Chapter 18
Though flustered, I gladly accepted her proposal to drink together.
I poured whiskey into her glass and mine, then raised it.
Glug.
"Well, cheers."
"..."
Clink.
Unlike her usual grumpy self, Emma showed an unexpectedly docile side, even clinking her glass with mine.
But...
"Hmm? Aren't you drinking?"
"..."
Unlike me, who downed the whiskey in one go after the toast, Emma seemed to hesitate for a long time.
"If you're not going to drink..."
"...No, I'll drink."
When I tilted my head, Emma finally swallowed the whiskey with difficulty.
And then...
"Ugh..."
She grabbed her throat as if the whiskey was too hot.
Huh...? What's this?
I could tell immediately from that scene.
That Emma was either not used to alcohol or this was her first time.
It was quite cute to see Emma, who was usually so haughty and perfect, showing a weak side.
So I...
"Wow, you drink well. Come on, one more!"
"..."
"What? Don't tell me you can't drink more after just one glass?"
"...It's not that."
I kept offering her drinks, touching on her pride.
Emma drank gulp after gulp of the alcohol I poured, obviously struggling.
And...
"...Huu."
"..."
By the fourth glass, her previously straight posture started to crumble.
How can she be this weak with alcohol...
At first, I made her drink because I wanted to see her weak side, but seeing her about to pass out so quickly rather killed the mood.
So instead of offering more drinks, I asked her, "What is it?"
"..."
"What did you want to say?"
It had already been three years since I started working with Emma.
We weren’t romantically involved or physically intimate, but spending our daily lives together, we knew each other almost like a married couple.
Whenever Emma had something to say or ask, she would act differently from usual like this.
Her staying late tonight and wanting to drink with me surely had that intention.
"..."
Emma held her empty glass, pondered for a moment, and then opened her mouth.
Her face, as she looked up at me, was flushed red, perhaps from the alcohol.
"...About the request you received today, Boss..."
"Oh, that. What about it?"
"Are you... going to do it?"
"...?"
...Why is Emma curious about that?
Though puzzled, I told her the truth.
"I'm still thinking about whether to do it or not. But why?"
"..."
At my words that I was still considering, Emma briefly looked blank, and then...
Glug—
"Shouldn't you stop drinking?"
"...I'm fine."
Gulp.
Like someone needing courage, she poured and drank whiskey, then said to me, "I'd like you to accept that request, Boss..."
"What?"
"And..."
"..."
What on earth is she trying to say, beating around the bush like this?
I held my breath and waited, given Emma's unusual atmosphere.
Finally, Emma spoke, even hiccupping slightly.
I couldn't help but be somewhat dumbfounded by what I heard.
"...I want to, hic, go to San Francisco too."
"...Huh?"
I couldn't immediately understand what she meant.
So... she wants me to take this request because she wants to go to San Francisco too...?
...It wasn’t like she was some country girl wanting to tag along with her cousin to Seoul.
Ah... is that right?
Come to think of it, I think I heard that Emma was born in Justice Town and had never left, a true local.
Especially for an unmarried person like Emma, it would have been difficult to travel alone in this harsh West.
If she's lived in this small town for over 20 years, it's understandable she'd want to visit a big city like San Francisco.
Finally understanding Emma's feelings, I met her gaze and her face looked quite desperate.
It would have been nice just to agree here, but my bad habit kicked in again.
"If I accept the request and take you to San Francisco, what will you do for me?"
"..."
If it were the usual Emma, she wouldn't have played along with my joke and would have responded coldly with a serious face.
But the drunk Emma was different.
"...I'll do anything I can..."
"..."
"Uh... please, just once to San Francisco..."
She pleaded, saying she'd do anything she could with unfocused eyes, and then...
Thud.
She dropped her head on the table.
She had fallen asleep, drunk.
"...Her drinking habits are no joke."
This was the most shocking sight of Emma I'd seen in the past three years.
...And today was the most fun and fresh.
So I smiled, filled my glass with whiskey, and downed it in one go.
Gulp.
Now I finally felt a bit tipsy.
With this slightly drunk feeling, I fell into my final contemplation.
— Swear that you will never return to San Francisco... no, California.
It was still dangerous to go back to San Francisco.
But...
— I'd like you to accept that request, Boss...
— And...
— ...I want to go to San Francisco too.
Well, it's not like I'm going to die, right?
Having made my decision, I poured the last of the alcohol and drank it without leaving a drop.
And then...
"Oof."
I picked up Emma, who was sprawled on the table and carried her to the bed.
"Mmm..."
Whether due to her drinking habits or because she was cold, Emma started clinging to my hand as I laid her on the bed.
Her usually cold, stiff face looked quite pretty when relaxed.
"..."
90% of the reason I hired Emma as my secretary three years ago was because of her face.
In this damn West where everyone's appearance got messed up by the hot sun and hard work, Emma alone was pretty as if she were from a different world.
Just like soldiers in the military live for their idols, I too found solace in seeing a pretty woman like Emma in this shitty Western life.
Swish—swish.
I looked at Emma's face and tidied her disheveled hair.
And then...
Jump.
I got up from my seat.
I could have taken advantage of Emma sleeping soundly here, but I didn't want to.
When this long Western life ended and I returned home...
I wanted to return as a normal human being, not a beast who couldn't control his sexual desires.
Step—step.
I got up and walked to the window to look at the night sky.
With the bright moon, countless stars seemed about to pour down around it.
It was just game graphics, but it was fucking realistic.
"Ah... I want more to drink."
Seeing the sparkling night sky made me want to drink more.
I rummaged through the storage and finally found a bottle of whiskey that had been there for who knows how long and drank it.
At that time, I didn't notice because I was busy finishing the drink.
Flash.
In the dark office, another pair of eyes besides mine were slightly open.
**
A few days later.
Clop clop—
"Well, Emma. We've arrived. That's Salt Lake City over there."
"..."
Having finally accepted the request, I arrived in Salt Lake City with Emma after traveling for several days to catch the train to San Francisco.
"How is it? What's your impression as a country girl who's lived in Justice Town all her life, seeing a city for the first time?"
Salt Lake City was the most developed place in the backwater state of Utah.
Nevertheless, honestly, from a modern person's perspective, even the current Salt Lake City was just a small provincial city, but...
"...It's a bit surprising."
It seemed to look different to Emma, who had lived in Justice Town all her life.
"...So many buildings."
"..."
Emma looked around Salt Lake City's Middle Street with wide eyes, as if amazed.
Her appearance was like a child visiting an amusement park for the first time, so I couldn't bring myself to tease her.
So I cleared my throat a bit and said to her, "I'm sorry, Emma. We need to go now to catch the train on time."
"Ah..."
Emma showed a very obvious look of disappointment.
Her deflated appearance like a disappointed rabbit was pitiful, but it couldn't be helped.
Our destination wasn't Salt Lake City, but San Francisco.
"That rich old man William even got us first-class train tickets, it'd be a shame not to use them, right?"
Even now, many immigrants heading to California travel by stagecoach.
In this era, trains were a mode of transportation for the wealthy.
But William had bought us tickets with his own money, even for a direct train to San Francisco, and first-class at that.
Now, if we went to the train station and just gave my and William's name, the station attendant would guide us to the first-class car of the direct train to San Francisco.
But when we actually got to the train station, a problem arose.
"...What do you mean I can't bring my horse?"
"I'm sorry, sir. Your ticket doesn't include horseboarding, so you'll have to pay an additional fee."
The issue was that we couldn't bring No Name, the horse we rode to Salt Lake City, with us.
There was a stable car at the back, but to bring him, we'd have to pay an extra fee?
"Haa... How much is the additional fee?"
Unable to just leave No Name here, I was about to pay the extra fee, but...
"It's 70 dollars per horse, sir."
"...This is bullshit."
It was really fucking expensive.
70 dollars, for fuck's sake, it's not even for a person but for an animal...
"...Is there a service to leave horses at the station?"
"Our station doesn't offer such a service."
"Damn it..."
This was quite troublesome.
The train was about to depart, so there wasn't time to go out and find a stable to leave No Name.
"...Boss, what should we do? Should we perhaps miss this train and take the next one..."
"...There aren't many direct trains to San Francisco."
This was an era when there weren't many train passengers.
If we missed this train, we'd have to wait at least a few days, maybe up to a week, for the next direct train to San Francisco.
Above all, I absolutely couldn't give up these free first-class tickets.
...I guess there's no choice.
So I took drastic measures.
Swish—swish.
"...Boss? What are you doing..."
I removed the reins, saddle, and saddlebags to let No Name move more freely.
Then, ignoring Emma's question, I whispered in No Name's ear, "No Name. I'm going to set you free now, so don't wander off somewhere else, okay? Go back home on your own, alright?"
"Neigh."
"...No, Boss...! What are you saying!" Emma, who heard my whisper from behind, asked with a pale face.
"...Are you just letting No Name go? Here, dozens of miles away from Justice Town?"
"Yeah, No Name is smart, he'll find his way back."
"What...!"
Emma had an expression that said, “What nonsense is this?”, but I really did have faith in No Name.
"I've spent more time with No Name than with you, Emma? Don't disregard my trust in No Name."
"No, this isn't about trust or not..."
"Alright, No Name! Go home first!"
"Neighhhhhhhhh!!"
Ignoring Emma's words, I let No Name go.
No Name nodded at me as if understanding, and then...
Clop clop clop clop.
He started running, leaving the station.
"..."
Emma, as if unable to believe the scene, watched No Name's retreating figure and then said incredulously, "No... Is this really possible? No Name will find his way home on his own?"
"Have you been living under a rock? No Name is really smart. Sometimes I think he's even smarter than me."
"...What if someone thinks he's an ownerless horse and catches him, or if he gets eaten by wild animals?"
"Then..."
I turned around coolly and muttered, "...We'll just get a new one."
"You...!"
"I'm joking."
Of course, it was a joke.
I grabbed Emma's shoulders as she was about to get excited and headed into the station.
"No Name will find his way back just fine, so don't worry, and let's go."
Off to San Francisco...
To carry out the request to interfere with a couple's elopement.