Chapter 100
The nights in the West were dangerous. Especially in winter.
The darkness where one could barely see in front of them and the biting wind that cut into one’s flesh were hard for even the toughest person to endure.
Yet there were those who pushed through all of this and steadily moved forward.
It was Emma and me.
"Haah… haah..."
"Emma, are you cold?"
"Yes, a little... I think so."
When I heard Emma warming her hands with her breath and turned around, I saw her cheeks as red as plums.
"Neigh..."
"Hehihing."
No Name and Bonnie, who were carrying us, also showed signs of struggling.
But it couldn't be helped because...
We had been riding west for a week without proper rest since leaving Justice Town.
Usually, considering it was winter, we would have gone a bit more leisurely, but Sophia was probably still chasing us.
Especially that woman had very good intuition.
So I had no choice but to push a little harder to avoid being caught by Sophia.
But it seemed we had reached our limit now.
At this point, even Sophia shouldn't be able to follow.
Looking at Emma and the horses' condition, it was clear that pushing any further would affect our future schedule.
"Emma, let's spend the night around here."
"Yes, understood. But... I wonder if we can find a place to rest."
Where on earth are we?
We've been riding horses for a week, so we must have left Utah by now.
It was harder to scout the surroundings as all we could see were pitch-black trees.
Whoosh—
Meanwhile, the blizzard continued to blow.
What should we do…?
Just as I sighed and fell into thought for a moment...
"Boss, over there...!"
"Hmm?"
Looking in the direction Emma's finger was pointing urgently...
"Smoke is rising."
"Oh, good."
It was small, but smoke was definitely rising.
Smoke rising meant someone was burning a fire.
Someone burning a fire meant there were people.
People being there meant there was a space where we could rest.
"Let's go there, Emma."
"...But will it be okay, Boss? They probably won't welcome us."
"We have no choice. We can't all freeze to death here."
Of course, people were what one had to be most careful of in the West, but we had no other options anyway.
"If they're outlaws..."
"If they're outlaws, that's even better. We can just kill them all and take their stuff."
"...That's so like you, Boss."
"Yeah, so let's hurry. I'm freezing to death."
Fortunately, the place where the smoke was coming from wasn't far, and we were able to arrive there quickly.
"Boss, it's over there."
"Oh... What's this? I thought they just had a fire going, but there's an actual house?"
A log cabin in this remote place.
For me, who had been sleeping rough by the roadside with short naps for the past week, there was nothing more welcome than this.
Emma also smiled slightly, probably thinking she could sleep in a warm place for the first time in a long time.
But...
"Stop!!"
As expected, the people who were already settled there didn't welcome us.
Click.
Even amidst the howling cold wind, the sound of a rifle being loaded was clearly heard.
"This is our private property! Who are you people!?"
To the voice full of wariness, I relaxed as much as possible to not look suspicious and answered, "We're travelers passing by, could we possibly warm up our bodies! We'll compensate you!"
"No!! We don't need compensation! Go back...!"
"It's just a man and a woman, only two of us. Please show us mercy!"
"..."
At first, the owner tried to drive us away just hearing we were travelers.
But just two people.
And one of them being a woman seemed to put him at ease...
"...Come over here for now."
He called us closer.
Clop clop, clop clop.
"..."
"..."
Soon we reached a distance where we could see each other's faces.
The other person was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his mid-40s.
He brought a torch close and checked our faces.
"...What brings a young couple here?"
"We came from Justice Town. We're trying to move west."
"Justice Town... I remember visiting about 10 years ago. You look quite cold, come inside for now."
"Thank you."
Seeing our young appearance seemed to put him at ease, and fortunately, the man didn't turn us away.
I followed behind the man and asked him several things in a short time, "Do you live here alone? I'm surprised to see a house in a place like this."
"Ah, not alone, I have family. My father, wife, and two sons. We live modestly, just doing ranch work as a family."
As he said this, he pointed to a place where there was a barn that, although crude, was quite well-shaped.
"Then may I ask what your name is? Ah, I'm Noah and my wife's name is Emma."
"Just call me John comfortably."
Swish—
As soon as John finished speaking, I subtly turned around.
Shake.
"..."
Emma shook her head as soon as she saw me.
At this, I silently followed John inside for now.
Creak.
"Honey, we have guests."
As John opened the door, a warm breeze we hadn't felt for the past week enveloped Emma and me.
...Ah, this is nice.
How long had it been since I felt the warmth of a fireplace like this?
But even warmer than that was the reaction of the people inside.
"Guests... It's been a really long time."
"Come in quickly, it must be cold outside."
The first to welcome us were a middle-aged woman who seemed to be John's wife and an old man who looked like John's father.
And...
"...Hello."
"..."
John's two sons.
By the way, John's sons were not young.
People here married at an early age, so John's sons looked older than Emma and me.
"More importantly, you probably haven't had dinner at this hour. Sit here."
After greeting all the family members, John seated us at the table.
And as soon as we sat down...
"We just happened to slaughter a chicken today."
John's wife brought us warm soup with a kind face.
The soup filled with chicken meat smelled like a quasi-samgyetang.
"Here, don't hold back and eat as much as you like."
"Is it okay if only we eat? What about the rest of you...?"
"Of course we've already eaten, it's fine, so go ahead."
At John's family's urging, I picked up the whole bowl and gulped down the soup.
Only after I nodded my head after tasting the soup did Emma pick up her spoon.
"Then, we'll eat well."
Slurp.
John's wife was quite good at cooking.
She didn't skimp on ingredients, as it was full of meat and vegetables, and the seasoning was excellent.
Not having had a proper warm meal since leaving Justice Town, I ate the chicken soup hastily, and Emma also worked her spoon diligently, probably hungry too.
"Haha, it's good to see you eating well. We have some alcohol, would you like a drink?"
"Oh, that would be nice."
"Alright, I'll pour you one."
Pleased to see us like this, John brought a bottle of alcohol from somewhere.
"Ah, Emma can't drink alcohol. Just give it to me."
"Understood."
Since Emma couldn't drink alcohol, only I received a glass.
It seemed to be homemade wine, and although it was sour, it tasted quite good.
"Phew, this is killer."
With the warm fireplace, warm food, and now alcohol added, my body quickly became drowsy.
"I'm at a loss for how to repay such hospitality."
"Make yourself comfortable. This place doesn't get many people passing through, you see. We've made a habit of treating guests generously on the rare occasions they come."
"I see."
As I kept drinking, John's wife brought cheese she said was made directly on their ranch.
Using that as a snack, I shared drinks with John, John's father, and John's sons, and before we knew it, the night deepened and the distance between our hearts grew closer.
"Ah~ Meeting such good people and getting tipsy for the first time in a while feels nice."
"Hahaha, this friend is drunk? We should go to sleep soon."
As it was late, John urged Emma and me to go to bed.
"We'll prepare a room for you over there, so sleep there tonight."
John stuck close to me and supported my drunk self with his arm...
"...There's an attic room upstairs. We'll guide you."
John's gloomy sons, who had been quiet until now, reached out their hands to Emma.
"..."
At first, Emma stared at John's sons reaching out to her and then called me, "Boss."
"Huh, what is it Emma?"
Drunk on alcohol, I answered with a broad smile at Emma's call.
But Emma just said a simple thing with a cold, expressionless face.
"I want to go to sleep quickly."
"...Ah, you want to sleep? Okay, then let's finish this quickly and go to sleep."
With just that, I could immediately understand what Emma meant.
At this, I smiled slightly and said to John who was supporting me with his arm, "Mr. John. Our Emma says she's tired. Let's finish this quickly."
"...Hmm? What do you mean by finishing?"
Until then, John had been playing dumb, so I pointed to a photo placed on a distant corner table.
In what looked like a wedding photo, there was an image of a young couple.
And the faces of the couple in the photo... no matter how favorably one looked at it, had not a single similarity to John and his wife's faces.
"If you were going to do a job, you should have done it cleanly. The details are too sloppy."
"..."
Soon, a chilling silence fell over the house.