Chapter 58 - Wanting To Hit Someone For No Reason

Flash.

My eyes opened automatically with a refreshed feeling.

Looking out the window, dawn was breaking.

It seemed I slept deeply from yesterday afternoon until this morning due to travel fatigue.

"I slept really well."

Even though I slept for over ten hours, my body didn’t feel stiff but refreshed.

How long has it been since I greeted the morning this pleasantly?

I got up from bed humming a tune.

Then I opened the window and drank coffee.

"Drinking coffee makes me hungry."

To be precise, I was hungry not because of the coffee but because I had been fasting for over ten hours.

I thought about cooking something but gave up because it was bothersome.

"Until Emma comes... there's still a lot of time left..."

Since dawn had just broken, it would take quite a while for Emma to arrive.

But I'm too lazy to cook... and I'm hungry...

I should go to the Deaf Man's Bar after a long time.

I decided to go to the Deaf Man's Bar, also to report my survival to the owner Bob.

The Deaf Man's Bar operated from evening until noon and provided snacks if one said they were hungry.

I, who often had meals at the Deaf Man's Bar, decided to have this morning's breakfast there too.

"Neigh."

"Neigh neigh."

"Did you sleep well, beasts?"

When I went to the stable, No Name and the new member Bonnie greeted me.

I filled their feed and pondered which one to ride...

"I should ride No Name after a long time."

I got on No Name's back.

"Let's go, No Name."

"Neigh."

No Name was a horse whose running speed varied depending on her daily condition.

If No Name was in a good mood, she'd be faster than any horse, and if not, she'd be no different from a donkey.

Clop clop clop clop.

Judging by the speed, today's No Name seemed to be in quite a good mood.

"No Name. You're in really good form today?"

"Neigh neigh."

"Let's hit top speed once today."

When people thought of the Western era, they first recalled the setting sun.

The sunset that dyed the endless horizon yellow was certainly beautiful.

But...

The sight of the sun rising over the horizon and illuminating the whole area was also as spectacular as the sunset.

I used to get annoyed seeing such scenery, but today I quite like it.

I rode No Name excitedly through the rough wilderness with the picturesque scenery as a backdrop.

***

On my way to the Deaf Man's Bar, I met a familiar face after a long time.

"Oh, Sheriff."

"Hey, Kid. I heard you came back. It's been a while."

Justice Town's Sheriff Jett Gray.

The man who gave me the nickname Kid saying I was like a child and treated me like a thorn in his side.

But at the same time, he was also a grateful person who gave me a lot of information and wanted posters and provided conveniences.

So I took out a cigarette from my pocket to have a chat since we met after a long time and asked him, "Cigarette?"

"Sure."

Jett's face was full of worries, so he seemed to really crave a cigarette.

We got off our horses and had a smoke break together.

I had a cigarette and Jett had a pipe.

"Phew..."

"I heard as soon as I came back. You got caught up with some really shitty guys?"

"You mean that Rush and Gold gang…? Haha, really got caught up badly."

Jett puffed on his pipe and laughed emptily.

But...

His expression soon changed to anger.

"Those bastards are really vicious guys. Above all, their method of taking over the village seemed meticulous and skilled. They've probably eaten up several villages like this."

"Why do such guys still not have warrants or wanted posters?"

"I suspect there's a bastard among the higher-ups who's covering for these guys."

Hooh...

Jett's reasoning was plausible.

In my memory, the reason why the Rush and Gold gang still didn't have wanted posters was probably because of a circuit judge in Utah who took bribes.

"Haa... I'd rather drive them out by force, but they have large numbers..."

Jett's expression looked truly bitter as he said that.

"Being a sheriff and not being able to do anything, just having to stay still is really..."

Maybe that was why.

Unlike my usual snarky attitude, I comforted Jett.

"Come on, it's not your fault things turned out this way. It's because the villagers were fooled like suckers by those guys saying they'd lend money."

"...Well, that's true too. I warned them so much to be wary of those gang guys, but they didn't listen, tsk..."

Jett was a person who truly loved the village.

He spat on the ground once as if upset, and then...

"...Ah, I've been talking about too serious things."

Soon, perhaps thinking the atmosphere had become too stiff, he forced a smile and asked me:

"More importantly, was San Francisco worth going to? Did you succeed with the request?"

"Succeedmy ass. I just went around in circles and came back."

"Oh dear."

At my answer, Jett clicked his tongue and said, "If you failed, it must have been a very difficult request. I should have introduced my younger sibling."

"Your younger sibling is in San Francisco, Sheriff? What do they do?" I asked while smoking, but honestly wasn't that curious.

I just vaguely predicted they'd be working in the San Francisco sheriff's office or something.

But...

"Ah, my younger sibling is the branch chief of the Pinkerton San Francisco branch."

"...What?"

Thud.

I had to drop the cigarette I was holding at the unexpected answer.

That's because, what?

Pinkerton branch chief? And of all places, the San Francisco branch chief?

"Haha! You seem surprised! Well, I guess so. My younger sibling is quite successful!"

"..."

It wasn’t just the level of being successful.

Pinkerton, a huge corporation said to have more agents than the U.S. Army.

To be a branch chief in such a Pinkerton, and in San Francisco, one of the major cities among major cities.

I suddenly recalled that I had impersonated Jett's name on the train to San Francisco.

If they're a Pinkerton branch chief, they'll surely control all information in the city, so maybe...?

Ah fuck, is this a snowball rolling from some weird place?

Moreover, a Pinkerton high-ranking official at that level would probably know the meaning of the nickname “Kid” carried in San Francisco.

I first calmed my trembling hands and asked Jett in the calmest voice possible, "...You haven't talked about me to your younger sibling, have you?"

"...Why would I talk about you to my younger sibling?"

"...Then that's fortunate."

I thought he was just a grumpy old man NPC, but it turned out he was a dangerous person.

As soon as I finished my cigarette, I slowly moved away from Jett.

"...Well then, I'll be going... I'm on my way to eat breakfast."

"Ah, alright. I should get going too."

I quickly got on No Name to get away from Jett as soon as possible, just in case.

But then Jett called me quietly, "Kid."

"...Yes?"

I turned around to see what he would say, and his expression was quite serious.

"I heard you told the villagers. That you won't get involved in this matter."

"Yeah, I did say that."

What is it?

Is he going to ask me to help a little?

But unexpected words flowed from Jett's mouth.

"You thought well."

"..."

"Honestly, there's no bounty even if you catch those guys... From your position, there's no need to step up for the villagers who neglected you."

Oh my.

I tilted my head wondering why Jett was saying warm words for once, and there was a reason.

"After you left, at first it felt refreshing... but then it was quite a headache because of the overflowing outlaws."

"...Ah."

"Only then did I realize. How much help you were to our village."

Well, I did catch outlaws indiscriminately in Justice Town to make money.

With me suddenly disappearing, it must have been hard to handle the overflowing outlaws.

No wonder Jett's gaze seeing me after a long time felt warm today.

"So we'll somehow solve this matter at our Justice Town sheriff's office. You just wait with your feet stretched out."

"Ah... yes."

"Well then, I'll be going. See you next time, Kid."

Come to think of it, even his intonation calling me “Kid” seems gentle today.

Jett waved his hand to me once like that and left.

I fell into thought for a moment watching Jett's retreating figure.

Is that guy going to die?

No, why is he leaving with such a death flag?

This is a world inside a game.

Until the protagonist character came and solved it, they wouldn't be able to eradicate the Rush and Gold gang, the Chapter 4 main villains.

But Jett seemed to have the intention to drive out the Rush and Gold gang.

It looked like he was thinking of confronting the Rush and Gold gang guys with force...

"Ah... Well, he'll figure it out."

I felt worried for a moment, but soon realized it was unnecessary and left.

After all, Jett was just an NPC in the game too.

It wasn't something for me to worry about.

But...

But if that guy's gone, where will I get wanted posters from?

If I had to say, I was on the side of not wanting Jett to die.

**

"Hey, Bob. I'm here."

"Huh? What? Isn't it that ruffian Kid!? I thought you were dead, but you're alive!"

It was rough, but that was the Deaf Man's Bar owner Bob's unique welcome greeting.

I smiled at this and entered the store, but...

"...Hmm? But what's this."

I flinched at the bar's interior that seemed changed somehow.

"Where did all the collectibles on the wall go?"

Bob used to decorate the walls with collectibles he gathered.

Though the collectibles were just odds and ends obtained from Indians...

Now there was nothing on the walls, so it looked quite empty and bleak.

When I asked about this, Bob answered bitterly, "...Where did they go? The Rush and Gold guys took them all saying it's instead of interest."

"Crazy. Did you borrow money too?"

"...A little, to try expanding the store once."

It might have been a little when first borrowing, but soon the interest would have snowballed.

Indeed, Bob's expression was hardened.

"...Those fucking bastards. They come every day and harass me. Thanks to that, business is shit too."

"Why did you borrow money, you idiot."

"...I don't know. I must have been crazy then."

Bob then let out a deep sigh as if the ground would cave in, but soon brightened his expression as if realizing something and asked, "More importantly, Kid. What brings you here so early in the morning? Did you come to drink? What should I give you?"

"Alcohol later. I'm hungry now, so bring me some snacks."

"Alright. Wait a bit."

Bob said that and went into the kitchen.

But his retreating figure somehow looked gaunt.

...Everything's been shitty since earlier.

I was definitely in a good mood until this morning, but after meeting Jett and Bob, it rapidly went down.

No, beyond my mood going down, I was getting a bit annoyed.

Fuck, if this place goes out of business, I won't have a bar to go to.

The Deaf Man's Bar was just right for drinking, and I really liked the owner Bob.

Outlaws often came too, so it was good for making money while sitting.

To mess with even my regular bar...

Rush and Gold gang.

I tried to ignore them, but they were starting to get on my nerves bit by bit.

That was when it happened.

"Owner! We've come to collect today's interest!"

Behind my slightly sensitive back, the characteristic shrill voice of a scoundrel started to be heard.

It was a guy with a voice tone that made me want to hit him for no reason.