November 19, 1503, Age of the Sea Circle
In the large marital bed located in his room within the royal palace, Orion was currently lying peacefully, surrounded by three beautiful naked figures.
The previous night, he had enjoyed an intense battle with Giolla, Ginny, and Christina, ultimately emerging victorious from the contest and leaving his three wives completely satisfied. With the help of the system's buffs, Orion had no concern whatsoever about being unable to meet the needs of his companions, since his stamina was perhaps his most remarkable attribute.
Even so, he had to admit that the three women had put up quite a fight, especially Ginny, who, after he had used the Character Improvement Card on her, had tremendously increased her physical capabilities—as well as her proficiency in the use of Armament and Observation Haki.
The clarity of the morning filtered in through the window, yet Orion still had no intention of beginning his daily routine, as he did not want to move a single muscle and risk waking the three women who were sleeping peacefully beside him.
Feeling the soft curves of their bodies pressed against his own, Orion tried to calm his overflowing desire, which threatened to unleash a new battle, and continued reminiscing about the events of the past few days.
After he had returned from Mary Geoise using his Space Gate, treated his own wounds with his Room, and delivered a brief welcoming speech for the people he had rescued from the clutches of the Celestial Dragons, Orion headed toward the royal palace together with his uncle Lolo and his grandmother Bianca—who was also carrying Shalria in her arms.
Finally, after about twenty minutes of walking at a normal pace, they arrived at the palace gates, and after making a brief pause so that Bianca could mentally prepare herself, they entered the home of the royal family of Pacific Kingdom, where the rest of the Lysanders were living normally, without suspecting the miraculous arrival of the matriarch who had been lost decades earlier.
During the walk back home, Lolo had told his mother the story of Orion and Pacific Kingdom, as well as part of the story of the Lysanders after they escaped from Koldara, although he had obviously only mentioned some of the most important points without going into detail, and he had said nothing about his time as a slave in Rum Wolf, since he did not want to sadden her.
Bianca now knew that Orion was the king of this new kingdom called Pacific Kingdom, and her gaze lit up with pride every time she looked at her mysterious grandson. It was a great satisfaction for her to know that her descendant had achieved so much in such a short time, and an enormous relief to know that the rest of her family was safe.
Even so, she could not help thinking about her other son, Gino, who had left Mary Geoise years earlier but had never appeared in Lolo's account, which indicated that he had not been able to reunite with the rest of his family after his departure from the sacred land of the Celestial Dragons.
Bianca understood that Gino's absence in this place was something to be expected, since her son had departed without any information regarding the whereabouts of the rest of his family. He had probably gone directly to the kingdom of Vespa to investigate the matter, and since Mario had left that land without giving any information about his destination, it was obvious that Gino would not have been able to track them down easily.
After all, the South Blue was enormous, and it was not easy to find information about a small family of exiled nobles. Even so, with Orion's current status as a king—and with the conquest of Koldara by the Lysanders—it was likely that Gino would soon hear the news and come looking for his family, or at least that was what Bianca hoped.
Bianca, Lolo, and Orion walked through the wide corridors of the great royal palace until they reached a large inner courtyard that was commonly used by the family as a shared place where they could interact with one another.
There, seated at a simple table, Mario was hunched over, carving a small wooden sculpture with great dedication. After Orion had brought him to Pacific Kingdom, he had enjoyed peaceful days, learning different crafts such as pottery or carving in order to keep himself occupied with something.
In addition, with the help of Orion's treatment, his health had improved enormously over the past few years, giving him the appearance of a kind old man who was enjoying his retirement from working life.
Although Mario had once been an important noble in the past, he had set that lifestyle aside once he had lost everything many years earlier, and he had no intention whatsoever of returning to his former life now that Orion was a king.
His intention was to remain quietly in Pacific Kingdom, enjoying his family and watching his grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up.
"Grandpa, I have a surprise for you!" Orion said with a wide smile, announcing his arrival to Mario, who lifted his head from the sculpture he had been working on in order to focus on his beloved grandson.
However, the moment he saw the woman standing beside Orion and Lolo, his heart skipped a beat, and the small wooden sculpture fell to the ground, producing a dull sound as it struck the stone tile.
"B-Bianca?" Mario's trembling voice echoed through the inner courtyard as he stood up and hurried toward the woman who had the very same appearance as his wife.
"Mario!" Bianca said with tears in her eyes, and without waiting a second she threw herself into Mario's arms. He held her tightly and with trembling urgency, afraid that if he did not keep hold of her she would vanish without a trace like a mirage.
"Am I dreaming?" Mario murmured as he felt tears escape from his eyes and roll uncontrollably down his cheeks, yet the warmth of Bianca's body in his arms told him that this was not a dream.
Mario had never dared to hope that he would meet his wife again before his death, and so at this very moment the situation felt like a magical dream to him, a dream from which he had no desire to awaken.
Bianca cried inconsolably in her husband's arms, releasing all the sadness and melancholy that had been building up within her through the years. For decades she had lived as a slave of the Rosward family, and every single day she had spent there she had cursed the heavens for her tragic fate.
However, now that she had finally returned home to her family, she could forget those sorrowful years and focus instead on building a bright future together with them. This would be the last time she would have to cry out of sadness and helplessness over her past in Mary Geoise, and she allowed all the negative feelings that had accumulated in her chest to pour out without restraint.
Paul and Lira came out into the courtyard when they heard Bianca's crying, and Paul looked in astonishment at the gray-haired woman with the elegant appearance who was sobbing in his father's arms. Even though he did not remember much about his past in Koldara, he could never forget the face of his mother, and so he immediately recognized the identity of the newly arrived woman.
At long last, after many years of separation, the Lysander family had recovered Bianca.
…
After the emotional family reunion, Bianca told them everything that had happened throughout the years—trying to leave out of her account the most negative details that were not relevant—and informed them about the existence of Gino and Aria.
When Mario heard about these two children she had had in the land of the Celestial Dragons, he could not help clenching his fists tightly, feeling a deep hatred toward those damned nobles of the World Government, although he immediately forced himself to calm down.
At this moment, the most important thing was that Bianca had returned safe and sound. Everything else was simply part of a nightmare from the past, and Mario did not want Bianca to feel that he was rejecting her for something over which she had had no control.
Both Mario and the rest of the Lysanders owed everything to Bianca, because without her sacrifice they would all have died years ago in Koldara. For that reason, Mario would never judge his beloved wife for having returned home bringing with her the daughter of her captor, something Bianca had feared ever since she had come back with Orion from Mary Geoise.
Even so, to Mario's surprise, Bianca told them that Gino was Mario's son, meaning he was a Lysander one hundred percent. The moment he heard that Gino had left Mary Geoise many years earlier in order to find his family, he immediately became worried about this son he had never known and felt the impulse to set out to sea in order to search for him.
Fortunately for Mario, there was absolutely no need for him to take such risks to find Gino, because his grandson Orion had more than enough resources to carry out the search.
Seeing the concern of his two grandparents regarding the whereabouts of their son Gino, Orion promised them that he would take responsibility for finding him and bringing him home so that the family could finally be complete for the first time.
He had already been planning to visit Vespa in order to establish diplomatic relations with his relatives, so he could investigate his uncle's whereabouts starting there. Orion knew that both Bianca and Mario had suffered greatly over the years, so it was only natural that he would do everything possible to ensure that they could be as happy as possible.
Finally, the conversation reached the topic of Aria and Shalria, completely surprising the Lysanders. The fact that Rosward Rosward had married his own daughter and had even had a daughter with her demonstrated just how depraved the mentality of the man who believed himself to be a god truly was, and the situation immediately awakened the empathy of the royal family of Pacific Kingdom.
In the end, Orion said that he would take responsibility for reforming Aria's mentality, asking Bianca not to worry about anything, while Shalria would be raised together with the other children in the royal palace. At present, Sam was Orion's only heir, but everyone knew that in the future that would change drastically, since after all he had several wives.
Shalria was still only a six-month-old baby, so there would be no difficulty in raising her to become a decent human being, different from the Celestial Dragons. Aria, however, was an entirely different case, and Orion would have to apply a "special treatment."
…
After Bianca settled into the royal family and began living together with Mario once again, Orion discussed Aria's treatment with Lolo.
Orion's plan was rather pragmatic—true to his personality—and consisted of "destroying" Aria's current personality before reforming it. The idea was that Gloriosa and Galus would use their special powers—hypnosis and the ability to create illusions respectively—to assist with the destruction phase, after which Lolo would take charge of the reformation stage.
Although Aria was only sixteen years old and her mind was still malleable, her indoctrination in Mary Geoise had been quite strong, which meant this was the only way Orion could be certain of succeeding within a short period of time.
Orion's idea was not to destroy his aunt's psyche, but simply the system of beliefs that had been completely distorted by the idea that she was a goddess above the rest of humanity. Once the work of eroding these ideas carried out by Gloriosa and Galus was complete, it would be time to show Aria the real world, something that Lolo and Orion themselves would take charge of.
Aria would have to learn how to work the land, relate to other people, understand the value of money, and comprehend the preciousness of the human lives she had once considered inferior. This process would not be immediate, but both Orion and Lolo were prepared for a prolonged battle in order to save this new member of their family.
Although the blood of Rosward Rosward ran through her veins, they had no intention whatsoever of abandoning her, because before anything else she was Bianca's daughter.
However, in her current state Aria did not consider Bianca her mother, since in her mind Bianca was an inferior human being who could not compare to a goddess like herself. For that reason, the special treatment designed by Orion also had the objective of restoring Bianca's chance to have a genuine relationship with her daughter.
…
In the large marital bed, Orion finished reminiscing about what had happened over the previous days with his family, and considering that the sunlight was already filtering through the window of his room, he decided that it would be better to begin his day once and for all.
Moving gently so as not to wake his three wives, who were resting peacefully after a long night of sex, Orion got out of bed, tenderly kissed the foreheads of the three women, and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
Once he had finished washing himself, he dressed in comfortable clothes and stepped out into one of the inner courtyards reserved exclusively for his use, beginning his morning training session.
During the past few days, Orion had been focusing a bit more on his new ability, Fish-man Karate, and he had managed to gain a rudimentary mastery of the technique, greatly enjoying the act of shattering gigantic rocks with his bare hands.
Just as Orion was about to finish his morning training, someone came running in a hurry, interrupting him.
"Orioooon, I came to get you! Everyone is waiting for you," Kalifa said as she jumped into Orion's arms and rubbed her cheek against his bare torso, not caring in the slightest about the sweat running across his body.
"Ah, Kalifa, is it already time to depart? Sorry, I lost track of time while training," Orion said while affectionately stroking Kalifa's blonde hair, which after years without being cut now reached her waist.
"Hehe, I knew that would happen, so I came to get you before it was too late," Kalifa said cheerfully as she released Orion from her embrace, took out a folder containing information about the trip they were about to make, and handed Orion a towel.
Orion dried his sweat with the towel and walked with Kalifa toward the entrance of the mansion, reviewing the information she had given him. A large amount of technical data appeared before his eyes, and Orion felt slightly overwhelmed, although Kalifa began summarizing the information just in time.
"During this visit to the kingdom of Samba, our objective is to establish a trade treaty with this neighboring nation, securing a commercial route for our new agricultural products…"
Orion listened attentively to the explanation of little Kalifa, who was currently only ten years old, and he could not help once again marveling at the fantastic administrative abilities of the young genius, who was without a doubt an excellent assistant for a king like him—someone who generally did not handle the kingdom's affairs directly and instead delegated the work to his subordinates, dealing only with the most important decisions.
Orion had recently founded a new merchant company that he had placed under the leadership of Nayana—the friend of Rouge, who after moving to Pacific Kingdom had become the leader of the kingdom's merchants and the de facto minister of economy.
This merchant company was being used by Orion to occupy the empty space left behind by the departure of Umit Shipping from the South Blue, and little by little it was growing in power and influence, bringing great benefits to the kingdom.
Even so, this new organization was still very far from reaching the level Orion desired, because his ambition was to one day completely destroy Umit—one of the recently formed "emperors of the Underworld"—and take his place.
To achieve that goal, he had begun openly attacking Umit in the South Blue with the help of the southern Revolutionary Army under Ginny's command, Olive's pirates—who were the most powerful in the South Blue—and the new mercenary company he had founded with the members of Green Katakiri whom he had brought from the West Blue.
At first, Umit Shipping had resisted Orion's attacks, but in the end they had decided to give up their efforts, abandoning a significant portion of their trade routes in the South Blue and greatly reducing their influence within this Blue.
It was not that Umit could not confront Orion if he truly wanted to, but rather that the cost of doing so was greater than the benefits he would obtain, which was why he had decided to withdraw temporarily instead of fighting head-on within Orion's territory.
Even so, Orion knew that Umit would not remain idle forever, and it was very likely that once his power and influence on a global scale had fully stabilized, he would return to reclaim the South Blue and eliminate his enemy.
For that reason, Orion had also begun attacking Umit in the West Blue, with the help of his subordinate Capone Bege, whom he had subdued by force.
Although the situation in the West Blue was much better for Umit compared to the South Blue, the mafia leader was causing him headaches and diverting part of his attention, which was quite beneficial for Orion.
The only problem was that Bege was not a reliable subordinate, since Orion had subdued him through brute force, and he always had to remain alert in order not to be stabbed in the back.
Even so, Orion was quite satisfied with the current situation regarding Umit and his newly created merchant company, and he had hopes for the future. If everything went according to plan, his company "Timu" would become a global colossus in the future, something that would greatly help him in his war against the Celestial Dragons and the World Government.
Walking together with Kalifa while listening to the young genius's report, Orion arrived at the port, where his subordinates were waiting for him in order to depart. On this occasion, in addition to Kalifa, he would also be accompanied by Lucky Roux and Robin.
"Orion! I want to go with you too," said Gloriosa, who was present at the port, adorably pouting her lips.
"I know, Gloriosa, but right now I need you to help me with Aria," Orion said as he gently caressed the young woman's face with a smile, which immediately made her blush slightly before showing a cheerful smile.
Striking her prominent chest with her hand, Gloriosa declared with great enthusiasm,
"Don't worry, Orion, I will carry out the mission you gave me without fail."
After training over the past month with Galus—who possessed a Devil Fruit capable of creating illusions—she had greatly improved her hypnotism ability, to the point that she could now activate this special skill without as much preparation as before, allowing her to use it even in combat.
She was still improving with each training session with the famous former pirate, although Galus himself was not particularly pleased with the situation, since Gloriosa's training basically consisted of beating him up daily while the beautiful Kuja destroyed the illusions he created with his Devil Fruit.
Even so, although Galus did not want to admit it, he was also benefiting from the training with Gloriosa, and his control over his Devil Fruit had improved exponentially.
"I'll leave it to you then, Gloriosa," Orion replied, leaning forward and kissing the beautiful Kuja on the lips.
Gloriosa enjoyed a brief moment of intimacy with Orion, and then she happily withdrew after saying goodbye to him and his other travel companions present at the port.
Meanwhile, Orion glanced toward an alley near the harbor, where Galus was watching anxiously from the shadows, as though he were afraid that Orion might discover him and force him to accompany him to Samba.
Orion knew that Galus was originally from the kingdom of Samba, but when he had mentioned bringing him along during this trade mission, the former pirate had begun trembling nervously, and it was clear that he did not want to return to his homeland for some reason.
Fortunately for Galus, the situation with Aria had caused Orion to decide that he would remain in Pacific Kingdom in order to help with the rehabilitation of his aunt, which meant he had been spared from accompanying him to Samba, just as he had wished.
Even so, once he arrived in the neighboring kingdom, Orion intended to investigate why Galus was so frightened of returning home, thinking that it was quite an interesting matter.
Together with his three main companions and a large number of secondary subordinates, Orion began the short journey toward the kingdom of Samba, hoping to continue expanding the influence of his kingdom throughout the South Blue.