In this era, painkillers contain morphine.
Morphine.
In modern times, it’s a well-known drug that most people have heard of.
But in this wild west era, the concept of drugs hasn’t even settled in yet.
That’s why many medications back then casually included such narcotics.
Earlier, when treating my wound, I was given a painkiller containing morphine, so I wasn’t in my right mind.
Maybe that’s why.
I failed to notice that this villa, supposedly abandoned for years, was way too clean.
“And earlier, I didn’t get to mention it, but this place… doesn’t it seem way too clean for somewhere that’s been abandoned for years? It’s as if someone’s been cleaning it regularly…”
*Thud.*
As soon as Emma brought it up, there was a noise outside.
“…!”
It wasn’t just one person.
Two people.
Right now, two people were walking straight toward this villa.
“…What’s wrong, Boss?”
“…Damn it. They say if you talk about the tiger, it appears…”
“…Are they coming here now?”
“Yeah, hurry and clean up our traces. Quick—!”
The villa was already littered with our traces—a scattered first aid kit, a blanket, and the letter envelope Emma had opened.
The only saving grace was that the guys coming here were moving slowly.
Emma and I frantically cleaned up our traces and hid in the wardrobe.
Of all places, we ended up hiding in the same wardrobe, so our bodies were pressed close together, but that wasn’t important right now.
*Creak.*
As soon as we got into the wardrobe, the villa door opened.
*Thud, thud.*
The sound of their footsteps on the wooden floor was clear—they were wearing work boots.
“Haa… haa…”
“……”
Emma’s nervous, hot breath tickled the back of my neck.
Because of our height difference, it looked like I was hugging Emma.
Normally, I might’ve joked around, but not now.
At first glance, our situation might look romantic… but in reality, it was a thriller.
‘If things go south, do I have to fight? My body’s not in great shape.’
To be precise, it wasn’t my body but my mind that was the problem.
My vision was blurry, so I probably couldn’t fight at my usual level.
Even though I had a pistol at my waist, I decided to wait and see.
*Creak.*
Soon, the guys entered the room we were in.
Through the slightly open wardrobe door, I could catch glimpses of them.
“Ah~ I really don’t get why we have to do this kind of stuff, you know?”
“……”
One had a frivolous voice, while the other was silent.
As expected, they were wearing sturdy work boots, and each had a pistol holstered at their waist.
But what stood out the most was…
Their white uniforms and the white masks they were holding.
As soon as I saw them, I couldn’t help but flinch.
‘…I thought they disappeared after being pushed out by the South Brotherhood. Turns out they’re still in San Francisco.’
And I wasn’t the only one surprised to see them.
“…!”
Emma also seemed to recognize who they were, her face showing shock.
**
White uniforms and white masks.
And when one of them took off their glove, a tattoo on the back of their hand was revealed.
k
As soon as Emma saw the tattoo with the letter ‘k,’ she knew who they were.
Even though Emma had spent her whole life in the backwater town of Justice Town…
Their trademark was just too famous.
If the South Brotherhood was the largest gang in the West…
Then they were known as the worst gang in the West…
TKK.
The secretive gang TKK was said to consist entirely of outlaws with high bounties on their heads.
That’s why they wore those white masks during their activities—to avoid showing their faces.
Though not as large as the South Brotherhood, their brutal reputation was known across the entire U.S.
‘…I heard they disbanded and disappeared?’
Why are they here…?
“……”
No matter how skilled Noah was as a gunslinger, these guys were clearly no pushovers either.
Emma held her breath, trying not to give away our hiding spot.
Luckily, the TKK members didn’t notice Noah and Emma hiding in the wardrobe.
“High-level operatives like us delivering letters and cleaning… This isn’t what we joined the organization for, right?”
“……”
“Don’t you think so, Senior?”
“…Shut up.”
The silent senior member scolded the frivolous junior and then pulled something out from his pocket.
It was…
*Thud.*
…a letter.
He placed an envelope on the desk, identical to the one Emma had been reading earlier.
“Rookie, have you forgotten the rules?”
“…No, I haven’t.”
“First rule. Betrayers must be killed.”
At the senior member’s words, the junior member fell silent.
The senior continued in a stern voice.
“Second rule. Orders from above must be carried out without question.”
“……”
“This is a direct order from the Boss. One more complaint, and I’ll execute you on the spot.”
“…Yes, I’m sorry.”
The junior member immediately backed down at the senior’s cold tone.
“…Then let’s start cleaning right away.”
“Right.”
Eager to finish cleaning and leave, the two moved busily but didn’t even glance at the wardrobe where Noah and Emma were hiding.
‘…Good. If we just wait until they leave, we’ll be fine.’
As Emma sighed in relief, the junior member started sweeping the room where Noah and Emma were hiding.
But then, the guy…
I guess I was just born with a talkative personality.
Even though he just got scolded, the junior member started talking to the senior member in his usual frivolous tone.
But the content of his words was anything but ordinary.
“By the way, senior. Why is the South Brotherhood acting like this right now?”
“……”
“They’re turning the city upside down with the security forces, and even the state government troops have blocked off the outskirts of San Francisco, right? What if they’ve noticed we’re hiding in the city and are conducting a sweep operation…”
“……The higher-ups have already been informed, so they’ll probably handle it appropriately. So don’t panic and just wait.”
“Yessir.”
The South Brotherhood mobilized state troops to blockade San Francisco.
That was clearly aimed at Noah and Emma.
‘If that’s the case, then the way back to Justice Town from San Francisco is blocked…’
The trip to San Francisco, which had been so exciting at first, was gradually turning into an extreme situation.
Just then, Emma held her forehead for a moment.
“Let’s see. So from here, we’ll sweep… huh…?”
The junior member, as if noticing something strange, looked at the floor and then up at the ceiling.
The senior member asked about his odd behavior.
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
“No… it’s just that I thought it might be leaking. The floor is wet.”
“……!”
Hearing that, Emma flinched.
‘Oh no…’
The disinfectant must have splattered on the floor when treating Noah.
I thought it was too dark for them to notice…!
“……”
Swish.
The senior member crouched down to check the wet spot.
“…It smells like alcohol.”
“…Huh? Alcohol, you say?”
“……”
“……”
Their conversation suddenly stopped.
A suffocating silence filled the air.
…They’ve noticed.
Just the fact that the members of TKK, the worst gang in the West, had noticed their presence made Emma’s heart pound.
Then…
Swish.
“……!”
As Emma froze in fear, Noah, as if to reassure her, placed his hand on her head and gently stroked it.
‘Boss…! Are you crazy…?!’
They’ve already figured out that Noah and Emma are in this villa.
In such a situation, making such a fuss would surely make them realize that the two were hiding in the closet.
Despite Emma’s panicked expression, Noah didn’t remove his hand from her head and just smiled.
And then…
“……”
Strangely, her heart began to calm down.
As her trembling gradually subsided and she began to regain her composure…
Creak.
The closet door where Noah and Emma were hiding opened…
“……”
“……”
The four people, unwelcome guests to each other, awkwardly made eye contact.
Noah was the first to speak.
“Would you believe me if I said we’re Santa Claus and Rudolph just passing by?”
“……!”
Click.
Unfortunately, it was still summer, so Noah’s Santa act failed.
The TKK members immediately drew their pistols from their holsters.
True to their TKK roots, their speed was almost too fast to follow.
But…
Bang-! Bang!
“Guh-!”
“Ahh-!”
No matter how skilled the gunslingers were, none could outdraw Noah.
Even though Noah wasn’t in his normal state due to the drugs, his quick draw was still fearsome, and he accurately aimed for the members’ foreheads.
After the situation was resolved, Noah stepped out of the closet and nonchalantly said,
“If it were winter, I might’ve fooled them, but it’s summer, so no luck.”
“……”
While Noah immediately checked the bodies, Emma rushed to the desk as soon as she stepped out of the closet to check the letter the members had brought.
[July 2, 1874]
All the letters in this villa were indeed brought by these TKK members.
Emma, puzzled by the whole situation, asked Noah,
“TKK… I heard they disappeared. I never thought we’d meet them in a place like this. …But why are they managing this villa?”
“……”
“And why are they delivering letters to you, Boss…? Don’t tell me this JJ who wrote the letter is also TKK…?”
Moreover, in the letter, JJ referred to Noah as “us.”
He even wrote sentences with a tone suggesting that Noah had betrayed them…
Which means…
“……!”
At that moment, everything clicked in her head.
At the same time, a bad feeling crept in.
About Noah’s past life that Emma didn’t know…
A chilling, ominous feeling.
Shudder.
As Emma unconsciously stepped back…
“……”
Noah stared at her with a coldness she had never seen before.
For a moment, his gaze was so icy it made her heart ache…
But Emma swallowed hard and finally asked him,
“Boss, were you… an outlaw?”
As soon as Emma uttered those words, the atmosphere in the room turned icy cold.
