12: The four Charlotte sisters

December 7, 1495, Age of the Sea Circle

Orion bit into the sweet fruit and looked up at the summer sky. It was a clear night, and the sky was filled with stars, forming a beautiful image. He involuntarily thought of Giolla, and how she would have enjoyed painting this sky and discussing her favorite painting techniques in the process.

He shook his head with a smile. Despite the eccentric artist's yandere tendencies, Orion had to admit that he was very attracted to her. It wasn't just her beautiful face and sexy body that interested him, but also the passion with which she lived. If it weren't for being trapped in this child's body, he probably would have tried to take his relationship with her a step further a long time ago.

He sighed, wondering how long he would have to wait to take that step—at least another decade, minimum.

He shook his feet slightly, and the sand that had been covering them fell to the sides, freeing them. He had stopped on this small island that seemed uninhabited a few hours earlier.

Whenever possible, he tried not to sleep at sea. Today, as the afternoon of his third day of travel was falling, he spotted this small island and decided to spend the night here.

Fortunately, during these three days of travel, the weather had been particularly good, so his zero-level navigation skills had been just enough to maintain a safe journey without too many problems, such as unexpected course changes or delays due to a reduction in speed.

So far, he had traveled 80 km, and according to his calculations, taking into account the distance represented by this distance on the system map, he still had almost 60% of the distance left to travel.

This island he was now on was the second island he had encountered along the way, and like the previous one, it appeared to be uninhabited, although he hadn't explored the depths of the forest that could be seen from the shore.

He had simply wandered along the beach a bit and picked some fruit growing on some nearby trees.

It wasn't that he didn't want to explore further and have an adventure, but time was running out now. He was afraid that someone would find the source of the power mentioned by the system, and then he wouldn't be able to increase his power anymore.

On the previous island, he had refilled his drinking water reserves, and he still had enough water to make it through the rest of the journey without needing to replenish again.

Orion lay on his back on the sand and prepared to rest a little. He was somewhat afraid of the dangers of this world, so he didn't want to let his guard down even when he was about to sleep. He could never know when some strange creature might try to make him its dinner.

For this reason, he had left plenty of time, out of the available hours his adult mind had, unspent. The strategy he had adopted with his child self was this: he would set the course and take control at crucial moments, while his child self would be in control most of the time.

That way, they would avoid the disastrous situation of finding themselves in danger and his adult mind being unable to respond because he had run out of time.

While his child self possessed the same abilities, it couldn't fully utilize them like his adult mind.

Just as sleep was about to consume his consciousness, a series of system notifications sounded in his mind.

*Ding*

*A group of named characters is within 500 kilometers of your location*

*Charlotte Compote (24), Charlotte Broyé (18), Charlotte Smoothie (10), and Charlotte Galette (6) are within the reconnaissance area*

Orion was alarmed to see such a terrifying lineup suddenly appear. From the little contact he'd had with named characters so far, he tended to think that all named characters had abilities far above those of a normal person.

So, if this group was hostile, he would have to do everything possible to prevent their paths from crossing.

He looked at the favorability screen and couldn't help but frown.

The favorability of everyone in this group was -50. This was even worse than the unstable Giolla's initial favorability, which was -25.

Did this group of named characters consider any stranger an enemy?

This was definitely a big problem. He couldn't afford to run into this group; he had to avoid them at all costs!

He opened the map and saw the direction they were moving.

His heart leapt; this damned group of people were heading in the direction of the source of power he was going to find.

"Duck!" He couldn't help but curse out loud.

He stood up from the sand, exhilarated, and began frantically pacing in circles. What could he do? He had to make a decision; encountering this group of maniacs would undoubtedly be a big problem, but he couldn't stand idly by and let the source of power slip through his fingers.

Finally, he took a breath and calmed himself; he had to keep a cool head. Seeing the speed at which they were moving on the map, Orion could see with the naked eye that this group was traveling much faster than him. They probably had a large ship that was incomparable to his small, rickety boat.

In any case, the group was considerably farther from the source of power than he was—probably about three times as far. So if he sailed tirelessly and with a little luck, he might be able to arrive before the group of named characters.

Wasting no time, he extinguished the fire he had lit and ran to his small boat, which was anchored on the shore. From now on, he would have to travel as fast as possible. There would be no time for more stops along the way.

..............................…

On a large ship moving at high speed, sailing across the calm waters of the South Blue, four sisters were discussing their future plans.

"Compote, how long until we get there? I already want my own Devil Fruit," said little Galette, her eyes lighting up.

On this journey, in addition to searching for exotic ingredients for her mother's banquets, they would collect a Devil Fruit that would be given to her: the "Bata Bata no Mi," which gave its user the ability to produce butter.

With this power at her command, she could not only increase her fighting prowess, but also assist her mother in preparing all kinds of delicacies. Just thinking about her mother's happiness made her smile.

"Don't worry, we're still a few days away from the agreed-upon place for the exchange. Even though we're in a remote location with few pirates, we must remain vigilant, as you never know when someone envious of our great power might try something stupid, like launch an ambush."

Compote's gaze as she said this was incredibly cold and sharp. She had experienced similar situations in the past, and she wouldn't tolerate any petty pirate disrespecting her mother's flag!

"You worry too much, sister. With our power, it's impossible for the insects in this corner of the world to do anything to us. All they can do is tremble before us and comply with our demands" Galette replied arrogantly. She was used to underestimating the people she crossed paths with. It was inevitable; after all, she had been with her monstrous family her entire life, and more often than not, enemies were simply completely destroyed without putting up a fight.

Smoothie, who was sitting in an armchair with her long, disproportionate legs exposed, took a sip from a small rabbit she was holding. Then, when the rabbit was completely dry, she tossed it through one of the hatches straight into the sea.

Looking at her sisters, she said lazily.

"We'll still have to spend several more days completing this errand for Mom. What if we stop to relax on some nearby islands? There's no need to be so rigid when doing things, right?"

She wasn't very enthusiastic about the mission. Actually, she wasn't enthusiastic about any mission, ever. She preferred the freedom to move around without worry, within her mother's territory. However, she couldn't avoid these kinds of missions from time to time. After all, they were her mother's orders, and she wanted her to gain experience on these kinds of missions that didn't involve great risk.

Charlotte Broyé looked at her sister and said in a serious tone.

"Smoothie, you have to be more serious. With your talent and the ability of your Devil Fruit, you will be one of the pillars of our crew in the future. That's why you have to learn the responsibility of a leader."

She was a very serious woman; perhaps having trained so rigorously with her sword had affected her personality, making her much more serious than some of her other siblings.

"I get tired just listening to you, Broyé," Smoothie said, sighing.

"Can we go find my Devil Fruit first, sister?" Galette said, taking Compote's arm and displaying an adorable look with big, watery eyes.

Charlotte Compote saw her little sister acting frisky and couldn't help but feel a little weak in her heart. Despite her serious and stern personality, she couldn't maintain her seriousness around her little sister. She was used to doting on her younger sisters, and perhaps that's why they had some personality issues. Galette, for example, was very haughty and arrogant, which made her vulnerable to surprise attacks or unexpected events.

"Okay, Galette, we'll go get your Devil Fruit first, and then we'll gather the ingredients for our mother," Compote said, placing her hand on Galette's little head and stroking her hair. Her small horns sticking out of her hair looked extremely adorable.

Compote, who was in charge of this expedition, took out a Den Den Mushi and called the group of traffickers with whom she had agreed to purchase the Devil Fruit.

After a few rings, a hoarse voice answered the call.

The Underworld smuggler seemed somewhat irritated to hear that Compote wanted to move up the purchase time, but ultimately, considering her status, he relented and agreed to his buyer's demands.

However, he left her a warning:

"The navy will also be coming to pick up a package. Originally, our transaction was arranged so that you wouldn't have to meet, but now that you've decided to come early, I'm not responsible for what might happen if you come into conflict with the marines"

It was important for the smuggler to warn Compote of this possibility, because if he didn't and a conflict did indeed arise, he would have to deal with the wrath of the maniacal Big Mom.

Compote ignored the smuggler's warning. In her opinion, with her current power, she could easily take care of the South Blue marines. At the very least, a vice admiral would have to come to cause her trouble. Like her younger sisters, she was also arrogant, albeit to a lesser extent. Perhaps it was the arrogance of someone accustomed to being in a position of power, and it was difficult to change that disposition, even if one actively tried.

Galette hugged her sister affectionately and thanked her. She couldn't wait to obtain the power she had been fantasizing about for the past few days.

Compote broke free from her little sister's embrace, then clapped her hands and said:

"Very well, go rest. We'll probably arrive at the exchange point tomorrow. Don't cause any trouble and be ready to spring into action at any time."

Her sisters responded affirmatively and left the meeting room one by one, leaving only Compote standing there, who was staring at the map of the area they were in with a frown.

..............................…

December 8, 1495, Age of the Sea Circle

Orion took a big mouthful of water. He had sailed through the night at full speed, without sleeping a single minute. Then, during the morning, his adult mind ran out of time, so he had no choice but to go to sleep, leaving control of his body to his younger self, who did his best to maintain the ship's course and continue at the highest speed possible. However, he hadn't managed to keep up with his adult mind's sailing pace, and it seemed they wouldn't be able to beat the group of named characters to the source of power.

Now, it was early afternoon, and after sailing for 16 hours, he was still about 50 kilometers away from his goal.

To his dismay, the group of named characters seemed to be heading toward the source of power, and were about to arrive; they would undoubtedly arrive before him.

The hours on the small sailing boat passed very slowly. It seemed that the more anxious he was, the slower time passed.

He watched as the group of named characters arrived at the source of the power, but luckily for him, there was no change on the map, indicating that they had not obtained the object. Perhaps they were unaware of its existence, he thought. That would be the best-case scenario, although he didn't believe they would be there right now if they hadn't gone looking for the same object he was seeking.

Finally, when he was about 20 kilometers away, he could spot an island on the horizon.

He was relieved to think he still had time.

However, in the distance, a ship began to approach.

He had already seen this ship, or at least a similar one. It was the large marine vessel he had seen when the marines went to Pacific Town, after the pirate attack, almost two years ago.

The large ship stopped, and a small boat loaded with marines quickly approached Orion's ship. Seeing the marines approaching, he had a bad feeling.

Why, in addition to the troublesome group of Named Characters, did he also have to encounter the marines in this place?

It seemed that seizing the power source the system had found wouldn't be easy after all.

The marines arrived at his ship, carrying weapons and looking at him with some surprise and nervousness.

One of them, the one in front, was the first to begin speaking.

"Kid, what are you doing sailing alone across the sea? Don't you know it's very dangerous to travel these seas like this?"

Orion obviously couldn't tell him his true objective, so he immediately made up an excuse to let the Marines' guard down.

"I'm from a fishing village south of here. We were attacked by pirates during the night. The whole village was on fire. My pa—sniff—my parents, they put me on this boat and threw me into the sea. They stayed behind. Everything was covered in fire!"

By the time he finished his sentence, Orion had begun to sob slightly.

Despite the system not registering any acting ability, it had to be admitted that he was very good at telling lies.

The marines watched the little boy sobbing sadly and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Pirate attacks were nothing unusual, and there were countless children who had suffered the same fate. Even among the ranks of the marines, there was a large percentage of children orphaned by pirate attacks. These marines were usually the ones with the strictest sense of justice.

The marine who was leading the others boarded Orion's small ship and approached him. He placed his hand on his shoulder and tried to comfort him.

"Don't worry, kid. The important thing is that you're okay. It's what they would have wanted. As long as you stay alive, you'll have hope of living a full life."

Orion simply nodded, still crying.

"Kid, we came all the way here because you were about to enter a battlefield."

Orion's heart leapt. Battlefield? Could it be that the group of Named Characters had entered combat on the island? Were they perhaps fighting over the power source?

Orion couldn't help but raise his head and, looking at the marine cautiously, asked, "Battlefield? Are they pirates?"

"That's right, two groups of pirates are having a violent confrontation, so you can't go any further. It's very dangerous. You're going to have to board our ship. As soon as we capture the pirates, we'll take you to our base, and then we can go to your village to see how the situation is"

Hearing the young marine's words, Orion couldn't help but feel a great deal of bitterness. He had traveled all the way to this place to find the source of power, but now that he was about to find it, he would be taken into custody by this group of marines.

There was no way he could sneak to the island under the marines' watchful eyes.

However, right now, he had no choice but to follow the marine's instructions.

He nodded and boarded the small boat loaded with marines, leaving Giolla's ship behind.

The group of marines looked curiously at the little boy, their gazes falling on the short sword at his waist.

Seeing their questioning looks, Orion had no choice but to continue lying.

"My parents gave me this sword to defend myself from pirates… Even though I have no experience in swordsmanship."

The marines simply nodded in understanding, their looks at the little boy filled with pity.

Orion boarded the large marine ship accompanied by the young, low-ranking marines.

He was still feeling discouraged about having missed the opportunity to obtain the source of power, but before he could take two steps onto the large ship, a bell rang in his mind.

*Ding*

*New Mission Available*

*Mission 05 - A Unique Opportunity

Description: Charlotte Linlin's pirate family is one of the most powerful and influential forces in this world. Forming a connection with this family will undoubtedly help you in your quest to improve the world in the future.

Objective: Help Charlotte Galette escape from the Navy and prevent her from falling into the hands of the World Government.

Reward: Random skill, system points, favorability boost with Galette and the Charlotte family *

Orion raised his eyebrows, unable to contain his surprise. He hadn't expected a new mission to emerge at this moment.

He opened the map to see Galette's location and his pupils contracted. Galette's location was no longer the island where she had been on moments before, but was moving rapidly in his direction, likely ending up on this very marine ship.

But that wasn't what had caused his surprise.

The reason he was so surprised was because the power source, which had remained motionless for days, had now begun to move.

And just like Galette, it was moving in the direction of this ship where he was now!

Clearly, Galette and the power source had been taken over by the navy.

Orion's heart began to pound. Perhaps there would be a chance to act after all.