Chapter 51 - I Am Your Father

Meanwhile, at San Francisco Station.

An elderly gentleman and a woman were approaching the station, each carrying their travel bags.

But unlike the elderly gentleman hurrying into the station...

"..."

The woman kept delaying her steps and looking back.

The reason the woman, Emma, kept turning back was because she was worried about Noah.

The elderly gentleman Lloyd noticed her feelings and asked with a grin, "Why are you like that, Emma? Are you worried about your husband?"

"Husband? Ah..."

Come to think of it, Lloyd was under the misunderstanding that Noah and Emma were a married couple.

Emma was momentarily flustered but then nodded.

"...Yes, I'm a bit worried."

"Jett will probably be fine. When I saw him briefly on the train, your husband was a truly remarkable man."

"...That's right."

Emma nodded at Lloyd's words and followed him.

Indeed... Noah was the most skilled gunslinger Emma had ever seen.

Perhaps even the best gunslinger in all of America, beyond just the West.

Nevertheless, Emma kept worrying about Noah.

Seeing Emma's face, Lloyd spoke in a calm voice as if reminiscing, "It's a good time. I was like that too when I was newly married. I used to fret every time my wife prepared meals, worried she might cut her hand."

"..."

"That's what love is. Worrying about every little thing, like whether your husband might get hurt or if he's eating well."

"...Is that so?"

"It's especially natural during the newlywed period."

It seemed Emma's current appearance looked like a new bride worried her husband might get hurt in Lloyd's eyes.

But this was wrong.

She was not Noah's wife, but just his personal secretary.

Noah and Emma were not married and did not love each other.

Moreover, Noah...

— What would you do if I was an outlaw?

"..."

Emma confirmed an uncomfortable truth about Noah last night.

Noah was likely a former outlaw.

Emma actually didn't have a very good view of outlaws.

Ruffians who infringed on others' rights and interests for their own selfish desires.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Emma despised them.

One of the reasons she started helping Noah was also because he was a bounty hunter who captured outlaws.

But for such a Noah to be an outlaw...

Normally, she would have felt deeply betrayed.

But now...

"..."

She was just deeply worried Noah might get hurt.

"Come on, let's go. We're not completely safe either, so we need to move quickly."

"...Yes."

All Emma could do now was follow Lloyd and safely board the train.

Emma pulled her hat down low and followed Lloyd into San Francisco Station.

And...

"Alright, everyone please have your identity checked here."

"...!"

The station was already full of South Brotherhood members.

They were lined up in front of the ticket gates that passengers must pass through to board the train, checking people's faces.

Emma flinched seeing this, but Lloyd calmly reassured her, "Don't worry. You see, I'm a railroad company president. There's a separate gate that only VIPs can use. Let's go there."

"...Alright."

That was fortunate then.

As Emma, relieved, followed Lloyd to the side path...

"Just a moment!"

...There was a voice calling the two of them.

Lloyd immediately turned around and responded to the voice calling them.

"What's the matter? We're VIPs, so we're going to use a separate gate."

"Even VIPs are having their identities checked without exception, so please cooperate."

Emma could immediately tell who the owner of that voice was.

"Ma'am over there. Please turn around for a moment."

"..."

Billie.

The supervisor the South Brotherhood had assigned while Noah and Emma were in San Francisco.

Originally, she had been placed on indefinite probation for failing to properly monitor Noah, but due to the South Brotherhood's lack of manpower, she was specially dispatched to the train station.

If Emma turned around, Billie would surely recognize her face.

"Ma'am?"

"..."

Emma couldn't answer Billie's question, nor could she turn around.

Swish.

As the situation continued to be delayed, Billie also sensed something was off and subtly moved her hand toward her holster.

"...Wait, this child is my niece, is a separate check necessary?"

"There are no exceptions."

As even Lloyd's usually relaxed face began to harden and the situation became tense, that was when it happened.

"Secretary—!"

Another South Brotherhood member ran over with an urgent voice and delivered unexpected news to Billie, "Kid has appeared near the port right now!"

"...What?"

At the mention of Kid appearing, Billie's attention completely shifted to the member.

"What should we do? The mayor himself has gone out, they say."

"...The mayor."

Moreover, hearing that Luke had personally gone out, she, as the person in charge of this site...

"...Leave only the minimum personnel here and the rest move out there."

"...Yes!"

She withdrew her suspicion towards Emma and turned around, leaving the station.

"Phew..."

Only then did Lloyd sigh in relief and lead Emma to the gate.

"That was close. Emma, let's hurry while we have this chance."

"...Yes."

So the two safely boarded the train that would leave San Francisco, leaving behind the South Brotherhood members exiting the station.

Of course...

"Conductor, move at the slowest speed possible until I say otherwise."

"...Pardon? President. That's..."

"It's fine, just do as I say."

The train ran slowly along the tracks for one passenger who hadn't boarded yet.

***

Whoosh.

Before the South Brotherhood bastards could all pull their triggers, I took out a loaded revolver from my coat and tossed it in the air.

Bang bang bang bang bang—!!!

Bang bang bang—!

Bang bang bang bang—!!

Then came the volley of gunfire.

Those countless bullets were aimed precisely at me and the horse as I jumped high to leap over the barricade.

Click.

First, I quick-drew the revolver from my right holster and...

Bang bang bang bang bang bang—!!

I intercepted 6 bullets flying towards me in mid-air.

Next, the left.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang—!!

Similarly, I quick-drew the revolver from my left holster and canceled out the remaining 6 bullets.

But this was something the South Brotherhood had somewhat predicted, so...

Bang bang—!

Bang bang bang bang bang—!!!

Follow-up shots came flying with a slight time difference.

I caught the revolver I had tossed in the air as if juggling and immediately fan-fired to block them.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang—!!

Swish.

"Ouch."

Of course, since there were 7 follow-up shots, I couldn't block them all with the 6-shot revolver.

Luke's last bullet, which was particularly sharp, painfully grazed the wound I had received from Django.

But once I broke through the barricade, it was already my victory...

Click.

"Mayor!!"

"..."

I immediately took out another gun from the opposite side of my coat and aimed at Luke's forehead.

"You bastard!"

"Put the gun down right now!"

The other South Brotherhood members couldn't easily shoot at me for fear their leader might get hurt.

Taking advantage of this, I shouted loudly, "Everyone put your guns down!"

"...Guh."

"Should I just kill your boss? Hurry and put your guns down!!"

Thud, thud.

After confirming the guys were starting to put down their guns one by one, I also wiggled the muzzle towards Luke, who was still holding his Sharps rifle.

"Mr. Mayor? You should put it down too, Mr. Mayor."

"..."

"Mr. Mayor?"

But Luke didn't let go of his rifle and instead boldly said to me, "You can't shoot me anyway."

"..."

"Isn't that right? Even if you kill me, you won't get any bounty and you'll be chased by my subordinates for life. What's always important to you is money. Am I wrong?"

...He's right.

As I said earlier, I had no intention of killing Luke.

No, it would be more accurate to say I couldn't kill him.

The moment I killed this guy, I would have to be chased by the South Brotherhood for life.

[Unable to log out]

[Remaining amount until logout: $905,586 / $1,000,000]

There would be nothing more fatal for me, who had little left until I could go home.

Luke knew this all too well.

That was why he could wear such a bold expression even in front of a gun muzzle.

"Mr. Mayor, I told you I had something I really wanted to say to you."

But there was one thing Luke overlooked...

"Luke, I am your father."

"...What?"

It was that my personality was willful and quite nasty.

Seeing Luke's overly confident expression made me strongly desire to distort it.

Bang.

"...!"

I fired straight at Luke's right hand.

"Guhk...!"

"Mayor!"

Thud.

Luke, with his right wrist pierced, dropped the Sharps rifle he had been stubbornly holding onto the ground.

I smiled at Luke and grabbed the reins.

"I've always wanted to say this particular line every time I’ve seen you, Mr. Mayor~"

"...What do you..."

"I really won't even piss towards San Francisco anymore, so let's never see each other again. Goodbye, Mayor Skywalker."

Whoosh.

I rode away from the scene on horseback before Luke's subordinates could pick up their guns again.

"Chase him, chase him!!"

I could hear Luke's shout from behind, but it would be difficult to catch up now that the distance had widened.

I galloped like crazy all the way to San Francisco Station.

"Do Americans not understand this reference? What an insensitive person."

It was finally time to leave this fucking San Francisco.