At first, I wondered if I was remembering things wrong.
But no matter how much I tried to recall, there were supposed to be six single-action armies here originally.
So where the heck did the other one go?
If someone took it, who could it be?
Someone who knows about this warehouse…
“……”
“…There’s definitely something wrong, isn’t there?”
While I was pondering who might have taken the pistol, Sophia looked at me with suspicious eyes and asked.
Oops.
This girl has eyes like a hawk.
I accidentally showed her a weakness.
And Sophia didn’t miss that weakness, immediately narrowing her eyes and pouncing on me.
“Tell me, what are you thinking right now? What are you thinking that makes your face so serious?”
“……”
If I get caught here, it’s over.
So I kept a serious expression and answered nonchalantly.
“Just wondering.”
“Just what? Spit it out.”
“Just… wondering what kind of underwear Emma is wearing today.”
“…Huh?”
“…What?”
“…Eh?”
The three of them, hearing my completely off-topic answer, froze for a moment.
Sophia was the first to snap out of it.
“…W-what kind of nonsense is that at a time like this! You were making such a serious face thinking about something perverted like that?”
“It’s the most important thing to me. Ah… I wonder if it’s white tonight…”
“Y-you pervert…!”
Apparently not immune to such jokes, Sophia forgot her suspicions and stormed out of the warehouse with a red face.
Operation successful.
“…So you and Emma have that kind of relationship, huh? I knew it.”
Jet, with an awkward expression, followed Sophia out.
With the two gone, only Emma and I were left in the warehouse, so I quickly apologized.
“Sorry, Emma. Actually…”
“I know, you were trying to change the subject.”
Emma, sharp as ever, seemed to understand why I suddenly acted so bizarrely.
But…
“…But why are you doing that?”
“…Huh? What do you mean…”
“You look like a country girl who just narrowly escaped being harassed by a thug.”
Emma, who seemed to know everything, crossed her arms tightly over her chest.
Fidget.
Her thighs under her skirt seemed to be fidgeting too.
“…Must be my imagination.”
Emma left those final words and fled the warehouse.
I could see her ears turning red as she left.
“…I feel like I’ve become trash.”
But thanks to me becoming trash, I managed to get Sophia and Jet out of the warehouse.
I quickly searched the warehouse.
First, I checked if the single-action army might have fallen somewhere else…
‘Still not here.’
The last single-action army was nowhere to be found.
Next, I checked if anything else was missing.
And…
‘…No wonder it feels a bit empty. They took various weapons bit by bit so I wouldn’t notice.’
Not just the single-action army, but other weapons too had been taken.
But it was so subtle that I couldn’t tell exactly what was missing.
“…Who’s the bold bastard who took my guns?”
I didn’t know who this bold guy was, but I knew what he was called in town.
Zodiac.
He used the single-action army he took from me to shoot Joe’s younger sister.
And with the other weapons he took, he’d probably kill more people.
I thought it was actually a good thing.
With Rize off the suspect list and things getting frustrating… I finally got a decisive clue about Zodiac.
‘You idiot, you messed up.’
I couldn’t wait to see the face of that $12,000 bastard who dared to take my guns.
**
“…We didn’t find any significant clues, so let’s head back for now.”
After that, Sophia spent a few more minutes looking around our office but found nothing, so she eventually got on her horse to leave.
But even as she left, she looked around the office with a regretful expression, shaking her head.
Feeling sorry for her, I gave her some sincere advice before she left.
“Hey, I’m really not Zodiac, so stop with the baseless suspicions.”
“……”
Before coming to this godforsaken West, I had played the game <Outlaw>, the origin of this world, countless times.
In <Outlaw>, you could choose between male and female protagonists.
Most of the time, I chose the female character, Sophia, who was standing in front of me.
So I knew a lot about her.
Sophia isn’t just dumb.
She probably already figured out that I’m not Zodiac.
“You are…”
As expected, Sophia hesitated with a somewhat guilty expression…
“Sigh… No.”
She swallowed a sigh and turned away.
Instead of the somewhat sulky Sophia, it was Jet who gave us the final farewell.
“Well, then, we’ll be off!”
“Yeah, go ahead. Let us know if you find anything new.”
Emma and I waved them off, and the two rode off on their horses.
But then…
“Oh, I almost forgot!”
Jet, who was riding away, turned back and shouted.
“I know your skills, but Zodiac’s next target is a gunslinger, so stay with Emma tonight! Emma, you might be in danger too, so stick close to Kid!”
“……”
“Haha, lucky you, Kid! Tonight, you might find out what you were so curious about earlier!”
What Jet was talking about, the thing I was curious about, was probably Emma’s underwear.
Seeing the young love, Jet laughed heartily and left.
“…That guy, no wonder he’s still single, acting like that.”
It was clear that Jet being single wasn’t just because he was bald.
I clicked my tongue and went into the office with Emma.
“Let’s go in, Emma.”
“…Yes. But, Boss.”
Then Emma grabbed me as I was going in and asked.
“Hmm?”
“Still, as the Sheriff said, it’s better if I stay here tonight, right?”
“……”
In Emma’s eyes, there was a strange flutter.
Having known Emma for a long time, I knew exactly what that meant.
It was a signal before she started her usual fox-like antics, which she had been doing non-stop for the past six months.
If I spent the night with Emma like this, who knows what might happen.
But…
It was also true that I was uneasy about leaving Emma alone because of Zodiac.
“Can’t be helped. Stay over.”
“…!”
So that day, I decided to spend the night in the office with Emma.
It wasn’t the first time spending the night with Emma, but…
Thump.
Somehow, I couldn’t help but feel a strange flutter.
**
After working with Emma and having dinner, it quickly got dark.
Since we didn’t get much sleep last night due to being at the Deaf Man’s Tavern all day, we decided to go to bed early and prepared for sleep.
Swish-, swish.
Emma brought an extra blanket and laid it on the office floor.
Of course, in this era in America, there was no heated floor.
Which meant the floor was freezing cold.
Even though there was a fireplace, it couldn’t warm the entire room.
Sleeping like that, Emma would likely catch a cold.
So I…
“Emma.”
“Yes?”
“You planning to freeze to death there? …Just come up to the bed. Let’s sleep together.”
Clicking my tongue, I called Emma to the bed.
Emma blushed slightly and asked.
“…Is that really okay?”
“Can’t be helped. You haven’t washed yet, right? Go wash up quickly. Let’s turn off the lights and sleep.”
“…Yes.”
Having washed up right after dinner, I lay down on the bed, and Emma went out to wash up in the meantime.
Thud.
While Emma was gone, I checked the size of the bed.
“This… definitely too small for two people.”
It seemed inevitable that Emma and I would have to sleep close together.
‘Should I just sleep on the sofa?’
I briefly considered sleeping on the sofa but then shook my head.
The sofa in my office was for one person, so lying down was impossible.
‘It’s cold anyway, might as well sleep close to Emma.’
I pride myself on my strong willpower.
Last time, I almost fell for Emma’s seduction, but that was because I let my guard down.
Today, I was confident that no matter what fox-like tricks Emma pulled, I wouldn’t fall for them and would sleep peacefully like Buddha.
Click.
“…Boss, I’m done washing.”
About 30 minutes later, Emma came in through the back door, freshly washed.
Lying on the bed, I casually told her to turn off the lights…
“If you’re done washing, turn off the lights and let’s sleep…”
…but I couldn’t help but close my mouth when I saw Emma.
This wasn’t the first time I spent the night with Emma.
For example, on the direct train to San Francisco.
We didn’t share the same bed, but we definitely shared the same room for a week.
Back then, Emma slept on the sofa, covered in outdoor clothes.
But now, Emma…
Like most people in this era in America, she had taken off her clothes and was only wearing a thin nightgown.
“……”
Through the thin fabric, the curves of Emma’s body were visible.
She looked slim in clothes, but undressed, her curves were… sensual.
Staring blankly at her body, I suddenly remembered what I had said earlier to distract Sophia.
‘I was just curious about what kind of underwear Emma is wearing today.’
Today, I would never know.
Because…
Under that thin nightgown… there was nothing but her white skin.
For a moment, looking at Emma, I felt like everything else was forgotten.
Zodiac, Sophia, Rize, the South Brotherhood, TKK…
And…
Jenny James… Jamie James…
The fact that this world was a game… that I had to return home…
All forgotten, only Emma remained.
What snapped me out of it was Emma’s soft call.
“…Boss?”
Emma tilted her head, looking at me frozen, and approached the bed.
Her eyes, filled with innocence, showed she didn’t understand why I was acting this way.
“Sigh…”
Seeing Emma like that, I let out a hollow laugh.
Acting like a nine-tailed fox but pretending to be clueless…
It was truly despicable.
Enough to make me want to devour her whole.
