“You punk! You were in a shootout in the village last night too, huh?! Do you think Justice Town is your playground?!”
“No, Sheriff. You’re making me feel wronged again. Do you really think I pulled out my gun for fun? I was just catching outlaws who were threatening the peace of the village.”
As I said that, I pointed to the outlaws on the side.
The bodies of the Marcos Brothers and Jake McGuffin, and Marv Merchins, who was tied up alive—five outlaws in total.
If these guys had caused trouble in the village, they would’ve done some serious damage.
Jet seemed to realize that too, as his expression changed when he saw the outlaws.
He then sighed as he carefully compared the wanted posters I handed him with the outlaws.
“Hmm… Such vicious guys coming to our town. What’s even here to see…”
“That’s because Justice Town is a respawn point for outlaws.”
“…Sigh, can’t you stop spouting nonsense that makes no sense?”
Jet, who’s been getting headaches from the increasing number of outlaws lately, wiped his face a few times and then spoke to me in a calmer tone.
“…Kid. I apologize for losing my temper earlier. I just wish our town could always be quiet and peaceful, but ever since you came, Justice Town has gotten noisier.”
“That’s not my fault, is it?”
“…Yeah, it’s not your fault. But hearing about you all the time just piled up and got me worked up. Sorry.”
Jet, who’s been the sheriff in Justice for 10 years now, is strict but not a bad guy.
I nodded and accepted his apology.
“I also apologize for calling you a grumpy old man, a fossil, a blockhead, a potbelly, baldy, impotent, washed-up, and old.”
“……”
“Let’s just confirm the outlaws’ identities and head inside. I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”
“…Then excuse me for a moment.”
Jet’s a strict old-timer, so he doesn’t really mesh well with a free-spirited MZ like me.
Still, we’re in a symbiotic relationship that’s hard to break.
Jet needs a bounty hunter like me to help deal with the influx of outlaws.
And I also benefit from being on good terms with the sheriff, Jet.
“Confirmed. They’re all the outlaws on the wanted posters… Good work for now.”
With that, Jet finished verifying the outlaws’ identities and came into the office to have coffee with me.
**
“I’ve confirmed all the outlaws’ identities, so come to the sheriff’s office, and I’ll pay the bounty.”
“Alright, I’ll send Emma over later, so give it to her.”
Sip.
I took a sip of the coffee Emma made and casually asked Jet.
“By the way, Sheriff. Any newly updated wanted posters?”
This is one of the perks of being friends with the sheriff.
Since my job is bounty hunting, I need a lot of wanted posters.
After all, even if I catch an outlaw, it’s useless if there’s no bounty on them.
“Newly updated wanted posters? I gave you some yesterday!”
“Yeah, but I caught the guy on yesterday’s poster today. If you catch one, you gotta give me another. If you’ve got any stashed away, hand them over.”
“Ugh…”
As if he had brought the posters, Jet rummaged through his bag while smacking his lips and asked me.
“…What you want most is money, right? How much bounty are you looking for?”
“Hmm…”
[Logout not possible]
[Amount left until logout: $894,556 / $1,000,000]
I’ve got about $110,000 left until logout.
It’s clear that catching small-time outlaws like the ones I caught today would take a lot of time.
“Any outlaws with bounties over $100,000?”
$100,000 is roughly 3.6 billion won in today’s Korean currency.
Even the most notorious outlaws wouldn’t have such a high bounty.
I asked knowing full well there probably wasn’t any, but…
“Outlaws with bounties over $100,000? Yeah, there are. To be exact, there are two with $150,000 bounties.”
Jet nodded and pulled out two wanted posters from his bag.
“Huh? Really… Oh…”
But when I saw them, I was immediately disappointed.
[Name: Unknown]
[Age: Estimated early 40s]
[Dead or Alive: $150,000]
[Characteristics: Founder and leader of the South Brotherhood, California’s largest gang.]
First, the leader of the South Brotherhood.
This guy, whose name isn’t even known, was the final boss in the last chapter of <Outlaw Hunt>.
The leader of the South Brotherhood, who’s made a name for himself across the western region centered in San Francisco, wouldn’t be easy to catch.
Most people don’t even know who he is.
Of course, having cleared <Outlaw Hunt>, I knew who he was…
But even then, taking him down solo and claiming the bounty was nearly impossible.
And the next wanted poster.
[Name: Unknown]
[Age: Estimated early 20s]
[Dead or Alive: $150,000]
[Characteristics: Founder and former leader of the secret society TKK]
The first boss of TKK, a young gang operating as a secret society.
…This guy’s identity is also unknown, and for various reasons, he’s untouchable.
In fact, among bounty hunters, these two are practically considered mythical creatures, like unicorns.
Jet probably just pulled out these old posters to mess with me.
“Come on, what’s this?”
“You asked for bounties over $100,000, so I brought these out.”
“Instead of these mirage-like posters, don’t you have any that could actually make me some real money?”
At my words, Jet shrugged and replied.
“Not around here, at least. The outlaw well’s run dry.”
“Ugh…”
Guess I’ll have to make do with the posters I already have for a while.
But then…
“Oh, this isn’t a local case, but…”
“…?”
Jet suddenly seemed to remember something and pulled something out of his bag.
“Have you heard of the Redbeard Gang?”
“Redbeard? What kind of name is that? Sounds like something out of a pirate comic.”
Just as I was about to shake my head at the absurd name that sounded like it belonged to a Devil Fruit user…
“Wait a minute…”
The Redbeard Gang…?
Suddenly, a long-buried memory from the deepest recesses of my mind resurfaced.
“The Redbeard Gang… Could it be that bank robbery gang?”
“That’s right. You knew about them?”
“……”
…How could I not know?
The Redbeard Gang.
Those guys…
They were the main villains of Chapter 1 in <Lawless>.
Come to think of it, the current year is 1874. And the setting of <Lawless> was also 1874.
‘…Damn, I was so busy trying to make a living that I didn’t pay attention to this important detail.’
While I was lost in confusion, Jet took a sip of coffee and informed me about the Redbeard Gang’s crimes.
“The Redbeard Gang robbed the Wells Fargo Bank in Lexio County and then fled.”
Is this a coincidence?
In Korea, I was 23 years old.
And now, in this body of Noah, I’m also 23.
Chapter 1 of <Lawless>, [The Redbeard Gang Bank Robbery Incident], has just happened.
**
Chapter 1 of <Lawless>, [The Redbeard Gang Bank Robbery Incident], begins with the protagonist, a private detective from Pinkerton, accidentally visiting Lexio County, the setting of the chapter.
The protagonist senses something off about the town and, through hidden clues, realizes that a bank robbery is planned. He then stops the Redbeard Gang’s bank heist.
There are two possible endings here.
The first is a happy ending where the protagonist successfully takes down the Redbeard Gang’s leader, boosting his reputation and completely wiping out the gang.
The second is a bad ending where the protagonist fails to catch the gang leader, resulting in the gang escaping and a bounty being placed on them.
But since the bank robbery has already happened and a bounty has been issued…
‘Looks like the protagonist missed the gang leader. It’s the bad ending.’
It seemed like the bad ending had occurred.
With a sense of resignation, I asked Jet,
“How much is their bounty?”
“The leader is $1,500, and the other notable members are around $200 to $500.”
As Jet said this, he handed me the wanted posters for the Redbeard Gang’s top brass.
“The other unnamed gang members are $50 each.”
“There are about 20 of them, right?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“Wow, so if we catch them all, how much would that be?”
Catching just one gang would bring in an incomparable amount of income compared to what I make today.
As I was calculating with my fingers, Jet sipped his coffee and said,
“Then why not take a trip? Lexio County is a bit far, but it’s not unreachable. And you’re great at catching outlaws, aren’t you?”
“……”
“The bank robbery has caused quite a stir over there. The gang probably hasn’t gone far yet, so go and take care of it.”
Occasionally, when outlaws disappear from Justice Town, I go on trips to other regions to catch them.
But…
“I don’t know. I don’t think I can catch them this time.”
I was skeptical about going after the Redbeard Gang.
“Why? Is the great Kid scared of some bank robbers?”
Jet asked, surprised.
He probably thought I’d pack up and leave immediately with such a bounty.
Of course, if the Redbeard Gang were just ordinary outlaws, I might have gone after them…
“Not really. But these guys… I just can’t catch them. It’s just how it is.”
These guys were a bit special.
In Chapter 1 of <Lawless>, if the bad ending occurs and the Redbeard Gang escapes…
[You failed to catch the Redbeard Gang. They disappeared with the setting sun.]
…with that message, they become uncatchable in the game.
Even if I rushed to Lexio County now, they’d probably already be long gone.
I had no intention of wasting time chasing their high bounty.
“…I don’t get what you’re saying, but you’re not planning to go after them, huh? Well, take this anyway.”
Jet handed me the wanted posters for the Redbeard Gang.
“You never know. Since you arrived, outlaws have been flocking to Justice Town like wolves to a buffalo carcass. Maybe they’ll come to our town too.”
“…That’s unlikely, right? But well… I’ll take it.”
I took the wanted posters from Jet and skimmed through their mugshots and details.
[Name: Edward Wild]
[Age: 41]
[Dead or Alive: $1,500]
[Characteristics: Leader of the Redbeard Gang]
[Crimes: Bank robbery, 9 counts of murder and attempted murder]
The gang was called the Redbeard Gang because the leader had red hair, a ginger.
‘Even in the game, he looked terrifying, but seeing him in real life, he’s even more menacing.’
I accepted the posters, but I was certain I’d never run into these scary-looking guys.
“Emma, stash these wanted posters in that drawer over there.”
“Yes.”
I had Emma store the posters away.
Who knows what might happen this afternoon?
