“A beautiful day. Perfect weather for setting off to Africa!”
Walter Raleigh, who had returned at some point, said as he stroked the hull of the newly launched Voyager. At that, Vicente Gonzalez, who had been chosen as captain of the Voyager, said with a smile.
“The Voyager is a bit larger and sturdier than the Enterprise. Perhaps because the craftsmen have grown more accustomed to building ships of this type, it is superior in every respect.”
“Even so, I find myself liking the Enterprise more than the Voyager. Does the name itself not appeal to you? Enterprise!
America! The final frontier! Our mission is to explore new worlds, to discover new life and civilizations, and to boldly go where no one has gone before. Is the name Enterprise not a perfect fit for that?
But the name Voyager has no… force to it.”
“Still, the Voyager can carry more cargo, and more cannons too, can it not?”
“That is not the point. It is more a matter of… feeling. It feels as though it is destined to be shipwrecked somewhere, to wander endlessly, as if the name is smeared all over with ill omens.”
“…Please do not say such things about another man’s ship.”
“I am half joking.”
The two of them were soon scheduled to take the slaves Nemo had bought from Drake and cross the Atlantic to Africa.
The expected time required was roughly three months.
It was a shortened duration made possible by the astonishing sailing speed of the clipper.
They watched as, one by one, the Africans who had fully recovered their health began boarding the ship, and spoke.
“…Putting that aside, it seems ‘that person’ is opposed to slavery.”
Though Raleigh had only said “that person,” Vicente understood without difficulty. In this settlement, there was only one being people referred to as “that person” without any context.
“That is correct. When he purchased slaves from Sir Drake without hesitation, I thought little of it, but to think he would free all of them outright…”
The first thing he had done after purchasing the slaves was none other than speak with the newly freed slaves.
He asked them where their homes were, whether they wanted to return, and whether they could return.
Depending on their answers, he divided the freed Africans into several groups.
Those who would newly settle in Virginia.
And those who would return to their homelands.
Not a single person remained a slave.
After returning and hearing the news, Raleigh refined the question he had been carrying with him all along, then cautiously asked Vicente.
“You too have traded in slaves before, have you not?”
“Me? Of course. I bought goods like slaves and ivory from various tribes in Africa and sold them in the Spanish colonies. I had a few in my own colony as well. Have you never done so, my lord baron?”
“Me? I led a privateering fleet. Of course I have.”
“…”
“…If that person abhors the keeping of slaves, then surely the Lord does as well.”
“…”
“I fear how we must appear in the eyes of the Lord, and in his eyes.”
“Who, in his eyes, is not a sinner? Is it not enough that we atone for the rest of our lives?”
“…”
“So long as one is alive, does everyone not have a second chance?”
Before they knew it, the atmosphere had sunk, and a serious conversation was passing between them.
The two quietly recited the Lord’s Prayer, crossed themselves, and stepped down from the ship to make one final inspection to see whether the preparations for the voyage were complete—
“Virginia! I have arrived!”
“…”
“…”
…when they turned around, they saw some fleet docking along the Chesapeake shore. The bold-looking man rowing toward them in a boat was a face exceedingly familiar to both of them.
“…Sir Drake?”
“Ah, Baron Raleigh! It has been some time! Quite a while indeed since last we met!”
“…”
“You there! Vicente? You happen to be there too! Come here and help me!”
“Ah, have you come to transport the new slaves—”
“Tsk!”
“…Pardon? No, if they are not slaves, then—”
“Tsssssk!”
“…?”
Vicente, puzzled by the sight of Sir Drake suddenly growing furious at his words, turned to look at Raleigh. But Raleigh, too, had no idea what was going on.
Sir Drake came striding toward Vicente, huffing and puffing, and spoke with “sincerity.”
“Slaves? If a human being is captured by wicked pirates and slave traders in Africa, does that make him a slave? Do you think the Lord would stand by and watch such evil?”
“…Pardon?”
The words, “You are that wicked pirate and slave trader,” rose all the way to Vicente’s throat, but he barely managed to swallow them.
“Instead, call them ‘liberated free people from Africa.’”
“…Understood.”
“Sir Drake, it seems the harvest from this round of piracy was rather—”
“Baron Raleigh! The same goes for you! Piracy, you say? Piracy is what one calls taking what belongs to others. I, however, have merely acted according to the holy cause of restoring freedom to those whose freedom was stolen. I have returned after accomplishing a great undertaking.”
Feeling that something was strange, Raleigh discreetly turned around.
There, in the distance, Nemo was watching them. He looked so small he was practically a dot, and Raleigh had no idea how Drake had noticed him.
“…It seems the harvest from your ‘great undertaking’ was rather good?”
In any case, once he corrected his phrasing according to Drake’s opinion, Drake’s expression, which had seemed livid with rage, instantly relaxed.
“Ah, of course. The number of slaves newly liberated this time alone exceeds three hundred. And I also ‘took back’ the wicked wealth the Spaniards had plundered from slaves and Indios.”
The ones who had been plundered were the slaves and Indios, so why was Drake the one receiving it back?
Like Vicente, Raleigh also found all sorts of questions welling up inside him, but he barely suppressed them. When he turned around again, that person had somehow come to stand beside them.
“Sir Drake, you’ve arrived. The wound on your cheek…”
“Ah, Your Majesty! In the course of waging war against the wicked Spaniards this time, I could not endure my righteous indignation and stepped forward, whereupon I was lightly cut by a blade… But it is quite all right. What could a small scar like this possibly make this Drake fear?”
“I… see. I am glad to hear it.”
“Indeed. Had I collapsed and died on the spot, who would have saved the hundreds, the thousands of Africans suffering in America under Spanish rule? The Lord must surely have delivered me from death.”
“…”
“He is definitely flustered.”
“He is flustered.”
Raleigh and Vicente could easily sense the bewilderment that had surfaced on Nemo’s face. And Nemo seemed to think for a moment… before finally opening his mouth as though unable to bear it any longer.
“But… Sir Drake, have you not also engaged in the slave trade before? You even joined forces with local African tribes to capture slaves yourself.”
At that moment, Raleigh and Vicente felt as if a blockage in their chests had been cleared away.
That was exactly it! Their mouths had been itching to say that very thing!
The two of them had already been discussing things like, “Are we not sinners…?” and then a villain on an entirely different level had appeared and was blustering so confidently that it was nauseating!
They soon imagined Sir Drake stumbling over his words and apologizing, and the two exchanged glances and smiled. They were two men who were roughly experiencing the catharsis of revenge fiction hundreds of years before its time.
However.
“Ah… You speak of my shameful and hideous past.”
“No, I was not trying to criticize you. It merely bothered me…”
“Were you not referring to the days when I was hideous, filthy, unconscionable, and mad with the wealth and pleasure that slaughter brought me?”
“…Pardon?”
They had underestimated Drake far too much.
Drake suddenly lowered his head deeply. And then, just as actors of the twenty-first century often did on variety shows, he suddenly let a tear fall.
“I… shall go to hell. A sinner like me—like me—deserves to die!”
“N-no, that is not what I meant…”
“Your Majesty, no. Even if I strive to perform good deeds, it is as futile as mixing honey into poison. I know it well. The Lord sees all, so I too shall one day pay for these sins…”
“P-please do not say that. The matter of sin can come later, and for now, are you not doing something righteous?”
“…Now that I hear it, that is indeed so. In any case, I have brought 353 Africans, so I shall take only about two kilograms of aluminum.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
At that moment, Raleigh and Vicente looked at each other and came to one conclusion.
As for how great their own sins were… honestly, they did not know.
But the man before their eyes was simply a lump of sin.
***
…What a truly transparent man.
After giving Drake a few kilograms of aluminum, I saw him off. Looking at that bright, innocent smile, he seemed almost like a child… though, uh… I also found myself wondering what kind of child committed murder and arson as easily as eating a meal.
In any case, when a man whose trust level had fallen to -255 acted like that, it actually caused an underflow, and his trust level rose instead.
To 0.
If he was not going to be a firm and principled ally of mine, perhaps it was better for him to be the kind of person who transparently flew after money and status like that.
At any rate, Drake was doing all kinds of work quite well, and the number of slaves liberated had already reached around five hundred. Of those, about 150 had nowhere to return to and remained with our community.
Not a bad result. If I could save hundreds of people like this with nothing more than a little crumpled-up aluminum foil…
‘The problem lies elsewhere.’
I wondered if I had stuck my nose in too much.
I worried that, because Drake’s piracy was becoming even more rampant for no reason, Spain might say something like, “Where is that bastard’s base? Virginia? Strike at once!” and come at us.
Although the slave trade was not a major industry in England, there must still be slave traders, and I wondered if they would not protest Drake’s actions.
I did wonder whether this might lead to some diplomatic problem, but…
‘Still, how could a person just leave that alone?’
And if I formed ties with Drake like this, there would surely be a use for it later. After all, was he not something like the supreme commander of the English navy? His public recognition was nothing to scoff at either.
In any case, given that Spain had not shown any particular response for years, they probably would not harm us or react differently now…
And England, too, would not try to give up a honey pot like me just because a few slave traders were squealing.
England would… well, figure it out on its own.
***
Drake knew very well what he had to do with this “pure aluminum” now in his hands.
As expected of a man who had been raised among pirates since childhood and had learned the workings of power from his teenage years.
He lived in a country of pirates and organized thugs. At times like this, one must not be stingy when offering tribute.
That was the difference between him and the other petty pirate crews who had failed to leave their names in history. He knew very well how to catch the eye of the “boss.”
And so, Elizabeth, the “boss” who had received the tribute… decided to immediately continue on with a political offensive.
“Tighten my belt a little more. I must appear resolute.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Soon, the political show with Drake would begin. Before going out to the court, Elizabeth slowly went over the current situation in her mind once more.
What was England’s situation now?
Originally, it had been so bad it could not be expressed in words.
Until before the war, they had lived by endlessly beating the money chest called Spain and extorting immense wealth in return… but now Spain declared it would no longer simply take the beating.
Because of that, first of all, their funds had run dry.
War required ships, and ships required timber, but the forests within England were nearly depleted. In other words, it was all imported.
Buying timber and ships at high prices from Sweden and Denmark emptied the national treasury, then they patched that empty treasury with piracy, then bought back the timber and ships lost in piracy…
The royal budget ran a deficit every year, and the entire nation staggered depending on the success or failure of one or two acts of piracy.
In the midst of that… salvation approached.
‘Virginia.’
Luxury goods regularly came in from the Virginia colony established in the domain of the native emperor, and through those luxury goods, she reaped enormous profits from the nobles.
At the same time, the Virginia Colony had begun operating its shipyard, so it appeared they would soon escape both timber shortages and ship shortages.
Their food situation had improved as well.
It was the moment when the myriad problems that had made England groan were healing as if washed away.
Of course, that did not mean England's national wealth was draining away from importing luxuries from Virginia and the Native Emperor. Not at all.
They purchased massive quantities of sugar, spices, and woolens. And... there was also a strange fruit from around Africa.
'Did they call it coffee?'
When Raleigh had brought it, saying it was the Native Emperor's demand, both Raleigh and the Queen had fussed about for some time, not knowing what it was.
Only recently had they become able to supply the item to the Virginia Colony, and thanks to that, the gold flowing out to Virginia had decreased considerably.
So, to summarize.
The Virginia Colony, and the Native Emperor beyond it, were England's highest-priority allies, filling the national treasury and supplying strategic materials.
Moreover, he was hostile to Spain.
If so, the conclusion was clear.
'The Emperor's condemnation of slavery is a signal to plunder Spain together!'
Truly, it was thinking befitting a pirate captain.
*Bang!*
"H-Her Majesty emerges!"
As Elizabeth stepped out into the court, the crowd lowered their heads, and Drake, standing among them, also bent his head low.
Toward him, Elizabeth—with her hands trembling as pre-arranged and tears streaming down—spoke.
"So... this is the gift received from our ally across the sea, you say?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"And you say it was obtained in exchange for freeing those pitiful slaves..."
"Indeed, Your Majesty!"
At Drake's words, Elizabeth joined her hands in prayer and slowly... let fall a single tear.
"I have always wished for it."
At her words, all in the court fell silent.
"I have always wished for all the people of this land to break free from their slavish state and live treading upon those green fields as free men."
Indeed. That was Elizabeth's true wish.
"Because... it is Christ's will."
The freedom and liberation of her subjects.
As ruler of the Kingdom of England, as head of the Church of England, and as a single Christian, it was the very thing she had ceaselessly prayed for.
It was absolutely not because the aluminum Drake had brought could be exchanged for several times its weight in gold.
Of course, it was also not because they could no longer sell slaves to the Spanish colonies, who had been their biggest customer.
Likewise, it was not propaganda for the masses.
They were all despicable slanders by Spanish spies against England and her Queen.
Or perhaps not.
"But it is as if our ally across the sea read my heart beforehand and granted me—no, all our souls—great inspiration, is it not?"
"Truly so, Your Majesty!"
"Indeed. Truly so.
Slavery is the greatest sin ever invented by mankind, and the most terrible act of rebellion against God.
And as you all know, the Spanish even now endlessly enslave those pitiful 'natives' and Africans!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Those words are just!"
At this moment, Elizabeth Tudor, who had tasted substantial profits and invested repeatedly in the slave trade, died.
Also dead was Elizabeth Tudor, who had employed a dark-skinned Moor servant (though he received no wages; but absolutely not a slave).
And when she opened her eyes again amidst tears.
"Behold! Did not an angel appear suddenly and heal London's plague, and now does not a Christian foreigner help us without any cost? Why does such fortune befall only England and not Spain!
It is because we are just! In this just war we shall be victorious! And we shall smash the evil custom of slavery!
From now on, slavery shall be permanently forbidden in all lands under the rule of the King of England!"
She was reborn as Elizabeth I, the 'Emancipator of Slaves.'
And Elizabeth's Moor servant, truly for the first time in a long while—no, for the first time since coming to England—received something called wages.
And so, Sir Drake's fleet set sail for the Caribbean once more, with ample support.
To kill more Spaniards.
To burn more Spanish homes.
To seize more Spanish property.
...Not.
To liberate more Spanish slaves.
Should anyone disagree with this view, they were clearly Spanish or a spy.
...
...
...
"'Though We invested in the slave trade many times, in the end We could not overcome Our conscience and withdrew from it...'
What kind of nonsense is this?"
And the Spaniards, faced with the English Queen's holy proclamation, were likewise enraged.
"...No, didn't that woman pull out her investments simply because they weren't profitable?"
Those words were correct.
"More precisely, uh, wasn't it because smuggling slaves to our colonies became too risky?"
Those words were also correct.
"But we are the devil's minions? For buying and selling slaves?"
And in conclusion, everyone was enraged.
"No, how moral do they think they are! They're the ones who burn and plunder others' colonies to survive...!"
"N-now, calm yourselves. Isn't the problem of their Virginia colony more urgent? Francis Drake has established himself there and is plundering us, so countermeasures..."
"Yes! How much has that Virginia colony grown? We can't even crush it with our strength alone! What countermeasures?"
Precisely, it wasn't that they lacked the power to deal with it.
King Philip II of the Spanish Empire possessed wealth and power far greater than England's Elizabeth 'of all people.'
It was all the more obvious when one considered that England, perennially in deficit, was surviving by leeching Spain's wealth.
However, the Spanish Empire's mighty strength had to be projected across the entire world.
It had to be spent suppressing the great domestic nobles, checking the Pope, blocking Ottoman expansion, suppressing the Protestants of Europe, and vying for world hegemony with Habsburg relatives.
England was merely one obstacle and one of countless enemies within the Spanish Empire's global policy; it was by no means a major adversary.
Thus, even with that mighty power and overflowing wealth, the Empire had no choice but to leave the gnat-like pirate horde of Drake and that breeding-ground of a Virginia colony alone.
In the end.
The method they chose remained defensive.
"To stop English infiltration, we must expand the Caribbean coast and Florida colonies! We must increase permanent settlements beyond simple missionary bases and military installations!"
"Yes! We must develop that region immediately with allied Indian tribes!"
"B-but, are we not short of labor?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
To stop English colonial infiltration and the plundering of slaves, they had to strengthen the colonies' internal foundations.
And to strengthen the colonies' internal foundations...
"...We shall import more slaves."
"Damn it. Only the Mali Empire will be thrilled."
It seemed somewhat contradictory, but it was the only choice.
They ended up importing more slaves, and the Mali Empire and the various kingdoms of West Africa made a fortune.
And the Spaniards began land reclamation.
"We plan to erect about four windmills. This area is nothing but wetlands."
"How long will it take? Don't factor in casualties. Assuming slave mobilization."
"...Then, about six months?"
"Six months?"
"You mean 'only six months.' And we need a blacksmith and an iron mine."
"Whatever for?"
"We need shovels, don't we? We can't tell slaves to dig dirt and bail water with their bare hands, can we?"
"Grrr... The Virginia Colony already has a population in the thousands. Can we catch up?"
"Of course. Unless they are draining water without windmills."
***
"Here, an automatic pump!"
"Ooh..."
"If you put fuel in this, the pump runs automatically, moving twenty-four hours a day without any human touch!"
***
"Kwaaah! C-c-crocodile...!"
"Get the musket!"
"We have... no muskets!"
"Why? Didn't we build a forge?"
"No, does metal bend and cut by itself?"
***
"Here, steel pipes."
"I-is it alright to use this many? We do need them for pump parts, but..."
"The Lord will replenish them anyway, so what is there to worry about? And connect power to the grinder. Don't we need to run the lathe?"
Whiiiiiir!
***
"Ugh... hah, huff..."
"Carry stones! Your dedication shall become the glory of His Majesty the King of Spain!"
"Ugh... i-if only something would move the stones automatically...!"
"Talk sense. You might as well ask for some beast with shovels for arms to build the dike of its own accord."
***
*Rumble-rumble-rumble-THUD!*
"With an excavator... we should finish within half a day."
"Ah, perfect!"
"Mr. Hewet, let us prepare the pumps. I shall go to the factory."
What is it? Who keeps calling me? Why are my ears so itchy?
Anyway.
Near Chesapeake Bay there are many large and small wetlands, and it is difficult to place windmills one by one to reclaim such places.
The so-called "automatic pump" to place in such areas.
Upon arriving at Mr. Brown's factory, all sorts of ironworkers were busily walking about, engrossed in various tasks. As I pulled up in my Porter (...not a Damas, a Porter!) and approached, Mr. Brown came out and guided me.
"Ah, have you come for 'that'?"
"Yes. That's right. Where the work is..."
"This way."
Many technologies and materials were needed to make the automatic pump.
For example, let's look at the cylinder, the most important part of the power unit.
I had seen these people make muskets too, but creating a tube-like shape from metal in this period required tremendous skill and labor.
To make a musket's cylindrical barrel, there was no choice but to hammer an iron plate mercilessly and roll it into a tube. Then a reamer was inserted to machine the inner hole.
How could you make an accurate, uniform cylinder with such a crude method? Naturally, you couldn't. It was a moment that made one understand why pre-modern weapons could not be standardized.
Making the cylinder tube also required the same process, being the same shape. Originally.
"Uh... w-what is this?"
"Steel pipes, of course."
"..."
That is, if steel pipes made with 21st-century technology were not "consumables."
So, all it meant was that if you blocked one end of the steel pipe and wrapped thick iron around it to reinforce its strength, a cylinder was completed in a snap!
And that, made of steel produced with 21st-century steelmaking technology!
To machine the inside a bit more precisely and smooth the exterior...
"First, just connect power to this grinder! Please wait a moment!"
Whiiiiiir!
Yes. This is it.
Smoothing the pipe interior and making precisely interlocking parts would have been impossible without a lathe that transmits power via the grinder.
Anyway, once the well-machined steel pipe and piston were fitted together, the cylinder was complete.
Holes were drilled into the thus-completed cylinder with a (21st-century) drill.
With the most important cylinder part of the power unit complete, next they made the crank, boiler, and valve chamber. The method was simple.
"Excuse me, Mr. Nemo? I've forgotten the exact structure of the crank..."
"The book is here. I'll copy it and post it on the wall now, so don't forget."
"T-thank you!"
Using the (21st-century) biographies of great figures at home, they mapped out the structure of the entire power unit.
"Where'd you put the cylinder! We need to assemble it!"
"Bring the pipe for the valve chamber over here!"
They needed to create a space for gas to move in and out of the cylinder, so they made a valve chamber from another pipe and attached it to match the hole made in the cylinder earlier.
Next, the valve rod connected to the valve chamber and the piston rod connected to the piston are linked to the crank. That converts the piston’s reciprocating motion inside the cylinder into rotary motion.
And once the pump connected to the crankshaft keeps drawing water like that, it can pump water without relying on human or animal power.
···Who would have thought that living alone, with this house having turned into something like the family storage room, would pay off like this? Those old books that no one had opened since I was a child, left only to gather dust, are treasures now.
In particular, the various diagrams from biographies of great figures and educational comics I read as a kid—scenes like, “Ho ho! Are you curious about the structure of an external combustion engine? Ah, Dr. Know-It-All!”—showed me the light.
And that wasn’t all.
“Um, by any chance, did you bring ‘that’?”
“Of course. My Porter is loaded full of it.”
“As expected! Let’s move it right now!”
‘That.’
The lubricant I had stockpiled in abundance—from the 21st century.
Chiiiiik! Chik!
With this alone, the creaking sounds and friction heat disappear! Efficiency improves several times over!
When I brought the lubricant, the craftsmen carried it off by the armful and sprayed it all over the joints of the automatic pumps they were each repairing and inspecting.
I looked up at the sight··· and felt it anew.
Wow.
The resource cheat really is insane.