You've Got to Fatten Up Your Slaves First
「Clap, clap, clap」
"Is everyone gathered?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Today, everyone had been called together for a major announcement.
"I've come to a realization. The people of Europe have such a desperately hard time making a living. There's nothing left on them to feed on!"
"...Yes?"
Exactly — which means we ought to fatten them up properly first, so there's a nice plump layer to harvest, shouldn't we?
"We're going to gather up farmers in Europe and carry them off somewhere far away!"
"Where to?"
"Australia!"
If we ferried them over on Whale Shark transports, we could take quite a lot of them, couldn't we?
"Where on earth is that?"
"Off the Original Continent — do you happen to remember the big island across the southern sea?"
"Ah! Now I remember where that is!"
Not many natives there, for one thing, and we could just tell them to get along nicely once we arrived, couldn't we?
"Miss? But isn't it terribly far?"
"It really is too far to go straight over from the Original Continent. Even for a ship crossing once through the canal, it's a long haul."
"Yes, it is!"
So we'd stop first at our midway waypoint, Hawaii, and then head south!
"First, we'll build a stopover right in the middle of the Pacific! Then on the way from the canal, we stop at that island before pushing on to Australia — I think that'll work nicely!"
"Is there even an island there?"
There is, isn't there? Hawaii, was it? Apparently the kids just hadn't found it yet.
"Well then! There is! There's an island right in the middle that's perfect for a stop! Find it first!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
And after that, we'd start recruiting people in Europe.
By the time those fools realized how precious their farmers were, their countries would already be in ruins.
"Alright! Come this way, please!"
"The gangway is wide, so take your time coming up."
People dressed in rags too tattered to honestly be called clothing had gathered at the port and were climbing aboard a great black ship.
Developed from the Whale Shark transport line, this vessel — loaded to capacity with passengers — could carry some five thousand people and stay at sea for two full months.
"It's a bit cramped, but we're all traveling together!"
"Even if it's uncomfortable, please make sure to secure a spot where you can lie down."
It would be a long voyage, so a place to lie down was essential. Water would be produced by the engines, so that was no trouble at all — they would only need to eat preserved rations along the way.
"Honey... what kind of ship is this? It's a little frightening..."
"It's like a castle gone afloat... But I'll protect you, so don't be afraid."
"Okay."
The young couple who had boarded clung to each other, glancing about uneasily.
All around them stood countless others who appeared to be in exactly the same straits.
Every one of them in filthy clothes, gaunt and hollow-cheeked from want.
「Kweeeeeeeek」
"Uwah!"
"Gah!"
"Kyaaah!"
When the strange cry rolled across the hold, people let out small screams of their own.
It resembled a duck's quacking, and yet it also sounded like nothing so much as a demon's wailing — and the mood in the cabin sank into gloom in no time.
「Fwoosh」
"Hm? What's that?"
"Why has it gotten brighter?"
"What is that?"
When the sailors lit lamps in the darkened cabin, every eye fixed itself on the wondrous, never-before-seen things.
"Kzzt— ah— ah— kzzt—"
"Huh? Where is that voice coming from?"
"What is it?"
"Sob... don't tell me it's the demon..."
Startled out of their wits, people wept, fell prostrate on the floor in prayer, and began crossing themselves.
And as the voice continued sounding out of thin air, the crowd slid deeper and deeper into panic.
After that brief announcement about the meal and a rundown of the rules to observe on deck, the voice fell silent.
"What was that? Did a person speak?"
"Could it have been a demon?"
"It spoke to us without ever showing itself..."
People simply weren't accustomed to the idea of a voice carried through speakers. Apparently they still believed they were being spirited away by demons.
"But — they said they'd feed us?"
"That's right! Even if we die, let's eat first!"
"Thank goodness. It seems they don't intend to starve us to death, at least."
Remembering that food had been promised, the atmosphere brightened considerably.
People began slipping quietly to their feet and edging out onto the deck.
There, the crew was handing out savory, fragrant potatoes, a barley-and-jerky porridge, and — one to each person — a loaf of bread, familiar to every European hand.
"Good heavens..."
"Wow! A regular feast!"
"Isn't this the sort of thing you only eat on your birthday!"
People were moved to their very cores even by the scraps of jerky floating in the potato porridge.
"There's no mold on the bread! And the soup is thick! *sniff*"
It was, in truth, nothing remarkable. Thick-simmered potato porridge with a little jerky chopped over the top, and a single lump of bread apiece.
And yet people gave thanks for it, savored every mouthful, and dunked their bread into the porridge to soak it through.
"Sob..."
"*sniffle*..."
For reasons they couldn't quite name, emotion kept welling up in them.
Demon or angel, what did it matter? If they could live and eat like this, nothing else mattered.
More and more of them decided that even a demon was better than the Church, which took its taxes in the name of salvation and gave nothing back.
And so lunchtime came to an end.
"I'm honestly full..."
"Yes... I can't remember a single time in my life I've eaten like this."
It existed on a different plane entirely from the watery gruel they had lived on all their days. It was so thick and rich that comparing it to soup felt almost apologetic.
"Where are we going, I wonder?"
"Daehan, maybe? I don't know the details. I heard we're bound for Australia, but where in the world..."
"I have a feeling it will be a good place to live."
"Yes. Let's pull ourselves together and try living again."
"Okay."
And so the couple stood on the deck, watching the sea, hope quietly kindling in their hearts. The weather could not have been kinder — a warm breeze was blowing.
"Let's tidy up quickly — we've got to get ready for dinner!"
"Right! Give me a hand over here!"
Behind the couple, the deck had erupted into cheerful chaos as everyone readied the evening meal.
"What?"
"Honey? I must have misheard."
"Didn't they say dinner?"
"Don't tell me they're feeding us again?"
It was beyond belief. The meal they'd eaten a short while ago was more nourishing and plentiful than anything they'd had before, and they had dared to hope that even one such meal a day would be a blessing.
And now dinner? The couple stared blankly at the crowd preparing food on deck.
"What is happening?"
"The demon is kinder than a noble lord?"
And once they had eaten dinner, and then breakfast, the mood aboard the ship turned on a pin.
"How is this a demon!"
"Our lord is the demon! And the king!"
"Curse the lot of them!"
"I never dreamed food could be this plentiful!"
With three meals a day appearing as if by magic, curiosity got the better of people; they began grabbing sailors and demanding answers — and so the truth came out.
"Yes? Three meals? Well, it's rough cooking at sea, but back home people hardly eat this well anymore."
"Good heavens! What did you say!"
These days, with Daehan so awash in food, potato porridge with a slice of bread was what a street beggar would eat.
Not that there were any beggars left to eat it.
"Once we arrive, you absolutely must try bulgogi with bread. It'll knock you flat."
"What's that?"
"Heh heh. Meat marinated in soy sauce and sugar, then grilled. It's out of this world."
"Gulp..."
He had not the faintest idea what soy sauce or sugar might be, but watching the sailor wear an expression of pure rapture at the mere thought of the taste, his own mouth watered at how delicious it must be.
Setting out from Pyeonghwa, and after a voyage of some twenty days, the people arrived at their first destination: Maya Port.
"Everyone, line up please! We're handing out clothing!"
Now that they had reached the mainland, the distribution of supplies began.
Three full sets for every single person.
"Good heavens... Honey? Is this the famous silk?"
"No, it isn't. I heard earlier — they call it cotton."
"Could it be woven from an angel's feathers? I've never touched anything so soft!"
Right up until then the couple, like most people, had worn coarse hemp cloth, and the softness of the cotton made them briefly wonder if it was the fabled silk they'd only ever heard whispered about.
They had clearly come from some forgotten corner of the countryside where Daehan's goods had never once reached — because cotton wasn't even all that expensive.
"Three whole sets..."
"I heard that since the ship makes its own water, we're to wash and wear them aboard."
The stench that had been tormenting the sailors this whole time would finally fade a little.
"Where in the world does all that water come from?"
"There's water all around us, isn't there? Maybe they just scoop it up?"
"I doubt it. That's seawater — far too salty to drink."
"Hm?"
He'd picked up bits and pieces of this and that wandering around the ship, but he could only curse a memory that seemed to retain nothing.
"Honey! No matter how I think about it, they simply can't be demons!"
"Haha. I feel the same!"
He had not seen his wife smile so brightly since the day they lost their child.
And naturally, a smile spread across his own face as well.
"Tch! Look at the traitors! What's so wonderful, hahaha, hohoho!"
"What's wrong with you...?"
"Selling your souls to the demon, the lot of you!"
"And what business is that of yours!"
"Hmph! Kaaak — ptui!"
Maya Port drew many of the New World's natives, but plenty of Europeans bound for colonial settlement passed through as well.
Even a single nail was cheaper and better bought here than back on the home continent.
And yet, at the sight of the immigrants' procession, those same people cursed and spat.
Even as they hauled off armfuls of Daehan cotton, foodstuffs, and spices.
"Honey, let's go back to the ship..."
"Let's..."
A little hope had kindled in them, but the couple — still carrying the grime of Europe on their souls — sank back into guilt and gloom and returned to their berths.
Then another twenty days at sea. They arrived at an island none of them could name.
"Wow! What island could this be?"
"The weather is absolutely wonderful!"
"It's paradise on earth!"
Arriving in Hawaii, the couple fell utterly in love with the island. If it had been up to them, they could have happily lived out their days right here.
"Is this where we'll live?"
"It seems lovely here too, but the sailors haven't told anyone to disembark."
"A little disappointing."
"There must be somewhere even better."
Behind the couple, the sailors were unloading mountains of cargo to hand over to the islanders.
In exchange for the use of the island's harbor, Daehan regularly brought them the goods they needed.
Because the approach was peaceful, the natives came running down to the shore with open arms whenever a Daehan ship appeared — good trade for everyone, all around.
Here in Hawaii, the people called the Daehan 'Makamaka'. More than mere friends — friends who were family.
「Kweeeeeeeek」
"Goodness! Sounds like we're off again?"
"Heehee. You're still startled by that noise? I think it's rather cute — like a duck quacking?"
"Good grief..."
Well, from a certain angle it did sound like a duck — but to call that thunderous honking cute. The woman was an utter mystery.
「Whoosh! Splash!」
"Oh... the waves are terrifying!"
"They brave the sea even in weather like this?"
The couple had seen every kind of sky in their month and more aboard ship, but today the sea was rougher than any before it.
Even this colossal vessel was swaying beneath their feet.
And there, in their own mother tongue, was the announcement — made, no doubt, so that no one would panic.
"Right, the ship's rocking, so we could fall. Let's sit and wait it out."
"Yes, let's."
They sat together, chatting idly, and before anyone noticed, the ship had steadied and people were one by one sinking into sleep.
「Kururururu」
The hum of the engines, which they had listened to for over a month now, was as gentle as a lullaby.
Another twenty days or so after leaving Hawaii?
Cheongdo — a city on Australia's eastern coast, named for the near-constant sunshine that blessed it through the year.
As if to welcome the European immigrants, today too the sky was unfailingly bright and warmly gentle.
"Honey... I think this is the place..."
"It really is... a beautiful land."
The port spread out below the couple already had its foundations laid — neat, even roads, and houses standing in tidy rows.
And the forests and grasslands visible in the distance were surely the ground they themselves would now have to till and tend.
Before they knew it, the couple's eyes had brimmed over, tears streaming down with hope.
"I think we've come to a good place."
"Yes."
Like the cloudless sky above them, the road ahead seemed certain to overflow with blessing.