Clackety-clack, clackety-clack.
“Yawn…”
From yesterday afternoon till night.
And then from dawn till this morning, Joe, who had been driving the carriage all day, let out a yawn.
‘Darn it. Grandma said today would be lucky, but it was all a lie.’
Joe’s Hispanic grandfather was of Spanish descent, and his grandmother was of Indian origin.
Every morning before Joe went to work, his Indian grandmother would read his fortune.
And…
‘Joe, today is going to be very lucky.’
Grandma clearly said Joe would have great luck today.
But lucky? Yeah, right.
Joe had been feeling like things had been going wrong since yesterday.
And it was all because of…
“Snore…”
“Zzz…”
That rascal sleeping soundly in the cargo compartment behind the driver’s seat.
Joe’s job was to deliver supplies from Lincoln County to the shops in Justice Town.
‘Hey, thanks, Joe. Because of you, moving the bodies was a breeze.’
‘Oh, Joe! Can you call the Sheriff on your way? Please!’
Already, Joe had been delayed yesterday because of Noah’s errands, so he couldn’t leave on time for Lincoln County.
So he tried to leave as soon as possible, even if it was late, but…
‘Hey… let’s do a job together.’
He got caught by Noah again.
‘No, Noah? I really don’t have time this time…! I need to get to Lincoln County right now…!’
‘Lincoln County? Perfect! I need to go there too! Let’s go! Start!’
Since Noah was also heading to Lincoln County, Joe gave him a ride, but…
“Snore…, zzz…”
Joe was so annoyed by how carefree Noah looked that he wanted to punch him.
‘Always making me do stuff and then not even giving me a single coin.’
Noah was a famous troublemaker and a miser in Justice Town.
He made a fortune catching outlaws but hated spending even a penny.
‘That’s why his nickname is Kid, the brat.’
This time, giving him a ride to Lincoln County, he probably wouldn’t give Joe a single penny.
‘Thinking about it again, it’s so frustrating… I barely slept while driving the carriage…’
So Joe grumbled and roughly woke Noah up.
“Kid… I mean, Noah! Wake up! We’re almost at Lincoln County!”
“Huh? Ugh…, already here?”
Noah yawned lazily as soon as he woke up and then woke up Verdi, who was sleeping next to him.
“Hey, kid. Wake up. We’re at Lincoln County.”
“Ugh…”
“You’ll have to guide us from here.”
“Ah…”
When both of them got up, Joe pointed outside the carriage and said.
“Alright, we’re here, so both of you get off. I need to get to work now…”
From past experience, Joe had already given up on getting any money from Noah.
He just wanted to quickly unload the cargo and go deliver the goods.
But…
“Huh? What are you talking about, Joe? You’re coming with us.”
“…Me?”
Noah didn’t seem to have any intention of letting him go.
“Yesterday, I said we’d do a job together. You agreed.”
“Agreed? What…! I just gave you a ride because we were going to the same place…!”
Joe, frustrated by Noah’s nonchalant attitude, raised his voice.
‘If I keep quiet, this guy thinks I’m a pushover…!’
All the pent-up frustration from dealing with Noah exploded, and Joe, unlike his usual self, pointed his finger and shouted.
“I’ve been telling you the whole way here! I have deliveries to pick up in Lincoln County! I need to fill the cargo with barrels of alcohol and head back to Justice Town! I don’t have time, so get off now! Hurry up!”
“Joe…”
Even Noah, who was used to Joe’s good-natured demeanor, blinked in surprise at his outburst.
Joe regretted not standing up to him sooner and watched as Noah and his companion got off the carriage.
After the two got off and Joe untied Noah’s horse, No Name, he climbed back onto the carriage.
“Did you forget anything? If not, I’ll be on my way now.”
“…Too bad. I was planning to make a big score.”
“…!”
Noah’s sly voice brushed past Joe’s ears.
Joe turned around casually and asked…
“Big… score?”
“Yeah, I’m going to catch a bank robbery gang.”
“Uh, bank robbery gang…”
Outlaws are dangerous enough, but a bank robbery gang…!
‘You were going to take me there?’
Just thinking about it made his whole body shiver.
But…
High risk, high return.
Besides, Joe vaguely knew how skilled Noah was as a bounty hunter.
“You said you were going to fill the cargo with barrels of alcohol? I was planning to fill it with outlaws’ bodies and bags of cash…”
“……”
Joe didn’t leave immediately and stood still. Noah grinned and patted his shoulder.
“So, Joe? Interested?”
“……”
Joe knew this was the devil’s temptation.
Normally, he would have just gone to pick up the deliveries instead of getting involved in such dangerous business.
But then…
‘Joe, today is going to be very lucky.’
Yesterday morning, his grandmother had read his fortune.
The memories came flooding back.
And then…
Imagining himself as a righteous figure capturing the evil outlaws…
Thump.
The heart of the boy, worn out and cold from life’s struggles, began to beat again.
“…Should we go together for now?”
“Yeah! Good thinking!”
In the end, Joe reached out to the devil’s temptation.
**
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
Joe’s carriage headed towards a canyon as guided by Verdi.
According to Verdi, the youngest of the Redbeard Gang, the gang had set up a temporary camp in an abandoned mine in the canyon.
“Yawn~ How much longer is this gonna take?”
“Verdi, right? According to him, it should take about 30 more minutes. …By the way, Noah.”
“Yeah?”
Seeing me yawn, Joe asked with a slightly anxious face.
“Um, aren’t bank robbers really dangerous? Should we really go alone…? Maybe we should call the security forces…”
“Security forces? What are you talking about?”
It’s absolutely out of the question to go with the security forces when taking down outlaws.
And for good reason…
“If we go with the security forces, we’d have to split the bounty!”
“Ah…”
“Why would we call the security forces when we can take it all for ourselves?”
Going with the security forces would significantly reduce our share.
Those lazy security forces.
They barely do anything and take a huge cut.
Especially the Lincoln County security forces, who I don’t even know, would practically steal our money.
As I explained this, Joe nodded and asked a ridiculous question.
“Um… Noah. I have another question…”
“What now?”
“If we catch the bank robbers this time, will we split the profits 50-50?”
“……”
“…Sorry!”
I answered with silence and a stern look.
I’m not bringing the security forces because I don’t want to share the money, and here you are, Joe…
“…Well, people make mistakes sometimes.”
But this time, I didn’t plan to treat Joe poorly.
“I’ll make sure you get a fair share, so don’t worry.”
“R-really? Th-thank you…!”
“Yeah, so just drive properly.”
“Yes…!”
As I promised fair treatment, Joe nodded with a bright face.
But as I yawned and looked to the side, I noticed a face that was the complete opposite of Joe’s.
“Hmm…? Hey.”
“…Yes? Oh, yes…”
“Why do you look so dead? Are you still feeling sick?”
As we got closer to the Redbeard Gang’s camp, Verdi’s expression grew worse, and I tilted my head in confusion.
Then…
“Um… bro.”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“It’s not too late…! Let’s run away together…!”
“…What?”
He grabbed my pant leg and pleaded as if begging.
“Our Redbeard Gang leaders are terrifying…! If we go to the camp like this, not only will I be killed for betraying them, but everyone else too…!”
Just as Verdi was trying to persuade me with a pitiful voice…
“…Wait.”
“…Yes?”
“Be quiet.”
“……”
I silenced the noisy Verdi and listened carefully…
Rustle.
“…!”
I sensed something and urgently shouted to Joe, who was driving the carriage.
“Joe! Stop the carriage!”
“…Huh? What’s going on…?”
“Just stop when I say stop!”
“Ah, yes…!”
Joe, a skilled driver, smoothly stopped the carriage and asked me.
“Um… but why…?”
“……”
Instead of answering, I shoved Verdi into the cargo area and stepped outside to look around.
At first glance, it was just an ordinary canyon.
But as I stood there and kept looking around…
“Who are you people-!”
Clank.
With the cold sound of metal, people appeared from above the canyon.
Especially among them…
“This is private property! Outsiders are not allowed!”
The middle-aged man at the front, shouting loudly at us…
Had a red beard.
‘Looks just like the montage.’
The leader of the Redbeard Gang, an outlaw with a hefty bounty of $1,500.
Edward Wild, also known as Redbeard.
