February 28, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle
"Hehehe, you're pretty adorable in your original form," said Ginny, pinching Orion's cheek with a smile.
She had discovered that Orion was actually a child just a few days ago, when she entered his room unannounced to call him for breakfast.
At that moment, Ginny had screamed in surprise upon seeing a little boy sleeping in the bed where Orion was supposed to be. For a brief moment, her brain misfired and made her think something utterly repugnant, nearly undoing all the favor Orion had gained with her during his stay in Sorbet.
Fortunately, it had turned out to be a false alarm, and what had happened was that Orion really was a child and he had returned to his original form!
It wasn't that Orion wanted to hide it unconditionally; he simply tried to appear in his adult form in front of new people he met, since it was generally better for any kind of serious interaction.
He intended to recruit Kuma and Ginny, and he believed that before showing them his true child form, he needed to create an image of himself that matched his usual actions—those of an adult. That way, once he revealed his natural state and the 'Age Change' ability, they would already have a pre-formed perception of him, making it easier to interact as equals.
After all, Orion was an adult—or at least had the soul of one. Although his body was still that of a child, it was frustrating to be treated like one, and not the way he wanted to be perceived.
For example, once Ginny discovered his secret, she completely changed the way she interacted with him, becoming much more affectionate and close, as if he were just a kid pretending to be a responsible adult.
Before, she never would have done something so intimate like pinching his cheek or hugging him to make him blush—which she had done several times in recent days—because such actions would've been considered flirting, and she didn't want to create any ambiguous situations.
Over the past few days, Ginny had treated Orion like a child every time she saw him in his natural form. Even when he was in his adult form, she was far more informal and warm, which put him in a difficult position, as Ginny's beauty caused his body to react involuntarily, leading to uncomfortable situations.
Especially since Ginny found it very amusing whenever he blushed or avoided her gaze.
On the other hand, Orion had discovered the source of the problem that was troubling him. He wasn't an inexperienced man and shouldn't have had such a strong reaction to casual contact with Ginny, no matter how beautiful she was.
The answer came when he used an 'Insight Card' to get information about her and discovered that his compatibility with Ginny was 97%!
This number alarmed Orion. He hadn't expected such a result. He thought that if there had been a woman with such high compatibility nearby, the system would have said something.
After all, it had even warned him about the presence of a woman with over 95% compatibility in Ohara—literally on the other side of the world. Although, in that case, maybe it was because that person was taking part in a historical event.
Even so, Orion hadn't expected Ginny's compatibility to be so high, and he immediately understood that the weakness he felt toward her beauty was probably influenced by the system, though he didn't fully understand how that mechanism worked.
As for the possibility of winning Ginny over and making her one of his Main Wives, Orion felt a major headache just thinking about it. He knew that option was practically impossible, since Ginny had feelings for Kuma.
Because of this, Orion simply tried to ignore the situation and ended up running away every time Ginny teased him by hugging or pinching his cheeks, like she was doing now.
Orion stepped back to get away from Ginny, and she let go of his cheek.
"Ginny, please leave my cheeks alone," said Orion with a sigh.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just so cute how they puff up like a squirrel's when I squeeze them!" Ginny said, sticking her tongue out playfully.
Then she looked Orion up and down and added:
"Anyway, I wasn't expecting this to be your real form. Isn't it exhausting to keep using your ability to stay an adult all the time?"
"Well, it's pretty tiring if I do it for long periods, but if I take short breaks in between, there's not much of a problem," Orion replied thoughtfully.
When he had first obtained this ability, he could only maintain his transformation for about three days straight. But now that duration had extended to four days.
During his time in Sorbet, he had been taking breaks as he'd mentioned, which is why he had been able to remain in his adult form whenever he interacted with Kuma and Ginny.
If it hadn't been for Ginny barging into his room, both she and Kuma probably wouldn't have learned about his original form until Orion chose to tell them himself.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Christina Kelly entered the room alongside Lucky Roux.
Seeing a chance to escape Ginny's teasing, Orion immediately asked:
"How did it go? What's the situation in the kingdom?"
Christina frowned and replied:
"The situation is pretty bad. The new king has passed a crazy law declaring that the southern half of the kingdom is no longer officially part of Sorbet."
The disgust in Christina's voice was evident; she was furious when faced with these kinds of injustices, where the powerful abused the helpless who couldn't defend themselves.
The captain took a deep breath, as if trying to calm her emotions, and continued:
"The situation has already been quite unstable these days, but it's getting worse. Apparently, the royal army has been causing trouble on purpose under orders from King Bekori. This morning, Roux and I clashed with a group of soldiers who were trying to kidnap people to sell them as slaves, claiming they no longer had rights in this kingdom."
The captain trembled with indignation as she recalled what had happened, while Ginny looked extremely surprised. She wasn't aware of the situation, at least not in such detail.
Both she and Kuma knew that a new king had taken the throne and that the situation had deteriorated, but until now, they hadn't encountered incidents like the ones Christina described.
If this type of event was becoming more common, they couldn't just sit back and let people they'd known for years suffer a tragic fate.
Over the past two weeks, Orion had been investigating the situation in this kingdom with the help of Christina and Lucky Roux. In addition to the mission he had received regarding Kuma, Orion had been considering helping the people of this kingdom if possible, and maybe even recruiting some of them, though he didn't yet have a definitive plan.
The situation in Sorbet was quite bad, even worse than what he had seen in Roux, and Orion had no intention of sitting idly by. He was deciding what approach to take, and for now, he was leaning toward a strategy similar to the one he had used in Roux: overthrowing Sorbet's royalty.
The difference between Sorbet and Roux, however, was that there was no rebellion movement here already planning to rise up against the royalty. So if Orion chose that path, he would have to handle all the work himself—which was far more complicated.
Also, Orion feared involving Kuma and Ginny and getting them hurt or into trouble, so he was being more cautious than he had been in Roux.
"Were you able to contact the Marines like you wanted?" Orion asked Christina.
When they'd found out about the conflict happening in Sorbet, Christina had suggested informing the Marines, since what was happening in kingdoms affiliated with the World Government was within their jurisdiction.
Orion hadn't objected to her suggestion and let her try freely; he knew Christina still had faith in the institution that was supposed to uphold justice in the world—though the result wasn't what she had hoped for.
Not only would the Marines not intervene, but they had also accepted bribes from King Bekori to stay out of the matter and were even willing to assist him in enforcing his tyranny if needed.
Christina had tried to contact a high-ranking Marine she considered trustworthy but had accomplished nothing other than being disillusioned once again.
At this point, in the eyes of young Captain Christina Kelly, the Marines were nothing more than mercenaries, no different from pirates.
She had always known about the corruption in the system, but now that she saw it from the outside, its flaws were even more apparent.
In recent days, Christina had silently been wondering whether it was even worth trying to change an organization so deeply rotten, or if it was just a useless effort.
She had known the answer for a long time, but refused to admit it. The Marines were the only place in the world where she could try to make a difference and help defenseless people. She had no choice but to close her eyes and ignore the filth around her.
"The Marines won't get involved in this matter, so we can't count on them," Christina answered with deep anger and resignation.
Orion nodded and didn't comment further. He had expected a result like that, since he never planned to rely on an organization under the World Government's control to handle these kinds of tasks.
Still, Orion saw that Christina was feeling down because of the Marines' stance and said with a smile:
"Don't worry, Christina. I'll take care of it. I promise I won't leave these people to fend for themselves."
Christina looked at Orion, and she knew he was being sincere.
After spending so much time together, she had come to truly understand what kind of person he was, and her opinion of Orion had improved tremendously.
In the captain's eyes, Orion lived the life of freedom she longed for—able to reach out and help anyone who needed it without worrying about bureaucracy, corruption, or orders from higher-ups.
Christina's beliefs and convictions, once deeply tied to the Marines, were beginning to crack more and more. Those fractures were spreading, and a major change could happen at any moment. All it would take was one more push for her faith in the Marines to collapse completely.
"If things are really that bad, I have to tell Kumachi," said Ginny, showing great sadness on her face.
"I'll tell him later. Don't worry," Orion said, taking Ginny's hand in his to comfort her.
What worried Ginny was adding more pressure to Kuma, who already carried enough weight on his back helping all the people in the area with their pain.
"Do you guys want something to eat? I was thinking of cooking something delicious for lunch!" said Lucky Roux with a smile, trying to lighten the mood with his classic optimism.
"All right, then we'll be waiting for your masterpiece, Roux!" Orion quickly played along with the young man's attempt, and while Lucky Roux went off to cook, Orion tried to cheer up the two women, without much success.
Christina was worried about her future in the Marines. Ginny was worried about Kuma and the people of the kingdom. And Orion… was worried about the two of them, and the stubborn priest currently carrying out his weekly miracle session at the church.
.................
March 1, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle
Only a few minutes had passed since midnight when Orion entered the church where Kuma was completely alone.
He had just seen off the last person after extracting their pain and was now preparing to absorb the large bubble of negative energy to complete the healing process he had been carrying out for years.
As for preparations, it was simply a matter of making sure no one was around to see him in such a terrible state, and gathering the courage to endure the pain of absorbing all that negative energy.
Although Kuma had been doing this for years, it would be a lie to say he didn't feel a bit of fear each time he was about to go through such torture. After all, he was only human, and he wasn't immune to pain or fear, which made his actions even more valuable and admirable.
When he saw Orion enter the church, Kuma lowered his arms, which he had just raised with the intention of placing them into the negative energy bubble, and said:
"Orion? What are you doing here? It might be better if you wait outside…"
Orion completely ignored the well-intentioned warning from the priest, who was capable of enduring the greatest torture without complaint, yet feared others might feel disturbed upon seeing it. As Ginny often said, he was truly a fool, but Orion liked that kind of foolishness.
"Tell me, Kuma—haven't you thought about canceling these healing sessions? Your body can't take this punishment forever. Sooner or later, there'll be irreparable consequences," Orion said directly and bluntly.
Kuma simply shook his head without losing his gentle smile, and replied:
"It's something I want to do. I feel good knowing my existence is helping others."
Orion frowned slightly. He had heard Kuma say similar things several times, and he could always sense that there was something flawed in the logic behind those statements.
"And what about Ginny? Do you think she enjoys seeing you subject yourself to perpetual torture?" Orion's voice was sharp, showing the edge that set him apart from Kuma, who always displayed a kind and compassionate demeanor.
Kuma simply lowered his head and didn't answer, for he couldn't. The suffering his actions caused Ginny was obvious, but he had decided to ignore it for the sake of a greater cause. In his mind, the well-being of the poor people who lived in pain was more important than Ginny's tears.
Not because he didn't care about his best friend, but because he believed she was strong enough to endure it, while the people he helped with his Devil Fruit powers were not—or at least, that's how he saw it.
Orion sighed and couldn't bring himself to scold him harshly. Kuma was practically a saint, so Orion didn't feel like he was in a position to judge him morally.
Even so, he didn't plan to just stand by. If words couldn't make him reconsider, then perhaps more drastic measures were necessary.
Orion looked seriously at Kuma and said:
"Kuma. I think you're the noblest person I've ever met—but even so, I can't accept the way you're doing things. So please, let me express my disagreement… as your friend."
Kuma remained silent, thinking Orion was about to keep talking to express his views. But in the next instant, Orion—still in his child form—used Soru and appeared directly in front of the massive sphere of negative energy that nearly touched the ceiling of the small church.
Kuma didn't react in time and could only watch as Orion leapt directly into the sphere, and his body began to be torn apart by all kinds of wounds. Blood started to pour from his mouth and nose, yet Orion didn't make a single sound.
Throughout the entire process, Orion didn't even change his expression. He kept looking firmly at Kuma, his eyes filled with the sincerity of a true friend. He simply crossed his arms and allowed all the pain of the people who had come to the church that day to enter his body and wreak havoc.
The process didn't last long. After a few minutes, the sphere of energy had completely vanished, and only Orion—completely drenched in his own blood—remained where the negative energy had once floated.
Kuma began to tremble slightly upon seeing his horrific condition, and took a step forward, catching the small body in his arms before it collapsed to the floor.
Orion, who until then had maintained a solemn and serious expression, gave a faint smile and said, with some difficulty:
"Well… it wasn't that bad, was it? I'll do it again next week."
His gums were covered in blood, which made the smile rather unsettling; but in Kuma's eyes, it was one of the most genuine smiles he had ever seen.
It was the first time he had witnessed the same process he endured every week happening to someone else. Looking at Orion's terrible condition and remembering the words he had spoken before throwing himself into the sphere, Kuma felt a warmth in his chest… and a tiny crack appeared in his stubborn convictions.
Meanwhile, the dizzy Orion murmured with difficulty:
"Can you carry me to my room? I want to take a nap."
Kuma immediately reacted and rushed toward the rooms behind the church, intent on treating Orion's wounds.
Meanwhile, the semi-conscious Orion glanced at the system screen, where a new notification had appeared.
*Ding*
*Your skill 'Strong Body (Level 5)' has increased by one level*