Chapter 9

Of course, I had no intention of killing all seven members of the Redbeard Gang who came to Justice Town.

I definitely needed one person to guide me to their camp.

“Lululu~”

I hummed a tune as I approached the guy.

Probably due to the aftereffects of jumping off a moving carriage, he was groaning on the ground, unable to get up.

“Alright, buddy. Shall we have a little chat now?”

“A… chat? Ugh…!”

“Ouch, looks like you’re in a lot of pain.”

I helped him up from the ground and leaned him against the wreckage of the carriage nearby.

Then, I pulled out a water pouch from the bag next to No Name’s saddle and handed it to him.

“Here, have some water.”

“……”

He looked at me with wary eyes but still drank the water I gave him.

“You can call me Noah. What’s your name?”

“…Verdi.”

“Alright, Verdi. Let’s have a constructive conversation.”

I took a sip of water and got straight to the point with Verdi, who seemed to have relaxed a bit.

“Where did the rest of your Redbeard Gang go?”

“…!”

With wide eyes, Verdi looked shocked. I whispered slyly, like a snake tempting someone to eat the forbidden fruit.

“I didn’t go through all this trouble just to catch a small fry like you. Where’s your boss and the higher-ups?”

“……”

“Just guide me to where your gang is, and I’ll let you go.”

Verdi’s face still had a youthful look, probably because he was young.

Earlier at the tavern, I heard a gang executive call him the “youngest.”

Verdi probably hadn’t been in the Redbeard Gang for long.

Which meant his loyalty to the gang might not be that strong.

“Ah, even if my life is important, that’s a bit…”

“What are you talking about? Your life is the most important thing. No one’s going to call you a coward in this situation. So, just tell me. Where are the others?”

Of course, he might play hard to get at first, but I believed he’d eventually give me the answer I wanted.

“Well…”

“……”

The longer he took to answer, the more anxious I became.

‘Spit it out, hurry up.’

With all this commotion on the outskirts of town, the sheriff and his deputies would be here soon.

Once they arrived to collect the bodies of the Redbeard Gang members and take Verdi into custody, it would all be over.

If I wanted to wipe out the Redbeard Gang’s main base, I had to get Verdi to talk before that.

But…

“I… I can’t sell out my brothers!”

“……”

Verdi didn’t give me the answer I wanted.

At the same time…

*Dudududu-*

I could faintly hear the sound of horses approaching from the town.

Sheriff Jet and his deputies were coming.

“Do… do you think I’d sell out my brothers just to save my own skin?”

“……”

“You bastard…! Even if I go to hell, I’ll…!”

“…Ugh, we’re running out of time, and this clueless punk is wasting it.”

“…What?”

“Alright, let’s just finish you off.”

“W-wait…! Hold on…!”

*Crack.*

“AAAAAH-!!”

Earlier, he had been clutching his chest, probably because he’d injured his ribs.

I lightly stepped on his chest…

*Swoosh.*

“…!”

I loaded the last arrow I hadn’t shot yet and drew the bowstring.

“AAAAH-! W-wait!! Just a second…!!”

Even though he was going to give in eventually, Verdi only started begging after I drew the bow.

That pissed me off.

“W-wait…! P-please don’t do this, boss…!”

“Boss? Why am I your boss?”

“I… I think outlaws and bounty hunters are brothers who just haven’t shared blood…!”

“Oh, really?”

I half-listened to Verdi’s words and tightened the bowstring.

But at that moment…

“Ugh…! I’ll talk…!!”

“……”

“I’ll talk…! Ugh…! Just please, put that thing down…!”

Finally, Verdi started crying and gave me the answer I wanted.

I lowered the bow and smiled as if I’d been waiting for this.

“Good choice, kid. You won’t regret it.”

“Ugh…”

Not only would the entire Redbeard Gang be wiped out, but their stolen bank money too.

A golden opportunity had just opened up.

**

The Justice Town security team was pretty diligent at their job.

“Hey-! Kid-!! What the hell happened here?!”

“Ah, Sheriff. Good morning again.”

Not long after, Sheriff Jet and his deputies rushed over to us.

“You punk-! What kind of mess did you make this time?! The townsfolk said there was gunfire and chaos all over the place! I swear, because of you…!”

“Come on, Sheriff, you always get mad the moment you see my face. Look, Sheriff. See who I caught.”

As I said that, I showed Jet the bodies of the Redbeard Gang members and one of their executives.

“This guy is…!”

At first, Jet looked suspicious, but when he saw the executive’s face, something clicked…

“Bring me the Redbeard Gang’s wanted posters from my bag and compare them!”

“Yes, sir!”

He ordered his subordinates to bring the wanted posters and compared them to the bodies.

“Redbeard Gang executive, Willie Merikess, 230 dollars! Then the body next to him is…?”

“Yes, a Redbeard Gang member.”

“Sigh… What the hell…?”

After confirming, Jet held his forehead as if he had a headache and let out a deep sigh.

“First, five outlaws in the morning, and now the Redbeard Gang in the afternoon… Is this town cursed or something…?”

“These aren’t the only ones. There are four more Redbeard Gang member bodies at the Deaf Man’s Tavern. I caught them.”

With the five outlaws I handed over in the morning and the six Redbeard Gang members I caught in the afternoon, a total of 11 outlaws had come to town.

It was enough to make the sheriff feel overwhelmed.

“Alright… We’ll check and handle the bodies. Come to the office later to collect your bounty.”

“Leaving already?”

“I need to check if there are any other Redbeard Gang members or outlaws in town.”

Jet said that and…

As he spoke, his eyes burned with intensity.

Truth be told, I handle most of the outlaws who come to Justice Town, but that doesn’t mean Jet isn’t passionate about his job as the sheriff.

He wishes for the peace and well-being of Justice Town more than anyone.

Right now, Jet’s eyes seemed filled with a burning desire to shoot down any outlaw on sight.

And those eyes of his…

“…By the way, Kid.”

“Yes?”

“I’ve been meaning to ask, who’s that friend next to you?”

…His gaze shifted to Verdi, who was standing beside me.

“…Huh? Oh, me?!”

When the sheriff pointed him out, Verdi flinched, clearly startled.

“…….”

Jet isn’t just some incompetent guy.

He scrutinized Verdi’s appearance carefully…

Sneakily.

He subtly moved his hand toward his holster.

It was me who calmed down Jet, who looked like he was about to aim his pistol at Verdi.

“Haha! I guess introductions are overdue! Sheriff, this guy is like a younger brother to me! A sidekick, you could say?”

“…I’ve never seen him around town before.”

“He just arrived earlier! The kid’s a bit roughed up from dealing with those outlaws! Right, Bergo?”

“…Uh, yes. That’s correct. …But it’s Verdi, not Bergo…”

“Yeah, Verdi, you little punk. Verdi.”

“…….”

Jet may yell at me whenever he sees me, but he’s pretty lenient with me overall.

“…Well, if you vouch for him, I guess there’s no problem.”

Jet gave Verdi a suspicious look but let it slide because of me.

“…Your friend looks pretty beat up. Shouldn’t he see a doctor?”

“Nah, this guy’s tougher than he looks. We’ve got places to be.”

“Places to be?”

“We’re heading out on a little ‘business trip.’”

I rarely ever leave Justice Town.

The only time I do is when I’m going out to hunt down outlaws.

Jet nodded, understanding what I meant.

“Guess the town’s gonna be quiet for a while.”

“Could you let Emma know I won’t be around for a few days? And I’m taking all the guns from those gang guys. Oh, and these horses look a bit hurt, so take them back to town for me.”

“Man, you’re really piling on the requests. Fine, got it.”

Jet grumbled but agreed to all my requests.

Then he got on his horse…

“Kid.”

“Yes?”

“…Be careful. I know how skilled you are, but don’t let your guard down.”

Like a tsundere, he threw in a word of concern…

“Let’s head back to town!”

“Yes, sir!!”

And with that, he rode back to Justice Town with the other deputies.

I watched Jet’s figure shrink into the distance, then loaded all the Redbeard Gang’s weapons onto No Name and turned to Verdi, who was still stiff.

“Alright, let’s get going.”

“…Yes.”

“The Redbeard Gang’s camp… it’s definitely in Lincoln County, right?”

Before the sheriff arrived, Verdi had explained that the Redbeard Gang’s camp was in Lincoln County.

Lincoln County was relatively close to Justice Town.

Though, even “close” meant a full day’s ride on horseback.

“…Yes, they’ve set up a temporary camp in an abandoned mine in Lincoln County.”

“If you’re lying, it won’t be fun. …Get on the horse. Let’s move.”

To prevent any chance of escape, I planned to ride No Name with Verdi all the way to Lincoln County.

But…

“Ugh…”

“What’s wrong?”

“My condition… I don’t think I can ride a horse right now…”

Verdi, who was about to get on No Name, suddenly clutched his chest and started breathing heavily, clearly in pain.

He definitely looked like he was in bad shape.

‘What to do…’

If only we had a wagon or something…

But the Redbeard Gang’s wagons were all destroyed, and the injured horses had already been sent back to town with Jet, so there was no way.

Just then…

Clip-clop.

“……Hmm?”

My sharp ears picked up the sound of a wagon approaching.

I turned my head toward the sound and went to meet it…

“Hey-!! Joe-!!!”

A familiar face.

Joe, our friendly Hispanic from Justice Town, happened to be passing by.

“Joe-!! It’s me!! Stop!!”

“Oh…! Damn…!”

From a distance, Joe recognized me and, for some reason, started cursing.

Clip-clop-clop-clop!

Joe showed no intention of stopping, even after seeing me.

I smiled warmly at him, then…

Click.

I slung my Sharps rifle forward and shouted loudly.

“Hey! Joe! Stop! Heh, if you don’t stop, I might do something you’ll regret!”

“……!”

Finally, Joe slowed the wagon and approached me.

“…Oh! Noah! Didn’t see you there! My bad! My eyes must’ve been playing tricks on me! Haha…!”

“Heh, you almost made me sad, Joe.”

“…I’d never just pass by without saying hi to you, Noah. …So, what’s up this time?”

I patted Joe’s shoulder a couple of times as he looked uneasy.

“Joe, you’re free today, right?”

“…Huh? No, actually, I’ve been swamped since earlier, and I’m already running late…”

Ignoring Joe’s protests about being busy, I leaned in and whispered in his ear.

“Hey… let’s do a job together.”

“…Huh?”

Joe’s face turned pale with panic.

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