Chapter 4

Clatter, clatter, clatter.

Thud.

Hoo… Hauling food and medical supplies for thirty people was beyond the limits of my physical strength. I had only managed to get here by dragging a carrier and a handcart behind me.

“…Ah, you’re all awake? How is everyone feeling?”

“…”

“…”

What’s this?

Why is no one reacting?

Is it because I’m so unfamiliar?

Or are they being racist because I’m not white?

I see. No wonder the descendants of these people ended up doing Brexit.

Vicious English folk. To think this is how they repay the person who saved their lives. It’s true what they say: no good deed goes unpunished.¹

As my expression hardened slightly, the atmosphere suddenly turned uncomfortably cold.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Seriously, what is it?

The racists exchanged glances among themselves. After a flurry of hand signals and meaningful looks, one person stepped forward.

She seemed to be the leader of the group, but… huh? She was a young woman, around my age. Strange. There were many people here who looked older than her. Why her? Was she nobility?

As I stared at her, bewildered, she suddenly bowed deeply at the waist and began to greet me…

“Th-th-th, th-thank…”

“…”

…Was that a greeting?

“Th-th-th, thank you…”

“Please, calm yourself.”

“…Yes.”

“Take a deep breath.”

“Hoo. Haa. Hoo. Haa.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…Is there, is there anything else you would command of us?”

“…”

Is she nervous?

I suppose it’s natural to be tense when you encounter a strange man carrying a sword in an unfamiliar land, especially when your group includes two children and an injured person. Add to that the fact that I’m dressed like some kind of alien.

I held up a hand to reassure the woman before me.

“Please, relax. I have no intention of harming any of you. I simply saw that you were starving and brought a little food.”

“…”

“I thought it wouldn’t be wise for you to eat your usual food hastily in your condition, so I brought ‘these’ for now.”

I handed a bundle of ready-to-drink meal replacements, the kind meant for patients, to the woman.

“…Oh? Ah. Yes.”

I thought she might finally relax, but that wasn’t the case. If anything, the focus in people’s eyes just seemed to dissolve.

“Like this, you pull the ring on the top to open it, and then you can drink the contents. Understand?”

“…Ah, ah, I understand.”

“For now, have that in place of a meal… And here, I brought some light cloth. It should be good for making a tent.”

“C-cloth?”

“Yes. And here are some bandages and a splint for the person with the injured leg…”

“…”

“And… there. That’s everything. Do you have any questions?”

“Ah, uh, um… thank…”

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Yes…”

“Ah, and just so we’re clear.”

Shing.

I drew my machete.

I had helped them out of pity, but there were thirty of them. Thirty starving strangers in a strange land. They could just as easily become predators, so it was best to be prepared.

“…We would prefer if you did not follow ‘Us.’ ‘We’ have Our own circumstances.”

“…”

“…”

“Farewell.”

…Did that work?

Seeing them all frozen in place, I think it did. Good. I’d hidden the fact that I was alone and delivered the message that ‘I have military strength,’ so my immediate safety was secured. I’ll just have to help them like this for about three more days…

“I-I am Eleanor! Eleanor Dare!”

“…”

Hmm? A sudden introduction?

Am I supposed to give my name too?

“…It was a pleasure, Eleanor.”

No. That probably isn’t necessary.

I dismissed it as unimportant and turned, acknowledging her parting words. Then I deliberately took a roundabout path to hide the way back to my house.

***

Thump.

‘…What… what was that? That conversation?’

It was hard to even breathe.

When she died and God asked her to name the most frightening and tense moment of her life, she would name the one that had just passed.

“A plague in London! That’s only a few years from now!”

“W-was there ever a time London didn’t have a plague? He might have just guessed…”

“Then what about the Queen Mother of France dying next year?”

They had heard a ‘prophecy.’

“Is that the problem here! He said Governor White might not return until the year ‘90!”

“What… what in the world did the angel foretell?”

In an instant, the area became a chaotic scene of people falling to their knees, making the sign of the cross, and praying.

The noise was overwhelming, but honestly, Eleanor didn’t care one bit about a plague in London or when a war in France might end.

For Eleanor, only one piece of news mattered.

It was currently 1588.

-“In 1588, after the Spanish Armada is defeated by England, John White, who was unable to sail during the war, finally returns to Roanoke in 1590…”

Her father, whom she had expected to return around this time… wouldn’t be back for another two years? Because of a war with Spain?

Eleanor wanted to do nothing but cry, but… when she turned, she saw thirty pairs of eyes fixed on her.

She could not show fear or break down now. If she fell, they all fell.

She forced the trembling corners of her mouth into a smile.

“Ah, it is a relief to know that Father is alive…! Is it not? He said he would surely return! And besides, we have such a friendly benefactor who shares food and even cloth for tents with us!”

Those two things, at least, were positive.

As Eleanor lifted the mood, the panic that had been gripping the group slowly subsided, and reason began to return as they started to talk amongst themselves.

“Looking at him, he didn’t seem much like an angel, did he?”

“But he didn’t seem like one of the local savages either…”

“He spoke English better than any of the other savages we’ve lived with, did he not?”

It was true. For an angel, the mysterious man’s actions had been all too ‘human.’ The way he worried about them, gauged their reactions, and hauled the supplies over one by one did not seem like the work of a transcendent being. However…

“Did you hear him?”

The voices of the crowd naturally quieted. As many in the group were from the poorer classes, when a ‘high-born’ person spoke, all eyes naturally turned to him. The lawyer with the injured ankle, ‘Master’ Thomas Hewitt, spoke to Eleanor Dare.

“He referred to himself as ‘We.’ Like a king.”

He had. At that moment, Eleanor had been too afraid to even dare speak to the being before her.

“His very frame was different from the savages of this region. He stood about six feet tall, and his face was fair, as if unused to hard labor.”

“Ah, that’s right, Mr. Hewitt! I’ve heard that the Mongols and the Chinese look like that…”

“Perhaps he is a very, very noble person from the far East, Mrs. Dare. Why would such a person be here alone…?”

“An explorer, perhaps? Or maybe he was exiled…”

“Just a moment.”

Someone cut in. Eleanor turned to see William Brown, the goldsmith. He had just received one of the drinks from the being who might be an Eastern prince, and his eyes were wide as he stared at it, his hands trembling.

“What is it, Mr. Brown?” Eleanor asked, a strange sense of anxiety creeping over her.

He replied, “This… this drink container. We must not throw it away. No, everyone, gather them in one place!”

“Why so suddenly? It is just a tin can…”

“This is not tin. Why would tin not rust when holding a liquid?”

“…?”

It was lighter than iron. As strong as iron. And it did not rust.

“Then what in God’s name is this?”

“…!”

• A friendly savage (x).
• An unknown being, possibly a prince from the East (o).
• An angel (…???)

Eleanor did not sleep a wink that night.

***

The next day, I prepared to visit the English folk again. I grabbed my weapons, medicine, bandages, and meal replacements, and I was ready.

I packed thirty cans of meal replacements from the fridge into a box and opened the cupboard to get painkillers and bandages for the injured…

“Painkillers, painkillers… huh?”

Why is the box full? I’m sure I gave some to them yesterday.

…Did I miscount? I just stuffed what I needed into my backpack.

Anyway, when I returned to the English colonists, they all looked gaunt and hollow-eyed for some reason. What were these people doing all night? I even brought them food, and they didn’t even rest?

When I offered the box of meal replacements, Eleanor stepped forward to receive it just like yesterday, bowing her head.

“Th-thank you…”

“All of you should stay here for the time being. There are injured among you, and it could be dangerous if you try to move now.”

“Sir… here…”

“What is it, Mrs. Dare?”

With a trembling hand, Eleanor offered me a sack.

“…We thought on it through the night, and it does not seem right for us to keep such things…”

“…”

It was can trash.

“W-we have nowhere to dispose of it, so it seems right to return it to you…”

I was stunned.

I was stunned by their character.

“Thank you… for saving us…”

‘Thanks for saving us, but you can clean up your own damn trash.’

As expected of the subjects of a pirate nation, they didn’t have a shred of conscience left.

“…I understand.”

I gathered the empty cans wrapped in a cloth and let out a sigh. Fine. If I hold onto these, maybe there’ll be a time to recycle them someday.

Just like yesterday, I issued some appropriate threats and warnings and took a winding path back home. I’d made sure to erase my footprints and other tracks, so they wouldn’t be able to find their way here.

…Is this really my life now?

I couldn’t believe I was on my second day of sweating and toiling to feed a bunch of racist English folk. It was pathetic.

Still, unlike them, I was a ‘civilized’ person. I couldn’t just let people die. Bear the Yellow Man’s Burden[1], Kim Lee-sang…!

Okay, enough with the nonsense.

As I walked toward my front door, I glanced at the farm. The grapes were already nearing harvest time. I worried about what I was going to do with all those grapes by myself, and what I would even use them for after harvesting them.

…So many worries.

As soon as I got home, I collapsed onto my bed, exhausted, and began to devour the catalog for Immortal Order: Origin. The name Eleanor Dare was… yep, it was here.

“Daughter of John White, gave birth to Virginia Dare, the first English person born in the New World… Ah, so the baby she was holding really was her daughter? She looks so young, but she already has a child?”

Well, it is the 16th century. It’s not that strange.

While resting my weary body, I glared at the promotional text on the back of the catalog, which now seemed incredibly suspicious.

-‘First full Korean localization in the series!’

…Right. That must be why I can communicate perfectly well with 16th-century English people. If they had transported me here, farm and all, without giving me a translation cheat, I would have made sure to alter history so that Hwangsuk Soft would never even be founded.

-‘Immortal, will you become a pioneer of the New World under a blessing of infinity? Or will you become a slave to fate?’

Even a perfectly ordinary phrase like ‘Korean localization’ now held a sinister meaning. Did this line also have some deeper significance?

Why do they keep calling me an Immortal?

And what’s this ‘blessing of infinity’?

…Whatever. As if the bastards who threw me back in time to just before the Imjin War[[Imjin War (임진왜란): A major historical event (the Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592–1598). Lee-sang mentions this to contextualize the time period he’s been thrown into.]] would give me a friendly explanation.

As I painstakingly pored over the catalog, midnight passed and the date changed. My morning-person routine was completely wrecked from hauling things around all day. I couldn’t even close my eyes, so I sighed, got up, and washed my face.

“…Right. I should get tomorrow’s supplies ready.”

I immediately took thirty cans of meal replacements from the fridge, put them in a bag, and opened the cupboard to get new bandages and medicine. I always keep a stock of first-aid supplies, so there should be plenty…

…Huh?

“What the… Why is it full again today?”

The bandages were fully stocked. Same with the container of painkillers. It should have been emptier by the amount I’d taken yesterday and today.

Shwaaaaaa.

Oh shoot, I can’t believe I washed my face and didn’t turn off the water… wait…

…Huh?

I’ve been transported to 16th-century North America, a complete wilderness, and clean water is still coming out of the tap?

The bandages and medicine I had taken out and given away have been replenished?

“…”

‘A blessing of infinity.’

I checked the fridge again. The meal replacements had not been restocked. Come to think of it, I had cooked and eaten rice, vegetables, and meat yesterday, but those hadn’t been restocked either.

‘Food doesn’t get replenished?’

It was just a guess, but I was pretty sure. The meal replacements I had given to those people had not been replenished.

Ah, and speaking of yesterday. The batteries in my flashlight had died, so I couldn’t take it with me today. My fingertips began to tremble.

No way. It couldn’t be.

I opened the drawer in the shoe cabinet where I usually kept batteries.

-‘Strong and long-lasting Enerxizer!’

It was full.

“…”

The next day, I used up all the batteries on purpose. I also poured out the gasoline from the warehouse and used it to start a fire. I used, wasted, and threw away all sorts of non-food resources in the house. I even threw the robot vacuum cleaner I rarely used to intentionally break it.

After midnight, everything was restored to its original state.

“…”

A universal language cheat. And, apparently, a resource cheat as well.

Overcome with an indescribable emotion, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror. My chin was covered in shaving cream (infinitely regenerating), as I had been in the middle of shaving.

I took a few deep breaths… and shouted.

“Status Window!”

…

“System! Status!”

…

Silence. If anyone had been around, I would have been mortified.

Argh, why give me all this but not the most important thing?

I sighed and picked up the razor again. As I scraped away the dark stubble, I made a small nick on my philtrum.

“Agh, I always mess up at the worst times.”

I quickly wiped away the blood and put a small bandage on the cut. Whatever, the bandage will just regenerate after midnight anyway.

And with that, I went straight to sleep.

…Okay. It’s ridiculous, but I feel a little relieved now.

At least I can maintain a modern lifestyle, minus the internet.

At least my grape farm won’t fail due to a lack of agricultural water.

…

…

…Still, they could have given me one more cheat. Maybe not a status window, but something like telepathy or SSS-rank swordsmanship?

Hmm… Ah, whatever.

This is more than enough to be grateful for.

 

And so, after putting a bandage on the small cut on his philtrum, Kim Lee-sang fell asleep.

And beneath the bandage, quietly, and so quickly that the sleeping Kim Lee-sang would not notice the change…

The wound healed.

It took less than a few seconds for the cut to disappear without leaving a scar.

From the computer that Kim Lee-sang had left on, a small voice could be heard.

-‘Immortal, will you become a pioneer of the New World? Or will you become a slave to fate?’

-‘Immortal.’

-‘…Immortal.’