April 4, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle
Another month had passed in the blink of an eye. By now, it had been nearly two months since Orion had arrived in Sorbet and began living with Kuma and Ginny.
During the last month, Orion had kept his promise and hadn't let Kuma absorb the pain of the kingdom's people even once. Of course, that hadn't been easy, since the kind priest adamantly refused to let anyone else get hurt just to protect him.
Kuma believed it was his duty to bear others' pain and that no one else should suffer. It was enough if he were the only one to endure it, as he believed no one else could handle such suffering without collapsing.
After all, he had a formidable body thanks to his racial traits. Being part of the Buccaneer race had brought him all kinds of misfortunes, but he didn't reject his roots. Instead, he embraced being part of that mythological race and used his prodigious body to help those around him.
Of course, Kuma did feel some resentment over having been persecuted because of his Buccaneer condition, but at the same time, he felt pride in having inherited those traits from his father. His feelings on the matter were mixed and difficult to describe even for himself, but most of what he felt about being a Buccaneer was probably resignation.
Kuma knew that if the World Government were to discover his identity, he'd be hunted again as he had been in the past, dragging everyone around him into it. That's why, despite being incredibly kind to the people of Sorbet, he had never gotten too close or built truly deep relationships. He always seemed to keep a prudent distance, in case another tragedy struck in the future.
That's why Orion's arrival and his stubborn actions during their time living together, frustrated Kuma greatly, though he couldn't scold him, because he knew Orion was only trying to help. It was precisely because the boy had no bad intentions and always looked at him with such sincerity that Kuma's frustration was so intense.
People like Orion were the hardest for Kuma to deal with. The boy's unrelenting kindness left him with no way to resist.
Thus, over the past month, Orion had shown up on time after every miracle healing session at the church to absorb the negative energy before Kuma could do so. On one occasion, they had even come to blows, as Kuma refused to let Orion keep subjecting himself to such suffering.
At that moment, Orion discovered that this kind priest who seemed incapable of hurting a fly was actually incredibly powerful!
Finally, Orion saw in him one of the traits he believed a VIP Named Character should have: strength beyond the ordinary.
Orion only managed to prevail and successfully absorb the negative energy thanks to his wider range of abilities. By using his movement techniques and spatial skills, he had managed to outwit Kuma. But if the outcome had depended solely on a direct fight, he probably wouldn't have stood a chance against the kind priest.
Now, it was nearly midnight, and Kuma had just finished bidding farewell to the last person who'd taken part in the session. The large sphere of negative energy was floating before the altar inside the church.
Kuma closed the church doors and, without turning around, said,
"Orion, you're not planning to stop, are you?" A certain weariness was evident in his voice.
A door appeared in the air, right beside the large paw-shaped sphere of negative energy, and Orion emerged from his Pocket Dimension with a smile.
"I'm not the kind of man who breaks his word, Kuma!"
Orion reached out toward the sphere, ready to end the matter right away, but Kuma's voice rang out hastily.
"Wait a second! You win!"
Kuma raised his arms in surrender and slowly approached Orion, who didn't lower his guard, keeping both hands just a centimeter from the negative energy, ready to plunge them in if Kuma made any sudden move.
Anyone watching the scene without context would think these two men were fighting to overpower each other—and in some ways, that was true—yet the situation was far more ambiguous.
Both Orion and Kuma were acting with the other's wellbeing in mind at all times, without any regard for their own bodies. Kuma raising his hands in surrender was his way of accepting the help Orion was offering him, stepping away from his self-sacrificing, martyr-like behavior.
"Orion, there's no need for you to keep absorbing the negative energy," Kuma said softly, inching closer to the sphere.
"Stop right there! One more step and I'll absorb it without hesitation!" Orion warned, forcing the priest to halt.
"Orion, I've decided we can try it your way. What do you have in mind?" There was a trace of resignation in Kuma's voice, but also relief. After all, submitting to torture every week wasn't easy.
Orion's eyes lit up at Kuma's words, and he immediately said with a wide grin,
"Finally dropping the stubborn act!"
Kuma's lips trembled slightly. In his mind, he thought Orion was just as stubborn and had no right to call him out, though he said nothing aloud.
Orion looked seriously at Kuma and began to analyze the situation.
"Kuma, the way you're doing things isn't sustainable. Even if your actions are noble and admirable, it's impossible for you to carry the suffering of all these people on your shoulders forever. It's not healthy, and it's not a real solution!"
Kuma lowered his head and didn't try to argue, because he knew Orion was right. He wasn't trying to solve the people's problems in the kingdom, only to ease their pain a little, by doing whatever he could.
He was truly a gentle and kind person capable of putting others' happiness above his own well-being, but he didn't know how to truly help people in the long term, nor did he have the means to do so.
"What happens if one day you're not around to absorb their pain? Wouldn't they just return to how they were before? It might even be worse, as they wouldn't be used to living with that pain, which would make their lives much harder, or even impossible!" Orion continued sternly.
Kuma clenched his fists and said reluctantly,
"I know, but what can we do? The world is unfair. These people have been abandoned and don't have the chance to live a better life. I just want to make their lives a little less miserable," Kuma said, his voice broken.
Orion softened his expression, showing a warm smile. He approached Kuma and, using his ability 'Distorted Future', increased his body size to match Kuma's. Then, to the priest's surprise, he hugged him tightly.
"I know you're doing everything you can, and for that, I thank you, Kuma. Thank you for everything you've done. You've worked so hard. Now let me help you."
This was the first time Kuma had been embraced like this in a long time. The last time had been when his father hugged him moments before his death, many years ago. After all, with his enormous body, it was impossible for a normal person to fully embrace him as Orion was doing now, arms wrapped completely around him.
For a moment, Kuma felt as though he was back in his childhood, living happily in this church with his parents. It had been a long time since he'd allowed himself to feel this way, since he'd always been the one protecting others.
He believed that with his imposing physique, his religious upbringing, and his kind personality, it was only natural that he be the one to protect others; it had been a long time since he'd felt so vulnerable in front of someone else.
Kuma returned the hug, grateful to have met such a friend so suddenly. In his life full of sorrow and tragedy, his connections were few; aside from Ginny, there was no one else he was this close to.
"Listen, Kuma. I have a proposal for you," Orion said, ending the brief hug and placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
Kuma nodded slightly, signaling he was listening, and Orion spoke again.
"Come with me, back to my kingdom!"
Kuma was surprised by Orion's words, not expecting him to try to recruiting him so suddenly. He knew Orion was the king of a small kingdom, as they'd talked about it many times over the past two months, but he hadn't expected Orion to bring it up now, when they were discussing a solution for the people of Sorbet.
Orion saw his confusion and smiled slightly.
"What I mean is that you, Ginny, and everyone who attends your weekly healing sessions come back home with me!" Orion said firmly.
Kuma finally understood what Orion meant, and his surprise grew. Relocating so many people wouldn't be easy, and ensuring their well-being in the future would be even less so. If Orion truly went through with this plan, he'd likely face enormous difficulties, and Kuma felt a bit bad about placing that burden on his shoulders.
"Orion, I don't think that's a good idea. It'll be too hard—" Kuma tried to dissuade him, but Orion cut him off by raising his hand as he replied,
"Kuma, that's exactly your mistake. If you truly want to help these people, you can't keep ignoring the root of the problem: their quality of life!
Why are these people suffering so much? Isn't it because their living conditions are terrible?
In that case, shouldn't we address that instead of just treating the surface-level consequences?
Let me tell you why I think this is the best option, Kuma. These people are miserable here and suffering, but that's no excuse to place the weight of their pain on someone else. That's just unfair.
Your actions have spoiled them. Obviously not on purpose, but by taking all the burden of their pain, you've made them content with the current status quo, thinking it's just natural to live like this.
Their spirits are asleep, and that's never good, Kuma! If you were suddenly gone from here one day, these people wouldn't be able to handle it. Your actions are like a drug affecting them without them even noticing.
That's why the best solution is to eliminate the root of the problem. If they come to my kingdom, it won't be a bed of roses, but I can promise they'll live much better than they do here, as long as they're willing to work for it.
No one can help them forever, and that applies to everyone, Kuma. They have to take care of their own well-being; our only task is to give them the environment and tools to do it.
Otherwise, what if you wanted to help an even larger group of people? Could you carry the pain of everyone in the world? You're not a god—and you don't need to be.
If you truly want to help them, let them suffer, but give them the chance to overcome that suffering on their own. Of course, there will be elderly people with the aches of age, but that's something we can't fix.
Wanting to eliminate all suffering in the world is impossible and naïve, but we can work to create a place where it's reduced as much as possible.
So here and now, I ask you to join me, Kuma, and let's build that future together!"
Orion extended his hand firmly, and Kuma looked at him with shining eyes.
It had been a long time since he'd felt this emotion. It was the same feeling he had while reading about the deeds of the Freedom Fighters and dreaming of one day sailing out to change the world.
And now, standing before him, was someone with similar dreams. The aura Orion radiated in that moment was truly charismatic for the young priest, who had dreamed countless times of hearing words like these.
He was just a man with limited resources, so he'd done everything he could to help people from his small church without ever asking for anything in return. But now, hearing Orion's words, a greater desire stirred within him. He wanted to help more people.; he wanted to change the world with his own hands, just as Orion had declared!
Kuma reached out and shook Orion's hand firmly.
"I accept your proposal, Orion."
Orion smiled with joy, and just then, a bell rang in his mind and new notifications appeared on his system screen.
*Ding*
*You have completed the hidden mission 'Followers(2)' *
*Hidden Mission – Followers(2)
Description: In this world, it's impossible to go far alone. It is vital that you form bonds with others and find people willing to follow and support your goals.
Objective: Recruit 10 individuals with "excellent" skill/potential level.
Reward: SP, Insight Card (20), Character Improvement Card (1)*
*You have completed the hidden mission 'Followers(VIP)'*
*Hidden Mission – Followers(VIP)
Description: In this world, there are individuals whose actions can massively influence the course of history. For your ambitious goals, having these kinds of people under your command is a tremendous help. Only someone capable of leading the most influential can reach the top of the world.
Objective: Recruit a VIP Named Character or someone with a similar capacity to influence the direction of this world's history.
Reward: SP, Random Special Skill*
*You have acquired the skill 'Charisma Halo (Level 1)'*
*You have received 8000 SP*
*You have influenced the VIP Named Character Bartholomew Kuma, slightly altering his future. You have obtained 10000 SP*
Orion looked at the notifications with great surprise, as he hadn't expected such a large reward for recruiting Kuma. Especially the amount of SP he'd gained this time—it was massive. Suddenly, he had a great amount of System Points at his disposal and couldn't even react properly.
On the other hand, he had obtained another Character Improvement Card, which he had previously used to enhance Giolla's abilities. This was one of the best rewards he could get, as it allowed him to help his loved ones and subordinates become stronger.
Still, he hadn't decided who to use the 'Character Improvement Card' on yet, and he would have to think carefully about it before making a final decision.
It was also good to have received more Insight Cards, since the ten he had previously acquired had been used up after the last one was spent analyzing Ginny's skills and information.
As for the new ability he had received, 'Charisma Halo', it was similar to 'Charm Halo', except that it affected all people and not just those of the opposite sex. Moreover, the kind of influence it caused wasn't attraction as with Charm Halo, but instead produced a subtle sense of respect and subjective admiration.
Orion let out a cheerful laugh and patted Kuma's shoulder in a friendly way.
"Welcome aboard, my friend! Let's work together to build the future we dream of! The sky's the limit!"
Orion was genuinely happy, not only because of the rewards he had obtained this time, but also because he truly appreciated Kuma and wanted to have him by his side in the kingdom, working together to build a better world.
Kuma nodded with a smile, and seeing that Orion had let his guard down, he suddenly dashed toward the sphere of negative energy at full speed.
"Forgive me, Orion, but even though I accepted your proposal, I can't let you absorb this energy and suffer because of me."
The kind priest extended his hands and placed them inside the sphere, but nothing happened. Surprised, he looked at Orion, who smiled back at him.
"I knew you'd try something like that, Kuma. You're too kind!" said Orion, and with a slight wave of his hand, the large sphere of negative energy dissolved without a trace.
"That's why I took preventive measures," Orion added, stretching his hand behind him, where a large paw-shaped sphere of negative energy had suddenly appeared.
Orion had used his ability 'Canvas Realm' to perform this substitution trick. He had simply made it look as though the energy sphere had remained still, while in reality, he had placed it inside his Canvas Realm, using his Art Coating skill to generate a fake image of the energy sphere.
This was a new function he had discovered recently. He had always suspected that his ability 'Canvas Realm' wasn't exactly like his Pocket Dimension, though he hadn't known what the difference was.
If it were just a parallel dimension, it wouldn't be all that useful to him, as it would simply be a weaker version of the Pocket Dimension. However, after some experimentation, he had discovered that inside his Canvas Realm, his other ability, Art Coating, was far more powerful than usual, allowing him to even affect the air and create things seemingly out of nothing.
This consumed a large amount of energy and was exhausting for Orion, so he likely wouldn't be able to use it effectively in combat for now. But it had been a pleasant surprise, and a new tool he had added to his arsenal that could prove useful in the future.
In this case, he had used the combination of his skills as a bit of flexing and as a teasing gesture toward Kuma, who had thought he'd finally succeeded in stopping Orion from absorbing the negative energy.
With a smile, Orion plunged his hands into the large sphere of negative energy, which immediately began to shrink rapidly, while his body became covered in all sorts of horrendous wounds.
In the distance, Kuma could only sigh and watch silently as Orion endured the consequences of absorbing the pain of the multitude who had attended the church that day. However, what he didn't realize was that the number of wounds on Orion's body was much smaller than it had been the first time he absorbed the negative energy a month ago.
This was due to the second reason why Orion didn't want Kuma to absorb this energy: the injuries and damage caused by the energy sphere helped level up his passive skill 'Strong Body'!
This hadn't been part of Orion's original plan, but it was certainly a pleasant surprise. Up until now, he had never been able to level up that skill naturally, unlike other abilities such as 'Swordsmanship' or the Six Techniques of Cipher Pol.
No matter how much he trained his body, that ability had simply remained at the same level, with no apparent change. For that reason, he had always assumed his passive skill 'Strong Body' could only be increased by spending SP, and he had held onto that belief until the first time he absorbed the negative energy a month ago—an act that had caused the skill to level up.
Since then, Orion had absorbed the negative energy four more times, but there had been no further changes to the skill's level.
Still, Orion hadn't been discouraged, because he suspected that now that his body was stronger, it had developed greater resistance to the effects of taking such massive damage.
For that very reason, he had kept absorbing the negative energy, hoping that perhaps by accumulating damage, he could level up the skill again, and today, what he had been waiting for finally happened.
After Orion absorbed all the negative energy, a great number of wounds appeared on his body, but he was able to endure it much better than the first time. Finally, a bell rang in his mind, and a new notification appeared on his system screen.
*Ding*
*Your passive skill 'Strong Body (Level 6)' has increased by one level*
A broad smile spread across Orion's face, and Kuma, watching him from a distance, couldn't help but wonder with concern whether his friend might have some particular tastes involving pain.