How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony-Chapter 15: Galleon

"Ah!"

Vicente González, governor of Spanish Santa Elena, greeted the most refreshing and clear morning of his life with the sound of birdsong.

...Why? Why is the air here so sweet? Why does the wind blowing through the window feel so pleasant?

'...Because this is where I was spiritually reborn.'

Vicente wiped tears of emotion as he tidied his bedding. Considering his status as a prisoner and the settlement's situation, the sleeping accommodations provided in the barn were quite luxurious.

Moreover, his body was miraculously intact even after being rammed by that monster.

He was fortunate.

Anyway, after opening the door and taking in plenty of fresh morning air, he first jogged lightly to wake his body while looking around the farm.

"Haah... good heavens..."

Everything warranted exclamation.

From the cleanly plowed fields, to the well-tended garden despite winter, to the mansion that wasn't huge but had a somehow strange and mysterious atmosphere.

Beautiful. There wasn't anything that wasn't beautiful.

As he jogged several times, traces of the previous battle caught his eye here and there.

For example, that wire mesh.

Surely when that 'beast' rammed him... and then rammed that wire mesh, it was torn and twisted beyond repair.

And today, as if by magic, it's restored and once again separates the farm from the outside, doesn't it?

Next, that yellow 'beast' that was billowing smoke and completely broken...

Wrooooom!

"Lord Nemo! Over here!"

"Waaah! It's really big!"

"..."

It had returned clean and pristine without even bloodstains from the soldiers who died by 'it'.

"...Ah."

As he thought about this, Vicente's face became slightly gloomy. Lawyer Hewet, who happened to be passing by, blinked and casually walked over to him.

"Good morning, Governor González? Your expression is dark. It seems you have something troubling you?"

"Good morning, Mr. Hewet. You've read me well. I have many concerns weighing on my mind."

"What's the matter?"

"Well... my subordinates..."

At that, Mr. Hewet's face also became tinged with sadness.

'Ah, he's blaming himself for his subordinates dying because of him.'

"...Don't blame yourself too much. The past battle was not your fault, Governor. The death of your subordinates is no one's fault."

"...Hm? Ah, of course. Why would that be my fault? Who could have known Lord Nemo would be here."

"...?"

"...?"

Of course, ordinary people might have fallen into despair or suffered from guilt as Mr. Hewet expected. If Vicente had been such a weak person, that is.

However, Vicente González, governor of Santa Elena of the great Spanish Empire that ruled the West Indies, Philippines, and the Lowlands, was not one to suffer over such 'trivial' matters.

"Suffering on earth is momentary, eternity belongs only to the Lord. What does it matter if they died in battle or choked to death eating gazpacho (a cold soup from Andalusia) as long as they go to heaven?"

"...I see."

Above all, he was a devout 16th century Catholic.

"...If I may ask, then why were you sad?"

"Well, ahem, the thing is, first of all, our soldiers fought against Lord Nemo, who is an angel, right?"

"Um... that's right?"

"Then won't they be unable to enter heaven? Those who survived somehow got a chance to repent, but they didn't, so how is that not sad?"

"...Hmm."

Now that he mentions it.

Mr. Hewet thought for a moment before answering Vicente.

"Don't worry. They too can go to heaven."

"...Really?"

"Of course. It was a sin committed in ignorance, wasn't it? How heavy could a sin be that was committed without knowing it was sin? If they were devout, there's a high chance they were saved."

"Aha."

Vicente smiled brightly at those words.

Problem solved!

"Thank you, Mr. Hewet!"

"Not at all, Governor González! Have a good day!"

"Hahaha!"

"Hahaha!"

Vicente starts jogging again. He completely forgot about the already trivial matter of his soldiers.

Mr. Hewet also gave Vicente a warm smile without feeling any particular guilt despite having played a part in killing those soldiers.

What does it matter when whether they'll be saved or not was predetermined anyway?

Right. Above all, Mr. Hewet was a devout 16th century Calvinist.

As these two very devout and somewhat unhinged people were about to start their pleasant day, Vicente begins to turn his thoughts with a clear mind that had washed away all worries.

'Let's see... I need to somehow seize our ships for Lord Nemo.'

Come to think of it, the four ships he brought are still anchored on the western coast of Croatoan Island. There are quite a few sailors on standby too.

If this is handled wrong, strange reports might reach the colonial authorities and put this colony in danger.

Slightly tense and twitching his mustache, Vicente began to think.

For the glory of the great Lord Nemo and this Croatoan colony.

For his 'true faith',

"...Aha!"

And finally, a good idea comes to him.

==

Two galleons and two small pataches (a type of small ship), a total of four ships, were quietly anchored with their anchors down on the western beach of Croatoan Island.

Every time the salty ripples tapped against the sides of the warships equipped with dozens of cannons, the sailors felt unbearable boredom and anxiety.

They wanted to break this silence. Even if it meant firing those cannons until they burst.

Their comrades who went out scouting haven't returned.

If this island was enormously huge, they could understand. But didn't the governor assure them that two days would be enough to search this tiny island?

But now more than six days have passed... they even spent Christmas on the anchored ship.

Then there was only one answer.

"...They're all dead, aren't they?"

Everyone startles at someone's words and makes them shut up.

But no one denies it.

Whether they met hostile Indians or were annihilated by soldiers of a powerful English colony, they must all be dead.

However, leaving without any prior orders before the governor's return would be treason. They should at least show the courtesy of trying to track their whereabouts.

"So... who wants to go?"

"..."

"..."

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Of course, no one wanted to enter this ominous island of death.

As they were all watching each other and glancing nervously at the shadows of the Croatoan forest, that's when it happened.

"Uh... uhh?"

"What's wrong, Josea?"

"Uhh? Th-there...! There!"

At one sailor's cry, everyone runs to the railing to look toward the island.

Then very small, very... very faint human figures were gradually getting closer.

Looking at their proper clothes, they weren't Indians at first glance.

And seeing how they were waving both arms and jumping up and down at the sight of the ship, they didn't seem to be hostile either.

Then...!

"Th-they're back! That's Pedro!"

"Quick, lower the rope ladder!"

"What? Why are there only five of them?"

"Just lower the rope ladder first!"

As the long silence and boredom broke, the sailors excitedly lowered the ladder. Then they waited for the five comrades who came walking through the splashing waves to deliver some news.

Thud.

And when the five comrades climbed onto the galleon's deck, everyone's expression hardened.

Covered in blood and wearing completely torn clothes, they looked more like beggars than sailors.

"Wh-what happened? The rest of the men..."

When someone gathered courage to ask, one of the five immediately answers.

"This... damn. Th-there were no English here. No English, no colony, nothing at all!"

"Then why did you end up like..."

"Why do you think! Think about it!"

"..."

"..."

One of the five survivors finally bursts into tears and the rest collapse weakly. Only one person shouts with a loud voice, and everyone focused on his story.

"The-the Indians appeared and shot poison arrows then ran away. At first... it was just that. But then, one by one they started dropping, soon coughing up blood and dying. People who touched that blood ended up the same. In the end, only we survived."

"Is-is it an epidemic?"

"Doesn't matter if it's an epidemic or poison. Anyway, we need to get out of this hell quickly... urgh."

"Bleeergh!"

"Uwooorgh!"

All five suddenly start collapsing while coughing up blood.

The faces of the sailors watching them turn pale with terror.

How many comrades had they seen die while traversing America saying things like 'Well, we can endure this much! It can't be that bad!'

Minor itching, minor wounds, minor rashes soon led to death.

They were experienced explorers and sailors of the Spanish Empire.

They knew much better than those barbaric English what to do in times like this.

"Aaaargh! Hurry, set sail!"

First, abandon those who are going to die.

"Hey, you bastard! How can we sail a galleon by ourselves!"

"Then switch to the pataches right now!"

So the remaining sailors fled from the survivors. Even as those five begged and crawled, they ignored them and didn't look back.

But they were trained Spanish soldiers, they wouldn't leave ships that might fall into enemy hands.

After gathering what manpower they had to lead the two pataches away from the coast...

Boom! Boom boom!

They sink one galleon.

They left the other one. It was the ship their comrades were on, and...

If the English captured that ship, they could taste the plague hell.

Truly meticulous planning worthy of great Spanish explorers.

Thus, the two pataches carrying the Spanish quietly sail away over the horizon.

"...Excellent acting, gentlemen. It's sad that only one ship remains, but well, what can I expect from men I trained."

"We apologize, Governor."

"No need. Well, shall we go?"

Vicente González smiled arrogantly as he looked out at that beautiful warship. While proudly stroking his mustache.

"...We must bring blessed news to our new lord."

==

"A magnificent vessel armed with 32 cannons! We should be able to salvage several more cannons from the destroyed ship too! With this, the colony can effectively deal with any threat!"

Well... that's true.

With 300 residents, one large warship, and dozens of cannons, unless Spain is determined, this isn't a level they can easily mess with.

"What do you think, Lord Nemo? Isn't it magnificent? It's as if fate is leading this colony to success!"

...But why are you happy about that?

Weren't you a Spanish colonial governor until a few days ago?

"That's right, Mr. González! This is amazing!"

"Haha, it's nothing, Mrs. Dare."

"You've truly made a great contribution to this settlement, Governor."

"Not at all, Mr. Hewet. I'm just happy to be part of this glorious journey."

Why are you all... accepting this without any suspicion?

Did you, um, develop some kind of strange bond or something?

Did the spectators of the 'Nemo's Arm Cutting and Regeneration Show' build some camaraderie?

Manteo is shedding tears of emotion in the corner, and everyone else is clapping joyfully.

...Anyway.

The meeting continued with various discussions.

"How about building coastal batteries?"

"...Coastal batteries."

"Yes, Lord Nemo. The threats to this colony won't end with us. Surely if it becomes known that this colony is growing, other powers will do their utmost to threaten it."

Right. So you know you were a threat.

"So I suggest we take some cannons from our ship and place them along the coast! If we guard the coast like that while building a fortress at the same time, no one will be able to invade this holy ground!"

"Ah, hallelujah!"

"...Is that so?"

"Yes. While we're at it, we should build port facilities and roads leading to the coast. We have a ship now, don't we? There will be many uses for it."

"That's right! There are still belongings we couldn't bring from Roanoke Island!"

"Come to think of it, there were people who split off from our colony in Chesapeake Bay. We'll need a ship to find and bring them back."

"Hmm..."

Before I knew it, everyone was looking at me.

As if waiting for my final approval.

'...This is burdensome.'

I nodded for now and.

Whirrr!

Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!

Thus began the construction of the port and coastal batteries.

"Here! Here! Move it this way! This way!"

Unfortunately, we couldn't use PC (Polycarbonate) panels as the main material. Although PC panels are light and can even deflect bullets, making them invincible material, they had one weakness.

They're fire-resistant but still burn.

...I guess it's a material that should be used limitedly when building fortresses. Especially if they don't have fire protection facilities like my house.

"More mortar here!"

"Should we... build the gun ports here?"

In the end, we had to use a mix of red bricks and stone. PC panels were used as auxiliary materials.

"How is it, Lord Nemo? This is the first coastal battery built on this island!"

"Our tribe members helped too!"

The sight of the red structure with transparent walls here and there was...

Quite spectacular in its own way.