Chapter 55
Justice Town, which I hadn't visited in a long time, was exactly the same as before.
A village larger than expected for a backwater.
A place lined with lodgings as many travelers pass through.
I considered stopping by the Deaf Man's Bar after a long time but decided to return to the office first as I was tired.
However, on the way back to the office.
I could feel that the atmosphere of Justice Town, which I thought was the same as usual, was somehow strange.
"It's Kid...!"
"Kid has finally come...!"
Oh, by the way, only the South Brotherhood in San Francisco would be surprised when Kid came. To the villagers here, Kid was just my nickname.
At first, Justice Town's sheriff Jett called me Kid saying I was like a child, and after that, most of the villagers followed and called me Kid.
If I had to say, it was a derogatory term meaning I hadn't grown up.
In fact, the people of Justice Town didn't really like me, an outsider.
Saying I ran wild in the village like a ruffian, or that this quiet Justice Town became noisy after I came.
They badmouthed me for various reasons and whispered whenever I passed by.
But today was a bit...
"...This is strange."
"Indeed. Doesn't it feel like the villagers are welcoming the boss' return?"
The villagers didn't openly speak to me, but...
Their expressions seemed to contain relief and joy when looking at me.
"That can't be... Wouldn't these people be happier if I disappeared?"
"That's right. They're the kind of people who would dance with joy saying the village will finally be quiet again if you disappear."
...It hurts a bit when you put it that way?
Anyway, it was undeniable that the villagers' eyes looking at me now were clearly different from usual.
As Emma and I were tilting our heads and returning to the office, that was when it happened.
"Oh? Oh oh?! Mr. Noah!!"
"...Hmm?"
Suddenly hearing a voice calling me, I raised my head and...
"Oh, Joe. Long time no see."
Friendly neighborhood Hispanic Joe was coming this way pulling a carriage from the opposite side.
And...
"It's been so long!! Ahaha! Mr. Noah! Welcome back! I've missed you so much!!"
"...?"
Joe's expression as he called out to me and ran over was flushed to an excessive degree.
Seeing Joe's face as if he had seen a hero who would save him...
This is suspicious...
I couldn't help but be more doubtful.
Joe even parked his carriage on the road and ran to me barefoot.
"Oh my, Mr. Noah! Why did you come back so late!? Haha!"
At this, I...
"I really missed... guhkkkk!"
"Hey, Joe. What kind of situation is this now?"
Grab.
I put Joe, who was running towards me after getting off his horse, in a headlock.
"Kack... what do you mean, Mr. Noah...?"
"Why are you so happy that I'm back?"
At my question, Jo answered while sweating profusely, "O-of course I'm happy that Mr. Noah has returned after a long time! H-how much affection have we built up? W-ee even caught bank robbers together..."
Of course, it was true that Joe and I were quite close.
I often rode Joe's carriage, and we actually went together to sweep out the Red Beard Gang last time.
But...
"Joe, of course, we're close."
"...Yes, so."
"If we're close, we can badmouth each other a bit too, right?"
"...Pardon?"
But I also knew that Joe only smiled and flattered me to my face while badmouthing me behind my back.
"There's no ruffian like that ruffian. I've never seen even 1 cent come out of his wallet. Who do you think went around badmouthing me to the villagers like this? Hmm?"
"...H-how did you."
"But Mr. Joe didn't say anything wrong, did he?"
"Be quiet, Emma."
I quieted Emma and asked Joe while putting more strength into the arm holding him, "So tell me. Why are you and the villagers so happy that the ruffian among ruffians has returned?"
"Uwaah! I'll talk!!! So please let go of this...!!"
Swish.
At Jo's pitiful cry, I released the headlock.
Then Jo caught his breath for a moment and started talking.
And...
"What? A gang came to our village?"
I was a bit surprised after hearing Joe's story.
"...Yes, they came to our village not long after you and Ms. Emma left."
"Hmm...."
It was quite common in the West for gangs to come to rural villages like this backwater, act like owners, and suck the lifeblood out of people.
But...
"What were the sheriff and deputies doing? That's why there are deputies, to drive out such outlaws."
Justice Town's sheriff's office wasn't just at the level of such a backwater.
Justice Town's Sheriff Jett Gray and his deputies were quite skilled, and their numbers were quite large too.
Looking at Justice Town's sheriff's office, it could be seen as the level of a small city's sheriff's office rather than just a village.
There was no way Sheriff Jett would have just watched gangs come and mess with Justice Town, right?
As I tilted my head and asked, Joe answered as if there were circumstances, "...Well, about that."
"...What?"
I couldn't help but pause after hearing Joe's explanation.
***
"A gang, but none of the gang members are outlaws?"
What kind of nonsense is that? It’s like saying you drove drunk but it's not drunk driving?
Gang, that is, gangster.
Gangster and outlaw felt like homonyms.
As I asked back, Jo also answered as if frustrated, "...The sheriff himself looked into it and said so. There are no wanted posters or warrants on those guys."
"Hmm...."
"...Does that make sense? That gang members aren't outlaws."
"They're not not outlaws."
"...Pardon?"
The current United States lacked the ability to perfectly govern its vast territory.
As a result, the judicial system was quite loose.
Look at the South Brotherhood, for example.
Most of them had bounties and were outlaws, but they couldn't be caught.
That was because Luke reached out to the California state government and had the warrants for his members suspended.
In other words, the South Brotherhood were outlaws when looking at the entire United States, but limited to California, they weren’t outlaws.
"What do you mean they're not not outlaws?"
"Hmm... something like outlaws who aren't outlaws but seem like outlaws, I guess."
There were many such semi-outlaws in America.
There were shameless guys who were outlaws but hid their identities and pretended to be civilians, and maybe cases where warrants or wanted posters haven't arrived yet because the distance was too far.
Of course, even so...
"Even if they're semi-outlaws, shouldn't the sheriff be able to cut it at his level?"
It wasn’t just outlaws who could take advantage of this loose judicial system.
Even without a warrant, the sheriff could exercise self-defense rights if he deemed them harmful to the village.
Bluntly speaking, if a sheriff killed an innocent person and the villagers just agreed on a story, it wasn’t a crime.
Who would punish them for something happening in this backwater, how would anyone know?
But it seemed these gang guys knew how to calculate even that.
"Well... it's not like they're openly harassing the villagers."
"Then?"
"...They do moneylending. They've been spreading money to people since coming to the village."
"Oh."
Joe soon made a wronged expression and shouted to me like an elementary school student tattling to their homeroom teacher, "At first they lent money as if it could be repaid slowly...! But those were all fraudulent contracts...! Later, the interest became more than the principal."
"Oh boy."
"A considerable number of villagers borrowed money from those guys. The gang guys are using that to pressure people."
There was no such thing as financial law in this uncivilized pioneering era.
If the creditor just set the interest rate as they pleased, the debtor who signed the contract had to repay it.
There was no concept of illegal debt collection, so even if they suddenly came and beat people up, the villagers couldn't say a word.
They're smart.
They were guys who knew how to use their heads quite well.
While harassing people, they still followed the law and didn't cross the line for now.
Rather, it was the villagers who crossed the line by signing contracts and not repaying the money.
Above all, the smart thing was targeting Justice Town.
Justice Town was shabby and lacked infrastructure, but had a large floating population.
The people of Justice Town had a desire to develop this place that many people visit into a city.
But how could they raise money and build new buildings to develop into a city in a place without even a bank?
While frustrated, these guys suddenly appeared offering to lend money, so they must have been grateful.
Ignorant fools. You should be suspicious first when someone treats you well.
Joe also continued speaking with a sniffle as if he was a victim, "The sheriff said he'd try his best, but... sniff those guys have large numbers too..."
"How many in total?"
"From what I've found out, it's over 40 people..."
The South Brotherhood was exceptionally, exceptionally huge, but 40 people was a very large gang.
Since Justice Town's sheriff's office has just over 10 people including Sheriff Jett, it would have been burdensome for Jett to resolve the matter by force.
They're quite vicious guys. This is... the job's already done.
Justice Town was already no different from prey caught in their trap.
All that was left was for them to be eaten by those guys.
But Joe's eyes were still sparkling as if there was one last hope left.
"So all the villagers were waiting for Mr. Noah to return...!"
"Hmm?"
"Mr. Noah is an excellent gunslinger who single-handedly finished off even the infamous bank robber gang, the Red Beard Gang!"
Soon Joe shouted to me earnestly with a serious expression:
"Mr. Noah... please punish those bad guys and save Justice Town from crisis...!"
"..."
Aha.
Now I realized why the villagers welcomed my return.
So I answered with a serious expression like Joe, putting my hand on his shoulder, "Why should I?"
"...Pardon?"
For a moment, Joe's expression changed to look like an idiot.