I caught five outlaws in one go and made a pretty big haul. After drinking all night at the Deaf Man’s Tavern, I finally returned to the office in the morning.
The one who took me back to the office was Joe, the coachman of Justice Town.
“Noah, wake up. We’re here.”
“…Huh, what? We’re already here? Yawn…”
Suffering from a hangover, I had been dozing off in the coachman’s seat. Stretching at Joe’s touch, I got off the carriage.
“Thanks, Joe. I know you’re busy, but thanks for the ride.”
“…So you knew I was busy, yet you stopped my carriage and asked me to take you home.”
“It’s strange. Every time I need to go home, your carriage always seems to be around.”
As Justice Town developed, naturally, Joe’s workload increased too.
Last I heard, he said even having two bodies wouldn’t be enough.
Despite being incredibly busy, Joe consistently played the role of my taxi, which I found admirable…
“Here, take this.”
“…Huh? What… Noah, you’re giving me money?”
I subtly slipped some money into Joe’s pocket.
It’s been about four years since I moved to Justice Town, and in all that time, I’ve ridden Joe’s carriage thousands of times, but this was the first time I gave him money.
Joe’s face turned into a pot of emotion, but…
“I didn’t want to make you feel bad.”
“Noah, this is the first time you’ve given me money, the amount doesn’t matter! I’d be happy with any amount… um… one cent?”
After checking the amount, Joe sighed as if he expected it.
“…I wondered why you were giving me money, turns out it’s just loose change.”
“What? Not enough? Want more?”
I flicked another one-cent coin from my pocket, and Joe clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“Ah, forget it. I’ll just unload the corpses in the back.”
“What, are you upset?”
Joe skillfully unloaded the corpses from the carriage and said,
“Upset? I’m grateful for what you did last time, taking care of the Rush and Gold Gang. If it weren’t for you, my family would’ve been living like slaves to those guys.”
Last time, with the influx of capital from the Rush and Gold Gang, Justice Town underwent rapid changes.
But it wasn’t just the town that changed.
Joe, who used to be friendly on the outside but badmouthed me behind my back, calling me a brat and a troublemaker…
“Next time you need a ride, just say the word. Of course, it’ll be free.”
“……”
Maybe it’s just my imagination.
But over the past six months, Joe has become more genuine.
“Well, I’m really busy now. I’ve unloaded the corpses, so I’ll be going.”
“Alright.”
Joe got back on the carriage and left immediately.
He must have been really busy.
And yet, he took the time to give me a ride? That guy…
“Hey, Joe-!”
“Yes? What is it? Did you forget something?”
Feeling grateful to Joe, I stopped him as he was leaving…
“No, it’s not that. On your way, could you call the Sheriff for me? Please!”
I asked him to call the Sheriff for me.
“…Huh? No, Noah! I’m heading to Lincoln County now…! The Sheriff’s office is the other way…”
“Just do it. I’m too lazy to go myself. You’ll do it, right? Or else I might do something to you, who knows?”
I laughed as I said that, and Joe, perhaps remembering my shooting skills, turned pale and replied.
“…Alright.”
“Thanks, Joe! That one cent I gave you earlier is for your trouble, use it well!”
“…That brat Kid. Someday, I’ll…”
He muttered to himself, but his last words caught my ear with the wind.
Yeah, right, as if anything’s changed.
Joe hasn’t really changed that much.
The town is the same too.
Justice Town has developed rapidly, and in a few years, it might be called Justice ‘City’ due to its incredible growth rate…
But the fact that it’s a spawning ground for outlaws, with an enormous number of outlaws appearing, hasn’t changed.
Actually, the thing that’s changed the most in the past six months is inside my office right now.
“Hehe.”
“Hehehe.”
“Did you sleep well last night, beasts?”
I petted No Name and Bonnie in the stable and then walked towards the office.
But…
“Sigh…”
As I grabbed the office doorknob, I sighed and felt scared to go inside.
The office is practically my home, yet I’m scared to enter…
It’s a funny thing to say, but it’s true.
“…Let’s try to endure today too.”
I slapped my cheek lightly to wake myself up and opened the door.
Creak.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome back, Boss.”
As I opened the door, Emma, my only secretary in this world, greeted me with a smile.
**
Over the past six months, Emma has changed.
“Boss, I was just boiling water. Would you like coffee? Or tea?”
“…Coffee, please.”
On the surface, the change isn’t obvious.
But I, who am closer to Emma than anyone else, can feel her change with my whole body.
First…
*Smirk*
“Emma…? Why are you smiling at me?”
“Just because I’m happy.”
“……”
Originally, Emma was always blunt and cold, with an expressionless face, but lately, she’s been smiling a lot. Of course, only when she sees me.
And second…
“By the way, Boss. Did you spend the night at the Deaf Man’s Tavern again yesterday?”
Switching day and night isn’t good. Humans should move around during the sunny day and sleep when the sun sets at night. If you’re going to sleep during the day and move around at night like the Boss, what’s the difference between you and a nocturnal coyote? Please live like a human. And you drank a lot again yesterday, didn’t you? Alcohol is openly harmful to your body. Don’t chase momentary pleasure and ruin your health. Even Jackson, who runs a ranch over that hill…”
“…Ah, okay. Enough.”
…The nagging has gotten a lot worse.
Wait, was it like this from the start?
Anyway, these days, when I see Emma nagging, I often get confused whether she’s Emma or my mom.
Still… up to this point, it was a change I could understand.
From Emma’s third change, it became a bit too much for me to handle.
“Boss, here’s your coffee.”
“Okay, just put it here.”
“Sure.”
Swish-, clink.
“……”
Emma’s third change.
She’s been touching me more.
Seeing Emma interlock her fingers with mine while pretending to put down the coffee, I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.
“Oops, sorry. I was just putting down the coffee cup.”
“……”
And now, as she says it was a mistake, Emma’s expression is quite sly.
Pfft.
Having experienced Emma’s fox-like antics over the past six months, I casually untangled her fingers and drank the coffee.
And as soon as I took a sip, Emma’s final change began.
“Boss, I like you.”
“Pfft.”
Emma’s fourth change.
She started telling me she likes me once a day.
Not yet accustomed to Emma’s final change, I accidentally spat out my coffee.
Emma, as if she expected this, wiped the table with a cloth she had prepared in one hand.
Seeing her like this, I got annoyed and shouted.
“Ugh… stop with that ‘I like you’ nonsense…!”
“Is it a problem to say I like you when I like you?”
“I said I don’t like it…! Let’s just keep it as a boss-secretary relationship, okay?”
“Yes, I am your eternal secretary. But is there a law that says a secretary can’t like her boss?”
“Sigh…”
They say the scariest person is the one who’s only read one book.
Emma, who has lived her whole life in Justice Town without a proper library…
The only romance-related book she’s read is <Romeo and Juliet>, which she saw on a train to San Francisco.
Perhaps deeply impressed by it, Emma started aggressively courting me like Romeo and Juliet from that era.
Before the roles reversed, I used to poke fun at Emma, tease her, and sometimes flirt with her, laughing all the while…
“Boss.”
“Stop saying you like me.”
“Then I love you.”
“You’re insane.”
Once Emma’s heart opened, I found it hard to handle her true madness.
Exasperated, I sighed, and Emma subtly placed her hand on mine.
“Boss. Do you really dislike me that much?”
“…What?”
As she overlapped her hand with mine, Emma’s eyes were half-curved.
Like a cat pretending to be pitiful.
“Am I really that unattractive to you, Boss?”
“……”
Unattractive, my foot.
If Emma were ugly, I would’ve pulled out a gun and shot her in the head, regardless of her being a civilian NPC.
But the problem was that Emma was too pretty.
Emma was easily in the top three of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen, both in real life and in games, and she could easily compete for first or second place.
She had a slender figure, but everything was in the right places… Hmm…
For a moment, I let my eyes drift down from Emma’s face.
And then…
Clink.
Perhaps sensing my lecherous gaze, Emma interlocked her fingers with mine and slowly approached me.
“…If it’s you, Boss, I wouldn’t mind doing more.”
“……”
I didn’t need to ask what Emma meant by “more.”
Blushing, I stared blankly as Emma slowly approached me.
A young man and woman, an empty office, mutual consent.
Everything was ready.
‘Wait, hold on… this is so sudden…?’
For a moment, I almost came to my senses, but…
‘Then, you idiot. Are you really going to resist this? Are you a eunuch?’
The snake in my heart whispered to me to take a bite of the forbidden fruit.
‘Even so, this is…’
I told myself that Emma was just an NPC, not a human… that I could never accept her feelings, but…
‘…Then isn’t it okay to just have a physical relationship without emotional attachment?’
‘Yeah, this is America. Let’s go with the American style. Just coolly enjoy it, right?’
…It only took a moment to crumble.
Unable to resist the momentary temptation, my body was dominated by base and sinister desires.
Swish.
And just like that, without realizing it, my hand…
