Meanwhile, in Justice Town.
“Yah.”
Today, the friendly Hispanic Joe of Justice Town was up early again, moving to load stuff onto the carriage.
As Joe passed by Noah’s Bounty Hunter office on the edge of town, he fell into a brief reverie.
‘Is it a week already? No, it’s been longer than that.’
It had been well over a week since Noah and Emma left Justice Town for San Francisco.
Without Noah, who used to get drunk and hitch a free ride on the carriage, Joe felt a strange emptiness.
In fact, until Noah moved in three years ago, Justice Town had been a very quiet place.
Just one person leaves, and the town reverts to its old self.
Suddenly, Joe missed Noah…
‘Ah, you want something? Of course, I’ll give it to you. …I’ll let you live.’
‘Joe! Come here and help me!’
‘Joe! Give me a ride! For free, of course!’
‘Hey, Joe!’
‘Joe-!!’
……
…Wait, let me correct that.
Honestly, he didn’t miss him.
In fact, Joe preferred the quiet over the chaos.
“…Yeah, this is just right.”
As Joe nodded to himself and passed by the office, that’s when it happened.
“Neigh-!!”
“Huh…?”
At the familiar sound of a horse, he turned his head…
“No Name…?”
“Neigh!”
No Name, Noah’s familiar horse, was wandering near the office, neighing at him.
“What, what’s this…! Are you back already? …This soon?!”
Feeling a deep sense of regret, Joe headed over to No Name.
But something was off.
“…Huh? No Name? Where’s your saddle and reins?”
“Neigh?”
The horse in front of him was clearly No Name, but…
No Name looked like a wild horse, with no trace of human belongings left on him.
‘What the…’
Feeling puzzled, Joe led No Name to the stable attached to Noah’s office.
No Name seemed to recognize Joe and followed him to the stable.
After securing No Name inside, Joe knocked on the office door.
“Noah? Emma? …Are you back?”
“……”
No answer.
Joe cautiously opened the door, but…
“No one’s here?”
Indeed, there was no one inside, and no signs of Noah or Emma returning.
‘This is really strange.’
Of course, Joe had heard that Noah was taking a train, not a horse, to San Francisco.
Noah had bragged about getting a first-class ticket on a direct train from Salt Lake City.
…So why was No Name, who should’ve been in Salt Lake City, back in Justice Town?
‘Did they run into bandits or something bad along the way?… Nah, that’s ridiculous.’
Joe briefly considered the possibility of Noah being robbed but quickly shook his head.
Noah was more likely to rob someone than to get robbed.
“…Yeah, let’s not worry about that guy. He’d survive even if thrown into hell.”
But Emma was another story.
Could a proper, elegant lady like Emma really control a mad dog like Noah?
Worried about how Noah might treat Emma, Joe went back to his own business.
**
Blink.
The hot sunlight hitting my eyes made me wake up earlier than usual.
“Ugh…”
Stretching and getting out of bed, I immediately checked outside the window.
Somehow, the familiar scenery and the horizon (not the skyline) greeted me.
…We were almost at San Francisco station.
Tap tap tap tap-!!
“Emma! Wake up! We’re almost in San Francisco!”
Realizing this, I went over to Emma, who was sleeping on the sofa, and drummed on her shoulder to wake her up.
Tap tap tap-!
“Ugh…”
“Emma! Wake up!”
“…I’m up. Stop.”
Emma woke up quickly under my rough hands.
I pulled the still drowsy Emma to the window and pointed outside.
Emma, still half-asleep, looked out…
“Look, it’s San Francisco.”
“…!”
Her eyes widened as soon as she saw the view outside.
“Haha.”
“……”
Emma had been so eager to go to San Francisco.
Even though we were still on the outskirts, seeing San Francisco made her react like this, and I felt proud.
But Emma’s surprise wasn’t just because of San Francisco.
“…Is that the sea?”
“…Huh?”
Emma’s country bumpkin-ness was beyond my imagination.
“…I’ve never seen the sea before.”
“……”
Stunned by Emma’s admission of never having seen the sea, I asked her,
“…Emma, were you chased by giants and lived behind walls or something?”
“…Huh?”
“…Never mind.”
How could someone in their twenties have never seen the sea? But then I understood Emma’s situation.
Justice Town is inland.
Surrounded by wasteland, with only wells and no lakes, it’s no wonder Emma had never seen the sea.
“There’s so much water. It’s amazing.”
“……”
“And this is San Francisco. …The houses are packed together like an anthill.”
After staring at the sea for a while, Emma finally noticed the San Francisco skyline and marveled.
The outskirts of San Francisco are filled with poor people living in tightly packed shantytowns.
To me, it looked like a slum, but to Emma, it seemed fascinating.
Getting excited over something so mundane, like a kid seeing a robot for the first time…
Feeling a bit sorry for Emma, who was seeing the sea for the first time, I chuckled and gently grabbed her shoulder.
“Welcome to San Francisco.”
This is California, the Rafftel of the West.
And among its cities…
San Francisco, the most thriving center.
From now on, Emma was in for a world of surprises.
Just before arriving at San Francisco Station, Emma and I packed our bags and waited by the exit to get off as quickly as possible.
Impersonating a sheriff is a serious crime.
I was planning to make a quick escape before my true identity was revealed.
But then…
“Hey?! Gray!”
“Sheriff Jet Gray, the hero of justice!”
“The hero of the train! Hahaha!”
“Uh… hello?”
The wealthy gentlemen in first class noticed us and greeted us.
Seeing us with our bags packed, they were a bit surprised and asked, “Huh? You guys leaving already? Why the rush? Have breakfast first.”
“It’s the last meal of the journey, why not join us?”
“Ah… haha. We’re in a bit of a hurry.”
I had a particular reason to be wary of these wealthy gentlemen.
During the train robbery incident the other day, I had taken the railway tycoon’s money bag as evidence.
If they asked for it back…
…Well, I should probably return it.
Feeling guilty, I approached the railway tycoon to return the money, keeping only what I had lost in gambling.
But…
“Hey, Mr. Lloyd. About that evidence I took…”
“Ah? That? Just keep it for now and return it when you have time! If you really need it, you don’t have to give it back!”
“…!”
The railway tycoon was cooler than I thought.
I was shocked that he said I didn’t have to return the money bag.
“…Are you serious right now?”
“Of course! Haha, if it weren’t for you, our company’s reputation would have taken a big hit. Plus, you protected all of us, so I should bear this much!”
“Mr. Lloyd…!”
I was almost moved to tears by the railway tycoon’s heartfelt words.
Suddenly, I remembered a joke a comedian once told: ‘Rich friends are really generous.’
That joke wasn’t wrong at all.
“Wahaha! Thank you, Mr. Lloyd! I’ll take good care of the evidence!”
For a moment, I was so happy I almost swore loyalty to the railway tycoon, feeling like jumping for joy.
But…
“Hmm? So, Jet. What about the outlaws you caught? Their bounty should be yours, right?”
“…Ah.”
When the railway tycoon mentioned the bounty for Jackson’s train robbery gang, I hesitated again.
‘Those guys’ bounty…’
Jackson had said his bounty was $1000.
With the other gang members also having bounties, turning their bodies over to the security force could net a tidy sum.
‘What a waste… really damn wasteful…’
I wanted to cash in on their bodies for the bounty, but…
If the San Francisco Security Force found out I had impersonated a sheriff, it would all be over.
The bigger problem was that I didn’t have the wanted posters for Jackson’s gang.
The security force isn’t that friendly.
Without the posters, there would be a lot of arguing over the authenticity of the outlaws I killed.
Of course, I’d eventually be recognized for taking down the outlaws, but…
‘It would take too much time.’
I didn’t have that kind of time.
I wasn’t just here to catch train robbers.
William had offered a $10,000 reward to safely bring back his daughter, and $20,000 if I also killed the black man who ran off with her.
In contrast, risking it all to turn in the outlaws’ bodies to the security force would only get me $3,000 to $4,000.
I couldn’t jeopardize a big reward for a small one.
So, swallowing my tears, I shook my head.
“…I’m really busy. If you could handle the bodies, Mr. Lloyd, I’d really appreciate it.”
“Alright? Well… understood.”
Just as I finished my brief conversation with the wealthy gentlemen…
Clunk.
The train came to a complete stop…
“You may now disembark.”
Squeak.
The staff opened the firmly closed train door.
It was time for Emma and me to say goodbye to the train we had lived on for a week.
Despite the train robbery and other troubles, it was my first time in first class, so it was fun in its own way.
So, as Emma and I quickly got off the train…
“Thank you for everything, gentlemen!”
I waved to the wealthy gentlemen still on the train for breakfast.
For a short while, I had a good time gambling and mingling with them.
They seemed to feel the same, laughing heartily and waving back.
“Same here! If anything happens, come find us! We’ll help you as much as we were helped!”
“Yes! We’ll be off now!”
And so, our train journey came to an end.
Now, it was time to carry out the mission that could earn us $10,000, or even $20,000.
“Emma, let’s go. Time to catch that runaway couple.”
“Yes.”
As I said that, I looked around San Francisco for the first time in three years.
San Francisco had developed so much since I last saw it…
And it had a much sharper atmosphere now.
