Chapter 48
Sheriff.
They were stationed in towns and were responsible for security and law enforcement.
Pinkerton agent.
They handled requests such as dealing with outlaws and providing security for the private security company Pinkerton.
Bounty hunter.
They hunted outlaws based on warrants and wanted posters officially issued by courts to collect bounties.
These three professions had one thing in common.
Many of them were former outlaws.
Gunslingers who were familiar with guns from a young age and quickly encounter the path of crime.
Gunslingers who became criminals and outlaws often hid their identities and worked as sheriffs, Pinkerton agents, or bounty hunters.
Noah was a born gunslinger from the time he came to Justice Town.
Suspiciously excellent gun skills, and even connections with the leader of the South Brotherhood, the outlaw among outlaws...
...Above all, the connection with TKK.
Emma judged at this moment that there was a high possibility Noah was an outlaw before coming to Justice Town.
And not just any outlaw, but one belonging to TKK, called the worst gang in the West.
"Boss, were you perhaps an outlaw?"
"..."
At Emma's question, Noah's eyes looking at her became even colder.
Step.
Noah approached Emma with a strange atmosphere and asked, "What if I was an outlaw?"
"...”
Emma took small steps back as Noah approached her.
But soon she couldn't retreat anymore as there was a wall.
"What would you do if I was an outlaw?"
"...Boss."
Though Emma had asked, she couldn't help but be a bit flustered as she didn't expect Noah to be this aggressive.
Thud.
As Noah stretched out his arm and hit the wall, trapping her, her chest trembled, perhaps due to fear.
"Are you going to catch me? Or are you thinking of reporting me to the sheriff's office?"
"...”
Meanwhile, Noah was still cornering Emma with cold eyes.
"Tell me, Emma. What would you do if I was an outlaw, huh?"
"...Well."
Just as Emma was about to open her lips, unable to withstand the pressure...
"Pfft."
"...”
"Ahahahaha! Why are you so scared, Emma?"
"...Boss."
Noah had suddenly returned to his original playful expression as if this was all a joke.
He said to Emma while laughing loudly, “Just kidding! How could you doubt your heavenly boss? Me, an outlaw? Emma, have you ever seen my name or face on wanted posters while organizing them until now?"
"That's..."
Indeed... Emma had seen numerous wanted posters while working as a secretary.
Though most were from Utah, at least Noah's name or face wasn't among them.
"...There wasn't."
"My involvement with TKK is the same as getting involved with the South Brotherhood while working as a bounty hunter. I've never been an outlaw, neither before nor now."
"...”
Emma, who could confidently say she knew him well after working with Noah for 3 years, carefully examined his face.
And in his face now...
There was his characteristic expression of telling the truth.
"Why? Don't you believe me, Emma?"
"...No, I believe you."
As Emma nodded at this, Noah turned around as if everything was settled now.
Noah quickly cleaned up the TKK members' corpses and said to Emma, "Emma, you heard what these guys were saying earlier, right? The state guard is blocking San Francisco. If we can't leave San Francisco tomorrow, we probably won't be able to leave at all."
"...I suppose so."
"So let's sleep quickly. Yawn~ I'll sleep here."
Then, as if still intoxicated by the drug, he rubbed his sleepy eyes, spread a blanket, and laid down on the floor.
Emma also laid down next to Noah, keeping a bit of distance.
"Emma? There are many rooms here, why May down next to me?"
"...Outlaws might come again like earlier. Just in case, I think it's better to sleep in the same room tonight."
"Alright, let's do that then."
So Noah and Emma ended up sleeping in the same space tonight too.
The difference was that tonight, Emma requested to lie in the same room first.
***
As more time passed, in the dead of night.
Flash.
"...”
Emma, who had been pretending to sleep by breathing regularly until now, secretly opened her eyes.
Just now, Noah said with his most sincere face ever that he wasn't an outlaw.
It wasn’t that she didn't believe those words, but...
Still, I want to confirm with my own eyes.
Emma wanted to see Noah's past with her own two eyes.
"Snore..."
Noah's regular breathing sound could be heard.
Emma, who had been under Noah for the past 3 years, could tell that he was definitely asleep now.
She intended to take this opportunity to check Noah's body.
If Noah was a TKK member outlaw, there would be a “K” tattoo on his body.
First, it's definitely not on the back of his hands.
If there had been a tattoo openly on the back of his hands, Emma wouldn't have missed it.
So pass on the back of the hands.
Pass on the right arm too, since I didn't see it when I treated him earlier.
Similarly, pass on the side since she saw it during treatment.
Pass on the neck too.
Then what was left is...
First, the left arm I guess...
Emma first carefully moved her body to Noah's left side.
Her boss was a person with devilish intuition, so she had to be cautious.
Emma successfully moved to Noah's side while desperately suppressing her presence.
And then...
Swish—swish.
She rolled up Noah's sleeve at a leisurely pace like an ant taking a walk.
The sleeve went past the wrist and up above the elbow.
Emma, who carefully rolled the sleeve up to the shoulder...
"...”
Noticed that there was no tattoo on Noah's left arm.
"Phew..."
Emma sighed in relief, as if this was something to be relieved about, and moved on to the next.
After confirming there was nothing on the left arm, next was the back.
Swish.
Fortunately, Noah was sleeping face down.
The back was easier to lift the clothes compared to the sleeve, so Emma could see Noah's back more easily.
As she lifted the clothes, Noah's back muscles extending from the lower part caught her eye.
I thought the boss had a thin build, but he's surprisingly muscular… hot...
Emma had a stray thought for a moment but came to her senses and finished checking Noah's back.
And fortunately, Noah's back was clean too.
As Emma was lowering the clothes, wondering if she should check his thighs next...
...Hmm?
Something caught Emma's eye before lowering the clothes again.
At that far end where the back and shoulder meet, something was engraved like a dot.
As soon as she saw that, Emma reached out as if entranced by something.
And the moment she confirmed what it was...!
Click.
"...”
A cold gun muzzle was placed next to Emma's head.
As soon as Emma confirmed the tattoo, Noah turned his body and put a gun to her head.
"...”
Noah was looking at Emma with an indescribable expressionless face.
During the awkward standoff, Noah spoke first, "Emma, curiosity kills the cat, you know."
"...”
Click.
Noah then pulled the hammer of the gun as if suggesting he would really shoot.
Now, if Noah pulled the trigger, 22-year-old Emma's life would be over.
At that last moment standing at the crossroads of life and death, Noah asked Emma in a flat voice, "So Emma. Did you confirm who I am?"
"...Yes."
"Really? Who am I?"
"...The boss is…”
Emma said without any pretense...
She told him exactly what came to her mind right now.
"...the boss."
Noah asked back as if surprised, "...What?"
"...The boss is the boss... That's all."
"...”
Noah was just Emma's boss.
This was...
— ...What exactly is your identity, Boss?
— What do you mean? I'm just your boss.
— …
— You don't need to know anything else. I'm just your boss.
This was also the answer Noah gave when Emma asked about his identity right after arriving in San Francisco.
"...”
"...”
Swish.
At this, Noah lowered the gun pointed at Emma.
And as he lay back down, he said to Emma, "...Get out. Let me sleep alone in this room."
"...Yes."
At Noah's order, Emma obediently left the room.
Thud.
Left alone in the room, Noah, of course, couldn't fall asleep.
Hiss.
Unable to sleep, Noah smoked in the room and...
"Phew..."
Along with the strong cigarette smoke, he fell into thought.
***
I think my relationship with Emma over the past 3 years has been quite satisfactory.
Emma was an excellent secretary... and above all, she didn't cross the line.
We just bickered with simple jokes and pranks...
Noah and Emma weren't close on a personal level.
But was it a mistake to take her out of the well of Justice Town and bring her to San Francisco?
...She ended up crossing the line.
Step.
Emma started to walk towards me one step at a time, deviating from our original relationship.
...I wasn't pleased with her approaching.
Her approach could even become dangerous for me.
Now with little left until I return home.
I was more sensitive and cautious than anything else.
If it was the original me, I would have shot Emma just now.
Because logging out was the most important thing to me in this world.
And...
Emma's existence, knowing my identity, could hinder my return to the original world.
But in the end, I didn't shoot Emma.
...Why on earth did I do that?
I knew the reason.
— Mr. Noah. We are all the same humans.
It was because Emma looked like the same human as me.
Only then could I realize why I let Django and Josephine go.
Because the two struggling for their love looked like the same humans as me.
"Ah... fuck, I caught a crazy disease before going home."
To think NPCs looked like the same humans as me...
This was a different dimension from my principle of not killing civilian NPCs.
What if I couldn’t kill outlaw NPCs due to misplaced sympathy and couldn’t earn money?
"Ah... is that not the case?"
It wasn’t like I couldn't kill them because outlaw NPCs looked like humans, as I just killed those TKK guys without any hesitation.
It seemed not all NPCs looked like humans.
Of course, that didn't mean it wasn't a problem.
"Haa..."
I got up from my seat with a deep sigh.
And looked down at the letters on the desk.
[From JJ to Kid]
"...”
If it was the old me, I wouldn't have done such an absurd thing as seeing NPCs as humans.
This was all because of this person.
— Dokgo... Dokgo-young...? Is that your real name, not Noah...?
I shouldn't have given affection to an NPC...
Because of this person...
"Haaaaa…”
The memory of that day was still vivid.
— Kid...! I think there's a traitor among us.
— Kid.
— Kid… it’s not you, right?
The letter said they would definitely come find me again.
This kid always did what they said—without bluff—so they'd definitely appear in front of me again.
And when we meet again...
It would be the worst reunion.
"...This is troubling."
No matter how much I smoked, my mind wouldn't calm down and sleep wouldn't come.
"...Ah fuck, how do we get out of here tomorrow? Should I just become a mayor assassin and cause havoc in San Francisco?"
As one thing got tangled, it kept getting entangled, making my head complicated.
In the end, I spent that night wide awake with chain-smoking.