Chapter 45 - Pandora's Box

Whoooo—

The ship's horn blew and the ship departed.

"Josephine... It's getting cold. We should go inside."

"Mmm..."

Django and Josephine finally boarded the ship to Hawaii.

Even William, the owner of a large plantation, wouldn't be able to chase after the two after they left America.

With this, the two would gain the complete freedom they so desired.

Of course, life in a foreign land might be very tough and difficult, but...

Grip.

Django and Josephine promised not to let go of the hands they were holding now.

Step.

Josephine asked as she went inside with Django, "Django, is where you were stabbed really okay now?"

It took over two weeks to get to Hawaii.

The ship Django and Josephine boarded was so huge it could be compared to a cruise ship, and of course, there was a resident doctor.

Django, who had already been disinfected, treated, and even bandaged, waved his arm around saying he was fine.

"I'm perfectly fine, of course. But... I'm worried about that person. He was shot, not stabbed..."

"...Ah."

The person Django mentioned was obviously Noah.

Unlike Django who was just stabbed, Noah was shot.

Though he wasn't hit in vital spots, he was shot 4 times, so his life could be in danger if he didn't get treatment quickly.

As Django expressed concern for Noah, Josephine also recalled him and asked Django, "...Django. Why do you think that person let us go?"

He didn't just let them go, Noah also stopped Josephine from shooting herself in the head.

He surely chased them all the way to this distant San Francisco for money, so why on earth...

"...I'm not sure. I don't know either."

Of course, Django, who couldn't fully see into Noah's mind, didn't know the exact reason either.

But what remained in Django's mind was...

— Eat this.

It was the image of him giving the chicken breast to Django, a black person.

"What's certain is that person doesn't seem to be such a bad person."

The moist taste of that chicken breast still lingered in his mouth.

Django grinned and looked back at the view of San Francisco one last time.

The city where they briefly stayed for 2 weeks before boarding the ship to Hawaii.

But Django and Josephine made many memories here.

Good memories... and bad memories...

Those were now buried in this largest city of the West.

"...Josephine. Let's never forget this place even when we go to Hawaii."

"...Okay."

San Francisco remained an unforgettable good city for Django and Josephine.

Django prayed that Noah's last moments in San Francisco would be good too...

"Let's go in, Josephine."

"Okay."

He went inside with Josephine.

The two never returned to America after that.

It was much later that a hotel named after the two, visited by numerous tourists, was built in Hawaii.

***

"Fucking San Franciscooooooo!!" I quietly shouted seeing South Brotherhood members who seemed to be looking for me and Emma.

As expected, San Francisco was a shitty city.

"Fuck! This is why I didn't want to come back here... Ow ow ow..."

"Boss, are you okay?!"

I sat down on the spot with pain in my side as I was complaining.

Django, that fucking negro bastard.

I only stabbed that bastard in the collarbone once at most.

But that bastard dared to turn me into a beehive.

"Ugh… Emma, I'm in pain..."

Grab.

Taking this opportunity, I hugged Emma's waist, but she removed me with a serious face and said, "...Seeing that you still have the strength to joke around, it seems you can endure quite well."

Emma's eyes were cold, but at the same time filled with concern for me.

"But your condition is very critical now. We need to find a doctor quickly..."

"That's why we're going to a doctor now."

"...Pardon? Weren't we just running away aimlessly?"

"How could you say such a hurtful thing."

Since parting with Django, Emma and I had been moving east through back alleys.

If we kept going this way, we'd reach the Saint-Michel slum.

Even for the South Brotherhood ruling the city, the Saint-Michel slum was an avoided place.

In contrast, for me, that place was just a playground.

The Saint-Michel slum was practically like a village.

Though poor, there was even a doctor.

"...I know an unlicensed doctor well. Let's go get treatment from that guy and figure out how to leave this damn city."

"...Wait a moment. An unlicensed doctor? To entrust treatment to such a person..."

"Then should we get a ticket and wait for treatment from an official doctor while running away? It's even nighttime now."

Actually, I wanted to get treated by a proper doctor too, but the current situation didn't allow it.

Going to the Saint-Michel slum was the best choice for us now.

"Still, that doctor has at least a 50% success rate for treatment. So let's hurry and go."

"...If the treatment success rate is 50%, that's... haa..."

Emma sighed but seemed to think there was no choice and followed behind me.

And after walking for about 30 more minutes along the alley and reaching the entrance of the Saint-Michel slum...

"Alright, if we just enter there... Wait a minute..."

"...Boss, that's."

We could see sheriff's deputies blocking off the Saint-Michel slum.

"...This is surprising."

San Francisco was already under the control of the South Brotherhood.

I expected Luke to mobilize the San Francisco sheriff's office.

But to think he'd block off the Saint-Michel slum.

Come to think of it, I used to always go to the Saint-Michel slum whenever I ran away in the past.

It seemed Luke didn't forget about that and ordered the Saint-Michel slum to be blocked as soon as he heard I had run away.

"...Boss, what should we do?"

"..."

"We don't have time to think for long."

As Emma said, we really didn't have time to think for long.

Though I said we stopped the bleeding temporarily, this was really just a temporary measure.

We needed to quickly remove the bullets in my body, disinfect, and change the bandages.

But it was practically impossible to enter the Saint-Michel slum where the doctor was.

...What should we do?

After falling into thought for a moment, I soon recalled one place among several candidates.

There was... a place where I could rest my tired body and treat my wounds.

The South Brotherhood didn't know the location of that place, so safety shouldn't be a problem either.

However...

Is it okay to take Emma there?

I felt hesitant, but there wasn't much time.

Drip.

Even now, blood was seeping through Emma's handkerchief.

The deliberation wasn't long.

"...Emma, let's go back towards the beach."

"...Back the way we came?"

"I know a place near there. Let's hurry and go... urgh."

Stagger.

At that moment, I lost my balance due to sudden dizziness as I turned my body.

Grab.

"...Boss."

Emma caught me.

"...Fuck, I should've just killed that bastard Django."

I regretted it once again, but that guy would probably be boarding the ship to Hawaii by now.

Damn negro.

I muttered curses and moved my steps back towards the beach.

Though I felt dizzy, I could move forward slowly but steadily thanks to Emma's support.

"Boss, I can see the sea now. Where should we go from here?"

"...There, over there."

"There is..."

Though San Francisco was a big city, there were many undeveloped areas due to the era.

The place I pointed to was a bush emitting an ominous darkness next to an area lined with shacks.

Emma didn't complain even seeing that ominous place and supported me as we walked.

So we walked for 20 minutes to reach the bush...

And after walking another 20 minutes to reach the middle of the pitch-dark forest...

"There's a sign here..."

A sign appeared along with a path showing traces of humans.

[This is private property. No trespassing except authorized personnel.]

"Boss. Do we keep going?"

"Keep going."

At my firm words, Emma pushed aside the sign and continued forward.

And after going 10 more minutes...

"Wow..."

A picturesque villa revealed itself.

Emma seemed to find it quite impressive, as she let out a small exclamation and asked me, "...Boss, this place is..."

"Hmm... how should I explain it...? You could call it a safe house I used to use sometimes before?"

"...A safe house?"

When I lived in San Francisco, I had many enemies including the South Brotherhood.

I used to frequent the Saint-Michel slum whenever I ran away, but the downside was that it was too dirty and smelly...

Somehow, I ended up getting a villa like this.

Those who knew the location of this villa should no longer be in San Francisco.

With the Saint-Michel slum blocked off now, I judged this place to be the optimal hiding spot.

"Let's go in, there's disinfectant and bandages and everything inside, so let's treat the wounds first."

The wounds would get infected if left untreated for long.

...Above all, I was really dizzy now from losing too much blood.

Craving treatment, I hurriedly went inside with Emma.

***

Emma supported Noah, who couldn't regain his senses properly and entered the villa.

"...It might be a bit dusty since I couldn't clean it for several years. Please understand that."

"Yes, I understa... Hmm?"

Noah told Emma it would be dirty because he couldn't clean.

But...

...It's cleaner than I thought?

Noah didn't seem to realize properly due to dizziness, but from Emma's view, the villa was clean.

As if it had been maintained until now.

...Strange.

Though she had questions, treatment came first.

Emma first moved to the room Noah mentioned.

It was an empty room with just one wardrobe and no bed.

"You said there's a first aid kit here?"

"Yeah, if you open this..."

Noah familiarly removed part of the wall.

Then a small secret space was revealed.

It seemed to be a space for emergencies, with all sorts of odds and ends like guns, bullets, a small amount of cash, maps, etc.

Emma found the first aid kit among those and immediately began treating Noah.

It has everything it needs...

Emma first found a sealed syringe and painkiller and injected that into Noah.

As the painkiller containing morphine was administered, Noah, who was already dazed, started to become even more out of it.

Emma patted Noah and picked up tweezers.

"...Boss, this will hurt from now on. Please endure it."

"...Emma, you've done this before, right?"

"It's my first time, but I'll definitely do it."

"...Fuck, I'm screwed."

With Noah's complaint, Emma inserted the tweezers into the wound on Noah's arm.

When she found and removed the bullet from inside the wound, blood gushed out like a fountain.

Emma looked at Noah's wound pooled with blood and opened the disinfectant cap.

"...I'll disinfect now."

"...Emma, please be gentle... Oh fuck...! Argh—!"

Noah screamed in pain despite being given painkillers.

Fortunately, only one arm had a bullet lodged in it.

Emma finished disinfecting the other wounds where bullets had grazed and changed the bandages.

Just with that, Noah seemed exhausted as if his strength was drained.

In fact, Noah needed more detailed treatment, but unfortunately, Emma's medical knowledge ended here.

Feeling sorry about that, Emma looked for a blanket to at least let Noah rest comfortably and covered him.

"Boss. I gave you painkillers, so you'll get sleepy. Please sleep for a while. The blanket's not enough, so I'll find more in the next room."

"...Emma, wait."

But the blanket in this room wasn't enough to cover Noah's whole body, so Emma headed to another room.

The villa was quite large, so there were many rooms, and fortunately, when she opened the wardrobe in the next room, there was another blanket.

Emma was satisfied with this and was about to take it when...

"...Hmm?"

Something out of place piled up on the desk, which she hadn't noticed when entering the room, caught her eye.

Those in clean white envelopes on top of the old wooden desk were...

...Letters?

As soon as she saw them, Emma put down the blanket for a moment and approached the desk as if entranced.

Emma picked up the leftmost envelope among the letter envelopes neatly arranged in chronological order.

[April 26, 1871]

A letter sent 3 years ago.

Recalling that Noah first came to Justice Town around March 1871, Emma checked the sender.

And the sender was...

[From JJ to Kid]

"...JJ?"

Initials were written instead of a name.

Though she didn't know who sent the letter, seeing that the recipient was Kid, it seemed certain it was sent to Noah.

...I'm curious.

Emma had worked under Noah for 3 years, but she didn't know anything about him.

And Emma had a feeling that if she read these letters, she might vaguely learn about his past.

Of course, these letters in front of her were Pandora's box.

...If she opened them, she might learn truths she didn't want to know.

But...

"..."

Swish.

Pandora's box was bound to be opened eventually.

Emma soon reached her hand towards the letters.