Hmm… what was it I promised to give Raleigh?
Let’s see, there were the vitamins, the watch, and the map. These were for the voyage itself.
The vitamins were essential. In this era, sailors died in droves from a mysterious disease, the true nature of which—scurvy, from a lack of Vitamin C—wouldn’t be discovered for centuries. The watch and the map were just as critical. The world would have to wait until the 18th century for John Harrison to develop a clock that could keep accurate time at sea.¹ Before that, there were no timepieces that worked reliably enough on the ocean.
But this wristwatch changed everything. Knowing the time on a ship meant you could determine your longitude, and knowing your longitude meant you could determine your position at sea. It was a privilege no sailor in this era possessed. That was why Sir Raleigh’s eyes had nearly popped out of his head. And a map made with 21st-century technology? That goes without saying.
The protective suit, mask, streptomycin, and bleach, however, served a slightly different purpose. I had been collecting these for a while. Ever since I first discovered Eleanor and the thirty-odd survivors of the Roanoke colony. That was when I started to read my game’s catalog in earnest. I didn’t have any grand plan; it was more a vague feeling that they’d come in handy if I stockpiled them.
There’s no need to explain why I would hoard protective suits and masks, items that are mandatory when entering hazardous areas. As for the streptomycin sulfate, it could save the life of a plague patient if injected within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms. It was originally a medical-grade antibiotic that Mr. Jeong from the wholesale market had pushed on me to mix with my gibberellin (I’m still not sure if that was legal), so it was perfectly usable on humans. Why he gave it to me, when growers usually use Buramycin for grapes, is still a mystery.
The bleach… well, that’s for cleaning. And as a bonus, it can also kill the rodents that carry the plague.
—‘In 1592, a large-scale outbreak of the Black Death in and around London kills over 15,000 people, more than 10% of the city’s population. The damage is primarily concentrated in the unsanitary slums…’
Having seen that historical event described, I thought it was only right to stockpile supplies, and now, my foresight was paying off. It was a relief. I had been reluctant to recommend a trip to London to Walter Raleigh, since it was essentially sending him to his death, but now he was volunteering to go on his own…
“Sir Raleigh? Are you sure you’re going to London?”
“…W-Well, yes, I am. If I don’t go because I’m afraid of the plague, how much longer must I postpone it? Two years? Three? I cannot be absent from England for that long.”
When he put it that way, it made it easier to entrust him with the task.
“Then… do you know how to use a mask?”
“Pardon? Don’t you just wear it on your face? Of course I know how to use a trifle like that…”
Flap.
“…That’s a mask?”
“Wash or discard it after a single use. You must distinguish between the front and back when you wear it. Tell the sailors as much.”
“Uh… yes. In that case…”
“Next is the protective suit. It may look ridiculous, so it would be best to use it when you come into contact with plague patients or in similar situations.”
“Pardon? Would I ever have reason to come into such close contact with a plague patient?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“…”
Raleigh’s expression flickered with surprise before settling. I demonstrated putting on and taking off the suit, explaining various precautions. After that… uh…
“It seems learning how to use a syringe isn’t something one can master in an instant.”
“A sy…ringe? Do you mean that instrument Miss Lawrence uses?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“It is the same instrument she uses on her patients.”
“…”
“…”
The hint of a smile that had been playing on Raleigh’s lips faded slightly. He seemed to have caught on. And I noticed that he had noticed.
That’s right. While you’re at it, why don’t you try to solve London’s plague problem?
Helping dying people while also gaining the Queen’s favor—isn’t that a pretty good deal? Uh… then again, he’d have to survive a life-threatening ordeal, so maybe not?
With nearly 10,000 witnesses, my hopes of hiding my identity were already ruined, so I figured there was no need to hold back from exerting influence in England… though I wouldn’t force him, of course.
“N-No, that… surely you don’t mean…”
While Walter Raleigh was stammering, I turned my head and spoke. “First, I suppose I should go see Miss Lawrence. I need to confirm if she will even accompany you.”
“Ah… yes. Of course.”
Walter Raleigh’s expression grew increasingly strange, but I paid it little mind. After all, he was the one who said he would go. Praising his courage for willingly walking into a London teeming with plague-infested rats, I moved on.
Eventually, I led Raleigh to the ‘clinic,’ where Margaret was in the middle of treating patients with Eleanor, who had come to volunteer. It was closer to an elementary school nurse’s office than a hospital, but even so, it was among the finest medical establishments of this era.
“Here… lift your arm straight up. Tell me if it hurts.”
“Aaaah… AAAAAACK! It hurts! It hurts!”
“Oh, dear. That must hurt a lot.”
…What? I never taught her to speak like that. Does the medical profession cause some kind of convergent evolution in speech patterns?
I waited until they had seen the last patient, and as soon as the clinic was empty, I opened the door.
Creak.
The two of them, who were busy organizing medicines and bandages, turned and greeted me. I had them sit down again, sat Sir Raleigh next to them, and spoke.
“Sir Raleigh has decided to go to London.”
“…What?”
“The Black Death will plague London. The people there will need you, Miss Lawrence.”
“…”
“…”
Uh oh… are they hesitating? That’s not good. I need Margaret.
I tried again, my tone more pleading.
“In this plan, if Sir Raleigh is the foundation, you, Miss Lawrence, are the monument upon it. Your devotion is needed.”
At those words, Raleigh flinched, and Margaret… Margaret hesitated for a moment, then nodded with a slightly dazed expression.
“…I’ll go.”
“Excellent. In that case…”
As I started to rise from my seat, someone grabbed my sleeve. I looked down… and Eleanor was looking up at me, calling out urgently.
“W-Wait a moment!”
“What is it, Eleanor?”
“C-Can I go, too?”
“Hm? Eleanor, you… will you be alright?”
“I may not be as skilled as Margaret, but, uh, I know how to give injections and I’ve memorized most of the medicines here. I think I’ll be fine to go.”
“…”
“…”
I turned my head and looked at Raleigh. His expression had changed somewhat from before. His eyes… they seemed sharper.
“Sir Raleigh? Will that be alright?”
“…Hmph.” Raleigh thought for a moment, then spoke. “Eleanor? You heard Sir Nemo’s words as well, did you not?”
“…Yes.”
Raleigh exchanged a look with Eleanor, then glanced at me and said, “She says she will go. How could I possibly stop her?”
“…”
There was a strange atmosphere in the room. Hmm… my plan was to save the citizens of London while sending Raleigh off. It won’t work if Raleigh is reluctant. Come to think of it, the catalog’s description of Raleigh was… uh…
—‘The most loathsome man in the Elizabethan court.’
…That was the actual text. I spoke to this most loathsome man. I asked carefully, “…Sir Raleigh?”
“Yes.”
“Is something the matter?”
To which Sir Raleigh asked back, his voice trembling, “D-Did you ask… if something is the matter?”
***
Sir Walter Raleigh was a devout Protestant. You might ask how the Queen’s favorite paramour could be devout, but everyone has their dualities. In his youth, he had even participated in the French Wars of Religion to help the French Protestants fight against the Catholics. And even in his old age, he would passionately attend church meetings and grace them with his presence.
He was an incredibly obnoxious, arrogant, debauched, and greedy man who would have found it difficult to find one of the Ten Commandments he hadn’t broken, but he still considered himself a servant of the Lord.
And.
—“…Pardon?”
—“It’s early May now, so when you arrive in London, it will be around August, just when the plague begins to spread. Be careful.”
When he heard this, he wondered what it could mean.
And also.
—“Oh, and there are a few things I need to give you. Take these vitamins. If you give them to the sailors every few days, it will prevent scurvy.”
—“…Scurvy? With just that one pill?”
—“This watch is fixed to Croatoan time. On the ship, use this to check the time and determine your longitude. If I give you a map as well, you should have no problem determining your position.”
A storm of revelations.
Amidst that astonishing display of heavenly power, Walter Raleigh managed to collect himself and survey the items before him. A vitamin… pill? Was this not the same mysterious medicine Sir Nemo fed to the residents of Croatoan Island every few days? It could prevent scurvy?
And this, too, was astonishing. That such a small clock could tick with such precision. Was this not a miracle of the Lord, resting upon his wrist? And the map? He had seen Sir Nemo unfold it slightly once before… and that map had no empty spaces. It was a map that contained the entire world.
And then he was given a great medicine that could cure the Black Death, and clothes and a mask that could prevent it.
He had been chosen.
He had been chosen for the prosperity and glory of this colony, to establish the kingdom of the Lord in America.
He nodded, filled with emotion, and followed Sir Nemo. And then. The angel told him he would go to the side of the sick. He had Margaret, a doctor, and Eleanor, who could act as her assistant, accompany him.
The meaning of it all…
Uh…
—“In this plan, if Sir Raleigh is the foundation, you, Miss Lawrence, are the monument upon it. Your devotion is needed.”
It was clear.
After everything had been said, Sir Raleigh looked up at Nemo for a moment. He was looking down at him with the same serene face as always. He spoke as if he were asking me to do something perfectly natural. So… I had no choice but to answer. That I would do it.
But now, everything was clear.
“…I’m not just going to assemble a ship called the Clipper, am I.”
“That is also correct. As is going to recruit new settlers.”
“But that is not all. No, that is… not even a secondary objective, is it.”
“…”
Sir Nemo nodded without a word. When Raleigh’s gaze begged for a more definitive answer, he finally opened his mouth.
“Yes. That is correct.”
“…Then, may I ask just one thing?”
“Yes.”
“What is your reason for doing this?”
“…”
“I-I am so very curious. Oh, Lord. Did you not just tell us to go and save the plague victims? Did you not just ask us if we could go into the jaws of death?”
“…”
“Are you sending us to our deaths, to treat the plague victims, to, uh, cleanse the most dangerous slums?”
As Raleigh asked, Nemo slowly shook his head. There was no trace of disappointment on his face. Rather, he seemed to feel sorry that he could not go himself.
“If you do not wish to, I am fine with it.”
“…Pardon?”
“If you do not wish to go, Sir Raleigh, I will not force you. I do not wish to send anyone to their death against their will…”
And so, before he could finish his sentence, Raleigh answered.
“I wish it.”
“…Pardon?”
“I wish it. I want this. I-I earnestly desire it.”
Some called him a selfish bastard. And that was precisely correct. Some called him a debauched plaything who frolicked in the Queen’s bed. That, too, was an accurate description of him. It would be correct to say he had sold his soul for power and wealth, and above all, that he was a man whose soul had been sold to lust.
However.
“I-I w-will, I will go…”
As stated before, Raleigh was a devout Protestant.
And an angel commanded him.
Go.
Go, and save the people.
For that is the will of the Father.
And so, Raleigh answered.
So I shall do.
Even if I die a thousand times, so I shall do.
He was an apostle. He could not become like the great and holy figures in the Bible. He would still be debauched and extravagant, but he was an apostle. In spite of it all, he was an apostle. And his teacher and master was telling him to head into the mire of death. He had said He would use him for great things.
He would now obtain eternal glory and authority.
“…I shall go to London.”
I will go, and I will seek Your will.
Raleigh obeyed.
Eleanor Dare would relay this to her father, John White, and John White would relay this to Thomas Hewitt, and thus it shall be written in the Gospel.
In the 1592nd year since the birth of our Lord.
It was the third day of May.