“Damn this son of a bitch—!!”
*BANG!*
Unable to contain his frustration, William slammed his hand on the table in the mansion Noah had just left.
“What? He’s demanding 20,000 dollars? Did he think I’d just hand it over if he pointed a gun at my head?”
“Sir… please calm down…”
“Janssen—! Would *you* stay calm if you were in my shoes? That failure of a man is threatening me and demanding 20,000 dollars in cold cash! The audacity of this bastard—!”
But Noah’s misdeeds didn’t end there.
‘Oh, Josephine and that dark-skinned guy are long gone.’
‘You’d probably have to cross the Pacific to find them.’
William had already guessed that the mission to retrieve Josephine had failed when he lost contact with his subordinates in San Francisco.
But to mock him about it in front of a father who’d lost his daughter…!
And then there was Noah’s skill.
William didn’t know much about gunslingers, but he could tell that what Noah had just shown was at least on par with, if not better than, the dark-skinned man who took his daughter.
‘That bastard… he could’ve caught him, but he chose not to.’
The thought only doubled his hatred for Noah.
Born into the upper class, William wasn’t the type to let such an insult slide.
He’d rather spend that money to erase Noah from this world than give it to him.
“Janssen! How many good shooters do we have in the house?”
“…Four, sir.”
“Damn it! That’s all? Put out a bounty for gunslingers in the area! Tell them the pay will be generous!”
“Sir, given our location, it’ll take over a week to gather the number of gunslingers you want.”
“Then what am I supposed to do? Just hand over the money to that lunatic—!!”
As William raged, his subordinate Janssen hesitated before suggesting a plan.
“Sir… you’re aware of that gang that recently arrived in town, right?”
“Those thugs? What about them?”
“What if we use them?”
“…Use *them*?”
“Yes, sir. Perhaps you could lend an ear…”
As Janssen explained his plan, William’s eyes widened slightly.
—
“Why should I?”
“…Huh?”
Joe, who had been making a dumbfounded face, soon realized the meaning of my answer and grabbed me, wailing.
“Noah—!! Waaah—! How can you be so heartless—! You’ve spent time with me and the people of Justice Town—!”
“I’ve only lived here for three years? Honestly, I don’t even know half the people’s names.”
Even though Justice Town is small, it has a population of over a thousand.
Even if I’d lived here for 30 years instead of 3, I wouldn’t have memorized all those NPCs’ names.
“What does time matter—! Even if it’s short, we’ve built a bond!”
“Bond my ass!”
I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded by Joe’s desperate cries.
And for good reason…
“Who was it that started calling me names like ‘brat,’ ‘kid,’ and other crap as soon as I got here three years ago?”
“Th-that was just… a nickname…”
Nickname my ass.
And that wasn’t all.
“Every time I walked by, you’d whisper behind my back, saying I was causing trouble in the town. You think I didn’t feel like pulling out my gun more than once or twice?”
“…Y-you really thought that?”
In the West, it was standard to be wary of outsiders.
Since you never knew where they came from or what they were capable of, it was better to be cautious to protect your life and property.
But Justice Town took that wariness to another level with me.
For fuck’s sake, I’ve lived here for three years, and every time I go to the grocery store, the owner subtly grabs his gun. That says it all.
Still, I didn’t have any major complaints about living here.
After all, I was planning to leave this game soon anyway.
Just as the townspeople built walls against me, I built walls against them, the NPCs.
As long as we didn’t interfere too deeply in each other’s lives, it didn’t matter how they treated or thought of me.
But what?
Now that they’re in danger, they forget all the insults, gossip, and wariness and ask me for help?
Yeah, screw that.
“You pathetic Justice Town folks.”
“…Huh? Pathetic Justice?”
“Yeah, that’s a thing, Joe. Anyway, I’m not helping. You guys figure it out yourselves.”
I finished delivering my message to Joe and turned to leave.
But Joe desperately grabbed the hem of my pants, trying to stop me.
“Waaah—! Noah—! I’m really sorry for calling you a brat all the time…! But could you help us just this once?! I’ve given you free rides in my carriage so many times…!!”
“Sigh.”
Well, yeah.
I kept my distance from most of the townspeople, but I did get close to a few, like Emma, Jet, and Bob.
Joe could technically be counted among that small group.
Instead of coldly pushing him away, I let out a sigh and said, “Joe, why did you borrow money from them in the first place? I gave you 200 dollars before.”
I had once given Joe 200 dollars as a reward for helping me take down the Redbeard Gang.
“…I have over ten mouths to feed. I used it all up treating my family to some meat for once.”
But contrary to my expectation that 200 dollars would be plenty, Joe’s family seemed to be struggling even more.
“Well…”
“Still, you don’t have a big reason to need money, right? What did you borrow money for?”
“W-Well, my younger brother was really sick… As you know, there’s no doctor in our village. So, I had to bring a doctor from Lincoln County…”
“Hmm… It’s true that Joe is a good guy.”
He borrowed money not for his own selfish desires but for his family.
Touched by this, I hesitated for a moment before reaching out to Joe.
“…Get up, Joe.”
“Noah…?”
“Your situation’s tough, so I’ll help you.”
“…Ah.”
Joe, thinking his sincerity had gotten through, stood up and looked at me with eyes full of emotion.
I looked at him with a serious face and said:
“And…”
“So, how much can you give me, client?”
“…Huh?”
Hearing my words, Joe gave me another dumbfounded look.
“You need to tell me how much you can pay so I can give you an estimate. Oh, and you said there are 40 gang members? At least $4,000, or I won’t take this job.”
“….”
Joe blinked his dazed eyes at my polite attitude…
“W-Wait!! What are you talking about!! I don’t have any money because of those guys!! How am I supposed to give you $4,000 when I don’t even have $4 in my pocket!!”
He shouted, sounding utterly baffled.
“And $4,000…? I only borrowed $250 from those guys…! I don’t even have $4 in my pocket right now, how am I supposed to come up with $4,000…”
“What? So you were trying to use me for free? You’re just a punk, aren’t you?!”
“Damn it…! I’m not the punk here…!”
I waved Joe off and turned away.
“Alright, whatever. Get lost. Gather the villagers and come to my office with $4,000 to formally request my help.”
“How can you do this to me, Noah…! I even took care of No Name’s feed while you were gone…!!”
“Oh, really? Thanks. I’ll deduct $2 from the fee for the feed.”
A $2 discount for feed was a crazy good deal, even by my standards.
This was all out of consideration for my relationship with Joe.
Having shown Joe my last bit of mercy, I walked over to Emma, who was on her horse.
“Let’s go, Emma.”
Emma looked down at Joe, who was crying, with her usual expressionless face.
“…Boss. You’re as cold-hearted as ever.”
“What, do you expect me to dig for money? I’m a bounty hunter. I need to get paid to take down gangs.”
I mounted my horse and asked Emma:
“What? Are you siding with the villagers just because you’re from Justice Town too?”
“…Hmm.”
By then, the roadside was filled with villagers who had come to watch the drama between me and Joe… and to see if I’d help them or not.
Of course, out of all these people, only Joe had bowed his head and asked for help. The rest were still watching with wary eyes.
Emma glanced at the villagers with cold eyes and replied:
“If I had to pick a side, I’d side with you, Boss.”
“Good. That’s my secretary.”
I smiled slightly at Emma’s answer and grabbed the reins.
I was planning to head straight back to the office.
Then, Joe, who had been crying on the ground, desperately shouted at me as if grasping at his last straw.
“Noah! Please! If this keeps up, the village will fall to those guys!”
“Ah, what a shame.”
Of course, I was completely indifferent.
But then…
“Everyone here will become their slaves! So please…!”
“Oh no, that’s too bad… Wait.”
Hearing Joe’s final plea, the word “slave” triggered a sudden memory.
A memory from before I entered this world… when I used to play games on my computer.
“…Hey, Joe. Is that gang called the Rush and Gold Gang?”
“…Huh? Oh, yes. It’s the Rush and Gold Gang.”
“…Ha, I just remembered now.”
I couldn’t help but frown at Joe’s answer.
Justice Town was both a lawless respawn point in <Outlaw Hunt> and a place you had to pass through for the story.
The Rush and Gold Gang showing up meant…
Chapter 4 of <Outlaw Hunt>, [Liberation of Justice Town], was underway.
And that meant the game’s protagonist would soon be arriving here.
The protagonist, a private detective from Pinkerton, would come here.
That was a huge headache for me.
‘Damn, I was planning to milk this place dry until I went home.’
I was seriously considering leaving Justice Town, my honey pot of a hunting ground.
