“Hehehe… huhuhu.”
“……”
“……”
When I suddenly burst out laughing, the Redbeard Gang stopped eating, and the atmosphere in the tavern grew heavy.
Bob was the first to notice the change and approached me.
“…Kid. Why are you suddenly cracking up?”
“Ah, just something good happened.”
“Something good?”
“What could be good for a bounty hunter?”
“……!”
As soon as I finished speaking, an unmistakable stir arose from the table across the room.
The atmosphere grew quiet and rapidly turned icy.
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
Only Bob, the owner, was left scratching his head, unable to grasp the situation.
“Never mind, just give me some food.”
“Ah, right. I’ll bring it out as soon as I finish what I’m doing. What do you want?”
“Fried beans and bread.”
“Always ordering the most troublesome things… Alright. I’ll get it ready from the oven.”
I sent Bob back to the kitchen and tapped the table with my fingers.
*Tap tap.*
From the moment I revealed I was a bounty hunter, those guys had been watching me.
‘How should I handle this?’
With my reputation as the [Fastest Gunslinger in the West], I wasn’t afraid of anything.
It would take me 1-2 seconds to draw my gun and take down six of them with rapid fire.
The last one, I’d approach before he could react and slit his throat with the knife in my back pocket.
This situation was different from when I caught Marv Merchins.
From the moment I knew they were the Redbeard Gang, I didn’t need to wait for them to draw first.
I planned to take them out quickly before Bob brought out my breakfast.
‘I’ll finish them off before they can even react.’
Just as I was about to stealthily move my hand to my holster…!
‘…Huh?’
I couldn’t help but panic.
Because… my gun was gone…?
Ah.
Now that I think about it…
‘No!!! My $5 single-action Army-!!’
I broke it earlier when I swung it like a club while catching Marv.
I had other backup guns in the office, but I was too excited about drinking to bring them.
So… the only weapon I had now was the knife in my back pocket.
“……”
…This is awkward.
From the moment I openly revealed I was a bounty hunter, I had essentially picked a fight with those guys.
But now I don’t have a gun?
I’m screwed.
Sure, I’m good with a knife.
But damn, I’m not an assassin. I can’t take down seven guys with just one knife.
“…Bob! Bob-!!!!”
In desperation, I quickly called for Bob, the only ally I had in this deaf man’s tavern.
“Bob-!!! Bob-!!”
“What-!!!! I’m busy as hell, why are you being so loud-!!”
Bob, covered in flour and clearly irritated, came out of the kitchen.
I whispered to him discreetly.
“Gun, get me a gun.”
In the lawless Wild West, every shop owner kept a gun.
Bob was no exception.
From what I remembered, Bob kept his gun in the back of the kitchen.
But…
“What? Speak up! I can’t hear-!!”
“……”
Of all times, Bob’s selective deafness kicked in, and he tilted his head innocently.
Frustrated, I tried to explain using gestures.
“…Gun. Get me a gun. Bang bang, the thing that goes bang…!”
“Huh? Ah…!”
My efforts seemed to pay off as Bob nodded like he understood.
But…
“Ah, the gun! But why do you need it all of a sudden?”
“……”
Backfire.
Bob’s booming voice filled the tavern, and the atmosphere turned from cold to freezing.
Now, the Redbeard Gang wasn’t just wary of me—they were outright hostile.
“Ha… damn it.”
“Huh? Kid! Why do you need the gun all of a sudden?”
“Ugh… I’ve been a regular here for years, why is our teamwork so off… This is frustrating…”
“What are you saying? I can’t hear you, Kid! Louder!”
“Your shop’s gonna get wrecked again.”
“…What do you mean? Why would my shop get wrecked?”
This selectively deaf bastard.
He didn’t hear most of what I said, but the moment I mentioned his shop getting wrecked, he caught every word.
“Well…”
“Hey.”
As I was about to explain to Bob why his shop was about to get wrecked, someone interrupted.
“You, come talk to us for a sec.”
“……”
It was one of the Redbeard Gang members.
With a chilling tone, I casually gestured to Bob.
“…Bob, go. They’re calling you.”
“No, not the owner. You, the bounty hunter. Come here.”
“……”
If I go over there, I’m probably screwed.
In times like these, you have to act confident.
I turned around with a sharp gaze and an imposing demeanor.
“If you have business, why don’t you come over here…”
“……”
“…Wouldn’t that be better…?”
…There’s no winning against a gun.
Even I, the nightmare of outlaws and the greatest bounty hunter, had to act like a lamb in front of a gun.
“Pfft, what a loser.”
“Thought he was something, but he’s just a dumbass.”
As I stammered and pleaded, the Redbeard Gang laughed at me while drinking.
The icy atmosphere quickly turned rowdy, and one of the gang members glared at me as he approached and sat down next to me.
“Hey, you.”
“…Me?”
“Yeah, you. What, you’re a bounty hunter?”
He said this while casually opening my coat.
The first thing visible was, of course, the empty holster.
“Pfft, what kind of bounty hunter doesn’t even have a gun?”
“……”
Finally understanding the situation, Bob quietly slipped into the kitchen.
Probably to get the gun.
I just needed to wait a little longer.
Just until Bob brought the gun from the kitchen and handed it to me…
But…
*Click.*
“You know who we are, right?”
“……”
Before that, he drew his gun first.
It was that guy.
He pulled a pistol from his holster…
Thud.
He cocked the hammer and pointed it at my chest like a threat.
“Molly-!! You crazy bastard! What are you doing?!”
“Ah, boss. Just scaring him a bit. Hehe, look at this cute little face.”
I recognized the face of a Redbeard Gang executive who shouted, but the guy in front of me, maybe drunk, laughed and snapped back.
The Redbeard Gang is on the run after robbing the Wells Fargo Bank in Lexio County.
From their perspective, they probably didn’t want to cause a scene in Justice Town, which was just a stopover for them.
But the young guy in front of me, maybe a low-ranking member, was pointing a gun at me with reckless energy.
I was grateful to this guy…
“Thanks.”
“What?”
“I needed a gun.”
I was really grateful.
“What the…”
Thud.
“…!”
Before the guy could react, I struck his wrist with the edge of my hand and snatched the pistol.
“Whoa…! Wait…!”
Someone kindly cocked the hammer for me, so I immediately pulled the trigger.
Bang!
“Ugh-!!”
As the guy fell, I turned the barrel.
And then I started rapid-firing with fanning…
“Flip the table and grab your guns-!!”
“Hoo…”
…but their reaction speed was faster than I thought.
Bang! Bang!
“Ahhh-!”
“Ugh!”
So, I only took out the two slowest ones and hid behind the bar.
Bang! Bang! Bang-bang-bang!!
“Go get the rifles from the carriage-!”
“Take cover-!”
I took out three, and four remained.
But these guys are smarter than I thought.
As soon as things went down, they stayed calm and moved precisely under their leader’s orders.
“Cover me while the youngest gets the rifle!”
Bang! Bang!
…almost like soldiers.
“Kid-! I got the gun!”
“Ah, crap-! Why a revolver-! No shotgun or rifle?”
“Shotgun, rifle? What do you think this is, an arms dealer? This is all we got!”
What Bob brought was an old revolver.
Now, my arsenal was two revolvers—one I stole and one Bob gave me.
Compared to them…
“We got two rifles from the carriage-!”
“Give one to me first-!”
“You bastard-! You’re dead!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
They even had rifles, so their firepower was way better than mine.
No matter how good my aim or how fast my hands were, being cornered like this left me with no options.
I planned to wait them out, letting them get impatient and close the distance, then pick them off one by one.
But…
“I’ll charge, so cover me…!”
“No…! If we waste time, the security forces will come! Let’s run and regroup with the main force!”
“…Huh?”
The Redbeard Gang executive made a different choice than I expected.
“Boss! What about the bodies of the guys…!”
“No choice! We’ll leave. The youngest will get the carriage ready, and we’ll cover here before jumping in.”
“…Yes, sir!”
The gang members, though seemingly unhappy, immediately followed orders and prepared to leave.
“Kid! Those outlaws are running!”
“…Damn it.”
“Why?”
“I’ve only made 150 bucks so far!”
The guys I took down were clearly just regular gang members.
‘The boss is worth 1500 bucks, the named executives around 200 to 500, and the nameless grunts 50 bucks each.’
To make a big score, I’d have to wipe out the entire Redbeard Gang and take all the bank money they stole.
‘Can’t let them get away.’
So, I waited, staying hidden while they were aiming at me.
And then…
“Ready to move out!”
“Get in-!”
The moment they turned to leave, I darted to the side.
Bang!
“Ahhh-!”
The gang members were colder than I thought.
Even when their comrade got shot, they didn’t look back and just kept running.
“Tch.”
I rushed out, but they were already climbing onto the moving carriage.
Bang! Bang-bang-bang!!
I fired in a hurry, but it wasn’t enough to stop the carriage.
All that was left was to chase.
But my weapons were lacking.
The last guy I took down didn’t even have a rifle…
All I had were a few old revolvers from the fallen bodies.
As I was about to grab them and chase after the gang, I noticed something filling the wall of the Deaf Man’s Tavern.
“Bob-! I’m taking this!”
“Ahh-! That’s expensive! I bought it from the Indians for the decor!”
It was a bow and arrows made by some unnamed Indian tribe.
I grabbed them and grinned at Bob.
“I’ll pay you back double. Don’t worry.”
If I catch the Redbeard Gang, I’ll make thousands. A cheap bow like this is nothing.
There were exactly three arrows left, matching the number of remaining gang members.
With a satisfied heart, I jumped onto No Name.
“No Name, let’s go!”
“Hehe.”
No Name was a smart horse.
If he had refused to go in this situation, I’d have turned him into glue.
Sensing the urgency, No Name took off like the wind as soon as I grabbed the reins.
