27 of September, 1503, Age of the Sea Circle
At last, Orion slept for ten full hours before his mind completely recovered from the strain he had endured earlier. When he finally opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Giolla, who was sitting on a chair beside his bed, reading a book with great interest.
Seeing that Orion had awakened, the beautiful artist immediately closed the book and leaned over him with a wide smile.
"Orion, you finally woke up. How do you feel?" Giolla said.
"Perfect, I'm already ready to get back into action!" Orion replied with a grin, before adding,
"How long was I unconscious?"
"About ten hours," Giolla answered.
"How are the preparations for the plan going? How did everything progress while I was sleeping?" Orion finally asked as he got out of bed and put on his clothes.
Giolla explained everything that had happened while he was asleep, telling him in detail what she and the others had been doing. After Orion's brief clash with Doflamingo, they had traveled to the underground city of the Tontatta in Green Bit.
Before falling asleep, Orion had released Viola and the others from the Pocket Dimension, so together with Giolla they were in charge of handling the diplomacy with the Tontatta.
As soon as Viola used the powers of her Devil Fruit to show them everything that was happening in the kingdom, and told them about the dreadful future that awaited all the people living in Dressrosa, the small warriors immediately agreed to cooperate with Orion's plan.
Fortunately, Orion had planned the final confrontation with Doflamingo in great detail over the past few days, so even without his presence to oversee matters, Giolla had been perfectly capable of taking care of all the preparations. Now, all that remained was to put the plan into motion, and Orion would be the one giving the orders.
After listening in detail to everything that had happened over the past hours, Orion left the "room" he was in—which had been created by Giolla using the powers of her Devil Fruit—and walked through the streets of the Tontatta underground city. Curiously enough, this city was exactly the same as the one he had seen in his own timeline, which made Orion feel a strange sense of familiarity in this world where he had originally never existed.
Indeed, with his current understanding, it was not difficult for Orion to reach the conclusion that the world inside the Time Dungeon was a timeline in which he did not exist. This filled him with mixed feelings, as it was strange to think that even without him in the world, everyone would continue living their lives without any issue.
Moreover, he also felt a deep curiosity about what the lives of his loved ones would be like without him, and if it were not for the limited time of the Time Dungeon, Orion would have wanted to travel around and see it with his own eyes.
In just the past few days, he had already discovered that two of his wives—Scarlett and Giolla—were living completely different lives, with one being the mother of the adorable Rebecca, while the other was a bloodthirsty pirate belonging to Doflamingo's crew.
At the very least, when he thought of his beloved Giolla, Orion was absolutely certain that she had lived a better life after meeting him, which filled his heart with joy.
Taking Giolla's hand firmly yet gently, Orion walked over to where Gancho, the leader of the Tontatta, was. Having already agreed to take part in the fight against Doflamingo, Gancho was quite proactive in the preparations and received Orion with great enthusiasm.
"Human friend, I welcome you to my kingdom! I have been told that you are a hero who came from another world to help us. It is our honor to receive you in our humble city!"
Gancho jumped onto Orion's shoulder, moving about cheerfully like a hyperactive child, which contrasted greatly with his wrinkled elderly appearance. Orion looked at him with a smile, thinking that Gancho was still the same as ever, even in this world, and taking the small king in his hands, he said,
"On the contrary, I am grateful to be able to count on the help of the Tontatta people, King Gancho."
Then, while the elderly king laughed with a "hohoho" and stroked his long beard, Orion set aside formalities and moved straight to the point.
"Gancho, I need to ask you a favor. I would like Mansherry to use her powers to heal someone. Don't worry, I will personally provide the vital energy required for the healing."
King Gancho nodded benevolently and, raising his small staff, said,
"Bring the princess. Our hero needs her."
Hearing Gancho's words, Orion was reminded, for some reason, of the engagement that the Tontatta king had insisted on establishing between him and Princess Mansherry, which he was still dodging to this day. Orion knew he would not be able to avoid the matter forever, so he would probably have to find a way to definitively break off the engagement as soon as possible.
After all, it was impossible for Orion to accept such a union, since Princess Mansherry was so tiny that she could fit in the palm of his hand. How was such a relationship supposed to work successfully? Orion had heard of hybrid races in this world, which even included pairings between Tontatta and Giants, and he could not explain how something like that was possible, having to attribute it simply to the magic of the world of One Piece.
While Orion was lost in his thoughts about Mansherry and the sexuality between beings of completely opposite sizes, the tiny golden-haired princess arrived at the place, appearing somewhat shy in front of the unfamiliar Orion.
"H-How can I help you, hero?" Mansherry said with a certain nervousness.
"Don't be nervous, I just want you to help me heal someone… or perhaps it would be better to say 'something.'"
Orion waved his hand through the air, opening a door to the Pocket Dimension, and quickly stepped inside to bring out the small toy soldier who had remained within the other dimension for the past ten hours.
After rescuing him from Doflamingo's clutches, Orion had thrown him into the Pocket Dimension in the heat of battle to prevent him from being harmed even further, and unlike the Riku royal family, the small toy soldier had remained alone inside the Pocket Dimension all that time.
Orion reappeared in front of Mansherry with the toy soldier in his hands, then took out from the system inventory the limbs that had been amputated by Doflamingo. He had taken the trouble to collect the arms and legs that had been severed by Doflamingo, since from the very beginning he had intended to have Mansherry heal him with her special powers.
Kyros, who was in his toy form, did not say a single word, simply remaining inert as if he were dead. He had suffered a tremendous mental shock over the past few days and was on the verge of collapse.
The only thing keeping him standing was the fact that his wife and daughter were still alive and needed his protection, although with the current state of his body, he knew he would not be able to do much to help them. That thought filled him with an even greater despair, which over the last hours of solitude inside the Pocket Dimension had worn away at his spirit.
Orion was able to perceive the toy's intense emotions with his Observation Haki, since that was one of the aspects he was most skilled in. The use of Haki generally varied from user to user, and unlike Lucky Roux, who could use his Haki to observe vast distances almost like the powers of Viola's Giro Giro no Mi, Orion found it easier to perceive people's feelings and emotional states.
It was easy for Orion to tell, for example, if someone was lying to him, or if they felt fear, anger, and so on. At present, his Observation Haki skill in the system screen was at level 4, so Orion speculated that once his level rose further, he would be able to master other, more advanced facets of Observation Haki.
Drawing a bit of vital energy from Orion's body, Mansherry placed her hand on the toy soldier, while Orion put the severed limbs back into place. The entire process was almost instantaneous, and once again, the toy soldier returned to his complete form.
Although he was still trapped in a toy body, he had at least regained minimal mobility, and with his body whole again, he could confidently attempt to recover his human form without fear of ending up armless or legless even after returning to his natural state.
"Thank you very much," the toy soldier said, bowing his head solemnly toward Orion.
Unlike the others, he knew nothing about Orion, but he was deeply grateful to him, since this mysterious man had saved his family from the hands of the pirate Doflamingo. Not only had Rebecca been rescued, but over the past few hours he had also been able to see that his wife Scarlett was still alive, even if unconscious.
That meant Orion was his benefactor, and Kyros felt a great favorability toward him.
"Don't worry, it's what I had to do," Orion said, extending his hand and clasping the small hand of the toy soldier in a gesture of mutual respect. Although Orion did not know who the toy soldier was, he could form an idea by seeing how he had been trying to protect little Rebecca.
Up to now, Orion did not know who Scarlett's child's father was, and it was more than likely that it was the toy standing in front of him at this very moment, who had been transformed by Sugar.
After finishing the repair of the toy soldier's body, Orion took Mansherry into his hands once again and said with a smile,
"Thank you, Mansherry."
The tiny princess blushed deeply when she saw Orion's handsome face close to her and heard his gentle words, and lowering her gaze, she made a small nasal sound in modest reply.
Finally, Orion headed toward a deeper area of the great underground city of the Tontatta, where Giolla had built another room using the powers of her Ato Ato no Mi. Inside, the Riku royal family was waiting for his arrival.
Orion entered the room accompanied by Giolla and the toy soldier, and came face to face with Scarlett, who had awakened thanks to Mansherry's healing powers and was now tenderly embracing her small daughter Rebecca, while thinking deeply about something.
Upon hearing the door to the room open, everyone present turned to look at the newly arrived Orion, displaying different reactions.
"Orion! You finally woke up," Viola said with a smile, running to his side with flushed cheeks and bright, shining eyes.
Now that her family's situation was a little better, she felt much more relaxed, which had led her to start thinking about things that previously had no room in her mind, such as how handsome the mysterious Orion was.
Moreover, the fact that he was her sister's husband in another world caused a strange feeling of immorality to arise in her when she thought about certain heated scenes. She was a beautiful nineteen-year-old woman belonging to the nation of passion, and her fiery personality was beginning to emerge now that she felt a bit safer.
"It's good to see that you're doing well," King Riku said, nodding his head slightly.
Despite feeling great gratitude toward Orion, Riku Doldo was in a much worse mental state than Viola and could not appear so animated. He had killed his subjects with his own hands and burned the kingdom in the process, and the memories of it replayed endlessly in his mind.
Fortunately for him, Orion's final plan would—hopefully—allow him to turn the situation around and regain the trust of his people. That belief was what kept Riku from completely collapsing under the tragedy he had been forced to endure, since otherwise he would have needed much more time to recover from his trauma.
Finally, Scarlett and Rebecca said nothing. They simply looked at Orion with curiosity. Although Scarlett had heard everything that had happened over the past few days and how much Orion had helped them, this was still the first time she was seeing him, so it was impossible for her to show too much emotion toward him.
Even so, if someone observed her face carefully, they could see a very faint blush creeping over her cheeks, and this was because certain memories had suddenly surfaced in her mind.
These memories were the ones that had been transmitted to her through the powers of her sister Viola, and they were about Orion's relationship with the Scarlett of her own timeline. Although Scarlett felt no affection for Orion and only gratitude toward him, these memories caused a great curiosity about the mysterious man from another world to spring up within her like an endless source.
Holding Rebecca in her arms, Scarlett approached Orion, and lowering her head in a small bow, she said,
"Thank you very much for saving us, I will never forget the favor you have done for us."
The beautiful princess of Dressrosa was speaking in a distant tone that made Orion feel a little uncomfortable, since she was, after all, his wife in his world. Even so, he had already convinced himself many times that he should not confuse his relationship with the people of this world with those of his original world, so after a brief moment of bitterness, Orion showed a gentle expression and said, his eyes filled with tenderness,
"It's what I had to do."
Scarlett's cheeks reddened a little more, and she quickly averted her gaze because she could not bear to look directly at the tenderness with which Orion was looking at her. Her heart began to beat strongly, but she quickly brought her emotions under control.
Then, lifting her gaze with a determined look, she said,
"Lord Orion, I want to ask you a favor."
As the sun began to peek over the horizon, Orion had a very important conversation alone with Scarlett.
"Is it possible for you to take my daughter Rebecca with you back to your world?"
Scarlett dropped a bomb that Orion had not expected to hear, and for a moment he did not know how to respond. Seeing how surprised he was, Scarlett smiled slightly and continued with a firm gaze.
"I heard about your plan to face Doflamingo, but it is a plan that could take years, and we do not know if we will succeed. I do not want my daughter to have to grow up fearing being killed every minute of her life.
For that reason, I would prefer that she could grow up in the peaceful Dressrosa of your world, where the threat of Doflamingo does not exist."
Orion recovered from his surprise and looked seriously at Scarlett.
"Are you sure that's what you want? Once I take her to my world, you will most likely never be able to see her again. I might never be able to return to this world."
Although Orion could empathize with Scarlett's feelings of wanting to protect her small daughter, it was necessary to clearly tell her the implications of what she was asking. The Time Dungeon was a mysterious ability that Orion could not even activate voluntarily at the moment, so it was very likely that once the remaining hours on the timer ran out, he would be expelled without the possibility of returning here.
In that case, Rebecca and Scarlett would be separated forever, and that could not be something any mother would want.
Scarlett's smile became even gentler and more beautiful, marking the dimples on her cheeks.
"I know it may seem crazy, but I simply want her to live a happy life. If she stays here with me, she will only suffer for many years."
"Even so, you always have the option of escaping somewhere else without needing to separate; you can move away from Dressrosa until Doflamingo is finally defeated," Orion replied, not wanting Scarlett to make such an important decision recklessly.
However, Scarlett shook her head with bitterness.
"No matter where we go, we don't have the means to escape Doflamingo's grasp in this world. In the end, it simply depends on how lucky we are, but I don't want to gamble with my daughter's life in that way."
Scarlett restrained her smile and looked down at the floor with a sad expression.
"It's true that I wish Rebecca could always be by my side, but what I desire above all else is for her to be free and happy, and to grow up safe without the constant fear of being eliminated by Doflamingo."
Orion observed the sad expression of the Scarlett of this world, who was a bit more mature than his wife in his original world, and felt the burning determination within her using his Observation Haki. In the end, he had no choice but to let out a soft sigh, and stepping forward, he placed a hand on Scarlett's shoulder. She startled at the firm touch and blushed lightly once again.
"All right. I promise that I will protect Rebecca and make sure that she is always happy," Orion said solemnly, paying no attention to the small reactions of the beautiful princess.
Scarlett immediately regained her composure, and with a broad smile, said,
"Thank you, Lord Orion!"
"Just call me Orion."
"All right. Thank you, Orion!"
The two looked at each other in silence for a few moments, and the atmosphere became a little ambiguous. However, at that very moment, the door to the room sounded twice, and it slowly opened, revealing the figure of the small toy soldier, who looked expressionlessly at the two people in the room.
"Sorry to bother you, but I wanted to know if I could have a few words alone with Orion," the toy soldier said.
Scarlett immediately returned to normal, and after excusing herself with a hint of shyness, she left the room without looking back. Only Orion and Kyros in his toy form remained in the room, and the toy soldier's words made Orion feel surprised once again.
"I need to ask you a favor. Could you take my wife and daughter to your world?"