November 29, 1503, Age of the Sea Circle
Finally, after ten days of travel, Orion and his companions arrived at the kingdom of Samba.
"Orion, we're about to arrive, aren't you excited?" Robin said with a beautiful smile as she rested her face on her hand and gazed toward the distant island on the horizon.
It had been a long time since Robin had traveled, since ever since Orion had brought her from the distant Ohara, she had remained within the safety of Pacific Kingdom, trying not to draw the attention of her pursuers: the World Government.
After so many years of living keeping a low profile, Robin had finally decided to take a step forward and stop living in fear, choosing to venture out into the world once again and try to help Orion in his future struggle against the World Government.
Even so, Orion had made her promise that she would take the necessary precautions while in the outside world and that she would train diligently to improve her combat level, so that she could defend herself in case anything unexpected were to happen.
Naturally, Orion would always try to stay by her side to protect her from any harm, but even so, he believed it was necessary for Robin to learn to rely on herself and develop her abilities, since after all she possessed great talent. It would be a shame if her capabilities were limited simply by the desire to keep her safe at all times.
Robin was not a helpless girl who needed to be overly protected, and both Orion and she herself knew it. After beginning her training in the use of her Devil Fruit and Haki, she had greatly increased her power, although it was true that she still had a long way to go, since she was not yet able to use Armament Haki.
"It's always interesting to discover a new place! What do you say we look for new books while we're here?" Orion replied, moving a strand of hair that had fallen over Robin's forehead, causing her to blush very slightly before returning to normal.
"Alright!" Robin said with a bright smile.
"Hey, Orion! I want books too!" Kalifa said, puffing her cheeks in an adorable expression of jealousy.
"And I want new knives!" Alpha added, with perhaps a bit too much enthusiasm for a nine-year-old asking to be bought weapons.
"Alpha! Don't bother Orion!" Kalifa said with a reproachful expression toward her younger sister.
"You're the one bothering Orion, sis! He promised he'd buy me new knives!" Alpha replied, waving her arms emphatically as she began to throw a small tantrum.
Orion watched the interaction between the two sisters and could not help but sigh. Although they were very close, they tended to argue frequently over the smallest things, which was somewhat tiring for Orion, who had spent ten days sailing alongside them.
As for the reason why Alpha was on the ship despite not being part of the original group, it was because the girl had hidden inside a barrel in the ship's hold, emerging triumphantly once the journey toward the kingdom of Samba had progressed far enough.
"Arrgh! You're so annoying! Why didn't you stay home like I told you? Didn't you have plans with Perona?" Kalifa said irritably, glaring at her little sister who had come to interrupt her trip with Orion.
"I don't want to play with her! We always end up getting into trouble with the guards," Alpha said, pouting.
After years of living in Pacific Kingdom, Perona's personality had changed somewhat, and although she still had a strong fondness for a certain style of clothing, her behavior was far more lively.
Or, to put it more directly, she was a troublemaker. Perhaps it was Ace's influence—with whom she often played—but she had become quite explosive in her actions, carrying out all sorts of mischief in the streets of Pacific Kingdom.
Even so, Orion considered that there was no real problem with Perona's current situation, and he was even pleased with the way she was enjoying her childhood with great freedom. However, for Alpha, who was much calmer by nature, a play session with Perona could be very stressful.
Orion briefly recalled little Perona and decided that he would bring her one of those strange stuffed toys she liked so much as a gift, if he managed to find one in the markets of the kingdom of Samba.
But setting aside the calm atmosphere aboard the ship that was about to reach its destination, Orion thought about something he had been considering over the past few days, something related to Alpha's presence here.
The matter was that he had checked the system map just before setting sail from Pacific Kingdom, and there had been no marker indicating Alpha's presence aboard the ship.
So how was it possible that Alpha had been there? Could it be a flaw in the system?
Orion had previously encountered situations in which he was "surprised" by the presence of a Named Character, but he had always believed it to be due to his own oversight—failing to thoroughly review the information on the system map—and not a problem with the system itself.
However, this time he was certain that he had checked the map before departing, which could only mean that Alpha had been there all along, and the system had failed to indicate it with a marker.
In this case, there had been no real problem, since it had merely been a bit of mischief on Alpha's part; but what would happen if the system failed to register an enemy?
For Orion, who until now had been relying on the information displayed by the system, such uncertainty was unacceptable, and it forced him to reconsider the way he handled things in his day-to-day life.
Orion pondered this situation for quite a while as the ship drew closer and closer to the island, but with the information currently available to him, it was impossible to reach an accurate conclusion.
However, he was about to encounter a new event that would provide him with additional insight into the matter.
…
"Welcome to my humble kingdom!" said King Moqueca, a short man with a very cheerful and carefree demeanor.
"It is a pleasure for me to finally be here. I have heard wonderful things about the kingdom of Samba," Orion said as he stepped forward and extended his arm to shake hands with King Moqueca.
"Hahaha! It's good to hear that! Over the past few weeks, your ambassadors have told me a great deal about Pacific Kingdom, so I would very much like to pay a visit myself in the future," the lively king continued.
"Of course, the doors of our kingdom will always be open to receive you, Lord Moqueca," Orion replied, placing a hand over his chest in a solemn gesture without changing his relaxed expression.
Contact between the governments of both kingdoms had begun a couple of months earlier, when Moqueca had shown interest in establishing a friendly relationship with Pacific Kingdom, something that both Orion and Lolo viewed favorably, since the reputation of the kingdom of Samba was quite good, and it was worthwhile to maintain friendly ties with them.
Both kingdoms were relatively close—ten days of travel under favorable weather—and had been trading for years, although this was the first time serious diplomatic talks had taken place between them.
Finally, a month earlier, Orion had dispatched a delegation of representatives, who had arrived in Samba to draft a treaty of peace and trade together with the officials of this kingdom.
After long and tedious technical discussions regarding the articles of the treaty between both nations, everything had been settled, and now only the official signatures of both kings remained in order to formalize the establishment of diplomatic relations between the kingdom of Samba and Pacific Kingdom.
That was why Orion had come in person on this occasion, not only as a gesture of goodwill, but also as a demonstration of power, since he had brought with him not only a considerable portion of his merchant fleet, but also part of his navy.
Although the treaty to be signed on this occasion was not a full alliance between the two nations, it was the first step in that direction, initiating a relationship that would be beneficial for both parties.
For now, Orion was only interested in expanding his sphere of influence through these diplomatic moves, although in the future the situation would undoubtedly change once he began making larger moves in preparation for his conflict against the Celestial Dragons.
Accompanied by King Moqueca, Orion headed toward the royal palace, where he met the representatives of Pacific Kingdom who had been sent a month earlier and who were under Nayana's command.
After greeting them briefly and congratulating them on a job well done, Orion affixed his signature to the treaty alongside King Moqueca, thereby officially establishing cooperation between the two nations.
Once the entire solemn ceremony had concluded, the lively king of Samba declared the beginning of the celebratory banquet, and Orion made his way toward the palace's banquet hall together with the rest of his companions, among whom the most enthusiastic was undoubtedly Lucky Roux.
At the luxurious table in the banquet hall, Orion enjoyed delicious food and wine of the finest quality, while repeatedly raising his glass in cheerful toasts with Moqueca. Everything was going smoothly, and the atmosphere was perfect for celebration, but all of that changed when, suddenly, the doors of the grand hall were flung open, and a blue-haired young woman wearing a tight dress that revealed her sensual curves appeared.
Bang!
The doors echoed loudly as they opened, and the beautiful young woman entered with her head held high in a proud manner, wearing a slightly irritated expression.
Without paying any attention to etiquette or to the honored guests at the banquet, she sat down beside her father, Moqueca, maintaining a firm posture.
The lively king, seeing that his daughter's behavior was rather rude toward his guests, attempted to prevent the atmosphere from being ruined. He stood up from his seat with a cup in hand, bowed his head, and said,
"Honored guests, I ask that you forgive my daughter's poor attitude; she is not accustomed to such grand occasions."
Then, the king raised his cup and drank all the wine in a single gulp, showing a somewhat embarrassed smile toward Orion and the others.
Orion did not have much interest in the actions of a capricious princess and had not given them much importance, but he knew that in this kind of diplomatic setting it was his duty to accept King Moqueca's apology in order to avoid unnecessary friction.
For that reason, he also stood up and, like Moqueca, emptied his cup of wine in a single gulp before displaying a broad smile and saying,
"It's no problem. I've spent a long time at sea, and I'm used to all kinds of behavior during a banquet, hahaha."
The atmosphere immediately returned to its previous state, and everyone present continued celebrating cheerfully, paying no attention to the newcomer, who simply limited herself to eating a salad while maintaining her irritated expression.
Maiara, the newly arrived princess, was King Moqueca's third daughter and was currently eighteen years old. She had not wanted to take part in the banquet because she was on her period, but her mother had forced her to attend, as she wanted her to establish "a connection" with the king of Pacific Kingdom.
For a princess like her, who did not aspire to the throne, it was normal for a political marriage to be arranged with another powerful noble, but Maiara could not accept such a thing, as she had been very rebellious since childhood, something that was further encouraged by her father Moqueca's permissive nature.
Now that her mother was blatantly asking her to seduce Orion, whom she had never even seen in her life, she could not help but feel a great deal of irritation, and although she had reluctantly agreed to attend the banquet, she had no intention whatsoever of bending to her mother's wishes and flirting with Orion.
Even though it was true that at first glance this king from a nearby kingdom was quite handsome, he did not entirely fit the idea she had of a partner, since she was more interested in rogues, and Orion seemed to be a gentle man.
Obviously, Orion was not as gentle as he usually appeared in most situations, but Maiara had no way of knowing that.
Sighing, she thought about that bandit she had fallen in love with years ago but had been unable to make her own, and she ate her salad with disinterest, making no attempt whatsoever to converse with Orion or the others.
However, at that very moment, she heard something that made her heart begin to race.
Orion had been cheerfully toasting with King Moqueca when he remembered that his subordinate Galus, the former rookie pirate he had brought from the Grand Line, was originally from the kingdom of Samba, so out of curiosity about his past, he asked Moqueca about it.
"By the way, I heard that the famous pirate Galus the Charmer is originally from Samba. Is he well known in these lands?"
Orion's question was simply meant to satisfy his curiosity, especially because Galus's suspicious attitude—his absolute refusal to come to Samba—was somewhat intriguing. However, he did not expect that this question would provoke such a strong reaction from the newly arrived princess, Maiara.
"Why are you asking about Galus? Do you have information about him? If you know where he is, tell me right now!" said the beautiful blue-haired princess, who still had a frown on her face, but now looked at him with eyes lit up with hope.
"Maiara! Do not be rude to King Lysander!" said Queen Ipanema, who was far stricter than the good-natured Moqueca.
Orion raised his eyebrows with interest when he saw the urgency in the princess's expression, and a smile similar to Shanks's when he was planning one of his pranks appeared on his face.
"Interesting. I think I've found something here," Orion thought as he took a sip of wine, not answering Princess Maiara's urgent question.
"Hey! I'm talking to you! If you have information about Galus, tell me right now! That scoundrel took advantage of me and didn't take responsibility for it…"
The princess's cheeks flushed as memories from the past surged through her mind like a torrent. In her dull days as a princess of Samba, Galus's presence had undoubtedly been one of the most interesting events.
"That's enough, escort the princess to her chambers," Moqueca finally said, no longer able to ignore the situation.
However, before the guards could take Maiara away, Orion raised a hand, indicating that it was unnecessary, and, looking at the frowning princess, he said,
"I met Galus while I was in the Grand Line. He was part of the crew of the beautiful pirate Whitey Bay…" Orion paused briefly as he looked at the blue hair of the princess before him, and at her slightly annoyed expression, which bore a very faint resemblance to that of the beautiful pirate, and his smile became a little more pronounced.
Finally, he added,
"There's not much more to tell. It was simply a chance encounter, and then I remembered that I had heard he was originally from Samba, so I merely mentioned it as a topic of conversation."
Maiara stared at Orion intently, trying to discern from his gaze whether he was telling the truth, but Orion's deep eyes revealed nothing to her, and the faint smile he wore only irritated her further.
Finally, she shook her arm sharply, freeing herself from the grip of one of the guards who had been summoned by her father to escort her out of the banquet hall, and after letting out a proud nasal sound, she left the place with her chin held high.
Orion watched the princess walk away, and immediately a good idea came to mind to give Galus a big surprise upon his return to Pacific Kingdom. However, that would be something to consider tomorrow, since for now he had to focus on the celebratory banquet.
…
After several hours of celebration, the banquet concluded successfully, and Orion withdrew to his quarters along with the rest of his subordinates. Moqueca had given them an entire wing of his castle so that he and his subordinates could settle in comfortably, and Orion intended to rest briefly before going out to explore the night market in the capital of Samba.
However, just as he was preparing to enter his room to rest, Lucky Roux stopped beside him and said,
"Orion, there's someone suspicious in the area."
Lucky Roux possessed monstrous Observation Haki, and his control over it was far superior to Orion's, allowing him to perceive things that Orion could not. At this moment, he had been able to detect a suspicious individual in the area, even though that person had an impressive ability to conceal themselves.
Robin, Kalifa, and Alpha immediately went on guard upon hearing Lucky Roux's words, while Orion activated his Prism Eyes, focusing his Observation Haki, finally managing to discover the intruder's position.
Immediately, he opened the system screen and saw that a new marker had appeared, indicating the presence of a Named Character in the area, even though just a moment earlier there had been no trace of such a marker.
Frowning, Orion once again thought that he had to uncover the reason behind the system's "malfunction," as he released a wave of Conqueror's Haki.
"Since you went through the trouble of coming all the way here, why not show yourself?" Orion said in an imposing tone.
Stussy, who had taken the full brunt of the Conqueror's Haki released by Orion, emerged from the shadows of a corner of the castle, her face slightly pale, yet still maintaining a beautiful smile and her characteristic sensuality.
"Relax, handsome, there's no need to get so worked up. I didn't come with bad intentions," said the beautiful Cipher Pol agent.