Chapter 48
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Translator: volt
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Guest from France (2)
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December 1594 had arrived.
"Once again... four more tribes have come to pledge allegiance."
Whoa, a 100% population growth rate!
The county I used to live in, Goesan-gun in North Chungcheong Province, had a negative growth rate! Now the population under my command outnumbers even the county magistrate's jurisdiction! My authority surpasses that of the Goesan county magistrate!
And the various problems cropping up in the settlements had also increased by 100%!
"My God! Shamans are swarming toward the church and causing a ruckus!"
"That's... not a ruckus. They're offering sacrifices."
"Isn't that the same thing! Manteo, isn't there anything we can do?"
With everyone flooding in without converting first, it was giving Thomas Harriot a real headache—he'd been diligently proselytizing away.
And now, natives who didn't even speak Algonquian dialects were starting to show up in droves, making things even more complicated.
"W-We can't communicate because the angel isn't here!"
"My God... how does she speak so many languages at once...!"
"...Everyone, gather up for now."
With natives speaking languages that didn't mesh well pouring in from all sides, the Europeans were the ones having issues.
The locals had picked up five or six languages among themselves for trade, but the Europeans had barely mastered Algonquian—only to suddenly face bizarre new tongues.
Thank goodness basic English had spread as a trade language among the nearby natives. Otherwise, my workload would've multiplied several times over.
...Still, that didn't change the fact that I'd been saddled with unwanted interpreting duties out of nowhere.
The workload was insane! Christmas was creeping up, and it looked like I wouldn't have time to prepare anything this year!
"I'm back! If you tell me to set sail again, I absolutely will not—"
"Walter, thanks for returning. Take this tablet first."
"...Pardon?"
"Let's circle the western inland areas together first and check on the newly settled tribes. I've got stacks of Excel files piling up that we need to sort through."
Unfortunately, the moment Walter Raleigh returned from his voyage, I had to put him straight to work. In a place where most Englishmen were illiterate, how precious was someone who could handle Excel files? No way I could let that resource sit idle.
"Huff... huff... I can't even remember how many villages we've done already..."
"...Walter."
"Y-Yes, Nemo! Just give me a moment. This is..."
"...Ride."
"..."
"I... have to pull an all-nighter tonight too."
And so, we rode Damas, shedding tears along the way, as we dashed from place to place.
From Chesapeake Bay further southwest into the inland, leading Forkrein, Damas, and all our equipment.
We had to clear new land over there.
-"This? This stick? Gift. From man named Rolli. Gift."
-"Me... compass? Don't know this thing's name. But I know. Came from south."
-"Rolli...? Man with that name gave it. Great Chief's... gift."
The further south we went, the more fluent the natives' English became.
And the further south, the more specific their stories got.
Especially mentions of the 'Great Chief,' 'Rolli,' and 'Nemo.'
"Nemo... 'Nobody'? What an odd name."
"Shall we head further south from here, then?"
"No. This is Occonahonc territory from here on. It's just a few dozen kilometers from the Virginia Colony. Taking boats any further would mean trespassing on foreign soil."
François Gravé du Pont shook his head in response to Samuel's question.
"So we'll dock the boats here and split up. Me and a couple of explorers will sneak overland—or whatever way we can—to Raleigh's Virginia Colony and scout it. The rest wait on the anchored ships."
François's plan was straightforward.
From here, they'd scour Chesapeake Bay by boat, checking out the aluminum deposits and fur trade spots. Along the way, verify the rumors of this 'Native Emperor' and get to the truth.
If they reached the Virginia Colony, they'd cautiously observe it before slipping away.
But...
"Where's everyone heading?"
"Great Chief's land. We're all starving. And food's there."
"C-Can we come along?"
"...If you can row."
Things sped up several times over.
After striking a deal with what seemed to be a tribal chief, François hopped into the savages' canoes with his men right away. As François bounced with excitement, Samuel asked,
"Captain, do you really think a savage emperor exists? Everyone's chanting 'Great Chief,' and now we see crowds heading that way too."
François just chuckled at his foolish nephew Samuel's words.
No. If anything, it made things even clearer.
"Don't be daft, Samuel. We've seen no traces of advanced civilization, yet the Great Chief's name is everywhere? Doesn't it smell like the English are up to some dirty trick?"
Yeah, that was it.
What had the English boasted? That a great savage empire, as advanced as Europe—or more so in some ways—had allied with them?
Yet aside from a few 'gifts,' there were no signs of any advanced civilization. Not even this close to Virginia Colony.
"The English must've propped up some local chief and been parading him around! And now we're about to catch the proof!"
"...Really? Then why are hundreds heading that way?"
"Don't you get it? They already know we've arrived!"
"..."
As Samuel tilted his head in confusion, François explained.
"They know we're here, so they're desperately rounding up locals to put on a show of this 'great empire.' Trying to hide their inadequacies from Christendom, somehow?"
Am I that scary, England? Walter Raleigh? Ha? Hahaha!
"That's why they're rushing like this! Exactly! Now we've got the English by the tail! If we scout tribes for aluminum and fur trades and build a trading post, France can plant her flag in this America too!"
"But how could they know we arrived so fast? Even from the north, it'd take weeks by sea..."
"Believe the English or me?"
"...You, Captain."
Samuel nodded, convinced again, as François inhaled the salty Chesapeake air and rowed harder. Cutting through the rough currents, the hundreds of people soon...
"Land!"
"We're here!"
...reached their destination.
François looked up to see dozens of European-style cabins lining the shore.
Each had white walls and green gabled roofs—a striking sight.
The crowd marveled at the neat arrangement, and even François couldn't hold back an exclamation this time.
'Looks like the English colony is more successful than expected.'
"Arrived. Here."
A stiff, accented English voice came from beside him. It was the chief who'd guided them. As he said, the canoe hull soon scraped the sandy beach, and people began disembarking one by one.
Rubbing his hands, François set foot on the Chesapeake shore. Now... he'd blend into the crowd naturally, and when this 'emperor' or 'Great Chief' showed up, strike up a conversation.
How long could the myth of a 'Latin- and English-fluent, devout Christian native emperor' hold up? He'd find out.
Soon, François Gravé du Pont would unravel all of England's schemes and gift his king a powerful diplomatic weapon.
As he mingled with the shore crowd, thinking that...
"Hey! Everyone, gather over here!"
A woman's shout rang out. Turning, he saw a woman in her twenties calling people over. His guides from the tribe rushed that way in a herd.
"State your name, age, and family relations here before you go!"
"Over here! Line up this way!"
Other Englishmen, acting as aides, were lining people up around her. Swept along with his tribesmen, the explorers ended up queuing and waiting their turn until they stood before the woman.
"Name... Huh?"
The woman blinked at François and his explorers, puzzled.
To her, François bowed smoothly and opened his mouth.
"Greetings. I am..."
"Huh... Europeans? Why are you here? Oh, did you guide the Occonahoncs all the way? Then everyone head out for lumber duty!"
"...Hm?"
The young woman in front of him cut him off?
"What, just standing there? Move it!"
"...Ahem. Seems there's some misunderstanding."
She was giving orders?
François's brow twitched for a moment.
"Why are you just—"
"Some misunderstanding, it seems."
"...Pardon?"
"And who might you be? The governor's wife? For now, I demand rest and proper treatment."
Only then did the woman register his unfamiliar accent, her eyes widening.
At her reaction, the surrounding Englishmen gathered, shouting, "Mrs. Dare! What's going on?!" "Lady Eleanor!"
The woman called Eleanor tilted her head and said,
"...Not the governor's wife, uh, aren't you one of our settlers?"
"I'm French, and I demand lodging. You don't seem of a status deserving respect, so I'd appreciate someone more appropriate."
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere turned hostile in an instant. But François, already irritated, brushed off the prickly mood.
"What's this? Why's everyone acting up? No proper authority figure besides this woman?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Captain, maybe stay quiet for now."
"Samuel? Why? These English lack manners. Didn't I say I'm a guest from abroad? Instead of this rude woman barking orders in my face, bring someone else..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Why's everyone—? Ha! Is this woman some saint or something? Why the sudden ugly faces..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"St-Stop! I'm an explorer licensed by the King of France! Assaulting me is an insult to the French crown—!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"St-Stop! Stop! I said stop, damn it!"
I really did pull all-nighters for days.
We even nearly flipped Damas on some poorly cleared path midway. After every hardship imaginable, Raleigh and I finally rode back to Chesapeake on Damas.
What kind of ordeal is this...
"Kyaaah! Stop, everyone! Calm down!"
...Hm?
That sounded like Eleanor?
What was all the commotion?
In a town of just over 10,000, any dispute inevitably landed on my plate. With dozens gathering, muttering and yelling and jumping around, of course I had to check it out.
"Walter! Let's go!"
"Right!"
We parked Damas and galloped over with Raleigh; the crowd parted for us. There, we saw Eleanor screaming and collapsing in terror, surrounded by four men beaten to a pulp.
"Wh-What is this...!"
Raleigh exclaimed in shock as others near Eleanor stormed up, fuming, and briefed us.
"Those bastards dared disrespect the Saint! That one called her a rude woman and all..."
"They were yapping about being French or whatever! Figured they were arrogant, so we broke their noses good!"
"Don't worry! Nothing major—they're just out cold!"
...What?
Stunned, I looked down at them. Sure enough, they were sprawled out, trembling and on the verge of passing out.
Heh... hehehe...
I've seen through it all.
Wasn't handing out gifts to nearby savages and herding the close ones not enough deception for you English?
Beat them down first for intimidation, then talk. Such a shallow ploy—I've completely figured it out in my head.
Thinking that, François Gravé du Pont smiled smugly... ow. His lip split open.
Anyway, while he was drained, an attempt to hide the settlement's secrets and regain control... all seen through...
François passed out with a grin on his face.