How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony-Chapter 31: Conversation on a Ship

"...Do you understand?"

It began with Sir Raleigh's statement.

"This is a fruit that the barbarians consider most precious, which my trusted explorer John White brought back after pleading with the noble 'local collaborator.' I believe it might be the great king or emperor of the region."

There is a great king or emperor in America.

"Our colonists, together with a powerful local collaborator, defeated the Spanish fleet. They've captured a galleon and are using it to defend the place."

A monarch powerful enough to defeat Spain.

Whenever Sir Raleigh introduced the treasures he had obtained, he inadvertently mentioned that 'local collaborator.'

He was probably repeating exactly what he had heard from his explorers.

That is:

All the gifts he presented to the Queen came from that powerful 'local collaborator.'

Raleigh's collaborator commanded craftsmen who cut jewels more precisely than European artisans, possessed military power capable of defeating Spain, and controlled farms that grow delicious fruits.

This makes everything clear.

"Raleigh's colony comes from his relationship with that local collaborator! If we persuade him away from Raleigh's explorers...!"

The Earl of Essex made a proposal to Walsingham, his father-in-law and someone who disliked Raleigh as much as he did.

"And if the colonial enterprise goes awry?"

The Queen's spymaster Walsingham rejected it instantly.

"Don't talk nonsense. That colony is a good stopover for attacking Spanish colonies. Plus, it has vast resources."

"But... if things continue like this, Walter Raleigh will...?"

"Raleigh, Raleigh. Are you afraid he'll monopolize Her Majesty the Queen's favor? You're younger than him, aren't you? Use that charm."

"..."

"If that's all you have to say, I'll be going."

Evidence 1: Walsingham no longer checks Raleigh.

Evidence 2: Walsingham raised me as Raleigh's counterbalance.

Conclusion 1: Walsingham has abandoned me.

Conclusion 2: I am politically finished.

A cornered man can do anything.

So the Earl of Essex began to devise a 'plan.'

A plan to destroy Sir Raleigh's colony.

==

Today, we all gathered again in the church/village hall/meeting place.

When I knelt on both knees and clasped my hands, everyone swallowed hard. Even Hewett's hands, standing in front of me, were trembling.

"Ah, that... haah, I'm nervous."

"It's just practice, isn't it? You can proceed without pressure."

"Then, I'll begin.

Well...

Nemo, the Great Chief of the Croatan, Pamlico, Chesapeake, and other peoples, now swears allegiance under God's blessing to Elizabeth, the lawful Queen of England, France, and Ireland, and Defender of the Faith..."

"Pfft."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Oh! No, I-I'm sorry... it's just so absurd..."

"It's okay, Mrs. Dare. It is absurd."

"What kind of situation is this..."

"Since you've already become a Great Chief, couldn't you think of it as a similar secular position?"

"That's not a position where you have to serve someone above you. But this, um, an angel? Becoming a subject of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth is so strange."

"Ahem. Isn't this the best solution Sir Raleigh could think of? For now, this will help protect Lord Nemo."

Once the atmosphere relaxed, everyone began chattering. Hollow laughter, sighs, and all sorts of criticisms were exchanged.

Of course, from their perspective, this would be absurd.

Daring to treat an angel as a 'barbarian chief' and even placing him as a subject of Elizabeth Tudor, who is acting as the monarch of England 'under God's blessing.'

"Mr. Hewett is right. Everyone, please calm down."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"As long as I walk the earth with a physical body, I must inevitably be a subject of some monarch.

Even Jesus said to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, so the question of whose subject this borrowed body is does not offend the Lord."

"I-I see."

"If Lord Nemo says so..."

But as Hewett suggested, this is more helpful for me.

Anyway, unless I'm truly an angel who is not bound by earthly status, I am ultimately just a somewhat unusual person living on this land. I need a 'status.'

Especially... if I am to survive the incoming storm of colonialism and imperialism.

I need to be connected to England.

For the safety of myself and my people, I can endure holding this 'coronation' as a subject of England. Honestly, I don't even feel any sense of humiliation.

Rather, those who feel humiliated are those like them who serve and follow me. I can persuade them.

Anyway, if I'm not going to visit England directly... how would they know whether I'm immortal or not?

Those who see my face and meet me directly will continue to be limited to dozens or hundreds, just like now.

Concerns about status will only be relevant hundreds of years later when white people flood into this land in earnest, and cameras and all sorts of inventions appear.

Many indigenous people have disappeared from European-recorded history. What happened to Manteo after the Roanoke Colony failed? No one knows.

I could be like that too.

I can hide myself, change my identity and name, and live on. I could even become my own son and inherit this position.

So... until then, I focus on securing my own safety and tightening my influence and position in this American land.

I must survive.

If I don't survive.

If I become an enemy of the Europeans and am hunted or imprisoned, facing a fate worse than death... that's no longer just my concern.

"Yes! Let's proceed according to the script again!"

"Mr. Hewett, please."

"Yes. Then, ahem... Nemo, the Great Chief of the Croatan, Pamlico, Chesapeake, and other peoples, now..."

All of them, all those who believe I am an angel and follow me absolutely, would be in danger.

Unlike me, they die.

So, this kind of coronation is nothing.

I must survive.

That is my purpose and duty.

==

Swoosh!

Sir Raleigh wakes from his light sleep at the sound of waves beating against the salt-soaked timber. He had stayed up all night organizing accounts and handling various miscellaneous tasks.

Across the cabin, Thomas Harriot is engrossed in solving some algebraic problem.

"Don't you get seasick doing that on a ship?"

Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.

"Not at all? Rather, it helps me focus and alleviates my discomfort."

"I can't understand it. Why is that enjoyable?"

"Don't you write poetry, Sir Raleigh? It's similar."

"My friend, that's completely different. A completely different matter. As different as the devil and an angel..."

An angel.

"...What's wrong? Did something suddenly bother you?"

"No, I just remembered proposing a coronation to Lord Nemo."

"You consistently use honorifics for the 'Emperor.'"

"Of course. He is... um... sent by the Lord."

"Hmmmm."

"Enough. What's the point of talking about this with an atheist?"

Silence follows again, and Walter Raleigh, nodding off, sees the vision of that day.

"I did not come to punish you. The Lord has not prepared curses for you, but glory and bliss."

"The Lord will use you greatly."

"Therefore... serve the only One with devotion."

It's unforgettable.

That shock, that overwhelming feeling, that mysteriousness, and even that holiness.

"...Who would have known the Pope's name would really be Clemens?"

"Pardon? What did you say?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"..."

"..."

Angels exist.

Naturally, if angels exist, then the Lord surely resides high in the heavens.

If the Lord exists, then the death and resurrection He has prepared, and heaven and hell, must also exist.

As his thoughts reach that point, he thinks of the friend before him.

His atheist friend.

"...Aren't you afraid?"

"Of what?"

"No, I mean living as an atheist. If there's nothing after death, that might be better. But if you think about eternal flames burning your soul and body..."

"If there's nothing after death, there's nothing to worry about, and if there's eternal hellfire, wouldn't it be the duty of a free person to resist the tyrant who created such a thing?"

"Enough. That's a statement worth a death sentence just for me not reporting it to the authorities after hearing it."

"Haha, then why did you ask in the first place?"

"Well, because I..."

"Yes, Sir Raleigh?"

"..."

Because I saw an angel.

Because I saw the Holy Spirit transcending human language descending in his voice, and the Lord's foreknowledge transcending time descending in his knowledge.

"If... angels actually existed, what would you do?"

"Another question of that sort?"

"No, this is a distinctly different question. If angels existed, that is, imagine that angels exist and you met one directly."

"Hmmm, alright. If you wish to continue this meaningless questioning, I'll gladly follow along."

Thomas Harriot closes the notebook where he was writing problem solutions and turns from his desk to face Sir Raleigh.

"Alright. I've imagined that angels exist and I've met one directly. So what?"

"Then what would you do? Would you change your beliefs? How would you act? Don't you have many things you'd want to ask?"

"Of course I do. If Adam and Eve were the first humans and their children were Cain, Abel, and Seth, these three sons, how did humanity continue to exist? How did Cain have descendants, and how did Seth have offspring?"

"...Perhaps God created other humans. Adam and Eve could have had other children."

"Then humanity is either not solely the descendants of Adam and Eve, or the product of incest. If the former is true, why does original sin continue?"

"...Let's say the latter is correct. Incest might not have been a sin originally."

"Then what is sinful or not changes with time? The Lord's commandments keep changing too?"

"Um... besides asking such useless questions, is there nothing else? Surely you couldn't remain an atheist?"

Even as he spoke, Raleigh remembered Harriot's words, intending to ask Nemo later.

"Well, if I were to see an angel, I'd certainly be shocked. Very shocked indeed."

"Yes. Right? Wouldn't you also experience a conversion and return to the Lord's word?"

"I don't think so."

"...What? Why? If angels exist, so would hell, wouldn't it? Aren't you afraid of hell?"

"What? Hahaha!"

At Raleigh's words, Harriot laughed until his sides hurt, then wiped his tears.

"Even if I met a so-called 'angel,' I would likely remain an atheist."

"..."

Nonsense. He's so confident without even having met one.

How could a human not kneel before such an overwhelming presence? How could a human not repent of their sins in front of it?

Raleigh shook his head with a bitter smile. That was all the response he could show to his old friend.

"Fine... You're stubborn, so you'd remain an atheist. Let's say that's the case. But what about other people?"

"Huh, other people?"

"Yes. Other people would all be overwhelmed by the angel's presence. Everyone would repent of their sins and shed tears."

"Hmm... even someone like the Pope?"

"Yes. Even the proud Antichrist like the Pope."

A truly Protestant statement. To Raleigh's words, this time Harriot responds with a bitter smile of his own.

"My thoughts differ."

"...What? What strange idea are you harboring now?"

"I know clearly how people would react if they saw an angel."

With cynicism, Harriot opens a bottle of liquor from his pocket and takes a sip. With his tongue slightly loosened, Harriot raises one corner of his mouth and says:

"People would see that angel and condemn it as a devil.

And they would definitely try to kill it. No matter what."

==

Scrape. Scrape. Scrape.

In a cramped corner of the cabin, they sharpened knives on whetstones. The ship was constantly rocked by waves, but their hands never wavered, sharpening the blades keenly.

They exchanged meaningful glances, communicating in silence, while always keeping their senses sharp and paying attention to their surroundings.

It was natural given the nature of their profession.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

"Hey! We'll be arriving on land soon, how much longer will it take to pack up?"

The nobleman on the ship with them, Francis Bacon, probably thought of them as merely newly hired servants, but...

They were assassins.

Killers employed by Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex.

They were going to kill the Emperor of the New World.