Chapter 26

“Hah… hah… this setup is a pain in the ass.”

I was exhausted, likely from staying up all night reading the Bible and the game catalog. Trying to continue the work alone now, I had no energy. I briefly sat down on a folding chair I had placed in a corner of the farm, setting the ‘Large Print Korean Revised Version Bible’ (I had bought a new one for my father after his eyesight worsened) next to the Immortal Order catalog and opening it.

And there, I examined every instance of an angel descending or manifesting. The result… was the same as I had concluded yesterday.

Angels protect people and wage a spiritual war against demons. As tools of God, they serve humanity and the Church, and when the Final Judgment comes, they will exterminate the evil of this world. They comfort the fugitive Hagar, announce the conception of Jesus to the Virgin Mary, fly through the heavens, defeat demons, burn 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, and appear as visions before various prophets to show them the future.

Among these, what could I do?

Appear suddenly before a saint? I don’t know who the saints of this era are, but I doubt there are any within a thousand kilometers of here.

Fly through the sky? Impossible, of course. For reference, the Wright brothers wouldn’t be born for another 200 years.

Teleport and defeat demons? Also a no. I can’t even begin to guess how long it will be until teleportation is developed. Is it even possible to develop?

Burn 185,000 people? If I could do that, I wouldn’t be human anymo—… on second thought, since I can instantly regenerate my body, I’m probably not human anyway, so I take that back.

In any case, of the many powers of an angel, there was only one I could imitate.

Prophecy.

…Strictly speaking, theologically, angels cannot prophesy, as it is all shown to them by God, but that wasn’t important. Angels appear in events such as showing future visions to prophets like Daniel and Zechariah, or to John, and interpreting those visions. The Angel of Fátima, who appeared in the 20th century, also showed the future to the witnesses.

That was what was important. The angel is a herald of prophecy. And I… could perform that ‘prophecy.’ With what?

-‘Immortal Order: Origin – Game Appendix and Background Description’

With this. And if I added my own shallow knowledge of world history, I could foresee the future for dozens, even hundreds of years. With this, I could realize the ‘power’ of an angel.

But… this alone was not enough. To all outward appearances, I am an ordinary human. I cannot emit light from my body, I do not have wings, nor am I a wheel with dozens of eyes like the non-humanoid beings that sometimes appear in the Bible.

In other words, I may have the ‘power’ of an angel, but I lack the ‘majesty.’

…I looked around. I was inside a greenhouse, filled with Shine Muscat grapes on the verge of harvest. Grapes are a crop of great symbolic importance in the Bible, as Jesus himself said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener” (John 15:1). And most importantly, this was an enclosed space.

Inside the half-finished greenhouse, I whispered softly.

“Walter… Raleigh…”

And from the speakers placed all around, my voice, amplified several times over, began to be heard.

-“Walter… Raleeeeigh…”

The sound, spreading through the indoor space, created a solemn atmosphere with its insane volume, the overwhelming feeling of coming from all directions, and the unique echo of a closed room.

Yes… so the karaoke machine and speakers I was forced to buy for a village event are finally paying off.

In any case, I had hidden the speakers thoroughly, so there was no risk of Raleigh finding them. Here, I would reveal the ‘majesty’ of an angel.

Of course, it remained to be seen if he would be frightened just by my voice echoing through some speakers. The speakers were just seasoning; the core of it was the power of ‘prophecy.’ As a 16th-century man wavered at the sound of a voice coming from all sides, I would whisper the future to him. It wouldn’t be too difficult to appear as a prophet, at the very least.

If the plan worked… before my power and majesty, Walter Raleigh would kneel, and I would descend upon him. As an angel of the New World.

I set down the Bible.

***

“Land ahoy! Croatoan is in sight!”

At the shout, Walter Raleigh picked up the Bible he had left in the ship’s forecabin. He made the sign of the cross several times, suppressing the laughter that threatened to burst forth.

Wealth and glory. He had lived his entire life in pursuit of wealth and glory. Born into a fallen gentry family, and as the youngest son at that, his life had been one of contempt. From the dirt, with only his own charm and decisiveness, he had entered the core of English politics.

However… he was still nothing more than the Queen’s jester.

Francis Drake had commanded great fleets, achieved all sorts of military honors, and carved his name into history. William Cecil, as the Queen’s Secretary of State, had imposed his will upon the entirety of the nation’s governance; some even whispered that Her Majesty the Queen was but his puppet. Francis Walsingham, as the Queen’s spymaster, caught the whispers from all over Europe and whispered them into the Queen’s ear. With a single gesture from him, the ugly secrets of a certain court were unearthed, and at a glance from him, someone was poisoned in the dark.

But only he… only he… had lived as little more than the Queen’s plaything! And for that, everyone envied and was jealous of him, saying he enjoyed power beyond his station!

The disgusting Earl of Essex… the damned Walsingham… He chewed on the faces of the countless noble lords who had despised, looked down upon, and thought him vulgar, and he muttered. Wealth and honor, wealth and honor…

How much effort had it taken to have ‘Sir’ attached to the name Walter Raleigh?

The time for that effort to be perfected… had come.

“My lord Raleigh? Does something not seem strange?”

“…What is strange, Thomas?”

“No, when I explored this place last time, Croatoan was just a small sand island! The possibility of an Indian Emperor’s court being located inside it is…!”

“Ridiculous. He is an emperor! He is an emperor who moves thousands of his subjects with a single gesture! It would be nothing for a palace to rise like a mirage at his single word!”

“That may be so, but why Croatoan of all places? Why would he appear on a cornered, barren sand island? And is Croatoan not Manteo’s homeland! Manteo has never once said that a great emperor lived near his home…”

“Shhhhhhh!”

Walter Raleigh covered Thomas Harriot’s mouth and said.

“My… friend. Think carefully. Why do you, who are usually so clever, suddenly spout such nonsense? When the time is near to meet an Indian Emperor who lives surrounded by countless gold and jewels?”

“B-but Mr. White’s words do not logically add u—”

“Her Majesty the Queen!” he exclaimed in excitement. “Does Her Majesty the Queen not make tours of her domains? And when she is on tour, does she always stay in the bustling city of London and its prosperous streets? She does not!”

“…”

“A-and, think about it! He is an emperor, but he is also a lamb of the Lord! A lamb! A weak human who, having just encountered the Gospel, trembles before the existence of the great Lord and begs to submit!”

Yes… those damned noble lords are also, in the end, just souls in mortal clay, all equal before the Lord. All are the same before the Lord. Just as a fleeting moment loses all value before eternity, just as the power of all finite things is broken before the infinite.

Raleigh, ‘Sir’ Raleigh, pictured the great emperor in his mind.

“He… must be thirsting for the Gospel. And then he encountered us, the people of the Gospel! Have you imagined his excitement? He has come out to meet us! Waiting for us on the easternmost island of Croatoan!”

“…”

“W-we, we just have to give him this Bible. And say…”

Your long wait is over. Now, eternal bliss awaits you.

“Think about it. The glory that Cortés, that insignificant country bumpkin from Spain, obtained by luckily conquering an empire of cannibals! And what about Pizarro? He kidnapped the Inca emperor and, holding him hostage, obtained all the gold in the world! …But, we are far more civilized people than those Catholic savages, are we not? We will not threaten a great monarch, sent by God, with swords and guns. We will anoint his forehead with holy oil and proclaim to the world that he is a rightful king, acknowledged by God! And all his people will follow him and convert! Following their powerful, wealthy, and glorious emperor! Tens of thousands, no, hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions! Our glory will last forever. We will go to Heaven, and Her Majesty the Queen will feel a sense of pride in having granted me, and no one else, the right to rule Virginia!”

When that time comes… he will no longer be the plaything in the virgin queen’s bed. He will escape that farcical existence and become the great lord who brought the Gospel to the New World.

And then… history will remember him.

“We have arrived. This is Croatoan Island.”

“Excellent, Governor John White! I see the emperor’s coastal fortress over there! Magnificently built! I can feel the dignity of a great monarch!”

“…”

“Is the emperor’s city at the end of that road?”

“…It is.”

“Good! Thomas? You are coming too!”

“I-I… will wait on the ship.”

“…Are you serious? When eternal glory awaits?”

“…”

Tsk. This is the problem with skeptical atheists. Sir Raleigh shook his head and stepped onto the sands of Croatoan. He walked along the road with White, and soon, huts of a form he had never seen before came into view. Clumsy, but two-storied, and all with their walls painted white and their roofs green.

Natives and Englishmen came and went, and seeing their smiling faces, Raleigh’s conviction only grew stronger. Not long after, a green iron fence surrounding a small manor came into view. Someone was waiting in front of the gate.

“…This is His residence.”

“The imperial palace?”

“So to speak… yes, it is.”

As a man who appeared to be a guide walked toward them, John White suddenly turned to Walter Raleigh and said.

“My lord.”

“What is it?”

“Be careful with your words to Him. He is far more noble and powerful than you can imagine.”

“I know th—”

“No. You do not.”

“…”

What is this? The sense of unease he had been feeling from White’s attitude from the beginning now rushed over him. Why was he so devoted to the emperor of the savages? Because he was the savior of his daughter and granddaughter? It could be.

But… did he not speak as if his own lord were that emperor? As if the emperor of this land, and not the Queen and himself, were his true superior. As if the emperor of this land… were far higher than the King of England ‘and the like.’

“…”

“There, Mr. Hewitt? This is Lord Raleigh. Please… guide him.”

“Good day to you, Lord Raleigh. My name is Thomas Hewitt.”

And at Thomas Hewitt’s call, he snapped his head around, shaking off the unease. It was a foolish thought. What if he made a slip of the tongue, as White had said? This moment could not be ruined by anyone. This moment, the moment he would obtain eternal wealth and glory, must be, above all, perfect.

“Yes. Yes. Excellent. The emperor must have made you a steward in his palace, trusting in you.”

“…Pardon?”

“Where is He? I cannot bear to wait to present Him with the Bible!”

“Ah, He, He is in the garden over there. I will open the gate for you…”

“I will open it!”

Creeeeak!

And so, spurning the guidance of Hewitt and White, he strode forward. The emperor who was fluent in English. The emperor who could move thousands with a single gesture. The emperor who possessed so many precious jewels, metals, and fruits. And the great ruler of Virginia who would face him.

He paid no mind to the fact that the form of the manor was a bit strange and unfamiliar. He raised no questions about the transparent walls and ceiling that covered the entire garden. He now saw in every scene only immortal glory and infinite wealth. Everything became proof of his conviction, and his conviction made everything appear as proof.

In the cycle somewhere between that self-conviction and stubbornness, his pace… gradually slowed. He had, at last, arrived before the garden where the emperor was said to be. It had become late at night by the time they arrived by ship. He could not contain his excitement at the fact that the emperor was still waiting for him.

Raleigh pushed open the transparent door and stepped inside. And as politely, yet as boldly as he could, he spoke.

“I have come to see the august face of Your Majesty the Emperor!”

And then.

Silence.

“…”

It was dark all around. Stars were visible through the transparent ceiling, but the moon had waned. He blinked a few times… for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. And what he saw was a narrow path. And a person standing before it. And on either side…

“Grapevines?”

CLICK!

In an instant, the inside of the greenhouse became bright. At the sting of the artificial light, which he had never experienced before, he unconsciously squinted and covered his face with his hands. And slowly… he lowered his hands.

A man stood right before him. A man who looked a little different from what he had expected. He was taller than him, and he had no elaborate tattoos or colorful accessories. He was neither naked nor overdressed; he was just wearing simple white clothes.

The man looked down at Walter Raleigh for a moment, then, as if it were nothing, took out a pair of shears and cut a branch of a grapevine. A fresh bunch of grapes fell from the vine and into a box at his feet. Sir Raleigh, who had been watching the scene in a daze, opened his mouth and spoke in a whisper.

“A-are you His Majesty the Emperor?”

“…”

The man turned his head and smiled faintly. He simply repeated the process of harvesting the grapes like a machine, a smile on his face.

“I heard you are fluent in English… do you perhaps not understand my words?”

The ‘emperor’ turned his head again and, just giving the same enigmatic smile as before, focused on picking the grapes.

“…”

“…”

In the awkward silence, Walter Raleigh could not figure out what he should do. Should he kneel to show his respect? Or should he present the Bible fir—

“Sir Walter Raleigh.”

…Ah. A soft, yet strong voice echoed through the farm. Raleigh, without realizing it, knelt and presented the Bible in his arms to him.

“I-I heard that you thirst for the teachings of the Lord… here, I have brought a Bible, translated into English. Please…”

“Shhhhhhh…”

Thump.

The man stopped Raleigh’s words, placed his hand on the Bible, and slowly pushed it aside.

“…”

“…”

“…”

This was an unexpected situation. This was…

CLICK.

“Sir Walter Raleigh.”

And, in the next moment.

…His voice ‘echoed’.

The emperor was clearly standing before Raleigh. But his voice was heard from the left, and then again from the right. It came from the front, and then from the back. The ‘emperor’s’ voice struck his entire body with an intense force.

And then.

“I already live in the light of the Lord.”

That… was the first sentence Sir Raleigh heard from the ‘emperor’s’ mouth.

He was the son of a fallen gentry family. And yet, for the sake of his life at court, to not be despised by the nobles, he had learned Latin and French. He could also speak Spanish and Portuguese, the languages of explorers. All of them were as familiar to him as his mother tongue.

And.

In all those languages… the ‘emperor’s’ voice was heard. As if he were hearing it not with his ears, but with his mind.

“Why, then, do you present to me the word, confined in letters?”

…Ah. My God.

He is not just ‘fluent’ in English. John White and the others, who were fluent in only one language, had heard it that way. This man… this being… speaks in all the languages of man.

Sir Raleigh, unable to control his trembling hands and feet, asks in a state of infinite awe.

“W-w-who… are you?”

And the ‘emperor,’ no, this overwhelming being whose very humanity was in question, spoke.

“I am Nemo.”

Nemo sum.

Je ne suis personne.

No soy nadie.

*Não sou ninguém.*[1]

…

…

…

I am no one.

Walter Raleigh dropped the Bible and knelt on his other knee.

Before ‘He Who Is No One.’