“Is everyone all right?”
“Yes! It feels wonderful to look around the vineyards again after so long!”
“I feel as if I’ve returned to my hometown as well! Though my hometown is, in fact, across the Atlantic!”
We had returned to Croatoan Island after a long time away. And with the so-called original members all together, too—Huet, Eleanor, Vicente, Manteo, and the rest.
It was to tend to the vineyards after the harvest and test the newly made pumps.
“This… pump’s performance is quite good, isn’t it?”
“It’s all thanks to the blacksmiths at the settlement.”
That’s right. I’ll forgive you with this for blowing off my arm when you copied the brush-cutter engine last time.
After installing pumps here and there, connected to makeshift wood-burning stoves made from oil drums, we were soon able to drain the wetlands all over Croatoan and begin reclamation.
This, too… was an achievement we never could have managed without the long period of trial and error that had gone into it.
Taking apart the farm machinery I had, trying to replicate the parts, failing after attempting to copy them exactly, then making only simple machines after that…
And in that way, making efficient wood-burning stoves, making ondol, and then connecting all sorts of pipes to them to operate pumps…
It was an achievement that could not have been realized without twenty-first-century steel and materials, but an achievement was an achievement all the same.
These pumps were the fruit of that labor.
After watching the hastily assembled pumps drain the wetlands here and there, we pitched a tent nearby and each talked among ourselves.
“No… Vicente? You met Sir Drake while sailing on the Nautilus?”
“Yes. Er, well, that is so.”
“Didn’t the Englishmen led by Drake lay waste to the nearby colonies when you were governor of Santa Elena? I heard that was why you withdrew from Santa Elena.”
“Ha, hahaha, hahahaha. That’s all in the past.”
“How far in the past?”
“Exactly nine years, five months, and two days ago.”
“…For something you said was no matter at all, you remember it in great detail.”
“Because the colony I poured my life into building was ruined in an instant. It can’t be helped. Back then, just thinking of Englishmen made my teeth grind, but who could have known things would turn out like this? Hahahaha!”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Isn’t he in this settlement because he tried to do the exact same thing to it that Drake did to him?
Of course, I didn’t bother saying that out loud.
“In any case, if that fellow goes around plundering Spanish colonies, he has no choice but to come around here. So I ran into him a few times, and he was more interesting than I’d expected. He kills people well, too.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“He was a better man than his first impression suggested. It should be about time for him to come back around here, no?”
On our first day back in Croatoan, we talked about such things and then went to sleep.
The next day, we tended to the grape farms in earnest and cared for the settlement while preparing for next year’s farming.
Since the three hundred people living here had become something like high-ranking officials and were busily going back and forth to Chesapeake Bay, the state of this place was a mess as well. For the first time in a while, we dusted out each house and such.
We spent about two more days like that.
And just as I was starting to think it was time to return to Chesapeake Bay…
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
“…What, what is it?”
I woke at the sound of someone pounding on the door. I hurriedly changed out of my nightclothes and went out, and found Manteo and Eleanor there.
“What’s the matter, you two?”
“It, it seems something incredible is happening by the shore! The Spaniards guarding the outpost said they saw several large warships…!”
“What? Warships?”
“Yes!”
I hurried over to the warehouse, started the Damas, and drove out. Then I picked the two of them up and headed straight for the eastern shore.
And then…
Kwa-boom!
“…What was that?”
I heard a tremendous roar.
A sound like something exploding rang out from far away. I stepped on the accelerator and reached the shore, and soon we learned the source of that roar.
“Th-there! Over there!”
Even in the dim light of early dawn, we could see several warships fighting at a fairly close distance.
They were ships flying the flags of England and Spain.
As the English fleet moved north, the Spanish fleet pursued them from behind and unleashed a barrage of cannon fire.
Whether the English ships had caught an unfavorable wind, they eventually gave up on fleeing and began turning one by one.
And the moment they completed their turns, the loaded cannons poured fire into the Spanish vanguard. Flames and smoke bloomed above the water like stars and clouds.
In other words, the entire scene was perfectly visible.
“…Th-they’re fighting incredibly close by!”
Eleanor was right. Close enough that, if anything went wrong, the Spanish fleet could land right here after the battle ended.
“Huet? Manteo? Tell everyone to gather at the coastal battery. Have each person bring whatever guns and powder they have.”
“Understood!”
“Vicente? Is there anything you could do by taking the Nautilus in there and getting involved—”
Kwakakakakakaboom!
The sudden explosion swallowed my words.
“Aaaah!”
And made Eleanor scream.
When I turned toward the sea, one of the Spanish warships was sinking, blown to pieces. It seemed likely that a cannonball had struck the powder magazine and set it off.
In an instant, flames and fragments of the ship shot up above the surface of the water, and with that, the tide of battle changed.
While the Spanish ships fell into confusion as flames spread from a nearby allied vessel, the English warships were each moving into advantageous positions.
The enormous ships circled around one another, scattering cannonballs and ropes, or dropping troops onto enemy ships in attempts at boarding action.
The Spanish warships, which had been the pursuers only moments ago, now fell out of formation and were stopped one by one, caught in English ropes.
On top of that, the Spanish ships rushing toward the shore spotted our coastal battery and soon raised white flags, turning back toward the English vessels.
The Spanish fleet was collapsing, one ship after another.
“Uwaaaaah! We won!”
“We won!”
The Englishmen standing here cheered, and Vicente, who was from Spain, clapped along in delight.
Just as everything seemed to be over and people were starting to head back inland…
“…Huh?”
“What are you doing there, Mr. Huet? It’s about time we head back—”
“No. It seems strange.”
“What does?”
“Those… ships appear to be drawing closer.”
“What? What do you mean by—ah.”
When I turned around, the English ships were slowly approaching us.
Wh-what? Why are they coming this way?
As I looked around at the others in confusion, Vicente said calmly,
“The battle has just ended, has it not? And right here is an English ally from whom they can resupply.”
Ah.
Soon, small boats were lowered from the ships, and sailors began landing on the shore along with a rough, squawking song. Perhaps greatly excited, they fired their muskets wildly into the sky.
“Long live Her Majesty the Queen!”
“Death to the Spanish bastards!”
As the people who had been cheering began to shrink back in fear, I also tried to step back just in case. Then Huet caught hold of me.
“Please don’t worry too much. Sir Raleigh said it as well, didn’t he? People only hear Lord Nemo’s voice in a language they are as fluent in as their mother tongue. It will be difficult for them to be that proficient in more than one language.”
“…”
“And in any case, they’ll come into the village to resupply, so it’s better to meet them here than to run into them awkwardly there.”
“…Understood.”
Ah, what do I do? My farm? Should I hide it? No, is there any need to hide it?
While I was worrying over this and that…
“…Ah! Men! Fuck, we won!”
“Uwaaaaaah!”
“We won!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the middle of the men who had landed from the boats, I saw a man shouting in a booming voice. If he hadn’t been on our side, he would have had exactly the impression of a lunatic bastard at first glance.
“Who… is that man?”
“That man is Sir Francis Drake—”
“Oi! There, Vicente! And hello to the rest of you!”
…Oh.
Francis Drake.
A pirate captain chosen by Queen Elizabeth, and commander in the English navy.
As if it was true that they had met several times before, Drake approached Vicente with delight and greeted him, and Vicente, too, took the hand he offered and said,
“Sir Drake! It has been a long time! What brings you here…”
“No, I was passing this way and thought of you. Well, I happened to be going by when those bastards looked like they had plenty of money, so I asked them to share a little, and would you believe they came chasing after me like madmen? Since that gave me an excuse to rest a bit, I came all the way here.
“And while I’m at it, I can see the saintess! See the aluminum! See the native emperor!”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Ah! Is this the Saintess of London? A pleasure. I am Sir Drake.”
“E-Eleanor Dare.”
“A pleasure to meet you. I am Huet.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…Then, this one is?”
“…He is.”
“I believe I know.”
Even though I hadn’t said anything yet, Drake suddenly began to bow.
“I pay my respects to His Majesty, the great emperor of the natives in this region.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Excuse me, Sir Drake. Can you speak Spanish or Latin?”
“A little. Only enough for survival, trade, and courtesy.”
“…A pleasure. I am Nemo.”
Relieved upon hearing Drake’s words, I quickly opened my mouth, and when Drake heard my answer, his eyes widened for a moment…
“Good day! I am Francis Drake! Her Majesty the Queen’s pirate!”
And then he answered as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
…Truly, it seems he can’t be fluent in more than one language. The catalog said he came from the middle class, too.
Drake laughed heartily and shook my hand like a madman before asking me bluntly,
“Do you perhaps have water and food to spare?”
“…We do.”
“How much can you give us?”
“As much as you need.”
At my words, Drake’s face brightened rapidly, and he shook my arm wildly as he said,
“Excellent, Your Majesty! Excellent! Thank you!”
“I, I see. Then…”
“Now, we should be on our way. Vicente? When we stop by the Florida colony, I’ll be sure to peacefully kidnap your family for you. Farewell to the rest of you as well.”
“…You’re leaving already?”
“What? Haven’t I seen everything there is to see in this settlement? I’ve seen the saintess, His Majesty the Emperor, and the water and food, so I should return!”
“…”
“I am a man of the sea, you see! Besides, right now I have a pile of assets I’ve ‘borrowed’ from the Spaniards, so I must return to England before other fellows extort them from me!”
…Is he insane?
Well, he is a man who pirates from the strongest nation of this era to provide his country with a year’s budget. It would be stranger if he weren’t insane.
“…”
“Ah, there is one more thing I must tell you.”
“…What is it?”
“The Spaniards are growing their Florida colony down below. It seems they feel threatened by the Virginia colony. Because of that, there may be trouble in the south, so be careful.”
“Underst—”
“Oh, right! I forgot yet another thing! Please wait a moment!”
“…”
Drake hurriedly rushed off and soon shouted something toward his fleet, which was anchoring along the shore one by one.
Then boats were lowered from each ship, and people came ashore here and there. As the surroundings grew noisy, I also approached to see what was going on…
“Everyone, gather!”
At someone’s shout, half-naked men and women slowly moved their bodies. Watching them, Drake said,
“I happened to end up with them while raiding a few Spanish ships. Even if I took them to England, there would be no one to buy them, and if anything went wrong, I might be criticized, so I was worried—but just then, a sales outlet like this appeared!”
“…”
Those people were…
“You must need a great deal of labor, I imagine. What do you think?”
“Uh… So they are…”
“Yes, that is correct. They are all slaves.”
They were all black people wearing shackles.