One Piece: Global improvement system

July 21, 1497, Age of the Sea Circle

Orion stroked Giolla's back as she cuddled in his arms with an expression of absolute tranquility. After so much time apart, the loving couple was trying to make up for lost time in the most passionate way possible.

The early morning sun streamed in through the bedroom window, and outside, the murmur of the people in the settlement could be heard beginning their daily routine of building their new home.

Over the past few days, Orion had conducted a massive talent assessment of all the inhabitants of his kingdom, and then assigned tasks to each of them, trying to make the most of their talents.

This task had taken a great deal of time and had once again made him realize how important it was for him to form a council of capable people to help him govern his territory.

He wished there was some kind of "recruitment card" item, but unfortunately, the system didn't offer such a convenient item, and he had no choice but to find talented people on his own.

Of his current subordinates, Kalifa had an SS talent for administration, but she was currently only a child, and it was impossible for her to take charge of the kingdom's administration. It would be at least a decade before she could begin working in a relevant position.

For the time being, Orion had assigned 10 people with decent talent for administration and placed them under Giolla, who would be the de facto ruler when he wasn't present. While she wasn't the official queen, her status in the minds of the people of his kingdom was basically that of one.

He had established a militia force, which was headed by an elderly man who had served as a soldier in his youth. The group of recruits training to become militiamen numbered barely 30, which was obviously a very small number, but at least it was a start.

Orion kissed Giolla on the forehead and tried to get out of bed, but the beautiful artist took him by the arm.

"Can't you stay a little longer?" she asked with some disappointment.

Orion felt a little guilty for not being able to spend more time with her, but there were things he needed to do. Even though he wanted to stay with his lover to continue enjoying the peace of everyday life, he had to leave.

"Sorry, Giolla, but I have to go. The Roux rebels won't hold out much longer on their own."

Orion had planned to join forces with the Roux rebels to overthrow the royal family, but he had overestimated the capabilities of this group of amateurs. Even with his detailed instructions, the rebels were having trouble staying out of the reach of the Vascos, who controlled the kingdom with great efficiency.

Curiously, despite their hedonistic behavior and apparent stupidity, the royal family was at least able to eliminate any threat that arose within the kingdom. Perhaps that was the advantage of a long reign, whose roots were deeply embedded throughout the kingdom. It wasn't easy for the common people of Roux to oppose the structure that kept them oppressed, and the Vascos who controlled this structure.

"Then I can go with you. I can fight too; I won't be a burden to you," Giolla said, hugging him tightly, causing Orion's head to submerge into her imposing breasts

Orion enjoyed the moment for a bit, not retreating from the soft mountains, but finally, he gently released himself from her embrace, gently caressed her cheek, and said,

"I know you wouldn't be a burden to me if you came with me, but now I need you to stay and help me take control of the kingdom. You're the only one I can trust for this task."

These words finally managed to dissuade the artist from accompanying him. She knew Orion wasn't just saying things to please her. Indeed, no one but her had the authority and power to maintain order in this newly founded kingdom, which for now was nothing more than a sprawling refugee camp.

Orion saw that she had accepted his words, but she was still pouting. Laughing happily, he kissed her on the lips and said,

"Don't worry, this time I promise not to be gone for too long. I'll just go, take care of the Vascos, and return using the Space Gate."

Giolla nodded, a little more animated, remembering Orion's wonderful new ability, which they had tested in the previous days.

They had gone out to sea and used the Space Gate to successfully return to the center of the settlement.

With this magical ability that allowed Orion to return to her immediately, Giolla felt a little more at ease letting him go.

Orion dressed, ate a light breakfast, and said goodbye to Giolla and Ina, who lived in the same house under the artist's care.

He walked through the settlement, observing the changes that had taken place over the past week and nodded, satisfied with the current progress.

He approached the training grounds where the young recruits were training and spotted Yukimura in the distance. The teenager had also joined the militia of his own free will, and Orion had not opposed his wishes. In the future, Yukimura was destined to be part of their main forces, as he was one of his main subordinates.

As a Named Character, he was recognized by the system as a special existence, and given the boy's great talent in swordsmanship, it was obvious that he would be very powerful in the future.

Orion didn't know how strong he was in the original story, but he was certain that under his tutelage, Yukimura would become much more powerful. He had the advantage of knowing the development path of these Named Characters in detail, thanks to the ability of the 'Insight Card,' which allowed him to guide them efficiently and unlock their full potential.

Orion walked through the training ground, and the recruits present stopped their exercises to salute.

Although Pacific Kingdom was very precarious, Orion's status as king was highly respected by all the inhabitants. After all, he had recruited them and brought them here himself, giving them the opportunity to start a new life from scratch.

Orion simply nodded to the recruits and approached Yukimura.

"Yukimura, get your things ready. We'll leave in about half an hour," Orion said directly.

"Yes, sir," the teenager replied immediately. He then saluted and hurried off to prepare his things for the trip.

Orion had already informed him that they were going to Roux to fight against the royal family, and the teenager was excited to accompany him.

Orion shook his head at Yukimura's formality, which was very solemn and rigid, despite having told him that such rigidity wasn't necessary when they interacted. It was true that Orion was the king, but Yukimura was part of his inner circle, and his acting so formally made the relationship between the two feel a bit distant.

However, Orion knew that this was simply the boy's personality, and it would be difficult to change.

For a moment, he remembered his interactions with his teacher Roger, who daily complained that Orion was overly formal and polite.

Now that he was on the other side, he finally understood how his teacher felt.

Thinking of Roger, Orion showed a gentle smile. It was true that his teacher's actions had plunged the world into chaos, hurting countless people, such as those who were now part of his kingdom; but Orion couldn't feel any animosity toward him, because he knew the kind of man he was.

He didn't know what Roger's reasons for starting the Great Age of Pirates were, since he hadn't told him anything about it, but he knew there had to be a good reason behind it, which would come to light someday in the future.

In the meantime, he would take it upon himself to help the people who had been negatively affected by his master's actions, trying to at least make up for the situation a little.

Orion headed home, where he immediately ran into his two little siblings, Sofia and Dante, who were excitedly playing with rag dolls that Rouge had sewn.

When they saw him enter the house, the two little ones jumped as if on springs and ran to hug him. After several days of interaction, the two children had grown accustomed to their strange brother, who could change size and do all sorts of wonderful things.

Orion, despite having been very busy with kingdom affairs, had used almost all of his remaining time during the day to spend time with his family. Of course, at night he returned to Giolla's bed to continue working hard on improving the 'Marital Happiness' skill.

During these days, Orion had taken the twins on several little adventures, flying through the sky with Geppo or exploring the depths of the sea in the bay with his Pocket Dimension. Now, every time they saw him arrive, the little ones' eyes lit up, wondering what kind of adventure their older brother would take them on.

This time, however, Orion came to say goodbye. After spending only a week at home, he had to leave again, although he hoped not to spend so much time away this time.

He looked at the two little ones, who were hugging his legs, one on each side, and looking at him with big eyes, full of hope for a new adventure.

Orion lifted them into the air, making the children laugh with joy. Then, he accessed the system screen and activated the Random Talent Card, which had already recharged since its last use a few months ago.

The card returned to its charged state, and a new notification appeared on the system screen.

*You have used the Random Talent Card on an unregistered person. The skill 'Calligraphy (Level 7)' has been distributed*

Little Sofia closed her eyes and her body trembled slightly. Orion knew it was the effect of the information being recorded in her mind, and he waited patiently until the process was complete.

Once finished, Orion gave the girl paper and a brush, and she immediately wrote a poem, with beautiful handwriting that would put any scribe with years of experience to shame.

The girl finished writing and, pointing to the beautiful words she had written, said,

"Brother, what does it say?"

Orion's forehead was covered with black lines, and he had to force himself to smile and answer the girl's innocent question.

However, inside, he was thinking,

"Duck! The system gave her the knowledge of how to write, but she still can't read?!"

It was a curious situation. Sofia was now able to write beautifully, but she still didn't understand what she was writing, which was perfectly normal, since she was only two years old!

Orion had actually used the 'Random Talent Card' to see if she could acquire a special skill that would make her life easier in the future. Although he had already expected a result like this.

After all, the talents his sister displayed, according to the evaluation of the magical Appraisal Sphere, were all related to writing. Evidently, his little sister was born to be a literary woman.

On the other hand, his brother Dante had only one talent: bodybuilding.

This made Orion shake his head. Was his little brother destined to live his life greased up? Not if he could help it!

That was partly why he'd decided to use the Random Talent Card on Sofia first, because if her brother gained a skill like 'Bodybuilding (Level 7)' and developed a massive amount of inflated muscles, Orion wouldn't know how to explain it to his parents.

On the other hand, the skill Sofia had acquired was much more 'normal'. At least her parents had the experience of coming into contact with child prodigies like him and Gion, so it wouldn't be so difficult for them to accept that their little daughter was also a genius in the writing field.

Orion planned to wait for the item to recharge and use it again on his little brother and his parents to see if he could give them useful skills that would help them in their daily lives.

In addition, during this week he had given Health Brownies to his entire family, including Rouge. If it weren't for the fact that this item easily spoiled if left out of the system, Orion would have given his family a large amount of it to eat once a month—which was the period of time they had to wait for the item to take effect again.

After playing with his younger siblings for a while, Orion spoke to his parents and informed them that he was going out to sea again.

They sighed at his words, but didn't object. They knew they couldn't stand in his way, since their son was destined for greatness and couldn't be with them all the time like a normal child.

Luckily for them, they had the twins' company, who filled the house with joy. Also living in the house were Rouge and the three newcomers: Kalifa, Hototogisu, and Helsing!

Orion had thought it was best for them to live with his family, since they hadn't received much family affection during their lives.

Kalifa had been treated like an agent in training by her parents, without being given any affection; Helsing had been an orphan, and her life in her adoptive home had been very bad, which had caused her to develop a very shy and introverted personality; and Hototogisu, although she had enjoyed the love of her grandmother while she was alive, had never received anything but rejection from everyone else.

Orion, who knew the kind of people his parents were, believed that if the three girls lived in his house, they could develop healthy emotional bonds that would help them lead more fulfilling lives.

Furthermore, here was Rouge, who had become much "softer" since being pregnant, and he felt great sympathy for the three girls' situation as soon as she met them.

The only drawback was that Kalifa and Hototogisu were still like water and oil, fighting every minute. Orion wasn't too worried, though, because he knew they didn't truly hate each other, and that their conflicts were more like those that might arise between two siblings.

Their personalities clashed, but the two girls had tacitly accepted each other as friends, or even family, although they would never admit it. They could be very stubborn.

Helsing, on the other hand, suffered the most of the three, as she was often caught in the middle of Kalifa and Hototogisu's constant arguments. With her shy and introverted nature, Helsing couldn't even speak out loud to show her displeasure when she was dragged into these situations.

Orion hoped that over time she would gain confidence and begin to be a little more outgoing. Although she was naturally introverted, and there was nothing wrong with that, extremes should always be avoided.

"Orion! I want to go with you too!" Kalifa protested, shaking her fists with her cheeks puffed out.

"You'd just be a burden. Orion, take me. I'm used to hardship," Hototogisu said in her typical emotionless voice.

"Arrg! Shut up, Hototogisu! I'm clearly much more useful than you! You can't even read!" Kalifa said angrily at Hototogisu's proposal.

"I can read, I just don't do it because it's so boring," Hototogisu replied, not realizing that Kalifa was exaggerating when she said she couldn't even read.

Orion stepped forward and stood between the two girls. Otherwise, they might start a long argument.

"Don't fight," Orion said, placing one hand on Hototogisu's shoulder and the other on little Kalifa's head.

"This time, I'm going to have to face some strong enemies, so you can't come. Besides, you have to stay and train. Or do you already want to abandon your responsibilities?"

The two girls calmed down and didn't continue to insist on accompanying him.

Over the past few days, Orion had established routines for the two girls based on the information provided by the system through the Insight Cards, along with the two girls' particular wishes.

Kalifa was going to "train" by helping Giolla manage the kingdom, although for now this was only a way for the little girl to feel useful, not actual training.

She was too young to undergo physical training in the Six Techniques, despite her great talent in that area, so it would have been best for her to focus on improving her knowledge.

Due to the little genius's great intellect, she should have been studying daily to absorb as much knowledge as possible, but unfortunately, that wasn't possible due to the lack of available materials.

In a place like Ohara, Kalifa's genius might have shone brightly, but in his desolate, makeshift kingdom, which didn't even have a library, it was impossible for her to dedicate herself to studying.

For the time being, Orion had arranged for her to help Giolla, and later, when the public school was built, he would let her teach the kingdom's children the knowledge she had already mastered.

After all, in this world, where there was no firmly established institution such as a school, the level of education was not very high, and children were usually educated briefly at home before learning a trade from their parents or some artisan.

At least so far, Orion hadn't found any schools on the islands he had visited, and it could be said that his idea of ​​educating children in an institutionalized manner was quite novel.

Initially, the first school in their kingdom would be very small, and Kalifa could shine by teaching other children useful basic knowledge.

As for Hototogisu, Orion had told her to train directly in combat with Giolla and undergo military training. She had great talent for combat, far superior to Yukimura's, so Orion hoped that over the years, Hototogisu would become one of the kingdom's pillars of power.

Orion said goodbye to the two girls, who had momentarily stopped fighting, and then looked over to the corner where little Helsing was, cuddling her stuffed crocodile with a shy look.

He approached and greeted her with a smile, telling her he would bring her a gift when he returned. The girl showed a look of expectation and gave a small nod, which was the most expression he could get from her for the moment.

Orion hadn't assigned Helsing any tasks. She had great talent with the sword, but first he wanted to stabilize her personality and make her less shy. So her only task was to stay home with his family and be as happy as possible.

Once the goodbyes were over, Orion returned to the settlement to find Yukimura, kissed Giolla once more, and sped off toward the coast.

It was time to return to Roux, to take care of the Vascos. He had been home for only a short time, but he had accomplished his goals: to see his family, founding his kingdom, and establish a return point for the Space Gate.

Orion reached the shore and took a boat out of his inventory. Then he began sailing, checking the map for his next destination.

"King, are we going directly to Roux?" Yukimura asked with great formality.

"No, we have to make a couple of stops first," Orion replied.

His gaze was fixed on a spot on the map. A not-too-distant island, which had once only been home to a small village, but now also had a newly built Marine Base to combat the pirate threat in the area.

That was their next destination, and there was a marker indicating the presence of a Named Character: Yarisugi (16).