How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony

After disembarking from the Nautilus, Asuero shed tears of emotion... as he looked around.

An impressive coastal fortress and straight, long roads welcomed him. He whistled as he walked on the smoothly paved road that ran through the dense forest.

Anticipation.

A fulfilling anticipation for the future ahead filled Asuero's entire body.

Asuero wept as he remembered the difficult life he had experienced until now.

It is the way of the world that hardships befall the righteous, and all manner of deception in the world comes upon the honest. All the poverty and frustration he had experienced until now flashed before his eyes.

Born as a child of a poor hidalgo (a lower Spanish nobleman), he had worked as a mercenary for decades until his body was broken, all for the sake of advancement.

He had wandered countless times beyond his homeland, learning swordsmanship and whatever else came his way. When isolated from enemies, he had even drunk his own urine. There was no hardship like that hardship.

After enduring all sorts of difficulties and migrating to Florida for a peaceful retirement, what did he face?

Disgusting savages and slaves so lazy it was abominable.

And contrary to what the colonial government had said, there was nothing but terrifying wilderness rather than fertile land.

Due to that anger and exhaustion, he, who had been a good Christian, did commit "minor transgressions"... but now the day had come for all of that to be rewarded.

Those hardships created his current days of glory.

"...This way. If you continue walking this way, his 'palace' will appear."

"Ah, I've been waiting! Thank you, Mrs. Dare!"

Asuero gave Eleanor an overt, oily smile. Eleanor's expression suggested displeasure, but this only made him feel more pleased.

It made him feel like an even more important person.

After all, he was a guest invited by the native Emperor.

Though it was late enough for drowsiness to pour down like starlight, his eyes were bright and alert.

He had experienced this kind of thing when making appointments with employers during his mercenary days. Busy people with many responsibilities could find it difficult to make time.

So the fact that he and the Emperor were meeting at this hour meant that the Emperor was that busy and important.

'It means that I am important enough that he had to deliberately make time for me...!'

Each of Asuero Javier's steps was filled with strength.

With each step, step by step, the house with the green roof in the distance grew closer...

"..."

...Is this all?

It was perplexing.

No, it was indeed a fine house. It was pleasing to see the neat wooden walls under the well-organized green gabled roof.

But... it wasn't very large.

At least, not large enough to be called a palace.

In fact, it was questionable whether it could even be called a mansion.

At this size... it wasn't much different from the house he had lived in in Florida.

Ah, well, that's right. He's a savage after all.

Snicker, Asuero laughs. He wasn't sure what he had expected. Walls smoothly plated with gold? Or a tower as massive as a mountain?

If there had been a monarch in this land capable of building such a palace, wouldn't Spain and England have already been brought to their knees?

Surely he was just a native chieftain who was floundering, not knowing what to do with all the gold and aluminum sitting under his backside.

Living near this clumsily built hut.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

As he approached what appeared to be the door and knocked, suddenly there was a sound of metal brushing and singing, and the door clicked open.

Looking inside, all was quiet and dark, with a narrow corridor stretching straight ahead.

A faint light leaked from the door at the end.

An unfamiliar but fragrant smell pricked his nose, and strange-styled walls and decorations filled the surroundings.

Asuero entered, feeling slightly frightened.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Mud stuck to the clean floor, but he didn't care. Quietly opening the door at the end of the corridor...

A simple living room appeared, just like before.

And in the middle, a small dining table was set.

Lobster, grilled beef, and curious stews occupied the table.

And a man was sitting behind it.

A tall man with dark eyes.

He extended his large hand, offering Asuero a chair.

Asuero, unknowingly intimidated, quickly sat down opposite him and looked at this mysterious native man.

Without saying a word, he muttered a simple prayer, barely audible, and then began to eat.

Asuero had thought that being a savage, he might grab food with his hands and chew noisily, but that wasn't the case. He leisurely picked up a fork and put sliced meat into his mouth.

Asuero followed him and put beef in his mouth. However, due to nervousness, he couldn't taste anything.

His hands trembled.

"Um... should I address you as Your Majesty?"

"..."

He remained silent in response to Asuero's words, only smiling.

"...Your Majesty, thank you for inviting me here."

"..."

"I... uh... have always had a deep abhorrence for slavery. Then, to meet Your Majesty who shares the same thoughts as me, I thank the Lord..."

"The Lord?"

"...Pardon?"

"Did you say you thank the Lord?"

It was perfectly fluent Spanish. As if he had been born and raised in Castile.

"...Ah, yes, that's right. Yes, I thank the Lord."

"For what are you speaking?"

"Well... of course because the Lord has allowed me to meet Your Majesty..."

Something was strange.

The shape of his mouth and the words coming from it were slightly different. His mouth speaking Spanish seemed awkwardly like it had been overlaid with someone else's lip movements.

Yet the Spanish coming from his mouth was...

Perfect.

A sense of fear gradually crept in from that disharmony, that unnaturalness.

Yes. This house, the shape of this table, everything was strangely unfamiliar. In this extremely peculiar atmosphere, Asuero was so tense that food wouldn't go down his throat.

All this time, the Emperor was still just smiling.

"It's fortunate that you thank the Lord. I too wish only to thank the Lord."

"Y-y-yes?"

"Yes. Did you not come to this house alone?"

"...Does that please you?"

"Of course. Doesn't the Lord rejoice even when one lost lamb is found?"

"..."

Lost... lamb? Is this the right metaphor here?

Is it a statement revealing that he had been a slave owner who had repented? Or... no. Let's not think strange thoughts.

By now, bells were ringing somewhere in the distance, indicating that it was well past 11 PM.

11 PM. Why had he called him at such a late hour? Was the reason he had originally thought correct?

Why did he...

"Why did you do it?"

Here, Asuero's thoughts momentarily stopped.

No, it seemed as if the time of the entire world momentarily stopped.

The juice dripping from the meat, the leaves flying beyond the narrow window of the living room, the table that wobbled slightly as if not quite balanced.

The eyes of the native Emperor staring at him.

Everything stopped for a brief moment... then moved again.

"...Pardon?"

Asuero was not a stupid person.

But even though he knew what the Emperor was talking about, he could only stupidly ask back.

"No, I don't understand. You freed all the slaves? Why did you come here with such a lie?

Couldn't you have just said that you mistreated slaves but had a change of heart?"

How did he know that?