“Ugh-cha!”
As soon as I arrived at the hotel room, I jumped onto the bed.
“Wow, the bed in a suite is really something else.”
Even now, many people in the West still use beds made of straw or reeds.
My bed in Justice Town was considered high-end for its time, but compared to the beds I used in modern times, it was cheap.
That’s why I couldn’t help but be impressed by the comfort of the first-class bed I had on the train ride here.
But now, the bed in this suite is even more comfortable than that first-class bed.
“Today, I’m really going to sleep like a baby.”
After more than a week of train travel, I was still feeling the fatigue, and I had just eaten a lot of chicken, so my stomach was full.
Plus, my back was warm and comfortable, so I felt like I could fall asleep at any moment.
Just as I was rolling around on the bed, enjoying the softness of the sheets, there was a knock at the door.
“Boss, it’s Emma. May I come in?”
“Come in.”
Emma entered after knocking on the door.
“Oh, Emma. What’s up?”
“……”
“Did you come to lie down on my bed with me?”
I made a joke, expecting Emma to make a disgusted face, but she remained expressionless.
Finally, I stopped joking and asked in a bored voice, “What? What’s going on?”
“No, nothing. I was just curious about why you made that choice earlier.”
“……”
The ‘choice’ Emma was referring to was my decision not to immediately capture Django and Josephine.
‘Should we just go back today?’
‘Huh? But if we raid their room now, we can catch them right away.’
‘I’m tired. Let’s just go today. It’s not like they’re going anywhere tomorrow.’
I decided to raid Django and Josephine tomorrow instead of today.
Emma, who had worked with me for the past three years, must have found this decision quite surprising.
“Boss, haven’t you always caught outlaws without hesitation when they were right in front of you?”
“……”
“But why did you postpone the job today…?”
I looked at the ceiling for a moment before answering Emma’s question.
“They’re not outlaws.”
“……”
NPCs don’t deserve sympathy.
Whether they’re outlaws or civilians, it’s the same.
But that doesn’t mean outlaw NPCs and civilian NPCs are the same.
This mission wasn’t just about capturing and killing outlaw NPCs; it was about disrupting a civilian NPC couple who loved each other.
From my perspective, it was a bit unsettling.
And most importantly… well, I’ll talk about that later.
“Emma, you said you met Josephine by chance at a café and had a brief conversation with her? How was she in person?”
“Basically, she seemed polite and kind-hearted.”
Emma was thorough in her evaluations of others.
If Emma said that, then Josephine’s personality must not be bad.
“Earlier, the atmosphere seemed good. There’s no need to ruin that today.”
That’s why I decided to give them a one-day reprieve.
Let them spend one more day together.
After saying this, the atmosphere suddenly became serious.
So, as usual, I smiled playfully and said to Emma, “And if I caught them today, our dear Emma wouldn’t get to tour San Francisco.”
“……”
“I’ll catch them tomorrow, so if there’s anything you want to see in San Francisco, you can go tomorrow…”
But Emma still didn’t change her expression and continued to question me.
“…Boss, will you take $10,000 or $20,000 for the job?”
“……”
Whether to take $10,000 or $20,000.
What it meant was simple.
Whether to kill Django or not.
If I only brought Josephine to Justice Town, it would be $10,000.
If I killed Django, it would be $20,000.
After some thought, I internally shouted to log out.
[Logout unavailable]
[Amount remaining until logout: $905,586 / $1,000,000]
$94,500 left to go home…
It’s really not much now.
The difference between $10,000 and $20,000 was just one number, but it was actually a huge difference.
If I got $20,000 here, the date I could go home would be significantly sooner.
But…
“……”
I couldn’t bring myself to tell Emma that I would take the $20,000.
Why was that?
Then, a memory from my time as a soldier, just before entering this damn Western game, came to mind.
Even the devilish seniors who tormented juniors during their time as privates and corporals would soften up and act nice when they were about to go home as sergeants.
With not much time left before I could go home, I was like a sergeant in the West.
So maybe I wanted to act nice too.
“…We made a lot of money this year.”
“……!”
“Too much of anything is bad. Isn’t $10,000 enough this time?”
“……”
It was something I wouldn’t have said normally.
But…
Hehe.
…As soon as I said that, a small smile appeared on Emma’s usually expressionless face.
“…Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“……”
“If we’re going to tail them, we’ll have to get up early tomorrow. I’ll go back to sleep now. You should get some rest too, Boss.”
Emma turned to go back to her room.
I gave her one last word.
“Emma.”
“Yes?”
“You look good when you smile. Smile more often.”
“……”
In Justice Town, Emma rarely smiled.
There’s probably no harder command than telling someone who rarely smiles to smile more.
But…
“…I’ll try.”
Emma finally nodded and went back to her room.
After Emma left, I lay down on the bed.
As soon as I closed my eyes, sleepiness washed over me.
***
The suite Noah had booked was practically a mansion, with four private rooms.
Billy, assigned as a watchdog for Noah and Emma, also slept in the same suite.
And then…
Blink.
In the dead of night, when everyone was asleep, someone opened their eyes.
“……”
Billy quickly changed clothes and first checked Noah’s and Emma’s rooms.
“Zzzz…”
“……”
Both Noah and Emma were breathing regularly, apparently deeply asleep.
Once she confirmed that, she stealthily left the room and mounted a horse from the hotel stable.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
The place Billy headed to was San Francisco City Hall.
Well past midnight, the City Hall was, of course, dark.
But as Billy climbed the building through a back door she was familiar with, she noticed a single room with its lights on.
It was Mayor Luke’s office.
As Billy approached the office, the South Brotherhood gang members guarding Luke bowed their heads.
Billy gave them a casual wave and knocked on the door.
“Mayor, it’s Billy. May I come in?”
“Come in.”
Creak.
Rustle.
Luke was still working on paperwork well past midnight.
That kind of diligence was what had propelled Luke, a mere officer of the Southern Union Army, to the position of Mayor of San Francisco.
Billy genuinely respected Luke and bowed her head.
Luke gestured for Billy to rise and asked, “Did Kid have any trouble today?”
Even as he asked, Luke didn’t look up from his paperwork.
But….
“That….”
“……?”
When Billy hesitated to answer, he finally let go of her hand and stared at her.
Seeing Luke’s eyes, which had grown uneasy at the mention of Kid, Billy explained that Noah had run away from her for a while.
And after hearing everything from Billy, Luke…
“Pfft—!”
He just laughed.
“He ran away right after making a promise with me? Ahaha.”
“…I’m sorry. I should’ve been more careful.”
“No, it’s not your fault. That guy’s always been like that.”
Billy bowed her head apologetically, but Luke had no intention of blaming her.
From the start, Luke never expected Billy to be able to control Noah.
“Really, it’s fine. Stop blaming yourself. Anything else to report?”
“Ah, as for other news….”
Billy informed Luke that Noah had found Django and Josephine, the targets of the request.
Hearing this, Luke’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Well, well. That kid’s still got some luck. Finding the target in just one day.”
“Yes, we even confirmed where they’re staying.”
“Then do you also know that they’re planning to leave San Francisco soon?”
“…Huh?”
At Luke’s sudden remark, Billy looked up in surprise.
Luke handed her a piece of paper.
“This is….”
“We just found Django and Josephine too. Turns out they’re planning to leave San Francisco soon.”
“…….”
Billy read the paper Luke handed her.
It was a passenger list.
[Passenger List for the O’Claire to Hawaii]
[Django Montague]
[Josephine Capulet]
“They’re going to… Hawaii?”
“Yeah, they’re leaving tomorrow night. Let’s make sure to inform Kid in the morning so he doesn’t get mad about missing them.”
“Yes, understood.”
“If that’s all, you can head back now.”
“…….”
“……?”
Despite Luke’s dismissal, Billy seemed to have more to say and didn’t leave.
Luke waited, and Billy hesitated before speaking.
“Actually… there’s something else that’s been bothering me.”
“Something bothering you? Go on.”
“I’m not sure if Noah and Emma are aware, but… it seems like they’re being followed.”
“…Followed?”
Luke’s expression sharpened at Billy’s new report, and he straightened up.
—
Meanwhile, at the Pinkerton San Francisco branch.
“Branch Manager, you’re here.”
“…Uh, what time is it…?”
Ash Gray, the branch manager who had been hounded by Pinkerton’s higher-ups for failing to persuade Luke, entered the branch with tired eyes.
It was well past midnight, yet many agents were still working.
“Everyone’s working overtime, why?”
“Ah, well, Branch Manager. Today, a train from Lloyd Corp. was attacked by outlaws.”
“…What?”
Lloyd Corp. was one of the top two railroad companies in the West.
For such a company’s train to be attacked by outlaws…
Ash’s expression changed, and he asked sharply, “Who were they?”
The Pinkerton agent showed Ash a wanted poster.
“It’s the Jackson Train Robbery Gang, active in Nevada three years ago.”
“The Jackson Train Robbery Gang… I think I’ve heard of them. What’s the damage?”
“This train had many VIPs, including Lloyd Corp.’s president, but… there were no casualties, and the Jackson Train Robbery Gang was completely wiped out.”
“…What? No casualties, and the gang was wiped out?”
The Jackson Train Robbery Gang was notorious enough for Ash to remember their name even after so much time.
But no casualties, and the gang was wiped out…?
“Is that really true? Are you sure?”
“Yes, the bodies provided by Lloyd Corp. and the captured leader Jackson’s face and features matched the wanted posters.”
“Huh, guess Lloyd Corp. tightened security with VIPs on board.”
Lloyd Corp. was the only railroad company in the West that didn’t use Pinkerton’s security services.
For Lloyd Corp. to take down outlaws without Pinkerton’s help left a bitter taste in Ash’s mouth.
But then, his subordinate revealed something unexpected.
“Actually, it wasn’t Lloyd Corp.’s employees who took down the gang. It was a sheriff on the train.”
“A sheriff?”
What kind of nonsense was this?
The Jackson Train Robbery Gang had at least dozens of members, and a single sheriff took them down?
Ash thought his subordinate might be joking, but his expression said otherwise.
The subordinate, looking like he couldn’t believe it either, reported based on passenger testimonies.
“First-class VIPs and regular passengers alike praised him. They called him the hero of the train….”
“So it’s true? …That’s unbelievable. Who is this sheriff?”
“Ah, it’s written here.”
The subordinate read the name from the document.
And…
“It’s Sheriff Jet Gray from Justice Town.”
“……Huh?”
Hearing that name, Ash Gray couldn’t help but tilt his head.
Because…
“…Brother? Wait, why is Jet’s name coming up here?”
Jet Gray was none other than Ash Gray’s older brother.
Ash, startled by the sudden mention of Jet’s name, asked again, but the subordinate’s answer was the same.
“Yes, it’s Sheriff Jet Gray from Justice Town. But why… Oh, your last names are the same.”
“Yeah, he’s my older brother. But he came to San Francisco?”
Jet was the type who hated San Francisco for being too noisy.
And objectively speaking, Jet’s skills weren’t at the level of taking down a train robbery gang alone.
‘…Besides, if my brother came to San Francisco, he would’ve come to see me right away.’
Though they’d been apart for a long time, their relationship wasn’t bad.
Whenever Jet had business in California, he always met Ash, and whenever Ash went to Utah, he always met Jet.
If Jet had come to San Francisco, he would’ve come straight to the Pinkerton branch. The fact that he didn’t was very strange.
“…First thing tomorrow, take the team and dig into this case. Also, find out where this Jet Gray went.”
“Yes.”
Feeling something instinctively, Ash ordered his subordinates to uncover the truth of the case.
Though nowadays Pinkerton was practically a mercenary company, its original business was private investigation.
Ash believed they’d soon uncover the truth of the train robbery incident…
“Ah, guess I’ve got some paperwork to do now.”
…and immediately started working overtime.
[We never sleep]
Today, the slogan on the wall felt like it was watching Ash work hard.
And so, the sleepless night passed for many…
Morning came.
—
