How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony-Chapter 28: No One (2)

"We've arrived. Croatan Island."

"Excellent, Governor John White! I can see the Emperor's coastal fortress over there! It's beautifully built! I can feel the majesty of a great monarch!"

"..."

"Is the Emperor's city at the end of that road?"

"...Yes, it is."

"Good! Thomas? You come too!"

"I... I'll wait on the ship."

"...Are you serious? With eternal glory waiting?"

"..."

Tsk.

This was the problem with skeptical atheists. Sir Raleigh shook his head and stepped onto the sandbar of Croatan.

And as he walked along the road with White, peculiar huts unlike any he had seen before appeared.

Clumsy but double-storied, all with walls painted white and roofs painted green, these strange huts.

The natives and English people coming and going there. Seeing their smiling faces, Raleigh's conviction only grew stronger.

Before long, a green wire fence surrounding a not-so-large estate comes into view. Someone was waiting in front of that gate.

"...This is His residence."

"The Imperial Palace?"

"In a manner of speaking... yes, it is."

While someone who appeared to be a guide was walking toward them, suddenly John White turned to Walter Raleigh and said:

"Sir."

"What is it?"

"Be careful with your words to Him. He is a far more noble and powerful being than you can imagine."

"I know..."

"No. You don't."

"..."

What's this?

The sense of discomfort he had felt from White's attitude before begins to rush in at once.

Why is he so devoted to the Emperor of barbarians? Is he the benefactor of his daughter and granddaughter? That could be.

But...

Doesn't he speak as if that Emperor is his lord?

As if, not the Queen and himself, but the Emperor of this land is his true superior.

As if the Emperor of this land... is far above the 'mere' monarch of England.

"..."

"There, Mr. Hewett? This is Sir Raleigh. Please... guide him."

"Hello, Sir Raleigh? I am Thomas Hewett."

And at Thomas Hewett's call, he shakes his head vigorously to dispel the recent sense of discomfort.

It's a needless thought. What if he makes a slip of the tongue by harboring strange thoughts, as White warned?

No one can ruin this moment.

This moment, the moment he gets his hands on eternal wealth and glory, must be perfect above all else.

"Yes. Yes. Very good. The Emperor must trust you to have admitted you into the palace like a butler?"

"...Pardon?"

"Where is He? I can hardly bear my desire to gift Him the Bible!"

"Ah, He's in the garden there. First, let me open the door for you..."

"I'll open it myself!"

Creeeeak!

So, refusing the guidance of Hewett and White, he strode forward.

The Emperor who is fluent in English.

The Emperor who can move thousands with a single gesture.

The Emperor who owns so many precious jewels, metals, and fruits.

And the great governor of Virginia to meet him.

He didn't care that the form of the mansion was a bit strange and unfamiliar. He didn't question the transparent walls and ceiling covering that garden.

Right now, he saw only immortal glory and infinite wealth in every landscape. Everything became evidence for his conviction, and his conviction made everything appear as evidence.

In that circulation drifting somewhere between self-conviction and stubbornness, his steps... gradually slow down.

He finally reached the garden where the Emperor was said to be.

It had become late at night while traveling by ship. Yet he couldn't hide his excitement at the fact that the Emperor was still waiting for him.

Raleigh pushed open the transparent door and stepped inside. And as politely as possible, and as boldly, he opened his mouth.

"I am in the presence of His Imperial Majesty!"

And.

Silence.

"..."

It was dark all around by now. The stars were visible through the transparent ceiling, but the moon happened to be in its dark phase. He blinked a few times... to let his eyes get used to the darkness.

Then what became visible was a narrow path.

And a person standing in front of it.

And spread out on either side...

"Grapevines?"

Click!

In an instant, the inside of the greenhouse is illuminated. Unaccustomed to the sting of artificial light he had never experienced before, he instinctively squinted and covered his face with both hands.

And slowly... he lowered his hands.

A man was standing right in front of him.

...A man who looked a bit different from what he had expected.

He was taller than him, without flashy tattoos or colorful accessories. He was neither scantily clad nor overdressed, just wearing white clothes.

The man looked down at Walter Raleigh for a moment, then casually took out scissors and cut a grape branch.

Fresh grapes fell from the tree into a box at his feet. Watching that scene blankly, Sir Raleigh opened his mouth and whispered:

"Are... Are you the Emperor?"

"..."

The man turned his head and gave a slight smile. He just mechanically repeated the grape harvesting process, slowly smiling.

"I heard you are fluent in English... perhaps you don't understand what I'm saying?"

The 'Emperor,' turning his head again, just showed that enigmatic smile from before and then concentrated on picking grapes.

"..."

"..."

In this awkward silence, Walter Raleigh didn't know what to do.

Should he kneel to show respect? Or should he offer the Bible first...

"Sir Walter Raleigh."

...Ah.

A voice both soft and powerful echoes throughout the farm. Raleigh, without even realizing it, kneels and offers the Bible from his bosom to him.

"I, I have heard that you thirst for the Lord's teachings... Here, I've brought a Bible translated into English. Please..."

"Shhhhh..."

Thump.

The man silenced Raleigh, placed his hand on the Bible, and slowly pushed it aside.

"..."

"..."

"..."

This is an unexpected situation. This is...

Click.

"Sir Walter Raleigh."

And, the next moment.

...His voice 'echoes.'

Clearly the Emperor is standing in front of Raleigh.

Yet his voice is heard from the left and then from the right. It's heard from the front and then from behind.

The 'Emperor's' voice powerfully strikes his entire body and passes through.

And.

"I already live in the light of the Lord."

That was... the first sentence Sir Raleigh heard through the 'Emperor's' mouth.

He is a child of a fallen gentry family.

Nevertheless, for court life, to avoid contempt from the nobility, he learned Latin and French. He could also use Spanish and Portuguese, the languages of explorers. All were as familiar as his mother tongue.

And.

In all those languages...

The 'Emperor's' voice is heard.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

As if listening with the heart rather than the ears.

"How dare you offer me words imprisoned in letters?"

...Ah.

Good heavens.

He's not proficient in English.

Whether it was John White or others, they heard it that way because they were only proficient in one language as their mother tongue.

This man...

This person...

Speaks in all human languages.

Sir Raleigh, unable to control his trembling limbs, asks in infinite awe:

"W-w-who are you?"

Then the 'Emperor,' or rather that overwhelming being who might not even be human, said:

"I am Nemo."

"Nemo sum."

"Je ne suis personne."

"No soy nadie."

"Não sou ninguém."

...

...

...

Though I am no one.

Walter Raleigh, dropping the Bible, knelt on his other knee as well.

Toward 'No One.'