Chapter 64 - Noah's Top Priority

As I headed towards William's mansion, I fell into deep thought.

How much money can I squeeze out of him? 20,000 dollars is probably too much, right? 10,000 dollars? 15,000 dollars?

If instead, it was a plan to hire gunslingers to eliminate me... I could use that as leverage to blackmail William and squeeze out more money.

Whatever happened, it was certain I could make big money tonight.

While I was so excited I could dance just imagining it, I recalled what Jett had said earlier.

— ...Aren't you worried? Who knows what will happen to Emma in such a dangerous place?

When Jett asked that, I answered that I wasn't worried about Emma.

It was true.

Emma was smart, quick to grasp situations, and shot well because she learned from me.

I wasn't that worried about her.

But why?

"...Hmm."

In the midst of this joy of going to receive a large sum of money, there was an uneasy feeling in a corner of my heart.

I knew in my head that Emma would be fine on her own... but my heart felt like it was worrying about her.

"...Well, I can just rescue her well tomorrow morning."

In the end, I ignored the uneasy feeling and headed to William's mansion.

My principle of “Money first, Lady second” remained unchanged.

The most important thing to me was money, after all.

Creak.

"Welcome."

As I arrived at William's private property, a black servant opened the main gate.

I passed by him and headed towards William's mansion.

Probably because night had fallen, there were naturally no workers in the tobacco fields.

Whoosh.

As the wind blew, the dark tobacco fields looked really desolate.

But what gave off an even more eerie atmosphere was the mansion itself.

"..."

Though he called me out for dinner, William's mansion was strangely dark.

With not a single candle lit in that huge mansion, it looked just like a haunted house.

...This is strange.

I felt suspicious from the entrance of the mansion and went inside.

"Welcome, the master is waiting inside."

This time too, a black servant greeted me.

I asked the black servant who politely welcomed me, "Wasn't the butler of this mansion Mr. Jansen? Where did Mr. Jansen go?"

"...Pardon? Ah, well..."

Normally in such cases, the butler should greet guests when they arrive.

But no matter how much I looked, Jansen, this mansion's butler, was nowhere to be seen.

When I pointed this out, the black servant became flustered and barely answered, "W-well, Mr. Jansen is sick... He's resting now."

"...Is that so?"

"Yes, yes...! And the master is in the dining room, so please go to the dining room..."

"..."

Right now, the black servant's demeanor was as if he would die if he didn't send me to the dining room.

So I obediently moved towards the dining room as he led.

And as soon as the black servant guided me to the dining room...

"...I-I'm sorry."

"..."

He kept apologizing to me with a tearful expression and...

Thud.

Left me alone in the dining room.

I first examined the interior of the dining room.

There was no one but me in the dining room, and only one candle and a plate of oven-roasted whole chicken on the central table.

"Haa, what a shitty way to treat a guest."

Rustle.

Rustle rustle.

Then through my sensitive ears, I felt the presence of many strong men moving in front of the dining room and by the windows.

15 people? 20 people?

I couldn't grasp the exact number, but it was certainly more than enough, even excessive, to take down one person.

I had suspected it, but it turned out to be true.

It seemed William had no intention of letting me live after I threatened him without even completing his request.

It looks like they're planning to shoot me dead all at once from beyond the windows and doors.

I headed towards the central table leisurely while grasping the enemies' movements.

"Hmm? What's this?"

Now that I look, some card was placed on top of the roast chicken.

Wondering what it was, I picked it up and read the contents inside.

And after reading the card...

[If you don't die here, we'll kill all the people around you right now, including your woman.]

"..."

I couldn't help but pause for a moment.

But the guys outside didn't wait for me to stand there blankly for long.

Bang—!!

Bang bang bang—!!!

Bang bang—!!!!!

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang—!!!!!

Soon, the sound of gunfire shaking the earth began to be heard from all directions.

***

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang—!!!!!

At the deafening gunfire, William hid in a corner of the room and drank tea nervously.

Did they take care of him…? Yes, they must have. How could they not kill one gunslinger with so many people?

Bert, the Rush and Gold gang leader, had sent 10 gunslingers to William.

In addition, William hired 5 more gunslingers on top of the 3 gunslingers already residing in the mansion.

A total of 18 men who were quite good at shooting.

Moreover, they were very thoroughly armed with shotguns, Sharps rifles, and so on.

On top of that, Bert said he had taken the closest person to him hostage to shake him psychologically.

Overwhelming numerical advantage, firepower difference, and finally a hostage.

Even William thought it was a truly perfect trap.

William imagined Django, the best gunslinger he knew, in this situation.

Even Django would inevitably fall if surrounded by 18 gunslingers in such an isolated place.

And if his daughter Josephine, whom he loved, was taken hostage?

He wouldn't even resist and would put down his gun from the start.

But why?

William felt uneasy despite this perfect situation.

In his mind, he could imagine Django falling, but he couldn't imagine Noah falling.

So William's hands trembled and...

No, no. Let's not worry unnecessarily. He must be dead.

He barely calmed himself down.

No matter how excellent a gunslinger was, if he was human…

Yes, as long as he's human, he must be dead.

If he was human, he couldn't have survived that perfect trap.

Thinking that way, William finally felt his anxiety fading.

Come to think of it, there's been no more gunfire since the first shots were heard.

This meant the surprise attack was successful.

And the success of the surprise attack meant he was dead.

That's right, the operation must have succeeded.

William let out a sigh of relief and gulped down his tea at the fact that the arrogant gunslinger who had been threatening him was dead.

He had been drinking tea so nervously that the teapot was already empty.

"Jansen, go bring some more tea."

"The servants are gathered in the annex, so only I am here. I'll have to go to the kitchen myself, is that alright?"

"The situation seems to be over already, so what does it matter? It's fine, go ahead."

"Yes, then."

Thud.

As Jansen left for the kitchen, William leaned back in his chair.

He had been suffering from anxiety and losing sleep for the past week, but now he finally felt at ease.

But that was when it happened.

Bang.

"...?"

He thought the situation was already over, but suddenly a gunshot rang out.

William was startled and raised his head, and...

Bang bang bang bang bang.

"...Huh?"

Five more gunshots rang out.

That wasn't the end.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang—!!

"...Huh huh?"

Bang bang bang bang bang bang—!

Gunfire erupted crazily throughout the mansion again.

William curled up, overcome with anxiety again.

As he got up from his seat and hid behind the table, the gunfire subsided as if it was a lie.

...Damn it.

The end of the gunfire meant the battle was decided.

Unable to guarantee his side's victory, William took out his revolver while hiding behind the table.

Tremble.

Although William was quite skilled with guns, enjoying hunting often, today he found it difficult to even put his finger on the trigger.

...Our gunslingers must have won, our gunslingers.

William trembled and hoped only that their gunslingers had won.

That was when it happened.

Step.

"...!"

Someone began climbing the stairs to the second floor where William was.

Hey, is it Jansen? It must be Jansen?

His butler Jansen had gone to the kitchen to get tea earlier.

William called out into the air, hoping it was Jansen.

And that person...

"...Jansen? Is that you, Jansen?"

"Yes, it is."

...Fuck—!

It was clearly not Jansen's voice to anyone listening.

Step, step, step.

Having confirmed where William was, the guy approached the room where William was with quick steps.

William aimed his gun at the door in advance and waited for the other person to come.

And the moment the door opened.

Bang—! Bang—!

Bang—!

William somehow managed to fan fire 3 shots.

But Noah, who opened the door and entered...

Bang bang bang.

As if it was laughable, he drew his gun and intercepted all the bullets William shot in mid-air.

"...How is this possible."

Seeing a sight hard to believe even with his own eyes, William just sat down.

Noah, covered in blood, slowly approached, looking down at him.

"Mr. William, I've come to collect money."

"...!"

Seeing hope that he could live, William shouted:

"I'll give it to you...! 20,000 dollars...! Just wait a week-! I'll really send someone to the bank!"

"No, the price has increased. To 40,000 dollars."

"...Huh?"

William recalled how much money was left in his bank account.

He had enough for 20,000 dollars, but not up to 40,000 dollars.

Even William would have to dispose of either the mansion or the tobacco plantation to reach the amount of 40,000 dollars.

T-that's not possible...!

William's family had already lost a lot of wealth after moving from the South to the West.

The tobacco plantation and the mansion.

William, who couldn't lose either of them, began a clumsy threat to Noah.

"T-the Rush and Gold gang is holding someone precious to you hostage! If you act so forcefully like this, they'll kill her!"

But...

"Ah, you mean Emma? Go ahead and kill her."

Noah's reaction was more indifferent than expected.

And that indifferent reaction...

"Life would be inconvenient without Emma, but what can I do? But you know."

Soon turned into a terrifying threat.

"If that happens, 40,000 dollars won't be the end of it, right? If you touch Emma, you'll have to give about 100,000 dollars. And you'll fill in the lacking amount with your life."

"...!"

"So unless you want the amount to increase again, just hand over Emma too without resistance. I've said all I have to say, so I'm leaving."

With that, Noah, covered in blood all over his body, turned around as if he had no more lingering attachments.

Of course, he didn't forget to leave final words for William.

"40,000 dollars within 5 days. I don't know what will happen if you're late this time too."

"...Ah."

How could he stop someone next time who couldn't be stopped by 18 gunslingers?

This was no different from a death sentence for William.

So William, full of despair, shouted at Noah as he turned to leave.

It was a small act of defiance he could manage.

"Hey, you inhuman bastard!!"

"..."

...Or so William thought.

"...What?"

At William's last words, Noah stopped in his tracks and turned around again.

"Say that again. What did you say?"

"...Huh? No... w-wait..."

Everyone has something that should never be touched.

Money first, Lady second.

What William had unknowingly touched just now was Noah's top priority.