Chapter 77 - A Game of Wits and Finding Zodiac

The man before her eyes was definitely Kid.

Her intuition was telling her so.

Not just intuition, but his voice, his atmosphere, everything.

Though there was a feeling that something was different, it was clearly the same as before.

Swish.

Sophia felt the urge to draw her gun and send a bullet into his forehead just for that.

But...

Swish.

In the end, she didn't draw her gun.

She didn’t want to just shoot and kill Kid.

She wanted to gather all the physical evidence that the man before her eyes was “that Kid” and have him face legal judgment.

She thought that would be the perfect revenge for her dead uncle.

But she didn't have a single piece of proper evidence that the man before her was Kid.

Above all, what she was facing now wasn't just Kid.

The Zodiac serial killings case that she had been ordered to solve by Pinkerton superiors.

Over the past few months, victims of a crazy killer had appeared in Utah, and today a resident in Justice Town where she was had fallen victim to Zodiac.

Judging by the crime scene and letter, Zodiac was clearly still in this town.

She had to catch him before he escaped the town to prevent any more victims.

So Sophia, who prioritized Zodiac over Kid...

"...I see. So you haven't met me before."

Instead of drawing her gun, she somehow managed a smile and extended her hand to Kid.

"I hear you're a bounty hunter operating in this town. I'm Sophia, a 4th grade agent from Pinkerton. Nice to meet you."

"...Huh? Ah, yes. Call me Noah."

Kid tilted his head but accepted her handshake.

Noah... Is that an alias or Kid's real name?

Of course, even if she didn't catch him right now, Sophia hadn't given up on arresting Kid.

She planned to look for physical evidence that the man before her was Kid while searching for clues about Zodiac.

Or maybe Kid is Zodiac.

Thinking about it, it was strange that a man like him had moved to such a quiet countryside even if his organization had disbanded.

Perhaps he was continuing his base desire to kill under the name Zodiac here.

So while Sophia inwardly suspected the man before her, she tried not to show it outwardly as she finished her greeting.

And...

She pretended to focus on the corpse and scene again while observing Kid's reaction to meeting her again.

***

<Catch the Outlaws> protagonist character Sophia had very good intuition.

Moreover, because I had accumulated a lot of bad karma, I thought Sophia would recognize me as soon as she saw me and immediately draw her gun.

But...

"...I see. So you haven't met me before."

Contrary to my expectations, Sophia reacted as if meeting me for the first time when she saw me.

"I hear you're a bounty hunter operating in this town. I'm Sophia, a 4th grade agent from Pinkerton. Nice to meet you."

"...Huh? Ah, yes. Call me Noah."

Moreover, when she asked for a handshake saying nice to meet me, I was almost confused, but...

Tremble.

"..."

I could immediately tell when I felt her hand that grasped mine trembling slightly.

This bitch recognized me too.

She recognizes me but is holding back... why?

Then I recalled what the protagonist's settings were like in the game.

In the game, she was always rigid and righteous from Chapter 1 [Red Beard Gang Bank Robbery Incident].

Could she be trying to find physical evidence that I'm Kid?

Perhaps she was dealing with me in terms of realizing justice rather than personal revenge.

If that was right, it was reassuring.

There would be no physical evidence left that I was that Kid.

I had been pondering how to deal with the protagonist when she came to Justice Town someday.

Actually, it would be convenient to shoot her dead, but...

I was afraid of what situation would unfold if she, the protagonist, died.

In <Catch the Outlaws>, when the protagonist died, the game reset with a gray screen.

What if the game resets here too if I kill the protagonist?

What if my $950,000 I've gathered over the past 17 years becomes $0 in an instant?

I would really go crazy then.

That was why I couldn't kill her in San Francisco or here.

But well, thank you for being so stubborn.

Suspect all you want, no evidence will come out that I'm Kid.

I was even thinking of leaving Justice Town if a conflict arose with Sophia.

But seeing her now, it seemed I could live in Justice Town comfortably as I had been until now.

Moreover, if I intervened when Sophia soon found Zodiac and snatched the bounty?

That would be perfect.

So I decided to leave Zodiac to the protagonist Sophia as originally planned and hole up in a corner of town.

"Well then, Sheriff. I'll be going now."

"...Oh, already? What about the Zodiac investigation..."

It seemed Jett wanted me to participate directly in the Zodiac investigation, but I was firm.

"Come on, I'm not part of the sheriff's office, just a bounty hunter. What investigation could I do?"

"But..."

"Instead, let me know if you find any clues about Zodiac. I'll come help catch him."

"...Alright."

So I said goodbye to Jett and got back on No Name to go to the Deaf Man's Bar, my original destination.

Then Sophia, who had been pretending to examine the scene, got up and asked me, "You're leaving already?"

There was a faint smile on her face as she looked at me, so I smiled back and answered, "Yes, I haven't had breakfast yet."

"I see you're going to eat. Which restaurant are you going to? Please recommend one for future reference."

"Everywhere in this neighborhood tastes bad! Go anywhere, haha."

After immediately cutting off her intention to subtly figure out my movements, I waved my hand.

"I'll be going! Work hard, Pinkerton agent."

"...Of course, I should work hard. With great power comes great responsibility."

"..."

When I was in San Francisco.

I was planning for <Catch the Outlaws> protagonist Sophia to eliminate the South Brotherhood.

The content of the final episode of <Catch the Outlaws> was for the protagonist Sophia to take down the South Brotherhood, the great evil of San Francisco.

But the past Sophia was arrogant without having as much ability as I had seen in <Catch the Outlaws>.

So I tried to awaken her.

With great power comes great responsibility.

That was simply the only awakening line that came to mind at the time.

Still, it seemed to have definitely helped awaken Sophia.

The problem was that her awakened eyes were now directed at me.

"Wow, that's a cool saying. Then make sure to fulfill your responsibility."

"...Of course, I'll definitely fulfill my responsibility."

"Yes, fight on. I'll be going now."

I gave Sophia a thumbs up and immediately turned and left.

Even though I was turning away, I could feel her gaze on my back.

The game of wits between Sophia and me began like that.

***

Growl.

Exerting myself since morning made me even hungrier.

I rushed to the Deaf Man's Bar to quickly eat breakfast.

"Bob! I'm here!"

Judging by the sun not being in the middle of the sky, it's not noon yet... the time is about 10 o'clock?

Given the characteristics of a bar that operated at night, there would surely be no customers left.

I thought only Bob would be inside cleaning and opened the door wide.

But...

"Hmm? What, Kid? Why are you back again when you left at dawn earlier?"

"Why? To eat breakfast. But you're not alone?"

There wasn't just Bob inside the bar.

"Kid, welcome."

"Oh, Uncle Kid. Hello!"

Bob's wife Mary and their young daughter Daisy.

And...

"Oh, hello. But who's this? It's my first time seeing... Bob, did you have another daughter?"

A girl with an unfamiliar face... sitting among Bob's family.

She looks about 15? 16 years old?

She had a very small build and looked cute, but she was expressionless like Emma from back then.

So I tilted my head wondering if she was Bob's hidden daughter, and Bob laughed heartily and said, "Haha, how nice it would be if I had another cute daughter like this... but unfortunately not! She's a new employee I just hired!"

"Employee?"

"We decided to operate the Deaf Man's Bar during the day too after expanding the store. So I hired a new friend to work during the day."

After the Rush and Gold gang incident last time, the Deaf Man's Bar was renovated as the town developed.

Thanks to that, customers increased, so it seemed they decided to operate during the day too.

The Deaf Man's Bar operating 24 hours.

That was nothing but good news for me.

But...

"This new friend you hired wasn't originally living in Justice Town, right?"

"Yeah, she said she just immigrated here. Tsk tsk, she doesn't have parents either, so we decided to hire her as an employee while boarding at our house."

It bothered me a bit that the newly hired employee was a completely new face.

Moreover, this girl...

"..."

She was examining me intently without saying anything bluntly.

When I looked at her strangely for that, the girl asked me in a blunt voice, "...Kid."

"..."

"Is that your real name?"

I smiled at the girl's question and answered, "No, it's not my real name, just a nickname. My name is Noah. You?"

And then I extended my hand towards her.

"..."

The girl looked at my outstretched hand and seemed to ponder for a moment before answering, "...Liese."

"Liese? Is that your name?"

"...Yes, please call me Liese."

Swish.

Her hand that grasped mine was soft and warm.

After Liese and I finished introducing ourselves, Mary and Daisy grabbed Liese's shoulders on both sides and said, "Kid! You said you came to eat breakfast, right? Liese is also really good at cooking! Wait just a bit! We'll show you Liese's skills!"

"Uncle Kid! I'll make you fried eggs too!"

"Let's go, Liese and Daisy!"

Originally, Mary and Daisy were extroverted and cheerful.

Liese still seemed awkward with the two of them, but she headed to the kitchen with her arms linked with the two.

"Though Liese is still very shy, she's capable."

Bob looked proudly at the three of them.

It seemed Bob liked Liese despite having seen her for only a short time.

"Hmm..."

In contrast, I watched the three of them enter the kitchen, rested my chin on my hand, and said to Bob, "Bob."

"Hm?"

"Let me advise you, don't leave your daughter alone with that Liese for a while."

"...Huh?"

Then I recalled the warning written in Zodiac's letter earlier.

[Next time I'll kill a young girl.]

The sensation I felt when shaking hands with Liese earlier remained vividly on my hand.

"Why? Are you saying not to leave Daisy and Liese together?"

"Just don't leave them alone if I say so."

It was clearly that of a skilled gunslinger.

I had intended to leave finding Zodiac entirely to Sophia, but...

Someone suspicious of being Zodiac had already started appearing in my daily life.