The same situation continued in the next carriage.
I showed my sheriff’s badge to the second-class passengers and demanded a fee…
Bang-!
“Kwaaak-!”
“I-I’ll pay!”
“If you take care of all the outlaws, I’ll pay as much as you want!”
After I dealt with the outlaws, the passengers willingly handed over their money.
Some outlaws tried to stop me by taking passengers hostage…
“D-don’t move! If you move, I’ll shoot this guy…! Keuuk-!!”
I was faster at drawing my gun and putting a bullet in their heads than they were at pulling the trigger.
Being the [Best Gunslinger in the West] makes these hostage situations meaningless.
Bang-!
“Ahhhk-!”
I patrolled the second-class car, swatting outlaws like flies…
“Emma, isn’t it heavy? How much have we collected?”
“…It’s hard to estimate. I’ll calculate it quickly.”
I literally swept up the money.
By the time I reached the last car of the second-class, the money piled in my hat was almost up to Emma’s eye level.
“Everyone, the train robbers will be taken care of by me, Jet Gray!”
“Wow-!”
“Remember my name, Jet Gray! That’s it!”
After reminding the second-class passengers of my name, I moved to the next car.
As soon as Emma and I were alone in the corridor, she asked,
“But Boss, why do you keep impersonating Jet’s name?”
“…In case something happens, I need someone to take the blame.”
“…You’re such a scumbag…”
“Just kidding, just kidding. It’s because Jet’s name is on this sheriff’s badge. If I introduce myself as Noah but the badge says Jet, it’d be weird, right? Gotta be thorough with these things.”
“…I see.”
“Don’t overthink it. Let’s just take care of the remaining outlaws. Emma, how many outlaws have I taken out on this train?”
Despite my sudden question, Emma, with her good memory, answered without hesitation.
“You sniped 12 on top of the train and caught 9 in the second-class car.”
There were 24 outlaws in total on the train.
If I sniped 12 on top and killed 9 in the second-class car…
“Three left. They must be in the third-class car. Let’s hurry.”
I briskly walked to the third-class car to finish off the remaining outlaws.
But before reaching the third-class car, Emma, while organizing the money in my hat, asked,
“Boss, are you going to collect money from the third-class passengers too?”
“Huh? Of course.”
Wondering what she was talking about, I tilted my head and answered. Emma then held out the money in her arms and said,
“I just finished calculating… It’s about 262 dollars. Some people paid more than a dollar, so it’s quite a sum.”
“Wow, you’re quick. Good job. But why?”
“Third-class passengers are poorer compared to first and second-class, right? We’ve already collected enough money, so taking more from them seems a bit…”
“Huh, true.”
Given the 1800s setting, Emma was an adult of marriageable age, but to me, she was still just a kid.
I explained the reality to the naive Emma.
“Emma, you earn 10 dollars a month, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“A third-class ticket on this San Francisco express train costs 50 dollars.”
“…!”
In this era, riding a train itself meant you weren’t poor.
In fact, many people heading west still used stagecoaches.
Emma’s softness was probably due to her kind nature.
“Emma, snap out of it. Just because we’re pretending to be sheriffs doesn’t mean we are sheriffs.”
“….”
“We have no obligation to protect people for free. We’re just bounty hunters. Remember that.”
“…Understood.”
I wasn’t scolding Emma just because she showed weakness.
In the West, only the most vile, petty, and bad people survive.
In fact, this lecture was for Emma’s own good.
“Alright, then let’s move on. Get ready to collect the money.”
“…Yes.”
With a slightly dejected Emma, I opened the door to the third-class car.
And just as I was about to deliver my prepared line…
“Hello, I’m the sheriff…”
“….”
“Huh…?”
The atmosphere in the third-class car felt off as soon as I opened the door.
It should have been the noisiest, being the most crowded, but it was eerily quiet.
“….”
“….”
Shiver.
The passengers were sitting in their seats, trembling as if they were being punished.
Amidst the suspicious silence, what caught my eye was…
“P-please help me…!”
A little girl sitting in the second row, crying and holding a stick of dynamite.
Fizz.
The fuse was almost at its end.
The best choice here was to immediately run back, close the door, and escape the explosion, and I was about to do just that.
But…
“…Jenny James?”
The girl’s face…
Looked so much like a girl from my past memories.
Whoosh.
As soon as I saw that, I lunged forward.
The girl holding the dynamite couldn’t possibly be the girl from my memories.
But before I knew it, I was right in front of her, trying to save her.
‘We have no obligation to protect people for free. We’re just bounty hunters. Remember that.’
I had just lectured Emma about not saving people for free, and yet…
“Give that to me-!”
“Y-yes-!”
I quickly took the dynamite from the girl.
Fizz.
The downside of being the [Best Gunslinger in the West].
It doesn’t activate unless I’m in combat with someone.
No matter how fast I moved, the dynamite’s fuse was almost gone.
‘Ah.’
What I just did was the dumbest thing I’ve done since boarding this train.
Boom-!
The dynamite exploded.
**
“Who are you? What are you doing lying here alone?”
“What? You have nowhere to go? Then let’s live together at my place!”
“What’s your name? Noah? Hmm… I want to call you something else… Ah! How about Kid? You’re short, after all!”
“What? Don’t treat me like a kid? Pfft, you’re a kid but don’t want to be treated like one!”
“You want to go home? How do you plan to do that?”
“…Money? We’re still young, so it’s hard to save money… But I’ll help you.”
“You’re good with a gun? You’re good with a…”
“What can I do by shooting…?”
“Kid. There’s nothing we can do in New Mexico. How about heading to San Francisco?”
“Kid. Our own strength isn’t enough. We need to gather friends. Form a clan!”
“Kid, I actually…”
“I liked you. Maybe from the moment we first met when we were six…”
“You never know when you might die in our line of work. I really wanted to tell you how I feel.”
“…What about you?”
“Answer me.”
*Flash.*
In my dizzying vision, I barely managed to regain my senses.
It seemed I had blacked out for a few seconds.
Amidst the choking smoke that stung my throat and eyes, I first checked the child in my arms.
“…Hey. You okay?”
“…Yes, I’m fine.”
Even though they said they were fine, I looked down to check the child’s condition.
Since I was holding them, it seemed they hadn’t been affected by the explosion at all.
Just moments ago.
I had barely managed to throw the dynamite out the window before it exploded.
I avoided a direct explosion, but…
*Boom!*
The blast shattered the walls of the third-class carriage, and the child and I fell off the train tracks.
“……”
I took a closer look at the child’s face.
Up close, there were quite a few differences from the girl in my memories.
“…If you’re okay, can you get off? I need to get up for a moment.”
“Ah…! Yes…!”
I set the child down and quickly checked my own condition.
‘No pain, no major injuries.’
But the problem was…
*Riiing.*
My eardrums must have been slightly affected, as there was a ringing in my ears…
*Dizzy.*
For a moment, my vision was so blurry I couldn’t tell what was what.
Considering the danger of the dynamite, this was a stroke of luck.
I figured I’d recover quickly if I just rested a bit.
But…
*Bang!*
…The lunatic who gave dynamite to a child wasn’t about to give me any rest.
*Slow motion.*
In the slowed-down time… several bouncy balls, not dodgeballs, came flying at me.
The guy wasn’t shooting a regular rifle but a shotgun.
At this close range, dodging shotgun pellets is extremely tricky.
*Whoosh!*
In my dizzy state, I somehow managed to dodge to the side, holding the child, avoiding the bullets.
The sight must have been unbelievable, as a dry voice chuckled.
“…You dodged that? Just who the hell are you?”
Though my dizziness hadn’t fully subsided, my naturally good eyesight caught the man standing on the wreckage of the train.
…Compared to the dandy gentleman Redbeard I faced before, this guy was dirty and ugly.
If I were in top condition, I might have taunted him about it, but with my head spinning, I didn’t feel like it.
I reached into my holster to quickly deal with him.
But…
‘…Huh.’
…The pistols were missing from both holsters, probably lost in the explosion.
Reluctantly, I moved my hand to the knife in my back pocket.
“Ah, damn. I always end up fighting with a knife.”
Lately, it seems I use knives more than guns.
I should change my title from “The Best Gunslinger in the West” to “The Best Knife Fighter in the West.”
Do I really need to carry five guns around?
I sighed and muttered complaints as…
*Swoosh.*
I drew the knife.
*Click.*
As I aimed the knife, the guy with the shotgun growled, pointing his gun at me.
“…I’m Jackson, leader of the Jackson Train Robbers. Thanks to you, I’ve lost a lot of my men.”
“Yeah, well, I made a lot of money thanks to your men. I’m grateful for that. By the way, can you let this girl go before we fight?”
“……”
Honestly, my biggest problem right now wasn’t my blurry vision or lack of a gun—it was the trembling child in my arms.
With one hand holding the child, my movements were severely restricted.
So I asked Jackson if he could let the kid go…
*Nod.*
Surprisingly, he nodded.
“Kid, go to your mom.”
“Yes…!”
As soon as I saw that, I let the kid go.
But…
*Bang!*
*Whoosh!*
Of course, that bastard shot at me the moment I let the kid go, and I barely managed to dodge with the child.
“I expected that, you son of a bitch.”
“Of course. Did you think I’d just let her go?”
*Click, ping.*
The shotgun shell ejected as he aimed at me again.
“…I don’t care about money anymore. I’ll kill you no matter what to avenge my men.”
“……”
It seemed he was really pissed about me killing all his men.
‘This is troublesome.’
*Dizzy.*
My vision was still not fully clear.
I had no gun, just a knife.
And my opponent had a shotgun, perfect for close combat, plus I had a burden in my arms.
‘Maybe I should throw this kid far away and then fight?’
It might have been a good idea.
Honestly, I saved her out of old memories, but I don’t really know this kid.
But…
*Shivering.*
“……”
Looking down at the trembling child, I couldn’t do it.
‘Ah… She’s definitely different, but up close, she somehow resembles her.’
I don’t sympathize with NPCs.
I don’t think their lives are that precious.
Emma, Sheriff Jet Gray, Joe the town stableman, and now this kid in my arms.
They’re all just data sets that will disappear when I leave this world.
NPCs aren’t human like me.
But looking at the kid in my arms, I was reminded of her from my memories…
‘No choice.’
I couldn’t just toss the kid aside like a burden.
“You want to see your dead men? Okay, I’ll help you.”
So, reluctantly, I decided to fight with this sandbag in my arms.
