Dada-dada-dada-.
After passing through Luke, everything went smoothly.
I passed through the South Brotherhood’s barricades scattered across the streets and headed toward the outskirts of San Francisco.
“Waaaaah-!”
“It’s Kid-!!”
Without Luke, the ordinary members of the South Brotherhood couldn’t stop me.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
But there was one problem.
“Hoo… Poo… Hoo…”
“Ugh, you’re tired, huh.”
After hours of crazy sprinting, the railroad tycoon’s beloved horse was clearly exhausted.
Its steps had slowed, and it seemed like I needed to switch horses.
“There’s Kid over there-!”
“Stop him-!”
At that moment, I saw the South Brotherhood camped at the last checkpoint leading to the outskirts.
Even without Luke, they had quite a number of people and seemed well-organized, which was strange. Upon closer inspection…
“Huh? That guy…”
There was a familiar face among them.
“Perfect timing. Let’s have a little chat.”
With a smirk, I charged toward the barricade.
—
“Advisor-! Kid has left the central area and is heading this way.”
“……”
If this place is breached, there’s only the state government troops blocking the land route behind us.
This is essentially the last stronghold the South Brotherhood can hold.
At this, Billy, who was in charge of the barricade, began to tremble.
His body instinctively knew…
…that death was approaching him.
“What’s the damage to our members so far?”
“Still unconfirmed-!”
Kid wasn’t the type to make such noticeable moves in the past.
He used to move only at night, specializing in stealth and assassination.
That’s why it happened at night.
Billy still remembers that night.
Four years ago.
When Billy was 20 and not yet part of the South Brotherhood.
After losing his parents in the Civil War and moving to San Francisco, Billy had only one person to rely on—his older brother.
His brother, recognized for his skills, held a key position in the South Brotherhood at a young age.
Even if some might look down on being a gang member…
‘Are you from the South?’
The South Brotherhood was the only one who took in the war-orphaned siblings from the South.
Billy was proud of the South Brotherhood and had a strong bond with his brother.
‘Ah, brother forgot his lunch again!’
Knowing his brother was working late and had skipped dinner, Billy packed enough food for him and his fellow members and set out.
Carrying a homemade sandwich lunchbox, Billy arrived at his brother’s office.
‘……!!’
The place was already drenched in blood.
But Billy couldn’t even scream upon seeing his brother and his subordinates’ corpses.
A man in a white mask and bloodstained white clothes.
*Click.*
‘Miss, are you with the South Brotherhood? Any bounties?’
‘……’
Billy had no gun and was paralyzed by the overwhelming fear the man exuded.
‘Hmm…’
The man then scrutinized Billy like a butcher judging the quality of meat.
‘You probably only have coins in your pockets… What’s this? Sandwiches?’
‘P-please spare me…’
‘Why would I kill someone useless? Bullets cost money.’
‘……!’
The man walked past Billy as if he had done all he needed to do.
Only then did Billy, overwhelmed with grief, shout at the man.
‘You…! I’ll definitely kill you…!’
‘……’
But the man just laughed off Billy’s final cry.
‘You’re crazy, NPC. If the quest is over, just disappear.’
Luke, the leader of the South Brotherhood, often said:
Kid doesn’t see humans as humans.
And…
“There he comes-!”
That Kid is now running toward us.
Wearing the white mask and white clothes that symbolized his past.
*Shiver.*
Though his hands trembled, Billy wasn’t the same crying girl from back then.
She was now the field commander here, and unlike before, she had a gun in her hand.
Hiding her trembling hands, she ordered her subordinates.
“…When I give the signal, everyone fires.”
“Yes-!”
Perhaps this was an opportunity.
A chance to avenge her brother and settle her past.
“Prepare to fire-!”
With that, she mustered her courage and aimed her gun at Kid, who was charging toward them with his comrades.
‘Not yet… Not yet. A little closer…’
To increase the chances of hitting Kid, she had to wait until he was within close range.
Billy waited calmly, not giving the signal to her comrades.
But then…
“…Eek!”
*Bang-!*
Someone pulled the trigger before she gave the signal.
The fear of Kid wasn’t hers alone.
One of the members couldn’t contain their fear.
And fear is contagious.
*Bang-!*
*Bang bang bang bang-!*
*Bang bang bang-!*
“Ah, no-! Everyone stop-!”
Billy shouted belatedly, but it was already too late.
*Ting ting ting ting-!*
Kid easily deflected the bullets fired from the edge of their range.
And then…
*Bang bang bang bang bang bang-!!*
“Ahhh-!”
Unlike the South Brotherhood’s bullets, Kid’s shots were precise, hitting the members one by one.
Even as her comrades fell, Billy waited for the right moment to fire.
And when Kid pulled the reins to jump over the barricade…
‘…Now!’
*Click.*
*Bang-!*
She pulled the trigger, aiming straight for Kid’s heart.
After her brother’s death, she had never neglected her shooting practice.
If marksmen had seen her, they would have praised her stance and timing as textbook-perfect.
But…
*Bang-!*
Kid effortlessly blocked Billy’s best shot.
‘Ah……’
As her final attack was blocked, a massive shadow loomed over Billy.
Kid was coming for her.
Billy closed her eyes.
As the final moment approached, it wasn’t as terrifying as she thought.
She was just going to where her family was.
But…
“……”
No matter how long she waited, death didn’t come.
When she opened her eyes…
“Hey, Billy! I need to borrow your horse!”
…Kid was calling out to her, switching horses.
Seeing Billy just staring blankly, Kid, perhaps frustrated, casually removed his mask to show his face.
“Ah, you don’t know who I am? It’s me, Noah. Noah.”
“……”
“It’s been a short few days, but thanks. Thanks to you, I got to sleep in the sweet room. I’ll leave the horse somewhere on the outskirts of San Francisco, so find it yourself.”
The face under the mask was indeed Noah.
The same Noah Billy had been watching for the past few days… that childish Noah.
Noah and Kid.
The same person, yet so different.
Billy muttered a question to Kid as he was about to leave.
“…Why didn’t you kill me?”
“Huh?”
“…Why didn’t you kill me?”
Kid, looking annoyed, replied.
“Billy, are you an outlaw? How am I supposed to collect a bounty in this situation?”
“……”
“And besides, I’m not some butcher who kills everything in sight.”
“Bullshit.”
Enraged by Kid’s words, Billy shouted at him, tears streaming down her face.
“A few years ago, you killed everything in sight! That’s why you killed my brother too!”
“……”
“So stop pretending to be nice and kill me! Like you used to!!”
“Billy Rooster.”
“……!”
Unlike Billy, who was screaming in rage, Kid’s voice was still filled with laughter.
“People change. You wouldn’t know, being an NPC.”
But the laughter soon faded from his voice.
“And Eddie Rooster wasn’t worth killing. He was a scumbag who deserved to die.”
“……!”
“You knew, right? What your brother was doing.”
“……”
As Billy was left speechless, Kid walked away.
Billy shouted at Kid’s retreating back one last time.
“I’ll kill you-! I swear I will!!”
Kid’s voice, now filled with mischief again, replied.
“Too many people want to kill me! Take a number and wait in line!”
Kid disappeared into the outskirts of San Francisco.
—
Eddie Rooster.
Given his high bounty and notorious reputation, it was…
I’m so pissed off.
That bastard was definitely the type to take people who couldn’t pay their debts and sell them off to Hawaii, right?
Back then, when I raided his office and came out, I ran into a woman.
‘So that was Billy back then.’
Only then did I realize why Billy flinched every time he saw me.
“Damn, my bad connections are all over San Francisco.”
I need to get the hell out of this cursed city ASAP.
Luckily, Billy’s horse was pretty fast.
Running along the railroad tracks, I started to see the tail end of the train where Emma was waiting.
And the train was moving slowly, just as I requested.
I sped up to catch up with the train.
But then…
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
“……Huh?”
Suddenly, I heard the sound of hooves and turned around…
“Oh, crap, what the hell is that now?”
A group of bandits was charging toward me.
It was the South Brotherhood, riding horses to chase me down.
“Dammit, Billy’s horse. I’ll give you the name No Name.”
“Hee-hee?”
“No Name 2! Let’s go—!!”
Thanks to No Name 2’s efforts, I quickly caught up to the train.
“Hey! Jet!”
I could see Lloyd and Emma waving from the far end of the train.
Now, all I had to do was get on.
But the problem was…
‘The train’s too slow. Even if I get on safely, they’ll catch up.’
The train’s speed was just too slow.
So I rode like crazy and shouted to Lloyd.
“Hey, old man! Go tell the conductor to speed up!”
“What?! But you might not make it on!”
“It’s fine, just hurry—!”
“Ah, got it!”
Not long after Lloyd left, the train started to pick up speed.
No Name 2 was already running like crazy, almost to the point where his legs were a blur.
‘I need to jump.’
I lifted my feet and prepared to jump.
“Boss! What are you—!”
“This is the only way!”
Emma was shocked, but this was the only way to get on the train.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
The South Brotherhood was still chasing me from behind.
“Thanks, No Name 2. Go back to your owner.”
“Hee-hee.”
After taking a deep breath and saying goodbye to No Name 2, I…
Whoosh.
Jumped off No Name 2’s back and flew toward the train.
But then…
“…Huh?”
…Short?
Contrary to my expectations, I couldn’t land directly on the train.
I fell.
Down.
Whoosh.
In desperation, I reached out to grab anything.
‘…Ah.’
Come to think of it, ever since I entered this damn western game, I’ve always been reaching out for help.
The first time I reached out was to my biological father.
That bastard, my only guardian, hit me when I reached out as a child.
So I killed him.
The next time I reached out was to a young girl.
That kind-hearted girl gladly took my hand.
But I ruined her with my own hands.
Everyone connected to me in this world meets a bad end.
So sometimes I wonder.
If my existence is a disaster to the peaceful NPCs of this western game.
The reason I want to get out of here so badly is because I’m sure I’ll never fit into this world.
I’ll always be lonely in this western game.
Always… alone.
Always staining someone’s hands with blood.
I was lost in those thoughts when…
Snap.
Someone grabbed my hand.
“Boss…! Hurry…!”
It was Emma.
She was leaning forward, holding my hand.
In a daze, I quickly snapped out of it and used her arm like a rope to grab the railing.
Crash-bang-bang!
“Ah, crap, that hurts—!”
My leg got scraped against the tracks, and it hurt like hell, but there was no time to dwell on it.
I pulled myself up like doing a pull-up…
Thud.
And barely managed to get on the train.
The impact of getting on the train was so intense that Emma and I fell to the floor.
I should’ve gotten up, but I didn’t have the strength, so I just lay there and said to Emma.
“…Emma, let’s never come back to this damn San Francisco again.”
“……Pfft.”
Emma laughed at my words.
“…It was fun, but now I miss Justice Town.”
“Yeah, let’s go back to our town…”
I was about to say “our town” but hesitated.
But…
“Yes, let’s go back to our town.”
Emma finished my sentence without hesitation.
“…….”
“…….”
For some reason, Emma looked a little different then.
She was staring at me with a different look in her eyes.
…The atmosphere was weird.
It was so weird that it was starting to feel awkward.
“Jet! I told them to speed up the train! Are you okay…!”
Thud.
The railroad tycoon, Lloyd, opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony where we were lying.
Lloyd tilted his head when he saw us lying on the floor.
“Phew, glad you made it on the train. But why are you lying there?”
“…We had a bit of a situation.”
I got up and checked on the South Brotherhood chasing us.
They were falling behind as the train sped up.
No matter how skilled they were, they couldn’t catch up to a train at full speed.
This was goodbye to the South Brotherhood, with whom I had a deep, bad history.
As I watched them with satisfaction, Lloyd asked again.
“Hey, Jet. What happened to my horse…?”
“…Ah.”
…Lloyd’s horse.
I had switched to No Name 2 halfway because Lloyd’s horse got tired.
“It’s safe in downtown San Francisco. …Probably?”
“…….”
“…Sorry.”
As I bowed my head, Lloyd laughed and replied.
“My horse is smart. It probably went back to my stable on its own.”
Lloyd’s answer was so my style.
“Lloyd, I think we really get along.”
“Yeah, come find me next time you’re in San Francisco.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever come back to San Francisco.”
The scenery of San Francisco was fading away.
Three years ago, when I left San Francisco, I swore I’d never come back.
Now, I’m making that promise again.
“I’m really never coming back to San Francisco, never.”
“…I have a feeling you’ll come back here someday.”
As I gritted my teeth and glared at San Francisco, Emma quietly approached me.
“What are you talking about, Emma? We suffered so much here.”
“But it was still fun.”
“…….”
At that moment, Emma’s face had a genuine smile.
I stared at her blankly, then turned my head.
“…Fun? It’s getting windy. Let’s go inside.”
“Will you travel with me again next time?”
“Travel? Do you know how much I lost this time? I’m only working for a while now.”
In the end, I left San Francisco without completing the mission and only suffering.
But for some reason.
Even though I failed, I didn’t feel too bad leaving San Francisco now.
“Lloyd, did you get us first-class seats?”
“Of course. I even got you a room with a narrow bed for a hot night.”
“…….”
“Huh? Jet, your ears are red. Are you embarrassed?”
People change.
That includes me.
This trip to San Francisco made me realize how much I’ve changed.
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Of course, how this change will affect me is something I’ll have to see in the future.
