Chapter 81
Having somewhat deduced Liese's identity, I got on No Name to confirm for sure.
"Emma, I'm going to Bob's house to check something. You go report this corpse to the sheriff."
"Yes, but who should I say killed this outlaw?"
"Hmm..."
If I revealed Liese's identity when it wasn't certain yet, it would cause great confusion in the town.
Above all, if I pressured Liese and revealed her identity here, I didn't know what she, who was still lying low, might do.
For now, it was time to calmly observe the situation while pretending not to know.
"Say I killed him. If there's a wanted poster for this bastard in our office, find it and give it to the sheriff together."
"Understood."
"Then I'm off, giddy up."
So I left the wrap-up to Emma and headed to Bob's house with No Name.
Bob's house was located separately not far from the Deaf Man's Bar.
Since it was already past noon now, Mary, Daisy, and Liese wouldn't be at Bob's house, so the only one inside was...
"Oh my, you startled me. What's the matter, Kid?"
"Bob, is there no one but you in the house right now?"
"...Well, that's right, but."
There was only Bob, who was resting briefly after finishing the night business.
"Excuse me for a moment."
After confirming there was no one but Bob in the house, I went right in.
"Where's that Liese kid's room?"
"...What's this, Kid? Are you still suspecting Liese? Come on, it's already over. Mary said today that Liese was with her the whole time until the incident happened. This confirms her alibi..."
"Alright, I get it, so hurry up. Where's her room?"
"...The small room in that corner."
I wasn't suspecting Liese of being Zodiac right now.
To be honest, I was thinking I'd rather have Liese be Zodiac then what I truly suspected her to be.
Liese seemed to be someone much worse than Zodiac, after all.
I came here to confirm that finally.
Click.
"It's empty."
When I opened the door to Liese's room, a small and empty room was revealed.
"Well, Liese hasn't been here long."
"But she wouldn't have come here with nothing. Where's her luggage?"
"It should be in that closet."
At Bob's words, I opened the closet and saw a fairly large suitcase.
I immediately opened it.
Inside were worn clothes and various travel items.
There were no weapons that could kill someone, like guns or knives.
Bob, who checked the contents with me from behind, clicked his tongue as if he had expected this.
"Tsk tsk, I told you Liese isn't Zodiac. See, there's nothing special inside."
"..."
Certainly... as Bob said, there wasn't much in Liese's suitcase.
But the problem was that there was too little.
If she had been wandering the West before coming to Justice Town, shouldn't she have at least one gun?
Finding this suspicious, I lifted the suitcase once more.
And...
Bingo.
I could confirm that the internal volume was too small compared to the external size of the suitcase.
Swish.
When I immediately searched, sure enough, there was a false bottom.
I immediately flipped the false bottom slightly and put my hand inside to check what the contents were.
Thud.
The first thing I felt was a cold revolver and bullets.
Next to it was...
Prick.
"Ouch."
Feeling a sharp sensation, it must be knives. Not one small knife, but two.
And next to that...
Thud.
"..."
When I suddenly felt fabric next to the cold gun and knives, I could guess what it was.
Still, just in case, I put my face into the suitcase to confirm with my own eyes what it was.
And...
"...Fuck."
Inside was, as I had expected, a white mask.
...Haa.
I sighed as soon as I saw it.
Finally, the legacy I left behind had come to stab my neck.
I thought someday a day like this would come, but when it actually happened, I was a bit flustered.
I let out a deep sigh looking at the tiny white mask.
Then Bob asked curiously from behind, "...Why? Is there something?"
"..."
As Bob approached, I quickly put the suitcase back to its original state and answered nonchalantly, "...No, there's nothing special."
"See? I told you! Liese isn't Zodiac."
"...Yeah, it was all my misunderstanding."
And just as I was about to leave Bob's house as if escaping, that was when it happened.
"By the way, Bob. Don't tell her I came here, it might look strange... Whoa, you startled me...!"
"..."
When I opened the front door, like a scene from a horror movie, Liese was looking at me with an expressionless face.
Fuck, when did she come...?
I definitely hadn't sensed any presence, what kind of footwork was this?
As I was flustered, Liese stared at my face and...
"...Boss. The madam said we're short on pepper."
"Oh really? I'll bring it right away."
As Bob went to the kitchen to get pepper and only the two of us were left again, Liese looked at me again with emotionless eyes.
If Emma's expressionlessness from back then evoked winter, Liese's current expressionlessness was like a stone statue itself.
It meant I couldn't glimpse at all what she was thinking.
So I spoke first to her who was staring at me intently, "...Do you have something to say to me?"
"..."
"If not, never mind."
When she didn't answer until the end, I passed by her.
I shouldn't let my guard down just because she was a young and cute girl.
She was... a member of the worst gang in the West.
Liese probably noticed my identity.
And I, too, noticed her identity as of today.
Knowing we were targets that should kill each other, the duel had already begun.
What was left now was who drew their gun and pulled the trigger first.
Today doesn't seem to be the day.
Since I didn't sense hostility from Liese, I chose to leave instead of drawing my gun.
***
"No Name."
"Neigh."
After passing by Liese, I immediately got on No Name's back and prepared to depart.
But then.
"Do you..."
"...?"
Liese, who had been silent towards me until now, looked at me and asked for the first time, "Do you remember me...?"
"...What?"
Remember her...?
As I tilted my head at the sudden question...
"...Ah."
Seeing my expression, she turned her head with a small death rattle.
"..."
After watching that sight and seeing she wouldn't turn her head again, I started No Name.
"Let's go, No Name."
Clop clop.
Only after I had put some distance did I feel through [Superhuman Senses] that Liese was continuously watching my back.
***
— Do you remember me...?
I retraced my memories while returning to the office.
"Ah shit, who is she…?"
Though not as good as Emma, I prided myself on having a good memory.
I could memorize most of the montages from numerous wanted posters after seeing them just once.
But no matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn't recall any memories of Liese.
I memorized all the faces and names of skilled members...
Of course, the members didn't know my face.
I always wore a mask when meeting members.
"Ah shit, if I can't remember, she must be a newly recruited member... She's so young too."
Anyway, who Liese was wasn't important to me.
From now on, she was just one of the targets I had to kill to protect my life.
I roughly guessed that Liese's gun skills were excellent, but of course, they wouldn't be enough to match me.
The problem is that the organization knows where I am.
Liese surely reported to her superiors as soon as she saw me.
Those guys who heard news of me would likely send additional members within a few months.
It might be better if I leave Justice Town.
I headed to the office while calculating my future advantageous moves like that.
And...
"Hmm...?"
Through my good eyesight, I could see that not only Emma but also Sophia and Jett were together in front of the office.
"Ah shit, what now."
Jett can come anytime, but why is that Sophia bitch here again?
Feeling a bit irritated, I hurried to the office.
"Ah, there he comes."
"Boss."
"What brings you two here?"
When I asked, Jett answered first, "Ah, first Kid. I confirmed through Emma that you dealt with the outlaw. I gave the bounty to Emma too, so check with her later."
"I'm grateful for that, but I'm asking why you came."
"Well..."
As Jett looked hesitant, Sophia stepped forward and answered instead, "I asked to come. Since 'Kid' is said to be an excellent gunslinger, I can't help but include him as a suspect in the Zodiac case. I'd like to search this office."
Saying that, Sophia glared at me with undisguised hostility.
Seeing that, I sighed, and Jett approached and whispered, "...I'm sorry. I tried to explain somehow, but she's so stubborn..."
"Ah, yes. It's fine. Make yourself comfortable."
"I'll take that as permission. Miss Emma? Please open the door."
"..."
It seemed Emma had been holding out and not opening the office door until I arrived.
Emma hesitated but soon opened the door.
Click.
"Then excuse me."
As soon as the door opened, Sophia entered the office without hesitation.
Sophia still seemed to be barking up the wrong tree thinking I was Zodiac.
Search all you want, there's nothing.
There wasn't much important in my office.
No clues remained about what kind of person I was in the past.
"Hmm..."
Sophia, too, seemed unable to find anything, as she came out empty-handed after a while.
"Did you see everything? Why? Want me to show you the stable too?"
"..."
When I mocked Sophia, who had just come up empty-handed, she looked at the entire office at a glance and then pointed somewhere and said, "...What's that place over there?"
"Ah... that's a warehouse, but..."
When Sophia pointed to a warehouse in a secluded place, I couldn't help but flinch.
Seeing that, she must have thought she caught something, as Sophia headed towards the warehouse without hesitation.
"Let's take a look there too."
"No, there's really nothing special there..."
The warehouse behind my office was such a roughly built building that it didn't have a separate lock.
So Sophia walked over and opened the warehouse door wide, and...
"...!"
Sophia, as well as Jett, who was following behind, opened their mouths wide seeing inside the warehouse.
"...Nothing special except dozens of rifles, handguns, and a little dynamite."
"...What is this? Did you raid a military base or something?"
It was the Red Beard Gang that raided a military base.
I just raided the Red Beard Gang.
All these weapons in the warehouse were what I brought while wiping out the Red Beard Gang.
Unable to find a place to dispose of stolen goods in this small countryside, I was piling up weapons in the warehouse and using them little by little as needed.
"..."
"...Ah Sheriff. It's not like that."
When even Jett looked at me with suspicious eyes at the sudden appearance of mass weapons, I hurriedly waved my hands and explained, "Remember when I wiped out the Red Beard Gang before? These are all weapons I brought then."
"...Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I was afraid if I said anything, you'd take them away saying the sheriff's office is short on weapons and want to borrow some."
"That's just like you."
The explanation seemed sufficient, as Jett nodded and shielded me to Sophia instead, "Kid wiped out a bank robber gang called the Red Beard Gang about 7 or 8 months ago. I guarantee that."
"...I know. I confirmed that content while searching through Utah newspapers last night."
"...You found an article from several months ago?"
Sophia's obsession with me was beyond imagination.
The article about wiping out the Red Beard Gang was from when, and she found that?
And Sophia's obsession now turned to inside the warehouse.
Swish.
She entered the warehouse and began to examine it closely for anything suspicious.
I felt a bit irritated seeing Sophia's passionate appearance.
As it was, the situation was quite bleak with Liese, who had been suspected of being Zodiac, being cleared from suspicion.
If Liese isn't Zodiac either, then who on earth is Zodiac?
Sophia should be finding that, but she was barking up the wrong tree like this, so it was frustrating.
As I let out a small sigh at this, that was when it happened.
"...Here," Sophia said, looking at one side as if she had found something.
"There are a bunch of Single Action Army revolvers that Zodiac used gathered here."
"...Ah yes, well. I use those too."
What Sophia found was Single Action Army revolvers that I had gathered separately in one corner.
Because the Single Action Army was the revolver I used most, I often kept them gathered separately like this for easy finding later.
Sophia's revolver she was carrying was also a Single Action Army.
She seemed to judge there was no point to nitpick, so she moved on to the next thing right away.
But...
"...Hmm?"
"...What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"...No, it's nothing."
The one who tilted his head looking at the Single Action Army revolvers gathered in the corner was actually me.
That was because...
...Why are there only five SAAs?
I'll say it again, but I prided myself on having a good memory.
Because the Single Action Army was the revolver I used most, I had gathered them separately.
...Three, four, five, six. Okay, six.
When I counted before, there were definitely six Single Action Army revolvers.
But in front of my eyes now...
...Five.
I could only see five revolvers.