The Road South
The Jews began adapting to Daehan with remarkable speed.
They showed particular enthusiasm for mathematics and science — falling in love with mechanical engineering at the sight of a train, and with electromagnetism at the sight of a generator.
“Marvelous. Taking in the Jews was clearly the right call.”
“Thank you. We will work hard.”
And so, another figure appeared in my entourage — someone who carried a notebook around like a secretary, scribbling things down at every turn.
They were genuinely brilliant, and plenty of work got easier because of it, but I couldn't help feeling a little... surveilled.
“What are you writing so furiously, anyway?”
“We intend to create a book of our own.”
“What book?”
“A scripture.”
Hmm? What about the Temple? Were they planning to start a whole new religion?
“You do realize we have a Temple?”
“Ah! Of course — we are doing this in consultation with the Temple.”
Oh, so it's not a splinter sect? Good. If they'd done it without an agreement, I might've found them folded in half and buried in the ground by next year.
“Mm, fine then. The gathering of Jews scattered across the world is going well too, I take it?”
“Yes. With your help, the work has become far easier.”
Plenty of Jews had also joined the Foreign Ministry. Hoping to gather their brethren suffering across the globe, they had volunteered.
Some joined the Daehan Company instead, since it offered more freedom — clerks, I suppose you'd call them. They boarded the ships and took entire mountains of paperwork off the crews' hands.
Thanks to them, the sailors were overjoyed that all they had to think about was the children. They even started making them learn navigation.
“By the way — I hear you've converted to the Sky Faith?”
The curious part was that they'd abandoned Judaism. When I asked why, they said something like... it had lost its meaning?
“It's only natural. You are here, after all.”
“Your messiah isn't supposed to be me, though.”
“That was symbolic talk. When the real thing stands before us, why would we go searching for a being from a dream?”
How should I put this. It felt like another pack of fanatics had joined the fold. They really were assimilating fast.
Or maybe the work was just too exhausting to leave room for other thoughts?
Either way, I now had a clever secretary, so I was satisfied!
Welcome aboard, friends!
Let's get along and be happy together!
Having settled the matter of Judaism, I crossed back over to the Eastern Continent. Rubbing shoulders with the natives here brought back old memories. I liked it.
“How do you intend to handle support for Europe?”
“Leave them be. Maybe paint me a pretty portrait or something?”
“Ah~ so you've seen it. The blasphemous wretches.”
The remaining Westerners could drop dead for all I cared; I certainly couldn't bring myself to look kindly on them.
Rumors were spreading that we alone were untouched by the plague because we were the ones who unleashed it, and once again I was being treated as a witch or some arch-demon.
From what I could see of the portraits, I now had horns growing from my head, a body twisted a full rotation with a good ten-plus breasts to show for it, and a tail to boot.
“Speaking of which, you're getting on in years yourself — isn't it hard on you?”
“I ride horses, but Haneul-nim, you go mostly on foot. Is that truly all right?”
There was just something about walking barefoot on the earth like this that I loved too much.
“I can't get hurt or fall ill, so it's fine. Worry about yourself.”
“Ah! Of course!”
And off they went, scribbling away again.
Looks like the Sillok of Haneul is being written in place of the Annals of Sejong.
Our destination was the road to meet the Mogollon people, who dwelt at the southernmost edge of this vast plain.
“What kind of people are the Mogollon?”
“The farmers of the plains are no different from us. Cheerful folk.”
“Sounds like you got along well with them.”
Hunter-gatherers tended to clash constantly, but agricultural tribes were generally easy to talk things through with.
Probably the sense of stability and leisure that came with a settled life?
After several days of heading south, we finally entered a native village in the middle of the plain.
Even back in ancient days, when I traveled far and wide, I'd noticed that places with some measure of civilization tended to welcome travelers.
“Is that a welcome crowd?”
“Half of them are probably just come out to gawk — different clothes, different faces.”
“Oh? You're right! We really do look nothing alike!”
Our party included natives, but Daehan people as well — and Haneul-nim and I in particular looked utterly different from everyone.
Haneul-nim never rode, so she was far too pale, and I simply had the features of a Middle Easterner. Nothing matched.
And there, at what you might call a site of cultural exchange, the center of the village had gathered for a barter fair.
“Farming tools this sturdy! Incredible!”
“What is this? It's transparent — so beautiful!”
“Look at this axe! The gleam of it — it could split stone!”
“What is this? What cloth could possibly be this soft!”
The farm tools, the axes above all, and the cotton were wildly popular. For a people of the Stone Age, nothing suited them better.
“We only have pottery to offer...”
And here, too, we received pottery of a style unique to this place.
“It would be wonderful to gather people here and have them make pottery for trade goods, don't you think?”
“Do you think so?”
Yes. Those Western and Middle Eastern friends of ours adored pottery, if I recall.
“They'll need craftsmen here too.”
Once we punched through a village at the head of the plain, word spread on its own to the surrounding settlements, and before long the whole plain had come over to our side.
What they wanted most were steel farm tools and axes — and just like that, we began a peaceful conversation of steel.
“Let's head further south now.”
“Yes. We'll make preparations.”
“The south will require us to be ready for a fight as well.”
The Aztecs would be appearing soon, after all...
Except — by the time we reached central Mexico, there was no sign of the Aztecs. Instead, we ran into a strange nomadic people.
“What the...”
“Why aren't they wearing clothes?”
No matter how hot and humid it was, they weren't wearing a single stitch...
“Perhaps those tattoos covering every inch of them are the clothes...”
“Hah... I cannot comprehend it...”
“I suppose it's simply natural to them, the way they go about exposed like that...”
We'd barely pushed through the jungle when we were greeted by that sight, so my mind was a mess too...
The other side seemed just as flustered, doing nothing but blinking at us.
Did the Aztecs not wear clothes?
“Check whether anyone knows these people.”
“Yes, I'll go ask around.”
We had natives from various tribes with us — some forty people in all — so surely one of them would know.
Haneul-nim returned after speaking with the people.
“They're called the Chichimeca. A nomadic people, and apparently extremely touchy about their territory.”
“Hmm...”
Nomads were always a headache...
“What if we made game animals flourish — gave them plenty to eat? Wouldn't they settle down? Tell them we'll teach them. It's worth a conversation.”
If things went smoothly, I'd plant the final branch here.
Grow grain and potatoes in abundance, and whether the animals numbered in the hundreds of thousands or millions made no difference.
“Then I will send someone.”
As Haneul-nim chatted away with the others, one young man kept glancing sidelong at Haneul-nim.
Then he heaved a deep sigh and walked out across the open ground toward the nomads facing us.
Completely bare, wearing nothing at all, just like them. No wonder he'd sighed.
“Aigoo... if anyone asks, tell them I was somewhere else looking the other way.”
“I will relay that faithfully, Haneul-nim.”
Was negotiating in the nude part of their culture?
“But why naked, of all things?”
“Apparently it signifies that we intend no threat — they leave behind anything that could serve as a weapon.”
Wait, but those people over there are strolling up with literally nothing on, so why did we have to show up armed and menacing?
Was this region just like that? The Aztecs should be around here somewhere too...
The atmosphere was tense, but no actual attack came? If a fight had broken out, those fellows would all be dead by now, though.
“Tell them to stop talking nonsense.”
“They claim you can't raise feed animals in one place. They do practice some farming themselves, apparently.”
“Then tell them we'll demonstrate, and they can watch.”
“Yes, Haneul-nim.”
We handed iron tools to the passing nomads, explained the situation, and crossed the mountains down to the eastern coast.
They lived on the highlands, it turned out? Which was how we secured their consent.
And there, with the final branch, we founded a city.
We named it Ara — meaning "the sea." The ocean visible to the east was a lovely sight.
We began laying out the city, throwing up palisades among ourselves, while from the north, the railroad and forts came creeping down toward us.
Over the past eight years, the population had been steadily replenished, and Ara had now grown to a size that could honestly be called a city.
But was it simply the passage of time? Or were the trees and grasses around here growing so lush that the land had grown tempting?
The neighboring tribes — with whom we'd reached our own understandings and lived in peace — had begun threatening us.
“So many raids...”
“Many of them refuse all dialogue.”
They had plenty of stone axes; we wore plate armor, so we took no serious losses. But with constant ambushes from the brush, we had no choice but to patrol in armor, however heavy.
“Those who attack us get no mercy...”
I love peace, true — but I don't extend charity to those who've done nothing to earn it.
“Have you checked how far the railroad has come down?”
“They say it's reached the one-third point.”
The continent was simply too vast. Even with two steel mills churning out rail, the pace fell short of hopes.
There was so much forest, too — we'd just have to make allowances.
“Tell them not to rush. Slow and steady. This is a road that must serve for ages.”
“Yes, Haneul-nim.”
Shoddy construction was unacceptable. Rebuilding something already built was a truly miserable task.
Thud.
“Another raid, Haneul-nim!”
“Again? Where this time?”
“Here!”
“What?”
Had these people completely lost their minds? Here? A wooden palisade, sure — but this place was practically a fortress now?
“Let's go take a look!”
Stepping outside, I climbed the watchtower attached to the palisade, and there between the trees, the primitives began to come into view.
What on earth had happened to the clothes we gave them, that they still went around like that?
“They're just standing there. What is this?”
“There are so many of them — surely it's a raid?”
“Probably, but...”
What was going on? If they wanted to talk, shouldn't there at least be an envoy?
“No attack yet?”
“No. That's why we're holding fire and observing.”
“Good work.”
Hmm? But this was irritating? There — glinting at their belts. Where had I seen that shine before? Our steel axes, weren't they? And they dared bring them here?
Go on, try your tricks. I'll grind you all into flour.
Crack-crack-crack. BOOM.
“What was that? Trees falling?”
“Something's happening inside the forest, apparently.”
“Can they build siege weapons?”
“I doubt it. Their bows are quite primitive, aren't they?”
Right! Siege engines required decent woodworking and a measure of engineering know-how!
Still, a wooden palisade made me a little uneasy. If a catapult showed up, that'd be a real headache.
“Why did they come in broad daylight, though?”
“Normally they're known to snatch people at night?”
These people waged war to take captives — for tribute or human sacrifice.
But they'd clashed with us over tribute several times before, so they knew we were stronger. Then why come all the way to our city? I couldn't get a read on what they were after at all.
“Oh! Something's coming out of the forest!”
Someone spotted movement among the trees and shouted.
Crack-crack-crack. BOOM.
“That's the sound of trees going down, all right.”
“There's axe-work mixed in — it sounds like they're cutting a road.”
“What could they be hauling that requires all this?”
If it were us, we'd skip the road-cutting entirely and settle the trees with explosives...
Honestly, days and months crawled by. The felled trees kept coming closer, but with no telling when they'd actually arrive, I worried whether they'd even make it by nightfall.
“Just how enormous is this thing, that they've been chopping trees all day long? And isn't it odd they haven't stopped to eat?”
“Hm... could they have some simple preserved rations?”
They must have eaten something, right? Cannibalism? No, surely not? It exists among some tribes, yes — but as ritual or ceremony rather than sustenance, from what I gathered. I couldn't make heads or tails of it.
“The sun's about to set! Somebody get out there!”
I just had to shout something, out of sheer frustration.