How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony

As Oitotan proudly prepared his opinion, Manteo thought for a moment and then gave a small round of applause.

Afterward, various ideas continued to pour out of Oitotan's mouth.

"Grape jam, grape enzyme ('When did this guy see the enzyme in my house storage?'), raisins, etc., can be packaged nicely and sold with the advertisement that they're good to give on special days, to special people..."

What... is this person?

Is he possessed by an AmXay Japan employee? How do you know the inner workings so well?

Why am I listening to the principles of holiday gift sets coming from the mouth of a 17th century American?

...Anyway.

I nodded blankly... then soon came to my senses and refuted Oitotan's words.

"I understand the suggestion to sell things like cheese and jam in fancy packaging. But would Americans buy them?"

Japanese elderly people keep buying nutritional supplements that are adequately preservable and seem good for the body because of health anxiety and marketing claiming "natural (not true)," "domestic (not true)" ingredients are good.

But why would natives buy such things? And are you really a modern person?

When I asked that, Oitotan let out a somewhat unpleasant laugh, huh huh huh, and said to me:

"First of all, these are all items that aren't difficult to obtain, right?"

"..."

"All the things I mentioned are already available, and moreover, couldn't we utilize the existing grape packaging facilities for the packaging?"

"..."

"Let's at least try it as an experiment."

I... uh...

Somehow persuaded by Oitotan's words, I nodded.

And after a few days.

"Something's happening here? Should we go in?"

"People without name tags cannot enter the tent! Get out!"

As Oitotan said, we were going to at least try it as an experiment.

We pitched a tent in a good location for traffic among the villages of the Chesapeake settlement and invited people there.

More precisely, they were natives who had recently joined the Virginia community. Natives who still lived in simple huts and hadn't yet received land.

Once the natives filled the space, we instructed them.

If they saw an item they wanted, or wanted to receive as a gift, they should raise their hands when signaled.

That was all the information we gave them.

And.

Oitotan unwrapped an elegant silk wrapping cloth and showed the sealed Shine Muscat jam inside, saying:

"This Shine Muscat jam is practically a necessity these days..."

"..."

"..."

"Ah, you wouldn't know."

...Huh?

What is this?

Why... does something about Oitotan's words feel familiar?

"This is a thing called [jam]."

Why...

"It's very sweet and tastes good. You probably don't know much about it."

...does this feel so unpleasant?

I hurriedly looked at Oitotan's expression.

Somehow... he seemed to be feeling elation.

==

Nematanawa came here without much thought because they said gifts would be given just for showing up.

And.

"Ah... this is a thing called [soap]. When you rub it, it makes your body smell nice. ...You probably don't know, though."

'What is this?'

He was feeling an inexplicable anger creeping up.

Wondering if perhaps only he was being narrow-minded, he looked around and saw that everyone gathered here had unpleasant expressions.

It was certain.

"Using [soap] can keep your body clean. It's something you must have to become a fine member of our community."

"..."

"..."

"And, here is an oil with a similar purpose. It's made to give you a pleasant smell when applied to your body and hair after washing. It prevents skin damage in various situations, good for those who want to care for their appearance. Nemo calls this [lotion]. ...Was my explanation too difficult?"

Something... something... feels off.

He seems to be explaining kindly, and no malice is felt.

"This is... a thing called [raisins]. It contains various nuts and makes you feel good when you eat it. Similarly, it lasts a long time. Open the jar like this, pick it up with your hand like this, eat it like this..."

Something feels bad.

Not just Nematanawa, but other natives were feeling the same way.

"Of course, you should know about cheese... ah, do none of you know? This is a thing called [cheese]. It's solidified cow's milk with a savory, nutty flavor."

"Would you like to come up and look? This time, open this glass bottle... ah, you don't know about [opening a bottle]. This is how you [open] it."

"Good. Then..."

This is maddening.

Something feels strange. It feels like his guts are twisting. He's filled with the thought of wanting to punch the know-it-all in front of him.

What's even stranger is...

"So, those who want this thing called [soap], raise your hands..."

Everyone's hands go up!

"Everyone again. Nemo, please record this."

"...Understood."

Just, uh, he finds himself wanting it.

No, he thinks he must have it.

I'll damn well have that thing. So that the next time I happen to meet that person, I won't have to hear things like "Ah, you still haven't tried [raisins]?"

Somehow, seeing that person gulping down and saying "Ahhh... this is really good," makes him feel like he needs to buy and drink that [grape juice] to confirm how good it is.

Really.

Let's see just how good those things are that he's going on about.

Let's see just how good those damn things are that they make a person's insides feel so scraped up.

With such thoughts, people, one and all, took the raisins, soap, jam, supplements, grape juice, etc., that were presented.

Thus, in an instant, the prepared items...

"Nothing left?"

"Yes. As you saw earlier, our tribe members had a hard time stopping them from fighting among themselves to take things."

"..."

"..."

Were all gone.

People who until yesterday didn't even know the concept of soap, lotion, supplements, and health foods, cleaned everything out.

==

After clearing the stage, everything looked empty. It was hard to believe this was the place where people were just raising their hands, standing up, pointing fingers, and cursing at each other, insisting they were first.

It was really chaotic earlier.

I got up from my seat, feeling slightly mentally drained. After helping to take down the tent and clear away the chairs, Oitotan naturally approached Manteo and me.

Look at that triumphant expression. If my public image wasn't that of an angel, I would have definitely wanted to punch that face.

Uh... this person...

"What do you think? Aren't they all desperate because everything is gone? Then let's adopt these food and beauty items as our next new products."

"..."

"Nemo? Nemo!"

"...Oitotan."

"Yes, Nemo."

"You go north with Vicente next time."

"Pardon? Me? With Vicente Gonzalez?"

"Yes."

Looking at Oitotan's puzzled face, I hesitated for a moment... then said as if entranced:

"You are... uh... a genius."

"Thank you very much, but in what way?"

"..."

"..."

"...It's nothing."

I could understand why our products were selling like hotcakes in France. I could understand why Henry IV didn't express diplomatic protests or complaints.

How... uh... should I put this?

Seriously, how should I put it?