Seeing Joe dead somehow made me laugh.
Maybe it’s because it doesn’t feel real.
…Come to think of it, it’s only natural it doesn’t feel real.
This is a game, after all.
No one’s gonna cry over an NPC dying in a game.
So I guess that’s why I’m laughing now.
*Click.*
Thinking that made me feel a lot better.
So I raised my gun at another NPC in front of me.
If it were just a regular NPC, I wouldn’t have killed them, but this one had already declared they’d kill me.
Since they said they’d kill me, they’re basically a hostile NPC now.
I’ll kill the hostile NPC trying to kill me before they get the chance.
As a gamer, that’s just common sense.
…The fact that I named that NPC isn’t important.
From that moment, my brain started focusing only on how to kill the NPC in front of me.
‘The SAA I’m holding has three bullets left.’
I used three bullets earlier to shoot Joe, so I’ve got three left.
The distance between me and Rize… roughly 100 yards?
That’s far.
And Rize’s small, agile frame means I’ll need to focus all my nerves to hit her.
‘Shouldn’t be a problem.’
But I’ve shot from even farther without issue.
No need for a quick draw—I already had the gun in my hand, so I just aimed and fired.
*Bang.*
But…
*Whoosh.*
Rize, who I thought would open her holster and fire back, made an unexpected move.
Instead of drawing her gun, she threw her body to the side to dodge.
Among gunslingers ruled by pride, that kind of move in a duel wouldn’t be tolerated…
But honestly, Rize’s judgment was spot on.
‘She knows she can’t beat me in a straight duel, so she’s dodging first.’
After firing the first shot into thin air, I calmly aimed at Rize’s predicted path and fired again.
*Bang.*
*Hop.*
…The way that small, white figure hopped around looked just like a rabbit.
Second shot missed, unfortunately.
But…
*Bang.*
The second bullet was just a setup anyway.
The first two misses were for the sake of the last bullet.
*Whoosh.*
I can see it.
I can see my bullet cutting through the air, heading straight for Rize’s heart.
But…
*Swish.*
“……!”
Even my final, well-aimed bullet didn’t reach Rize.
Because she twisted her body mid-air to dodge it.
“…….”
That move was so familiar, it could’ve been a magic trick.
And no wonder…
It’s a technique I used to use all the time.
‘Flexibility. That’s what matters. Enemies will definitely shoot when we’re in the air, right? To survive, you gotta learn to dodge bullets mid-air.’
I taught Jenny James how to twist her body in the air.
And…
Jenny James must’ve taught Rize the same thing.
‘This is all my karma.’
While I was laughing bitterly, Rize hid between some rocks, just like Joe had earlier.
‘This is troublesome.’
A rabbit’s gone into its burrow.
And not just any rabbit—one with big, sharp teeth.
*Click.*
I clicked my tongue and reloaded.
Now my SAA has six bullets again.
If I’d had all six earlier, I could’ve used fanning to take Rize down.
But the problem is…
Even with my sharp senses, I can’t detect Rize’s presence.
Even though she’s hiding behind the rocks, it feels like there’s no one there—just the sound of the wind.
So, like I did with Joe earlier, I decided to taunt Rize.
“You, a little brat, are the enforcer? Hah, guess the organization’s gone to hell without me.”
“…….”
“Ah… I shouldn’t have picked up that filthy brat from the Saint Michel Slum back then.”
I mixed in some aggressive words to shake Rize up.
I’ve always enjoyed rattling my opponents before a duel.
But…
“…….”
‘…Not working?’
No matter how I tried to provoke her, not a single response came from behind the rocks.
Well… Bonnie did seem pretty quiet last time.
Maybe I should give up on getting a response from Rize.
Just as I was thinking that…
“…Why did you abandon us?”
“…….”
A sorrowful voice came from between the rocks.
Hearing that…
I forgot about pinpointing Rize’s location and just froze for a moment.
**
At age nine, after being given the name ‘Rise James’ and taken in by Jenny James…
Rize was sent to a small tavern in San Francisco.
“Rize, you’re part of TKK now.”
“TKK…?”
TKK, as explained, was an organization started by three people: Kid, who wore a white mask, Jenny James, and one other.
TKK was a network spread not just across San Francisco but throughout the West.
Of course, Rize didn’t understand what a network was back then, so she just nodded.
The only thing Rize understood was Jenny’s final words.
“The tavern owner here, Gonzales, is also part of our organization. Rize, you’ll be living here from now on.”
“Ugh…”
That meant Jenny was leaving Rize here.
Realizing Jenny was abandoning her, Rize immediately teared up and clung to her sleeve.
Seeing Rize like that, Jenny seemed to see someone else in her…
He said with a laugh.
“…Rize, you resemble Kid. Maybe that’s why I liked you.”
“…?”
“Don’t worry, Rize. I’m not abandoning you. It’s just that I have too much to do, so I’ll be gone for a while. I’ll come back whenever I have time, day or night, so just wait a little.”
“…”
At the words of not being abandoned, Rize let go of Jenny.
After that, Jenny left… and Rize ended up living by helping Gonzales at the tavern.
Gonzales was a quiet but good person.
He gave Rize plenty of food… taught her how to work… and never hit her even when she made mistakes.
So Rize worked with Gonzales at the tavern during the day and met Jenny at night.
“Rize.”
“Vice Captain-!”
After learning about titles from Gonzales, Rize started calling Jenny the Vice Captain.
“Did you do well today? Didn’t make Gonzales work too hard, did you?”
“Yes!”
“Good job. Then, as a reward, should I teach you how to fan properly today?”
If Gonzales taught Rize how to work at the tavern… Jenny taught Rize how to handle guns and knives.
Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate, Rize had a talent for killing people.
Jenny often praised Rize for that…
“Rize! You did great! Your shooting stance reminds me of Kid when he was young.”
In those praises, Kid was always there.
Kid.
Jenny really liked Kid.
So did Gonzales.
Even the other TKK members who occasionally visited Gonzales’ tavern all liked Kid.
‘Kid…’
Rize didn’t have many memories with Kid.
But… since everyone liked him… and he even gave Rize her name.
So Rize ended up liking Kid too.
She liked Kid, she liked Jenny, and she liked Gonzales.
She liked the organization, TKK, that became her home.
And three years later, when Rize turned 12.
TKK fell apart.
All because of Kid, whom everyone liked.
“…Why did you abandon us?”
“…”
Even the TKK members didn’t know the exact details of why TKK suddenly collapsed.
All they knew was… Kid abandoned the organization and left.
“…Were we not that important to you?”
Without hesitation, the answer came immediately.
“Yeah, not really.”
“…”
Having been raised as an enforcer for TKK, Rize had also been trained to distinguish lies from truth.
Rize had a talent for that too.
Truth.
Kid’s words now were the truth.
He… didn’t really care much about TKK, the organization that had become Rize’s home.
“…Were we just a means to make money for you?”
The ultimate goal of the South Brotherhood was the reconstruction of the Southern Union.
But TKK, while having similar power to the South Brotherhood, didn’t have such a grand goal.
So the members often joked that the leader, who loved money, created TKK just to make a lot of money.
Rize had always thought it was just a joke, but…
“Yeah, that’s right. I made the organization to make a lot of money.”
“…”
Judging by Kid’s tone, this was also the truth.
Rize clenched her teeth and secretly moved behind a rock.
While talking to Kid, Rize was thoroughly preparing for an ambush.
Thud.
Then, the sound of Kid’s footsteps approaching the rock where Rize was hiding could be heard.
If the distance closed, Rize would be at an absolute disadvantage.
To have even a slim chance against that legendary gunslinger, she had to keep the distance as wide as possible.
Thud, thud.
She had to act before Kid closed the distance further.
Sensing that the time was near, Rize fired her last question at him.
“…Do you regret killing the Vice Captain?”
“…”
“…Was the Vice Captain just a means to make money for you too?”
Even the TKK members didn’t know the exact details of why TKK suddenly collapsed.
All they knew was… Kid abandoned the organization and left.
And…
That Kid had killed Jenny.
That was all they knew.
Soon, Kid answered.
“…Yeah.”
It was a short answer, but it was clear.
That answer was a lie.
Kid was… greatly shaken at this moment.
Rize often shook her opponents with words before a duel.
It was a trick Kid had taught Jenny, and Jenny had taught Rize.
Snap.
Having shaken Kid using his own methods, Rize realized this was her last chance and quietly stepped out from behind the rock.
Click.
If Jenny had seen Rize’s quick draw now, she would have praised her like this:
‘Excellent, just like Kid back in the day.’
Kid, who had been momentarily dazed, noticed Rize belatedly and aimed his gun at her.
Bang.
A gunshot rang out.
Someone pulled the trigger… and someone didn’t.
