Chapter 24

“I trust you are well aware, without my having to tell you, that we have been in a drought for several years now?”

No. I had no idea. I just thought the climate around here was a bit arid. Besides, since clean, clear water flows endlessly from my farm like it’s an all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant, I hadn’t paid it any mind.

But I nodded solemnly, as if I had known all along. At this, Chief Opechancanough lowered his posture even further and continued his explanation.

“The farming… was manageable. The drought was not so severe as to ruin the pea harvest, even if it ruined the corn. But it was enough of a drought for the fruits that grow in the wild, and the animals that feed on them, to disappear.”

Native societies already had low agricultural productivity, preventing them from becoming fully agrarian and forcing them to rely on hunting and gathering. In a state with little surplus production, a drought must have been far more devastating.

“As a result… we ran short on food. A strange plague of unknown origin swept through, reducing the number of mouths to feed, but even that was not enough.”

A plague… of unknown origin? I think I might know the origin. I fought the urge to glance over at Roger.

“I see. You must have suffered a great deal.”

“Ugh, uhhh-sob…!”

What? Why is he crying now?

“Yes. It was very difficult. All the members of our tribe worked hard to secure enough food to last until this year at least, but from next year on… it is hopeless. We are at a point where we will face a great disaster unless we forcibly reduce the number of mouths to feed.”

“Dear me.”

“Furthermore, we have taken on extra mouths to feed… making it even more difficult to provide for our people.”

He’s talking about the 70 survivors. What is this? It sounds like he’s making an excuse.

“That must have been very difficult for you. But now we will be taking our seventy countrymen with us, so you can rest a little easier.”

“…Uwaaaaaah!”

…Was that not the answer he wanted? What is the situation here?

“In any case… we were starving, and so it was a choice we were forced to make.”

“What choice did you make…”

“The Powhatan Confederacy is several times stronger and wealthier than we are. So…”

“…So?”

“We threatened them to either give us food or face a war with us.”

“…???”

Uh… wait, I don’t understand. You said they were several times stronger than you. So why did you pick a fight?

As I looked around in confusion, my eyes fell on Roger again. He gave me a meaningful nod.

…Ah, no way.

“It was reckless of you to do so, relying only on the Englishmen and their muskets.”

“Aaaah-sob…!”

Hey, you crazy bastard. You are not the protagonist of an alternate history novel. Did you think the modern Korean army had been dropped into the Joseon Dynasty during the Imjin War or something?

Of course, there were cases like the Tlaxcalans, who succeeded in a similar fashion, destroyed the Aztecs, and lived happily as rulers alongside the white men. But they got lucky. Unfortunately for you, you are not them.

Honestly… I doubt that having a few 16th-century matchlocks would be enough to defeat an army of thousands.

Could it be that this guy just has the mindset of a malicious crypto bro? The kind who, with nothing left to lose, takes out a loan shark loan against his last month’s rent and living expenses and goes all-in on some shitcoin?

“I-it could have worked…! For it to turn out like this…! The spirits have abandoned me…!”

…Seeing as he refuses to take any of the blame, I guess I was right. And a particularly vicious one at that.

In any case, I now understood why he was crying in front of me.

“Then I hope you have learned your lesson. Farewell. May your ancestors protect you.”

But that was no reason for me to play along.

“W-w-wait a moment, please!”

“…What is it?”

“Great Chief, please help us! If this continues, our tribe will be finished by the war!”

“No.”

I refused him flatly. The fight with the Spanish was because we were invaded, and even then, their numbers were only around 200. But this was someone else’s fight, a fight that had nothing to do with us. And… thousands of warriors?

Absolutely not. This wasn’t a battle that could be overturned even if I went on a rampage, mowing them down by the dozens with my excavator. Even if it was a fight we could win, I wouldn’t participate because of the potential casualties. And this one wasn’t even a sure thing. For us, it was an offer with absolutely no reason to accept.

As I stood up from my seat, the others began to rise one by one.

“Eleanor, let’s get out of here quickly. It seems this place will soon become a battlefield.”

“Yes, Sir Nemo. As soon as we gather our countrymen here, we will depart at once!”

“P-please… all of my tribesmen will die…!”

If we join that fight, we’ll die too.

“W-we have already told the Powhatan Confederacy that we are allied with the people from across the sea! If we are destroyed, you are next, Great Chief!”

“Is that true, Roger?”

“…Yes.”

“Hmm… let’s go anyway. Once they are done fighting these people, wouldn’t the Powhatan or whatever they’re called be weakened?”

“I agree.”

“Y-you can’t! If you leave like this!”

We began to make our way through the village, searching for the survivors of the Roanoke colony.

“Please don’t go!”

They had lived here for quite a long time, and since some of them had taken wives and had children, it took some time to persuade them, but it was not enough for them to abandon their homeland.

“Help us! I have heard that the man you call Jesus also said not to abandon the unfortunate!”

However, some of the survivors were flustered by my appearance next to John White, a non-European, and some even expressed their displeasure at the news that I was the leader of the settlement. A few stubbornly resisted, saying they would rather die than be separated from their new families. We left those ones behind.

“Amen! Amen! I too, in fact, revere that man, Jesus! Roger will testify that I have always watched your services from the side!”

And so, with the exception of three or four who voluntarily chose to stay behind, we were able to return to the settlement of Croatoan with sixty-seven survivors.

“Please, if you would only help us, I swear by the spirits and my ancestors that I will give you everything…”

“…You revere Jesus, yet you swear by the spirits?”

“Uh… pardon? Is that not allowed?”

But Opechancanough had followed us.

…How in the world did he get on the ship?

Anyway, and then…

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Three days. For three days, I did my best to ignore him, but Opechancanough continued to wail outside the settlement. His perseverance was astonishing. If it was an attempt at a noise attack, it had failed. The first night, his constant crying made it difficult to sleep, but now I had completely adapted and was able to get a full night’s rest.

Even so, what was annoying was annoying, and what was a problem was a problem. After three straight days of starving and crying, one would think he would have left, but people, feeling sorry for him, kept giving him food like they were feeding pigeons, and so he had held on until now.

But now… a decision had to be made.

With a sigh, I glanced at the people around me. White, Eleanor, and Manteo all nodded. Roger Pratt, who seemed to have sensed something, cautiously spoke up.

“Um… couldn’t we help them, at least in a small way? If we give them guns and teach them how to shoot…”

“And what makes you trust that man?”

“He is not a man who would turn his guns on us.”

…Really? Isn’t he exactly the type of guy to ask his family to co-sign a loan and then lose it all on a bad investment? Isn’t that the same as turning a gun on your own parents? No, this bastard has already leveraged the lives of his tribesmen. From that moment on, there was zero room for sympathy.

…But an ‘angel’ couldn’t say such things.

I replaced the thought with some nice-sounding, profound words.

“It is not the man I cannot trust, but the gun. A gun is, after all, a tool for murder.”

“…Ah!”

“As expected…!”

Right. Looks like they got something out of that. I honestly have no idea what I just said.

Anyway, after refuting his counterargument, the sound of wailing once again drifted in. Hmm… I really couldn’t take it anymore. I shot up from my seat and strode out of the church-slash-meeting hall. The others followed me out, and we saw the figure of Opechancanough, his hands on the ground, weeping.

“…Sir. Do you not think this is a disgraceful sight for others to see? Is it right for a great elder of a tribe to be crying like a child here?”

“B-b-but, my tribe is on the verge of being annihilated! How can you say such a thing so easily?”

Because it’s your fault, you bastard.

…I was about to say that, but I felt Eleanor’s shining gaze on my back and took a deep breath. I barely managed to swallow the curse that had risen to the tip of my tongue.

Okay.

“Go back. You are not asking for food because you are hungry; you are asking us to fight and die in your place. What gives you the right?”

“Th-that is, Great Chief…”

“If you truly seek my protection as Great Chief, then come and settle in our territory, the land we have purchased from the surrounding tribes!”

At my shout, Opechancanough’s eyes shot open, and he stared up at me.

“If you come to our territory, I will give you seeds and land. Just… huh? Just don’t make the absurd request for me to fight your battles for you. Do you understand?”

“Ah… that…”

“Drag him away.”

At my words, the nearby villagers grabbed Opechancanough’s arms and began to drag him away. Opechancanough, still in a daze, was soon dragged all the way to the road.

“…White? You said you were short on manpower to cultivate the wheat. Will this be enough now?”

“I-it will be enough. But what should we do with Chief Opechancanough…”

“Take him to the port and lock him in a cabin.”

“Ah, is that all right?”

“He is a stowaway, is he not? It doesn’t matter. If he comes later to truly request protection, then accept him.”

His village looked like it had about 500 people. I guess that’s how many will come.

Done. I’m not going to worry about it anymore. I just ignored him, went back to my house, and started up a game.

I’m so stressed out. Aaargh, that crazy, all-or-nothing life gambler. I hope he’s learned his lesson now. Please, just live your life properly.

***

“Ch-chief! Are you all right?”

“Chief! What did the people from across the sea say?”

“…”

“…Chief?”

Approximately 400 years before the development of League of Legends, the ancestor of all life-gamblers, Opechancanough, began to furiously turn the gears in his mind.

“…I have learned a lesson.”

“What do you mean by that?”

If you are going to bet your life, you must bet your very soul on a sure thing. Even if you lose four dragons, even if your inhibitors are destroyed, if you can just win one decisive team fight, you can turn everything around…!

“Have you heard the rumors of the wealthiest Great Chief?”

“…Yes, I have heard them.”

“I have heard there is a mysterious person who rules over the Pamlico Sound and this entire area. That he does not show himself at the great gatherings, but that he shares a sweet grape.”

“I… have met him!”

“Pardon?”

“In that case…!”

“He, the Great Chief, spoke to me! He said that if I wanted his protection, I must enter his territory and live as his obedient subject!”

“…”

“…!!”

“Let’s go! To his territory! We will find our way to survive there!”

“Ooooooooh!”

And so, a portion of the Chesapeake tribe, under the leadership of Chief Opechancanough, began a great migration. It was a massive number, nearly 600 people, so it was impossible for the story not to spread to the other tribes.

“Why… are they moving?”

“It’s the Great Chief’s command, they say. He said that if they want to live, they must come and live in his territory.”

“…?!?!”

The startling news sent a stir through everyone. From those who feared the threat of the Powhatan Confederacy, to those who were short on food due to the drought. And so, a procession of 100 people soon became 200, then 300, and then well over 500. The procession, which had been rolling along like a line of dominoes, finally… reached the Chesapeake region.

“G-governor! Immigrants have arrived!”

“Uh… it seems Opechancanough has finally arrived. So, how many came? We’ll give each person some potatoes and wheat, and start teaching them how to use the farming tools…”

“I think about 1,000 people have come. They were talking about a Great Chief or something, what is that?”

“…?!?!?”

It was only then that White began to feel that something had gone terribly wrong.

For the first month, he taught Opechancanough and his tribesmen how to farm potatoes.

The next month, he distributed corn seeds to the rest of the people.

The month after that, he taught the newly arrived people how to help in the other people’s fields.

…This is strange. I don’t know why it’s not ending. The only ones who asked for protection… were Opechancanough’s tribe.

Trembling with bewilderment, White conducted his first census the following month.

One… two… three…

…

…The population had exceeded 3,400.

How did this place become a massive plantation?

…Uh, uh oh oh?

And so, while the Lord of the Chesapeake Bay, appointed by an angel, was reeling in shock, several months flew by.

“A-a ship is coming! A ship is here!”

And at last, on a day in September of 1591.

“Ooh, to think all of this is a farm! The colony is a great success!”

Sir Raleigh… had arrived.

With hundreds of livestock.