How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony-Chapter 140: Heretics (1)

The sea was calm, and the autumn air was slightly chilly but clear. The sky felt unusually high and blue, almost like an upside-down ocean.

I gazed up at the blue sky before lowering my eyes toward the horizon. Islands and peninsulas were scattered here and there like stains across the blue sea.

"Walter, exactly how far are we from Virginia?"

"About 200 kilometers left."

"Haaa... indeed."

"What's the matter?"

Finally, Raleigh is using meters instead of those cursed leagues, miles, yards, feet, and inches...!

I might not be an angel, but I am at least a righteous warrior who has defeated the yard-pound system.

I did it!

"...Nothing. It's nothing."

"I see your lips curling up slightly? Haha, you must be happy that we're getting closer to Virginia!"

Thanks to Vicente's comment from beside me, no one particularly wondered why I was smiling to myself. But if God exists, He would know.

About the greatest achievement I've left in this world.

Anyway.

After leaving the Lenape territory, we were circling around the Delmarva Peninsula (a peninsula in the Atlantic that belongs to parts of Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland) meeting various tribes again and returning to Virginia.

The weather was bright and pleasant, hard to believe that a hurricane had blown through this sea not long ago.

The wind wasn't bad either, so we were moving at a decent pace on our journey home.

As we were chatting among ourselves, the ship's captain approached us, looking through a telescope, and reported:

"We'll soon be entering the territory of the Pocomoke tribe. Everyone should prepare gifts and get ready to... huh?"

Suddenly, the captain's body stiffened, and he turned to us like a poorly oiled machine, creaking. Then in a metallic, high-pitched voice, he said to us:

"Uh, th-that, I mean..."

...If we can call this stammering "speech."

I approached the captain, firmly gripped his wrist, and demonstrated deep breathing. Soon, the captain followed my example, took a few deep breaths, calmed down, and looked at me.

"What's the matter?"

I asked.

"Uh, no, th-that, well, you see..."

"..."

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The captain began showing the same reaction as before.

What on earth did he see through that telescope to react like this? Confused, I snatched the telescope from the captain's hand and brought it to my eye.

And I looked in the direction the captain had just been looking. Then...

"...Oh."

"Wh-what is it? What do you see, Nemo?"

"Are you alright? Is something wrong...?"

"...First, arm the crew on the deck."

"Pardon?"

"And then arm everyone on the ship. Arm yourselves too."

After saying that, I handed the telescope to the confused Raleigh. After looking through it, his expression became serious as well.

"Oh... damn. Vicente? Remember where our swords are?"

"What? Well, uh..."

"We need them right now!"

That's right.

What the captain, Raleigh, and I saw was...

A ship.

A European-style ship with unmarked sails, impossible to identify as friend or foe.

They had already docked in the territory of the Pocomoke tribe where we were planning to anchor. Alarmed, we rushed ashore with chainsaws, knives, and pistols.

"For Virginia!"

"F-for Virginia...? Huh?"

"..."

"..."

After confirming they were all familiar faces, we quickly put away our weapons.

"W-why are you coming out from there, Nemo?"

"Waaaaaah! Nemo is safe!"

"..."

"Nemo? Where is Nemo? Where!"

"..."

"..."

"...Everyone, put down your weapons."

They were all our settlers.

"...Everyone, what's going on here?"

"N-Nemo, how did you..."

"We were on our way back from our tour. Now answer me. What were you all doing here?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

...Somehow, the atmosphere feels familiar.

Like our family dog pretending not to know anything after breaking my mother's favorite flowerpot...

Or like elementary school students turning their heads away, pretending they didn't forget to bring their textbooks to class...

Expressions that appear when people have done something wrong were clearly visible.

"Hmmmm."

"Um... Nemo?"

As I stood with my arms crossed waiting, someone hurriedly jumped off the unmarked ship, ran to me, and bowed. It was...

"...Oitotan? Is that you? Are you the leader of this group?"

"Ha, haha, hahahaha... more of a proposer than a leader..."

"..."

"...Yes, that's right."

When does this guy not cause trouble?

"Anyway... well, no one got hurt, so it's fine. What's going on, everyone? Why did you come all the way here?"

It could have been serious, but since nothing major happened, I'll let it slide.

When I spoke with that attitude, Oitotan bowed his head with a relieved expression and said to me:

"T-to explain the situation, I should first explain about 'that thing' that suddenly appeared one day..."

"'That thing'?"

"That thing! The blue, giant wagon..."

Ah.

He was talking about the Porter.

And so Oitotan's story began with the Porter.

==

It was a peaceful day on Croatoan Island.

Eleanor was in a good mood. Today, her Excel work was going much better than usual, Virginia hadn't been picky about food, and most of the patients who came to the hospital had only minor ailments.

Having finished her daily routine, she was humming a tune while heading to a space permitted only to her and a few others at Nemo's farm—the logistics warehouse.

Eleanor planned to transfer the information of new settlers she had organized and update the records of those newly born or deceased on the computer there.

The surroundings were bright thanks to the special lighting Kin Issei had left on.

Since electricity was unlimited and there were no electricity bills, Kin Issei's idea to use it freely was extending Eleanor's working hours into the night.

So...

THUD!

Until midnight.

"Ack! Wh-what was that!"

Eleanor ran anxiously toward the direction of the loud noise. But there was no one, nothing there.

Of course, at this hour, no one would dare cause a disturbance in this sacred place, but...

Then what was that loud noise just now?

People were already rushing over with pitchforks and muskets, apparently having heard the sound too.

Before they arrived, Eleanor thoroughly searched the surroundings. Perhaps a Spanish spy or something could be hiding in a place like this...

"..."

And then she saw it.

"Wh-what...? Why is this here?"

A blue vehicle, with 5-6 passenger seats and a spacious cargo area.

The Porter that Nemo should be driving up north was stuck in a pit, almost like someone about to be buried alive.

People began to stir at the ominous sight.

Most Croatoan residents had been around Nemo for over a decade. They knew well under what circumstances his possessions returned.

When he could no longer retrieve them.

Or when they were too damaged to use or recover.

Everyone looked at each other with dismay, unable to hide their expressions.

Ominous thoughts lingered in everyone's minds. That strong steel body of the vehicle was crushed, torn, and terribly damaged to the point it couldn't move?

Then... what about those inside?

What about Nemo?

"..."

"..."

Everyone was silent. And without holding a separate meeting, they easily agreed that this news must not leak outside the island.

"Eleanor? Are you okay? You're so pale!"

"I'm f-fine. Let's get to work first."

"Are you feeling unwell?"

"..."

However.

"Why the long face?"

"...It's nothing."

"You seem troubled."

"N-nothing, I said..."

People outside the island weren't fools either.

They might not know exactly what the Croatoan residents were hiding, but they could tell they were hiding something.

"Well, the truth is..."