Chapter 108
Being a sheriff in a town was harder than one might think.
It was even more so if one was a "self-proclaimed" sheriff rather than an "official" one.
Official sheriffs at least received money from circuit judges who periodically visited the town, but self-proclaimed sheriffs didn't have such a privilege.
After all, they weren’t legally appointed sheriffs.
Therefore, Claire, the "self-proclaimed" sheriff of Peace Town, needed a separate means of earning money to maintain her livelihood.
That was why she left Peace Town to go buffalo hunting.
If she caught buffaloes roaming the fields and supplied them to Sacramento, she could earn enough money to put food on the table.
But when she returned after leaving the village for a few days to earn money...
"...Huh?"
The atmosphere of the village had changed somehow.
***
The next day.
"Didn't you hear the demolition order was issued? Huh?!"
"Kyaaaaaah!"
We started working as soon as day broke.
The difference from yesterday was that we divided into two teams to increase work efficiency.
Team 1 led by Vogue, the leader, and Team 2 led by me.
Starting from the east and west of the village respectively and going around the village once while pressuring people would quickly make the villagers tired of it.
"It's better if you leave while we're asking nicely!!"
"A railroad will be built here soon, you know?!"
Perhaps encouraged by my actions yesterday, the gunslingers started harassing residents on their own without me having to step in.
"Oh my... Where should we go if we leave here..."
"Please don't do this... please..."
The residents, perhaps also affected by my actions yesterday, didn't resist easily and just begged for mercy.
Just as I thought this would make demolishing the village a piece of cake, it happened.
"Hey, does my word not sound like words to you?"
Click.
Joshua, who was in the same team as me, growled and pointed his gun at the resisting general store owner.
By the way, this general store was a place I didn't visit yesterday.
Therefore, the general store owner, who didn't know about my actions yesterday, snorted and talked back to Joshua who was pointing a gun at him.
"You think someone will be scared if you pull that out?! Shoot! I dare you to shoot!!"
The general store owner seemed confident that Joshua wouldn't shoot him.
But...
"..."
Somehow, Joshua's atmosphere was strange.
Bwoom—!
"Guhuck!"
Sensing this, I immediately stepped in and kicked the general store owner in the stomach.
And then...
"I'll borrow this for a moment."
Click.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang—!!!
"Ugh, uwaaaaaaaah-!!!!"
I snatched Joshua's gun and fired shots grazing the general store owner's ear.
I aimed to miss very narrowly, so the general store owner must have heard the gunshots vividly through his eardrum.
The general store owner, who had been full of bravado until just now, immediately curled up like a bug and trembled.
"Will you leave on your own while I'm asking nicely? Hmm?"
"Yes, yes I understand... Huuu..."
With this, the general store was cleared too.
But Joshua, who had his gun taken from him, seemed quite displeased.
"Hey, I said I'd handle this. Why did you step in?"
"..."
At Joshua's very angry voice, I smiled slightly and answered, "Mr. Joshua, you were really about to shoot just now, weren't you?"
"...What?"
That bastard Joshua really had the atmosphere of shooting just now.
His eyes and expression were so full of murderous intent.
His finger was twitching as if about to pull the trigger any moment, so I had no choice but to step in.
"...What nonsense are you talking about?"
"..."
"How do you know whether I was going to shoot or not?"
But Joshua seemed to want to deny it, so he started insisting, "And fuck, you just shot too. You can shoot but I can't?"
"..."
"Why are you telling only me not to shoot, huh?"
I first examined Joshua's face.
His face looks so dirty, it smelt like an outlaw.
But no wanted poster came to mind.
Most of the outlaws I remembered were those active in Utah and its vicinity.
If Joshua was an outlaw who had been active in California, I had no way of knowing.
Above all, this guy was my teammate for now.
I didn't want to unnecessarily provoke someone on my side and make things noisy.
This mission was practically my final quest.
I intended to complete this mission as carefully and surely as possible.
Being polite to the six gunslingers including Vogue was all because of that.
But...
"Mr. Joshua. Would you come closer for a moment?"
"What? Haa, this bastard.... You're really gonna di—huh?"
There was no need for manners with an animal like this.
Sometimes a beating was necessary.
Crunch.
Bang—!!!
"...Guhuckkk!"
I grabbed Joshua's neck and slammed him down to the ground.
"...Ugh, guhuck-! Kup! Kuuugh!"
Joshua seemed to have trouble breathing and gasped for air while grabbing his own neck.
But I didn't let go of him and whispered in his ear, "...Hey, do you want to die?"
"...Gup, khup."
"You think you're human because I showed you some manners?"
Squeeze.
People died if they couldn't breathe.
Joshua, whose neck was being squeezed by me, was already turning red in the face.
"The company said not to kill people. If you accidentally kill a villager and the job completely fails and we don't get paid, will you take responsibility?"
"Kuuuup...! Guhuck! S-sorry...! Uuu...!"
"No, you're better off not existing. We can't kill villagers, but it's okay to kill you. Just die."
Squeeeeeze.
"Kuuuuuugh!!!"
I pressed Joshua's neck deeply, preventing him from breathing to the limit.
And only after he was on the verge of tightrope walking between life and death...
Whoosh.
"Puhaaah! Haah... Haah...!"
I let go of my hand and allowed him to breathe.
I approached the guy who was curling up in pain and gasping for breath, and said, "If you act up again, you'll die by my hand. Got it?"
"Haak... haak... haah..."
"Answer me."
"Yes... haak... yees... huu... I, I understand... Haak..."
So I was able to instill some manners into Joshua who had been acting rudely.
"Stupid bastard."
Thwack—!
I kicked Joshua once and then turned around.
"Ah... um..."
"Y-Youngest... I mean Mr. Noah..."
There were two other gunslingers watching the whole scene while trembling.
I had no intention of dealing with the rest of them except Joshua, as they didn't do anything to irritate me.
So I smiled at them and pointed to the next store.
"Ah, don't worry too much. Mr. Joshua will come to his senses on his own if we leave him alone for a bit."
"..."
"Then shall we continue working while Mr. Joshua rests for a moment?"
"Ah... Okay..."
Just as I was about to head to the next store with the other two gunslingers, it happened.
Bang—!
"...!"
A single gunshot rang out from the opposite side of the village.
"...This is."
"...Is it from the boss' side?"
We had agreed not to shoot unless absolutely necessary.
...Did they shoot as a threat like I did? Shit, I hope no one went crazy like Joshua and shot a villager.
It seemed I wasn't the only one feeling uneasy, as the other two gunslingers looked at me with worried expressions.
"...Youngest. What should we do?"
"Isn't the boss' side in a dangerous situation right now?"
"Well, let's wait and see for now."
What dangerous situation could there be in this small village?
I was thinking somewhat complacently.
But then...
— By the way, Boss, didn't you say there was one self-proclaimed sheriff in this village?
I recalled the story about the self-proclaimed sheriff I heard yesterday.
Could it be...?
Bang—!
Bang bang—!!
Just as I was thinking "no way," several more gunshots rang out.
...Hmm, this doesn't seem like a good sign.
"Let's move towards where the boss is for now."
"W-what about Joshua...? He's unconscious, should we take him?"
"Let's just leave that bastard and go for now."
We didn't have the luxury to take care of that luggage.
I hurriedly ran towards where the gunshots were heard, taking the other two gunslingers with me.
As the village wasn't large, we were able to arrive at the scene quickly.
Murmur murmur.
At the place surrounded by dozens of people, as if most of the villagers had gathered...
"Kuuugh! Y-you damn bitch...!"
"Aaaagh! M-ny arm...!"
Vogue's group was lying on the ground, clutching their arms and legs respectively, and...
"..."
There was a woman holding a revolver and looking down at them.
Late twenties? No, maybe over thirty...
A woman with a beautiful appearance despite having gone through quite a lot of hardships.
I could instinctively tell that she was the self-proclaimed sheriff of this village.
"Kuuuu...!"
"Huuu... i-it hurts..."
Although they weren't hit in vital spots, it was dangerous to leave them like that after being shot.
I let out a small sigh and stepped forward.
"Boss."
"...!"
As I came out through the people with the title of "boss"...
Click.
The self-proclaimed sheriff immediately raised her gun.
It was a good stance.
Bang—!
The following shot.
The bullet aimed towards my leg, as if she didn't intend to kill me.
Whoosh—
Even with the [West's Best Gunslinger] trait activated, the speed of the incoming bullet was quite fast.
...Peace Town's self-proclaimed sheriff was quite an excellent gunslinger.
But that alone wasn't enough to stop me.
Whoosh.
"...!!"
I dodged the bullet and leaped towards the self-proclaimed sheriff.
I didn't intend to kill her, so I planned to approach closely and knock her down with my fist.
But the self-proclaimed sheriff was greatly surprised to see me dodge the bullet and then...
Bang bang bang—!
She fired three consecutive shots at me through fanning.
I tried to dodge the bullets this time too by twisting my body, but...
Wow.
It was impossible to simply dodge by twisting my body against bullets flying precisely towards my blind spots.
So I had no choice but to...
Bang—!
I drew my revolver and intercepted one of the three incoming bullets in mid-air.
"...What."
Seeing this, the self-proclaimed sheriff was astonished as if she couldn't believe it.
In the meantime, I rushed towards her and threw a punch.
But...
Thwack—!
"Hooh?"
She seemed to be skilled in close combat as well, as she deflected my punch by spreading her palm.
This is...
Excellent gun skills... outstanding in close combat...
She was one of the most skilled people I had met among gunslingers in recent years.
But why is such a skilled person acting as a self-proclaimed sheriff in this small village...?
Above all, the expression of that self-proclaimed sheriff looking at me.
...She was looking at me as if she had seen a ghost.
It was somehow unsettling, more than just being amazed at my skills.
At this, I tilted my head and asked her, "Have we met before?"
"..."
She couldn't easily answer my question.