Chapter 104
"...Haha, asking for $30,000 as a down payment. How much are you planning to receive if you succeed in the mission? This old man is getting scared."
"If I succeed in the mission, I'll only take $5,000."
"...What?"
A $30,000 down payment, but only $5,000 if the mission succeeds?
Could he be planning to take the money and run?
Lloyd, being a cold-headed businessman, naturally had to suspect a scam.
But...
He didn't seem like that kind of person...
From Lloyd's perspective, although Noah had some thuggish aspects, he wasn't that type of thug.
Above all, Noah's face now looked quite sincere.
What should I do…?
The total amount Noah proposed was $35,000.
It was $5,000 more than the $30,000 Lloyd initially offered.
But Lloyd didn't care about the money.
He was even prepared to offer up to $50,000 if necessary.
It couldn't be helped, considering how much profit the Lloyd Railroad Company would make from this new railroad construction.
It’d easily surpassed tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, and from a long-term perspective, it even exceeded hundreds of millions of dollars.
What was a few tens of thousands of dollars compared to that?
Of course, $35,000 was quite a large amount even from Lloyd's perspective, but...
He could give it right away today if he withdrew money from his account.
However...
"If $5,000 is too much, I can take $3,000 or even $2,000. Just please make sure to keep the $30,000 down payment."
"..."
Lloyd was still bothered by Noah proposing $30,000 as a down payment.
Why on earth was he demanding such a large amount as a down payment?
And why exactly $30,000, no more, no less?
Swish—
To find a clue about this, Lloyd turned his gaze to Emma beside Noah.
She also seemed to have a perplexed expression, as if she didn't understand Noah's behavior right now.
Seeing Emma's expression and becoming even more puzzled, Lloyd decided to take a direct approach.
"...Why do you need that large sum right now?"
He just straightforwardly asked Noah why he needed $30,000.
But...
"Would you believe me if I said the treatment for my sick mother costs $30,000?"
"That can't be."
Noah didn't seem willing to answer that question.
Treatment for a sick mother? That's not even funny.
"Anyway, I need $30,000 right now. If you give me $30,000 as a down payment, I'll definitely complete whatever mission Mr. Lloyd gives me."
"...Do you know what kind of mission I'm going to give you?"
"I'll do it, whatever it is. You know my skills, don't you?"
...Indeed I do.
Skilled gunslingers had become rare due to the South Brotherhood's activities.
The Noah I saw last time in San Francisco had power that surpassed the level of just a skilled gunslinger, matching an entire gang.
If such a Noah became a force for the Lloyd Railroad Company, it would be a great help in solving the current problem.
Yes... I absolutely need this friend right now.
Soon, Lloyd decided to recruit Noah.
But...
"I'm sorry, Noah. But $30,000 as a down payment seems too much."
Lloyd had no intention of giving Noah everything he wanted.
"..."
Hearing Lloyd's answer, Noah froze as if time had stopped.
Disappointment, irritation, and undisguisable anger flowed from Noah's expression.
"...Why? Surely a rich person like Mr. Lloyd wouldn't lack just $30,000…? Tell me the reason."
He openly showed his displeasure and got irritated as soon as he didn't get what he wanted.
Seeing Noah like this, Lloyd laughed inwardly.
This is truly just a kid.
As one became an adult, one should hide their desires and emotions more.
That was how one could more thoroughly get what one wanted.
From Lloyd's perspective, Noah's behavior of throwing a tantrum like this when refused the $30,000 down payment was just that of a kid.
But...
Shiver.
...The problem was that this kid had such strong power.
Lloyd felt his whole body's hair stand on end as he met Noah's glaring eyes.
Lloyd had been favorable towards Noah, and Noah had also been favorable towards Lloyd, so he had never experienced Noah's hostility before...
...If this friend were to hold a gun, I'd truly wet myself.
Just from Noah's glare, Lloyd had to feel the greatest fear in his 60 years of life.
That was how fierce Noah's atmosphere was right now.
But Lloyd had no intention of backing down either.
He thought this business was the last task he could do for his company.
Lloyd planned to hand over the company to his son and retire from management after completing this railroad construction.
Lloyd had always been on the path of success... if he failed in his last business, it would feel like his entire life was being denied.
That was why Lloyd couldn't fulfill what Noah wanted.
"$30,000 is a large sum even for me. Even if it's you, I can't just hand over such a large amount without any results, can I?"
"..."
"$20,000 as a down payment, and $20,000 when you complete the mission. This is my final offer."
Noah was a beast.
To successfully complete this job, he needed to tame the beast that was Noah.
For some reason, Noah seemed obsessed with the amount of $30,000...
Money would be a faithful leash for Noah.
"Haa..."
$20,000 as a down payment, $20,000 when the mission succeeded.
For Noah, who needed $30,000 right away, it was a not bad condition, though somewhat disappointing.
After all, if he just succeeded in the mission, he could receive more than $30,000, right?
Noah took several deep breaths to calm his excited chest.
Then, returning to his original neat face, he nodded.
"Alright. Let's do that."
"Great! Noah! I'll have my secretary pay the down payment tomorrow!"
As Noah accepted the proposal, Lloyd cheered and stood up.
In fact, Lloyd hadn't been able to sleep at night for the past few months because of this problem.
He felt like a troublesome tooth had been pulled out.
"Ahaha! I feel good! Noah! We've become partners now, so how about we go somewhere nice for a drink..."
At this, Lloyd smiled broadly and offered Noah a drink, but...
"No."
"...Hmm?"
"Let's hear about the mission. If it's something I can start from today, I'll begin right away."
Noah, already revved up, was in a hurry.
Noah's eyes were filled with desire to complete the mission as soon as possible and get the money.
In Noah's appearance, Lloyd saw a reflection of his past self.
The past Lloyd, who had his long-cherished goal in sight... was also this impatient and excited.
At this, Lloyd, reminded of old memories after a long time, smiled slightly and sat down again.
"Alright, then I'll tell you now what I'd like you to do."
"Yes. Tell me anything."
Noah listened intently to Lloyd's words like a hunting dog eager to know who it should bite.
***
"...You're building a new railroad?"
"Yes, the current railroads in the West are woefully insufficient. The West will develop more in the future, and the current connected railroads won't be able to handle the logistics!"
For this, Mr. Lloyd said he was building several railroads connecting Sacramento with other cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles via the shortest routes.
He said a lot of company money had already been spent on things like digging new tunnels and building bridges for this.
"But a 'minor problem' has occurred on the most important San Francisco railroad."
"A minor problem?"
San Francisco was the top city here in California.
The shortest distance railroad connecting San Francisco and Sacramento must be the most important among the railroads Lloyd was building.
But to have a problem on such an important railroad.
But he said it was a minor problem, so it's probably nothing?
...I thought for a moment.
That can't be.
If that were the case, Lloyd wouldn't have offered me the large sum of $40,000.
And indeed, the “minor problem” Lloyd mentioned wasn't so minor.
"A small town built by pioneers is blocking the route of the railroad we planned."
"..."
"Not only that, but it also infringes on Native American territory. Thanks to this, the settlers and Native Americans are causing a double trouble, and the railroad construction has been halted."
As soon as I heard those words, I could immediately understand what job Lloyd wanted to entrust to me.
But...
"W-wait a moment, Mr. Lloyd."
Emma beside me flinched and trembled upon hearing Lloyd's words.
"...By any chance, was this pioneer town built after Mr. Lloyd's railroad plan?"
"No, that's not the case. Our investigation shows it's a town that was established about 70 years ago."
"...What about the Native American territory?"
"They've probably lived on that land for 2,000 years."
"Then are you now trying to take away and drive out people who were originally living well on their land to build a railroad?"
"..."
To Emma's question, Lloyd tilted his head and answered, "What's the problem with that?"
"...What do you mean?"
"I've already received permission from the federal and state governments. I'm not doing anything illegal."
"But their sacrifice..."
"Some sacrifice is inevitable for the development of all of America."
Mr. Lloyd seemed proud of his business without a shred of shame.
Although full-scale western development began after the Civil War ended, the overall social system was still inadequate.
Taking advantage of this gap, huge capitalists like Mr. Lloyd, who accumulated money by any means necessary, were called Robber barons.
"If there's any guilt, wouldn't it be with their ancestors who chose the wrong place to settle on land where railroads would be built?"
He was truly a thug of capitalism.
Emma made a perplexed expression, as if she couldn't understand Mr. Lloyd's confident words.
"Mr. Lloyd... I thought you were a good person..."
Well, Emma, who had lived in a small pioneer settlement like Justice Town for over twenty years, would probably sympathize more with the settlers' position.
Driving out settlers was a completely different matter from killing outlaws.
Unlike outlaws, the settlers were innocent.
The same went for the Native Americans.
From the perspective of kind-hearted Emma, driving innocent people to their deaths just for money would be incomprehensible.
But...
"In short, Mr. Lloyd wants to entrust me with the job of driving them out, right?"
"...That's right."
"Alright."
I wasn't like that.
"Can I start working from today?"
"Boss...!!"
I ignored Emma's cry and asked Lloyd.
Lloyd nodded, laughing heartily as he looked at my face.
"I'd be grateful if you could."
"Yes, then I'll start right away."
Once this job is done, I can go home.
It was the last one, anyway...
It should be okay to return to my past self for a moment.
In fact, this request from Lloyd was quite familiar to me.
If Lloyd was a thug of capitalism...
I was just a thug.
But this side of me seemed unfamiliar to Emma.
"...Boss."
Emma looked at me with pitying eyes and...
Squeeze.
She held my hand to stop me from leaving.