“Jewels… There are so many of them…”
John White, tears welling in his eyes, stroked the ruby crystal with his gloved hand.
He held the blood-red ruby beneath the bright LED light. The blood-red ruby scattered brilliant flashes in every direction.
“What do you think? Would this be enough to attract more investment for this settlement?”
I was asking even though I knew the answer.
Some might call it deception, but what was I supposed to do when it felt this damn good?
John White nodded so hard it seemed his neck might snap, then said,
“O-of, of course, Lord Nemo. This would be more than enough to buy the livestock I mentioned.”
“Is that so? Then would it be possible to purchase dairy cows as well?”
“Why, of course! But it would also be good to bring in horses and other useful livestock. Packhorses needed for farming, for instance…”
“Yes, but I think it would be best to bring them in with dairy cows as the focus.”
“Hm? Ah, if that is what you wish. I’ll keep it in mind. ‘Livestock must be brought in… centered on dairy cows.’ Yes, I’ve written it down.”
After putting down his notebook, White once again became absorbed in admiring the jewels, stimulating my dark sense of pleasure.
In any case.
“Oh… good heavens. If this settlement is connected to England… unimaginable wealth will pour in.”
Mr. Brown wiped away his tears and rejoiced.
“Then if we resolve just one more matter, there will be no further problems for this settlement.”
“Well, that is true.”
Wheat.
Grow food that can be preserved for a long time to add stability to the colony.
On top of that, export surplus wheat to increase the colony’s economic independence.
When White presented that analysis to the others, everyone seemed to accept it.
“Then, according to Lord Nemo’s words, we should offer gifts of friendship to the tribes around us as we head to Chesapeake Bay.”
“Yes, Mr. Hewett. That is why I intend to provide Mr. White with various goods.”
When I took out the whiteboard, Mr. Hewett began writing with a board marker. Sentences in English from Shakespeare’s time flowed across the board.
1. Send various luxury goods to Chesapeake Bay together with John White.
2. There, use those luxury goods to win over friendly tribes and purchase ownership of the surrounding land.
3. Establish a new settlement and hold out until the time comes to plant and harvest wheat.
4. Send the harvested wheat to Croatoan, and once contact with England is established, export wheat and other goods.
5. Receive greater investment, gather craftsmen and livestock, and expand the colony.
“…That is the plan.”
“Ah, right! We also have to check on the remaining survivors of our colony who must have gone to Chesapeake Bay!”
The one who added that last part was Eleanor. At her words, Hewett newly wrote “3-1. Search for the missing Englishmen” on the board.
Everyone nodded in agreement… but only one person frowned.
“Search for the survivors? Hmm. I think that may prove difficult.”
“Uh… why is that, Mr. Gonzalez?”
“It is not a particularly important fact, but did we not search Chesapeake Bay in order to kill you all?”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“At that time, Chesapeake Bay was almost entirely empty. It is possible they heard rumors that we were coming and fled inland, but…”
“Then we will have to divide the roles.”
Mr. Hewett spoke as he split the list of the native-English expedition led by John White in half.
“One group will focus first on building the settlement and cultivating wheat, while the other searches the area around Chesapeake Bay. What do you think?”
“You will need interpreters, so take people from our tribe as well, John White.”
No one raised any particular objection.
And then… uh…
Slide.
Sliiide.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Everyone turned their heads toward me again. And they were all silent, focused, as though I were about to say something important.
Why are they always… looking at me with those eyes, expecting something incredible?
“…Mr. White.”
“Yes, yes?”
“Congratulations.”
“…”
“Go to the place you originally intended to reach. Go, and obtain what ought rightfully to become yours. I pray that you will be able to fulfill your duty.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
There, that was a decent enough blessing, right? Then let’s wrap this up and leave.
“Everyone has worked hard. A voyage awaits in a few days, so please rest early today.”
And so I left the meeting room.
“Sniff, h-huhuhuk…!”
“Father… don’t cry…!”
“Ahuhuhuhuk…!”
…What was that?
Did I do something wrong?
***
John White, fifty-one years old, December 10, 1590.
The lord of Chesapeake Bay, recognized by the angel of the Lord.
His lifelong dream had just come true…!
That night, White could not sleep properly for even a moment. But even without sleeping, he was full of energy, and his body felt refreshed.
After that, he carefully selected volunteers to board the Nautilus. White was a governor who had already experienced bitter failure once, but this time no one distrusted him.
For he was the lord of Chesapeake, recognized by the Lord…!
Once the crew was filled, preparations proceeded smoothly.
Countless treasures came pouring out of the “treasure vault,” and even more grapes from the cold storage were packed into mysterious white boxes—the angel had called them “Styrofoam”—and loaded onto the ship.
Thus, with new hope in his heart, John White went out to sea once again.
This time, there was no navigator with a ruined personality to obstruct him. There were no patrons to insult his failure, and no terror that he might have lost his entire family.
Only one thing.
“…Nemo, watch over us.”
There was only true faith to believe in and follow.
And so the ship, seen off by everyone, slowly… departed for Chesapeake Bay.
The voyage did not take very long. After about two days, a familiar sight began to appear beyond the railings of the Nautilus.
They once again stepped onto the familiar sandbar of Chesapeake Bay.
They planted there the flag of England and the flag bearing Croatoan grapevines.
And around the time everyone was offering prayers to God and building the first tents and huts—
“…Huh? There’s a ship coming over there.”
“Wh-what? A ship? Spaniards?”
“No! It’s an English flag! It looks like a ship that came to help us! Hahaha!”
…Strange.
Had John White not been the last one to send a relief fleet?
Moreover, Sir Raleigh had been in dire straits for some time, so there was absolutely no reason for him to send a ship all the way here just to rescue him alone.
Then why on earth…?
No one would send a ship all the way here unless they were mad…
“…For now, everyone, gather with your muskets. Whatever that ship is, we must arm ourselves before we find out.”
At those words, the natives and the Englishmen all raised their guns. While dozens of people grew tense, the not particularly large swift vessel boldly entered Chesapeake Bay.
And then.
“…There! People! They’re people!”
“They’re Englishmen!”
Amid shouts from atop the ship, rope ladders came down, and dozens of people splashed through the seawater as they walked toward White.
Among them was a face White found familiar.
“…Huh?”
“John White! I knew you would be alive! I believed in you, damn it! In your success! I! Never! Doubted it for even a moment!”
“Calm yourself, Sir Raleigh! Everyone is watching!”
“Yes! Is everyone watching? Does the Virginia Colony still look like a failure? I asked if it looks like a failure!”
Ah…
That madman had come.
“John! My old friend!”
“…Uh, Sir Raleigh?”
Walter Raleigh ran toward White, his entire body reeking of the sea.
With the expression of a man on the verge of bankruptcy who had found 150 bitcoins he had bought as a joke on a forgotten hard drive.
…In truth, it was only natural that he looked like a madman.
Walter Raleigh had been driven to the brink of a bungee jump show into the Thames.
-“Surely they have all survived safely! If only they have survived, then with our support, we can fully make this unfamiliar continent into the Lord’s land…”
-“…To be honest, you’re terrified, aren’t you?”
-“Very much so.”
-“Do you think they’re all alive? What probability would you estimate?”
-“Less than ten percent.”
Bankruptcy awaited him with ninety percent probability.
-“The weather is far too bad. If we continue like this to Chesapeake Bay, the masts may break!”
And on top of that, bad weather.
The rough waves in this area had a strong chance of endlessly tormenting the ships Sir Raleigh had managed to prepare. If they were cast adrift, everything would be over.
-“I… I will pay for all the ship repairs. I can pay for everything. Hm?”
-“…”
-“Just go north this once. Please… please, just this once…!”
-“…”
-“You men need to get paid too, don’t you? If we go back like this, I cannot give you a single penny! I can’t!”
But he stubbornly insisted and ignored the captains’ opinions.
Watching the half-mad Sir Raleigh run across the deck while reciting prayers, they thought everything was over.
And at this very moment.
“Ah, ahh! Aaaaah! White! I believed in you!”
Walter Raleigh was happy.
John White was alive.
Whatever had happened, the flag of the Englishmen was flying over there, and several huts had been built over there as well.
It was a shabby sight for a colony, but just the fact that they were alive was enough to satisfy him. Raleigh pounded White’s shoulder like a man half out of his mind.
“Did I not say it? You have talent as an explorer!”
“…”
Meanwhile.
“You are a genius!”
—“You are a damned idiot!”
In John White’s head, the abuse he had heard from Raleigh last time naturally overlapped with the voice he heard now.
“I never doubted that you would conquer Chesapeake Bay!”
—“You son of a bitch! You are a son of a bitch! My money! Where did my money go, you swindling bastard!”
“I believed in you, damn it!”
—“Get out!”
“…”
“…White?”
“…”
“…There were minor disagreements and misunderstandings between us. May I take this opportunity to ask your forgiveness? And upon your magnanimity, we may build a new friendship…”
“…”
Thud.
“I am on the brink of bankruptcy.”
“…Pardon?”
“I… uh… without you, I am finished. Please, tell me this colony succeeded. Hm? Even if it is only in words…”
“…”
“…”
“It succeeded.”
“Haa… Good Lord, I am finally saved!
Now that I think of it, where are your daughter and granddaughter? The rest of the settlers? What is that ship? Is that hut your house?”
“This place is still under construction.”
“What?”
“The others are on a nearby island.”
“Not Roanoke, but another island? Why?”
“…It seems my daughter evacuated the people there due to certain circumstances. For now, we regrouped there, and then came here to establish a new colony.”
“I see? So that is what happened. Then can I go meet the people there?”
At those words, White firmly shook his head.
“Is that so?”
“The residents’ resistance would be far too fierce. There are many closed-off natives there.”
“I… see.”
“Yes, thanks to the local collaborators, they have built quite a decent settlement. It would be difficult to carelessly let in ‘outsiders.’ That place is not a colony… uh, it is an independent kingdom of the locals.”
“I understand.”
Sir Raleigh was no fool.
He had roughly sensed that John White seemed to harbor considerable dissatisfaction toward him. He could also tell, from the state of things here, that the colonial enterprise had only just taken its first step.
However…
“…In any case, is there anything you need for your undertaking?”
None of that mattered.
The business he had thought was on the verge of bankruptcy had been revived.
“I will give you everything I can.”
Whether or not it would actually lead to profit was not important. As long as it showed even the “possibility,” the bankers of the Steelyard would open their purses, and if he could secure funds, he could somehow survive.
“Do you need money? I will give you as much as you need!”
“···We don’t need funds immediately. It’s not as though the natives around here trade in Sovereign gold coins, after all.”
“Then what do you want? A larger population? Yes, of course. You must be desperately short on numbers, but once news of your success spreads, people wishing to come here will flood in like a tide···”
“We do not need a flood of people. Our noble ‘collaborator’ is watching over us, you see.”
“Do you need a linguist? What about Thomas Harriot here?”
“···And my consent?”
“It will be fine even if Thomas does not come with us. We have a noble collaborator who is fluent in English.”
“Who? Manteo?”
“No. Someone else.”
“Is that so? In any case, then, what you need is···”
“Two hundred dairy cows. Naturally, with breeding bulls included. And about a hundred packhorses as well.”
“···.”
“We also need craftsmen and technicians of all kinds. Blacksmiths, bricklayers, stonemasons, carpenters, brewers, leatherworkers, jewelers, and so on. If we count them all, we will need several dozen men.”
“···.”
It was an absurd demand.
Not only would it cost an astronomical sum, but Croatoan’s population was only a little over three hundred. Unless they intended to raise one head of livestock per person, those numbers were ridiculous.
And why on earth would artisans come all the way to this distant America?
If one wished to pioneer a colony now, there was already Ireland, close and safe.
The very reason he had gone out of his way to recruit devout Puritans in the first place was that no one without religious fervor was willing to come to America.
Therefore, Sir Walter Raleigh would reject this demand. Then, using this outrageously high opening bid as a basis, he could raise the stakes little by little.
It was a reasonable, sensible judgment. Unless one were completely mad, there was no reason to take any other path here.
“Very well.”
“Very well. If two hundred dairy cows are impossible··· pardon?”
“Good! I’ll give you everything! Even if I have to empty my entire fortune, I will bring you what you ask!”
But Sir Raleigh was, indeed, completely mad.
“All you have to do is survive and make this colony succeed! If you do that, whether it is two hundred cows or two thousand, I’ll sell even my soul to provide—”
“No.”
“What is it, Thomas?”
“The goldsmith-bankers will not invest.”
“···.”
“···.”
“Sssss··· Fucking bankers.”
“They will certainly demand proof that Mr. White’s colony is profitable. Or at least proof that the settlement has succeeded···”
“···W-wait just a moment, Thomas.”
“What is it, Mr. White?”
“Sir Raleigh, can you truly provide three hundred head of cattle and horses, as well as artisans?”
“I stake my honor on it.”
“···.”
“I will stake my soul as well.”
“Very well. Then··· uh··· please wait a moment.”
What had Lord Nemo told him to do if he came into contact with England?
—“Treat them with as little hostility as possible. Minimize exposing my existence, and if there is anything you can give them, give it.”
—“B-but it is all your property, Lord Nemo. How could I possibly···!”
—“Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. Avoiding hostility with England is also for my safety.”
In that case···!
White hurriedly ran to the Nautilus.
A short while later.
Clunk!
Rattle!
Thud!
Several chests began piling up before Sir Raleigh.
“Now··· here it is. Proof that we succeeded. Proof that we are profitable!”
“···.”
“···.”
Walter Raleigh unconsciously swallowed and opened the boxes.
And in the next instant, the strength left his legs, and he collapsed on the spot.
***
“They say Mr. White made contact with England.”
“Truly? Then···”
“For now, he handed over about half of the supplies we intended to distribute to the friendly tribes, but it doesn’t matter. In any case, it was only about ten percent of the warehouse. We can give it to Mr. White again.”
“···”
“···.”
“···.”
“What matters is what he was promised in return.”
To be honest, I was surprised too. Very much so.
“···They’re going to send three hundred horses and cows, and technicians?”
“Could it not have simply been empty talk?”
“That cannot be. Did they not say that Sir Walter Raleigh was overjoyed when he heard the Chesapeake colony had succeeded?”
Mr. Hewett answered Manteo’s question.
Certainly··· there was no reason to risk one’s life crossing the Atlantic only to hand out a bad check.
“Exactly. According to Mr. White, Sir Raleigh must show the investors that the colony has succeeded, so he will provide support.”
“···?”
“···?”
“···?”
“···Why are you all suddenly looking like that?”
···What is this? Why do they all have question marks floating over their heads?
While I was flustered, Eleanor cautiously raised her hand and spoke.
“Why is Chesapeake Bay··· Sir Raleigh’s colony?”
“···Pardon?”
“It is naturally Lord Nemo’s colony··· is it not? If Sir Raleigh provides support later, he may be able to claim a share, but fundamentally, this is a place Lord Nemo established, is it not?”
Uh··· well··· is that how it works?
I had naturally thought this was an English colony. If not, what were we supposed to do later?
As I was thinking that, Eleanor’s cry soon rang out.
“We can tell the English government later! This is the Lord’s holy land, and therefore an independent territory!”
“That is right! Can the king of England levy taxes on the Lord?”
“And I am a Spaniard! You cannot call it an English colony!”
“···Wait.”
“···.”
“···.”
“···.”
They went quiet in an instant.
Everyone, let us not get ahead of ourselves.
If it were me··· I don’t think I would leave alone a land flowing with milk, honey, and aluminum, and possessing such tremendous potential. And it is not only England, either. Spain is right next door, is it not? Would they leave this place alone?
···How should I properly condense that?
“The Lord, too··· would not wish us to shed blood.”
“···Ah.”
“···.”
“···.”
“For now, let us think about this matter later.”
Only then did the room fall silent. I leaned back against the chair and sank into thought.
Later. Later.
I kept putting it off··· but it was a problem that would one day come upon us. I knew that too.
And I could feel it.
The time to present an answer to that problem was drawing near.
***
“···Did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“What John White demanded of me!”
“He demanded three hundred head of cattle and horses, and artisans.”
There had been many men in the queen’s bed.
From Robert Dudley, the former Earl of Leicester who had died a few years ago, to Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex, and so on···.
They had seduced the queen with countless love poems, gifts, bouquets, and sweet whispers, and through that had striven to draw close to the heart of wealth and power.
Walter Raleigh was the lowliest man among them. The youngest son of a ruined gentry family, he was different from his other rivals, who had been promised splendid mansions and titles from birth.
But Walter Raleigh had pushed past them all.
In order to become the queen’s most favored lover, he had honed his sharp instincts.
“···Tell me in more detail. What sort of artisans did he demand?”
“Stonemasons··· blacksmiths··· bricklayers··· huh?”
“Jewelers, and brewers.”
Raleigh’s eyes were shining brighter than ever.
“They have so many jewels that they need jewelers?
They have so much grain and fruit that they need dedicated brewers?
Ha, haha··· I do not know who this noble local collaborator is, but he must be something like the emperor of an Indian empire. It seems some very wealthy man has taken a liking to White.”
White’s colony had not merely “succeeded.”
It was a “great success.”
“Now I shall present to Her Majesty the things inside that white box, that Stylofo or Styrophone or whatever it is called. And when I offer her all the other precious jewels and furs, how do you think she will regard me?”
If one gives, one receives.
His great beloved was never stingy with rewards.
“A toast to John White. To his great success.”
“···A toast.”
Sir Raleigh wanted to inform her of the new colony as soon as possible.
He had to go quickly, faster still. No matter how dangerous it was, he could not miss the chance to appear dramatically before her.
“You there! I do not care if the ship is damaged, increase our speed! We cannot waste a single moment! We must reach London before the Christmas banquet ends!”
What would she say when she saw those beautiful grapes?