September 19, 1496, Age of the Sea Circle
Orion felt the refreshing breeze and placed his hand on his forehead, blocking the sun slightly so he could see the horizon.
Finally, after spending more than a month at home, he was back sailing at sea.
It hadn't been an easy task convincing his parents to let him visit Gion, but with a little effort, he had managed to reach a compromise.
"Orion! Where's your hat? The sun is very strong today, don't get sunburned."
Orion turned around and saw the woman looking at him reproachfully for not wearing his straw hat. It was, of course, his mother Lira.
That's right, his parents hadn't agreed to let him go alone for fear that he'd be gone for too long like last time. So, after much discussion, they had agreed that they would only let him go out to sea if he was accompanied by Lira and Paul.
Orion didn't want to travel with his parents, since if something unexpected happened, they could end up in a dangerous situation.
Although the South Blue wasn't nearly as dangerous as the Grand Line, it would be a mistake to think it was a peaceful place where nothing bad happened.
At any moment, they could be attacked by pirates, sea beasts, or even slavers.
However, Orion couldn't reassure his parents enough, and if he insisted on highlighting the potential dangers of the journey, they would be even more sure not to let him go on his own.
Finally, he had no choice but to accept his parents' proposal, and now the family of three was sailing toward Goruta Island, where Gion and her family lived.
Although his parents were accompanying him on this journey, his two younger siblings, Dante and Sofia, had been left in Rouge's care in Pacific Town. Although it wasn't a very long journey, it was best not to risk the little ones having an accident. In any case, Orion and his parents wouldn't be gone for too long, and would return in less than a month.
In the meantime, the two little ones would be in the care of Rouge, who, after more than a month living with them, was already part of the family.
Giolla had promised to ensure the safety of Rouge and her siblings, so Orion was able to set out to sea without major worries.
Now, five days had passed since they had begun their journey, and according to Gion's location on the system map, they would arrive at their destination very soon.
Orion was very excited to see Gion after so long, and his parents were also eager to reunite with their friends, the Harewoods.
Unfortunately, they had no means of communicating with them and letting them know of their arrival, so they could only try to locate them once they reached the island.
He didn't know the conditions in which Gion lived or the scale of her new hometown, but he imagined it must be a much larger city than Pacific Town. After all, there was a marine base nearby, so many people would come hoping to live more safely, just as the Harewoods had.
If the city was similar in size to Beru, where Doll resided, he could probably buy a Den den mushi without any problems. This way, he would have a line of communication with Gion in the future.
Just as Orion was thinking about the possibility of getting a den den mushi for Gion, the creature in his pants began to move.
It was an incoming call from Doll.
Orion answered the call and spoke with her for a few minutes, before the girl ended the conversation on her own initiative.
These days, Orion had received a call from Doll every day. She usually called him during the morning, between her classes, and they wouldn't speak for more than a few minutes before the girl returned to her rigid routine, but their friendship grew stronger every day thanks to these small exchanges.
Human relationships were like that; memorable and dazzling moments rarely occurred. Most of the time, the interactions were routine and mundane, but it was precisely the simplicity of these small interactions that brought people's hearts closer together.
Right now, Doll's favorability rating was 66, which was quite high for the little contact they'd had, and he was of course happy to maintain a good relationship with a girl as good as Doll.
Lira approached her son when he finished speaking through the den den mushi and firmly placed a hat on his head.
Orion felt the light blow to his head, and the hat covered his eyes.
He immediately adjusted it and looked at his mother with a confused expression.
Seeing his mother's expression... Did she seem to be in a bad mood?
"Hey Orion, I've been wondering something for a while now. Who is the girl you talk to every day?"
Orion's heart leapt involuntarily, without quite knowing why. His mother's expression was somewhat somber, completely unlike her affable personality.
"She's a friend I met when I was going back home with Rouge. Her name is Doll," Orion said sincerely. He tried not to lie to his parents, except when it was about matters related to the system and the like.
Lira narrowed her eyes.
"Doll? And she's pretty?"
"Yes, she's a very beautiful girl, like a real doll," Orion replied without thinking too much.
Lira smiled dangerously, her gaze like that of a predator observing its prey.
"Oh? And you like her?"
"Well, she's a very nice girl; it's impossible not to like her with that personality," Orion said, remembering the clumsy girl who was as delicate as a porcelain doll, yet incredibly strong and adorable.
Slap!
Lira hit Orion on the head.
"Orion Lysander! You're not thinking about abandoning Gion, are you? Remember, she's your fiancée! Even though we haven't had the official ceremony, that fact hasn't changed!"
Orion looked at his mother in surprise.
No. Hadn't Giolla told him that there wasn't much of a problem with polygamy in this world? Or did she have a particular perception? After all, the artist was quite eccentric.
Orion began to sweat, and once again certain doubts he had already banished returned to his mind. Would he really have trouble getting his family to accept him having more than one partner in the future?
With some caution, he asked a question to test his mother's reaction.
"Mom, I don't have those intentions with Doll. She's just a friend. But even if I liked her, there wouldn't be a problem with having two wives, right?"
Slap!
Lira hit him on the head again.
"Who taught you those things? How are you going to raise a harmonious family if you've been thinking about those things since you were little? Tell me the truth, was it that mysterious teacher who taught you those bad things?"
Orion didn't want to sacrifice his teacher, Roger, so he had no choice but to invent that he had seen a man with several wives in a city during his journey.
"That man was surely a nobleman! Those people live in a different world than ours. I don't want you thinking about those kinds of relationships! Just focus your energy on Gion and don't pay attention to other women in the future."
Orion nodded like a chicken eating corn, and didn't dare contradict his mother. No matter how strong he became in the future, or even if he reached the pinnacle of this world, he would likely always be weaker than his mother. It was a debuff all children were born with.
Regardless, Orion understood the nature of the matter after this small exchange with his mother.
Basically, polygamy was indeed a widespread practice. But only among the powerful. Ordinary people probably practiced monogamy, though he couldn't rule out other variations.
For the time being, it was impossible to try to convince his mother of the virtues of polygamy. In the future, when the time came, actions would speak louder than any words.
He was destined not to be an ordinary person; with the help of the system, he would reach unimaginable heights, as long as he didn't die in the process. Therefore, the logic of ordinary people couldn't apply to him.
Orion said nothing to contradict his mother and kept his thoughts to himself.
At that moment, a bird's voice sounded in the sky, and a seagull appeared, flying over the area around their ship.
Paul raised his hand, and the seagull quickly descended, landing on the deck of the small sailboat.
The seagull had a large backpack loaded with newspapers. It was a News Coo!
Evidently, it belonged to Morgan's Newspaper Company, which was the only newspaper that had this peculiar delivery method.
Paul placed a couple of coins in the animal's backpack and took one of the newspapers.
The bird, having completed its mission, spread its wings and continued on its journey.
Meanwhile, Paul read the newspaper headline and exclaimed in surprise.
"What?! The pirate king has been captured!"
Lira covered her mouth with her hand and approached her husband to read the news in the newspaper.
Orion simply looked toward the horizon and sighed.
What was meant to happen, would happen. He knew very well this day would come; after all, Roger had gone to surrender himself to the marine more than two months ago.
However, now that the news was before him, he didn't want to accept the reality.
It pained him to think that his master would be executed without him being able to do anything about it. If only he were stronger, perhaps he could have changed the course of history. But he hadn't had enough time. Until now, he had done everything possible to increase his power, and he hadn't skipped a single day of his training, yet he was still an ant compared to the truly powerful people of this world.
"Gold Roger has been captured and will be executed on October 1st in Logue Town," Lira said, reading aloud from the newspaper.
"Ha! It's about time. These damn pirates do nothing but cause destruction wherever they go. I hope that with this execution, other pirates will realize that their crimes have consequences," Paul said, celebrating the news.
"I hope this will reduce pirate activity in the future," Lira said thoughtfully.
Orion didn't try to explain anything about Roger to his parents. In the eyes of the world, he was a criminal, a loathsome pirate who committed all sorts of misdeeds and caused countless misfortunes for the common people.
He had no plans at the moment to tell them about his relationship with Roger, nor to try to clear his name.
Roger was a pirate, after all, and his hands weren't clean. Although he wasn't heartless like other pirates who took pleasure in hurting people, his piratical activities would inevitably have harmed many innocent people.
There were people who were so great that their mere existence influenced the world, causing both positive and negative things.
Roger was one of those existences. And Orion believed that in the future he too would be a similar existence, although the path he would take would be very different from Roger's, and perhaps more similar to that of the revolutionary Dragon.
"Son, look, an island!"
The voice of his father, Paul, brought Orion back from his thoughts.
He looked into the distance and saw the island that had appeared on the horizon.
They had finally reached the place where Gion lived!
Now, after so long, he could see her again.
A smile appeared on his face, and he put aside the unease he felt about the news about Roger. If his master were here, he would have told him not to worry too much about things and to live more happily and freely, with a smile.
The small boat approached the shore, and he got his first glimpse of the city where Gion lived.
It was a fairly large city, similar to Beru in terms of the number of people walking its streets. But the quality of life on this island was undoubtedly much worse.
On Beru, even the humblest people had a fairly good standard of living, but here, however, there were a large number of people who seemed to be homeless, sleeping on the streets near the port.
Orion moored his small sailboat at the dock and, along with his parents, went ashore to find a place to eat and inquire about Gion's whereabouts.
They had traveled nonstop from Pacific Town, so his parents, unused to sailing, wanted to have a full meal as soon as possible and find a place to sleep.
They hadn't walked more than a few meters when a figure approached at full speed, running through the crowd of people.
Orion noticed that this person was moving at great speed toward them and placed his hand on one of the two swords at his waist.
However, as soon as he clearly saw the appearance of the approaching person, all tension left his body, and a big smile appeared on his face.
Gion, who had been waiting by the dock for news, as she did every morning, threw herself into the arms of her childhood friend, whom she saw every night in her dreams.
Feeling the little girl's warm embrace, the feeling of nostalgia became more evident.
He hadn't seen her in two years, and Gion had grown a little, but she still maintained her same personality as always. This made him very happy.
If he had come here and found a completely strange Gion, he would have felt like a part of his heart that was important to him had died.
Gion's existence was very important to him, not because she was his fiancée in name, but because she was his best friend.
Orion's thoughts and feelings were influenced by his childhood self, just as he, in turn, influenced his childhood self. It was for this reason that Orion felt genuine affection for his parents, who were younger than him in his previous life, and also for this reason, he felt a special affection for his childhood friend Gion.
"Orion, I missed you so much!" Gion said, and began to cry inconsolably.
He hugged her tightly and stroked her hair and back, trying to calm her.
Seeing the tears streaming down his clothes, Orion sighed and let his other self take charge. It was little Orion's moment to shine. There were times when only his most innocent self could take charge.
His eyes lost the depth they had had a moment before and became pristine.
Little Orion received all the memories from his other self and immediately hugged Gion even more tightly, as if afraid she would disappear if he didn't, and began to cry even more inconsolably than the little girl.
Seeing the two children hugging each other and crying, Lira and Paul couldn't help but be moved by their affection, and their eyes turned slightly red. They held hands lovingly and let the children express their feelings without interrupting them.
A long time passed until Gion finally calmed down. With her cheeks completely red, she gently pushed Orion's chest and said in a small voice:
"Mmm, Orion, don't hug me so tightly in public."
Little Orion ignored her and continued crying.
Finally, Lira had to step forward and calm her little son.
She was used to Orion's personality changes, sometimes being like an adult and sometimes behaving like a normal child.
When he was younger, his parents had been very worried about the situation, thinking their son was possessed or had a strange illness, but over time, they began to accept it as normal. They considered their son to be merely eccentric. After all, there were all sorts of strange events in this world.
Even so, Lira enjoyed interacting with her son more when he was in this "normal" state, as it gave her the opportunity to act like a real mother.
"Come on, Orion, don't cry anymore. Look, even Gion has calmed down. If you keep this up, we'll be standing here all day."
Orion, who had the debuff of any normal human in front of his mother, stopped hugging Gion and wiped his tears. However, he refused to leave the girl's side and took her hand without saying a word, with a determined expression.
This was the greatest compromise he could make!
If someone wanted to separate him from Gion now, Hmm! He'd have to be prepared to face his cutlass!
Gion didn't try to free his hand from Orion's grasp. She simply bowed her head shyly, with big smile spread across her face. The image she had imagined so many times was happening!
The little girl began to have her usual daytime fantasies, and only came to when Paul's voice echoed in her ears.
"Gion, how have you been? You've grown a lot since I last saw you."
"Hello, Mr. Lysander! I've been doing very well. My family and I haven't had any problems in this new city!" Gion responded energetically, trying to appear as mature as possible in front of Orion's parents.
Lira smiled happily and pinched the girl's cheek.
"You get prettier every day, Gion! I missed you so much during this time we weren't together! Did you miss me?"
Gion's eyes filled with tears again, and she hugged Lira without letting go of Orion's hand.
She had grown up with Orion, and obviously had a very close relationship with Lira and Paul. In the girl's mind, they were almost like her second parents, so she had missed them a lot as well.
Now that the excitement of seeing her best friend again had passed, she was overcome with the thrill of reuniting with the affable couple.
Lira watched as Gion hugged her with one arm, refusing to let go of Orion's hand, and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Don't cry. We'll come visit you more often in the future," Lira said, wiping away the tears that kept flowing from Gion's eyes.
Gion heard Lira's promise and her eyes lit up. She immediately began nodding her head vigorously and said
"It's a promise! You can't break your promise in the future!"
"Hahaha, don't worry, we won't," Paul added from the side.
The islands they lived on weren't that far away, and the trip could be made in a week or less, if conditions were right.
"Gion, could you take us to your house? We want to say hello to your parents," Lira said in a soft, affectionate voice. The more she saw Gion, the more determined she was to have her as her daughter-in-law in the future!
"Of course! I know the way like the back of my hand, let's go!" the little girl exclaimed, beating her chest in a gesture of confidence.
The family of three walked through the city streets, under the watchful guidance of Gion, who told them interesting things about the place as they went.
After almost half an hour, they arrived at the Harewood house, where they would meet up with their old friends.