How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony

"No, it won't work."

"Mr. Nemo, but... no matter how I look at it, it requires too many resources. First of all, the terrain..."

"The limitations of the terrain can be overcome sufficiently."

"If you would just reconsider..."

"Given the resources that will be invested in the future, it's better to prepare in advance. And."

I grabbed Vicente's shoulder and pointed to a ship in the distance that was nearing the end of its modifications.

"Walter has already prepared a ship for him. Considering his effort, we cannot give up."

"...Is that really so?"

"Of course."

I smiled at Vicente and said:

"What is the most important aspect of this journey?"

"Isn't it to solidify our influence in various regions and supervise the establishment of trading posts?"

"No. If that were the reason, there would be no need for me to go along."

As I slowly shook my head, a question mark seemed to appear on Vicente's face. I opened my mouth again to resolve Vicente's doubt.

"The most important thing is to make 'me' known."

"...Ah."

To prevent misunderstandings about me and stop rumors from being expanded and reproduced among themselves.

And to prevent such misunderstanding-filled rumors from spreading to Europeans, causing unsettling talk about heresy among the natives.

Above all, to make the natives become familiar with 'me' as a being.

Many Native Americans speak multiple languages like their native tongues. The same is true for Africans.

In societies before the establishment of large nations, societies divided into various tribal communities, languages are diverse as political unification hasn't been achieved.

It's common sense here that different dialects emerge in each village, or even completely different languages are used. In some cases, traveling just a few dozen kilometers can bring you to people who speak a completely different language family.

As such, most natives know how to learn various dialects and speak different languages, if only for survival.

In other words.

The effect of 'directly' facing them myself is that much greater.

While those like Manteo, whose neighboring tribes mostly spoke similar languages, might experience less shock, others would not be the same.

"The greatest purpose of this journey is to let them know that I am neither a monster nor an idol, to testify through words that I am a servant of the Lord, and to make them neither misunderstand nor fear me."

For now... I need to live properly first, don't I?

Moreover, since 'I' am the center of this community, making them accept 'me' is also the shortcut to incorporating them into our community.

"And, what's needed for that is this Porter!"

This time, I pointed to the Porter that had been moved to Chesapeake Bay. Vicente, who had seemed almost convinced, tilted his head again.

"Is... that so?"

"Of course. This steel body will show them where their iron tools came from. Also, won't we be able to provide a lot for them with the tools and cooking utensils we've packed here?"

"Ah!"

"Also, even though there are many forests and wetlands, most of our territory is not far from the coast, so we can overcome it sufficiently. Even if not, wouldn't we need to build roads for larger-scale trade and integration someday? By taking this Porter around, we can also look for places suitable for building such roads."

"Indeed!"

"This is by no means for my personal comfort."

Though that is part of it, of course.

"The Porter will certainly make travel easier, and it will bring better results for our grand plans in the future."

Though personal comfort is probably the bigger reason.

...Well.

I want to lie in bed, cool off with air conditioning when it's hot, and warm up with an electric heating pad when it's cold. I want to stay clean by carrying around a folding shower booth. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?

It would be strange for a being called an angel or a spirit to go around looking dirty... It's all for the greater cause...

...Probably.

"So let's plan our travel route with the assumption that we'll be taking the Porter."

"Understood."

"Is this the latest map of the eastern North American coast that was produced?"

"Yes. It's based on measurements made as accurately as possible with various equipment, so it should be correct!"

The map of America I'm holding is entirely from the 21st century.

And the changes in the landscape over 500 years, as hundreds of millions of people cleared and reclaimed this land, are enormous.

The eastern United States is now surrounded by forests across the continent, with native villages dotted among them.

The undeveloped shorelines are full of wetlands and mudflats, and the coastline is incredibly complex.

So to determine the route we'll take, using a 21st-century map alone would be far from sufficient.

Vicente cleared away a nearby coffee cup, carefully removed the map hanging on the wall, and spread it out on the desk.

And I discreetly displayed a 21st-century map of the United States on my phone, keeping it out of Vicente's sight.

"In this area... it would be better to move along this route."

"Is that so? Distance-wise, cutting across here would be better."

"That area not only has dense forests, but the ground is likely to be uneven."

By examining where roads were built in the 21st century, I could suggest the route we should take to Vicente.

Even if I couldn't know the exact terrain features, mountains and hills that were intact 500 years ago wouldn't have moved or disappeared without reason, so they would have built roads avoiding such places.

Add to that connecting the residences of tribes that had agreed to participate in our multi-level... I mean, intermediary trade...

"Is it done?"

"It... seems to be."

Our travel route was complete.

The estimated time required was 6 months.

...6 months.

This is a longer journey than when I went to Africa and the Caribbean to battle the Spanish navy a few years ago.

I suffered a lot on the ship back then.

That's when I learned why sailing is a life-risking endeavor.

I learned how hard it is to live for months on a cramped ship where the planks creak madly, clean water is hard to find, and there are no proper facilities, be it a toilet or anything else.

'...I'm never doing that again.'

Fortunately, I'm taking the Porter.

Thank goodness I built the camper...!

Looking out the window, I saw Raleigh and others coming. I put on a coat and said to Vicente:

"Well then, let's pack our bags now."

It was now March 1600.

It was time to depart.

==

The bonfire blazed, and inside the hut, many people were smoking tobacco and looking at each other.

"Last winter... was the most comfortable and abundant winter among the dozens we've spent. And we've also acquired many sharp and good-quality tools. All thanks to trading with you folks."

"It was nothing, haha."

"Your name was... what was it again? James?"

"Yes. Please call me that."

"Yes... James. A name that still doesn't sit well in my ears no matter how often I hear it."

"Haha, you'll get used to it gradually."

"Yes... I should. Where was I?"

"You were saying that last winter was very abundant."

"Ah, that's right. That's right. Anyway, despite that... we still need to bring in more of that thing called 'potato.' Food is scarce."