As expected, our show-off politician Luke, who never cared about daycare kids or anything, returned not long after leaving the carriage.
“Noah, did you wait long?”
“Long? I figured you’d just stamp your face and come back.”
“As the mayor of San Francisco, managing public sentiment is important.”
…Seems like Luke has gotten a lot more sly in the three years I haven’t seen him.
Before, he had more of a soldier vibe, but now he seems like a full-blown politician.
I shrugged and gestured impatiently as Luke sat down.
“I don’t care about that. Just tell me the second condition. I want to finish this request and get out of this town.”
“Alright. Then I’ll tell you the second condition I want you to follow while staying in San Francisco.”
Luke’s expression was quite meaningful.
Which made me a bit worried.
‘What kind of condition is he going to set?’
But…
“I want someone to keep an eye on you so you don’t do anything unnecessary in San Francisco.”
“…Ah.”
The second condition Luke proposed was simpler than I thought.
Feeling relieved, I leaned back on the sofa and answered nonchalantly.
“What kind of trouble do you think I’ll cause that I need a watchdog? I just want to finish this request and go back.”
“If you don’t like the term ‘watchdog,’ we can call it a guide.”
“…I’ve lived here long enough. What kind of guide do I need?”
“You left three years ago. San Francisco has changed a lot since then. You might not be familiar with it.”
“……”
Familiar my foot.
Luke still doesn’t trust me.
‘I really don’t plan to cause any trouble…’
But what can I do?
Having a watchdog might be annoying, but if I want to complete the request with the South Brotherhood’s cooperation, I have no choice.
“…So who’s going to be my watchdog?”
“That would be my aide here.”
“Huh? Isn’t your aide busy? Is it okay for them to do this?”
“It’s fine.”
I was a bit surprised that Luke assigned his aide as my watchdog.
I glanced at the aide who slightly bowed her head to me.
First of all, she’s a woman with a pretty face.
Mid-20s? Anyway, she looks a bit older than me.
Her skin is as fair and smooth as Emma’s, and most importantly…
‘She looks like a total nerd…?’
Her vibe doesn’t match the South Brotherhood at all.
‘Her hands don’t look like she’s used to guns either…’
Anyway, she seems easy to handle.
So I nodded readily and offered her a handshake.
“Ah, right. Well then, nice to meet you. Your name was… Michael Jackson?”
“…It’s Billy Jean.”
“Ah, right. Anyway, nice to meet you.”
Squeeze.
“……”
As soon as I shook Billy’s hand, I had to revise one of my earlier thoughts.
She looked delicate, but her hands had quite a bit of callus.
Seems like she’s practiced handling guns as much as Emma.
‘Well, Luke’s not an idiot. He wouldn’t assign just anyone as a watchdog.’
I gauged Billy’s skill level and let go of her hand. Then I asked Luke one last time.
“Alright, second condition, okay. So we’re done now, right? Can I go?”
“…No, there’s one last important condition.”
“What? Another condition? Why have you become so petty since I last saw you…”
I was about to joke, but I stopped when I saw Luke’s expression.
“……”
I looked at him with a blank face, and then Luke finally spoke.
“No matter how much I take your gun and assign a watchdog, I know you can do anything if you want to.”
“……”
“Don’t do anything in this city.”
At that moment, Luke’s face looked like a demon’s.
“If you cause any harm to San Francisco or the South Brotherhood…”
“……”
“I will definitely kill you.”
Chills.
As expected of the final boss of this world, his intimidation was on another level.
‘…This guy keeps playing mind games.’
I usually accept any fight that comes my way, but…
“…That won’t happen, Mayor.”
I decided to hold back.
Let me say it again, I didn’t come to San Francisco to fight Luke or the South Brotherhood.
My only goal is to go back home.
And…
[Logout unavailable]
[Amount left until logout: $905,586 / $1,000,000]
I’m almost there.
If I succeed in this request, I’ll be one step closer to going home.
“I won’t cause any trouble in this city. So please find the two people I’m looking for quickly.”
“……”
When I smiled and answered obediently, Luke also relaxed and nodded.
“Django and Josephine… Alright, I’ll find that black guy and rich girl as quickly as possible.”
“Then I’ll trust you and wait. Can I go now?”
Swish.
Instead of answering, Luke gestured outside the carriage.
Honestly, I came here for help, but I didn’t want to chat with the South Brotherhood for too long either.
So I got up to leave the carriage.
But then.
“Ah, by the way, Noah.”
“…?”
As I opened the carriage door, Luke called me back as if he had one last thing to say.
His face had a playful smile.
“By the way, since you’re in San Francisco, do you want to see your old friends?”
“……”
“Ah, not friends? You know, those bastards you used to boss around and then abandoned.”
Luke, the mayor of San Francisco and the leader of the South Brotherhood, was not the type to crack jokes for fun.
The reason he was saying this to me now… was probably to test my patience one last time.
Having accurately judged Luke’s intentions, I smiled and replied.
“What the hell is this bastard saying?”
“……!!!”
The atmosphere suddenly turned icy again, and things escalated to a tense situation due to my unexpectedly aggressive response.
But Luke just watched me with a smile, as if he had expected this from me.
I raised my middle finger at him.
“You damn Southern remnant. Do your job properly. If you can’t find Django and Josephine, you’re dead to me.”
“…You punk! Watch your mouth in front of the mayor!”
Remnant.
That was a sensitive word for those from the South, especially the South Brotherhood.
The men in the carriage bristled and reached for their guns, but I didn’t care about that nonsense.
“Screw you. You so-called resistance bastards. I’m from the future, and that revolution crap you’re planning is doomed to fail before it even starts.”
I wasn’t wrong.
The South Brotherhood’s riots and rebellion were stopped by the protagonist in the final episode, after all.
Of course, it seemed shocking to everyone here that I even knew the South Brotherhood’s goals.
“You…! How do you know about the revolution…!”
“Well, I’m off. NPCs.”
With those final words, I got out of the carriage.
I waited for Emma and Billy to get out, then went to close the carriage door when…
*Smirk.*
Luke was peeking out with an inexplicable smile.
I had just insulted Luke, who was testing me.
I thought I had gotten under his skin… but what’s so funny that he’s grinning like that?
Staring at him with that thought, Luke smiled sincerely and spoke.
“I wondered if you had changed at all over the past three years.”
“…….”
“You still don’t see people as people.”
Of course, Luke didn’t know what the word “NPC” meant.
But with his natural intuition, he knew I was treating everyone here as mere game characters.
“Welcome back to San Francisco…”
“What are you talking about?”
*Slam.*
What a sly bastard.
Having finished my business and not wanting to talk anymore, I cut him off and closed the carriage door.
**
“Hehehe~!”
Not long after I closed the door, Luke’s carriage left.
And then…
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
Three awkward men and women were left standing there.
Perhaps bothered by Billy, the watchdog, Emma whispered to me cautiously.
“…Boss. Didn’t you say he’s the mayor of San Francisco and the leader of the South Brotherhood?”
“Yeah, so what?”
“…Then he’s the most powerful person in this city. Is it really okay to provoke him like that…?”
I waved off Emma’s worried words and replied.
“Eh, it’s fine. That guy’s cooler than you think.”
“…If you say so, then that’s a relief.”
Finally, Emma let out a small sigh of relief and muttered.
“By the way, we’ll have to stay in San Francisco for quite a while. Even if he’s the most powerful person here, finding someone in such a huge city won’t be easy.”
Emma’s reasoning was sound.
All I had told Luke was that we were looking for a black-and-white couple named Django and Josephine.
No matter how much control he had over the city, finding two people in the bustling San Francisco wouldn’t be easy.
But…
“Nah? He’ll find them in a few days.”
“…Huh?”
“Look at the name of their group. It’s the ‘South’ Brotherhood.
In the South, where slavery was rampant, there were professional slave catchers to track down runaway slaves.
Most of the gang members in the South Brotherhood are from the South, so there are bound to be plenty of former slave catchers among them.
Finding someone is child’s play for them.
“Finding one black guy is nothing for the South Brotherhood. Right? Michael Jack…”
“…It’s Billy Jean.”
“Oh, right. I’ll just call you Billy.”
When I asked Billy, she nodded.
“Yes. Above all, our South Brotherhood has thorough control over this city. Their names were Django and Josephine, right? We’ll find them quickly.”
“See, even Billy says so. So, Emma. We only need to stay in San Francisco for a few days.”
“Ah… a few days.”
Emma’s expression darkened slightly at the thought of staying in San Francisco for such a short time.
“…Then what should we do for those few days?”
“What else?”
We’ve outsourced the job to those lawless bastards in the South Brotherhood. What else are we supposed to do?
“Let’s go sightseeing.”
Let’s have fun.
Honestly, making others work while I relax is the sweetest thing ever.
From the start, I planned to freeload off this job.
