One Piece: Global improvement system

August 22, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle

"Orion, I need a new book," Robin said, extending both hands forward and looking at him solemnly.

Orion nodded and pulled a book from his inventory, placing it in her hands. Then, without paying much attention to the girl, he continued his physical training. He was training his Tekkai, one of the Six Powers he could work on even while sailing, since the training consisted of staying still and progressively contracting his muscles.

Robin took the book, read the title, and frowned in dissatisfaction.

"Orion, I already read this one. Give me another," she said, stretching her hands out once more.

Orion simply pulled out the large sack of books containing his current collection and handed it over so she could choose for herself. Robin thoroughly searched through the sack and finally shook her head with a pitiful tone.

"Orion, I've read all these books already. Don't you have any others?"

Seeing her puppy-dog eyes staring at him, trying to make him feel sorry for her, Orion shook his head bitterly. It had already been six days since Robin had woken up after sleeping nearly two straight days.

Since then, the way she interacted with him had completely changed. She was no longer constantly afraid, and had even taken the initiative to chat with him on several occasions—though never in an overly friendly tone, always maintaining a cautious distance.

In general, their current status was still that of strangers traveling together, but at least she no longer outright rejected him or remained constantly on guard with each of his actions. Orion didn't know the reason behind Robin's sudden change in behavior, but he was glad they could now communicate relatively normally.

The only downside was that once she'd opened up to him, she started demanding books again and again. It reminded him of the time he had traveled with Kalifa from the Grand Line to Pacific Town. Like Robin, Kalifa was a young prodigy who loved books, and Orion was sure that when the two met in the future, they would have plenty to talk about.

Still, Robin's personality was nothing like Kalifa's, so their interactions were completely different. Kalifa was a genius child, but her personality was much more outgoing and cheerful, with bursts of cuteness. Robin, on the other hand, was much quieter and more introverted, like a calm lake. She generally didn't speak to Orion much—except when she wanted a book or needed him to open the Pocket Dimension so she could go to the bathroom.

That's right—Orion had installed a portable toilet inside the Pocket Dimension. As for how it worked within a closed dimension, it was quite simple engineering: just a tank that Orion manually emptied at regular intervals.

Despite Robin not speaking much to him in the past few days, Orion had noticed her staring at him several times, with a strange look in her eyes. It was a gaze full of curiosity, but also one that seemed to be silently judging him—something that both puzzled and strangely unnerved him.

"That's all the books I have," he said, relaxing his muscles. "At the next inhabited island, I'll try to find some new ones—but I can't promise I'll succeed. Books aren't easy to find in normal shops."

Orion wasn't lying. He had gathered his collection during his time in the West Blue, and only because he'd been lucky enough to come across a traveling book merchant—an entity nearly as rare as a unicorn in this world. Otherwise, he might find one or two books at a normal market, if he was lucky.

To Robin, who had grown up in Ohara, the idea of books being hard to find was absurd. During the months she'd been on the run, she'd barely managed to find food, so she hadn't had the time or energy to think about how rare books were. As such, she couldn't fully believe Orion's words.

Robin pursed her lips, showing her classic constipated expression—one she always made when she wanted to say something but held back—and Orion couldn't help but laugh at the funny face.

"What's wrong, Robin? If you've got something to say, don't hold back! In my kingdom, people can speak freely!" Orion declared, raising his arms dramatically.

"This isn't your kingdom," Robin replied. She wasn't questioning the existence of the kingdom, just its location.

Orion didn't catch that detail and just waved his index finger in exaggerated denial, making Robin press her lips even tighter. Even Orion had to admit that his expressions sometimes made people want to punch him in the face—but he enjoyed acting goofy now and then to keep things interesting.

As a monarch, he had to maintain a constant state of solemnity when handling official affairs, so whenever he had a chance to relax a bit—like now, with only Robin around—he couldn't help but act a bit silly.

"That's where you're wrong, Nico Robin. This ship belongs to my kingdom and functions as its embassy in international waters. Therefore, you're technically within my kingdom right now and entitled to the same rights as any citizen!"

"That's stupid! It makes no sense!" Robin snapped, gritting her teeth. Orion laughed joyfully at her frustration over something so trivial.

"Anyway, if you have something to say, just say it, Robin. Holding back too much isn't good for your health."

Robin hesitated for a moment, then relaxed her expression and said:

"W-What about the books you're still writing on your desk…? Don't you have more of those?"

Orion was surprised by her words, not realizing she had read those books. He quickly remembered that he had left one of the records he used as a diary on the desk inside the Pocket Dimension, and suddenly, a lot of things began to make sense.

In that diary, Orion had written many things that had happened over the years—almost like memoirs—and even detailed major secrets, including information about the system and his past life. Those secret parts, however, had been written in Esperanto, a little-known language he'd learned in his previous life.

He had used that language in case the diary fell into the wrong hands. Still, even if his secrets were safe, there were many other things he preferred no one else to read—like detailed descriptions of his nights trying to level up the "Marital Bliss" skill with Giolla and Christina, or his fantasies about some of the women he'd encountered on his travels—such as Whitey Bay.

These entries were Orion's way of venting his lustful thoughts when he didn't have Giolla or Christina to help with his physiological needs. Thanks to the system buffs, his libido was far higher than normal, and if he didn't do something to release those urges, it could negatively affect his mental state day to day.

For example, now that he was alone traveling through the West Blue, he had written several pages reminiscing about his last encounter with Christina—especially about her beautiful feet wrapped in stockings!

If Robin had read those descriptions…

Orion looked at Robin seriously, his gaze growing more intense, as if trying to see guilt in her eyes. Then he spoke, and his voice sounded almost like it came from the underworld:

"Did you read all the books on the desk?"

Robin felt Orion's piercing stare and grew tense. Of course, this tension was playful—unlike the real fear she had felt when she first met him and thought he had come to hurt her.

"W-Well, it wasn't my intention to spy on your secrets…" Robin said, looking away guiltily.

Immediately, Orion realized his theory was correct. Robin had read all those steamy descriptions, and that must be why she'd been looking at him so strangely lately!

In truth, Robin had read the entire diary with great interest—but she hadn't paid much attention to the scenes that now made Orion squirm with embarrassment. Her focus had been almost entirely on two completely different points.

The first was the account of Orion's adventures, which felt like the fantastic stories she'd read in Ohara's fiction section. Although she preferred theoretical books, she had also read epic tales where a protagonist overcame adversity with a noble goal.

To Robin, Orion's story was like one of those epics, casting him in a new light. Moreover, Orion had written explicitly about his thoughts regarding her, Nico Robin, and his intentions of coming to the West Blue to find her.

She couldn't help but blush slightly, remembering how he had written that he would seek out the young survivor of the tragedy to protect her from the World Government and spare her from further suffering.

According to the diary, Orion had come all the way from the South Blue just to find her and ensure her safety—a fact that had deeply moved her. So much so, she hadn't known how to face him afterward and had shut herself away emotionally.

Over the past few days, she had subtly questioned Orion about the events described in the diary, and with surprise, had found that the details he mentioned lined up perfectly with what she had read.

Gradually, she had become convinced that what was written in the journal was likely true, and that's why her attitude toward Orion had changed so much.

Still, what had truly piqued her interest in the diary were the coded sections.

There were parts written in a completely foreign language she had never seen before. At first, she was confused, but her mind had quickly gone to work, using repetition and sentence structure to make logical inferences.

Once again, she felt the thrill of solving a puzzle—just like when she had deciphered the Poneglyphs—and it excited her. However, this time, the challenge wasn't difficult enough for her taste. While the Poneglyphs had taken her a long time to understand, she had deciphered this new language within hours!

After all, Nico Robin was a true genius—even if she didn't realize just how incredible her feat had been. Esperanto, being an artificial language with strict logic, had made things easier for her.

Once she decoded it, she was able to read the previously inaccessible content and uncovered some of Orion's biggest secrets! Although much of it still didn't make sense—despite understanding every word—due to her lack of experience or information.

Orion simply wrote down events, but didn't include a glossary explaining his terminology. For example, he mentioned the "system" many times—but how could anyone from this world understand what that meant without a detailed explanation?

Even so, Robin knew she had intruded on Orion's private secrets. She wasn't naïve—she realized he had written in a secret language precisely to keep those parts hidden.

So when Orion asked her seriously if she had read the diary, she thought he was referring to those secret fragments—not the pornographic scenes she had completely glossed over.

Orion saw her guilty, nervous look and sighed. Then he placed his hands gently on Robin's shoulders, taking her by surprise, and said calmly, returning to his usual peaceful tone:

"Well, what's done is done. Don't worry, Robin. I'm not angry. Just… a bit embarrassed that you read that. Don't dwell on it—it's not worth remembering. Better use your genius for more important things!"

His voice tried to sound carefree, but Robin could hear a trace of pleading in it. She felt relieved to see that he wasn't angry, just concerned his secrets would be exposed. And he didn't seem to want to eliminate her or threaten her into silence—which instantly raised her opinion of him.

She now knew for certain that Orion truly had no ill intentions toward her, and that filled her with joy.

Seeing his serious eyes almost begging for a response, Robin nodded and met his expectations.

"Don't worry, Orion! What I read in that diary, I'll take with me to the grave!"

Hearing her solemn vow, Orion smiled in relief, thinking she was far kinder than he had imagined. It was truly a pleasure to deal with such understanding people who didn't judge his erotic writings!

Unknowingly, a misunderstanding that would last many years was born at that moment—and it inadvertently brought them closer together.

"Then, Orion, could you tell me the continuation of that story that was left unfinished in one of the books? The one about the adventures of Heracles?" Robin asked, her eyes sparkling, much more uninhibited.

Orion nodded and began recounting the continuation of the story, under Robin's delighted gaze.

Meanwhile, a large Marine ship was entering the waters of the West Blue. In one of the cabins, a short-haired blonde girl was speaking through a Den Den Mushi, which had a white snail connected to it to block out potential eavesdroppers.

"That's right, Dr. Vegapunk. I'm currently entering the West Blue to escort the youngest daughter of the Medici family's main branch."

"You haven't been able to locate Gloriosa? It's dangerous for her to remain hidden from the World Government. If they decide to take drastic measures, we won't be able to do anything to save her," came the voice of the famous scientist through the snail.

"I've got a lead on her possible whereabouts. I plan to check it out once I'm done with my current mission."

"Perfect. Then I'll leave it in your hands, Stussy," said Vegapunk, and then added:

"By the way, will you be passing by the Cipher Pol base in the West Blue during your stay?"

Stussy raised an eyebrow in surprise and replied,

"Yes, I need to check in briefly after I finish escorting Alpha Medici. Do you have additional instructions?"

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. Finally, Vegapunk's voice returned:

"Could you check if there's any information about Nico Robin? It's likely that she's already been located, and they may be preparing to capture her."

"Is that an order?" asked Stussy solemnly.

Another short silence. Then Vegapunk said,

"No. This time, it's just a personal request. I wouldn't want the last ember of Ohara's spirit to be extinguished before it can shine and light up the world."

"Understood, Dr. Vegapunk. I'll take care of it. At the very least, I can help her escape to the Grand Line. Once she's there, she'll have to fend for herself. Whether she lives long enough to shine the way you hope—or is simply snuffed out by a breeze from the World Government, leaving no trace in this world—will depend on her luck."

"Stussy, I don't like poetry," Vegapunk said bluntly, and ended the call abruptly.

Some might have thought he was simply rude, but Stussy knew the eccentric scientist hadn't done it with bad intentions. It was just… his behavior didn't align with that of a normal person. Maybe that was what set a genius apart from an ordinary man.

Stussy looked out the window of her cabin and thought about her foolish sister, who had suddenly vanished from Guanhao, causing all kinds of problems. She sighed bitterly and tried not to think about it too much.

Right now, the most important thing was to deliver Alpha Medici safe and sound to the Medici base. Once that mission was successfully completed, she could take the liberty of going to search for her foolish younger sister—and scold her for her reckless actions.

....

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