Chapter 50
"Uwaaah!"
"Kid has appeared!!"
I briefly took off my mask as I watched the South Brotherhood members running away to their comrades, shouting all over the place.
"Phew... oh man, it's so hot I'm dying..."
For reference, the clothes I was wearing now belonged to the TKK guys I killed yesterday.
Maybe because it was smaller than my original build, it was a bit tight.
But there was no choice...
If I didn't want my face to be known everywhere, I had to wear a mask.
So I put the mask back on with a small complaint and aimed my gun at the sky.
"Well then, shall we have some fun?"
Bang bang bang!!
And then I galloped through the city, firing several shots.
"Hey, you bastards-!! I'm back-!!"
At this moment.
I intended to properly become a madman.
***
Meanwhile, at City Hall.
Luke, the mayor of San Francisco and leader of the South Brotherhood, had been waiting for reports from his subordinates all night, as there was still no news of finding Kid.
Thud, thud.
"Mayor, may I come in?"
"Come in."
As Luke was worrying, a subordinate came in and reported new information.
But...
"What about Kid? Have you found him?"
"No. I came to report that we've seized complete control of the train station."
"...I see."
The story the subordinate told wasn't what he wanted to hear.
Luke took a sip of coffee to chase away sleep and listened to the rest of the subordinate's report.
"Our members have successfully occupied San Francisco Station completely now."
"Good, what about downtown?"
"Our members and sheriff's deputies are diligently searching around for the guy."
Luke nodded with satisfaction at the subordinate's report.
Since they had been searching San Francisco like catching mice since last night, they should be able to find clues about the guy's whereabouts now.
But...
"Um... But, Mayor..."
"What? What's the matter?"
Unlike the satisfied Luke, the reporting subordinate's facial expression wasn't good.
"Actually, we've been under pressure from Pinkerton since earlier."
"..."
It was because of Pinkerton.
"It seems they've found an opportunity because we're controlling the roads and inspecting citizens. They say they can't stand by and watch the South Brotherhood, who claim to be vigilantes, infringing on citizens' right to live..."
"Damn bastards."
From Pinkerton's perspective, which sees the South Brotherhood as a thorn in their side, this incident could be seen as an opportunity.
It seemed Pinkerton had already taken action.
"We can't drag this out for long. We need to either lift the city control now... or catch him quickly."
"..."
At the subordinate's report, Luke sighed for a moment and looked out the window.
The view of San Francisco could be seen outside the tall City Hall building.
Unlike the noisy city of San Francisco, Luke's hometown was peaceful Virginia in the South.
At first, he didn't like this place that was 180 degrees different from his hometown.
But had he grown fond of it after seeing it for a long time?
Now San Francisco felt more comfortable than his original hometown of Virginia.
He wanted to have this city all to himself.
He didn’t want to lose... at least this city.
San Francisco, which had now become so precious.
The existence of Kid in this city was...
Essentially like a walking powder keg.
Just the fact that Kid had returned to San Francisco spreading would make cockroach-like guys who follow him start gathering here again.
Above all, the guy's skills.
"..."
Tremble.
His hands still shook sometimes.
The unforgettable plains of Gettysburg.
The shadow of death he saw in fallen comrades.
Kid was someone who carried that shadow of death that could only be seen on battlefields.
The names of South Brotherhood comrades who died by his hand 3 years ago were still left in Luke's mind.
There are no exceptions. He must be killed now. Right now.
Just as Luke was firing up his determination once again, that was when it happened.
"Mayor!!"
"...!"
A subordinate burst into the mayor's office urgently without knocking, unlike usual.
His expression contained undisguisable bewilderment.
"...What's the matter?"
"Kid... Kid has appeared."
"...What?"
Kid.
That nightmare-like name that the South Brotherhood could never forget.
Luke hadn't explained that the man in the composite sketch was Kid, in preparation for his members getting agitated.
The fact that Kid had returned to San Francisco was known only to an extremely small number of people even within the South Brotherhood.
He certainly hadn't told the subordinate in front of him about Kid either... so why was he reporting first that Kid had appeared...?
Luke's question was answered after hearing the subordinate's report.
"A guy wearing TKK's outfit and calling himself Kid has appeared at the port."
"...!"
"He's currently running across the city attacking our members!"
"...Are you sure it's Kid?"
No matter how crazy that guy was, revealing himself while the South Brotherhood and San Francisco sheriff's office were all looking for him with fire in their eyes.
Could it be he's using a body double?
But such doubts disappeared with the subordinate's next words.
"...They say he blocked flying bullets with bullets."
"...!!"
Blocking flying bullets by hitting them in mid-air.
Only Kid was capable of such a feat.
Then the guy who appeared at the port must be Kid.
Why on earth...?
...He really couldn't understand the reason.
But Luke didn't have time to think for long now.
Even at this moment, Pinkerton's pressure on the South Brotherhood was continuing.
What he could do was to securely catch Kid, who had revealed himself for whatever scheme, though he didn't know what it was.
So he...
"...Bring my gun."
"...Mayor?!"
"I'll go out myself."
"...!"
He decided to hold his gun after a long time.
Of course, his subordinates immediately objected.
"Mayor...! We fear people's eyes. You're going out yourself?!"
"With Pinkerton watching closely, if they use this as an excuse..."
There were many watching eyes.
Luke going out himself carried too much political risk.
And above all, there was a bigger problem.
"And what if that Kid bastard goes crazy and shoots the mayor..."
"If we lose the mayor, we..."
It wasn’t that they didn't trust Luke, but Kid was truly one of the top skilled individuals.
If Luke were to be defeated by such a Kid, the South Brotherhood would...
"Don't worry. That guy will never be able to shoot me."
"...Pardon?"
But Luke was confident that Kid wouldn't be able to kill him.
"What's always important to that guy is money."
"What do you mean..."
"Mayor, I've brought the gun."
"Good, let's go."
Luke took the gun while his subordinates were momentarily dazed and left the mayor's office first.
Catching Kid was like catching a rampaging jaguar.
To catch such a beast securely, he would have to take some risk himself.
Luke intended to throw the lasso himself to securely catch the crazy beast named Kid.
***
After that, I rampaged through the city like a true madman for several hours.
Bang—! Bang bang—!!
"Uwaaahhhh!"
"Guhkkk!"
I shot at South Brotherhood guys wandering the alleys whenever I met them and disarmed the San Francisco sheriff's deputies inspecting the roads.
I didn't kill most of the deputies.
Seeing them wearing sheriff's badges reminded me of Jett from Justice Town.
Above all, since sheriffs weren't outlaws, it was uncomfortable to kill them due to my principle of not killing civilian NPCs.
In fact, since my current goal was to draw attention, I didn't kill too many South Brotherhood guys either.
However...
"Oh? I remember your face. You were alive, huh!"
Bang—!
"Argh!"
"Ahaha! I've come to reclaim San Francisco-!"
Maybe because I was excited to be running around the city shooting at the South Brotherhood after a long time, I lost my self-control and rampaged indiscriminately as I got fired up.
It was truly one against a thousand.
Is this how Zhao Zilong felt when he plunged into Cao Cao's enemy camp to rescue Liu Shan?
I felt like I was about to fly away with the adrenaline dominating my body.
But there was something that stopped me...
Bang.
"...!"
Unlike the slow bullets of other outlaws, a bullet that instantly chilled my spine grazed my cheek.
With eyesight good enough to see a Mongolian's cheek, I could turn my head and confirm whose it was.
"Ooh..."
Far away behind a barricade, Luke with an expressionless face was holding a Sharps rifle.
I couldn't help but be a bit flustered by his appearance, as I didn't expect the leader Luke to come out personally.
"Oh, man... Is he really angry?"
To make matters worse, with Luke joining, the South Brotherhood's organization became solid.
Until now, they had been floundering and just getting pushed around by me, but when Luke came, they seemed to come to their senses...
Thud, thud.
They started setting up barricades on the road to trap my feet.
So I ended up trapped at an intersection.
Bang—!
Meanwhile, Luke's sharp bullets were aiming at me.
"Hmm, what should I do?"
Luke's gun skills were excellent, but if I had to say, they weren't as good as Django's.
Even in the game, Luke was more of a strategist than someone with overwhelmingly excellent gun skills.
Swish.
I raised my gun to face Luke, who was aiming at me.
"..."
It was far but within range.
If I shot now, I could kill Luke.
But I couldn't pull the trigger in the end.
Even if I caught Luke, there was no way to prove he was South Brotherhood, so I couldn't receive a bounty...
And if I killed him, the South Brotherhood, the largest organization in the West, would come after me with fire in their eyes to avenge their leader.
I had no intention of killing him from when I first met him until now.
Luke probably knew this fact too well, which was why he came out personally to catch me like this.
"...This is a bit annoying."
I looked up at the sky with a small smirk.
When I first set out on horseback, it was early morning, but now the sun had risen quite high.
High Noon—It was approaching.
This meant the promised time was nigh.
Emma and the railroad-rich uncle should be moving by now too.
If I didn't want to be late, I had to take a shortcut too.
A playful thought occurred to me, and I waved my hand toward Luke far behind the barricade and shouted, "Mr. Mayor~!"
"...?"
"Mayor Luke! There was something I really wanted to say when I met you! I'm coming to you to say that now!"
And as soon as I finished speaking, I pulled the reins and galloped towards where Luke was.
For reference, there were about 20 South Brotherhood members at the barricade where Luke was.
"...That crazy bastard."
Nevertheless, as I galloped towards them, I could hear Luke muttering in a bewildered voice.
"...Open fire."
Bang bang bang bang bang—!!!
Bang bang bang—!
Bang bang bang bang—!!
Soon, the riflemen behind the barricade fired bullets at me en masse.
"Let's go, Mr. Lloyd's unnamed beloved horse."
"Neigh."
Clop clop, whoosh—!
I flew into that barrage with the railroad-rich uncle's beloved horse.