Chapter 88
What were parents?
Were they just parents if they gave birth and made one exist in this world?
No.
They became beings that could be called parents by giving the child a name and raising them to grow.
From that perspective, the girl in the back alley had no parents.
She didn't know who her mother and father who gave birth to her were.
The girl existed in the back alleys of San Francisco from some point, as if fruit flies appeared when fruit was left out.
It was purely luck that the girl could survive until 9 years old in the Michel slums, notorious even in San Francisco.
...No, was it rather unlucky that she survived until 9 years old?
Anyway, the nameless girl was able to live until 9 years old thanks to fortune, whether lucky or unlucky.
"...I'm hungry."
But that luck finally ran out and she was facing death.
The girl tried to think of when she last ate something, but couldn't recall.
It was too far in the past.
Sustaining life with rainwater and dirty water from the ground was now at its limit.
"...I'm hungry."
The 9-year-old girl, who didn't know many words because there was no one to teach her, quietly closed her eyes like that.
Like any back alley... no one paid attention to the dying girl.
...Or so she thought.
Thud.
"...What's this?"
There was someone speaking to the girl after a long time.
At this, when the girl opened her eyes and raised her head...
"Already dead... Hmm, that's not it."
"..."
A man wearing a white mask appeared.
There was one thing even a beggar in the back alleys knew.
That one shouldn't get involved with those wearing white masks in San Francisco.
The girl wasn't afraid of the man before her eyes because she didn't know why one shouldn't get involved with them...
There was no way she could be scared when she was about to die, anyway.
Thud.
"I'm hungry."
The only feeling the girl had was instinctive hunger.
As soon as he saw the girl grabbing his white uniform with her dirty hands, the man...
"..."
Swish.
Took out a loaf of bread from his pocket.
"Uuu...!"
Seeing bread after a long time, the girl reached out her hands, howling like a beast.
"Wait."
The man lightly pushed away the girl like that and took out something else with his other hand.
It was a water bottle.
Trickle.
When he sprinkled water on the already soft white bread, the bread became moist almost like oatmeal soaked in water.
The man tore off small pieces and put them in the howling girl's mouth.
Munch, munch.
The girl never forgot the taste of that bread then.
"...Is this a human cub or an animal cub?"
And the man's voice then.
"Why are you so skinny? Can you walk?"
Munch.
The hungry girl ate the bread she received without time to answer the man's questions.
And when the girl had eaten over half the bread...
"Kid. Where did you go?"
"Here."
Another person wearing a white mask arrived.
Judging by the voice, this time it was a woman.
The woman who called the man Kid came around the corner to where Kid and the girl were and...
"Kya, what's this? This cute little girl?"
She let out a cheer seeing the girl's face eating bread.
"Girl? This is a girl? There's so much grime on her face I can't tell."
"Tsk tsk, Kid, you have no eye for these things? You say that looking at such a cute child?"
The girl's small stomach quickly filled up after eating just half the bread.
As the girl patted her full belly, the masked woman asked, "Child, what's your name?"
"..."
The girl couldn't answer.
Because the girl had no such thing as a name.
Shake shake.
"You don't know your name? Or perhaps you don't have a name?"
Nod nod.
"Oh, then shall we give you a name?"
"...!"
...A name.
Other beggars had names no matter how poor they were, but only the girl had no name.
The girl, who had been secretly sad about that at times...
Nod nod nod.
Nodded her head faster than usual.
At this, the masked woman smiled and said to Kid:
"Kid! Let's take this child with us! And give her a name! I want to give her the last name 'James' after me, but what should we do for the first name? You give it!"
"Give a name my ass. And who said we're taking her? What we need right now are gunslingers, not a young child like that."
"Why? Can't we adopt her as our daughter and raise her?"
"You're talking nonsense about a daughter. I'm 18 now. Jenny, you're 17 since your birthday hasn't passed yet, so why would we have such a grown daughter?"
At Kid's sharp rejection, the woman called Jenny grabbed his arm and pleaded, "I'll raise her well. Someday we can raise her to be a gunslinger who'll be helpful to us. Let's take her, okay?"
"Haa..."
Kid seemed weak to the woman called Jenny.
At Jenny's continued pleading, Kid finally nodded.
"...Alright. But I don't know anything about this, okay? You have to raise her yourself?"
"Yes! Hehe, Jamie will like it too. More than that, Kid! What should we name this child?"
"Name... hmm.... Last name James and..."
Soon Kid finished pondering briefly and said, "Okay, she looks weak at a glance so your name is..."
It was fine to call those who gave a child a name and raise them to grow parents.
The two people wearing white masks that day were parents to the girl.
"...Liese, Liese...!!"
"...!"
Liese, who had fallen into reminiscence of 6 years ago while sweeping, snapped back to reality at the shout of Bob, the owner of the Deaf Man's Bar.
"What's wrong, Liese? Why do you have such a shocked look on your face?"
"..."
"Is it because of what Kid said to you before he left just now? What did he say?"
Kid.
Though she hadn't seen him for 6 years since their first meeting, that name remained with special meaning to Liese.
Just now, that Kid ordered Liese:
Guard the Deaf Man's Bar until I return.
Liese nodded with a dazed face as if entranced at the fact that it was Kid's first order she had longed for so much.
But she didn't come here to follow Kid's orders.
What should I do?
She had to kill Kid. But she didn't want to kill him.
As Liese frowned her usually expressionless face with her head in confusion, that was when it happened.
— If you don't know, just follow the organization's rules. Kid made them, and the first is most important, then the second.
Liese recalled the words of the one who could be called her mother... who gave her her last name.
When one didn't know what to do, follow the rules.
The organization had rules made directly by the 1st leader that were considered more sacred than the Bible.
If she just followed those rules, what Liese should do now was clear.
Ah.
At this, she decided to follow those rules.
Before she knew it, the broom that had been sweeping the floor dropped from her hand.
***
"Mr. Noah... please... huu... kill me..."
"..."
"Please... I... uh, huu... hurry..."
At Joe's plea to kill him, I moved the gun muzzle to his forehead.
Thinking he was facing death, Joe took rapid breaths and spoke as if making a confession, "...My body. My body felt strange from some point. Huu... I wanted to kill someone, anger welled up..."
What was speaking now was definitely the Joe I knew.
His face was covered in tears.
"...I lost self-control and when I came to my senses, it was after I had killed someone."
"..."
"Huu... I was so scared... I deliberately traveled outside Justice Town in case I might kill the townspeople..."
Was that why I felt Joe's work had been excessively busy recently?
"Huuk, I'm sorry. I should have disappeared completely from Justice Town... but I came back..."
"..."
"...Ah, huu, Mr. Hector, Aiden, Finn I'm sorry. Laura, Laura... Laura...! Aaaagh—!"
Joe soon cried out the names of the townspeople he had killed... especially his younger sister, and suffered.
"Mr. Noah...!! I-it feels like a demon has possessed my body. So please huu... please kill me...!!"
Joe begged me to please kill him.
My gun muzzle was already positioned exactly on Joe's forehead.
Now Joe would die if I just pulled the trigger.
In <Catch the Outlaws>, if an NPC companion unfortunately became Zodiac, the standard was to quickly deal with them and move on to the next episode.
Because the Zodiac determined by the system... couldn't be changed.
Above all, Joe wasn't my companion.
He was just an ordinary... just a slightly kinder NPC in this town than others.
But...
"...Overcome it, Joe."
I was making another stupid choice.
"Don't lose to something like Zodiac and come to your senses."
Even though I knew better than anyone that once Zodiac was determined, it could never change.
"Huu... Please Mr. Noah... just kill m..."
"Stop with the weak talk and come to your senses, you bastard!!"
Instead of pulling the trigger, I shook Joe's head.
Now I could get a $12,000 bounty just by killing him and providing evidence that Joe was Zodiac.
Then I could go home even faster than planned.
It didn't matter to me at all what happened to this one NPC bastard.
Even while not knowing why I was doing such a foolish thing...
I desperately prayed for Joe to return to normal.
"Can't you come to your senses? Then think of your family, you bastard."
"Fa… mily...."
Joe was originally someone who cared tremendously for his family.
When I mentioned family to such a Joe...
Twitch.
In Joe's eyes where Joe and Zodiac were fiercely fighting, I could see Joe's strength gaining the upper hand.
I definitely thought I saw that, but...
Whoosh.
I was wrong.
"You should have killed me when I told you to, idiot!!"
Joe and Zodiac had already switched long ago.
Thud.
The guy I thought had lost all strength pushed me away as I let my guard down and...
Poof.
Grabbed a handful of sand and threw it all over me.
At this, while I paused for a moment, I saw him picking up his gun again.
Click.
I can still kill him if I shoot now.
If I don't shoot, he will shoot.
I must shoot now.
All sorts of thoughts came to mind in that moment, but...
'I'll give you a ride in my carriage again next time.'
"..."
Even in that urgent moment, I was hesitating to pull the trigger.
And...
Bang.
A gunshot rang out while I was hesitating.
"..."
"..."
A body fell to the side.
Joe's body fell to the side.
Thud.
"..."
I looked at the fallen Joe with blank eyes and then approached him.
Trickle.
Perhaps because he was shot from far away, Joe didn't die instantly.
Instead, blood just flowed like a waterfall from his pierced neck.
"...Kuu family.... I have to take care of my family... family..."
Joe worried about his family even in his last moment.
And...
"Estoy seguro que me voy al infierno... infierno..."
Thud.
He left those final words in his native language and died.
"..."
The place I first entered this game was New Mexico Territory.
There were many Mexicans in that place that had only recently become U.S. territory.
Being among them, I came to learn Spanish too.
Estoy seguro que me voy al infierno.
Joe's last words were...
I'm sure I'm going to hell.
I repeated Joe's last words several times and then...
"...Puhah, what hell. Just go to the trash bin. You piece of data."
I let out a hollow laugh and got up.
Strangely, the laughter wouldn't stop.
I kept smiling for no reason and turned my body towards the direction the bullet came from.
Clop clop.
There I could see Liese riding Bob's horse, either borrowed or stolen, and galloping this way.
Thud.
The petite girl soon dismounted at a considerable distance from me.
"..."
"..."
We looked into each other's eyes for a long time after that.
Liese was the first to open her mouth.
"TKK First Rule."
Liese recited the rule in a stiff, businesslike tone like a robot.
"Traitors must be killed."
Traitors must be killed.
...Right, that was definitely a rule I made.
"TKK San Francisco Branch Executioner Liese James."
Liese James.
As soon as I heard that name, I could recall who she was.
— Okay, you look weak at a glance so let's name you Liese James.
The one I saved said she'd kill me according to the rule I made.
"In accordance with the first rule, I will now execute former leader 'Kid'."
Liese left those final words and opened her holster.
At this, I also kept smiling and...
"That little bloody thing from the back alley has grown a lot. No wonder I didn't recognize you."
Click.
Raised my gun muzzle.