several docunts in hand.
"Orion, I need your authorization on these. Also, we have to discuss tonight's preparations. The militia's deploynt must be finalized as soon as possible to prevent any major problems."
Lolo began rattling off official matters without even waiting for a response, and Orion had no choice but to end his lunch with Roux and focus on work.
Appointing his uncle as head of the governing council had truly been a great decision, as he was incredibly talented in that area and could do the work of ten n on his own.
The only problem, perhaps, was that his uncle was a workaholic and often dragged Orion into all sorts of official affairs.
Orion, whenever he could, tried not to shirk his responsibilities as king, which ant that this past month had been particularly busy.
Luckily, he had explicitly told his uncle that he wouldn't always be available and had granted him so authority to act independently. Otherwise, he'd probably have spent his days buried in boring administrative work.
Seeing that Orion was caught up in serious talk with Lolo, Lucky Roux quickly slipped away, afraid of being roped into the discussion. If there was one person everyone in Pacific Kingdom feared, it was Lysander Lolo—for he could recruit anyone he found into all kinds of jobs, from public works to paperwork.
It wasn't that Lolo was a tyrant; it was simply that in the erging kingdom, there was a lot to be done and not enough manpower. Things would stabilize in the future, but for now, the situation was quite hectic.
After discussing the festival arrangents with his uncle, Orion went to the newly established public school. It was still a small building with only a few students, but he was pleased with its current progress.
Literacy and raising his people's education level was especially important to him, having been a teacher in his past life.
He entered the classroom, where the children were receiving a literature lesson from a friendly-looking elderly woman. Naturally, there weren't any professional teachers available, so the job fell to those with significant experience in various fields—like this kind old woman, who had worked for a newspaper in her youth and knew enough to teach the children.
"Orion!" ca Kalifa's voice. She was helping the old woman, as her assistant.
Orion approached her with a smile and gently patted her silky blond hair. Seeing Kalifa always brightened his day—she was energetic and cheerful, and her mood was contagious.
Except when she was in the sa room as Hototogisu. In those cases, Kalifa was always irritable, making her far less cheerful—though it was quite entertaining to watch her argue awkwardly with Hototogisu.
"Did you co to give a lesson?" Kalifa asked with great excitent.
Orion sotis taught at the school, and his lessons were among the students' favorites, as he often told mythological tales that were like fantastical stories.
The subject he taught was sothing akin to "Civic Education," aid at opening the children's minds, encouraging critical thinking, and teaching them the basics of community living.
In the future, these children would be the foundation of his kingdom, so he didn't see spending ti on them as a waste at all. In fact, he truly enjoyed teaching whenever he had a spare mont.
"No, this ti I'm busy with preparations for tonight's party. That's actually why I ca to see you," Orion replied with a smile.
"Do you need help with sothing?" Kalifa asked, clenching her tiny pink fists, eager to lend a hand. Over the past few months, she had been helping the governing council and Giolla with minor tasks and had beco sothing like the kingdom's mascot.
Of course, with Kalifa's talent, her future was bright. Her aptitude in administration and governance was even higher than his uncle's. For now, she was the kingdom's adorable mascot, helping wherever she could, but in the future, she would likely beco one of its most powerful figures.
"Yes, Giolla said she needed your help with decorations in the central plaza. So you'll have to end your teacher duties early today," Orion answered.
Kalifa imdiately raised both hands in joy, said goodbye to the old woman and the other children, and took Orion's arm, guiding him to where Giolla was decorating everything using her Devil Fruit powers.
Hours passed, and the sun began to set. In this part of the South Blue, sumr days were extrely long, and night wouldn't begin until around 10 p.m.
Finally, with a great collective cheer, the New Year's celebration began.
The people of the kingdom started feasting on the dishes they had prepared. The food was incredibly varied since the inhabitants ca from many different places with unique culinary cultures.
Orion pulled out a guitar he had bought on his last trip and began strumming cheerful lodies while people around him sang along between bursts of laughter.
A great bonfire was lit in the center of the plaza, and people began dancing around it, while others clapped and cheered from the sides.
Hototogisu sat with Kalifa, the two girls sharing a fruit juice. It was a rare occasion where they weren't arguing; in fact, they seed to be getting along like close sisters
Lucky Roux was with his family, laughing joyfully and eating as if he'd never be full, while his parents tried to stop him, fearing for his stomach.
Yukimura patrolled the area with the rest of the militia, making sure there were no unexpected incidents or disturbances. After all, when there was alcohol and crowds, fights could break out.
After months of training, the kingdom's militia finally had a professional air. They were few in number, but a decent force for an erging kingdom.
Orion had invested so of his KP into their training: purchasing a special training regi and a physical enhancent recipe, which he used to brew into a potion using his talents in Herbalism and dicine.
Giolla and Ina sat near Orion. The beautiful artist was scolding the little girl, who had taken advantage of the festivities to gulp down a glass of wine!
The girl was clearly a natural drinker, as she had tried to go for a second glass before Giolla stopped her.
Orion thought he'd need to keep an eye on her in the future. She was too young to be drinking wine! He didn't want her turning into an alcoholic due to his own negligence.
The Lysander family sat together, enjoying the celebration. "Helsing was in Lira's arms; she already saw the girl as her adopted daughter. anwhile, the twins Dante and Sofia sat on Grandpa Mario's lap, who had a peaceful expression on his face.
Maybe the old man had never expected to see his family again or to experience sothing like this when he was imprisoned on the great bridge Rum Wolf. Now, imrsed in the New Year's festivities, his spirit felt a rare calmness.
Uncle Lolo was still working, making sure nothing went wrong during the celebration, and Orion could only shake his head, thinking that his uncle was truly a workaholic—but such people were necessary in the world.
Rouge watched people dance from the sidelines, a serene smile on her face and her eyes slightly unfocused, as if lost in mory. She gently caressed her large belly with a mother's affection, her mind replaying images of her beloved, whom she missed every day.
Suddenly, a bell rang in Orion's mind, and a notification popped up on the system screen.
*Ding*
*The ability 'Space Gate' is functional once again*
*It is now possible to complete the recruitnt of the Nad Character linked with the system. The process will take a few minutes*
Orion read the notifications with surprise and great joy. Not only was Space Gate back—a trendously useful ability—but now the system could finally complete the recruitnt of the Nad Character for which he had paid 5000 SP.
For him, 5000 SP wasn't a small amount, so he had been quite annoyed when the system had said the process couldn't be completed.
Now that Space Gate was working again, he could finally see what kind of Nad Character the system would recruit remotely.
To say he wasn't nervous would be a lie. If the recruited Nad Character turned out to be a psychopath or dangerous, he'd have a real problem. Still, he trusted the system and believed the first person recruited by it would be good enough to justify the large investnt.
On the system screen, a new loading bar appeared, indicating the progress of the recruitnt.
Orion focused all his attention on the system, montarily forgetting the joyful New Year's festivities.
anwhile, the crowd began a countdown.
This had been Orion's idea for the climactic mont of the New Year celebration.
Suddenly, while Orion was focused on the system and the people on their countdown, Giolla noticed sothing strange with Rouge and approached her curiously—only to find her water had broken!
But sothing was wrong. She was bleeding, and her face was twisted in pain from severe abdominal cramps.
Giolla imdiately turned and shouted,
"Orion! Co quick—Rouge is in trouble!"
Orion snapped out of his thoughts and instantly used Soru to appear beside Rouge. Seeing her condition, he frowned, knowing he had to act fast.
"Don't worry, Rouge. Everything's going to be fine," he said, lifting her into his arms and entering his Pocket Dinsion.
"Giolla, call my assistants imdiately—we need to treat Rouge right away."
Giolla nodded and ran off to find the people Orion needed.
Knowing the birth was close, Orion had prepared everything in advance. He had even accounted for complications like this.
He had a mission that involved ensuring Rouge's safety after giving birth. Since it hadn't been completed when he prevented her from unnaturally prolonging her pregnancy, he suspected more challenges would co.
Now, his suspicions were confird, but thankfully, he was ready. He could only imagine what might've happened if he hadn't been here. Not just any doctor could handle a situation like this.
Orion entered the Pocket Dinsion and placed Rouge on the pre-prepared bed. All the necessary tools for assisting the delivery were arranged around them.
Ace's birth had been expected in about ten more days, so this was a bit early, but still manageable.
e imdiately began treatnt, administering dicine to Rouge: vasoconstrictors to reduce bleeding, painkillers, and an infusion to aid uterine contractions.
The issue was a premature placental abruption, which could be fatal if not handled carefully.
With a thought, Orion opened a door, allowing Giolla and a team of four people to enter the Pocket Dinsion.
They were the kingdom's doctors and nurses, assisting him this ti. The group began their work while Giolla stood beside Rouge, holding her hand and comforting her. The two won had grown close, and she was a strong emotional support for the terrified Rouge.
Inside the Pocket Dinsion, Rouge's delivery was managed with extre care, while outside, the people celebrated joyfully, unaware of the ergency.
Only a few had noticed what had happened, like Lucky Roux, who had stopped eating and calmly waited for the Pocket Dinsion's door to open and Orion to reappear triumphantly.
As Orion focused on Rouge's treatnt, the loading bar on the system screen completed, and the Nad Character was successfully recruited.
A portal opened in the night sky, and a figure fell rapidly toward the sea.
"Aaaaaaah!" the person scread in terror, but no one heard it—drowned out by the raucous New Year's celebrations.
Splash!
The Nad Character landed in the bay near the island, unhard by the water impact. Ripples ford where they fell, and a minute later, a timid head erged from the waves.
"Where am I? Where's Orion?" the person asked with a tearful voice.
Then, spotting the island in the distance and hearing the sounds of celebration, the figure began moving swiftly toward Pacific Town.
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