One Piece: Global improvement system

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 meat.

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 time!" Roux exclaimed 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—something 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 time, Roux had taken up cooking, discovering it was his passion. He loved the process of making delicious food with his own hands, and from time to time, 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 time comes, 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 come across any such tradition in this part of the world.

So he had decided to host a grand festival himself, to welcome 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 become 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 documents in hand.

"Orion, I need your authorization on these. Also, we have to discuss tonight's preparations. The militia's deployment 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 men 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 meant 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 some 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 emerging 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 arrangements 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!" came 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 same 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 come to give a lesson?" Kalifa asked with great excitement.

Orion sometimes 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 something akin to "Civic Education," aimed 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 time on them as a waste at all. In fact, he truly enjoyed teaching whenever he had a spare moment.

"No, this time I'm busy with preparations for tonight's party. That's actually why I came to see you," Orion replied with a smile.

"Do you need help with something?" 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 become something 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 become 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 immediately 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, summer days were extremely 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 came from many different places with unique culinary cultures.

Orion pulled out a guitar he had bought on his last trip and began strumming cheerful melodies 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 seemed 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 emerging kingdom.

Orion had invested some of his KP into their training: purchasing a special training regime and a physical enhancement recipe, which he used to brew into a potion using his talents in Herbalism and Medicine.

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. Meanwhile, 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 something like this when he was imprisoned on the great bridge Rum Wolf. Now, immersed 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 memory. 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 recruitment of the Named 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 tremendously useful ability—but now the system could finally complete the recruitment of the Named 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 Named Character the system would recruit remotely.

To say he wasn't nervous would be a lie. If the recruited Named 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 investment.

On the system screen, a new loading bar appeared, indicating the progress of the recruitment.

Orion focused all his attention on the system, momentarily forgetting the joyful New Year's festivities.

Meanwhile, the crowd began a countdown.

This had been Orion's idea for the climactic moment of the New Year celebration.

Suddenly, while Orion was focused on the system and the people on their countdown, Giolla noticed something strange with Rouge and approached her curiously—only to find her water had broken!

But something was wrong. She was bleeding, and her face was twisted in pain from severe abdominal cramps.

Giolla immediately turned and shouted,

"Orion! Come 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 Dimension.

"Giolla, call my assistants immediately—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 come.

Now, his suspicions were confirmed, 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 Dimension 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 immediately began treatment, administering medicine 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 Dimension.

They were the kingdom's doctors and nurses, assisting him this time. The group began their work while Giolla stood beside Rouge, holding her hand and comforting her. The two women had grown close, and she was a strong emotional support for the terrified Rouge.

Inside the Pocket Dimension, Rouge's delivery was managed with extreme care, while outside, the people celebrated joyfully, unaware of the emergency.

Only a few had noticed what had happened, like Lucky Roux, who had stopped eating and calmly waited for the Pocket Dimension's door to open and Orion to reappear triumphantly.

As Orion focused on Rouge's treatment, the loading bar on the system screen completed, and the Named Character was successfully recruited.

A portal opened in the night sky, and a figure fell rapidly toward the sea.

"Aaaaaaah!" the person screamed in terror, but no one heard it—drowned out by the raucous New Year's celebrations.

Splash!

The Named Character landed in the bay near the island, unharmed by the water impact. Ripples formed where they fell, and a minute later, a timid head emerged 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.