“F-found them!”
Bang.
We were gathered in the settlement’s church, which also served as the town hall, in the middle of a meeting.
It was a regular meeting where we discussed things like how we would farm the following year, and whether or not we should accept other native tribes who said they wanted to come here.
And the one who burst into this important meeting was… none other than Vicente Gonzalez. I’d been wondering why he was so late, but seeing how he was drenched in sweat from head to toe, it seemed he had come running in a hurry.
When I saw him, I was about to ask what on earth he had found that made him rush in like this. But before I could even ask, Vicente spoke first, panting.
“We found the missing settlers!”
“What?”
“Yes. We found the seventy who disappeared! Mrs. Dare! Once we mobilized the Englishmen and the Algonquins, it was over quickly! When we were looking, they all ran inland and made it such a bother.”
…Well, that’s because you were trying to kill them.
At any rate, everyone seemed happy, so I didn’t say anything.
“Where are they?”
“The Chesapeake tribe has them. You should go right now and bring them back!”
“Ah, good!”
Eleanor also rose to her feet and said,
“Father was saying we didn’t have enough people to cultivate wheat in the Chesapeake colony anyway. If we add seventy more people, the colonization will go much more smoothly!”
“Good. Then let’s go get them. Vicente, can you guide us?”
“…Huh? Lord Nemo, you’re going too?”
“Of course. This is a matter that could increase the number of residents on our island by seventy, isn’t it?”
“…Pardon?”
For a moment, Eleanor’s eyes quaked. Before I could even wonder why, Vicente shouted.
“Lord Nemo is right! Let’s go at once! The ship is ready, and the weather isn’t bad, so if all goes well, we may be able to arrive before the day is out.”
Phew… We’ve come a long way.
At first, even controlling thirty people was difficult, so I put on that whole mysticism act and made a fuss, but now we’ve reached the point where we can accept seventy people like it’s nothing.
Let’s set aside problems like how I’m supposed to control people who didn’t even fight Spain alongside me. Mr. White is the governor anyway, so he’ll probably handle it somehow.
If they’re people we have to save anyway, it’s better to save them first and think afterward.
More than anything else, our colony alone now has over three hundred people. No matter how they move, they’re not beyond our control.
For now, we rescue the seventy people and secure the labor needed for wheat cultivation.
“Then shall we depart?”
That was the priority—
“W-wait… Lord Nemo!”
“Yes, Eleanor?”
Eleanor, who had been trembling since a while ago, finally called out to me.
“C-c-could you step outside for a moment? I have something to tell you!”
“You may say it here.”
“I-I think it’s something I should say when it’s just the two of us.”
…What is this? A confession attack?
Surely not.
“…Very well.”
After having the others wait, I went outside with Eleanor. Eleanor led me to the cemetery behind the church and asked,
“Um… I have something to tell you.”
“Yes.”
Gulp.
Eleanor rolled her eyes from side to side for a long while, recited a prayer, and seemed to agonize over it… before finally opening her mouth.
“I know your secret, Lord Nemo.”
“I see.
…Pardon?”
“I-I-I said I know… your secret, Lord Nemo!”
What?
What secret?
…No way.
“I… hmm.”
No.
From experience, if you open your mouth first in situations like this, you’re absolutely screwed. The bastard who speaks first loses, no matter what.
If the other person will finish it on their own as long as you keep your mouth shut, adding more words for no reason just opens the gates to disaster.
I had already learned that truth on the day I heard only, “Um… senior…” and answered, “Sorry, I have a girlfriend,” only to hear, “No! I was just wondering if you could give me your old exam notes…”
So I kept my mouth firmly shut and waited.
“I-it’s not a secret that Lord Nemo is an angel! That’s not what I’m trying to say…!”
And once again, I was proven right.
…Holy shit, that was close.
I almost said, “How did you know I’m from the future…” and got hit with, “Pardon…? What are you talking about, Nemonemo?”
Anyway.
“…Yes. That is not a secret.”
“Right! We write down the Lord’s words that Lord Nemo conveys to us every day!”
I was truly fucked.
Deep down, I had been hoping they thought of me as something like a vaguely mystical saint, but it wasn’t at that level at all.
This was a systematized faith.
I quietly clasped my hands behind my back to hide that they were trembling. Right. An angel, the record of an angel’s words…
That’s a fucking scripture.
Only now did the truth I had been ignoring reveal itself. The puzzle pieces I had refused to fit together clicked into place all at once, and all the strange feelings I’d had until now began to make sense.
An angel.
An additional expanded edition of the Bible, 1591 edition.
Cold sweat streamed down my back. I barely maintained an aloof attitude, but inside, I was burning to a crisp.
I clenched my jaw to stop my teeth from chattering, and hurriedly wiped the sweat gathering in my palms on the hem of my clothes.
“Anyway, um, I was wondering if it would be all right for Lord Nemo, who is an angel, to leave his home unattended.”
Eleanor, who had no way of knowing that, cried out with a grave expression.
“…”
“…Pardon?”
Silence followed.
What the hell… is that supposed to mean?
I get, more or less, that I’m an angel(?), and I get that you people are writing a Bible (including the Roanoke funding backer bonus side story).
But why does it matter if I leave my home?
“Hoooo. So you are worried about ‘that’ after all.”
Of course, my strategy this time was the same. I would not reveal my ignorance unnecessarily.
“Y-you even know what I was going to say… As expected of Lord Nemo.”
And my strategy was effective this time as well.
No.
I don’t know, so hurry up and say it.
“I-I know about your sacrifice, Lord Nemo…! My father knows as well! What you do every night!”
“As expected, there are no eternal secrets.”
“You stop the demons trying to climb up from hell every night!”
“What kind of bullshit is th— No, never mind.”
“Pardon? A-anyway, that day, Father and I promised to keep your secret, Lord Nemo. To think that in a place we had only considered holy, the power of evil was stretching out so wickedly… Haa, I had no idea.”
I got the gist. Of your situation, I mean.
I was so embarrassed I wanted to die.
They saw it. Doom.
For some reason, I felt like this was the point where I should show a face filled with melancholy.
So when I did, Eleanor teared up.
“…It is not an easy task.”
“I know! I remember the curses you uttered as you slaughtered the demons, Lord Nemo, and the wicked hymn the demon’s minions sang then still circles in my head! The lyrics were…”
“Stop.”
I cut her off because I felt like I’d burst out laughing if she went that far.
For some reason, I had a feeling that wicked hymn… was ranked number 200 on the 2012 edition of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums list.
“…In any case, you mean you are worried that something terrible will happen if I leave my post when I am supposed to be holding back the forces of the devil.”
“Y-yes!”
“You are underestimating my authority far too much.”
“…!”
“Darkness can do nothing but retreat when light approaches. Satan’s power can never suppress the power of the Lord.”
“Ahh, ahhhh…!”
“So do not worry from now on.”
“…Yes!”
“Tell Mr. White the same.”
“Yes!”
“And… keep the secret as well.”
“O-of course!”
With those words, Eleanor shed tears of emotion and went back into the church.
I, too… had to go into the church soon and head to Chesapeake Bay with Vicente…
For the moment, I closed my eyes.
Hoooo… seriously.
Living is too hard.
Too, too hard.
What am I supposed to do with this? What…
“Lord Nemo! We’re departing!”
Hoooo.
For now, let’s go to Chesapeake Bay.
I’ll think once I get there.
***
“Now then, I shall have a few firm words with you.”
“…”
“Our friend Roger says he is in very, very great need of your land and food!”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
“Therefore, the members of your tribe must either hand over territory and grain to us, or prepare for war with us!”
“Th-this is absurd tyranny! Our confederacy will not stand by and watch this!”
“If you do not stand by and watch? What do you intend to do?”
“…”
“Begone. When you return, come either with the will to surrender… or with weapons!”
“Waaaaaaaah! Begone!”
The tribe’s warriors were thrown into a frenzy, each striking their spears against the ground or throwing their bows into the sky.
“…Y-you will regret this! Our confederacy will surely make you regret the decision you have made this day, Chief!”
“Try it if you can! That aside, if you do not leave at once, I will skin you. I shall count from now. One, two…”
“E-eek!”
The chief burst into hearty laughter as he watched the Powhatan messenger flee in a hurry. Then he turned his head toward Roger and said,
“What do you think, Roger? Once preparations for war are complete, we will enter their territory at once and plunder their food!”
“W-will that be all right? You said the Powhatan tribe had thousands of warriors under them, didn’t you? And that their population is several times larger than yours!”
“It will be fine! Even if they number in the thousands, they will flee in terror before your ‘guns’! And in the end, we have only declared war on one of their tribes!”
The chief laughed and patted him on the shoulder. But his voice was grave.
“War is unavoidable anyway. Right now, we barely have enough food to get through this year. For ‘us’ to survive, we must at least plunder another tribe.”
“…”
“That you came to this land is truly the blessing of the spirits. Or perhaps it may be the blessing of that Jesus you believe in and follow.
Whatever the case, we must survive. I trust that you agree with that fact as well.”
“…Understood.”
Roger ultimately recognized reality and nodded.
White had left, and no rescue from England had come. When the Spaniards came all the way here, had it not been these people who hid and protected them? In the end, they had no choice but to follow what they said.
Only then did the chief finally reveal a broad smile and laugh.
“Heh, hehehe… The day has finally come when I can sweep them out of my sight.”
It had been quite some time since the Powhatan Confederacy had reigned as the hegemon of this area. How much humiliation had they endured under their coercive demands and intimidation?
But everything had changed when these people from across the sea joined them.
Their guns could bring down even flying birds and made sounds like thunder. Even the bravest and best-trained warrior died with a single gesture from a child.
Thus, the balance of power had reversed. To the chief, who had only piled up humiliation upon humiliation in his heart, the power to relieve that humiliation had been granted for the first time!
The desire for conquest and achievement blazed in the chief’s heart. Now he pictured himself bringing them to their knees and expanding the tribe’s territory far to the north.
As long as he had these people called “Englishmen” who had come from across the sea, he could do it! It was no longer an impossible dream!
After all, did these people not have nowhere to return to? Most of them seemed to be men; if they married suitably beautiful women here and lived, they would naturally become members of the tribe and warriors.
If only that happened…
“Hehe, hehehehe…”
The Powhatan Confederacy would be nothing…!
“…Chief! Guests have arrived!”
“Hoho, why are you in such a hurry? We have just decided an important matter of the tribe, so guests can wait a moment…”
“They’re… people from across the sea! One of them calls himself John White…”
…Huh?
In an instant, Roger’s face brightened.
And the chief’s face turned ashen.
“J-John White!”
“The governor is here! The governor is here!”
“Th-thank you for everything, Chief! Now that our countrymen have come, we should be going back!”
Uh… uhhh?
“Later, we’ll connect with the homeland and bring you all sorts of gifts!”
“Finally! I can eat roast beef for the first time in a million years!”
Uhhh… uhhhh?
“...Y-you will regret this! Our alliance will make certain that Chief Ilche remembers this decision with regret!”
The messenger’s words came back to mind.
“W-will this really be all right? Didn’t you say the Powhatan tribe alone commands more than several thousand warriors? And that their population is several times larger than yours!”
Roger’s words from just now came back to mind as well.
A way to stand against several thousand warriors and a population several times larger... uh...
‘Guns.’
And now those gunmen were leaving.
Should he stop them from leaving?
As if that would work.
“Uh, uh... uhh...?”
“Chief, then farewell...”
“W-w-wait a moment.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
The chief swallowed hard and said to Roger,
“Arrange for me to meet this John White.”
At those words, Roger realized that the initiative had passed to him and his countrymen, and he grinned.
“...Very well.”
Before long, four people entered the chief’s house. Roger recognized three of them.
John White, Eleanor Dare, and Manteo.
And the remaining one was...
‘...Who is that?’
A barbarian guide?
While Roger tilted his head in confusion, the three sat down opposite the chief. The chief spoke to the man seated in the middle.
“...Are you John White? You look more like our people than the other people from across the sea. Quite unexpected.”
“I am John White. This gentleman is called Nemo.”
“...Huh? Then why are you sitting over there?”
“What is wrong with where I am sitting?”
Ah, right. Roger quickly stepped forward for White, who would not be familiar with the barbarians’ customs, and said,
“Governor, the seat that barbarian is sitting in is the chief’s seat. Since you are our representative, you should sit in the middle.”
“...What?”
“I mean, Governor, you are—”
“I am not the representative.”
“What do you mean by—”
“And if you call ‘that gentleman’ a barbarian one more time... I will not let it pass.”
In that instant, White’s gaze changed. He was no longer the indecisive, gentle-eyed man Roger knew.
“And it won’t only be me. God, too, will not let it pass.”
“...Pardon?”
“Nemo...? Ne...mo? Uh?”
While Roger was flustered by White’s words, the chief muttered that unfamiliar name again as if chewing it over, then his eyes widened as though he had realized something.
He remembered who the person with that name was.
And he corrected his arrogant posture, sitting properly as he asked carefully,
“A-are you... the Great Chief of Croatoan Island?”
***
“...Pardon?”
“I apologize for never having come to pay my respects. Because the lawless Powhatan Alliance to the north has been confronting us, I have not had the opportunity to visit you properly.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“Er... Lord Nemo? Is something wrong?”
What the hell is this?
I’d heard of a Korean crop breeder who became a chief in Nigeria after developing pest-resistant cassava, but...
Why am I your Great Chief?
Flustered despite myself, I looked toward Eleanor. Eleanor looked toward John White, and John White looked toward Manteo.
Then Manteo asked me back, seeming puzzled.
“Is there something strange about that?”
“No... He just called me Great Chief.”
“Yes. What is strange about that?”
“Pardon?”
What the hell. What’s with you too?
After a long silence passed between us, and only after seeing the many questions in my eyes, Manteo clapped his hands and said,
“Ah... I simply assumed you would know. You speak our language so fluently.”
“Know what?”
“A chief is the wealthiest person. Is he not?”
“...That is usually how it goes, yes.”
“And the wealthiest person is the one who gives the most. Only by sharing his wealth with others do people treat him as a chief and acknowledge him, do they not?”
“Uh, uhh...?”
“Who in this region is the wealthiest and has given the most?”
“...”
Me.
As I thought of all the pearls, coral, and furs piled high in our farm’s storehouse, I felt cold sweat pouring down my back like rain.
All this time, I had thought I was bartering. I had thought I was giving them grapes and receiving various gifts in compensation.
But that was, uh, tribute?
Huh?
“Great Chief, is there something that displeases you?”
What is this? Boom, pow—“Korean Shine Muscat spreads across the world! Americans fall in love with the taste of grapes and install a Korean Great Chief!” Is that what this is?
Because Manteo had explained everything just now in English, the other chief only understood my words and tilted his head, knowing nothing else. He must have been wondering why these bastards had suddenly started babbling among themselves.
“So I am, uh... the king of that man?”
“That is right. However, rather than a powerful and binding king like the King of England, you are closer to someone of somewhat higher standing. You are a person worthy of respect, not a ruler.”
“...”
I more or less understood.
So I was in a position like the “teacher” in a village whom even the elders bowed deeply to... someone said to have been a landlord since the Japanese occupation (with suspicious questions about how he accumulated wealth during that era).
I put a suitable amount of force into my eyes and spoke as solemnly as I could.
“...There is nothing that displeases me.”
“I-I am truly relieved.”
“Except for one thing.”
“P-pardon? Something displeases you? What could that—”
I quietly turned my gaze toward a white man standing beside the chief. Then I asked him in English,
“What is your name?”
“Uh... pardon?”
“Yes. Were you not a member of the Roanoke colony?”
“I-I’m Roger. Roger Pratt.”
“Roger Pratt.”
I turned my head back toward the chief and said,
“What is your name?”
“...I am called Oitotan.”
“Oitotan, I would like Roger Pratt to return to the arms of his countrymen. His companions as well.”
“...”
“Can you help me with that?”
Good. That was suitably authoritative.
It seemed he had somehow eaten my grapes after they made their way here. In that case, he should be willing to pay the price of the Shine Muscat.
Thinking that, I smiled and watched his expression.
“Er... w-well, that is...”
“...”
What?
Oitotan’s face suddenly went pale. Seeing his expression become so seriously tense made even me feel uncomfortable and uneasy for some reason.
“That is, I mean...”
“...”
“P-please spare us.”
“...Pardon?”
“P-p-please help our tribe survive, if only with our lives intact... If you help us, we will repay that grace by any means necessary.”
I looked toward Manteo again, and he too looked bewildered, his face covered in question marks. Wondering if perhaps he knew, I looked toward Roger...
He was quietly sighing with his face buried in both hands.
“Please help us! At this rate, our tribe will be destroyed by war!”
“Explain... yourself.”
“Er, that is...”
...
...
...
Aha.
I had arrived at exactly the wrong time.
So I answered,
“No.”
Hiss...
Bear the burden of going all-in.