A few days later.
“Emma, look, that’s Justice Town.”
We got off at Salt Lake City Station, the final stop of the train, and after getting some horses from Uncle Lloyd, we headed towards Justice Town, where our home was.
And…
After several days of travel, the outskirts of Justice Town finally came into view.
“We arrived faster than expected. I thought it would take another day.”
“Yeah, Uncle Lloyd got us some good horses, so we got here quickly.”
By the way, Uncle Lloyd had some business in the east, so he transferred to another train and left.
“We said we’d meet again, so I guess we’ll see him someday.”
“He was a good man. He helped us get out of San Francisco, lent us horses, and even returned the money to the Boss at the last gambling table.”
“Emma, that was because I won fair and square, right?”
I was the winner of the last big game right before we arrived in Salt Lake City.
Thanks to that, I managed to recover the money I had lost during the train gambling.
As a result…
[Logout Not Possible]
[Amount Remaining Until Logout: $905,863 / $1,000,000]
This trip to San Francisco ended with me making a small profit compared to before I left.
And of course, I wasn’t satisfied with just this.
“So, Boss, are you planning to go back to the office first? We should check if No Name is doing okay…”
“Ah, it’s fine. No Name probably arrived safely. But there’s somewhere else we need to go.”
“Somewhere else? Where on earth…”
I grinned at Emma, who was tilting her head in confusion, and pointed to the opposite side of Justice Town.
“We went through hell this time, so we need to go collect the rest of our payment.”
“…Huh? Oh…”
Emma’s expression hardened as she finally understood what I meant.
**
The tobacco farm run by Josephine’s father, William, of the Capulet family.
This was only the second time I had come to this place, which was almost as large as the land of Justice Town.
I had been here once before to accept a request and see Josephine’s portrait.
And this place was still…
“Hurry up, will you?”
“If you don’t finish today’s harvest, you won’t get any food!”
The white overseers were treating the black workers like slaves.
‘This isn’t even pre-emancipation.’
Clicking my tongue at the sight, I headed towards William’s mansion…
“Huh? What, what’s this…!”
A white man came rushing out, sounding panicked.
He was someone I had seen before.
I greeted him with a bright smile.
“Hello! You remember me, right? The Bounty Hunter who went through hell to San Francisco for a request that was doomed to fail from the start!”
“W-wait. It’s rude to come unannounced at this early hour…”
“So, I should be humble and polite when I come to collect my money?”
“W-what…?!”
He tried to stop me from entering the mansion, but when I subtly showed the holster under my coat, he had no choice but to follow me.
“You’re the butler here, right? What was your name again?”
“Janssen, the Capulet family’s coachman and butler. But really, this is troublesome…”
“Is William here? I need to see him in person to get my money.”
“…Actually, the master isn’t here right now! He went to a relative’s house. It might take a few days!”
“That’s fine. I’ll just stay in this ownerless house.”
“That’s not the problem…!”
Creak.
As I opened the mansion door, the black maids cleaning inside looked at me with startled eyes.
And among them…
“……”
“……”
There were also white gunslingers sitting on the sofa, giving me wary looks.
Thud.
“…Hey, who are you?”
Noticing Janssen’s expression, the gunslingers followed me.
I ignored them and searched for where William might be.
And then…
“What, what’s this…”
I found William leisurely drinking tea in the parlor.
I greeted him with a cheerful wave.
“Hello! You remember me, right? I came to collect my money!”
“You, you are…”
He seemed to recognize my face and, flustered, put down his teacup and shouted.
“This is my private property! You’re trespassing! What, what are you all doing? Get this man out of here!”
Bang.
At William’s words, the white gunslingers immediately drew their guns.
But…
Bang, bang-!
“……!”
I drew my gun faster and knocked their guns out of their hands.
“……”
“……”
The atmosphere turned icy as they realized my skill.
At that moment, I was putting on an act of being furious, so the air grew even colder.
Wait, no? I was actually pissed.
This son of a bitch.
Daring to lure me with money and use me, an NPC?
I couldn’t forgive him.
Sensing my mood, William awkwardly smiled and raised his hands.
“Haha… Sorry. My apologies. I was just startled and made a mistake.”
“…It was a mistake, right?”
“Of course it was! Hey, you all…! This man is someone I hired, so put your guns away!”
“…Yes, yes.”
The gunslingers, whose guns were already on the floor, hurriedly picked them up and holstered them.
Seeing that, I also holstered my gun, and William, relieved, asked me.
“…So, you came to collect your money? Then the request must have been successful, right?”
“……”
“Where is my daughter Josephine? Show me her face, and I’ll give you $10,000. If you killed the black man too, I’ll give you $20,000.”
William’s face showed a hint of confidence.
He seemed to think I had obviously failed the request.
…And in reality, I had.
But I wasn’t without something to say.
I grinned and said to William.
“There was no way I could have succeeded in a request that was doomed from the start.”
“……”
“And by the way, I met some other people chasing your daughter. They were outlaws.”
“……!”
“Did you hire outlaws to find your daughter? Were you just planning to use me as cannon fodder?”
Hiring outlaws privately, who should be judged by the law, is, of course…
It was highly illegal.
William, with a stiff face, asked me,
“…Do you have any proof that I hired them?”
“I do. I’m the witness.”
“If you think you can threaten me with just that…”
“Ah, I wasn’t planning to threaten you like that…”
*Click.*
“…!”
Before anyone could react, I pulled out my gun and aimed it at William’s forehead.
“This is how I planned to threaten you.”
“You… you crazy bastard!”
The gunslingers behind him tried to draw their guns, but…
“Pull that out, and you’re all dead.”
“…!”
My icy voice froze them like statues.
Surprisingly, William, who seemed strong in a crisis, was the calmest in this situation.
“Are you out of your mind?! If you pull that trigger, you’ll become an outlaw! Do you want to spend your life on the run?!”
“Considering all the hardship I went through in San Francisco, I might as well pull the trigger and live as an outlaw.”
“……”
William, realizing I was serious, shut his mouth.
Now that we could finally talk, I got straight to the point.
“Alright, let’s not spill blood and negotiate instead. That’s what money’s for, right?”
William was quick on the uptake.
“…How much to make this little mistake of mine go away?”
“$20,000.”
“…Are you insane?”
William, shocked by the bold amount, started bargaining.
“$2,000. If you agree now, I’ll hand it over right away.”
“Bullshit.”
“…$3,000.”
“Nice try.”
“…Sigh, let’s talk another time. I didn’t sleep well last night… My head hurts, and it’s hard to talk.”
“No thanks.”
When I teased him, William shouted in frustration.
“I don’t even have that much cash on hand right now!”
“Come on, you’re rich.”
“Even if I’m rich, who keeps that much cash lying around in their mansion? It’s all in the bank!”
Oh, right.
There’s no bank in Justice Town.
And the nearest bank is in Lexio County, a week’s journey from here.
“…I’ll have someone fetch the money. Let’s talk again then. How about it?”
“……”
William’s words were quite persuasive.
After a moment of thought…
*Swoosh.*
I lowered the gun aimed at William.
“…It’s a week to Lexio County, so I’ll give you a week. I’ll be back then.”
“…Good thinking.”
“Let’s hope I don’t lose patience and climb over your walls tonight. Let’s go, Emma.”
“…Yes, Boss.”
With that, I turned and headed out with Emma.
“……”
“……”
The white gunslingers twitched but didn’t draw their guns.
*Thud.*
As Emma and I were leaving the reception room…
“Ah.”
I turned back and gave William one last word.
“Josephine and the darkie are long gone.”
“…What?”
“You’ll probably have to cross the Pacific to find them.”
“……”
“See you.”
The last look William gave me was filled with burning rage.
**
“Boss, are you out of your mind?!!”
Emma, who had been quiet in William’s mansion, exploded as soon as we stepped outside.
“This is blackmail and trespassing! We’re the ones committing crimes here!”
“I know.”
“…Huh?”
When I nodded calmly, Emma stared at me in disbelief.
I kindly explained to her.
“I know. But we need to get the money somehow.”
“……”
I was determined to get what I deserved after all the hardship in San Francisco.
And if I had played nice, William would never have paid up.
Understanding my intentions, Emma sighed.
“…Boss, you’re going to become an outlaw *again* at this rate.”
“…Again?”
“…I mean, not that.”
“……”
“Sorry.”
As Emma quickly apologized, I waved it off to reassure her.
“It’s fine. I’m a tightrope walker. I’ll make sure not to cross the line.”
Honestly, I didn’t expect to get the full $20,000 from William.
But if I started high, he’d probably cough up $10,000 or $15,000.
“Sigh… Boss, you have to promise not to cross the line. I can’t work under a boss who’s on the run.”
Still uneasy, Emma held my hand and climbed onto the horse, pleading.
I got on the horse in front of her and said,
“I’ll really keep the line. But… I think *they’re* the ones who’ll cross it.”
“…Huh?”
I remembered the look in William’s eyes at the end.
He looked like he wanted to tear me apart.
He’d probably rather gather all the gunslingers in the area and quietly take me out than pay me a few thousand dollars.
In the West, the way to make money off nasty civilians is to make them cross the line first.
I glanced back at William’s mansion and said to Emma,
“In the movies, rich people always have secret vaults in their mansions filled with gold or cash. You think William has one of those?”
“…Movies?”
“Yeah, those. Alright, let’s head back now.”
*Clatter.*
Holding the reins, I looked forward to William crossing the line soon.
